I finally got some photos up on the site! It went pretty slow though and it is kind of difficult to manage them here so I think maybe I'll only put a few up here and put the rest up on dotphoto.com - I'll try to get the log in information to you guys so that you can go there to view all my photos if you want to. It has been a while since I did a journal entry and there is a lot to catch you up on. I have now actually seen La Sagrada Familia. It was absolutely amazing! Everything is done in such detail and every part of it has meaning. The number of toweres, every statue, everything is symbolic of something from the Bible! It was also really cool to learn about how much Gaudi incorporated nature into his designes - the columns inside are like tree trunks, the stairs spiral like a shell, some of his designs even resemble the insides of diatoms! The wall over the back door of La Sagrada Familia is filled with statues representing different stories from the Bible. There is one representing the nativity complete with shepards and wise men! I just sat for 15-20 minutes and tried to find all the ones I knew. There are statues of fruit and flowers on the towers and they are all decorated with Venician glass! It reminded me of what mom does with the pots - she would have loved it! The stained glass windows are incredible and the main hall is huge! The whole place is under construction constantly, but not even all the scafolding and cranes could destract from the beauty of the place. I also visited one of Gaudi's other masterpeices - Parque Guelle. It is a beautiful park that has buildings and structures done by Gaudi. I think he actually designed the layout of the whole park, but i am not sure. There were fountains and caves and all kinds of cool things! My favorite spot was under one of the bridges. There was a man there sitting on a stool and playing the guitar. It was such beautiful music! He had CDs so I bought one for dad though I haven't figured out yet how I am going to get it to him. Maybe I can e-mail you guys the songs some how. Anyways, life is good here. I still miss everyone, but it doesn't make me so sad anymore as it did in the beginning. The one thing I kept thinking in the first few days was - what have I done? I was so lonely and I missed everyone so much! I used to dream about just getting on a plane and coming home! Nine months is a long time! I still can't get used to the idea. My host family is really great though! I feel like part of the family. My room is on the top floor. I sleep on the top of a bunk bed. There is a desk, a bathroom, and a nice little patio. I have a lot of privacy up there and can go there if I ever just want to be alone to rest or study or whatever. Every night the whole family has dinner together around 10PM. This is the best time for me to practice speaking Spanish and to socialize with the family. We have lots of fun talking about our days, about differences between our countries, and joking around. They are very funny and we have fun:) The girls ride horses nearby and the dad wants to be a cowboy like John Wayne! They are all going to go on a big trail ride in October and they invited me to come. This weekend they are going on a little mini vacation before school starts and they have invited me to go on that too! God has blessed me so much by putting me with this family! Well, I know there's more, but this is already so long I think I'll save the rest for another time! -Mikahla