A song you should also hear.

 Animal

By 

Miike Snow

There was a time when my world
Was filled with darkness
Then I stopped dreaming now
I'm supposed to fill it up with something

In your eyes I see the eyes of somebody
I knew before, long ago
But I'm still trying to make my mind up
Am I free or am I tied up?

I change shapes just to hide in this place
But I'm still, I'm still an animal
Nobody knows it but me when I slip
Yeah I slip, I'm still an animal

There is a hole and I tried to fill it up with money
But it gets bigger till your horse is always running
In your eyes I see the eyes of somebody
That could be strong

Tell me if I'm wrong
And now I'm pulling your disguise up
Are you free or are you tied up?

I change shapes just to hide in this place
But I'm still, I'm still an animal
Nobody knows it but me when I slip
Yeah I slip, I'm still an animal

A song you should hear.

"Walking On A Dream" 

by Empire of the Sun

Walking on a dream
How can I explain
Talking to myself
Will I see again

We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

Is it real now
When two people become one
I can feel it
When two people become one

Thought I'd never see
The love you found in me
Now it's changing all the time
Living in a rhythm where the minutes working overtime

We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

Is it real now
When two people become one
I can feel it
When two people become one

Is it real now
When two people become one
I can feel it
When two people become one

Catch me I'm falling down
Catch me I'm falling down

Don't stop just keep going on
I'm your shoulder lean upon
So come on deliver from inside
All we got is tonight that is right 'till first light

Is it real now
When two people become one
I can feel it
When two people become one

Is it real now
When two people become one
I can feel it
When two people become one

Hey! White house! Pay attention to me!

Because I am on my way. Well, I will be in two weeks. Consider this your warning. Independence day Becca style.

But, in all seriousness, this is where I will be posting all my DC internship experiences, like my own virtual diary that the entire world can read.

Things to get excited for:

1. My adventures at a 3 day music festival (check it out http://fireflyfestival.com)
2. My musings on everything at every museum
3. Protesting radical conservative protestors
4. And, of course, working inside the government as an intern

This should be fun...

Does it have to be over?

Today was the last day of classes and it still feels like a dream to me. The last few weeks have been amazing and they will be memories that I carry with me for the rest of my life. And I can only hope that they are the first memories of a lot more amazing travels yet to come.

Two years ago I got very sick, to the point that even going to the store was a lot of work and stress. To know that I came back from that and spent a month and a half in a country that I barely knew the language, with a family that I had never met, and with a group of strangers, and that I leave a better person for all of it is the most empowering feeling.

This blog post has been very hard to write. I have stared at the computer for the last couple of days trying to think of how I could sum up my experiences here in Spain. But I can't, no matter how hard I try. But what I can say is that even though I had some bad experiences happen to me while I have been abroad, I would do this whole thing over again in a second.

I am leaving Spain for a new found love of travel, a million memories, and a group of friends that I adore. But the most important thing that I am leaving Spain with is the knowledge that I am strong enough to go on such an amazing (and at times hard) adventure.

Bar fights, pub crawls, and a stolen Passport

During my program in Oviedo, we were given one weekend where we not only didn't have any planned excursions with the class, but we even got that Friday off of school too. Sadly my free weekend went horribly, horribly wrong. Here is the story...

For my free weekend, I went to Barcelona with some of my friends. It was supposed to be a magical weekend, like a grown up disneyland. I was looking forward to dancing awful in a club and seeing some amazing Gaudi, with the beach in between.

Getting to Barcelona was fine and the apartment that we rented for the weekend was GORGEOUS! Except that we learned that not one of us can do math when we tried to pay for it. Even that night went well. We went to a famous club, but somehow ended up on the beach, watching the Mediterranean and drinking beer that we bought from some guys that were selling them for a Euro each.

The next day is when everything started to go wrong. Before the first disaster, though, we went to the coolest fresh market that I have ever seen and bought groceries for a big family dinner that we all devoured that night. We had tacos and noodles with tomato sauce and homemade orange juice. Family dinners were definitely the best part of the trip. After dinner, we went back to the famous club and started dancing. But, after about an hour, some very rude guys started cutting in and trying to dance with us even though we didn't want to. Luckily, we have some great guy friends and they told them to get lost. Unfortunately, those boys would not take no for an answer and starting fighting my friends. We ended up getting kicked out of the club and Tyler now has a very black eye.

And to make matters worse, the next day, the apartment that we were renting got broken into and my wallet, purse, and passport all were stolen. Leading to a very stressfull last couple of days.

Currently, I am broke and identity less in Europe....

I am living a charmed life.

This last week and a half feels like one amazing dream. I never thought that life could ever be so much fun and such low stress. The next great adventure that I am going on is planning a weekend in Barcelona for next week, which is going to be AMAZING! And, I am currently looking for a place to get an awesome surprise that you will all see when I get back. If all goes perfect, it will be breath taking, and a perfect commemoration of such an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime trip. But seriously it is going to be near impossible to get back into the swing of things at home. And it is going to be weird to be having everyone around speaking a language that you understand, and having them being able to understand you... no more yelling swear words whenever I want. Es muy triste.

Hacer una fiesta en mi pantalones

Apologies for my last post. I had so much to say and no idea how to say it. I guess jet lag can do that to a person. Living in another country when you barely know the language is quit the experience though. When I come home, I challenge any of you to a game of charades. I am going to dominate at that game... and I am also going to suck at english. Getting better at spanish has come as a trade-off in that I am losing any ability to speak english like a normal person. I am pretty sure that my host mom thinks I am nuts. I like to keep food by my bed for when I get hungry at night and need a little snack, and today she found them and pointed at them asking about it... It kinda looked like I was hoarding scraps of food. My bad. But one great thing about her is that she cooks perfecto for picky eaters like me. I have always eaten like a 7-year-old and today for lunch she made rice with pieces of egg and hot dog in it and covered in tomato sauce. Muy delicioso. I know you can't get enough of what I say but it is time for my daily siesta (yes, I get to take a nap everyday). Chow! &&R

Tapas on your titties bitch

First off, Spain is wonderful and I am never coming back. The air is cleaner, the people are cooler, the nightlife is better, and their coffee is tastier. Absolutely no reason to come home. So far, let's just say that it has been an adventure... Now it is time for some stories: How to survive in Europe without Euros. Well, mostly you just need some generous friends, but even they get tired of you free loading after a few days. What happened is that my card wouldn't work here and all I had was 6 euros left from what I brought with me after the cab/bus ride to Oviedo from Madrid. My new nick name is the urban Bear Grylls, not just because of this but also because I have no innate sense of direction and I get lost going just about anywhere, but somehow I still manage to get where I need to go. Honestly, sometimes I just get lost. If you were here, you wouldn't blame me, this place is confusing!! And a lot of the streets look the same. It is not all fun and games here, I am learning important life skills like how to speak spanish, improving my charade skills and how to make a blowtorch out of a hair dryer. Apparently there is a wattage difference between Espana and The Estadasunidos. The people here party like it's 1999 and I can't keep up... Seriously! They go out at like 1 in the morning and don't get home till around 8 the next day... I am going to need a liver transplant by the time I am done with this trip!

They let me into Europe....

I am spending the next month and a half of my life in Spain and traveling around the EuroZone. Read about my awesome adventures (in Spanish) on my blog http://beckseurozone.blogspot.com/ and in English here. It is going to be epic and I promise a lot of pictures!

Like this one of me being classy in the Atlanta Airport. Cheers!

A letter to Stumble upon..

Dear Stumble upon,

I know I was late to join the bandwagon. But it was for a reason. Once I made my first stumble, I was addicted. So many cute pictures of little animals and cool crafts I tried but miserably failed at. I ended up spending 6 hours on you and didn't get a page of homework done. That is why I am writing you this letter. I like you and all, actually too much and I am not ready for that kind of commitment. That is why I have to leave... And there may be another... Pinterest just has more to offer.

With regret,

&&R