this is the best week EVER!

first and most importantly, I GOT INTO LAW SCHOOL!!! let me back up. so as you know, i have been working my little tail off on applications. i have submitted 26 in total and have already heard back from several schools. most exciting is my acceptance to University of Miami. I still do not know if I got the scholarship that I applied for, but will know one way or another in the next three weeks or so. I was also offered a substantial scholarship to St. Thomas, which is also in Miami. I am really excited. I didnt realize quite how homesick, stressed, discouraged and overworked I was until my friend, Ansley landed and brought a taste of home and a breath of fresh air with her. She got here on Thursday and had the day to herself while I worked. When I got off, we had dinner with my roommate here and scurried off to the airport. Ansley and I landed in the Canary Islands (Las Palmas) at midnight and our family friend picked us up.
The entire weekend was like a dream. Pilar, who I met in Rome last summer because shes a dentist with several of Dad's lasers, is like a mother to me and she really went above and beyond with her hosting duties. Thursday night, we walked along the beach and settled into her mother's apartment that's the qaintest little resort home with a huge balcony over looking the beach. That's where we had several awesome feasts. Friday, we shopped, walked all over the city, saw some awesome sights and relaxed. Saturday, we attempted to visit one of the most famous beaches in the world but the wind was pretty miserable. Wind-1, Stephanie & Ansley-0. Pilars son is 23 and her nephew is also 23 so it was really cool they hung out with us and invited some friends. It was a really awesome day, minus the realization we would not be coming back bronze beauty queens. At night, we hit up Carnaval. The night before we had gotten a taste of the madness but Saturday was the parade and it was completely insane and incredible. I have never seen or experienced anything quite like it. The costumes weren't Walmart Halloween $13 purchases. No, no. They were meticulously planned outfits with no detail overlooked. Mostly, friends were there in huge groups all dressed identical. So in the crowd, you could spot an entire crew of GI Joes or Ariels or lions or whatever. We took so many photos and just had an incredible time. Sunday's plane ride was rough because we didn't want to leave, but I was also looking forward to showing Ansley around my city. The rest of her visit, we managed to meet up with my friends here and eat more great food. We celebrated my acceptances and just celebrated being together and her vacation. It was AWESOME. I was super sad she couldn't stay longer. I also received big news my roommate from last year will be coming in April! The weekend she will be here we will go to Barcelona with Dad for a Biolase event. I don't know if I am accurately explaining how amazing the last two weeks were, so here are some pictures in hopes of doing a better job.
Wishes of an equally AWESOME week to you! And go watch Step Brothers for me because I just kept repeating "this is the best week EVER!" in Will Farrel's voice. and it really was! Looking forward to hearing more back from other schools and starting Spanish classes 4 days a week this week.

Is she normally this pale?

Every time I think I am going to get better at blogging, something absurd gets in my way. I had a lovely birthday celebration with all my friends in Madrid. It was really awesome. Literally everyone I know in this city was able to join us. Cande (my roommate) had some friends in town so the afternoon of my birthday, we took them to a traditional Spanish place and had awesome food. We headed to a literary cafe for a glass of wine and then came by the house to get dressed for dinner. 17 of us met up at this Mexican restaurant. Other than the queso being incredibly disappointing, the meal was WONDERFUL. The rest of the night was random and a lot of fun. Beatriz, one of the members of my Biolase family here, even surprised me and showed up! It was a great time.
Monday came too soon and by Tuesday I was sick as a dog and feeling like death. I barely survived the entire day of work, but somehow I managed. One of the teachers visiting the school with a group of British students, looked at me then back at my boss and said, "Is she normally this pale?" in her little British accent. That's when I knew I was really sick. Today, I was suppose to go to Segovia on a field trip with all of them but that totally didn't happen. I have the worse case of tonsillitis I've ever had and could barely swallow when I woke up this morning. After much rest, I was able to make it to the ER to ask for antibiotics. With Rx in hand and Amoxicilin in my system, I am already feeling a lot better. Not sure yet if I will try to go to work tomorrow or not, but regardless I certainly have a weekend of rest and taking it easy ahead of me. Nothing makes me miss Mom and home more than being sick. It's really awful to feel so miserable. I think the worst is over though thankfully!
I have submitted 14 law school applications and that feels really great. I still have some work ahead of me on applications but Ive got a best friend coming next week and a vacation to the Canary Islands to look forward to!!