Simply the best...

...better than all the rest! You know you sang it as soon as you saw the title.

I bet you're asking yourself, "What is the best? What is she talking about?" Well, I'm talking about my weekend. This past weekend starting with last Thursday.

As of Thursday, November 20, 2009, I am officially off the market. That's right, I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!!

I'm that girl that started dreaming about being married and having a family as soon as I figured out what they were. I've tried very hard to have patience for this time in my life to come, and now it's here!

I guess you want to know how this happened since I'm in Spain and Joel is still in DC, right?

Thursday started like any other day. I got out of bed about 20 minutes later than I should have. I basically jogged to class so I wouldn't be too late. (Incidentally, I was the first person to arrive that day. First time all semester!) We had a lovely Spanish class, and we left the building discussing an emergency room bill and how insurance works in a foreign country. As we turned the corner beside our school, I turned around to tell one of my classmates something. Well, I never finished my sentence because Joel was walking along behind us waiting for me to turn around! He had flown in to surprise me! I, of course, didn't know what to think. I had no reason to think that he would fly to Spain to visit me.

We went back to my apartment to eat and just hung out for a while. At around 1 Joel decided to go back to his hotel to take a nap and I went for a run. We decided to meet up again at 5 to go to Palau Nacional at Montjuic. As far as I knew, we were just going there because I had talked about it so much. The view is A-MAZING, and it has been my favorite spot in Barcelona since I moved here. So, once arrived and walked up the many many steps to get to the top we sat down to talk and just see the city lights come on as the sun set. After a few minutes Joel wanted to go to the corner "to see a different view of the city." It was there that he talked about the last year and a half and got down on one knee. If I remember correctly, the last couple of sentences went something like this, "I'm tired of saying 'I like you' (taking a knee) Amzie Caroline Schell, will you marry me?"

Actually, I don't know if that was really what was said because I can't remember it all. Who actually remembers details in a moment like that?! I do know he said something about being tired of saying "I like you," though. (We decided at the beginning of our relationship to not kiss or say "I love you" until we were engaged. I don't say that to toot our own horn, but rather to explain that we've been stupid in relationships before.)

So, of course I said "YES!!!!"

Then, because of the time difference, and because everyone we wanted to call was at work/school, we got to hang out for a few hours and revel in our engaged-ness. And then we bought peanut butter. I kid you not. That's just how we roll.

That's our story! The rest of the best weekend yet was spent sightseeing and hanging out with my friends from ICB. It was really fun to show Joel what my life has been like here!

And now, what you've been waiting for. Pictures! Actually, these aren't from the night of the proposal. It completely slipped our minds to take pictures! But we went back the next night for a re-enactment. That's what you're seeing. :)


Yep, I got engaged on the terrace of this beauty...

...with this view!


On bended knee

Hanging out at La Sagrada Familia.


Parc Guell is cool.

The bling! Joel's grandmother's diamond and made by my Uncle Robby. Perfect!

Right now everything is roses and rainbows for us. It's yet to get difficult. I don't expect married life to be roses and rainbows. I expect it to be the most difficult thing I've ever done. But I know it's going to be more than worth it, and I consider it a joy to have the opportunity to work on such a relationship. That's infinitely better than roses and rainbows :)

I'm grateful to so many people for helping all of this work.

Thank you,Heather, for lying. :) Heather created a false trip to the Dali museum so that I wouldn't skip town for the weekend. And I really believed her. And I was really excited to see this museum that everyone keeps talking about. I like what happened more, though.

Thank you creator of Google maps for being so user-friendly and for adding street view for Barcelona. You're contribution to the proposal helped Joel find my school. Joel and I had looked at Barcelona on Google maps several times. I didn't think anything about it because it's not uncommon for him to make me look at a random map for hours at a time.

Thank you Tempest for flying in to see Porschia this weekend. If you had not been on the same flight, Porschia would have never recognized Joel in the currency exchange line. Therefore, Joel might not have ever made it through Estacio Sants.

Thank you Balmes Hotel for having reliable internet. There's no way we could have relied on the internet in my apartment to call and spread the news. (I added a link because it's a nice hotel in Barcelona. It's clean.)

Thank you Uncle Robby in being so generous in making my ring! I LOVE IT!!!!

Thank you Lucinda for reminding Joel that I would like a ring from my uncle. :) And more seriously, thank you for encouraging when I was impatient. You're the best best friend ever! (She got on the phone after having her wisdom teeth cut out just to talk to us. That's a good friend!)

Thank you everyone and their mother than knew about this and kept their mouth shut. :)

Many many thanks to our parents and grandparents for showing us such a wonderful example of marriage. We have conversations about you guys, and we have been blessed by your relationships. You have many years of practice... please pass along some wisdom.

Ditto for all of you recently married friends :) You can pass along some insight that the old pros have forgotten about!

Thank you Joel for choosing me :) You really are the most wonderful man I've ever met. Life is just beginning for us, and it's going to be exciting! I can't wait to be your wife!




Stay tuned!

Posts a plenty and a pickpocket.

Since I'm SO behind on blogging, the forecast calls for a flood of posts over the next few days. Before I get back to the daunting task of trying to upload pictures with this crappy internet (have I mentioned once or a hundred times that I hate it?) I wanted to share a few stories with you guys.

#1: I have a stalker... maybe.
Last Monday, between my two classes, I rushed to the grocery store to find some lunch. As I was walking down Carrer d'Aribau someone called out to me. I didn't know if the person was actually talking to me, so I turned around to check. He was. The conversation that followed went something like this.
(In Spanish)
Guy: Hi, how are you?
Me: Um... I'm okay.
Guy: You're not from Spain are you?
Me: No. Is it obvious?
(Now in English)
Guy: My name is Dennis. I knew you weren't Spanish. I thought maybe you were Russian or German. I can tell now that you're from the United States. I just wanted to stop you and tell you that I think you are very beautiful.
Me: Er... Thanks, I guess.
Guy: I've see you walking down the street all the time, so I figured now was a good time to talk to you. You're going to Consum, right? (Consume is a grocery store, and by this point I was a little creeped out)
Me: Yeah, a girl's gotta eat sometime.
Guy: And when you go to Consum you walk through the little park as a shortcut, don't you? I see you walking through there a lot. (At this point I was really creeped out.) I live in an apartment beside the pharmacy. My window looks over the park.
Me: Um... okay. Well, I'm going to leave now. This is really awkward.
Guy: Don't be scared, I just want to talk to you. Can we go get coffee sometime? How can I get in touch with you again?
Me: I guess you're just going to have to rely on luck, but I don't think it's a good idea anyway. Goodbye...

Then I walked away very very quickly and took the back streets home. Since then I've been very aware when I go out. I'm not scared of the guy, I just want to avoid him as much as possible.


#2: My reflexes make Edward Cullen look like a slug.
Preface: Edward Cullen is a character in my latest book obsession Twilight (and the 3 following books). My reflexes in this situation aren't really any faster than anyone else's would have been in this situation.

This past weekend, a girl in my program and I went to Prague (more on that later). We flew back to Barcelona on Sunday morning, and it was a very hectic morning beginning with us almost missing our flight. Finally, we arrived at the Barcelona airport and could calm down a little. To get to and from the airport it's more economical to take a train from the city center. Well, we were some of the last passengers to get on the train to take us to the city center, so, needless to say, we didn't get seats. A group of guys jumped on the train at the last minute too. Because we didn't have seats, I just plopped my happy self down on my suitcase to ride home. They guys were standing a little too close to us, but I didn't think much about since the train was quite crowded, however, I did think to put my purse in my lap and I was holding on to it. After a little while I could feel my purse moving some. It was almost like something was tugging at it, but I figured that it was just because people's coats were rubbing against it. I looked down and saw that the zipper was halfway open. That's weird, I thought. Maybe I just forgot to zip it after exchanging my money. I just zipped it up and continued talking to Porschia. Then I felt the tug again. I looked down and the guy standing beside me was trying to unzip my purse!!! I quickly slapped his hand away before he could open it any and gave him my glare. The glare that only comes out when I'm really really mad. Only when I'm seething mad. He stared at me, and then kind of jumped at me to intimidate me! It was as if he was trying to make me feel ashamed that he got caught trying to steal my wallet! What an idiot! Well, I wasn't intimidated and the whole thing was over just as soon as it started. The train was stopping at that point and the guys jumped off as soon as they could. I have a feeling that if they had stayed on longer there would be more than one person getting mad, and it wouldn't have been pretty. (Porschia was just as mad as I was when I told her what happened.) If I had not been sitting down I would have kicked him in the shin or kneed him in the groin. Or even poked him in the eyeballs. As Dwight K. Schrute said, "The eyes are the groin of the head."

Moral of the story: Pickpockets are sneaky. I was paying attention and being careful, and the perp still got his grimy paws on my purse zipper. Luckily I have super sensitive senses and stopped the crime before it could even start.

Coming soon...
Granada
Prague
Maybe I'll think of something else

Valencia numero dos

As promised, this is the conclusion to the Valencia post... just a few weeks later than promised... I really have tried, but our internet gets worse as time goes on. I just get frustrated and have to remove myself from the situation for a while.

Where did I leave off?

After we finished looking around Mikalet...


Genevieve, our on-site coordinator and tour guide extraordinaire, took us to try orxata (or horchata). Orxata is a traditional drink of Valencia made from tiger nuts. I will now pause for you to laugh at the inappropriate jokes that could be made now.

.
.
.
.
.
.
This is what it looks like.

I have to say, I didn't like it at all. At all! I tried a few sips, but it's very VERY sweet and kind of chalky. There was just too much flavor for me. Looks like a milkshake, smells like a milkshake, tastes NOTHING like a milkshake.

Our trek through Valencia continued with a tour of the old stock exchange building. I've seen a lot of buildings in my 21 years of life, but this was one of the most impressive. It wasn't very ornate or big, but everything just looked like quality handiwork. It seemed like every detail was carefully planned not to overwhelm, but to give form and function equal value.




I didn't get many pictures, but only because there weren't many rooms to photograph in the first place.

Next, we walked across the street to the market. I love going into markets like this one. There are always so many different kinds of people there... not to mention the many different kinds of food and trinkets. I walked away with a cute little ceramic dish. I think Valencia's market is much brighter and cleaner than Barcelona's La Boqueria.




Here's a random picture of the flags of Spain and Catalunya (I think. Heather, you should correct me on this.)


The last stop on the tour of Valencia was the ceramics museum.
That lady wouldn't get out of the way.

Valencia can claim their fame with two things: paella* and ceramics. Have I told you that already? The museum was interesting for a while, but it showcased lots of things that weren't ceramic at all. Like fans. With pictures of people on them.
Creepy.

There was also a kitchen made entirely of ceramic pieces. It's not for little people. It was a sunken room, and I was standing on the top step.


That's all I have of Valencia. It was a nice trip. I hear that the beach is beautiful, but because of time constraints and the weather we didn't get to experience that. Maybe another day!

*Valencian paella, the original paella, is made with chicken and rabbit meat. Typically you see paella made with seafood, but it's not the original recipe.

Valencia!!!

Our internet seems to be working tonight, so I can finally catch up a little bit.

All of the KEI students headed to Valencia for our first overnight excursion on October 10 (I think...). I thought I would be getting out of Catalunya for a while, but I was sadly mistaken. It's not that I don't like Catalunyans, but I was ready to see a different "culture." I was really excited because I had heard so many great things about Valencia (mainly about the beach and how beautiful everything is). However, I was just a tad let down. The trip was was still good and the city is beautiful, but it was rainy and cold the whole time. Plus, we never made it to the beach. I would recommend visiting though. It's quite a bit smaller, and much less busy than Barcelona. I think it's perfect for a relaxing weekend getaway for people in Barcelona. It's only a few hours away by train, and there are lots of little shops, cafes, and restaurants to visit.


This used to be a river bed. The river kept flooding the city, so in 1957 the city officials decided to reroute it. Now there's a beautiful park there. You can definitely tell it's a river bed though. It had been raining, and it smelled like nasty river mud. If you've ever smelled that before, and I think it's safe to say that most of the readers here have, then you know it's a really gross smell.

The next few pictures are from our time at the City of Arts and Sciences designed by Santiago Calatrava. He's also designed the telecommunications tower in Barcelona and is currently working on a few projects in the States (like the future train station at Ground Zero).

This is the performing arts building. Can you guess what it's modeled after?
.
.
.
.
.
If you guessed a gladiator's helmet you are correct! That's all I have to say about that.


These are a few more buildings that make up the complex. The first one resembles an eye. It's very hard to see in this picture, but it's very cool in person. Inside there's a domed theater (IMAX), so when you look through the windows from the outside it really does look like the iris of an eye. So clever! We got to watch a movie at the IMAX. It was about the ocean. I fell asleep. I really didn't want to fall asleep though because Johnny Depp narrated it. I'll watch anything that includes Johnny Depp. I even sat through Sweeny Todd for him! Granted, I had my eyes covered 85% of the time, but I was listening even then. I'm getting off track. :) The second building houses a science museum, but we didn't make it farther than the bathrooms there. Our time was just too short.


This is just a garden to the side. I don't think it serves much of a purpose, but what do I know?

Then we had a photo shoot.

Katherine doesn't care, I chose the sorority pose, and Chenell is cold.

Then it was time for a new location.

That darn wind wouldn't leave us alone!

Finally! All of the girls get a picture together!


See, it really was rainy and nasty!


This is the best view I had of Mikalet, the famous church of Valencia. Actually, Mikalet is just the tower, but the whole church is referred to as that. Did you know that the perimeter of the tower's base and its height are the same? Well, now you do.

A view from the top! There were over 200 steps to climb. And they were winding steps with uneven risers that were never less than a foot and a half. Our thighs and butts were definitely burning by the time we got to the top!

So, the internet has decided to stop working like it should. I've been trying to upload pictures for 2 hours now... and there aren't even that many. I think this is a good start though! Too bad it's a few weeks late and I now have another trip to tell you guys about. I'll finish this tomorrow... pinky promise :)

Adoption Spotlight

I can't say that I'll ever like the Georgia Bulldogs, but I really admire their coach, Mark Richt. This isn't the first time I've seen him "featured" for his faith. It's so encouraging to see another family apply and extend their understanding of adoption through Christ to orphans.

Comida

This might come as a surprise to you, but.....I like to cook and I really like vegetables. Take a gander at what I ate tonight :)


Pasta with sauteed zucchini, asparagus, and tomatoes in a lemon and light garlic sauce. Yum!


**I really am working on the Valencia post, but it takes forever to upload pictures with this internet. I'm doing it in phases.

Prayer Request

Hello all! I just found out that my roommate, Alex, has meningitis. Right now she is recovering well, but is still in ICU just so they can monitor her constantly. They say she should be out in a few days. My other roommate and I have already been to the hospital and taken some medication to kill any of the bacteria that we might have. If you think about it, please pray for a quick recovery for Alex and that Anna, I, and the rest of the students at ESEI won't get sick also.

**UPDATE: We just got news from Alex's boyfriend. She woke up today and spoke, which is a good sign. There's still a bit of recovery, but he said today was much better than yesterday.