Productivity - Life's #1 Morale Booster

Woo-Hoo for being productive! There's nothing like riding an adrenaline high to really make your outlook on the world oh so much better.

I got so much accomplished today, that I really feel the need to tell the world. And by the world, I mean those two or three people who actually read this blog. :)

So things started out fairly normal. Got up for class as usual. However, things began to get really productive at the break between classes when I decided to take my current situation in my own hands. (of course, I've gotta give some credit to those few friends who also gave me a lot of encouragement to do so)

So I went and talked to Ernesto, my program director, about the stolen Alcala student ID. At the beginning of the program, we were told that losing the ID would mean paying 100 euros to have it replaced. And ladies and gentlement, I was most definitely not excited about doing that, especially when the exchange rate made it about 170 American dollars. Sick. So Ernesto tells me that if I go to the police and file a report and bring it to the school, I won't have to pay. Hooray for me. However, I don't get to go to the local police. Oh no. Not even the Madrid Community police. No, I had to go to the big daddies, the Policia Nacional. One step below the military. (or so I assume, haha) And let me tell you, these guys are kind of intimidating. However, I used my spanish and filed my police report and got everything taken care of. So now I have a Spanish police record! How many people can say that?! :)

So do I have to pay for the student ID? NO! And that is good enough news for me.

Oh, but just wait. I'm not even finished yet.

I made my way up to Madrid to go to the Western Union that my parents used to wire me some money, and man was that ever a fiasco. First of all, we had been told that I had to have two forms of ID in order to pick up my money, which, thanks to some asshole spanish pickpocket, I no longer have. So I had to bring Hannah into the mix so that my parents could send the money to her.

So we get to Calle O'Donnell where this place was supposed to be. But according to the western union (that's right, they no longer get capital letters from me) website, they were only open until 5. So naturally Hannah and I stroll up to the area around 4:45 and still don't really have a clue where to go. So we take off sprinting through the city to find it before it closed. And did I mention that the temperature was around 110 degrees today? Oh, well it was.

So we finally get there right at 5 only to see that, nope, they aren't closing, and nope, we can't get our money there. Great.

So we make our way to the REAL place we needed to go to, sign in, get my money, and head out. Of course, I've gotta mention that I was super paranoid about guarding my money until I got it home safely tucked far away from any possible thieves.

Oh, and of course they ended up only asking us for one form of ID. So I didn't even need to drag Hannah along on any of this. Wow, did I feel (and still do feel) like a jerk for that one. What a good friend Hannah is. Not sure what I would do without her. (you raised a good one, Mr. Sharp!) haha

Regardless, the fact that I have money now is very, very good news.

Okay, so in my state of blissful productivity euphoria, I have decided to announce to everyone still reading my exciting new life plans! Because if you've made it this far, you deserve to get this, right?

So there is a program at my school, the Universidad de Alcala, for a Masters in Language, Literature, and Culture of the Hispanic World. Which is really perfect for what I want to do! I want to work in international marketing, which demands a very strong knowledge of the language and culture you want to work in. So could there be a more perfect masters program? I think not.

But it gets better! There is an option to teach English in the Madrid schools that would pay the entire tuition, a stipend for room and board, and a partial stipend for the flight over. So I could be getting paid to go to school for a year in Spain! And I would get to mold the lives of little future Spaniards (and maybe teach them the perks of deodorant at an early age). How awesome would that be?

Even better, a couple of my friends are seriously considering it as well, so we're thinking about coming back over here and living together to make rent cheaper.

Man, I'm getting all excited just thinking about it!

Of course, I would want to go back to the US to get my MBA, but with a Masters in Spanish language and culture and a Masters of Business, I can't imagine getting any less than an incredible job, right?

Feel free to give me your opinion against this. But just know that any anti-Masters in Spain remarks will be met with extreme animosity and hatred. :) Just kidding.

Kind of.