Finally, another blog entry! Now that I'm back in the United States and had some time to reflect upon my experience, here's what I have to say:
First of all, my passion for Spanish has certainly grown while abroad. I have a new energy and even stronger desire to become better at speaking Spanish and to continue utilizing it here. When I came to the University of Michigan, I originally planned to only minor in Spanish, and even when I decided to double major, Spanish definitely did not hold the same importance as Neuroscience. Now, my two majors are about 50/50 in my mind. Don't get my wrong, I still LOVEEEE science (and I realize now how much I missed science classes over the summer), but I really take pride and pleasure in my Spanish studies as well.
Next, I have realized how my language skills have improved while abroad. They have probably faded in the month I've been back (it's only been a month?!?), but my listening skills have significantly improved. I didn't think my speaking had improved that much, but being in my Spanish classes in the United States has demonstrated to me that my speaking skills are above other students in 300 level classes and on-par with those in my high 400 level classes. I feel more confident in my speaking abilities and definitely actually WANT to speak more in class.
Besides all of that, I have a stronger appreciation for the United States, but also a deeper understanding and acceptance of other nations as well. I think of foreign countries in a different way and I find it interesting to see and experience how they are different from the United States.
While I was gone, I also gained a desire to learn more languages. I would really like to learn Portuguese and am considering taking a Portuguese for Spanish-speakers class here at U of M. I found it almost a fun challenge to try to decipher Portuguese and Italian since they share similarities with Spanish. It was interesting being in a place where people don't speak English readily. It makes you think about things differently. It makes you less self centered and realize the other cultures and ways of life out there. It humbles you when you can't communicate with others and you have to find another way. It makes you more creative, and more able to solve problems.
Adapting to a foreign country wasn't too difficult for me. I think by not having many ideas of what to expect, I was able to more accept things as they came because I didn't have any idealizations to compare them to. Everything I saw was new and exciting. Being able to communicate with someone in a store, or with my host family felt like little accomplishments. I was astonished by the architecture, the layout of the streets, the charm.
Returning to Spain is definitely something I want to do as soon as possible. I would love to visit my family in Salamanca, and I also want to go to other regions of Spain such as Andalucia. Traveling has definitely opened me up to other places and I want to experience other places of the world as well besides Europe.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Good & the Bad
Things I will not miss about Spain:
1. Absence of breakfast: gimme some eggs!
2. No one on the streets say "excuse me/ perdóname" when they are coming through; they also walk really slow sometimes
3. Businesses being closed during siesta
4. Stuff is expensive/ euro conversions
5. Club promotors harassing you every night
Things I will miss about Spain:
1. My host family, including little David, the cutest baby ever
2. Being able to speak Spanish with natives at your disposal
3. TAPAS and other delicious things
4. The drinking age
5. The architecture is absolutely incredible
6. Being together with everyone
1. Absence of breakfast: gimme some eggs!
2. No one on the streets say "excuse me/ perdóname" when they are coming through; they also walk really slow sometimes
3. Businesses being closed during siesta
4. Stuff is expensive/ euro conversions
5. Club promotors harassing you every night
Things I will miss about Spain:
1. My host family, including little David, the cutest baby ever
2. Being able to speak Spanish with natives at your disposal
3. TAPAS and other delicious things
4. The drinking age
5. The architecture is absolutely incredible
6. Being together with everyone
Monday, July 25, 2011
Much Needed Update
So basically, here's what's been happening in the past two weeks in a nutshell.
I took a two-week long Flamenco dance class through the University here which was so much fun! We learned two whole routines which were pretty extensive, but it was really great to learn about the dance culture and it was a great break to hang out with friends. I can't wait to see a real Flamenco show in Barcelona because I think it would be incredible to watch professionals. My dance teacher seemed like she was pretty good; really graceful and you could tell she had so much passion for it.
Last weekend, I went to Lisboa, Portugal. This is probably my favorite place I've been so far in Europe. I just wish I knew Portuguese so I could communicate with everyone, but it didn't matter; most people spoke English. It also wasn't that difficult to get a general gist for the language; it's similar to Spanish in some ways. I enjoyed the challenge of figuring it out. Lisboa is such a gorgeous city. Awesome monuments, pretty much like everywhere else on this continent. But what I enjoyed most was the coast. I think I'm spoiled to have basically grown up on Lake Michigan, but I couldn't get enough of being on the water. I think when I grow up, I need to live in a big city with a coast... Chicago? The first night in Portugal, my friends and I got dinner at a restaurant outside. You could feel the breeze off the water while we were eating and it was just perfect. I loved the atmosphere. There's also a much broader sense of diversity in Portugal. It was more like Madrid in that sense. I like being surrounded by a bunch of interesting people all the time. The second day in Portugal, we went to the beach in Cascais. Also incredible. This was more of a beachy town, but I loved it. The ocean was decorated with boats, and the sand was hot. People were going topless at the beach. I think it's interesting how in Europe that kind of thing isn't over sexualized or anything. Like it's normal for people to just lay out at the beach like that and no one cares. It's definitely more relaxed than the United States.
Classes are going pretty well. I did awesome on my first paper for my U of M class, and I got a pretty good score on my first translation exam.
This weekend, I went to Segovia with a great group from Umich. We saw the aqueducts, more cathedrals (starting to get sick of them haha), and ate at a really good and fancy restaurant with great cochinillo (like a roasted pig). The skin was so crunchy and flavorful. It was seriously DELICIOUS. I also got a really yummy salad. I feel like vegetables are really not that accessible here, so I was really happy to get that salad! Yesterday, I also hung out at the pool with some friends from U of M. This weekend was really relaxing and I've really enjoyed everyone's company. I'm seriously so glad to be here and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!
In just a few, I will be (finally) eating lunch with Rosa and her family. There are 20 people here. It's a national holiday today, and so we don't have class and all the stores are closed for the most part. Today in the plaza, when I went running, they were putting up a flag on top of the plaza and setting off fireworks. I'm so glad this was a long weekend, it was much needed and it helped me remind myself why I'm here and why I love it so much!
I took a two-week long Flamenco dance class through the University here which was so much fun! We learned two whole routines which were pretty extensive, but it was really great to learn about the dance culture and it was a great break to hang out with friends. I can't wait to see a real Flamenco show in Barcelona because I think it would be incredible to watch professionals. My dance teacher seemed like she was pretty good; really graceful and you could tell she had so much passion for it.
Last weekend, I went to Lisboa, Portugal. This is probably my favorite place I've been so far in Europe. I just wish I knew Portuguese so I could communicate with everyone, but it didn't matter; most people spoke English. It also wasn't that difficult to get a general gist for the language; it's similar to Spanish in some ways. I enjoyed the challenge of figuring it out. Lisboa is such a gorgeous city. Awesome monuments, pretty much like everywhere else on this continent. But what I enjoyed most was the coast. I think I'm spoiled to have basically grown up on Lake Michigan, but I couldn't get enough of being on the water. I think when I grow up, I need to live in a big city with a coast... Chicago? The first night in Portugal, my friends and I got dinner at a restaurant outside. You could feel the breeze off the water while we were eating and it was just perfect. I loved the atmosphere. There's also a much broader sense of diversity in Portugal. It was more like Madrid in that sense. I like being surrounded by a bunch of interesting people all the time. The second day in Portugal, we went to the beach in Cascais. Also incredible. This was more of a beachy town, but I loved it. The ocean was decorated with boats, and the sand was hot. People were going topless at the beach. I think it's interesting how in Europe that kind of thing isn't over sexualized or anything. Like it's normal for people to just lay out at the beach like that and no one cares. It's definitely more relaxed than the United States.
Classes are going pretty well. I did awesome on my first paper for my U of M class, and I got a pretty good score on my first translation exam.
This weekend, I went to Segovia with a great group from Umich. We saw the aqueducts, more cathedrals (starting to get sick of them haha), and ate at a really good and fancy restaurant with great cochinillo (like a roasted pig). The skin was so crunchy and flavorful. It was seriously DELICIOUS. I also got a really yummy salad. I feel like vegetables are really not that accessible here, so I was really happy to get that salad! Yesterday, I also hung out at the pool with some friends from U of M. This weekend was really relaxing and I've really enjoyed everyone's company. I'm seriously so glad to be here and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!
In just a few, I will be (finally) eating lunch with Rosa and her family. There are 20 people here. It's a national holiday today, and so we don't have class and all the stores are closed for the most part. Today in the plaza, when I went running, they were putting up a flag on top of the plaza and setting off fireworks. I'm so glad this was a long weekend, it was much needed and it helped me remind myself why I'm here and why I love it so much!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Pasando el Día con la Familia de Rosa
Today, Rosa's family came in and celebrated her son-in-law's birthday. I met a lot of people and spent a while with the whole family. There were both of Rosa's daughters, the older one's husband (it was his birthday) and their son, David (he is so cute!!), Rosa's other daughter's boyfriend, Rosa's sister and her two kids, and another couple (not sure how they were related), and another older woman (also not sure how she was related). We had paella for lunch and cake, too. Everyone was really nice, but they spoke so fast! I couldn't really tell what they were talking about at all! So difficult. I want to get a lot better at listening in the next four weeks. It's totally different listening in class and listening to native speakers have a conversation around a table with ten other people!
One of the couple's had a dog named Chispi and they brought him over a bit later. Chispi was a little Yorkie dog I think and he was so precious. He liked to play with the balloons around the house. We would blow up a balloon and throw it to him and he would jump up and hit it with his nose back to the person. David, the little boy thought this was really funny. That kid is so precious!
Today at dinner, I got to practice more Spanish as well. I'm pretty sure it's Rosa's sister with the two kids but she has been speaking to me a lot so it was nice to practice. I also showed her the postcards I brought from Michigan which she really liked to see.
It was a unique experience getting to spend some time with an entire Spanish family, but it was cool to hang out for a while and learn about them and their culture. It also showed me that trying to listen to native speakers having a conversation is NOT EASY AT ALL and I look forward to improving on this aspect of my Spanish.
One of the couple's had a dog named Chispi and they brought him over a bit later. Chispi was a little Yorkie dog I think and he was so precious. He liked to play with the balloons around the house. We would blow up a balloon and throw it to him and he would jump up and hit it with his nose back to the person. David, the little boy thought this was really funny. That kid is so precious!
Today at dinner, I got to practice more Spanish as well. I'm pretty sure it's Rosa's sister with the two kids but she has been speaking to me a lot so it was nice to practice. I also showed her the postcards I brought from Michigan which she really liked to see.
It was a unique experience getting to spend some time with an entire Spanish family, but it was cool to hang out for a while and learn about them and their culture. It also showed me that trying to listen to native speakers having a conversation is NOT EASY AT ALL and I look forward to improving on this aspect of my Spanish.
Just Ate One of These Bad Boys!
El camarón. It was served to me like this in my paella and you have to peel it all off yourself! Hello little creature!
Lista de Vocabulario
While here, I have been learning some new vocabulary and grammar. It hasn't been that much but it's actually a lot harder to pick up on this kind of stuff than you would think. Also, it's conflicting because we learn Mexican/Latin America Spanish in the United States, so there are a lot of phrases and conjugations we are not familiar with here.
First and foremost, the use of vosotros. In high school, and even kind of in college, we completely ignore all conjugations for vosotros (you plural), but here in Spain, it is super prevalent! I have never learned vosotros commands before, but you kind of just end up going with it and figuring it out. I think I'm better at listening to vosotros conjugations than actually forming them myself, but oh well.
Also, everyone says "vale" here for "ok" instead of "bueno." Obviously I know what it means, but it feels unnatural for me to say it for some reason.
Also, people rarely say "por favor" here. I've learned that people usually shorten it with "porfa" or don't say anything at all. Rude! Hahaha.
Some other words I should make note of:
oso=bear
abeto=pine tree
cabras=goats
cogerse de la mano=to hold hands
guau=bark (sound of dog, but ladrar is the verb "to bark")
cubiertos=silverware
melocotón=peach
la ciruela=plums
bocadillo=sandwich
el guisante=peas
el pepino=cucumber
berenjena=eggplant
aguacate=avocado
lavandería=laundry
lavadora=washing machine
detergente=detergent
aliñar= to dress (as in a salad)
asar=to roast
batir=to beat
dejar reposar=to let cool
cocer al horno=to bake
congelar=to freeze
freír=to fry (they do that A LOT here!)
hervir=to boil
pelar=to peel (they also do that a lot here, my señora always peels her fruit while I just eat it all)
rallar=to shread
tostar=to toast
la brocheta=shish kabob
la chuleta de cerdo=pork chops
el solomillo de cerdo=tenderloin
el chorizo=type of sausage, SO GOOD!
el camarón=shrimp
el pulpo=octupus
el calamar=calamari, squid
el bogavante=lobster
la vieira=scallop
el fregadero=kitchen sink
el lavabo=bathroom sink
el grifo=faucet
la cocina=stove, also kitchen
la placa=stove burner
el horno=oven
la campana=fan over the stove
la nevera=refrigerator
la sartén=frying pan
la cacerola=pot, the large kind with two handles
el cazo=one handle, standard pot
la cafetera=coffee pot, tea pot
la taza=mug
el cuenco=bowl
la bola=scoop (of ice cream), this world has a lot of meanings
There's definitely still so much to learn! Vocabulary is the hardest part. I've never really had a problem communicating with my grammar (they probably think I sound like an idiot sometimes!), but it's definitely difficult when you don't even know the word you need to use. Sometimes you just have to describe it, but that can get confusing too. I can't wait to learn and be able to use more vocabulary. Another difficult thing is that they just use different words than for example in Mexico or Latin America. For example they use zumo for juice instead of jugo. Oops messed that up a few times!
First and foremost, the use of vosotros. In high school, and even kind of in college, we completely ignore all conjugations for vosotros (you plural), but here in Spain, it is super prevalent! I have never learned vosotros commands before, but you kind of just end up going with it and figuring it out. I think I'm better at listening to vosotros conjugations than actually forming them myself, but oh well.
Also, everyone says "vale" here for "ok" instead of "bueno." Obviously I know what it means, but it feels unnatural for me to say it for some reason.
Also, people rarely say "por favor" here. I've learned that people usually shorten it with "porfa" or don't say anything at all. Rude! Hahaha.
Some other words I should make note of:
oso=bear
abeto=pine tree
cabras=goats
cogerse de la mano=to hold hands
guau=bark (sound of dog, but ladrar is the verb "to bark")
cubiertos=silverware
melocotón=peach
la ciruela=plums
bocadillo=sandwich
el guisante=peas
el pepino=cucumber
berenjena=eggplant
aguacate=avocado
lavandería=laundry
lavadora=washing machine
detergente=detergent
aliñar= to dress (as in a salad)
asar=to roast
batir=to beat
dejar reposar=to let cool
cocer al horno=to bake
congelar=to freeze
freír=to fry (they do that A LOT here!)
hervir=to boil
pelar=to peel (they also do that a lot here, my señora always peels her fruit while I just eat it all)
rallar=to shread
tostar=to toast
la brocheta=shish kabob
la chuleta de cerdo=pork chops
el solomillo de cerdo=tenderloin
el chorizo=type of sausage, SO GOOD!
el camarón=shrimp
el pulpo=octupus
el calamar=calamari, squid
el bogavante=lobster
la vieira=scallop
el fregadero=kitchen sink
el lavabo=bathroom sink
el grifo=faucet
la cocina=stove, also kitchen
la placa=stove burner
el horno=oven
la campana=fan over the stove
la nevera=refrigerator
la sartén=frying pan
la cacerola=pot, the large kind with two handles
el cazo=one handle, standard pot
la cafetera=coffee pot, tea pot
la taza=mug
el cuenco=bowl
la bola=scoop (of ice cream), this world has a lot of meanings
There's definitely still so much to learn! Vocabulary is the hardest part. I've never really had a problem communicating with my grammar (they probably think I sound like an idiot sometimes!), but it's definitely difficult when you don't even know the word you need to use. Sometimes you just have to describe it, but that can get confusing too. I can't wait to learn and be able to use more vocabulary. Another difficult thing is that they just use different words than for example in Mexico or Latin America. For example they use zumo for juice instead of jugo. Oops messed that up a few times!
El Rastro
This morning, I went on a run with my friend Katherine. We ran around the central city on a main road, and then ended up running to el Rastro. This is a huge market, where many people come to set up stands and sell their goods. You can find some pretty nice deals on things there. We didn't have any money, so we just looked around. It happens every Sunday, so many I will have to go back.
Some of the things I saw were: cheap sandals (only 6 Euros), underwear, fake or maybe real Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, and Porsche polos for cheap, bathing suits, dresses, baby toys, kids books, leather bags and other goods, sunglasses and more. It was a pretty big event and lots of people were there. It was also kind of overwhelming because everyone yells at you to come buy their stuff. "¡Tengo la moda, muy barrato! ¡Pruebalo!"
All of the other stores are closed in town, so el Rastro is a big attraction. On my way home, I noticed all the main stores in town were closed, even including Carrefour, which is basically the equivalent to Meijer but a lot smaller. It's kind of interesting how they close all the stores here on Sunday. Quite the contrast to the fast-paced American life. Also, my friend noticed that as she was running over to meet me at around 10AM, hardly anyone was even out yet! People are definitely on different schedules here for the most part.
Some of the things I saw were: cheap sandals (only 6 Euros), underwear, fake or maybe real Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, and Porsche polos for cheap, bathing suits, dresses, baby toys, kids books, leather bags and other goods, sunglasses and more. It was a pretty big event and lots of people were there. It was also kind of overwhelming because everyone yells at you to come buy their stuff. "¡Tengo la moda, muy barrato! ¡Pruebalo!"
All of the other stores are closed in town, so el Rastro is a big attraction. On my way home, I noticed all the main stores in town were closed, even including Carrefour, which is basically the equivalent to Meijer but a lot smaller. It's kind of interesting how they close all the stores here on Sunday. Quite the contrast to the fast-paced American life. Also, my friend noticed that as she was running over to meet me at around 10AM, hardly anyone was even out yet! People are definitely on different schedules here for the most part.
Holy Toledo!
Yesterday, I went on a group excursion to Toledo, Spain with other students participating in Cursos Internacionales. There was a pretty sizable group of U of M students there as well, so I got to spend more time with some of my good friends. Many people from Michigan ended up going to Pamplona for Running of the Bulls, but I'm glad I stayed behind with some of my friends because I would not have gotten any sleep this weekend if I had gone to Pamplona. I'm excited to see pictures of everyone else's experiences.
Toledo was a pretty long bus ride away, about 3.5 hours. I wasn't really expecting that, but the trip was well worth it. When we entered Toledo, we drove through really narrow streets on the sides of cliffs and over beautiful, arched bridges. It was seriously something out of a fairy tale or a movie. There was a huge, gorgeous river below us, and the town on the other side of the river. I think this river is the largest in Spain?! It was designed to keep invaders out long ago.
Toledo was a pretty long bus ride away, about 3.5 hours. I wasn't really expecting that, but the trip was well worth it. When we entered Toledo, we drove through really narrow streets on the sides of cliffs and over beautiful, arched bridges. It was seriously something out of a fairy tale or a movie. There was a huge, gorgeous river below us, and the town on the other side of the river. I think this river is the largest in Spain?! It was designed to keep invaders out long ago.
But really, how cool is that? When we got to Toledo, we walked around a bit and got to see a synagogue with a lot of Jewish artwork. Signs of Jewish life in Spain! I got really excited. We saw a lot of cathedrals. They are all so intricate and incredibly beautiful. We also spent some time walking around the streets. Toledo is a lot more similar to Salamanca than Madrid is to Salamanca, but the streets in Toledo are much more narrow and there are a lot more little, quaint stores. Salamanca is more like Ann Arbor and Toledo is more like Traverse City if I had to compare to cities in Michigan. In Toledo, they had a lot of stores that sold cute little pill boxes. I really wanted to get one, but they were kind of expensive! One store was trying to make some kind of deal with me, but they were just being sneaky about it!
I spent some time walking and shopping around Toledo. There were a lot of super cute stores. We found this itty bitty boutique with adorable clothes! This older woman was working there; I think she was really trying to sell us some stuff! I tried on this floral print romper, but I didn't really want to buy it.
We also saw some wedding happening in Toledo. That would be such an incredible place to get married. The churches there are so beautiful, but imagine how much something like that could cost! It was interesting to see what some of the wedding guests were wearing. Some dresses were a little over the top. Most of the women had their hair done really nicely.
When we left Toledo, everyone was so exhausted. We had to meet at 7AM to leave, so by the time we left at 6:30, everyone was so out of it. I got home in time for dinner, but I was completely exhausted when I arrived home. Overall, I'm really happy I got to visit Toledo. It was really a great city and so beautiful. I had never seen anything like it before!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Las Clases
The first week of classes are over! I am enjoying my classes so far, and actually just joined in a new one today. I am taking a composition class about the transition to democracy in Spain, a translation class, and a speaking class. I think my favorite is the speaking class. I've learned a lot about grammar already and I feel very comfortable speaking in my classes. I was originally in the highest level of the translation class, but it was extremely intimating because a lot of the people in the class were native speakers! I switched into the intermediate level of the translation class, which is actually a bit easy. However, we are learning about texting shortcuts in Spanish, so it's actually quite interesting. The piece we translated was extremely easy today, but it's kind of nice to not have to stress, especially during the summer, when I can still earn the same amount of credits. I am planning to hopefully take another translation class at U of M later, so I can always learn more then!
Homework is minimal for the most part, which is very nice. This leaves plenty of time to enjoy Spain, the weather, the people and the activities to do here. Tomorrow, I am actually taking a day trip to Toledo, to which I am really looking forward. This will actually be my first weekend kind of in Salamanca, since last weekend I was in Madrid. It's nice to be able to relax after a week of classes.
Homework is minimal for the most part, which is very nice. This leaves plenty of time to enjoy Spain, the weather, the people and the activities to do here. Tomorrow, I am actually taking a day trip to Toledo, to which I am really looking forward. This will actually be my first weekend kind of in Salamanca, since last weekend I was in Madrid. It's nice to be able to relax after a week of classes.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Life in Salamanca
Today was the first day of official classes. We didn't actually have class, but we had a placement test. It was actually a bit more difficult than I thought, plus we didn't have enough time. But that's fine. I hope I am in a class that challenges me and allows me to learn lots of new things, but does not create much stress.
In other news, I like the new student that just moved in yesterday. She is from Sudan and she's really cute and stylish. She speaks Arabic, English, French and Spanish, but she says she has a lot of trouble with Spanish. It doesn't seem like she has been studying it for very long at all, but it's cool that she knows so many languages. She said she thought Spanish was the hardest language out of all of those.
Additionally, I also found out that I got an override for the Spanish class I really wanted to take in the fall, so I'm pretty happy about that as well! Today I officially signed up for my weekend trips through the university and I went to the river with some friends to hang out.
Tonight I think I'm going to hang out with some friends and celebrate Fourth of July. It's strange that I'm not in America for that. Tomorrow, I'm really excited to start my actual classes. I think I'm going to learn a lot.
In other news, I like the new student that just moved in yesterday. She is from Sudan and she's really cute and stylish. She speaks Arabic, English, French and Spanish, but she says she has a lot of trouble with Spanish. It doesn't seem like she has been studying it for very long at all, but it's cool that she knows so many languages. She said she thought Spanish was the hardest language out of all of those.
Additionally, I also found out that I got an override for the Spanish class I really wanted to take in the fall, so I'm pretty happy about that as well! Today I officially signed up for my weekend trips through the university and I went to the river with some friends to hang out.
Tonight I think I'm going to hang out with some friends and celebrate Fourth of July. It's strange that I'm not in America for that. Tomorrow, I'm really excited to start my actual classes. I think I'm going to learn a lot.
Mi Viaje a Madrid
This weekend, I took a lovely, slightly impromptu trip to Madrid with my friend Brittany from our program. It was nice because she has a friend from MSU studying in Madrid, so we had someone to meet us there once we got off the bus and give us some pointers around the city. The bus ride took about three hours to get there from Salamanca, and then we had to take the Metro to our hostel. At first, I thought it would be really complicated to get around the city, but the Metro is extremely convenient and actually quite easy to use!
We got off the Metro at our stop, Tribunal, right by our hostel and managed to find it. It was this little place called Pop Hostel on Calle Espiritu Santo. I had never really been to a hostel before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleased with this place. It cost 18 euro/night. Our room was a four person room with a bathroom inside. We shared the room with two Australians who were traveling the world for six months and won't be done until November! They were really nice and good people to share a room with. I was glad they spoke English, too.
The first night we ended up going out for dinner and I got a ceasar salad. A little bit different than our salads here, but I was craving something with vegetables because I eat SO MUCH meat in this country (for example I ate generous portions of pork, chicken, AND beef today for lunch). During the night, we went to Chueca with Brittany's friend and his other friends. Chueca is the gay district in Madrid and this past weekend, there was a huge gay pride festival. People were EVERYWHERE! This area of town must have had a million people there that night. The streets were absolutely packed with people, some wearing quite interesting things. There was even a drag show in the middle of the town, but there were too many people pushing us this way and that so I couldn't really see it. We walked around a little bit and got to see the town a little bit. With all the people out, the streets seemed pretty dirty and littered, but it was still interesting to experience the festivities.
The next morning we got breakfast at the hostel and set out to see everything we could in Madrid. We visited Templo de Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple and saw the hieroglyphs. This was probably one of my favorite places we visited this day. After that, we went to several plazas including Plaza de España and Puerta del Sol. There were a lot of monumental statues there and interesting things going on. We stopped in some of the shops and looked around. After, we headed to Parque de Retiro. I feel like it can kind of be compared to Central Park. There were a lot of vendors trying to sell things at the entrance to the park and inside. After leaving the park, we went for lunch near Museo del Prado, but we wanted to wait to go into the museum so we could get in for free. The place we ate lunch with had the most hilarious man working there. What a riot! He wanted to speak to us in English and he kept kissing Brittany's hand and guiding us to a seat. When a Japanese family came into the restaurant, he tried speaking Japanese with them! This man was absolutely hilarious.
After lunch we took the Metro back to the Plaza Mayor and checked out the scene over there. There were a lot of cool shops and I bought a Spain bracelet from a fútbol store. We also stopped for some gelato. It was HOT in Madrid. We met another few American students in the gelato place too. After checking out the plaza and looking at some shops, we went back to Museo del Prado. It was a pretty big museum, but I was almost too tired to fully enjoy the artwork. It was a lot of portraits, which were quite beautiful, but did become a bit monotonous after a while. After taking some time at Prado, we went to Reina Sofia, but not before stopping at Burger King for some refreshing Coca Cola (very expensive, cost 1,95 euro... WHERE is the dollar menu? After we continued walking down, we saw a McDonald's which had an "Express" window on the side where you could walk up and order instead of a drive-through!) Reina Sofia was a much more modern looking building. The elevators were held in glass so you could see outside as you went up. I enjoyed the artwork in Reina Sofia much more than at Prado. It contained a collection of much more modern, dynamic art. I got to see the main art on display, Picasso's Guernica. It was really quite epic. There was also a series of pictures which showed the evolution and creation of the work. I liked going through those and seeing how his ideas and depictions changed up until the final product.
After Reina Sofia, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. We ate ensalada mixta, wihch is a pretty basic salad here: lettuce, tomato, tuna, and this white asparagus which is amazing. We also got personal pizzas. After this, we went back to the hostel and rested for a while. What a day so far! By the time we headed out for the "night" it was already 1:30AM, just in time to take the Metro before closing. But do not fear, the streets were hopping with plenty of people. This is "early" in the night for Spaniards. Really. We arrived at a club called Kapital, which had seven floors! It cost 20 euro to get in, but I figured I had to experience this. We spent some time exploring each of the floors and met some Italians who tried to make us guess where they were form. Apparently, Italians will just come up to you and try to speak English because they don't know Spanish so they just try their luck. I thought they were just picking us out for being Americans, but turns out that most of them know decent English and try to use that with people. Compared to Salamanca actually, a lot of people in Madrid could speak English, or at least a little bit. It's such a big city and so diverse that there's just a bigger mix of more languages and people from all different backgrounds. We also met some Spanish boys who tried to teach us some "interesting" vocabulary. Since the Metro didn't open back up until 6AM, we ended up staying at the club until then! The night life is so different here!
The next day, we woke up and headed to La Latina, a neighborhood where they have a market. I bought a pair of "pantaloones" as I like to call them, but they are quite the style in Europe. Who knows how they will be perceived back in the United States? They are kind of like parachute pants I guess. Black, with a brown high-waisted belt. But they are so light and airy. Very comfortable.
After La Latina, we had to rush to the bus station. We took the Metro there (used up exactly the ten allotted rides we had) and had to transfer twice to get to the bus station! We literally made it RIGHT ON TIME! After the weekend, I was glad to be back at home in Salamanca. Madrid is a great city, but it's too crowded and big for me. I really like the concept of the Metro, but the city is just too chaotic for me to spend a long time. Salamanca is more like Ann Arbor: city setting, but not too big and with a lot of charm. I like being able to walk to my destinations and easily meet up with people than have to navigate a large city, although I think I am able to do so and it's an important skill to have.
We got off the Metro at our stop, Tribunal, right by our hostel and managed to find it. It was this little place called Pop Hostel on Calle Espiritu Santo. I had never really been to a hostel before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleased with this place. It cost 18 euro/night. Our room was a four person room with a bathroom inside. We shared the room with two Australians who were traveling the world for six months and won't be done until November! They were really nice and good people to share a room with. I was glad they spoke English, too.
The first night we ended up going out for dinner and I got a ceasar salad. A little bit different than our salads here, but I was craving something with vegetables because I eat SO MUCH meat in this country (for example I ate generous portions of pork, chicken, AND beef today for lunch). During the night, we went to Chueca with Brittany's friend and his other friends. Chueca is the gay district in Madrid and this past weekend, there was a huge gay pride festival. People were EVERYWHERE! This area of town must have had a million people there that night. The streets were absolutely packed with people, some wearing quite interesting things. There was even a drag show in the middle of the town, but there were too many people pushing us this way and that so I couldn't really see it. We walked around a little bit and got to see the town a little bit. With all the people out, the streets seemed pretty dirty and littered, but it was still interesting to experience the festivities.
The next morning we got breakfast at the hostel and set out to see everything we could in Madrid. We visited Templo de Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple and saw the hieroglyphs. This was probably one of my favorite places we visited this day. After that, we went to several plazas including Plaza de España and Puerta del Sol. There were a lot of monumental statues there and interesting things going on. We stopped in some of the shops and looked around. After, we headed to Parque de Retiro. I feel like it can kind of be compared to Central Park. There were a lot of vendors trying to sell things at the entrance to the park and inside. After leaving the park, we went for lunch near Museo del Prado, but we wanted to wait to go into the museum so we could get in for free. The place we ate lunch with had the most hilarious man working there. What a riot! He wanted to speak to us in English and he kept kissing Brittany's hand and guiding us to a seat. When a Japanese family came into the restaurant, he tried speaking Japanese with them! This man was absolutely hilarious.
After lunch we took the Metro back to the Plaza Mayor and checked out the scene over there. There were a lot of cool shops and I bought a Spain bracelet from a fútbol store. We also stopped for some gelato. It was HOT in Madrid. We met another few American students in the gelato place too. After checking out the plaza and looking at some shops, we went back to Museo del Prado. It was a pretty big museum, but I was almost too tired to fully enjoy the artwork. It was a lot of portraits, which were quite beautiful, but did become a bit monotonous after a while. After taking some time at Prado, we went to Reina Sofia, but not before stopping at Burger King for some refreshing Coca Cola (very expensive, cost 1,95 euro... WHERE is the dollar menu? After we continued walking down, we saw a McDonald's which had an "Express" window on the side where you could walk up and order instead of a drive-through!) Reina Sofia was a much more modern looking building. The elevators were held in glass so you could see outside as you went up. I enjoyed the artwork in Reina Sofia much more than at Prado. It contained a collection of much more modern, dynamic art. I got to see the main art on display, Picasso's Guernica. It was really quite epic. There was also a series of pictures which showed the evolution and creation of the work. I liked going through those and seeing how his ideas and depictions changed up until the final product.
After Reina Sofia, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. We ate ensalada mixta, wihch is a pretty basic salad here: lettuce, tomato, tuna, and this white asparagus which is amazing. We also got personal pizzas. After this, we went back to the hostel and rested for a while. What a day so far! By the time we headed out for the "night" it was already 1:30AM, just in time to take the Metro before closing. But do not fear, the streets were hopping with plenty of people. This is "early" in the night for Spaniards. Really. We arrived at a club called Kapital, which had seven floors! It cost 20 euro to get in, but I figured I had to experience this. We spent some time exploring each of the floors and met some Italians who tried to make us guess where they were form. Apparently, Italians will just come up to you and try to speak English because they don't know Spanish so they just try their luck. I thought they were just picking us out for being Americans, but turns out that most of them know decent English and try to use that with people. Compared to Salamanca actually, a lot of people in Madrid could speak English, or at least a little bit. It's such a big city and so diverse that there's just a bigger mix of more languages and people from all different backgrounds. We also met some Spanish boys who tried to teach us some "interesting" vocabulary. Since the Metro didn't open back up until 6AM, we ended up staying at the club until then! The night life is so different here!
The next day, we woke up and headed to La Latina, a neighborhood where they have a market. I bought a pair of "pantaloones" as I like to call them, but they are quite the style in Europe. Who knows how they will be perceived back in the United States? They are kind of like parachute pants I guess. Black, with a brown high-waisted belt. But they are so light and airy. Very comfortable.
After La Latina, we had to rush to the bus station. We took the Metro there (used up exactly the ten allotted rides we had) and had to transfer twice to get to the bus station! We literally made it RIGHT ON TIME! After the weekend, I was glad to be back at home in Salamanca. Madrid is a great city, but it's too crowded and big for me. I really like the concept of the Metro, but the city is just too chaotic for me to spend a long time. Salamanca is more like Ann Arbor: city setting, but not too big and with a lot of charm. I like being able to walk to my destinations and easily meet up with people than have to navigate a large city, although I think I am able to do so and it's an important skill to have.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tapas y Más...
Tapas are basically one of the most awesome things ever. If you buy a drink, you automatically get a little appetizer. The tapas range in type: there's everything from ham, or roasted pig, to egg and potato tortillas, to seafood. The other night, my food class went tapa hopping with our professor and he showed us some of the best places to go on Calle Van Dyck. The first place we went to, I tried the sangria and cochinillo asado, which is like roasted pig. It was so tender and the skin was really flavorful and crunchy. At the next place we went to, I tried the ribs (costillas). Dad, I think yours are pretty good compared to these ribs, actually. I also tried queso de oveja en pan which is sheep cheese on bread. It's a firm cheese, but it was pretty good. I was kind of surprised because I usually don't really eat cheese, but I've found myself enjoying this. (I had several slices of curado y semicurado queso de oveja en clase today.) My favorite tapa I tried was tortilla with calabacin, which is zucchini. I think this was my favorite tapa so far. Today, I also tried calamari, which is super, super fresh here and not as tough to chew.
Aside from that, the nightlife is pretty bumping here in Spain. The bars are open until at least 5AM as far as I know and natives laugh when I say that 2AM is late for me and I want to go home and sleep! But it's lots of fun here. They play A LOT of American music which I think is funny because they don't even know what it means, but that's alright... At least I'm familiar with it! I wish I could hear some more cultural music though sometimes.
For the most part, everything is going well. I think I've adjusted pretty well so far. I think I'm going to Madrid this weekend so I'm pretty excited about that!
Pictures to come soon!
Aside from that, the nightlife is pretty bumping here in Spain. The bars are open until at least 5AM as far as I know and natives laugh when I say that 2AM is late for me and I want to go home and sleep! But it's lots of fun here. They play A LOT of American music which I think is funny because they don't even know what it means, but that's alright... At least I'm familiar with it! I wish I could hear some more cultural music though sometimes.
For the most part, everything is going well. I think I've adjusted pretty well so far. I think I'm going to Madrid this weekend so I'm pretty excited about that!
Pictures to come soon!
Las Diferencias Entre España y los Estados Unidos
I've noticed a couple of blatant differences between here and home which I think are totally interesting. For one, about 75% or more of people DO NOT have their dogs on leashes as they walk around town. They just let them loose. It seems like the dogs pretty much stay by their owners. This makes me nervous especially by busy streets, but they just don't use leashes. Maybe not as many as I think, but it's definitely very apparent that there's a generous proportion of individuals who don't leash their dogs.
Also, this is really interesting, but I noticed an ambulance driving through the street the other day and no one pulled over or stopped! I asked my teacher about this and apparently it doesn't matter; there's no law saying that you have to pull over and stop! Interesting.
Other smaller things are obviously the hours of meals and how they work. Breakfast is at a normal time, but isn't a very big deal here. Therefore, I don't eat very much for breakfast but my host mom did buy me some cereal. Every day at breakfast I also get fresh fruit and maybe some other kind of pastry. I miss my eggs and bagels. They don't know what bagels are here or pancakes. Lunch happens at at least 2PM. In my house it consists of two courses. Baguette is always served. Dinner happens at 9:15PM in my house. SO LATE! But I'm getting used to it. That's how Spaniards stay out so late; when you have dinner that late it really keeps you going for a while.
Also, this is really interesting, but I noticed an ambulance driving through the street the other day and no one pulled over or stopped! I asked my teacher about this and apparently it doesn't matter; there's no law saying that you have to pull over and stop! Interesting.
Other smaller things are obviously the hours of meals and how they work. Breakfast is at a normal time, but isn't a very big deal here. Therefore, I don't eat very much for breakfast but my host mom did buy me some cereal. Every day at breakfast I also get fresh fruit and maybe some other kind of pastry. I miss my eggs and bagels. They don't know what bagels are here or pancakes. Lunch happens at at least 2PM. In my house it consists of two courses. Baguette is always served. Dinner happens at 9:15PM in my house. SO LATE! But I'm getting used to it. That's how Spaniards stay out so late; when you have dinner that late it really keeps you going for a while.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Primer Día Completo en Salamanca
After discussing some of the food traditions in Spain, my group went out on the town to explore the cathedrals and the actual university building, which is 800 years old! Our teacher then took us out for tapas at a little place called Bambú. I got some sort of potato omelette pie thing stuffed with lettuce, tomato, some kind of sauce, topped with tuna and cheese, and served with a slice of delicious bread. I also tried sangria, which was also incredible. After tapas, I went with some friends to Vodafone to get a prepaid phone card. Luckily my old phone from the US worked with their SIM card, so I didn't have to get a new phone. My phone allows me to call and text my friends in Spain and I just have to load credit as needed. I think I can also call the US, but it uses up a lot more credit, obviously.
After I came home for lunch, which was pretty delicious. I had a sampling of some of Spain's finest meat, and delicious cherries (I'm assuming from the fruit market I saw by my apartment). After this, my friend Alli and I went for a walk and checked out some of the shopping on Toro. Looks like there's some pretty awesome stores and I can't wait to go back once the summer sales start. Literally shoe stores every other building!
Later in the evening, the entire group went out for dinner at Telepizza. I chatted with some girls and found running buddies. Tomorrow I think I'm going running with a friend before we have class at 11AM. Tomorrow should be a pretty good day. I have my food class, and then we're going out for tapas later in the evening to replace Wednesday's class. Sounds like heaven, right? I'm enjoying it. Besides this, life is good. I'm not really experiencing any jet lag, which is optimal. It's just kind of confusing since dinner happens around 9PM on average, so it kind of gives you too much energy before you have to go to sleep.
¡Mas luego!
Oh y aquí están más fotos de mi cuarto...
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Successful & Safe Arrival to Spain
The flights were awesome; it's been about six years since I've been on a plane, so I was totally thrilled by it all. I couldn't stop staring out of the plane window like a little kid! I just kept marveling at the incredibly engineering of airplanes and what they can do for us and being able to look at the world from a totally different perspective. When can you ever see so much at one time?
When I got to ATL, I pretty much relaxed and wandering around for a while. Waiting for my second flight went a lot faster than I thought. The international portion of the flight was pretty good. There were a lot more students from my program on this flight. I sat next to a woman from New Orleans who was going to Spain to teach and to do research. She was really nice and helpful the whole way and a good flight companion. The flight from Atlanta to Madrid was only about 8 hours or so. Flying over the ocean was totally crazy! So many clouds! The majority of the flight was over the ocean too. It's incredible how big it is. They served us dinner on the flight and I tried to sleep, but I don't think I got more than a few hours in... Not so comfortable! They woke us up at about 8AM Madrid time to give us breakfast and to prep for landing. Landing in Madrid was so surreal! I still can't really believe I'm actually in a foreign country.
I waited around at the MAD airport for a few hours with some people from my program. Everyone I've met so far seems really nice and cool. We eventually boarded the Avanzabus from Madrid to Salamanca at about 13:00 and headed on our way. I tried to check out the scenery for a while but I ended up falling asleep! I'm still super tired! It's 11PM here so I'm about to go to sleep after I finish writing this in hopes of getting on a normal schedule, but I think I should be fine within about two days.
When I got to Salamanca, we all met up in the bus station and then had the chance to walk around the city a bit before we met our host families. I walked around with a few other people and we stopped at a cafe in the main town plaza to rehydrate and then headed back. I was really nervous, but also excited to meet my host family.
I finally got matched up with my host mom. Her name is Rosa García Sanchez and she lives on Filiberto Villalobos street in an apartment. It's pretty nice. My room is near the front door of the apartment and it's kind of small, but just right for me. I put all of my belongings away and it's pretty comfortable. Rosa's apartment is really nice and clean. Across from my bedroom is a large room, which is like a hair salon. She said that she does hair in there... Pretty cool. Good thing I didn't bring any of my hair appliances... She's basically all decked out! Next to my room is the kitchen, then the bathroom is behind that, and then there are two more bedrooms and a family room/dining room. Pretty much we watch TV while we eat. It seems like a lot of TV watching happens on a daily basis. I'm also totally relieved that she has wifi in the apartment... I was a little worried. But this is great!
I gave Rosa the gift I had brought for her: a tile from Norther Michigan. I think she really liked it! Rosa's pretty sweet and nice to talk to. She said my Spanish was pretty good, so that's a relief since I'm only starting out here and I'm also pretty tired right now! Woah just heard English from the TV... Haha I think I'm beginning to think more in Spanish already automatically and it's only been a couple of hours. So far, it's also really hot here. Apparently, it's an "ola de calor" (wave of heat), but I'm pretty sure it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit here today!
Rosa also has a 21-year old daughter named Sylvia who has graduated from the university already. I'm pretty sure she has another older daughter as well who has a baby boy. It doesn't seem like Sylvia hangs around here all the time, but I'll wait and see! She seems really sweet. I think she goes to take care of her nephew later in the day. Oh, and by the way, whenever you meet someone here, you kiss them once on each cheek. And next week, an Arab exchange student is moving in, which should be pretty exciting.
Dinner tonight happened after 9PM. That's normal for Spain, but I had a pretty good omelette with some cheese inside, a salad with some yummy balsamic vinegar-type dressing on it, bread, and a "paraguaya" which is a fruit that looks like a squished, fuzzy nectarine. I've definitely had these before in the US, but I forget what they're called in English.
Well that's all I've got for now. I'm probably going to fall asleep as soon as I lay down. I'm seriously EXHAUSTED!! I think I'm waking up around 7:45AM for some kind of group orientation at the universidad. Not quite sure what's going on yet. Also looking to get some kind of movíl (cell phone) set up tomorrow and pick up un diccionario (how did I forget mine?)... oops. Eh, maybe since I have internet I can live without buying another one. Google translate... YES!
Buenas noches y hasta la próxima vez.
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