Spring Break 2010

Spring Break: So this past week and a half was our spring break...Last Thursday, Gretchen, Erica and I left to go to Paris...we nearly died on the flight there, no joke. Like, I've been in turbulence before but this was rough...the flight attendants came out and started looking at each other with worried expressions- and that's when you know it's bad...but we survived. Barely.

Once we got to our hostel, we walked in to find glass on the floor and a window that wouldn't shut. But because it was already midnight at this point, they couldn't switch us to a different room so we had to deal with it. Just our luck. But the next two days we decided to get up early and go see all the touristy stuff (And we decided to be complete tourists and take one of those open bus tour things as well) : Eiffel Tower, The Lourve, Notre Dame, shopped down Champs de Elysses street, went to Versailles. All that good stuff. Surprisingly, although it was not warm, it didn't POUR on us which was great. The food in Paris was GREAT though...especially the desserts...I had the best chocolate cake ever at the restaurant we went to the first night.

One of our friends, Caroline, is also studying in Paris for the semester so we met up with her one night. Our friend who had been a tour guide in Paris for the summer recommend this small hole-in-the-wall type place we went to which served cheese fondue and wine in baby bottles. (Not quite sure why but it was fun).

But one of my favorite things about Paris was seeing the Eiffel Tower at night all lit up. We got hot chocolate and walked down and it was soo pretty! So different actually seeing it in real life versus in pictures.

Then the next morning we had a few hours before our flight left so we went to the Sacre Cour (i think?) which was up on a hill and had a fabulous view of the entire city. After walking up hundreds of stairs we then discovered there was actually an elevator that could have taken us up...haha oops? So we went back to our hostel and they were supposed to have a cab there for us but of course the cab came about 45 minutes late and once we got to the airport the longest flight was of course for Aegean, what we were flying to Greece. Well, needless to say we were cutting it pretty close when we ran on that plane but we made it so no worries.

So we got to Athens, Greece later that night and needed to take a cab to our hotel. This is where the second near death experience comes in. Our cab driver decides to drive us down a street where hundreds of men are swarming the streets. Well, our cabbie decides to drive down this street and our cab is swarmed by these men trying to open our cab doors and steal our bags out of the trunk...didn't think we were going to make it out of there alive and in one piece...but he pulls down the next road and goes "here's your hotel. I would suggest not going down that street because it's not great but if you turn the other way it's quite touristy." Ok. But the hotel was very nice and the other side of the street was actually quite touristy so it all worked out.

The next morning we got up real early and went down to Piraeus, the port, and got on a ferry to take us to Mykonos. It took like five hours to get there on the ferry. It was like a scene exactly out of the Sisterhood of the Traveling pants movie...white houses with blue windows! So pretty! So we took a shuttle to our hotel that was on the beach and since it was sunny we decided to lay out for a couple of hours. Then we headed into town and walked through the streets and ate dinner right by the beach. Apparently everything was just opening up for the season because there weren't that many people there yet and a lot of the hotels/restaurants/bars were closed until May when they swing into touristy season. But we were just glad to see the sun and not have to wear a jacket for once.

The next afternoon we headed back to Athens and got in at night...we found another Greek restaurant to eat at (I think i've had enough gyros and meat to last me awhile) and walked around the streets. We headed to the Acropolis the next day to look at the ancient Grecian ruins and went shopping and to the flea market...We found that we were glad we weren't in Athens for the full four days because we were running out of things to occupy oursevles with after just one full day in Greece.

Then Friday we got up real early and headed back to Madrid and have been relaxing/enjoying the sunshine in Madrid for the weekend...I actually have to go back to school tomorrow...what? This whole school thing really is getting in the way here...

senora.

Erica, Ana, Gretchen and I

This is a picture of my roommates and I with our Senora here in Spain, Ana, on St. Patrick's Day!

i am cultured.

So this past weekend we experienced two major cultural events in Spain- Las Fallas y la Corrida de Toros (bull fight!)

Las Fallas took place in Valencia on the East coast...so we got on a bus on Friday afternoon around noon and arrived in Valencia around 4ish. There were thousands and thousands and thousands of people there....the streets were jam packed!! But basically in all the streets were huge float-like arrangements...crazy scenes from fairy tales or stories. So during the evening we walked around looking at them while people were setting off firecrackers and fireworks everywhere. Then at midnight they burned all the "fallas." We obviously would pick the worst falla to stand in front of to wait to burn...because it never did. Bad choice. But it was cool to actually be in Valencia for this national holiday and see this all go down.


THE BURNING FALLA...this is what the streets looked like...

THE FALLA BEFORE...

Then Sunday we went to a bull fight! Bull fighting season is March-October in Spain, but right now the novice bullfighters are the only ones participating. So although our bulls weren't as big as normal and the torreros weren't "official," it was still very cool to see. We had great seats too! But what basically happened was there were three torreros, or bullfighters. A bull would be released into the ring and the people in the ring would try to make the bull real angry by teasing it with brightly colored pink capes. Then in the second part the "picadores" would come out on a horse and the bull would charge the horse and the picador on top would stab the bull in the neck to try and get it's neck muscles to weaken. Next, they would take six knifes and shove then into the bull's back to get the bull even more mad. That's when the torrero would come out. He has a red cape and would wave it around in front of the bull to have the bull charge it...his goal was to do as many dangerous movements while remaining very close in distance to the bull. After that, he would take his sword and kill the bull...then they would drag the bull out of the ring and the next bull fighter would enter....whoever had the most "professional" moves and greatest audience approval would win the competition. Yes, it's a tad cruel but it's Spain's national sport and I'm glad I got to experience it.

The best torrero and his gang...

At the end of this week our spring break begins....we're heading to Paris, France for four days and then to Athens, Greece!! We then will be back in Madrid for Easter weekend!!! SOO excited!!

bonjour francia

(Biarritz)

So this past week was amazing! For our culture class we traveled to northern Spain (Pais Vasco) for a few days and then decided that since we were so close to France we would just hop the border and spend the rest of the weekend in the beautiful city of Biarritz.

So we left Wednesday morning on our bus and stopped at a bodega (wine cellar) in La Rioja on the way up. After getting a tour from one of the guides on how they made and where they kept the wine, we got to do a little wine tasting ourselves. I ACTUALLY found a wine that I don't hate. I don't remember exactly what it is called but it was a mixture between white wine and red wine.

After the winery, we got back on our bus and headed to Bilbao, where we would be spending our first night. We checked into our hotel and then our professor took us to the downtown area where we had our first experience with the Basque country's "pintxos." Pintxos are basically the same thing as tapas, which I guess could be comparable to appetizers in the US. So we explored a few different pintxo bars- each one seeming to be better and better.

(PINTXOS)

The next morning we headed to the Guggenheim museum...I think my favorite part about the museum was the actual building and structure itself. The exhibit at the time inside was composed of objects created from old sinks, pipes and bike pieces...not exactly my cup of tea.

We then stopped at Guernica (the city that was bombed where Picasso got his inspiration from for his painting) and toured the town hall and then had prolly the best lunch EVERRR. We had a 5 course meal and I have never been so full!

After that we got back on the bus and headed to San Sebastian, which is supposed to be one of the most gorgeous cities in Spain. But of course the whole time we were there it was rainy and cold (side note: according to our senora, this is the coldest winter Spain has had in FOREVER- perfect.) But we once again explored the downtown area, did a little window shopping and had some more famous "pintxos." The next day we headed to the Chillida museum with large sculptures and then our class trip was up.

So then our trip to France began! We took a metro to the border of France and from there took a train about a half hour to the city of Biarritz. We stayed in this cute little bed and breakfast that was a two minute walk from the beach...and the best part was: we had sun! Although it was still pretty chilly, the sun made a huge difference.

So we were pretty tired that day but we walked around a little and had lunch/dinner. The next day we got breakfast in bed (greatest chocolate croissant!) and then decided to do a little shopping. Believe it or not, I caved in and got a Long Champ bag...it's actually pretty cute though. :)

The hardest part about Biarritz was not being able to understand a SINGLE word though...besides bon jour and au revoir I just had to smile at people and hope someone spoke english.

On Sunday we had to head back to Madrid- and even though we seemed pretty close it took us 12 hours to get home...from the train station to the metro, metro to train station, 5 hour train ride to madrid and a metro ride home...

But I think this trip has been one of my favorites so far! Bearritz was just absolutely beautiful and we had a really fun group!

LOVE

So since we have sadly reached the halfway point....

WHAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ABOUT MADRID

1). THE FOOD....especially tortialla and paella. Literally everything that is made in our house though is just SO GREAT. And I have become a lot more of an adventurous eater as well--I've eaten fish, vegetables and sooo many things I thought I would never like.

2). THE NIGHTLIFE...needless to say the nightlife is extremely different here...we don't leave to go out until after 11 and then don't return home until like 5ish. It's crazy but it's how they do it.

3). Since things don't open until later or are usually closed on the weekends, it's okay to sleep in late because there is nothing else to do!

4). THE PEOPLE...they've all been so friendly!

5). TRANSPORTATION...surprisingly I thought that having to take the bus and metro was going to suck...but it has saved our lives. It gets us where we want to be quickly.

6). CLASS?...well not to say that I love going to class because, frankly, I believe that school and that sort just get in the way here...but in relation to what I would be doing back in Dallas I would say that school is a lot LESS intense here.

7). TRAVELING...i love being so close to many cool places that you can make a weekend trip out of...and I love that part of our culture class involves traveling to places like Andalucia, Segovia, Escorial and Pais Vasco.

8). The fact that cabs are really cheap! Woo!

9). Retiro Park...huge and gorgeous park.

10). The monuments and museums that are everywhereee

11). Shopping!

WHAT I DON'T LIKE SO MUCH...

1). Sopa de ajo...its garlic soup and it's supposed to be absolutely incredle but I just don't get it...it is a soup that has soggy bread in it and does not taste good...but when our senora serves it...we have to eat so we have no other choice.

2). WASHING CLOTHES...they don't have dryers here so everything is hung dry...which means everything is crispy and crunchy...and let me tell you, crunch towels and shirts are not so fun.

3.) Dinner time....i thought i would get used to eating dinner at 9:30 every night...but not so much...come 8 oclock i am usually dying of hunger...

4). The fact that the metro closes at 1:30 am...in my oppinion it should just be open all night. It would make our lives so much easier.

5.) Homework, papers, midterms and projects...I don't think they should be required.

6.) I miss my blackberry...i have an oldschool phone but I miss MY phone.

7). The shower...we have to hold the shower head...and this gets challenging when you're trying to put shampoo in your hair because you have to put the hose down on the floor and step on it so it doesn't spray you everywhere.

halfway?

So now that midterms are done things have calmed down once again...last Friday we went on a class trip to Escorial and saw the Palace that Felipe II had created...it was HUGE. Gigantic library, church and palace all in one. But it was really beautiful! After that we went to the Valle de los Caidos which was constructed by prisoners during the Spanish Civil War for Franco.

After that we spent the weekend celebrating one of our friend's 21st birthdays here in Madrid. I feel like even though we have been here for two months now, there is still so much in this city left to do and see!

Saturday we found a store called Taste for America...it has food shipped in from the states. I bought peanut butter, Pop-Tarts and a bag of small 100 grand bars. I spent about the equivalent of 24 bucks on all of it. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Worth it? Absolutely.

Then Saturday night I experienced my first Spanish cinema. There is a movie theatre right behind our flat so we walked over to see the movie Celda 211. It was actually a really interesting movie that has won a TON of awards here in Spain. Too bad I didn't understand most of the conversations between the characters...but I understood the general idea of it so I think that's good enough.

This week was just another week of classes...and then last night we actually went to a "zarzuela" with our class which was kind of like a spanish musical...It was called Dona Francisquita and interestingly enough, our program coordinator's grandfather was the writer of this very famous spanish zarzuela so our program coordinator owns the rights to it.

Gretchen's best friend is in town this weekend from home on her spring break so we are just staying in Madrid this weekend...this actually is going to be one of our last full weekends in Madrid because next week we will be in the north of spain/south of france and then we have spring break. So the semester is going by wayyyyyyy to quickly!!

CADIZ CRAZINESS

Ooo midterm week. In the past 36 hours I have had three midterms. And I guess since I haven’t really done a whole lot of work this semester they kind of kicked me in the butt.

BUT this past weekend we traveled to the south of Spain (Cadiz) with a travel group here in Madrid called European vibe. Cadiz is famous for its Carneval. Carneval is basically like a huge Mardi gras celebration, only everyone is dressed up in Halloween costumes. So we took a bus down on Friday morning (7 am? No thank you) and it took us TEN HOURS to get down there. Granted the bus stopped like three times but it was quite the long bus ride.

Once we finally got to our hotel we realized that there really weren’t too many hotels around the area so we went to a grocery to stock up on bread and sandwich meat. Our hotel was very nice as well. We had a balcony that overlooked a golf course and were like a five minute walk from the beach. Cadiz is supposed to be really pretty in the summer months but the weather wasn’t bad when we were there! It was like 60 and sunny for most of the two days that we were there and then when we left on Sunday it was raining. Everyone kept telling us we lucked out because the previous weekend all it did was rain and many parts of the city had flooded.

But Friday night they took us out to a nightclub and then Saturday during the day we had the day to relax and get ready for Carneval. The bus left for Carneval at 4 and we were all set to go in our costumes. Gretchen, Erica and I had on black leggings, bright skirts and weird patterned shirts with boas, sequined headbands and had drawn designs all over the sides of our faces. But some of the costumes there were RIDICULOUS. Some people had full-on astronaut or Avatar costumes. But needless to say, there was not a single person there that was NOT in costume. We basically walked around and met some (interesting?) people from all over Spain. Think of Summerfest- and picture everyone in costumes. That’s basically what it was. So great.
(picture of our group in Cadiz)

The downside was that Sunday we had to endure a ten hour bus ride home and got back real late at night with midterms beginning in two days…haha oops.

On a sadder note, this morning our senora’s mom died : ( She had been sick for some time and was 101 years old so she knew it was going to come soon. However, she left with her son and her daughter this morning to go over there and won’t be back for awhile.

Friday we’re headed to Escorial for a day trip with the school and then we are going to be in Madrid for the weekend!! Wooo!

Andalucía

Last week, our class headed to the south of Spain---Andalucía. We took a bus down and stopped in Cordoba along the way to see the Mezquita de Cordoba. The weather was absolutely beautiful there (and about 60 degrees) and during our lunch break we sat out in the sun in the courtyard, surrounded by orange trees. In many of cities in the South, they plant orange trees so that in the spring and summer, the cities have an amazing aroma.

After touring the Mezquita (the place where Christopher Columbus was buried) we got back on the bus and headed to Sevilla to check into our hotel (a nice four star hotel by the way J ). We had free time to explore the city and at night we all went to a small tapas bar and had some FANTASTIC tapas…I’m not really quite sure what I ordered but it was good. Then one of my friends from high school, Lizzie, happened to be studying in Sevilla for the semester so our group decided to meet up with hers and we explored the “Sevillan nightlife.”

The next morning we did some more group touring and went to Los Reales Alcazares y el Catedral. Afterwards they took us to a restaurant and we literally got a 6 course meal: salad and bread, tortilla, pea soup, SCALLOPS (and I ate them), pork and dessert. That night we also went to see a flamenco dance show a la Casa de la Memoria. The last city we went to was Granada, which was actually a lot bigger and had more of a “city” feel than I thought it would. We saw the church where the famous Spanish King and Queen, Isabel y Fernando, are buried and had a chance to do a little shopping. I got a cute blue purse. Then that night we went to Las Cuevas to see an authentic flamenco show. We were literally driven up to the mountains and taken into a cave-like theatre and watched the show. Then we got a mini-tour of the city at night and saw La Alhambra lit up. So pretty!!

The final day we got a tour of La Alhambra. This place is HUGE. It took us three hours to tour everything. But it’s such an important site because it’s one of the last remains of Moorish influence in Spain. We were able to see all the rooms of the different palaces, and the fortresses and the extravagant garden. After the tour (that literally felt like the tour that was NEVER going to end) we were all grateful to get back on the bus and head six hours back to Madrid.

Gretchen’s birthday was on Saturday night so we all decided to take her out to a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant which turned out to be veryyy delicious (and probably had some of the best margaritas I’ve ever tasted). After we headed to a club called Pacha. We got there at 1 am and realized we were still VERY early in Spain time. It’s so weird to think that at home, the bars are closing at 2, but here, the crowds don’t even start to come out until 2 here.

This weekend we will be staying in Madrid, but the following weekend (the 19-21) we are heading back down to southern Spain once again to Cadiz for an event called Carneval (which apparently I need an elaborate Halloween costume for).

BARCA.

This past weekend, I took a mini trip to Barcelona. We left Friday morning and took a one hour flight and were in Barcelona by 11 am. It was kind of a last minute trip as we planned it four days before we left. Our plan was to stay in a hostel, but we ended up finding a hotel that was cheaper per person and in the main area of the city as well so we decided to go for it. There were eight of us girls so we just got two rooms of four and it all worked out perfectly.





We decided to be hardcore tourists for the rest of the afternoon and went to the Picasso Museum. I’ve never been a huge art freak but this semester I am taking a class on modern painters so it’s actually cool to see what my teacher has been talking about in class in an actual museum. We saw everything from Picasso’s earliest art to his latest works (and there was, for some odd reason, an erotic art display there as well…definitely very different). We also walked around the city and down by the ocean.

That night we went to a bar called Chupitos (in Spanish, it literally means shots). This place had over 500 different shots to choose from. Some of them were normal but most were hilarious. For instance, there is a shot called Pop Rocks. You literally put pop rocks in your mouth, take the shot of whatever it is, swish it around in your mouth then swallow it. But there were literally hundreds of people crammed into this tiny place and it was basically impossible to move.

The next day we decided to hit up some more of the tourist spots: we started out the day by going to the local market where I literally had the best chocolate pastry ever and strawberry –banana juice ever. They sold everything there it was crazy- fish, candy, bread, seafood, peppers…everrrrrything. We walked around and saw some more of Gaudi’s random houses (Casa Battlo and a museum). Then we took the metro to La Sagrada Familia…this was by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It wasn’t even finished yet but it was insane. Parque Guell was next on the list…it is the made that Gaudi had been in charge of constructing. It is basically a huge park on the hills with lots of hiking and biking and then a center in the middle where there were some bands playing and people selling things.

That night we also decided to go to the IceBar. It is literally a bar made of ice- the temperature was literally at 5 degrees and they gave you these big puffy grey coats to wear. It was so much fun..but the downside was that you really couldn’t stay long inside because it was so cold. But after that we walked around the beach and met some other SMU students at a place called Black Sheep for the rest of the night.

Sadly, the next day the market was closed because it was Sunday and we just walked around the city until we had to head back to the airport around two. It’s funny because Barcelona is really different from Madrid. They are both huge cities, but to me, Barcelona felt a lot more touristy. Pretty much every time I tried to speak Spanish they would say to me “oo I speak English.” But there is a lot more color and craziness in Barca than in Madrid where everything is darker. The shops are more vibrant and the city is full of a lot more color.

Next stop: Andalucía for the next four days with the school. :)

Spanish Doctor

So I had my first experience with the Spanish doctor yesterday. My throat has been a little sore for a few days and felt swollen so I decided to give the doctor a try when advil didn't seem to be solving the problem. I asked our program coordinator where I could find a doctor who spoke English and she said there was one right around the corner from school. Needless to say, it wasn't the easiest place to find. It was in what looked like an apartment complex and you had to ring the doorbell to get in. But once I was in there was only a waiting room of like 20 80-year-olds. Reception desk? Nope. So after standing around for awhile I tried to explain that I needed to see the doctor and a nurse assured me I would...i thought it was doubtful. But after about 15 minutes I walked into the doctor's office. And that's literally exactly what it was...an office. The doctor sat on one side of his desk, with me on the other. He opened his laptop and started getting information from me and then looked at my throat and informs me I most definitely have an infection. (and he actually did not speak english so that was fun) Great. But I took my prescription and walked right over to the pharmacy and they handed me my prescriptions right then and there. No waiting neccesary! Win.

I also had my first experience as an english tutor yesterday. Our school here in Madrid has this program where they will set you up with a family and you can teach english class for 12 euros an hour. So yesterday, after getting extremely lost for about 45 minutes, I find my family which consists of a 10-year-old boy named Fernando and a 7-year-old girl named Alejandra. they know a little bit of English and the little girl understands English when I speak to her but she only will respond to me in Spanish. So I spend an hour with each of them. I'm trying to think of fun activities to do with them to make their lessons more exciting because I feel like they were bored last time.

Currently our senora is visiting her sick mom on the other side of Spain so her son and daughter are staying with us. They're very nice and speak some English.

Most exciting though, this weekend we will be heading to Barcelona! Woo! And then on Tuesday we are taking a class trip to Andalucia for 4 days!

Hola!

So I have officially been in Spain for 11 days now and am loving every minute of it. I have finally fixed my internet after almost a week and a half of it not functioning which was so frusturating. Especially trying to explain the problem in Spanish when I really didn’t even know how to say what was wrong in English.



To recap the last 11 days of my life: I pretty much never thought I was going to make it to Madrid because of the blizzard in Chicago the day I was leaving and the fact that I got extremely lost and turned around in the Frankfurt, Germany airport. But nevertheless, I found the SMU group there and we headed two hours to Madrid. Even though we were completely exhausted when we got there, our senoras son and wife showed us around the huge city and tried to give us some helpful hints. We ate potato soup and chicken for dinner, unpacked, then repacked for our trip to Toledo the next morning.

In Toledo, we had our orientation course. We had various classes about how to live in Spain, how to deal with a Spanish family, what was going to be very different and how to deal with culture shock. We also toured La Catedral and other beautiful places there. The churches were built hundreds of years ago and had interesting gothic styles and plenty of history behind each little detail.

It also snowed in Toledo which was fun! It rarely snows in Spain, especially here in Madrid, but of course when I come I bring the snow. The weekend was fun and we all got to know each other, including the University of San Diego kids who are also in our program. We headed back on Monday and had to find our way back home on the bus. Public transportation is the way to go here. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve already taken the bus or metro to school, shopping, restaurants, bars. But its safe, clean and relatively cheap so it works. We of course got lost making our way home, and walked around for a solid 45 mins before realizing we were going the wrong way.

For the next few days we were just trying to get acquainted with the city- figure out how to get to school, what our classes are going to be like, scout out some shopping places and bars. There are more bars/cafes in Spain then there are in all of Europe combined. But the bars are all very small and they are more like coffee shops/restaurants that serve alcohol. And with every purchase of a drink, you get tapas with it- which are like appetizers.

And surprisingly, I have absolutely LOVED the food here. I am usually an incredibly picky eater but I have eaten everything that has been served to me. My policy is don’t ask, just eat because if I’m told what I’m eating I prolly won’t eat it. But I’ve eaten lots of chicken and lots of different types of meat from cows, lentils, vegetables (!! I know right?), tortilla Espanola, (so great), sopas, pasta y mas. We went out to a restaurant once last week and Gretchen ordered goose liver without knowing it so that was great. I haven’t been served fish yet (YAY) but im waiting for the day to come…

Classes have also begun. I have two classes every day. My Hispanic literature class is going to be a little difficult because I am basically the only one whose Spanish isn’t perfect (and there’s only three kids in my class). I also have a Spanish class on business, a cultural class, and a class on modern painters (all taught in Spanish oyyy). So I am going to be on campus or around campus for most of my Mon-Th and then we have Fridays off. Next week I am also going to start tutoring two boys in English.

We traveled to Segovia this past Friday and visited the royal palace in La Granja and went to see the acqueducts and another palace. We also ate cochinillo (fried baby pig) which is what Segovia is famous for. Not too bad. Then that night we all decided to have a hardcore Spanish night out- which means not coming home until the metro reopens at 6 am. Needless to say, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay up until 7 am again. I’m too old for that haha.

Other than that, it has been a lot of fun getting used to the Spanish culture. They have a lot of different rules and customs. For instance, its not creepy to stare at someone here. Like literally on the metro you will look up and find people blatantly staring at you. Breakfast consists of only cereal and toast (oo and cookies) and then I usually eat a sandwich for lunch but am STARVING by the time we eat dinner at 9:30 pm. But everyone is a lot more chill here and not in such a rush like in the states.