in the name of love.

If you scroll back to a few posts ago, where I gave you photographic representations about things I was thinking about, you will be able to scroll to the picture of my friend Elisabeth (she is in the black and war paint).

I bring this up for two reasons. 1. she was here this weekend and it was unbelievable. 2. you will be able to see how many other pictures you had to scroll past in that post -- meaning I have done a lot of stuff and my time here is almost up (insert yell of excitement for coming home / fear of not being able to adjust to normal life... however you think that might sound).

Elisabeth Elliott, friend from Wake Forest and Camp DeSoto, all around classy lady, and referenced in the paragraph above, came to see me in Galway this weekend. She shimmied on over on Thursday night from Granada, Spain, where she is estudiaring for the semester.

I am still trying to process and verbalize (or type-a-lize in this case) how it was for her to be here this weekend. It was just so good. I was saying to her that I am glad that she came at the very end of the semester because I might have abandoned ship had she come earlier. And by ship I mean Ireland. Don't get me wrong, I have loved it here and have met some wonderful friends. BUT being with Elisabeth, I was just so relaxed and felt understood. We both know what it is like to be from the South, from Wake Forest, from Camp DeSoto and to be away from it all by ourselves for four months. We understand each other and love each other and had so much fun.
Ok, sappiness aside, as far as our agenda went for this weekend -- nothing too crazy went down. We hung out in my apartment, on the streets of Galway, in a Cathedral, in the market, in a cafe, in bookstores, at the university, in pubs, at a bus station, at a friend's house, and in a really romantic restaurant. We ate a lot of food, we listened to a lot of music. We laughed a lot.

On Saturday during the day she went on a bus tour of the Cliffs with her friend from home, who happened to be in Galway at the same time (rando), while i worked on a paper (blah). And on Saturday night we went to my friends' house for a Christmas party where we had mulled pies and minced wine... wait, is that right? The bus we were waiting for to get to the party decided not to come. We were very cold. But singing Bono at the bus stop at least warmed our spirits. We caught the next bus. The party was fun. Here is a picture of us there taken by Hannah. Elisabeth left this morning. Now (after I finish this blog, now) I am writing a really painful history paper so I can turn it in on Tuesday and head to Spain on Wednesday. The life I lead. History papers are painful, but are bearable when cushioned by a visit from a friend and a trip to Spain on either side.

I am going to Salamanca, Spain for three days and will visit my friends Kelsey, Austin, and Susan. I will be there on their last days in Spain, so things could be crazy. I am staying at a pretty sweet hostel that Elisabeth was kind enough to call and book for me while she was here. Let's just say that after studying in Spain for a semester, her Spanish is stronger than mine, go figure.

A heads up for why you may never see me again -- getting there and away from Salamanca might be a little challenging. Let me just say that I have a few crazy flight times, a few long bus rides, an ornery cellphone, and do not speak Spanish. We will roll the dice on this one. Fingers crossed. Where is Scooch Roobs to help his family in Spanish-speaking countries when you need him? (ps - cousin reunion in less than 2 weeks!!!!).