Oh, the irony...

First of all, just let me say that I realize what I am about to write about may make me seem materialistic, shallow, and whiney.  But I'm not, I swear.  It's just that all things, all problems, are relative. So as an outsider looking in, I realize that I should have nothing to be complaining about!

However.  I am very, very sad/frustrated/upset/confused, because my NEW CAMERA, my Canon Rebel T1i, my baby, is broken. I do not know what happened, just that it will not accept any memory cards anymore...meaning, I can take pictures, but nothing is saved. . I have tried everything, I swear.

I will not give up without a fight, though. So tomorrow I am getting on a 6AM bus and going to Madrid to meet with somebody at the Canon headquarters and get this all straightened out. Hopefully, she'll be back and running before I leave for Dublin, Ireland next weekend!   Cross your fingers, folks.

If not...well, I guess I'll always have the memories. And pictures from somebody's point and shoot camera. It's just not same! Please understand; I worked hard all summer to save money, and after months researching cameras and talking to people about different DSLR models I finally, finally, decided to spend my hard-earned waitressing money to buy my first DSLR, with my Euro travels in mind.

Any what happens, just 3 weeks in? It stops working!!!   But everything happens for a reason, right?!

On the bright side, LAUREN COOPER is going to be in Madrid at the same time! So we will be reunited once again, and I am so, so excited to see her!  It has been almost 5 months since we parted ways in Denver, as I returned home to Vermont and she went back to San Francisco.

So there's one plus.  Any maybe I'll check out a couple museums along the way?

Back to Madrid: the land of awesome plazas, lots of museums, and a lot of people!

Irony #2 (this is so off topic. But Dad, this is directed at you!):  I was told by my host dad last night to stop saying "por favor" and "gracias" so much.  As in, cut back on the "please" and "thank you"'s.  Dad, you raised me to be a polite young woman; thank you.  But I have been told to STOP BEING SO NICE! I suppose you could say taht I am, perhaps, too polite by Spaniard standards.   I have been looking like an overly grateful American for the past month.  To live like a Spaniard and to really become apart of this family, I need to drop my ways and toughen up a bit.

I don't think I'll be speaking to my host mom like my host sister does anytime soon (you would think it's WWIII when they have conversations!); however, point taken.  While manners are appreciated, if I really want to live and act like apart of this family, it's time to push the formalities aside.