Madrid

So aqui estoy en España! it is so beautiful here!!!
So.. I got to the airport on Sunday morning. Left this guy for 6 weeks. Good thing for skype :)

Got to JFK at 6ish and left for Madrid at 7:30. there were about 10 other people in the program on my flight. It was a good flight! I felt like they fed us every hour (not true, but thats what it felt like). I slept a tiny bit, but you can't really sleep very well on a plane. Ever. especially if there is a baby sitting behind you. He didn't cry that much and he was SUPER cute! so it was ok.

Anyways.. Meg, Emily and I stayed together in Madrid. We were seriously like 2 minutes away from the plaza de España! It was so cool! We actually got off the metro and sat there for like an hour before we could go to our apartment. It's a pretty busy place.

So We stayed awake all day! I may have dozed off a few times, maybe there were people staring at us at dinner wondering why we were dozing off. No big deal.
We also visited El palacio real and one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen!

  Emily (some brighton people may know her as bug), me, and Catherine in front of the palace.
We went on a tour. Holy cow!! every room so ornate and beautiful! I could live there

 Look at that ceiling!!

A beautiful cathedral!! 

We also went to the museo nacional del Prado.

This museum is probably the largest museum i've ever been to! and luckily for us, Moday was free museum day. So the palace and the prado were both free (YAY!) 

We only wanted to spend 45 minutes in there because we wanted to go to bed, but like I said. LARGEST MUSEUM EVER! I couldn't have run through everything in 45 minutes. 

So we walked everywhere and were super tired, went back to our little apartment and slept, and slept, and slept..

Yeah 16 hours. probably the longest i've ever slept in my life. I was on the top bunk (which was really high). I didn't want to get down to look at the time, so I just waited for someone else to wake up. When they finally did we made bets as to what time it actually was. I came closest! I said 12. 1! Can you believe that?

So when we did get out and moving we explored more of the city. Madrid is a beautiful place! a lot of people! reminds me of NYC. 

We went to Ell Parque del Retiro. It's kind of like Central Park big and SO beautiful!! 

 This glass building was beautiful!!

 So outside the glass building was a pond with turtles in it. I sat down next to a guy from Cuba feeding bread to the turtles. He was nice and shared his bread with us and picked up a turtle for me. ha ha.  I held that turtle! Crazy experience!  Pics will come later. 

This is a statue of Rey Alfonso I believe. This was also right next to a beautiful pond. where pirates just happened to be rowing by. No big deal. 

 Here's another cool edificio. It's in the middle of a round about. 

And here's probably one of the best views of Madrid we could find. Yep. Its beautiful!

 Here's a temple. We were too late to go inside, but i'm sure it was beautiful too!

So this morning we left Madrid and headed to take the train to Oviedo. it was a 5 hour train ride, but oh my goodness! so beautiful! (lets play count how many times Corie says beautiful. Sorry! I'll try to use more vocab)

It's not everyday your train ride takes you into the clouds. COOL!

Look at the cute little city! CUTE! 

So I made it to Oviedo. I've been here for 4 hours. I met my mom for the next 6 weeks. Her name is Clara. She's an older single lady, has 2 grown children and she is a cook at a senior home. Her cooking is AMAZING!!  I'm excited to get to know her more. 

I'm almost excited to overcome jet lag. Hopefully sooner than later.

Anyways.. Here's to an amazing 6 weeks en España! 

the busy life.

I guess maybe I should update this blog every once in a while, huh?

**Disclaimer.. I started writing this blog a few weeks ago. Sorry. just posting now.

So, yes! Life is good! 

I want to share kind of a continuation/confession from my last post. So, that day that I met with the Bishop and I wrote that he put things into perspective for me and I realized that I was where I needed to be at that specific time. 

So... I walked into his office, but it was the whole bishopric. I thought to myself, hmmm... this is pretty serious. They asked me to be the Relief Society President. You could say I was in a little bit of shock. They told me they would call me at the end of the month, so I had a little bit of time to find my counselors.  

It was an incredible experience to choose my counselors. I would make a list or have a sister in mind and I remember having a pretty good list for my presidency, but when I went to stake conference a name came to my mind when I wasn't even thinking of it and realized very quickly who the Lord wanted to be in this relief society Presidency. 

So. I waited a month and we were finally called. :)  We're not going to be a full presidency for very long. My 2nd Counselor was just called to the Rome Italy Mission! YAY missions! She's going to be one incredible missionary. My secretary just got engaged. last week. and my other secretary is moving home in the summer, so i'll have to start this process again very soon.
My ward is incredible!! so many people are moving in and out all the time that it's hard sometimes to know who's staying and who's leaving/has left. assigning visiting teachers is quite puzzling.  But I love this calling! It's such a good learning and growing opportunity and am so excited to serve.

So Yes, Relief Society President, Full time School, (Pretty much) full time work, and making time to be with Jesus, which btw is going incredibly well. Couldn't imagine life without him.
So yeah! Life is good!

Also... I am student teaching in the fall and I'm very excited for that opportunity!
I got an email about 2 weeks ago giving me the opportunity to do an internship instead of student teaching. They emailed 20 people with 10 spots. I knew I could get the spot and this is a really good opportunity! It's half salary and considered your first year of teaching. It would definitely be a challenge, but one that I am ready to take.
So I met with the advisor and he explained what I needed to do- take classes in the summer (during Spain). So I thought about not going to Spain, but that same day went to my Spain meeting and told them about this job opportunity to which they informed me if I didn't go I would still have to pay. hmmm... If i'm going to pay for it I decided I might as well go.
So.. I gave up the internship opportunity and am still going to Spain. It will also be a good opportunity!
I am student teaching next year somewhere in the Salt Lake School District. I'm not sure which school yet, but i'll keep you updated!
I am also very excited that the semester is almost over... I have one french final left. YAY!!!

Reunited and it feels so good!

So... many of you saw that picture and did a SAY WHAT? How did that happen? I thought Corie and Jesus were done and done. So i figured I better make a blog for the subject. less awkward conversations :)

Well... I guess I should probably start back a few months ago. When Jesus and I were dating the first time everything seemed to be going perfectly, but I wasn't exactly feeling 100% truly happy and I wasn't sure why. I would find myself reciting a line from my patriarchal blessing (click here if you don't know what that is) that says "There will come into your life a worthy young man, be worthy yourself to go to the temple and receive those blessings..." I felt like I had found that person, but I wasn't feeling worthy and wasn't sure why. I hadn't done anything crazy bad that I needed to clear up I just wasn't feeling right and among other things i found myself thinking a lot about someone i dated before and after my mission. We had talked about getting married before but I had received a No answer many times, but was still hopeful that something might come of it one day (maybe after graduation). We always left that possibility like a revolving door always reopening up.

So I decided to go on a dating strike. I had to figure out why things weren't working out how I thought they should be.

The week after we broke up I was sitting in my Spanish class and someone came in and talked about a study abroad to Spain. I listened and something about that felt so right. A study abroad is something I've always wanted to do, but never had taken the opportunity. I figured since i wasn't taking classes in the summer and I wasn't doing anything else I should just go to Spain. I would probably never get that opportunity ever again! So I signed up and am super excited about going to Spain for 5 weeks this summer!

Christmas rolls around and that boy that I was having a hard time getting over came home for Christmas. So we hung out a few times. We had fun, like we always did, but I think during that time I realized that we had both changed and that he wasn't the one I could see myself with. I realized that We both just needed to move on with our lives and close that door. A few weeks ago he shared with me how he was thinking about getting married to an incredible girl, but he felt unsure. We talked and I hope I helped him realize that we both needed to move on and that he shouldn't let her go.

After that was over with I started having the impression to try to talk to Jesus again, but I wasn't sure what to do with that impression. While praying I told Heavenly Father that if it was right that he would just be put back in my path. I didn't want to do the work if it wasn't right. So... I didn't really tell anyone about this impression.I didn't want to tell my mom because i figured she'd give me the "I told you so" answer. I found it to be super interesting however, that Jesus' little sister, a few weeks ago started writing me cute messages on facebook just asking how I was doing. I hadn't talked to her in a while, but she started writing me almost everyday just with a short hi, how are you? I love you. I thought that was sweet, and wondered why she started talking to me all of a sudden. I did talk to a cousin and we both thought that maybe a blessing from the bishop would be what I needed and that I would try and see him on Sunday.

That very Sunday someone texted me saying the bishop wanted to see me. I was like um WOW! and was like yes please! would love to. I didn't end up getting that blessing, but we did talk and a lot of things were put into perspective as i realized that I've grown and learned a lot these last few months. And i know that I'm in this exact place right now for a specific reason. and all these things I realized I needed to do by myself.

Tuesday (like 4 days ago) I was thinking about texting Andres (Jesus' best friend) and just sharing with him my perspective, but decided not to. but that very night he texted me asking if we could talk. I was like ohhh wow! I was thinking about talking to you. but we talked for a while and then he told me had the impression for the last few weeks and finally decided asked if I had been feeling like I wanted to try again with Jesus, I was like wow! umm. I have actually. He was like alright! well do you want to talk to him? I was like uhhh! NO! i need time to think and... breathe. and think.

So i ended up calling Jesus, so good to talk to him. I asked if i could see him on Friday afternoon to which he said that he was already coming down to see some of his mission friends.

I hung up the phone and was excited for Friday. However, I was so nervous. I couldn't sleep and I couldn't eat normally those 2 days. I was a mess.

Friday came and Jesus came over and we had a really good talk. I told him everything that I just wrote. I know that I'm in a much better place than I was a few months ago. I'm ready this time to give him my 100% heart and mind. I'm grateful for Jesus and his example and goodness and his willingness to try again.
So we're trying again. hoping for the best and living with Faith very excited for the future.