I don’t think I have had the opportunity to blogg about my Padre. Well, his name is Luis, and he might just be the crankiest old man in Spain. The only thing he ever says is Hola to Sarah and me. All day and he sits in the TV room and watches soccer. Last night he got pretty excited and started shouting at the TV. That’s probably the most emotion I have seen from this man. Every lunch he eats a pork filet and an apple. Our Madre cooks all this these different types of foods, and all he ever eats is pork. Sometimes I see him go out for a smoke, but he really does not do much else. I almost forgot, whenever Lucia and Yolanda are over, they are the grandchildren, he always complains about how much noise they make and how their toys are everywhere. I wonder how old people get so cranky, because Luis just seems so unhappy. Our Madre said that he has always been kind of a stick in the mud. I almost feel a little bad for her because she is such a funny old lady and loves to make jokes. One morning I did not feel like putting on pants for breakfast so I just wrapped a blanket around me. She came into the kitchen and started laughing. She told me my skirt was que guapa!!
The weather has been warming here so that’s good. I finished all the Nutella in the house, but I did find a store that carries peanut butter. That was probably the highlight of my day on Monday. I am off to Barcelona this weekend. It takes 11 hours to get there on the bus, ugh!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
LOS CUATROS TOROS
Colleen, Sarah and I all decided we would dress up as fairy princesses for the carnival at Ciudad Rodrigo. We found the wings, wands and boas at a chino shop. We though it would be pretty easy to just wear normal clothes under our wings just in case nobody else dressed up. Alex dressed as an eighties girl with hot pink legging and plenty of sweat bands. We got to the bus station pretty earlier. Nobody was dressed up, so I was pretty glad we did not have our fairy accessories on yet, but our eighties girl Alex felt a little awkward in her gear. As more people showed up for the bus to Ciudad Rodrigo, we saw more and more costumes.
Our bus left at 9:15 and it was packed with people our age all ready to go celebrate at the carnival. We got to Ciudad in about an hour and everyone swarmed off the bus to get return tickets to Salamanca. We put on our fairy wings in the bus station. When I went to get my boa out of the bag, I realized that instead of buying a boa I had bought a bright pink feather cap thing. It was outrageous, but I made it work by putting my tiara on top. I looked like fool, but I guess all the other carnival people thought it was funny because they started taking pictures of my ridiculous hat.
Our group of ten or so left the bus station and headed for the center of town. We walked by fair rides and venders that would be opened later in the day. We reached the center of town to find the main plaza completely covered in sand with makeshift wooden bleachers set up around the buildings. We assumed this would be for the bullfight later in the day. Walking around through the city, we saw some pretty interesting costumes. There were a group of turkeys, knights, people dressed as the pink ladies from Greece, a joker, cowboys, tigers, anything you could think of there was probably someone dressed up as it.
The running of the bulls and the pre-show to the bullfight started at noon. We got seats and sat and watched as the bulls came running in from the gates. A bunch of people were running in front of them, so we saw this swarm of people running, then we heard the bells from the steers necks, and the steers came running into the arena. There were five steers and two bulls for this part of the show. This part of the festival was kind of a free for all with the bulls. Anyone could jump down from the stands and go provoke the bulls or hit the bulls. In fact the boys from our group, went down into the arena to get some one on one time with the bulls. William made some passes running by the bull and hitting its back. When he came back into the stands, he said that up close the bulls were more terrified by the people than they were angry or hostile. I felt bad for the bull. This free for all against the bull just looked like pure torture. The bull was getting exhausted and people just kept trying to provoke the bull. At one point they even got a rope out and tried tying up the bulls feet so he would fall over. One girl in our group, who was heavily intoxicated got really upset by the bull tormenting. I have to agree it was pretty cruel treatment of a harmless animal.
After the free for all we cleared the arena. The bullfight did not start until 4:30, so we had some time to walk around the streets and watch the drunken people in costume make fools of themselves. Tickets to the bullfight were 10 euros. The stands were packed so I pretty much felt like I was sitting on top of random Spaniards. The bullfight started with a procession of all the matadors, the ceremonial leader, and all these women dressed up with lace vales. As the procession cleared the arena, the matadors took their places behind the doors around the arena. The drums and bells from the tower started clanging and the first bull was released in the arena. The matadors stepped out from behind the doors and started provoking the bull by waving their capes. After the bull had been provoked, the main matador stepped our with the traditional red cape. He danced around the bull for a couple minutes. Then a horse that was completely covered and blind folded entered the arena. The horse carried a man who was holding giant spear. This man delivered the first wound to the bull. The bull would charge the horse and then the man would spear the bull in the back. After the first wound was delivered, the horse left the arena. Two other matadors then came out holding two spears each that were covered in white fabric. These matadors would run up to the bull one at a time and stab him in the back. The spears would stick in the bull and cause him to bleed profusely. The main matador then entered again. This time he performed closer to the bull, drawing the bull in with cape and then tricking him as the bull ran through the cape. If the matador was good, the bull became very tired and would stumble and fall through the cape. When the drums started again the matador changed his sword, signaling this as the final wound to the bull. The matador had to stick the bull in the back with the sword. The hard part was that the sword had to go all the way into the bull and stay there. The first matador did this without any trouble. The sword stuck in the bull and the bull started bleeding from the mouth. The bull fell down at this point and one of the matadors came over with a smaller knife and stuck it in the bull’s brains to make him die faster. The bull was then dragged away by the horses, and another bull would come out to fight.
There were four bullfights in all, each with a different main matador. All the fights followed the same pattern. The first and second and forth matador were very good and had no problem defeating the bull. The third matador was very young, and it took him several attempts to get the sword through the bulls back. We learned from the Spaniards sitting behind us that if the matador did a good job he was given an ear from the bull, if he did an excellent job he was given two ears, and if he was amazing he was given both ears and a horn from the bull. The last matador got both ears and the first and second got one ear. Sadly, the youngest matador did not receive any token for killing the bull because it took him to many tries.
I thought this was pretty gruesome, but I am glad I got to experience this unique Spanish tradition. I felt sorry for the bulls, but I did learn that the meat from the bull was given to homeless shelters and orphanages. We walked around some of the carnival rides and through the street venders as we headed back to the bus. All he riders looked like fair rides, cheesey and unsafe. Nobody wanted to take a chance, we were all ready to go back to Salamanca and our Madres.
Our bus left at 9:15 and it was packed with people our age all ready to go celebrate at the carnival. We got to Ciudad in about an hour and everyone swarmed off the bus to get return tickets to Salamanca. We put on our fairy wings in the bus station. When I went to get my boa out of the bag, I realized that instead of buying a boa I had bought a bright pink feather cap thing. It was outrageous, but I made it work by putting my tiara on top. I looked like fool, but I guess all the other carnival people thought it was funny because they started taking pictures of my ridiculous hat.
Our group of ten or so left the bus station and headed for the center of town. We walked by fair rides and venders that would be opened later in the day. We reached the center of town to find the main plaza completely covered in sand with makeshift wooden bleachers set up around the buildings. We assumed this would be for the bullfight later in the day. Walking around through the city, we saw some pretty interesting costumes. There were a group of turkeys, knights, people dressed as the pink ladies from Greece, a joker, cowboys, tigers, anything you could think of there was probably someone dressed up as it.
The running of the bulls and the pre-show to the bullfight started at noon. We got seats and sat and watched as the bulls came running in from the gates. A bunch of people were running in front of them, so we saw this swarm of people running, then we heard the bells from the steers necks, and the steers came running into the arena. There were five steers and two bulls for this part of the show. This part of the festival was kind of a free for all with the bulls. Anyone could jump down from the stands and go provoke the bulls or hit the bulls. In fact the boys from our group, went down into the arena to get some one on one time with the bulls. William made some passes running by the bull and hitting its back. When he came back into the stands, he said that up close the bulls were more terrified by the people than they were angry or hostile. I felt bad for the bull. This free for all against the bull just looked like pure torture. The bull was getting exhausted and people just kept trying to provoke the bull. At one point they even got a rope out and tried tying up the bulls feet so he would fall over. One girl in our group, who was heavily intoxicated got really upset by the bull tormenting. I have to agree it was pretty cruel treatment of a harmless animal.
After the free for all we cleared the arena. The bullfight did not start until 4:30, so we had some time to walk around the streets and watch the drunken people in costume make fools of themselves. Tickets to the bullfight were 10 euros. The stands were packed so I pretty much felt like I was sitting on top of random Spaniards. The bullfight started with a procession of all the matadors, the ceremonial leader, and all these women dressed up with lace vales. As the procession cleared the arena, the matadors took their places behind the doors around the arena. The drums and bells from the tower started clanging and the first bull was released in the arena. The matadors stepped out from behind the doors and started provoking the bull by waving their capes. After the bull had been provoked, the main matador stepped our with the traditional red cape. He danced around the bull for a couple minutes. Then a horse that was completely covered and blind folded entered the arena. The horse carried a man who was holding giant spear. This man delivered the first wound to the bull. The bull would charge the horse and then the man would spear the bull in the back. After the first wound was delivered, the horse left the arena. Two other matadors then came out holding two spears each that were covered in white fabric. These matadors would run up to the bull one at a time and stab him in the back. The spears would stick in the bull and cause him to bleed profusely. The main matador then entered again. This time he performed closer to the bull, drawing the bull in with cape and then tricking him as the bull ran through the cape. If the matador was good, the bull became very tired and would stumble and fall through the cape. When the drums started again the matador changed his sword, signaling this as the final wound to the bull. The matador had to stick the bull in the back with the sword. The hard part was that the sword had to go all the way into the bull and stay there. The first matador did this without any trouble. The sword stuck in the bull and the bull started bleeding from the mouth. The bull fell down at this point and one of the matadors came over with a smaller knife and stuck it in the bull’s brains to make him die faster. The bull was then dragged away by the horses, and another bull would come out to fight.
There were four bullfights in all, each with a different main matador. All the fights followed the same pattern. The first and second and forth matador were very good and had no problem defeating the bull. The third matador was very young, and it took him several attempts to get the sword through the bulls back. We learned from the Spaniards sitting behind us that if the matador did a good job he was given an ear from the bull, if he did an excellent job he was given two ears, and if he was amazing he was given both ears and a horn from the bull. The last matador got both ears and the first and second got one ear. Sadly, the youngest matador did not receive any token for killing the bull because it took him to many tries.
I thought this was pretty gruesome, but I am glad I got to experience this unique Spanish tradition. I felt sorry for the bulls, but I did learn that the meat from the bull was given to homeless shelters and orphanages. We walked around some of the carnival rides and through the street venders as we headed back to the bus. All he riders looked like fair rides, cheesey and unsafe. Nobody wanted to take a chance, we were all ready to go back to Salamanca and our Madres.
Friday, February 20, 2009
BIENVENIDOS AL NORTE
Last night Jesus took us to the movies. We saw a comedy called Bienvenidos al Norte. This was a French movie, but everyone spoke in Spanish, how strange. The movies are pretty much the same as the States. There was popcorn and snacks at the entrance, and of course there was loud noisy people that sit in the back row of the theater. Only in Spain nobody really says anything if you are being rude during the movie. It was so frustrating because these teenage kids were taking pictures (with a flash), laughing and giggling all throughout the movie. I was hopping the old people sitting in front of them would say something, but they just sat there and pretended like they could not here it.
The movie was pretty funny and very easy to follow. The main character kind of reminded me of Bean. He was a tall lanky man that was very good at making a situation comically awkward.
The weather has been warming up in Salamanca. Thank goodness, I though we would never get past that gloomy, misty crap the first two weeks. All with warm weather, come street musicians. On my walk back from class I usually see a violinist and his dog, a group of drummers and an accordion or two. The music really brightens my day and reminds me what a great adventure I am having. This weekend is a big weekend for carnivals in Salamanca and the neighboring cities. I am headed to Ciudad Rodrigo on Saturday, which is about an hour away, to watch the running of the bulls and any other carnival festivities. Apparently you have to dress up for these carnivals, so some how need to through together a costume.
The movie was pretty funny and very easy to follow. The main character kind of reminded me of Bean. He was a tall lanky man that was very good at making a situation comically awkward.
The weather has been warming up in Salamanca. Thank goodness, I though we would never get past that gloomy, misty crap the first two weeks. All with warm weather, come street musicians. On my walk back from class I usually see a violinist and his dog, a group of drummers and an accordion or two. The music really brightens my day and reminds me what a great adventure I am having. This weekend is a big weekend for carnivals in Salamanca and the neighboring cities. I am headed to Ciudad Rodrigo on Saturday, which is about an hour away, to watch the running of the bulls and any other carnival festivities. Apparently you have to dress up for these carnivals, so some how need to through together a costume.
ECHO DE MENOS
As much as I love being in Spain and seeing and exploring all that’s around me, there are definitely a lot of things I really miss. I really miss living in my own place. Our Madre is really nice and we really don’t have any rules here, but I really miss having my own space, and my own room. I also really miss not being able to make my own food. Everything is always prepared for us and we always have to wait for it to be ready. As lame and boring as it sounds, I would kill to make my own turkey sandwich for lunch.
Of course I miss my family, but I am getting really excited because they are coming in three weeks. I miss Tim a ton, beard and all. I miss my roommates, but I don’t really miss our poopy apartment right now, haha. I wish everyone could come a visit me, even if it was only for a day. I really need to invent a device like they have at the banks for the drive through. But instead of transferring money through the tube it transfers people. It would take less time than flying and it would be free!
Other things I miss:
Target, Peanut butter, cereal, normal skim milk, long showers, paper towels, the dryer, my bed and pillows, English books/magazines, raw veges, the news, diet coke, ice cream, the internet, the radio, and ice
I am sure I could think of a million more things to this list, but this is a good start.
Of course I miss my family, but I am getting really excited because they are coming in three weeks. I miss Tim a ton, beard and all. I miss my roommates, but I don’t really miss our poopy apartment right now, haha. I wish everyone could come a visit me, even if it was only for a day. I really need to invent a device like they have at the banks for the drive through. But instead of transferring money through the tube it transfers people. It would take less time than flying and it would be free!
Other things I miss:
Target, Peanut butter, cereal, normal skim milk, long showers, paper towels, the dryer, my bed and pillows, English books/magazines, raw veges, the news, diet coke, ice cream, the internet, the radio, and ice
I am sure I could think of a million more things to this list, but this is a good start.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
MADRID Day 3
Our last day in Madrid started with same amazing breakfast. After gorging ourselves, we put all of our stuff on the bus and headed to a town outside of Madrid called Escorial. This town had a monastery and palace. It was not the most exciting place, but the town was pretty cute very, touristy though.
The monastery had a huge courtyard, gardens and had a great view of some snow capped mountains. Jesus took us on another personal tour. There were several other groups of students mostly Spanish students taking tours as well. At one point Jesus got mad at the Spanish students because they were being so loud and interrupting our tour. He called them uneducated and ignorant. The monastery/palace was nowhere near as ornately decorated as the Palacio Real. There were some cool paintings and maps, but I would have much rather stayed in Madrid and explored more of the city.
After our long and semi-boring tour, we were given free time to explore and get lunch. We wondered around Scoria looking for restaurant that served non-Spanish food. It came down to a Chinese place and Italian place. Italian won over, and I enjoyed a giant plate of grilled veges.
Everyone met at the bus at 3:30 and we headed back to Salamanca. I really enjoyed Madrid, and I would love to go back and explore more of the city. Also I hardly spent a euro in Madrid! Jesus gave us 40 euros for the weekend for food. I only spent 5 euros of my own money on postcards. Sadly I did not make it to a grocery store to buy peanut butter. I will be back in 23 days to collect my parents from the airport, so we will be making a pit stop!
The monastery had a huge courtyard, gardens and had a great view of some snow capped mountains. Jesus took us on another personal tour. There were several other groups of students mostly Spanish students taking tours as well. At one point Jesus got mad at the Spanish students because they were being so loud and interrupting our tour. He called them uneducated and ignorant. The monastery/palace was nowhere near as ornately decorated as the Palacio Real. There were some cool paintings and maps, but I would have much rather stayed in Madrid and explored more of the city.
After our long and semi-boring tour, we were given free time to explore and get lunch. We wondered around Scoria looking for restaurant that served non-Spanish food. It came down to a Chinese place and Italian place. Italian won over, and I enjoyed a giant plate of grilled veges.
Everyone met at the bus at 3:30 and we headed back to Salamanca. I really enjoyed Madrid, and I would love to go back and explore more of the city. Also I hardly spent a euro in Madrid! Jesus gave us 40 euros for the weekend for food. I only spent 5 euros of my own money on postcards. Sadly I did not make it to a grocery store to buy peanut butter. I will be back in 23 days to collect my parents from the airport, so we will be making a pit stop!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
MADRID Day 2
If you thought yesterday was a jam-packed day, just wait. On Saturday we did even more. We started our day with breakfast at the hotel. Oh my Goodness! This breakfast was amazing. I was just happy they had cereal, but there was every kind of fruit you could imagine: strawberries, kiwis, plums, mango, guava, grapes, grapefruit, oranges, pears, apples, pineapples, figs, and some tropical fruits I have never seen. I think that’s all of the fresh fruit, but there was also an entire spread of dried fruit. There was also practically any kind of pastry you could dream of. Of course breakfast in Spain is not complete without ham. There was about six different types of cold ham and then a plate of hot ham products. There were empanadas, Spanish tortilla, eggs, sausage, and croquets. I am probably leaving something out, but this breakfast was impressive. We eat lunch here too, but you will have to wait to hear about that divine feast.
After breakfast we were off to the Palacio Real. This was a palace built during the 18th century. The palace had over 13,000 rooms, so it was quite large. We got off the bus to find ourselves surrounded by beautiful statues of all the Spanish kings. The palace seemed to stretch forever as we walked up to the entrance to get our tickets. Once inside the golden gates, we walked across the courtyard, which was probably the size of two football fields. One side of the courtyard had the front entrance to the palace. Two sides of the courtyard had massive archway halls, and the last side had a gate in front of what I think was a church. We entered the palace through the front entrance. We got a tour of the palace from a guide, and we got to wear these super sweet earpiece things so we could hear the guide from far away. I was really disappointed that we could not take pictures in the palace because it was absolutely incredible, but the security guards were pretty strict about the cameras. In fact, if they saw a camera they would come up to you and tell you no, even if you had not taken a picture. I did sneak a few, but only inside the armory room. The palace was so ornately decorated. Each room we walked through had its own unique theme. The guide told us one room had taken 15 years to complete because of the detail of the ceiling and hand paintings on the wall. One room was called the porcelain room. All of the walls and ceilings were covered in porcelain vines, flowers, and angles. The halls in the palace were massive too. If I had lived here, I would have roller-skated down the giant corridors. Our tour guide was really good too. He spoke all in Spanish, but everyone could understand him, and he was really good at explaining the history behind each of the rooms.
After the tour we were given free time to explore the courtyard, take pictures and visit the gift shops. One side of the Palace was open and you could look down are the surrounding city. On this side there just so happened to be a peacock walking around. We learned that Spanish word for peacock is Pavo Real. On this same side was the collection of armory. There were so many different suits of armor. There were lances, shields, swords, and helmets galore. There were also suits of armor for children too.
Once we were done exploring the armory rooms we took pictures in the courtyard. It was a gorgeous day, so the pics came out really good. Check out facebook for all of my pictures. We left the castle around 12 and headed for the Museum of Queen Sofia. This museum housed all the famous modern art works, including Guernica. Jesus took us through the museum showing us some famous painting by Dali and Picasso. When we walked into the room with Guernica, I think my heart stopped beating. The painting was so powerful and depicted such a horrible scene. I could almost feel the destruction as I looked at this painting. We got free time to wonder around the museum after Jesus was done giving us his tour. I found some more paintings by Dali and Picasso. I also found a sculpture room with all these super modern looking pieces of twisted metal. I reunited with the group around 2:30 and we headed back to the hotel for our three-course lunch.
Oh my, Lunch, Lunch, Lunch. I was famished at this point, so I was eagerly awaiting what was in store for us. The first course they brought out was a tomato mozzarella salad with shrimp. It was divine, absolutely scrumptious. The second course was roast duck with apples. The roasted apples really made this dish. For dessert we had tiramisu. It was probably the best tiramisu I have ever had. I was sitting next to William, one of the four boys in our group, and he is obsessed with desserts and chocolate. By obsessed, I mean he likes to scarf them down as fast as possible. This doesn’t make sense to me, because I like to enjoy my desserts. I timed how long it took William to eat his tiramisu. His plate was clean in 1 minute and 32 seconds, and then he started eying other peoples desserts to see if they were going to finish. I am surprised he could even taste the tiramisu!
Lunch was wonderful. I wish we had kind of food all the time. After lunch we had the rest of the afternoon free to our selves. I went off with a group of girls to explore other parts of Madrid. We took the metro to get down into the center of the city and then we walked to the Plaza Mayor. Compared to Salamanca’s plaza, Madrid’s was huge. There were so many people there too, sitting at outdoor cafes or watching the dressed up performers. There were so many people dressed up performing for money. Their costumes were really something else. There was a wizard, a flamenco dancer, some guy that looked an ax murderer, and people covered in clay. We walked from the plaza to a giant park. This park was so pretty, and it was the perfect time of day to take pictures. The trees in this park looked like broccoli stalks and all the bushes were groomed and arranged in fancy little designs. We walked around the huge park for a while and then discovered a lake. There were people paddling around the lake on little boats that you could rent. There were also a ton of couples sitting all on the grass making out. It was Valentines Day, so I guess that’s acceptable, but some of these Spaniards were really going at it. We found a spot to sit on a wall overlooking the lake. There just so happened to be a drum band playing, and we met some people from Canada, who were studying abroad in Madrid.
We past a Kabob café on the way back to the metro station, so we all eat some delicious falafels for dinner. One of girls on the trip got in a discussion with the Kabob waiter about American falafels. The Kabob guy said in America falafels are shit because they are not made by Turkish people. Andrea said they tasted better in America. The conversation went back and forth as Andrea tried to explain that were Turkish people in America and the Kabob kept refuting her. He probably thought we were just dumb Americans. We headed back to the hotel to get ready to go out. We ended up going to a club called Joy, but the cover charge for the guys was 15 euros. We did not want to leave the boys out, so we found another club called Cibeles that only had a 5 euro cover. We head a fun night of dancing, and got a cab back to the hotel around 3.
After breakfast we were off to the Palacio Real. This was a palace built during the 18th century. The palace had over 13,000 rooms, so it was quite large. We got off the bus to find ourselves surrounded by beautiful statues of all the Spanish kings. The palace seemed to stretch forever as we walked up to the entrance to get our tickets. Once inside the golden gates, we walked across the courtyard, which was probably the size of two football fields. One side of the courtyard had the front entrance to the palace. Two sides of the courtyard had massive archway halls, and the last side had a gate in front of what I think was a church. We entered the palace through the front entrance. We got a tour of the palace from a guide, and we got to wear these super sweet earpiece things so we could hear the guide from far away. I was really disappointed that we could not take pictures in the palace because it was absolutely incredible, but the security guards were pretty strict about the cameras. In fact, if they saw a camera they would come up to you and tell you no, even if you had not taken a picture. I did sneak a few, but only inside the armory room. The palace was so ornately decorated. Each room we walked through had its own unique theme. The guide told us one room had taken 15 years to complete because of the detail of the ceiling and hand paintings on the wall. One room was called the porcelain room. All of the walls and ceilings were covered in porcelain vines, flowers, and angles. The halls in the palace were massive too. If I had lived here, I would have roller-skated down the giant corridors. Our tour guide was really good too. He spoke all in Spanish, but everyone could understand him, and he was really good at explaining the history behind each of the rooms.
After the tour we were given free time to explore the courtyard, take pictures and visit the gift shops. One side of the Palace was open and you could look down are the surrounding city. On this side there just so happened to be a peacock walking around. We learned that Spanish word for peacock is Pavo Real. On this same side was the collection of armory. There were so many different suits of armor. There were lances, shields, swords, and helmets galore. There were also suits of armor for children too.
Once we were done exploring the armory rooms we took pictures in the courtyard. It was a gorgeous day, so the pics came out really good. Check out facebook for all of my pictures. We left the castle around 12 and headed for the Museum of Queen Sofia. This museum housed all the famous modern art works, including Guernica. Jesus took us through the museum showing us some famous painting by Dali and Picasso. When we walked into the room with Guernica, I think my heart stopped beating. The painting was so powerful and depicted such a horrible scene. I could almost feel the destruction as I looked at this painting. We got free time to wonder around the museum after Jesus was done giving us his tour. I found some more paintings by Dali and Picasso. I also found a sculpture room with all these super modern looking pieces of twisted metal. I reunited with the group around 2:30 and we headed back to the hotel for our three-course lunch.
Oh my, Lunch, Lunch, Lunch. I was famished at this point, so I was eagerly awaiting what was in store for us. The first course they brought out was a tomato mozzarella salad with shrimp. It was divine, absolutely scrumptious. The second course was roast duck with apples. The roasted apples really made this dish. For dessert we had tiramisu. It was probably the best tiramisu I have ever had. I was sitting next to William, one of the four boys in our group, and he is obsessed with desserts and chocolate. By obsessed, I mean he likes to scarf them down as fast as possible. This doesn’t make sense to me, because I like to enjoy my desserts. I timed how long it took William to eat his tiramisu. His plate was clean in 1 minute and 32 seconds, and then he started eying other peoples desserts to see if they were going to finish. I am surprised he could even taste the tiramisu!
Lunch was wonderful. I wish we had kind of food all the time. After lunch we had the rest of the afternoon free to our selves. I went off with a group of girls to explore other parts of Madrid. We took the metro to get down into the center of the city and then we walked to the Plaza Mayor. Compared to Salamanca’s plaza, Madrid’s was huge. There were so many people there too, sitting at outdoor cafes or watching the dressed up performers. There were so many people dressed up performing for money. Their costumes were really something else. There was a wizard, a flamenco dancer, some guy that looked an ax murderer, and people covered in clay. We walked from the plaza to a giant park. This park was so pretty, and it was the perfect time of day to take pictures. The trees in this park looked like broccoli stalks and all the bushes were groomed and arranged in fancy little designs. We walked around the huge park for a while and then discovered a lake. There were people paddling around the lake on little boats that you could rent. There were also a ton of couples sitting all on the grass making out. It was Valentines Day, so I guess that’s acceptable, but some of these Spaniards were really going at it. We found a spot to sit on a wall overlooking the lake. There just so happened to be a drum band playing, and we met some people from Canada, who were studying abroad in Madrid.
We past a Kabob café on the way back to the metro station, so we all eat some delicious falafels for dinner. One of girls on the trip got in a discussion with the Kabob waiter about American falafels. The Kabob guy said in America falafels are shit because they are not made by Turkish people. Andrea said they tasted better in America. The conversation went back and forth as Andrea tried to explain that were Turkish people in America and the Kabob kept refuting her. He probably thought we were just dumb Americans. We headed back to the hotel to get ready to go out. We ended up going to a club called Joy, but the cover charge for the guys was 15 euros. We did not want to leave the boys out, so we found another club called Cibeles that only had a 5 euro cover. We head a fun night of dancing, and got a cab back to the hotel around 3.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Madrid Day 1
First off, what a weekend! We fit so many museums, palaces, shows and everything else into about two and a half days. I am so exhausted, but it’s a very fulfilling tired. I feel like I have gained some much cultural knowledge of Spanish history. Before I start describing every last little detail of my excursion to Madrid, I want everyone to know what Guernica is. Guernica is probably one of the most famous paintings by Pablo Picasso. He pained this work during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. This painting, or should I more of a mural, holds both artistic and political significance. Google it to find out more! It was so cool to see in person.
Now I will start. We left from Plaza G. G., as always, at 7 am on Friday morning. As usually the nightlife crowd was just headed back in from the clubs. We arrived in Madrid by 10:30 after making a stop for come café and los servicios. Our first stop on our museum tour was to el Museo del Prado. This museum was located in the heart of the city, and was surrounded by beautiful buildings and statues. As we waited for Jesus to get our tickets, we took in the glorious sunlight that would grace our entire weekend in Madrid.
The Museo del Prado was enormous. It housed a significant amount of all the paintings from the famous Spanish Artists like Velázquez, Greco, and Goya. Jesus took us around to all these paintings and explained the history behind these masterpieces. Velázquez painted for the royal families during his lifetime. He painted several family portraits, religious and mythological scenes. Greco, painted most religious works. The royal families did not care Greco’s brutal style of painting, so he was denied artistic patronage. Goya also painted for the royal family. My favorite of these three artists is Velázquez. His paintings are so detailed. They seem to jump off the canvas even though they were painted over 400 years ago.
After our first museum, we headed to our Hotel to check in and eat our lunches our Madres packed for us. The hotel we stayed at was Hotel Melia Galgos. It was like walking into heaven when we came through the front door. Everything was marble and glistening with luxury. Our rooms had wonderful pillows, a nice big bathroom and a shower with excellent water pressure. This is why I love the excursions, the fabulous hotels. Once again our Madre packed us a feast for twenty. She made us a Spanish tortilla bocadilla, packed us 5 pieces of fruit, a pastry, and a roll of cookies. I don’t think I left anything out. I shared with everyone like always. Everyone seems to be appreciative our of Madres massive lunches.
At four we left the hotel again and went to another museum. This one was called el Museo Thyssen. It had mostly paintings from the 19th century, including a lot of great impressionist pieces, which just so happen to be my favorite! I saw painting from Monet and Renoir. I even saw a few pieces from Picasso. The third floor of the museum was mostly dedicated to religious works. There were more paintings by Greco on this floor. I really enjoyed this museum, and thought it was really relaxing to wonder through the galleries by myself and look at the artwork.
Directly from the museum we headed to a show. We were all expecting some type of musical drama, like Jesus Christ Superstar, but that was not the case at all. The show we saw was called Momentum. It is hard to describe what I saw because it was such a sensory overload of everything. The best description I can come up with is a combination of Stomp, Cirque De Sole and Acapello singing. The cast of the show was incredibly talented. They preformed these amazing synchronized drumming and dancing routines. They also coordinated for several acapello skits. There was roller-skating, dancing, flashing lights, playing music with water and cups, beat boxing, and flamenco. On top of all that they did this one skit where they incorporated the audience into their show. They had the audience members beat box and then pull these different cords that kept coming down from the ceiling. Each of the cords from the ceiling had a different sound, so the people in the audience had to coordinate with the musicians on stage. It had a really cool effect in the end, and it was hilarious to see some of the older Spaniards get in touch with the beat. The beat boxing performer also came up to people in the audience and gave them the microphone so they could try their hand at beat boxing. An older lady got handed the mic she looked so shocked, and made this sound like a dying cow. I was sitting on the end of my row, so I kept thinking the guy was going to come back and hand me the mic. Thank god he didn’t. I don’t know what kind of sound would have come out of my mouth.
The show ended around 10, which in Spain equals dinner time. Each of us was given forty euros to pay for the three meals we had to eat on our own this weekend. The bus dropped us off at the hotel, and a group of us headed out in search of food. We found this restaurant called VIPS. It was kind of like a Panera, but a little different. I got a turkey burger and salad, which tasted nice and wonderfully American. Most of us stayed in on Friday night because we had a full day ahead of us packed with a tour of a palace and another museum. Stay tuned for more of Madrid!
Now I will start. We left from Plaza G. G., as always, at 7 am on Friday morning. As usually the nightlife crowd was just headed back in from the clubs. We arrived in Madrid by 10:30 after making a stop for come café and los servicios. Our first stop on our museum tour was to el Museo del Prado. This museum was located in the heart of the city, and was surrounded by beautiful buildings and statues. As we waited for Jesus to get our tickets, we took in the glorious sunlight that would grace our entire weekend in Madrid.
The Museo del Prado was enormous. It housed a significant amount of all the paintings from the famous Spanish Artists like Velázquez, Greco, and Goya. Jesus took us around to all these paintings and explained the history behind these masterpieces. Velázquez painted for the royal families during his lifetime. He painted several family portraits, religious and mythological scenes. Greco, painted most religious works. The royal families did not care Greco’s brutal style of painting, so he was denied artistic patronage. Goya also painted for the royal family. My favorite of these three artists is Velázquez. His paintings are so detailed. They seem to jump off the canvas even though they were painted over 400 years ago.
After our first museum, we headed to our Hotel to check in and eat our lunches our Madres packed for us. The hotel we stayed at was Hotel Melia Galgos. It was like walking into heaven when we came through the front door. Everything was marble and glistening with luxury. Our rooms had wonderful pillows, a nice big bathroom and a shower with excellent water pressure. This is why I love the excursions, the fabulous hotels. Once again our Madre packed us a feast for twenty. She made us a Spanish tortilla bocadilla, packed us 5 pieces of fruit, a pastry, and a roll of cookies. I don’t think I left anything out. I shared with everyone like always. Everyone seems to be appreciative our of Madres massive lunches.
At four we left the hotel again and went to another museum. This one was called el Museo Thyssen. It had mostly paintings from the 19th century, including a lot of great impressionist pieces, which just so happen to be my favorite! I saw painting from Monet and Renoir. I even saw a few pieces from Picasso. The third floor of the museum was mostly dedicated to religious works. There were more paintings by Greco on this floor. I really enjoyed this museum, and thought it was really relaxing to wonder through the galleries by myself and look at the artwork.
Directly from the museum we headed to a show. We were all expecting some type of musical drama, like Jesus Christ Superstar, but that was not the case at all. The show we saw was called Momentum. It is hard to describe what I saw because it was such a sensory overload of everything. The best description I can come up with is a combination of Stomp, Cirque De Sole and Acapello singing. The cast of the show was incredibly talented. They preformed these amazing synchronized drumming and dancing routines. They also coordinated for several acapello skits. There was roller-skating, dancing, flashing lights, playing music with water and cups, beat boxing, and flamenco. On top of all that they did this one skit where they incorporated the audience into their show. They had the audience members beat box and then pull these different cords that kept coming down from the ceiling. Each of the cords from the ceiling had a different sound, so the people in the audience had to coordinate with the musicians on stage. It had a really cool effect in the end, and it was hilarious to see some of the older Spaniards get in touch with the beat. The beat boxing performer also came up to people in the audience and gave them the microphone so they could try their hand at beat boxing. An older lady got handed the mic she looked so shocked, and made this sound like a dying cow. I was sitting on the end of my row, so I kept thinking the guy was going to come back and hand me the mic. Thank god he didn’t. I don’t know what kind of sound would have come out of my mouth.
The show ended around 10, which in Spain equals dinner time. Each of us was given forty euros to pay for the three meals we had to eat on our own this weekend. The bus dropped us off at the hotel, and a group of us headed out in search of food. We found this restaurant called VIPS. It was kind of like a Panera, but a little different. I got a turkey burger and salad, which tasted nice and wonderfully American. Most of us stayed in on Friday night because we had a full day ahead of us packed with a tour of a palace and another museum. Stay tuned for more of Madrid!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
ALMOST A MONTH
I have official been in Spain for four weeks. I can’t believe it. The first two weeks felt like I had been here for like two years, but now I feel like I know my schedule and my way around so time does not feel like it just standing still. I still get a little bored sometimes without the modern conveniences I have in America to occupy my time. I really miss all my stupid TV shows like Grey’s and Desperate, but I have found other activities to occupy my time, like adding on to my growing Spanish shoe collection.
I have gotten use to a lot of the Spanish customs, but I still feel like a total outsider at times, especially walking down the street. The Spaniards walk with such determination and confidence. They never side step to avoid other people on the street. They simply just stick to their path and have us foreigners weave in and out through the streets dodging others. Also Spaniards are so stylish. I might as well not try to compete with all model-looking girls I see with their boots in every color and their fabulous coats. It just makes me what to go shopping!
I am off to Madrid this weekend. Hopefully there will be absolutely no shopping there at all. I am only going to buy postcards. Our group will be going to about seven different museums and palaces in 2 days. We are also going to see another play. I can’t wait to see what our Madre packs us for lunch on Friday. It will probably be a bocadilla the size of our autobus!
I have gotten use to a lot of the Spanish customs, but I still feel like a total outsider at times, especially walking down the street. The Spaniards walk with such determination and confidence. They never side step to avoid other people on the street. They simply just stick to their path and have us foreigners weave in and out through the streets dodging others. Also Spaniards are so stylish. I might as well not try to compete with all model-looking girls I see with their boots in every color and their fabulous coats. It just makes me what to go shopping!
I am off to Madrid this weekend. Hopefully there will be absolutely no shopping there at all. I am only going to buy postcards. Our group will be going to about seven different museums and palaces in 2 days. We are also going to see another play. I can’t wait to see what our Madre packs us for lunch on Friday. It will probably be a bocadilla the size of our autobus!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
TAPAS
Last night we went out for Tapas. Tapas are kind of the American equivalent to appetizers. Everyone in the JMU group had a tapas night where Jesus paid for us to sample some traditional Spanish tapas. The first place we went to specialized in ham, what a freaking surprise. We had a sampling of ribs, sausage and lomo, which is a cut of ham from the back of a pig. This place was a little too hammy for me. I envied the two vegetarians that were in my group. They got some artichoke tapa, which looked a lot better than more ham. The next place we went to had a large variety of tapas. We started with some fried cheese ball things, calamari, Spanish tortilla. The Spanish tortilla is a variation of a quiche and an omelet. It has egg and potatoes and onions and it cooked like an omelet. These tapas were all very tasty, but the best tapa by far was the red pepper stuffed with Bacaloa, which is a type of salted fish. This was absolutely delicious. It came covered in the orange sauce, which was amazing, and there was absolutely no ham in it, which was equally astonishing!
MEXICO IN SPAIN
After our trip to Avila five of us decided we could not deny our craving for Mexican food any longer. We went back to the same restaurant we got turned away from the last time. This time it was not too late, so we got seated and started reading the mouthwatering menu. We ended up ordering a couple different entrées, so we could embrace as much of the spicy goodness as possible. We had an array of Nachos, Enchiladas, Burritos, and Quesadillas.
The restaurant satisfied my craving for Mexican food, but it was a far cry from the traditional Mexican restaurants I am use to in the States. First off, there was no never ending basket of chips and salsa, which was really disappointing. Secondly, we could not escape ham. There was ham in almost every dish we ordered. Like I said these Spaniards like to sneak ham into just about everything. I would not be surprised if the desert that Sarah and her boyfriend ordered had some trace of ham in it. I think I will need a very long break from ham and some really good Mexican food when I get back to the US.
The restaurant satisfied my craving for Mexican food, but it was a far cry from the traditional Mexican restaurants I am use to in the States. First off, there was no never ending basket of chips and salsa, which was really disappointing. Secondly, we could not escape ham. There was ham in almost every dish we ordered. Like I said these Spaniards like to sneak ham into just about everything. I would not be surprised if the desert that Sarah and her boyfriend ordered had some trace of ham in it. I think I will need a very long break from ham and some really good Mexican food when I get back to the US.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
O MIS YEMAS
Well, I got a heck of a lot more vegetables at dinner and no meat, so I guess she understood me. She made me a bowl of salad that would probably feed four people. It had apples, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, onions, and tuna in it. Of course she snuck some ham in there, but it was exactly what I wanted.
I am getting pretty convinced that Spaniards try to sneak ham into everything. Its always present in practically every dish we eat at our Madre’s house. Also about every block there is another carniceria showcasing these giant ham legs in the window. Ham is everywhere!
We had a free weekend this weekend, so about eight of us from the group decided to take a day trip to a town called Avila about an hour and half away. The bus stops there on its way to Madrid, and round trip tickets to Avila are only 10.50 euros, so it was a good deal. Sarah’s boyfriend, Alex, who is studying abroad in Barcelona, was visiting Salamanca for the weekend, so he came along for the trip as well. We took the 11:15 bus from Salamanca and arrived in Avila around 12:45. Everyone brought backed lunches from their Madre’s house. Of course our lunch was gigantic and could have fed all eight of us. She had gotten us these pastry bocadillas from our favorite bakery across the street, Gil. Inside these massive brick like sandwiches was ham of course. One actually had ham and dates in it and it was really tasty. The other one was like meat on steroids. It was loaded with ham and sausage and so much more unidentifiable meat products. Along with the sandwiches the size of bricks she also packed us 12 pieces of fruit. I can’t believe she packed us 12 pieces of fruit, what a crazy women. We shared our lunch with everyone. There was definitely enough to go around more than once, so we saved the left overs to eat for a snack later.
Avila is one of those ancient towns that had been controlled by the Roman Empire during their reign. The city is surrounded by this giant stonewall for protection against in coming attackers. The city is also set up higher than rest of the surrounding land on a plateau. It was really cool approaching the city and looking up at the ancient wall surrounding this quaint little town. Since Avila is at a higher elevation than Salamanca, it is a bit colder. There was snow on the ground as we approached the city. and right outside the city wall on the hill Spanish children were sledding.
The first thing we did when we got off the bus was enter the city through the massive stone wall. It was very picturesque walking through the giant archway into town. Once inside the town we found that you could actually pay to walk up on the wall and the towers. So we used our international student discount and paid our 2 euros to walk up on the wall. From the wall you could see everything. You could see the all the little streets and roofs and the snowcapped mountains in the distance. It was beautiful.
After touring the wall and taking in the incredible vistas we decided to take a look at the cathedral. We walked in and saw a little bit of it, but entrance into the museum was 4 euros, so we decided to pass. Our next mission was to find the famous nun convent of Saint Teresa. Saint Teresa was born in Avila and after studying under Saint John of the Cross she decided to start her own convent that practiced stricter rules by living a simpler life. We found her convent but it was closed for siesta, so we decided we would come back for the museum when it reopened. While we waited for siesta to be over we found the cutest pastry shop to get coffee and warm up.
The pastry shop had the most delicious looking sweats. I think everyone ended up getting a dessert along with some café con leche. I split this very rich a decadent chocolate mouse type cake with someone. William, the only boy on our trip, got two massive pieces of cake and kept eyeing the table looking for anybody’s pastry crumbs he could scavenge. Avila is also famous for its yemas. Yemas are hard boiled egg yokes that been have sugared. The story goes that the nuns use to make them to feed the poor, but now it has become somewhat of a tradition to try a yema while in Avila. We all went in a on a box of yemas and we all decided that yemas were pretty gross. The first bit was not that bad, but then you realized that you were eating egg yoke and you could not help but get a little turned off on the yema.
After the café we headed back to the convent to visit the museum of Saint Teresa. The museum was filled with her famous writings and paintings of her. The tour book one the girls brought along also said that Saint Teresa’s finger had been preserved and it could be viewed at the museum. We walked around the museum trying to find this illusive finger, but we were not having any luck. We were not leaving Avila without seeing the finger of Saint Teresa! After the museum we went to the gift shop across the way. A couple of us bought some postcards, and then we saw it! The finger of Saint Teresa! It was actually really disgusting and crusting looking. Her finger was also abnormally long too. Alex wanted to ask the clerk behind the counter if he could purchase the finger, but Sarah would not let him.
We spent the rest of our afternoon walking around the streets, going in a couple streets, and trying to take candid pictures of everyone. It was a very fun day in Avila, Spain. It started snowing as we were heading back to the bus stop. At night the wall is light up around the outside, so as we were leaving Avila the wall lighted wall looked so amazing against the dark sky.
I am getting pretty convinced that Spaniards try to sneak ham into everything. Its always present in practically every dish we eat at our Madre’s house. Also about every block there is another carniceria showcasing these giant ham legs in the window. Ham is everywhere!
We had a free weekend this weekend, so about eight of us from the group decided to take a day trip to a town called Avila about an hour and half away. The bus stops there on its way to Madrid, and round trip tickets to Avila are only 10.50 euros, so it was a good deal. Sarah’s boyfriend, Alex, who is studying abroad in Barcelona, was visiting Salamanca for the weekend, so he came along for the trip as well. We took the 11:15 bus from Salamanca and arrived in Avila around 12:45. Everyone brought backed lunches from their Madre’s house. Of course our lunch was gigantic and could have fed all eight of us. She had gotten us these pastry bocadillas from our favorite bakery across the street, Gil. Inside these massive brick like sandwiches was ham of course. One actually had ham and dates in it and it was really tasty. The other one was like meat on steroids. It was loaded with ham and sausage and so much more unidentifiable meat products. Along with the sandwiches the size of bricks she also packed us 12 pieces of fruit. I can’t believe she packed us 12 pieces of fruit, what a crazy women. We shared our lunch with everyone. There was definitely enough to go around more than once, so we saved the left overs to eat for a snack later.
Avila is one of those ancient towns that had been controlled by the Roman Empire during their reign. The city is surrounded by this giant stonewall for protection against in coming attackers. The city is also set up higher than rest of the surrounding land on a plateau. It was really cool approaching the city and looking up at the ancient wall surrounding this quaint little town. Since Avila is at a higher elevation than Salamanca, it is a bit colder. There was snow on the ground as we approached the city. and right outside the city wall on the hill Spanish children were sledding.
The first thing we did when we got off the bus was enter the city through the massive stone wall. It was very picturesque walking through the giant archway into town. Once inside the town we found that you could actually pay to walk up on the wall and the towers. So we used our international student discount and paid our 2 euros to walk up on the wall. From the wall you could see everything. You could see the all the little streets and roofs and the snowcapped mountains in the distance. It was beautiful.
After touring the wall and taking in the incredible vistas we decided to take a look at the cathedral. We walked in and saw a little bit of it, but entrance into the museum was 4 euros, so we decided to pass. Our next mission was to find the famous nun convent of Saint Teresa. Saint Teresa was born in Avila and after studying under Saint John of the Cross she decided to start her own convent that practiced stricter rules by living a simpler life. We found her convent but it was closed for siesta, so we decided we would come back for the museum when it reopened. While we waited for siesta to be over we found the cutest pastry shop to get coffee and warm up.
The pastry shop had the most delicious looking sweats. I think everyone ended up getting a dessert along with some café con leche. I split this very rich a decadent chocolate mouse type cake with someone. William, the only boy on our trip, got two massive pieces of cake and kept eyeing the table looking for anybody’s pastry crumbs he could scavenge. Avila is also famous for its yemas. Yemas are hard boiled egg yokes that been have sugared. The story goes that the nuns use to make them to feed the poor, but now it has become somewhat of a tradition to try a yema while in Avila. We all went in a on a box of yemas and we all decided that yemas were pretty gross. The first bit was not that bad, but then you realized that you were eating egg yoke and you could not help but get a little turned off on the yema.
After the café we headed back to the convent to visit the museum of Saint Teresa. The museum was filled with her famous writings and paintings of her. The tour book one the girls brought along also said that Saint Teresa’s finger had been preserved and it could be viewed at the museum. We walked around the museum trying to find this illusive finger, but we were not having any luck. We were not leaving Avila without seeing the finger of Saint Teresa! After the museum we went to the gift shop across the way. A couple of us bought some postcards, and then we saw it! The finger of Saint Teresa! It was actually really disgusting and crusting looking. Her finger was also abnormally long too. Alex wanted to ask the clerk behind the counter if he could purchase the finger, but Sarah would not let him.
We spent the rest of our afternoon walking around the streets, going in a couple streets, and trying to take candid pictures of everyone. It was a very fun day in Avila, Spain. It started snowing as we were heading back to the bus stop. At night the wall is light up around the outside, so as we were leaving Avila the wall lighted wall looked so amazing against the dark sky.
JESUCRISTO SUPERSTAR
Last night our group attended the Spanish version of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. It was actually called Jesu Christo Superstar. I have seen this musical several times in English, so following along was not that hard for me. The songs sound totally different though, obliviously because it’s a different language. I always enjoy a good musical, but I kept thinking they were going to start singing in English sadly it never happened. The dancing and the costumes were very impressive though, and I the set was pretty sweat. They even had a scene at the end with a smoke machine.
By the time the play was over we were so hungry. A couple of us had a huge craving for Mexican food. All we eat is Spanish food every single day, so the opportunity to eat something different is so rare. We got a 15 euros stipend for dinner and set out to fulfill our Mexican food cravings. We found one restaurant right off the Plaza Mayor, but unfortunately it was closing and could not serve us. Unable to satisfy our need for salsa and spicy food, we settled on an Italian restaurant. The Italian restaurant was still good and satisfied my longing for vegetables, since were rarely get anything green in our house. Dinner turned out to be really fun and we all stuffed our faces and laughed the night away.
Today at lunch I bit the bullet and asked our Madre if she could make me more vegetables and less meat. I also mentioned that I really liked her cooking, but I could not eat all the meat I have been forcing down my throat. I did not say it exactly like that, but I hope she gets what I mean. I will just have to see how dinner goes tonight. I also asked her if we could have coffee with caffeine in it, because Sarah and I thought the coffee she was giving us was decaffeinated. We were horribly mistaken, and our Madre made a big deal about how the coffee had a lot of caffeine in it. Oh well I guess things got lost in translation.
By the time the play was over we were so hungry. A couple of us had a huge craving for Mexican food. All we eat is Spanish food every single day, so the opportunity to eat something different is so rare. We got a 15 euros stipend for dinner and set out to fulfill our Mexican food cravings. We found one restaurant right off the Plaza Mayor, but unfortunately it was closing and could not serve us. Unable to satisfy our need for salsa and spicy food, we settled on an Italian restaurant. The Italian restaurant was still good and satisfied my longing for vegetables, since were rarely get anything green in our house. Dinner turned out to be really fun and we all stuffed our faces and laughed the night away.
Today at lunch I bit the bullet and asked our Madre if she could make me more vegetables and less meat. I also mentioned that I really liked her cooking, but I could not eat all the meat I have been forcing down my throat. I did not say it exactly like that, but I hope she gets what I mean. I will just have to see how dinner goes tonight. I also asked her if we could have coffee with caffeine in it, because Sarah and I thought the coffee she was giving us was decaffeinated. We were horribly mistaken, and our Madre made a big deal about how the coffee had a lot of caffeine in it. Oh well I guess things got lost in translation.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
LOVING THE SUN
Finally it is a nice day! Not a drop of rain anywhere! It’s funny how everything looks so much nicer when it’s sunny. Last night I watched Smallvile with my Madre in Spanish. Everything was once again dubbed over, but the show is not that hard to follow so I understood everything. My Madre had watched the show before, so we discussed the lead character and his super powers. She really is quite a funny lady once you get past the language barrier.
We started our normal classes this week. I am taking 5 classes I think. I might drop the Spanish Art class, but I am going to see how the first few classes go. All the professors seem pretty nice. We don’t really have books either, so there is hardly any reading, only the photocopied stuff they had out. The first couple of days of classes we went around and introduced our selves and said what we were studying in the United States. The professors seemed really interested in our other studies. They went around the room asking questions, some we could not understand so it was a little awkward at times. The professors also thought our American names were really funny. Most of the professors could not pronounce my name correctly, saying the ll’s wrong and then adding a lisp to the son part. My phonetics proff of course could pronounce all of our names. I am pretty sure she can speak English because we went through the difference in pronunciation from English to Spanish.
It was such a nice day I decided to walk around a little bit before I went to the gym. I ended up in a shoe store, but luckily they did not have my size so I could not buy anything! I really hope the weather stays like this, its so wonderful. One of our professors was telling us about an old Salamanca tradition kind of like one we have in the US regarding winter weather. Salamantinos look for the big storks that return to the city in February. If the birds return in early February then winter will be over soon. If the birds don’t return, then it’s going to be a long winter. So far I have seen one nest of these big stork birds, so I will keep my fingers crossed. This tradition reminded me of ground hog day.
Another tradition we learned about was the Dia de Mujeres, or the Day of Women, which happens to be today. It is tradition for women to get dressed up and go and dance in the Plaza with out their men. I have not seen any dancing in the Plaza yet, but I have scene several processions of women through the streets playing flutes, drums and singing about this glorious day!
We started our normal classes this week. I am taking 5 classes I think. I might drop the Spanish Art class, but I am going to see how the first few classes go. All the professors seem pretty nice. We don’t really have books either, so there is hardly any reading, only the photocopied stuff they had out. The first couple of days of classes we went around and introduced our selves and said what we were studying in the United States. The professors seemed really interested in our other studies. They went around the room asking questions, some we could not understand so it was a little awkward at times. The professors also thought our American names were really funny. Most of the professors could not pronounce my name correctly, saying the ll’s wrong and then adding a lisp to the son part. My phonetics proff of course could pronounce all of our names. I am pretty sure she can speak English because we went through the difference in pronunciation from English to Spanish.
It was such a nice day I decided to walk around a little bit before I went to the gym. I ended up in a shoe store, but luckily they did not have my size so I could not buy anything! I really hope the weather stays like this, its so wonderful. One of our professors was telling us about an old Salamanca tradition kind of like one we have in the US regarding winter weather. Salamantinos look for the big storks that return to the city in February. If the birds return in early February then winter will be over soon. If the birds don’t return, then it’s going to be a long winter. So far I have seen one nest of these big stork birds, so I will keep my fingers crossed. This tradition reminded me of ground hog day.
Another tradition we learned about was the Dia de Mujeres, or the Day of Women, which happens to be today. It is tradition for women to get dressed up and go and dance in the Plaza with out their men. I have not seen any dancing in the Plaza yet, but I have scene several processions of women through the streets playing flutes, drums and singing about this glorious day!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
TIMOTEO
We had a hilarious lunch today with our Madre. It started when Sarah dropped the apple she was eating on the floor. Then our Madre told us that when you drop something on the floor you are suppose to ask who are you going to marry and the name you give has to start with the same letter of the thing that you drop on the floor. Our Madre asked Sarah what the name of her boyfriend was. Sarah said Alexander, Alex for short. She said “no, no, no it has to start with M.” She then started giving us some M names like Mario, and Manuel. Then she asked me the name of my boyfriend, so I told her Tim. She said, “What.” Then Sarah said the Spanish equivalent was Timoteo. So I said Timoteo. Our Madre then said, “I am sorry for being so fresh, but that is such an ugly name.” Then she went on giving other names she thought were ugly. She said her nieces name was really ugly. Her name is Escolaste or something but she goes by Escoli for short. I wonder what our Madre thinks of our names?
LISBON PART II
After our private tour of Portugal, we wanted to find a restaurant where we could try some traditional Portuguese food. We asked Carla, but when she talked to the attendant at the hotel he only gave a name of a really expensive restaurant. We passed on paying for the nice restaurant and practically everyone in our group got pizza delivered from the Pizza Hut right down the street. Who would have thought Pizza in Portugal! The pizza tasted just like America, which was what we were all craving. After dinner a bunch of us went out the docas, where everyone had been last night. I think we ended up at a gay bar because there were so many really attractive men that were dancing with each other. It was kind of funny because we got stared down when we came into the club but all these men were just interested in other men. In the bar we did meet a bunch of Greek wrestlers, who were in Lisbon for an international wrestling tournament. We also met this sketch ball guy who was doing magic tricks. At one point he pulled a rubber rabbit from under his coat. I decided to avoid any more rabbit tricks. This guy was really weird. I left with some girls around 3 and took a cab back to our hotel. Some the party party girls in our group decided to go out to another club with a 15 euro cover change. They ended up meeting two Portuguese men and not coming back till 10 the next morning. They must have forgotten about that girl in Aruba that went off with two men and ended up dead. I am glad they returned safely, but I hope they don’t do it again.
The next morning we thought we had to be on the bus at 12 with all of our stuff. However, Antonio changed his mind with out telling us and brought the bus around at 11. Nobody was prepared so Antonio called each of our rooms and told us to hurry up. After everyone was on the bus, Antonio dropped us off downtown. He us told we needed to be back at the bus at 3:30 and he would be parked in a park just up the street. My friend Ashley thought she left her phone at the club we were at last night, so I offered to go with her and find it. We jumped in a cab and headed back toward the docas only to be disappointed because there was no sign of her phone. We did get to see what the club looked like the morning after, not exactly a pretty picture. We wandered around the deserted docks for a little bit trying to find a cab. Eventually after finding the main street we hailed a cab that took us back to the center of town. When we got there I showed Ashley some of the stuff Carla had shown me the night before. We went up on the tower elevator thing where you could see the entire city. I took some really good pictures from up here. It was really beautiful because you could even see a castle in the background. We had lunch at some little café in the main plaza. It was really cute and it was wonderful that our waiter could speak Spanish and English because Portuguese may look like Spanish but it sure does not sound like it. While we ate lunch we had the pleasure of several street venders and beggars coming up to us asking for money or trying to sell us some pointless trinket. One guy came up to us with some toy zebras. After telling him no several times he started pulling out other toy animals. Eventually he left after we practically screamed at him. We walked back to the bus after this only to find Antonio and the bus missing. Antonio eventually got there, but he did not park where he said he was going to be. Everyone slept on the bus ride back, because we were all exhausted from our wonderful weekend in Lisbon.
I really love taking the excursions everywhere. It was interesting to see how differently people live in other countries. Lisbon really reminded me of San Francisco. There was a red bridge over the bay that was almost identical to the Golden Gate Bridge. Also the building had the same pastel colors and tile roofs, like in San Fran. The were also a lot of homeless people, which we have not really had exposure to since we have been in Europe. Overall the city was impeccably clean. I hardly saw any trash or trash cans anywhere.
The next morning we thought we had to be on the bus at 12 with all of our stuff. However, Antonio changed his mind with out telling us and brought the bus around at 11. Nobody was prepared so Antonio called each of our rooms and told us to hurry up. After everyone was on the bus, Antonio dropped us off downtown. He us told we needed to be back at the bus at 3:30 and he would be parked in a park just up the street. My friend Ashley thought she left her phone at the club we were at last night, so I offered to go with her and find it. We jumped in a cab and headed back toward the docas only to be disappointed because there was no sign of her phone. We did get to see what the club looked like the morning after, not exactly a pretty picture. We wandered around the deserted docks for a little bit trying to find a cab. Eventually after finding the main street we hailed a cab that took us back to the center of town. When we got there I showed Ashley some of the stuff Carla had shown me the night before. We went up on the tower elevator thing where you could see the entire city. I took some really good pictures from up here. It was really beautiful because you could even see a castle in the background. We had lunch at some little café in the main plaza. It was really cute and it was wonderful that our waiter could speak Spanish and English because Portuguese may look like Spanish but it sure does not sound like it. While we ate lunch we had the pleasure of several street venders and beggars coming up to us asking for money or trying to sell us some pointless trinket. One guy came up to us with some toy zebras. After telling him no several times he started pulling out other toy animals. Eventually he left after we practically screamed at him. We walked back to the bus after this only to find Antonio and the bus missing. Antonio eventually got there, but he did not park where he said he was going to be. Everyone slept on the bus ride back, because we were all exhausted from our wonderful weekend in Lisbon.
I really love taking the excursions everywhere. It was interesting to see how differently people live in other countries. Lisbon really reminded me of San Francisco. There was a red bridge over the bay that was almost identical to the Golden Gate Bridge. Also the building had the same pastel colors and tile roofs, like in San Fran. The were also a lot of homeless people, which we have not really had exposure to since we have been in Europe. Overall the city was impeccably clean. I hardly saw any trash or trash cans anywhere.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Lisbon Part I
This past weekend we had the option of going to Lisbon, Portugal. Everyone in our group went except for two girls. It was suppose to be rainy and cold in Lisbon, but we lucked out and the weather was fairly nice all weekend. We had to meet at the bus at 3:30 in front of the Plaza Gabriel y Galan, which is where we always meet for excursions. The bus ride was roughly around 6 hours, but our driver Antonio liked to take lots of breaks. In fact one the breaks was to liquor store right before we crossed the boarding. Antonio wanted to make sure we had enough to drink. The liquor store/supermarket was happy to have our business as all thirty of us pretty much cleaned out their supply of drinks and snacks.
We crossed the Portuguese boarder in our big tour bus with hardly any notice. Everyone was worried because some people forgot their passports, but the Portuguese boarder guards barely paid us any attention. Once we were in Portugal we had about four hours to go on the bus. The landscape of Portugal was very rocky, but the vegetation was abnormally green especially the grass. The were lots of houses and little villages nestled along the rocky ridges. As we got closer to Lisbon, the rocky hills and mountains flattened out and the city lights became clearer.
On our last excursion we had stayed at this gorgeous four star hotel, so we were all expecting the same type of luxury. However, we were sadly disappointed when we pulled up to our hotel. Although it claimed to be a four star hotel, it was no where near the same level as our hotel in Toledo. The hotel was fine though, and we did not intend to be staying in their for long amounts of time. Some of our group decided to go out and check out the night life in Lisbon. I stayed in with about half the girls to sleep, so we would have plenty of energy to explore the city the next morning. When we woke up the next morning, we were expecting a torrential down poor, but instead we were greeted by the sun. This welcome greeting of sunshine really made our little morning adventure in the city quite beautiful.
At 11am the group got together for trip to the beach. Antonio took us in the tour bus to the beach and the surrounding coastal areas of Lisbon. We walked along the beach and watched all the sail boats gliding through the water. There were palm trees everywhere and it was even warm enough I did not need to wear a coat. I took a couple pictures of all the fishing equipment they had along the docks. Fishing is a huge industry in Portugal. After walking along the beach and the town for a couple hours, Antonio took us to another place along the coast. There was a Portuguese military fortification that had been built in the 1600s. It looked just like a mini castle. With our international student id cards, we were allowed in for free, so we went looking around. We climbed all the way to the top of the building and to take a pictures overlooking the ocean. Antonio took us back to our hotel after our excursion. A lot of people, especially the ones that had stayed out all last night took a siesta, but a couple of the girls and myself had other plans. One of the girls on the trip, Mary, has a sister that has a friend who lives in Lisbon. Mary’s sister’s friend gave us tour of the city in her car. It was so interesting because she spoke English and could describe all the places we were seeing. She took us to the place where Christopher Columbus sailed off from. She took us to several old monuments and told us some of the history behind the city. She also told us that Portugal was the number one exporter of cork, like the cork used in wine bottles. Carla was her name and she spoke really good English for only living in the states for about a year. She was a lot of fun and it was really generous of her to show us Lisbon. Stay tuned for Sunday's adventures in Lisbon!!
We crossed the Portuguese boarder in our big tour bus with hardly any notice. Everyone was worried because some people forgot their passports, but the Portuguese boarder guards barely paid us any attention. Once we were in Portugal we had about four hours to go on the bus. The landscape of Portugal was very rocky, but the vegetation was abnormally green especially the grass. The were lots of houses and little villages nestled along the rocky ridges. As we got closer to Lisbon, the rocky hills and mountains flattened out and the city lights became clearer.
On our last excursion we had stayed at this gorgeous four star hotel, so we were all expecting the same type of luxury. However, we were sadly disappointed when we pulled up to our hotel. Although it claimed to be a four star hotel, it was no where near the same level as our hotel in Toledo. The hotel was fine though, and we did not intend to be staying in their for long amounts of time. Some of our group decided to go out and check out the night life in Lisbon. I stayed in with about half the girls to sleep, so we would have plenty of energy to explore the city the next morning. When we woke up the next morning, we were expecting a torrential down poor, but instead we were greeted by the sun. This welcome greeting of sunshine really made our little morning adventure in the city quite beautiful.
At 11am the group got together for trip to the beach. Antonio took us in the tour bus to the beach and the surrounding coastal areas of Lisbon. We walked along the beach and watched all the sail boats gliding through the water. There were palm trees everywhere and it was even warm enough I did not need to wear a coat. I took a couple pictures of all the fishing equipment they had along the docks. Fishing is a huge industry in Portugal. After walking along the beach and the town for a couple hours, Antonio took us to another place along the coast. There was a Portuguese military fortification that had been built in the 1600s. It looked just like a mini castle. With our international student id cards, we were allowed in for free, so we went looking around. We climbed all the way to the top of the building and to take a pictures overlooking the ocean. Antonio took us back to our hotel after our excursion. A lot of people, especially the ones that had stayed out all last night took a siesta, but a couple of the girls and myself had other plans. One of the girls on the trip, Mary, has a sister that has a friend who lives in Lisbon. Mary’s sister’s friend gave us tour of the city in her car. It was so interesting because she spoke English and could describe all the places we were seeing. She took us to the place where Christopher Columbus sailed off from. She took us to several old monuments and told us some of the history behind the city. She also told us that Portugal was the number one exporter of cork, like the cork used in wine bottles. Carla was her name and she spoke really good English for only living in the states for about a year. She was a lot of fun and it was really generous of her to show us Lisbon. Stay tuned for Sunday's adventures in Lisbon!!
SPINNING IN SPAIN
I finally found Nutella!!! It was quite the hunt, but I found it hidden away in a grocery store called El Arbol. Along with finding my precious Nuetella I also took a spinning class with my friend in the program named Ashley at the gym I joined. This might have been the funniest experience I have had yet in Spain. First off, the instructor did not think we knew any Spanish, so he made us feel like idiots while he tried to talk us through the class. On top of staring at us the whole class we did all these crazy dance moves while we were spinning. The instructor went under his seat and kept spinning his legs while he was clapping his hands. The also instructor kept coming over to our bikes and telling us we were not sweating enough and we needed to add more resistance. I laughed pretty much the entire hour, this guy was absolutely ridiculous. I hope this guy teaches the next class he was such a hoot!!
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