Vienna New Year's Concert 2014

Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful 2014 full of beauty and blessings.

Vienna, Austria, is where the most famous New Year's concert takes place every 1st of January. It has been a tradition in our family to watch it ever since I can remember, but this year we missed it because we had an engagement elsewhere. Therefore I searched it on the Internet, and found it on YouTube. In case you missed it too, here's a chance to watch it!

However, for some reason, Blogger won't let me find the video, so I will just post the link. You can click HERE, or go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GlxUNue2MI

Enjoy! It is beautiful!

Perseverance For Food

Talk about having patience, eh?

Wannabe Crònica

A principis d'hivern vam començar a fer proves d'exàmens de Selectivitat a Llengua Catalana. Aquell dia havia acabat abans d'hora un exemplar on hi havia una crònica titulada Estrelles i Diamants a Nova York que em va barrufar molt (sí, Lara, me l'has enganxat. Gràcies :P), i enduta per la inspiració i pels records frescos d'unes vacances ben merescudes a Romania vaig començar a escriure el que llegireu a continuació.
Aquest escrit va començar volent ser una imitació de l'estil de la reportera que l'havia escrit, Bibiana Ballbè. Malauradament, en el procés d'escrit crec que ha evolucionat un pèl i no sé si acaba de cenyir-se al gènere de crònica.

Dedicat als meus dos acompanyants d'aquella nit, el Daniel i la Georgiana, i és clar, al meu professor de Llengua Catalana i Literatura, Jordi! Sé que m'he fet esperar, però aquí ho tens!

Without further ado...

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Fa fred. Estic segura que tinc el nas més vermell que el color del cel ara que es pon el sol, i fa estona que he deixat de notar les orelles. Quins acudits, recollir-se els cabells en aquest clima! Ara bé, és poc pràctic patinar sobre gel amb la cabellera solta.

L'aire és fresc i pur, quelcom  normal i esperat aquí, però la seva fredor crema en inspirar a través del nas. Cada cop que surt aire per la meva boca es forma un nuvolet tímid que ben aviat es congela sobre la bufanda que porto cobrint-me mitja cara. La temperatura és hostil i agressiva, però la pista està plena de gent gaudint dels encants de l'hivern.

Ara que ve la nit, és interessant veure quin tipus de gent es queda més estona, i qui marxa. Mares o pares surten per la porteta carregant un nen petit, o agafats de la mà de criatures cansades. En picar de peus al terra de goma per espolsar el gel enganxat a la fulla del patí el deixen ben brut, i segurament relliscós.

Els que queden som persones ben diverses. Ben a la vora un xicot patina pacientment i lenta al costat de la seva noia, que s'aferra més a la tanca que no pas a la seva mà mentre aprèn a patinar. De tant en tant el noi, tot murri, s'aprofita de la seva inestabilitat per agafar-la per la cintura o abraçar-la per darrere. Que bonic.

Donant voltes per la pista incansablement hi ha la parella experimentada que sembla fer-los-hi la guitza mentre salten, donen voltes a l'aire i cauen, amb tal gracilitat que no semblen fets de carn i ossos, sinó de goma. Una mica més enllà, lents i agafant-se de la mà - que romàntic, penso -, hi ha un senyor i una senyora grans que patinen amb prou elegància. Com enganyen les aparences!

I jo... jo he vingut amb una amiga i un amic, però tots tres ens hem separat, cadascú al seu ritme. De tant en tant, patino al costat de la meva amiga tot xerrant, i després coincidim tots tres en algun lloc de la pista. Llavors comentem la jugada d'algun patinador, o l'estat del gel. Després d'una estona descansant i xerrant, tornem a voltar...

Al centre de la pista hi ha un grapat de nois joves que aprofiten l'espai lliure per experimentar i fer una mica el ruc. En diuen free style. Entre ells hi ha el meu amic, amb els pantalons tant mullats de les vegades que ha caigut que m'agafa fred només de veure-ho.

Segueixo donant voltes tot i observant, de vegades lentament, atenta als moviments tècnics d'algun expert. D'altres, al ritme de la música, perduda en algun món imaginari, inconscient del que m'envolta. Llavors desperto. Miro i em fixo en el que hi ha al meu voltant, notant-ho tot, cada olor, cada rialla, cada moviment, cada onada d'aire glaçat, i resto convençuda de la idealitat del moment, sabent que estic en el lloc i el moment perfectes.

Somric a l'aire.

Google

When one is tired and has a lot of work ahead of her, it's awesome to open google.com and find it as it is. It brings a smile to her lips and cheers her up a bit. :)

GOOGLE.COM

Winter Longing

Winter is white, blue, gray. Sometimes very orange and yellow, other times purple or pink.

Vull que torni l'hivern, amb els seus misteris i els seus secrets xiuxiuejats i revelats pel vent suau que parla a cau d'orella, o per la petjada cruixent sobre la neu fresca d'un matí asolellat.

Vull que torni l'hivern repartidor de nassos, galtes i orelles vermelles, aquell que concedeix floquets de neu per adornar les pestanyes rosses i ocasionalment, fosques, de la gent que camina respirant nuvolets blancs per la boca.

Vull que torni l'hivern fred que contrasta amb l'escalfor de l'amor de families i amistats que veuen te tots junts contemplant com la neu forma una cruixent catifa en la foscor exterior.

Vull tornar. Dubto, però, que aquest any tingui l'oportunitat de gaudir de la meravella que tothom denomina neu.

Belleau Wood

I don't know if any of you have heard about the Battle of Belleau Wood. Personally, I heard about it a long time ago, and I'm still reading and searching about it.
That's not the point, though. This battle inspired this song I'm posting. I really like it, and I've listened to it today on our way back home from my Uncle's, where we spent the day. I thought it would be fitting, even though we don't have snow. Hope you like it!

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Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence
Over Belleau Wood that night
For a Christmas truce had been declared
By both sides of the fight
As we lay there in our trenches
The silence broke in two
By a German soldier singing
A song that we all knew

Though I did not know the language
The song was "Silent Night"
Then I heard my buddy whisper,
"All is calm and all is bright"
Then the fear and doubt surrounded me
'Cause I'd die if I was wrong,
But I stood up in my trench
And I began to sing along

Then across the frozen battlefield
Another's voice joined in
Until one by one each man became
A singer of the hymn

Then I thought that I was dreaming
For right there in my sight
Stood the German soldier
'Neath the falling flakes of white
And he raised his hand and smiled at me
As if he seemed to say
Here's hoping we both live
To see us find a better way

Mr. March

Ladies and gentlemen!
I would like to introduce all of you to...

Mr. March!

Ain't he cute? ^^

Snow!!

I can't believe I'm writing this: it's snowed!!

In Spain. In March. How ironic is that?

I woke up to my Mamma opening the blinds up and excitedly exclaiming, "Get up, girl! It's snowing like crazy!" And sure enough, once I'd jumped off my bed and peeked out of the window I saw that it was snowing!! Yay!! Big, fat snowflakes, falling down as thick as anything! I was able to take a couple of pictures:

Morning! Just about nine a.m.

The mountains, in the morning. Same time.

Ditto...

This were how our windows looked in mid-afternoon. Already a car with loudspeakers had gone around advising for all of us to stay at home unless strictly necessary, and providing emergency phone numbers.

I don't know if it's seen on the pictures, but I'm tellin' you, it was snowing thick! I had the time of my life watching during different times of the day. It first snowed lazyly, the big, plump snowflakes floating in the air. Then it started to snow more fierecely and thicker. Finally, a strong wind started to blow hard, and it was almost like being in a blizzard!

SNOW!

Dutch Stories: Madurodam

...continued. For previous posts click HERE and HERE.

Visiting Madurodam was very impressing. And fun. Madurodam is like a museum which shows Amsterdam in miniature. That was something I don't think I've ever seen before, and it was definitely quite striking.
The day started being lots of fun. After having breakfast, we set out for a long two-to-three-hours car ride. With us came S(oldest), I. and his son. At first, the car ride promised to be boring. Sonia and I were very tired, and planned to try and sleep in the car. But it didn't work... it did for T., though!
It didn't turn out boring because out went our MP4's and we started to sing along with all the songs that played. It was so much fun!!, although I'm sure S(oldest) and I. didn't think the same... =S
It was freezing cold once we got there, but we soon warmed up walking. In Madurodam that's basically what you have to do... walk. And look and take pictures, of course. But you have to walk a lot. So you better be rested and with a mind to walk if you have to visit it! (Which, by the way, we didn't have xD)

Amazing, really. There were models of every building in Amsterdam. There was an airport. The palace. The economy street.

The cathedral.

The tower. The sports' center. Marketplaces, rivers, bridges, boats, aeroplanes, people. All done with such detail! Every small bit was perfectly built and painted, streets represented; there were even street lights!

   
The funniest part of Madurodam, though, and my favourite, was "The Clown" episode. When we took a break to eat lunch, we went to an inside building, obviously (lotsa snow and cold and rain!! Brr!) It was huge, with a very tall ceiling and fans on it. Turned on. Don't ask me why, though.
(Useless bit of information, but curious, nevertheless).
Anyway, there was this puppet show for the little kids going on, and I tried to understand what the "puppeter" was saying (just invented the word, don't worry!). Obviously, I didn't understand a single thing, because it was in Dutch (duh!), but we kidded around with Sonia and laughed a bit about it, whispering funny comments about this puppet with a huge nose or whatever. You know... laughing because. Best friends together, Double Trouble! What do you expect?
Soon enough the show ended, and from behind the scenario a jolly clown appeared. He was one of the talles men I've ever seen in my life. 7 feet 6 inches, at least! (a weee exaggerated...). But definitely more than 2 meters in Spain.
He had this chubby rosy cheeks and red nose, both fake, obviously, and he was dressed in blue, white and red. I thought him pretty funny, and most of the kids did too, but T. was scared of him.
After the show he started blowing balloons up and turning them into shapes, like hearts and swords and butterflies. Sonia and I started to tease each other to go ask him for a balloon for us two, faking to be little girls. Of course, we did no such thing, but S(oldest) did ask him for a balloon for T.
The clown was hilarious. He blew a balloon, and then it "accidentally" pulled off, flying around the room. Then the clown would either pull up a surprised or a sad face, which made the little ones crack up. He would also trip over his huge shoes, and did several tricks. He was a nice clown.
Then I casually/teasingly suggested to Sonia that we should take a picture of us two with the clown (I get the craziest ideas... -.-') and the crazy girl liked the idea! So she asked Samuel to ask him if he would mind to pose with us. (I was quite embarrassed, you can imagine! What started as teasing turned out reality!)
He agreed! Sonia smiled at me mischievously, and I laughed inwardly.
The guy was so tall Sonia reached his chest. And she's a good head taller than me. So laugh if you want to, but since I'm quite short I appeared even more pettite by his size! (EMBARRASSING!)
The picture is great, though. It's very funny, and it's one memory more to laugh over with Sonia. During my time there, that's all I had in mind... create special moments, build memories that we shared, because... who knows when will the next time I see her be?
I enjoyed my time in Madurodam so much. Sonia and I shared a Mars Bar, and took pictures together on the buildings's reflecting windows.

Isn't she beautiful?

    

It was really a great, wonderful day. =)

For the story's pictures, click HERE.

Dutch Stories: The Year's Transition

...continued. For previous posts, click HERE and HERE.

My transition from 2009 to 2010 was amazing. Here's the story.

Late that evening, on the 31st December 2009, I had this yearning to go outside and take the last pictures of 2009. The sunset was beautiful, and I got some very satisfying shots of the canal running past their backyard. It was all so beautiful, the snow was so pure and white, everything so silent and breathtaking... it was the best year farewell in my life. God is good... =)

D. & L. and J. (the missing members of the family) weren't there to celebrate the Year's Transition with us, and it felt bad not to have everyone together, but nevertheless, we had the time of our lives talking, laughing and playing Worms.

I. had introduces a new game, Worms, which we got a liking to play. It was so much fun and we all laughed so much while playing! After a long supper (the last supper in 2009... sniff) in which we lingered for a long while, talking all together and discussin things, S(oldest) organized a Worms tournament. SO much fun! We had to kill the other's worms, and stay alive ourselves... (I know, pretty useless game, but it was so much fun, and I'm so happy we played that game together!)

For your wormformation, this is a picture of a (very) cute worm, and the scenery of the game itself. I fell in love with the worms, I thought they were so cute and sweet! We could also invent our own teams, and name the worms ourselves. Sonia's family has a wild imagination, so we came up with hilarious teams! For instance, C. named her team NaaraTim (Naara's Team, her baby's name), and all the worms were named after some of Baby Naara's words, such as Ahhhh, or Nguh! or Gueeee, etc.

What made it funnier was that the worms had very funny voices and they continually exclaimed, "OUCH!" or "Haha, MISSED!" or "HURRY UP!", and we laughed a lot. The worms had also various attack methods that were so funny!, such as the "Poke" or the "Baseball bat".

We spent the whole evening like that, and at about twenty past ten p.m. Sonia and I went upstairs to "make ourselves look pretty," as my Papa says. Then we took "our last pictures together in 2009". Most of the pictures turned out OK and we had fun, lots of fun, which was the best. =)
At about twenty to twelve we went back downstairs, and we hung around for a while, talking and getting ready for...

...the last 12 o'clock...

We turned the lights out, we prepared the champagne... and then... it was five to.

We were so excited! You could feel the excitement in the air. I was so happy to be there with Sonia and her family. To be in Holland. Several important happenings in 2009 flashed through my head, and I felt SO blessed, and I was so happy. I can't express myself with words, I just felt complete inside of me. God is good!

And it was one minute to midnight. We started to countdown seconds, and the volume rised when we got to ten seconds to midnight! We almost shouted.

When we finally said "ZERO!" and the clock struck twelve, we all started laughing and wishing each other "HAPPY NEW YEAR!". Then we kissed and hugged each other, and drank our cava. It was a delightful surprise because after we finished our small glasses, they said it was Freixenet cava, the area where I live! That's why it was so nice. ;)
And we prayed. Honestly, and in all sincerity, my heart was so full. I felt perfect.

Right after twelve there was the biggest explosion, and the sky lit up with fireworks. We rushed outside, almost forgetting to put our coats on, and joines all the people outside who'd come to see the beautiful sky. It was SO beautiful! From everywhere, everyone lit fireworks, and it was beautiful, so impressing. There were so many, and all so different; so many colours and shapes. Sonia, S(oldest)and I took lots of pictures, but most of mine didn't come out right. I wasn't prepared for it and didn't have my tripod. Oh well.

At half past, more or less, Sonia, S(youngest) and I decided to go for a walk in the snow to see more fireworks. Yes, there were still shooting and exploding high up in the sky. I was so impressed! They didn't stop firing them till late, so we had lots of fun watching them.

There was one that I really liked because it was pretty special. It exploded in a huge circle that almost covered the whole sky (when I say huge circle, I mean huge circle), two colours, but what I liked about it is that it gave such a BANG, that it made everything tremble. I felt my insides vibrate everytime it exploded. So cool.

Then we had a kind of weird/scary/amusing thing happen to us. On our walk around where Sonia lives, we passed by a group of young people who were laughing and listening to music from a quite post, modern car. And drinking. They actually started talking to us, and offered us some beer, they even said we were pretty, but we ignored them and walked on. Sonia said they were quite drunk. Thank God they didn't do anything to us!

It was very funny because both Sonia and I slipped on the ice and fell on the ground on our bums on our nocturne walk. I fell cross-legged and Sonia laughed at me a lot, but I laughed too. The first time I slipped, and the only one, hehe!

That was on our way back, and once at home we got back to our tournament. Yep, we spend the whole night playing at Worms. We laughed so hard with that game our sides ached. S(oldest) invented a team for me, names and all, and we enjoyed the rivalry.

S(youngest) was the first one to leave, at about three a.m. I. was the second, at about five a.m. C. was the third, at about six a.m.

When Sonia and I decided it was about time to go to bed, it was about half past six a.m., but we decided we wouldn't sleep just yet. We wanted to break our record of staying up late together (which was half past six hehe), and so we stayed up talking about things till seven a.m., and when we fell asleep it was already light.

We woke up at 2 p.m. on New Year's day. What a shame!

It was a happy, quiet day, spend with family. Delicious lunch, and more laughs. It was great, really. I am so happy I was able to spend the Year's Transition with the V. family. They are all so great and I love them so much! I am blessed to have friends like them.

Next thing we did after New Year's Day was visit Madurodam... but that's another story. ;)

For the Year's Transition's pictures, click HERE.

Dutch Stories: First Three Days

...continued. Previous Post, click HERE.

The couple of days before New Year's celebration were quite lazy and quiet.
Our ride home from the airport was long but not boring at all! Sonia and I started talking right away, trying to catch up with our lives after being six months without seeing each other. Her mother was very patient and endured our crazy laughs and sudden squeals, our loud talking and our excitedness in general. We stopped once at a gas station to fill up, and we both got out to walk for a bit, and it felt soooo good to be together again! It felt perfect, and my heart felt ready to burst with happiness.
We got out without our coats, so it was quite freezing. Sonia and I went running to the restrooms because it was a bit warmer, and tried to arrange our messy hair, but we soon had to go back and all of that time we hadn't stopped talking. We had so much to tell and we had so much to laugh about!
Snow, snow, snow all over the place. I couldn't get enough of it all! It was so beautiful! I was already in love with Holland, and I'd only spent maybe an hour or an hour and a half in it. I knew I was going to enjoy myself so much!
Sonia's father and brothers were at home when we got there. It was sooo exciting to get to see them again! I hadn't seen her older brothers since Christmas '08, a year ago, and I hadn't seen her younger brother and father since June '09, six months! So happy so see them all.
It was J's birthday that same day too, although I didn't remember it till the next day, and so had to say Happy Birthday one day late. Oh, well! At least I hadn't forgotten altogether! Better late than never!
We'd eaten lunch in the car (lunch consists basically of sandwiches in Holland), some delicious cheese sandwiches, so once we got home, at about three or half past three, I don't remember the exact hour, we didn't have to worry about eating. We had a whole afternoon ahead of us!
Sonia and I teased each other from the start, it's what we do best as Best Friends (JK!). For instance, there was this thing called Team Work we teased each other about, because we always did things together, we "helped" (or tried to, in the end we usually were making things more difficult for the other :P) each other in everything. When it was time for me to take my big, heavy suitcase upstairs to Sonia's bedroom, it was very funny because Sonia grabbed the front handle and I got the middle handle, and this way we took the suitcase up the (very) narrow stairs. I must add that we almost killed ourselves in the process, because we both lost balance and almost fell down the stairs, but in the end, no harm done, and we had such a laugh! Oh, I laugh just remembering it... how I miss her.
In Holland and during winter, it gets dark pretty soon. At half past four it's already dark, so when Sonia's mother came up with the suggestion that we should go for a walk and visit the city, I was a little bit surprised, but then, we weren't going alone, so since I really enjoy walks at night, we both readily agreed.
On went the wraps once again: jumper, gloves and scarves; hat; thick leather boots; and finally, my coat. I felt so fat and huge walking in that, but then everybody had to wear that over there, so I wasn't looked at as if I had green hair and purple skin.
The city at night was beautiful.
Correction: The city, at night, in winter, during Christmas holidays, was beautiful. Dark, snowy, and full of Christmas lights. (Okay, this last part and the first doesn't really make sense, but you know what I mean...). Everywhere we went was more beautiful than the last. We walked through ice-covered parks (it started snowing again the day after I arrived... that day it was green with ice covering it), we crossed bridges over rivers and canals, we visited the old city (old stone buildings, SO beautiful), we walked across the exterior mall, we went to visit Sonia's school, and we walked the whole city. Nah, but we did walk a lot, till half past six or so.
What I remember best was a huge, tall fir planted in the middle of the old city, near where the outside mall was. It was so big, and it was all decorated with Christmas lights. I fell in love with the tree at first sight, and I was so sorry because I didn't have my camera with me. I wish I had a picture of that tree...!
By the time we went back home, we were quite tired, but it had been worth it. We had talked so much during our walk, we had poured out our hearts to one another in Catalan so no one would understand us, and I felt fresh and alive, although tired... and late. They'd already had supper, and had started to worry about us!
Supper was truly yummy, and Sonia and I had fun eating on our own at the table while the rest of the people sat on the couches and chairs. S and J had left early that afternoon for France to pick up Sonia's older sister and her family, and they would be arriving next day in the afternoon. I was looking forward to meeting C very much, she was the only one in Sonia's family I hadn't met yet! But we had to wait till the next day.
I remembered to phone my parents that day. We talked for about five minutes, and (blush) for the next two weeks I was there I didn't phone them again. I guess I just forgot. But it was nice to hear them and good to be able to say, "I'm in Holland, and the flight was amazing!"
I don't think we slept much the first night we were together. Too exciting! I wore my red Christmas pj's for the first time that night, I remember, and I didn't wear it again while I was in Holland. I don't remember, though, what time we went to sleep that night... I can assure you, it was very early in the morning... :P When two best friends get together, and share all their stories once again, remember old times, uncover forgotten memories, listen to and sing songs they've both known for a long time... well, you get to go to bed either pretty late at night or pretty early in the morning.
Consequently, you wake up late next morning. I slept in till half past ten, or eleven, on Wednesday, to LOTS of snow! Sonia and I woke up to her mother hurrying us about because it had snowed a lot during the night! We jumped out of bed and hurriedly (and sleepily) but also excitedly ran to Sonia's parents' bedroom because it had such a big window, and sure enough, it had snowed a lot while we were happily dreaming under the covers!
I was so excited, I couldn't wait to get my feet into my boots and go outside for a walk. I had this childish wish to see my footprints on the snow, to make a big snowman and have a capital snowball fight with Sonia and her youngest brother (I have a problem here, because Sonia's oldest brother's name starts with an S, but so does her youngest brother's... any suggestions?)
My walk had to wait untill after lunch though, and I wasn't able to have a capital snowball fight because... mwahaha, I had my camera with me! Yep, beware, because I was roaming about the place with my camera to capture... a picutre. =) I went with S, the youngest. He's a sweet, active twelve year old who didn't mind my frequent stops for a picture, nor was embarrassed by my laying on the ground or my asking for him to pose in such and such a way, etc. I took plenty of pictures, and most of them came out pretty nice. I discovered that sometimes snow is difficult to capture.

These are my two favourite pictures from that walk:

When we started to go in the woods you can see in this picture, the cell-phone rang! I instantly felt happy and excited, because that meant that the boys were back with C and her family! That was the last picture I took, and we didn't get to walk in the forest that day, but I didn't really mind it that much because... well, because I was finally going to know Sonia's whole family!
Back we walked, hurrying, puffing and huffing (not), and indeed, there they were, sitting on the couch and talking and laughing! I was so happy to meet them, they are so nice and such happy people! C and I hit it off right away, and since then we talked a lot when we were together about everything. Mostly about babies, though. Hehehe.
Afternoon turned slowly into evening, and it met us talking and just about spending time together. There isn't much to tell about that evening, other than S (oldest) and C getting a hold of my camera and starting to take pictures of all of us (Sonia and I washing the dishes after supper, or youngest S and T playing on the computer...). These kind of quiet evenings are the best... =)

 Sonia ^^ ♥. This picture was taken by C.

Next day was New Year's Eve Day... waking up in the morning was lovely that day, because once Sonia and I had gotten our sleepesness out of our heads, we heard that it was pretty noisy in the room next door. Curiosity got the best of us, and when we popped our heads in we saw that everybody was in C and I's bedroom, either laying lazyli on the bed or sitting on the floor or leaning on the windows, chatting and being together. Ahhh, I like that family so much!
They invited us in, and so we plopped ourselves on Baby T's bed and followed the chats. That was when I first held Baby N... the sweetes little baby girl ever! I was so happy to hold her, and the first thing she did was smile at me! I could hardly keep myself from squealing in delight! *Sighs in contentment* My time there was unforgettable... I miss them.
When we decided that it was time for all of us to dress and go downstairs, once we went downstairs, what do you all think we did...? Yup, plop down on S(oldest)'s matress and resumed our chatter. And took pictures with my camera, too. I also discovered that S(oldest) had really, really huge hands compared to mine.

See what I mean?

There's not much to tell about that day... J left that afternoon, and later, I went outside in their small garden and took some pictures. They have a canal running right behind their house, and it's so cool because during spring and summer they get their boat out and go up and down the canal. Can't wait till May!

New Year's Eve was amazing, we had so much fun! But that's another story...
For the rest of the pictures, click HERE.

Dutch Stories: My Flight To Holland

Nothing much happened during the first couple of days in Holland... it was all very relaxed and family-like. Writing now about them makes me miss them so much... those comfy times sitting all in the living-room, talking, playing and (yes!) laughing together... getting to know Sonia's older brothers better, and getting to meet Sonia's only sister and her husband and children.
Honestly... looking back and writing about them and our times together makes me feel so bad, and makes me miss them so much... but I made a promise. =) And I know that if I have something to write, is because I made so many precious memories over there. What's best, I'll have them to treasure for ever.


My flight over there was very exciting. It was my first time on a plane since I was a little girl, and I was looking forward to it very much. Although at first I was nervous, the airport from where I left was small, as well as the one where I landed, so I didn't have much trouble in finding my way around. It was fun to qeue behind people (Dutch, Spanish and Indian), watch all the different coloured suit-cases, and (yes!) at all the people's shoes.
At first I was a bit shy about taking pictures in the airport, but I soon lost my shyness and started snapping around. I decided I wanted to sit at the back of the plane, so I climbed up the steps to the back door, with lots of people before me and behind me. It was so exciting to me! I was able to sit in a very good seat, not too far away from the end but not too far away from the middle, either. The perfect place, really.
Then the plane was taken to its take-off position.
I will never forget the sensation I felt when the engines started to roar and the plane started to run, and when it took off! It was so amazing! I felt everything at once, happiness, exuberance. I wanted to scream and laugh and jump and cry, it gave me such a feeling of power! I guess I had a rush of adrenaline. It was incredible, everything was boiling inside of me.
And I was on my way to Holland.
Right after the take-off I took my camera out and started to take pictures from up the air. I felt so awed at all I could see from my window! I had flown before, but when I was three years old and under, so I had no idea what could be seen from up there. And I was sooo amazed!

"I saw everything from up the air, and it was breathtaking"

It was sunny all the time up there because we were all the time flying above the clouds. And once, it snowed up there! It was so amazing! The crystals were so tiny, but so beautiful!

Sitting by me was a little girl and her mother, and across the aisle her father and brother. The girl was lovely, with greenish eyes and blonde hair, and a freckled nose. They were Spanish, but had family in Holland. I smiled at her often, and soon her mother and I started talking. We talked about Holland, about Spain, we talked about winter. I told her why I was going to Holland, and we had a very pleasant talk. She was a very smiley lady, and had a very pleasant voice which soon calmend me down, because I was nervous about the landing.
The almost-two-hours flight flew by me (haha!) way too quickly, and soon enough, we started to penetrate the clouds. They were gray, ugly clouds, but when we got a little lower, I completely forgot about them when I saw what was under us. Big patches of white were all over the places, and all the lakes and rivers were frozen. It was so amazing! I was all the time whispering, "God, your creation is so amazing!"
Then the captain announced that we were about to land, so click went the safety belts, and off went the camera. Now I just had to watch and enjoy.
Once again I got this feeling of exuberance and adrenaline when we landed. The engines started to go the other way around, and the air breaks on the wings came up. Such a noise!! I again felt sooo full of energy!
And so we landed. I was in Holland.
A gust of cold wind welcomed me, and as I climbed down the steps from the plane, I felt how tiny, icy drops of rain were falling from the sky. Welcome to a cold, Dutch Winter!
I remember how I looked up to the sky and breather in the cold, clean air deeply, thinking, "Thank you", and I started walking towards the building. Then, surprise!! Sonia and her mother were waving happily from the top of the building, behind a glass.

When I saw them, I started jumping and waving like crazy, but after receiving a couple of amused looks, I stopped showing my excitedness and started walking quickly toward the exit. I had to wait another ten minutes, though, to pick up my lugagge, and that was almost eternal to me. But wasn't it worth it...!
Sonia was waiting for me right outside the door, and I didn't even have time to drop the big suit-case before she gave me a bear hug! It was a precious moment.
Sonia's mother took a picture just as she hugged me, so we have that moment in a photo... and I am thankful. We were both so happy to see each other... I think we drew a lot of attention because we squealed and hugged and squealed again and then hugged once more, and it was like this all the time. I also hugged Sonia's mother, in case you were wondering.
My flight there was great. I really enjoyed it and I am so thankful that I had such a warm welcome once I got to the airport.
We had a long car-ride home... a two hours and a half ride...

...TO BE CONTINUED... ...FOR MORE PICTURES, CLICK HERE...

Feeling Melancholic...

I've started sorting out the pictures I took in Holland. I have more or less over 1500 pictures in 6 GB, more or less. But it makes me feel so melancholic, I miss my friends over there in Holland so much.
I like snow. I like winter. I like Holland. I love them. ♥

Awed Writer

That's what I am right now! I'm so awed! I can't believe this has come true. But, friends, it has! I can say that it's a dream come true.
But I will explain myself. I will not let you discover it on your own, for it is my belief that it would be mighty difficult for you to do so, excepting a couple of close friends who already know the news. ;)
So the smashing news are that, Lord willing, I'll be going to Holland during my Christmas holidays! I'll be able to see my best friend!!! And I'll be able to have such a good time with her and her family!
I am so looking forward to it. I can't wait, I am so impatient already. I bought the plane tickets yesterday with my Papa's help, and was I excited last night!
I can't explain further. I'm too excited to put two words together so that they make sense. I don't know where to start explaining.
So I'll leave you till my head is cleared enough to be able to explain things. =)
Ta-ta!

Header

I've been working on this header for some time, and I've finally finished it, just to find out that this template doesn't accept headers.
Así que aquí está, para que lo podáis ver!

Welcome, 2009

This is the last post written in 2008!
A new year is going to star, with new things starting along with it, and old things finishing with it. Because,

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

You can't imagine how quickly has this year gone by to me. It seems like yesterday we all gathered around the clock downstairs and waited for it to struck twelve. I remember everything.
And now we'll be starting a new year!

2008 has been a great blessing to me. I've learnt many new lessons and have grown to love God more and more each day.
This year's been different from all other years; I'm not sure why and I couldn't explain the reason why it appears to be different, but it is. My life used to be normal, but through this year many things have changed it; and I'm thankful because all these things have taught me many precious lessons, and I've grown to be a lot more patient; I've grown to trust a lot more; I've learnt how to persevere; I've learnt so many other things that I cherish. God's plans for us are amazing!
Small glances to my 2008...

Family fun...

Discoveries...

Longings...

Beauty...

New horizons...

Dreams...

Thoughts...

Work...

Studies...

Friends...

Wonders...

Sighs...

Resolutions...

Rain...

Creations...

Brightness...

Freshness...

Visits...

Patience...

Accomplishments...

Colours...

Complexity...

Weirdness...

Hopes...

Games...

Cuteness...

Change...

Imagination...

Inspirations...

Sweetness...

Anneish things...

Chaos...

Reflections...

2008 brought to me all this and more. God has been great to me, and will continue to be so for the rest of my life. God is good!

Through this post, I want to wish all of you a

very happy New Year!!!

I hope you will have a blessed start and have a wonderful 2009, and remember, I love you all very much!

Farewell, 2008... Welcome, 2009!