Monday, September 27, 2010

PERI: La Mercè!!

   This past weekend was the La Mercé Festival; and also the craziest weekend of my life!!  I will do my very best to describe the madness that all of this weekend had in store.  First of all, La Mercé is the biggest celebration of the year in Barcelona, it is the celebration of the city itself and is a very big source of pride for Catalonians.  Tourists from all over the world come to Barcelona to see the festivities, school everywhere, and even many shops are closed Friday-Sunday to give people a long weekend of partying.  The traditional festivities include: giants of the city (very large puppet-like people that are worn by a single person performing dances to traditional Catalan music in many different events throughout the holiday), Correfoc (fire run where the "devils" of the city run through the streets with fireworks and chase people down, shooting the fireworks "in the air" with sparks falling on spectators (did I mention the majority of these things would be HIGHLY illegal in the states?), castellers (human castle building), lots of concerts throughout the city, and many many more events.

    Thursday night the festivities began at Plaza de Sant Jaume.  Lucky for us, this is one of the main squares where festivities are held and it is literally a three minute walk from our front door!  The opening ceremonies consisted of traditional Catalan music and the introduction of the giants (los gigantes) and the mascots of the city.  Friday was a holiday, and some of the festivities began bright and early in the morning, so Elizabeth  and I woke up early and headed down to the Plaza de Sant Jaume.  The big event of Friday was the catellers, but first even more giants were brought to the square and performed their traditional dances.  By the time the castellers were supposed to perform the square was PACKED: Spaniards, foreigners, babies, old people... everyone was there.  We were squished somewhere in the middle of the plaza, and of course, the festivities run on "Spain time" so everything starts late.  However, the teams did eventually emerge out of a side street and build their "warm-up" towers (a group of people on the ground for support, then a man, woman, and small child all piled on top of each other).  The three teams (all from Barcelona) went on to compete in 3 rounds, each time getting higher and more complex.  It was absolutely incredible to see!  The kids (all about 5-9 years old) are incredibly brave, agile, and fearless!

Giants in Plaza de Sant Jaume
First round of tower building
     That night, we went to see the firework show on the beach; the show was about 20 minutes long and very beautiful, they have different fireworks here than I have ever seen in the states.  After the fireworks, we decided to walk through the park (the same one that we walk through for school, where the large fountain is located).  There were all kinds of things going on there!  The first thing we saw was this amazing lazer-light show, the video I took does it much more justice than the picture, but I felt as though I was in a sci-fi movie!  There were many other strange things going on in the park, so I am glad that we chose to go home that way.

 Lazer!

    Saturday we had most of the day to plan something to do, the major event of the day (Correfoc) was not until 8pm, so Elizabeth and I decided to go to Monjuic, the castle on the hill that overlooks Barcelona.  We rode the metro to the cable cars and then rode those up the hill... it was breathtaking!  We saw EVERYTHING, all the way from the Mediterranean Sea to the outskirts of the city.  It looked so huge and diverse!  You don't see that kind of thing when you are just in the streets.  The castle was beautiful, there were all kinds of circus themed things going on there, unfortunately we did not make it into the circus itself, but it was definitely worth the trip.


    After coming home for a quick siesta, hit the streets for the Fire Run, or Correfoc.  It was insane.  Every year, hundreds of people dress up like devils, and take out big sticks, or pitchforks with humungous sparkler fireworks attached to pinwheel swivels, and walk through the streets and huge crowds of people, spraying them with their fireworks.  Some people feel really brave and stand in the streets with the devils, daring them to chase them (which they do without hesitation, even to people who aren't interested).  We were right up on the street, but figured we would be safe because there were a lot of people on the street in front of us, as well as a large bike-rack separating us from the street.  Well, needless to say, we were not safe there, and ended up about 50 feet further from the street when it was all over.  It was incredible to me though, there were no fire trucks, or policeman, or ambulances to be seen-- even though airborne fireworks as well as the hand held ones were going off in masses of people and between skyscrapers!  


   After Correfoc, we walked back to Sant Jaume Plaza and saw the amazing light show going on there.  3 projectors projected a 3D light show on the building that was PERFECTLY lined up with the building and its features: windows, columns, ornamentation.  It looked like the building itself was fluid and rubber and a screen of its own all at once, it was fantastic!

 All of the features you can see on the building, like the lines around the arches on the bottom floor, are projected.  Notice the windows, how they look like they are warped to the left, in person, you could not see the outlines of the real windows at all!

   Sunday, the final day of the festival, was the day of the big castellers competition!  We got up really early to get a good seat in a cafe that overlooks the square.  When we went out, there was hardly anyone in the square, and we got the exact seat we wanted: by the window, second floor, directly out from where they build.  Over the next hour, the square became JAM PACKED.  I was so happy that we got these seats because we got to sit, we were not in the sun, and we had the perfect view.  The castles that we saw on Friday were NOTHING compared to these!  They went up to 8 and 9 stories tall!  As you can see in the picture, there is a large mass of people on the bottom that you can see, but there is an even larger support layer beneath them, that is mixed in with the crowd.  All in all, I would say there are about 80 people on this team.  Again, there were 3 teams competing, I am not entirely sure where they were from because all of the announcing is done in Catalan which is very different from Spanish to the untrained ear.  This team is one of the non-Barcelona teams, they were very impressive BUT.... the tower just before this one, the small child that tops off the tower FELL from the very top and bounced off people all the way down!  THEN on this tower in the picture, literally seconds after I took this picture, the entire thing COLLAPSED!!!! an 80 person dog pile!!! THANK GOODNESS I got it on video, it was the scariest thing I have ever seen!  The poor mother of that little girl all the way at the top!  I cannot believe that this is an actual sport, but it was amazing to see.


   To finish off the festival, there is a huge fireworks display set to music and choreographed with the fountain at the base of the palace at Plaza de Espanya.  All of the Spaniards come out to watch this event, and obviously so do the tourists so the streets for blocks and blocks were completely full.  It was the most amazing firework display I have ever seen.  They did a fun mix of popular English, and Spanish songs, as well as some Spanish versions of English songs.  We rode the metro home after, and it went surprisingly smoothly.  After getting home Sunday night, I have never been more glad for a weekend to be over.  It was absolutely mind-boggling and great, but so tiring!  The city will feel empty once all of the tourists go home and everyone in the city is not trying to be in the same places at the same times.
All in all, it was a great weekend, the Spaniards sure do know how to get the adrenaline pumping and push the limits on what should be legal!  If you ever get a chance to be in Barcelona for La Mercè, I highly suggest it!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

MITZI: From Portugal with Love

So one thing about ISA is that included in the tuition you pay for the semester are various excursions to different parts of Spain, and, in my case, Portugal.  Hence, this past weekend I spent my days in the great city of Lisbon, Protugal and had my own little excursion to the town of Sintra. 

Our group packed into two coach busses early Friday morning for our 5 hour trek to Lisbon.  Most people just slept, I mostly failed at that attempt because I am a fairly large person and just do not fit in bus seats, whatever.  When we arrived to Lisbon we went across a bridge called the “25th of April,” which is actually a sister to the Golden Gate in San Francisco! 
The Golden Gate's little sis.
I thought that was neat.  Also near the bridge is a replica of the statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Jeniero.  Also pretty sweet.

Another thing about ISA is that the hotels that we stay at are always super super nice.  I love it.  And the breakfasts are awesome.  Each morning I actually had scrambled eggs, which I was super excited about because I haven’t found them anywhere else here because Europe just doesn’t really do breakfast.  Bread and coffee make them completely content.  No hearty biscuits and gravy or pancakes or anything like that.

Moving on, after checking into the hotel we made our way up a hill (Lisbon is known for the various neighborhoods on the hills of the city) to a castle called “El Castillo de San Jorge.”  It was so awesome.  We came upon a lookout and got some great pictures of the river and the city.
Katherine and I. :)
Photo opportunity!
The castle itself was super cool because it was all still intact.  We were able to walk all around it and explore what it was like to be a soldier during that time. 

Part of the castle.
View from one of the windows of the castle
After our tour of the castle the rest of the day was ours.  My friend, Katherine, and I explored the downtown part of Lisbon and slowly made our way to a part of the city called “Barrio Alto,” where one of our directors mentioned was a really great Portuguese restaurant.  We were so proud of ourselves for actually finding the restaurant on our own, well we did ask a couple people, but at least we didn’t take a taxi!  Side note:  Portuguese people in general are the nicest people I have ever met.  Random people on the street that you meet are super nice, if you are asking for help in my case, and all of my waiters the whole weekend were super talkative and welcoming, it was nice. :)
Inside of Cervejaria Trinidade
Ok, so we found the restaurant “Cervejaria Trindade,” and we were very impressed.  We split the authentic Portuguese dish called “arroz con mariscos,” (look it up online, the pictures are legit) a watery rice dish with all different kinds of seafood, one unique thing being a WHOLE shrimp with eyeballs and everything. Yum. :)

The next day our group toured the “Monasterio de Los Jerónimos” and “La Torre de Belém.”  The monastery was gorgeous. 
Monastery from the outside

View from the interior courtyard of the monastery.
It miraculously survived a huge earthquake in the 1700s when basically the rest of the city was destroyed.  

Belem Tower.

Katie and I at Belem Tower. :)
The Belem Tower was legit too because it was just a fortress used in the olden days to protect the river, but it was super nice inside for a fortress.

The rest of the day was ours again and I really wanted to go see this palace that ISA had recommended.  It was in a city called Sintra, about a 30 minute train ride out of Lisbon.  So I got 5 other people to come with me and we went on a little adventure.  It was the best decision I have ever made.  Seriously, it was the best day I have had in Europe so far.  I was like a little girl when we arrived in this awesome mid-evil town.  It was so cute and eclectic!  I want to go back and explore the city more, life list :). 

We took a bus up one of the lush green hills to get to this palace, called “El Palacio de Pena.”  We paid to get in and had to walk up another hill to actually get to the palace.  But it was definitely worth it.  I was so excited.  I wish the pictures were an actual representation of what it actually looked like.  Oh, and my camera died, so I had to get pictures from the rest of my group, life learning moment right there.  I was slightly annoyed at myself.
El Palacio de Pena, courtesy of google search. :)
We explored the outside a little bit and made our way to the patio looking over what seemed like the whole world.  We were all speechless, I had tears in my eyes.  It was just so beautiful.  I will never be able to really describe what I saw, it was a once in a lifetime experience.  We were able to see cities, rolling green hills, the river, and the atlantic ocean in the distance.  It was unforgettable.
View of the city.
Rolling green hills.
Atlantic ocean in the background.
We were able to go inside the palace and see how the royals lived in their vacation palace.  It was so awesome, they still had all the authentic furniture of the time.  I was surprised at how ‘homey’ it was.  I mean, it was still super nice, but I guess I was expecting it to be super extravagant, but it was just relaxing.  I loved it.  I want to live there. :) 

We were walking through one of the rooms and started talking to one of the nice Portuguese security guards standing in the room.  She was super funny, she said she could tell we were Americans because of the diversity of our group: we had an Asian, an African-American, an Indian, and a Hindu, and of course me and Katherine, but she did say I looked like I was from Germany, which I thought was interesting.  The funny thing was that she said that Aaron, the African-American, looked like Obama, and when we were leaving the room she raised her hand and said “yes we can.” I thought it was hilarious. 

There was a wedding that was getting started at the palace and I was so jealous.  How cool would that be, to get married at a palace.  Gahhhh. :)

All in all, it was definitely an unforgettable weekend, and a part of my heart will forever be in Sintra, Portugal.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

PERI: School starts at UPF

    Well, it is official, I am not just here for vacation, I actually have to go to school... ;).  I have been in the Intensive portion of my language class since last Friday.  The class is going well, there is a lot more speaking and listening involved than in any of the other Spanish classes I have taken, and I feel like it will be very beneficial.  I have had a little bit of homework every night, but it has not been overwhelming yet.
     I have been spending my afternoons living the best of Barcelona: on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea and exploring the city with my roommate, Elizabeth.  Yesterday, we decided to take a walk through the giant park in the center of the city; little did we know, we walk through a small portion of it every day on our way to school!  We had no idea how huge it really was, or what it has to offer!  We came upon the main attraction of the park: a gorgeous temple-like pseudo-palace with lakes around and a gorgeous pond with fountains at the foot of it.  We were amazed at how gorgeous it was, but we climbed the steps all the way to the top to see the view from the top.  We then looked out the back of the temple and see ping pong tables... the same ping pong tables we pass on our way to school!!!  We couldn't believe that we walk right past this beautiful installment everyday!  It was pretty funny.

Fountains and temple in the park

Beach :)

Marina and beach :)

     I have really enjoyed exploring this lovely city; I am so proud of Elizabeth and I and our sweet directional skills!! :) (Ok, yes, we have had some minor glitches...) but for the most part we have been finding our way very well around the city!  We are in such a great location; so so so many things are less than a 25 minute walk away, it is fantastic!

     In other news...... Elizabeth, Mitzi, and myself booked flights to Rome!!!  We are so excited!  We have a 6 day break in December so we are going to go spend 4 nights there!  Other random comments.... there is a very noisy bird somewhere in our apartment complex (it doesn't really matter where, because we can here everything going on everywhere), so I have not actually taken a Spanish seista, which I am a little upset about.  Josefa (house mom), has made some strange/interesting dishes, and quite surprisingly, I have not hated any of them (surprising if you know how picky I am)!  I really have been branching out and that makes me happy :).  This weekend, we are going to make a trip to Monserrat, it is an ancient city nestled in the mountains about an hour away from Barcelona; I am so excited to go, the photos I have seen are absolutely breathtaking!  Will post pictures after :)

Monday, September 13, 2010

MITZI: More About Sevilla

    After having spent more than a week in Sevilla things are starting to become more familiar, and I am starting to feel more comfortable in this beautiful city that will forever be a part of my heart.  Last night Katie and I walked to the Cathedral and met up with some friends to watch football at an American sports bar near the central part of the city, it seems that we are always meeting for something near that area, and on our way I used my ipod touch to keep track of how far we walked.  It turns out that it’s a 1.25 mile walk to the center (plaza nueva), no wonder our legs have been hurting...
    Some interesting things I have seen and done in this past week here in Sevilla:
I officially visited/toured the cathedral and learned a lot about the history of the building and it’s presence in Sevilla. 
Ankle-Breakers


We started in the interior garden/patio area, which is the only remaining evidence of the fact that it used to be an ancient Muslim mosque. It had an elaborate system of little canals for fresh water to run through.  This was used as a purifying ceremony for the Muslims before they entered the Mosque.  They would wash their hands, feet, and head before entering.  There is also an abundance of trees which makes a very refreshing place to go after a service.  I termed these extensive canals as “ankle-breakers,” because you definitely need to watch where you are going.

View from the tower

After our stroll though the patio area we headed up the tower.  To get to the top of the tower (Giralda) there are few stairs, there is actually just a spiral slant to the top. This was used so that the bell-ringers could ride their donkeys to the top to ring the bells.  After seeing Sevilla from a different point a view we ventured back down to the main part of the cathedral and saw the interior of the cathedral, the site where Christopher Columbus is buried, and many other small elaborate rooms, each with a distinct purpose.

The high altar
Good ole' Christopher



After our tour of the cathedral we went to the Alcázar of Seville, or the royal palace of Seville, originally a Moorish fort. 
Near the entrance

The gardens!
It was so cool because it is literally in the middle of the city, but once you enter you are instantly refreshed in the gardens of the palace, the whole palace being surrounded by a thick wall, protecting the palace from the harsh city sounds.  I saw so many breathtaking sites here it is hard to recount them all.  I will let the pictures stand for themselves.  It was above all a Shangri-La. :)
Tall girls stick together :)

Intricacy...
One thing that I will address that I have found interesting in all of my tours, not just in Sevilla, is the incorporation of Moorish, Catholic, and Christian history in the architecture, sculptures, paintings, and much more.  I am starting to learn how to differentiate between the three (special thanks to my History of Spanish Art class), and I find it fascinating how much history is literally built right on top of itself.  For instance in the palace there will be rooms that the first floor has an obvious Muslim flair, and then the second Catholic, and on top of that the more modern Christian influence.

The night I talked about attending, Salir con Españoles, was so so so much fun!! Katie and I were in a group with four other girls and we met a Spaniard named José.  He was super nice and we had a fun time getting to know each other and sharing/comparing our different cultures.  He took us to an open plaza to get drinks and thats where we started with all our questions and ice-breakers.  One of the girls had to leave after this so then it was just us four.  After he took us to an amazing tapas place to get a little food and we talked even more.  The last place he took us was to a traditional flamenco dancing spot.  He had a test to take in the morning so we said goodbye to him there, but we all stayed to see/listen to the dance/songs. 
Flamenco girls.
It was incredible.  I loved seeing the woman dance, it was just incredible how fast she was able to move her feet and hands, something that I will never forget.  I definitely want to see more.

Well, that’s about it for now, I will be back with more soon. :)
One thing I do want to say that I am loving so so so much here in Spain is the siestas, just saying, I might be bringing those back home with me.  It is so nice to sleep through the hottest part of the day.
That is all.
Adiós!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

PERI: Homestay Family and School Orientation

     After I posted my last link, we met our host mother, or señora, at a bus stop.  She does not speak any English, but luckily my roommate Elizabeth is almost fluent.  It has taken me a couple of days to have a good ear for the Catalan-Spanish accent, it gets a little better everyday and I know that it will continue to do so.  Anyway, Josefa walked us to our new "home"... she assured us that it was a 5 minute walk.  Like 15-18 minutes later, 2 sweaty and tired American girls walked up to their new home in the Gothic neighborhood of Barcelona.  We got our luggage up the rickety elevators and into the small apartment.  Josefa showed us our bedroom and bathroom and went downstairs to start dinner.  We analyzed the living situation: two beds, one small clothes rack, and a 3 drawer nightstand.  We split the 8 hangers on the rack and took up a drawer and a half each, and got inventive with where to put the rest of our stuff.
     The first two days were very rough on me, the toughest that I have experienced yet.  Josefa was cooking with one of her friends (I still don't know her name) and we ate dinner as a "family", but Elizabeth and I were not acknowledged or introduced to anyone the entire night.  The next morning, we had a small breakfast of bread and small coffee and left the house... no keys... not a good idea of how to get back... and no knowledge of our family.  I had a rough day thinking about the house and how it is going to be the rest of the time I am here.  That day, we had our first meeting at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).  Our day was full of getting to know the university and a bus tour in the evening.  We went to Parc Güell, Antonio Gaudi's famous park.  It was gorgeous, I love Gaudi's whimsical, functional, organic, and beautiful work. We also saw his masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family), a gorgeous and ornate temple that was begun in 1882 and is still not completed!!
La Sagrada Familia


Houses in Parc Güell

      The next day, we took the placement test at UPF; it was just like Mitzi said, same format, and harder than I expected.  I am also in Intermediate I which is where I expected to be.  We have two weeks of Intensive language classes (starting in the morning), only 2 and a half hours a day, then... nothing!  We don't start our regular classes until Sept. 27th!  Language classes for now are 10-12:30, and Elizabeth and I have them at the same time so we can walk together to class, it is about an 18 min easy walk.  There is a big festival that takes place here at the end of the month so that will be perfect timing!  (The main festivities of the holiday take place about 2 blocks from our house; they are VERY unusual and exciting!... but I will tell you about that when the time comes)  

      Today we took a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter (or El Barrio Gotic), which just happens to be our neighborhood.  It was great to get a tour of the area and hear about the history and see all of the hidden gems that this area has to offer.  We walked through another gorgeous, elaborate cathedral, out into a square that houses a church where a bomb was dropped during WWII, massacring young children playing outside.  We then turned another corner and were in the Jewish area, where the Jews once thrived and then were persecuted.  We then turned another corner and BAM! we were literally right in front of our house.  We had no idea that all of these amazing historical things were around us. Today was a new day for my outlook on this trip: I love this city so far, I love (and have a new appreciation for) this neighborhood, and our house mother is a fantastic cook (I am soooo excited to learn how to cook Spanish dishes).  It is very difficult for me to be away from home and my loved ones at this time, but I know that I need to focus on the positive.  This will be a great experience for me, I am learning and understanding more of the language each day.  Josefa, her son Fabian, and her grandson Juan (we also met her daughter, Juan's mother today) has opened up a lot in the past two days; she seems very sweet, she addresses us as "guapa" (beautiful) all the time ("Como estas guapa?").

Alley/Street near our house (the uneven stone of the apartment on the right, behind the balcony, is the remains of a Roman building)

    
I just want to make a little comment on this city.... EVERYTHING that I have heard about it could not be more true.  It IS very progressive.  It IS a stunning mix of old and new.  It IS very cultural: Spanish, Catalan, and European.  It IS historical and interesting.  I know that I am going to find something new to love every day.  It is fairly easy to get around, the Metro is simple, and the streets are confusing but I pick up something new every time I walk somewhere.  It is by far my favorite European city so far.  I am so excited that I made the decision to live in Barcelona. 

PERI: Madrid & Toledo


A lot has happened since I last wrote!  My last few days have been filled with tours, orientations, meeting new people, and getting acclimated to Spanish culture.  The night of my last entry, I spent some time getting to know my roommates at the hotel (since we got in a night early, we did not room with our live-in roommates).  I really enjoyed the girls I was placed with; we got along very well and had a lot to talk about.  Since no one else from our program was at the hotel, we decided that the three of us would go out.  We went out around 10:30pm (2230h in twenty-four hour time) to a café close by for sangria and tapas (small meals served with wine or other drinks as late night “dinner”).  I had my first taste of real Spanish food, Spanish tortilla—although it was not at all what Americans would call a tortilla.  It was a dense quiche-like slice made of egg and potato pieces, served cold.  I have had it almost everyday since then, and it is one of the more reliable dishes to eat when in doubt.
I will just take this opportunity to talk a little more about the food. Ham. Ham. Ham. Ham.  That is all I have to say.  Ok not all, but I really am thoroughly sick of “ham”.  There are all different kinds of “jamón”, pretty much any and all parts of pigs are served here, and in almost every dish.  I have not had any chicken, beef, or seafood since I have been in the country, but I hear that Barcelona is much more diverse and that the seafood and Mediterranean food are excellent.  The one thing that I did really enjoy as a meal was croquetas; they are small dumpling looking puffs made of a kind of mashed potatoes and cornmeal (I think), with ham and then a crispy outside.  They were very good!
Moving on… After dinner, us three amigas visited various bars taking advantage of the free drinks offered to people walking through the narrow streets as a ploy to get more people into the bar.  We met various groups of people and spent a little time getting to know them.  We ended up being out until about 4:30am (I am totally not someone to stay out until all hours of the morning, but it is so normal here, and dinner is eaten so late that it does not at all feel like the wee-hours of the morning).  
The next morning we met up with the rest of the people from our program; I have enjoyed getting to know girls from all over the country very much!  Everyone seems so genuine and smart and interesting, it has been a really great experience so far.  We had a short bus tour of Madrid, and then our first ISA meeting, which was uneventful.  That night, we decided to have a grand girls night out!  Kapital, the biggest nightclub in Madrid was literally less than a two-minute walk from our hotel, which was very convenient.  Almost everyone in our program was planning on going, but we got a group of six girls and all went out together. This nightclub is notorious for its seven stories (all of which have their own theme), eccentric performers, and giant dance floor (complete with expensive light equipment, and massive clouds of dry ice that occasionally flood the floor).  We had a great time dancing and getting to know each other more, but I was tired from the night before so I went home a little earlier than some of the other people. 
Tina, Christina, Me :)

            The next day, we had tours of the Prado and Reina Sofia Museums (Mitzi already talked about these so I won’t go into much detail, other than they were interesting, and I really enjoyed seeing Pablo Picasso’s Guernica).  That night, most of the group went out on the town again, but I decided to stay in and prepare for the next day and our trip to Toledo.  We took three buses to get to Toledo, it was a very short ride.  We did a walking tour of some of the historic buildings (there are many, considering Toledo is over 3500 years old), including a monastery, synagogue, and a building housing El Greco’s masterpiece.  It was a very hot and tiring tour, so I was very glad to get back to the hotel.  I tried to spend some quality time Skyping with Andrew, but the internet was terrible and frustrating, so we ended up talking on the phone a bit (I got my Spanish cell phone on the first day of orientation).
Mackenzie, Me, Tina, Christina, Jill in Toledo

            That night (last night) we had another program meeting to discuss housing and academics.  Pretty much all the information I had already read, but it was good to hear our official schedules (we meet our homestay families tonight, have a placement test tomorrow, school orientation Thursday, and start our language classes Friday)  After the meeting, I went out with a group from my program that I had not previously met because they were not staying out late, which was what I wanted to do.  It was nice meeting a whole new group of people and hearing their stories.  The hotel was located a little ways from the more urban area of Toledo, so we had to take a taxi to and from dinner, but it was cheap when split between 4 people.  After dinner, I repacked and went to bed.
            This morning, we loaded our buses for the eight-hour drive to Barcelona.  We are about half hour from the University right now; our families will pick us up there.  I am nervous to see what the dynamic of the house is and hear about house rules and norms and things like that, but I think everyone is feeling the same way.  I am sad to leave this big group of great people, but I know I will make every effort to see them very often.  Having such great conversation and people around has been a great distraction from my homesickness, I am so thankful that I enjoy these people and have found a few that I can be mutually supportive and share experiences with.  

MITZI: A Routine at Last!!

UPO's campus, a bit bigger than LC's
    School has started and I am starting to get a grasp on the fact that I am living here and not just vacationing here.  Today was my second day of school at Pablo de Olavide University (UPO), or as we like to call it, “Pablo.”  Earlier in the week all of the international students ventured out to the campus to take a placement test.  Katie and I were expecting it to be a lot like the tests we have had in Spanish classes back in the states, and we weren’t that worried about it.  The test was a lot like Spanish tests I have had in the past, with multiple choice questions and a couple short essays, it was just a lot harder than I expected.
   The following day all the international students came back in the evening for orientation and to find out our results.  There are more than 200 international students going to Pablo de Olavide, with a high concentration of us from the United States, which isn't many compared to the 10,000 students who attend UPO.  I was slightly bummed when I found out I placed in Intermediate I, however after I thought about it I realized I am a year or two younger than lot of my friends here and that I only have high school Spanish experience and one year of university level Spanish.  I have only found one person who is younger than me on this trip, and I have found that it is a lot more common to go in your junior or senior year of college.  However, I am very happy that I am here now, it fits in perfectly with my college schedule and I am having experiences that will enhance my time back at LCSC immensely. 
    After the orientation the school provided us with tapas, again, drinks and small appetizers for dinner, and we started to get to know the other students from different organizations.  I have met a girl from Canada, a girl from China, and many other students from the United States.
As for classes, if I get all the add/drop stuff I want my schedule will look like this:
    Mondays and Wednesdays:
        12:00-1:20 Conversación en Español (a Spanish conversation class)
        1:30-2:50 History of Spanish Art
    Tuesdays and Thursdays:
        9:00-10:20 Español Intermedio (Intermediate Spanish)
        10:30-11:50 Lectura y Redacción en Español (Reading & Writing in Spanish)
    Fridays:
        no classes :)
That’s it, twelve credits for me this semester, two classes a day, and I’m golden. The classes shouldn’t be too difficult for me, the only thing that will be hard is that three of my four classes, as you can tell by the titles, are taught in Spanish.  However, they are all for the intermediate level and the professors try and slow down and talk clearly for us students.  I think that this will help me a lot in simply understanding the Spanish accent, and will also increase my vocabulary.
    One drawback to the school is that it is on the outskirts of the city and that the only way we can get to the school is by metro or bus.  I have decided to take the metro, it’s about a 20 minute ride to the school.  The metro stop is actually super close to my apartment and I can walk there in under five minutes, which is super convenient.  And I actually have kind of liked the commute so far, just because it gives me some alone time with my music and my thoughts.
Our ice cream adventures. :)
          Last night Katie and I walked down to the main square in the city, Plaza Nueva, and had some ice cream and listened to a street guitar player.  Tonight the plan is to go to this thing called “Salir con Españoles,” or “to go out with Spaniards.”  It’s an exchange created by ISA that allows us students to meet Spaniards and have them show us the non-touristy parts of Sevilla and go where more of the culture and Spanish life is.  It should be interesting!  Ciao!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

MITZI: Home in Sevilla!!!

Toledo!  Such a gorgeous city.
    The next day our group packed up our bags and headed to Toledo, it was so beautiful.  I had an amazing day there and learned a lot more about Spanish history on our walking tour.  Hotel Beatriz was where we stayed for the night and it was exactly what I needed.  It was a very nice hotel with a pool outside.  I was able to swim and relax and catch up on the sleep I hadn’t been getting.  The next morning we left for our seven hour bus ride to Sevilla.
    The bus ride wasn’t bad.  Spain’s laws require that bus drivers stop and rest, so it never felt like we were on the bus for a super long time.  Once we got to Sevilla our host parents picked us up and took us to our homestays.  My roommate and I were so excited to have a home, a mom, and a place to put our stuff. :)  It is Spanish custom to be very "touchy" and to greet people that you are close to with kisses on both cheeks.  I love it.  It was super cute watching all the host moms greeting their new sons and daughters.
My new home!!! The one with plants & an awning. 
My host mom’s name is María, but I call her mamá.  She doesn’t speak any English, so from now on I will be working on my Spanish, a lot.  She has been hosting ISA students for 6 years and says that Katie, my roommate, and my spanish isn’t that bad.  We just feel so dumb when we can’t say what we want to say.  Her mother and her adult son live with her, so I have a grandmother and a brother.  Katie and I share a room and a bathroom, and we have wifi, which is pretty uncommon.  It’s been nice because it makes staying in touch easier.  María makes us breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday, which is AWESOME.  I never have to worry about food because she makes us more than enough.
    I am still trying to get comfortable in my home and this new city.  Katie and I did a lot of exploring today and that helped.  I am just going to take it slow and try to get used to this new culture. 
From Sevilla with love,
Mitzi

Friday, September 3, 2010

MITZI: First Days with ISA

Yesterday was my last day with Peri, and my first day with ISA.  In the morning Peri and I woke up and checked out of our hostel by 10.  We went to a place called cafe and te (coffee and tea) for breakfast and both ended up having just a smoothie and a frappe.  After our semi-breakfast we decided to check out Madrid for ourselves and do a little shopping.  I found two scarves at little semi-souvenir shops around town.  We enjoyed simply walking around the city and seeing what we could.  I felt like it was a good way for us to start immersing ourselves in Spanish culture. 
    Next we went back to the hostel to get our bags and catch a taxi to the hotel where I was meeting my ISA (International Studies Abroad) group.  It was there I said good-bye to Peri and we went our separate ways.  After a refreshing shower I was ready to meet everyone in my group.  There was an optional bus tour of Madrid at 6pm that night that I decided to take part in.  It was there that I first met most of the people in our group and also met our directors.  It was really cool to go on the bus tour and see things that Peri and I had already seen.  For example, the first night that we talked about the presenting of the world cup in la puerta del sol, super close to the hostel we stayed at.  La puerta del sol is actually like Madrid’s times square and a very popular spot for both tourists and locals to hang out in, and I would have had no idea if I hadn’t gone on the tour.
    Before we left for the tour I met my roommate that I will have in Sevilla in our homestay.  Her name is Katie and she’s from California.  I am really impressed with ISA and how well they matched us up.  I feel like we are both on the same page about a lot of things, one of them especially being our goal to learn as much spanish as we can and to come home as fluent as we can.  Both of us are definitely looking forward to meeting our host mom and family, and also to have a “home” where we can put our things away and not have to live out of a suitcase anymore.  She also did a little traveling with her father before coming to Madrid. 
    After we came back from the tour, Katie and I grabbed a quick dinner at McDonald’s.  Ahh a little taste of home... kind of.  McDonald’s here are actually a lot more classier? than the ones back home.  And a girl I met said that she heard that having a job at McDonald’s is a job with some esteem, especially here in Madrid and other touristy cities, because the workers are required to be bi-lingual.  I thought it was interesting.  After dinner was a short meeting with our whole group.  Another interesting thing:  there are around 50 students in my group, and I’d say 85% of them are girls.
    The next morning we had a later wake up call and were not required for anything until 10:30.  I made it down to breakfast and was pleasantly surprised.  European breakfasts are not the same as American breakfasts at all, but the selection of breads, sweets, fruit, and raw meat was actually really good.  I quite enjoyed it.  After breakfast we headed to El Prado museum.  There we could choose from three different groups: English, Spanglish, or Spanish.  I choose the Spanish group.  This meant that the whole tour was in Spanish.  I didn’t know how well I would do at understanding, but I wanted to try.  I was very happy to find that our tour guide talked slow (knowing we were english students) and that I was able to understand about 75-90% of what she was saying!! Woot woot!!  She focused on three different artists:  El Greco, Diego Velazquez, and Francisco de Goya.  I have never much been into art, but I actually found the tour very fascinating and loved learning about the history behind the paintings.  My favorite was Velazquez and his masterpiece “Las Meninas”. 
    After our tour of El Prado we made our way to Palacio Real (the Royal Palace).  I cannot even begin to explain the beauty of this palace.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside the palace, but you might be able to look online and find some.  I seriously felt like I was inside a Marie Antoinette-like movie.  Some of the highlights of the tour were: a receiving room where Arabs and Israelis signed a peace accord in 1991 in the presence of Gorbachev and the first President Bush (keep in mind I was in the Spanish group for this tour also, woot woot!); the throne room, rich in deep reds and filled with mirrors; an elaborate dining hall; a music room; and my favorite room, where the walls were made of silk, embroidered with gold and silver, and the ceilings were painted with three-dimensional golden leaves and fruit.  It was awesome. 
    One thing in Spain that is completely different than American culture is the timing of meals and eating.  Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and usually happens from 1-4, spanish “siestas” also happen during this time.  Banks, shops, and stores will literally close during this time to eat and nap.  Breakfast is usually around 9am and is fairly light, and so is dinner, usually starting around 10pm.  Needless to say, after our tours it was around 2, and none of us had eaten lunch and we were getting a little hungry.  I went to a cute place near the famous Plaza Mayor,  with a couple of new friends and had a wonderful time.
    I am now back at the hotel getting ready for a run with some new friends in a park near our hotel.  This park is compared with central park in New York.  It has lakes and everything in it.  So it should be fun.  Ciao!
   
LATER:
    The run was great.  We ended up leaving the hotel around 745pm, and the park was packed with runners, rollerbladers, skateboarders, walkers, and bikers. The park was beautiful.  One thing I noticed was that many people looked at us weird for running in a group of six.  The biggest groups I saw were two or three. 
    After our run we got ready for dinner.  It was kind of strange.  Getting ready for a dinner at 10:30 at night.  But it was an awesome experience.  Like I said earlier, Spaniards do more of a light dinner, they call it Tapas.  At most tapas bars you get a small plate of food and a drink for a fair price.  I was just amazed at the number of people out on a thursday night.  And it’s totally normal for them!  It’s very common for places to not get going until around 2:30 in the morning!  All in all, it was a very interesting night and I’m going to have to get used to a very different way of life.

PERI: Madrid part 1

Well Mitzi and I have parted ways, she started her program on the first and I checked in to a hotel in Madrid to just chill out until today, when I could check into the ISA hotel.  I spent the last two days catching up on my sleep and talking to my family and my fiance Andrew, it was really nice, I feel ready to jump into orientation!  I am now at the NH Nacional, the designated ISA hotel.  One other girl from ISA is here as well, so she came up to the hotel room with me; I have a feeling I am going to meet some very fun, intelligent people in this program!  The only thing of note that I have done in the past few days is take a very stressful taxi ride.  This morning, after I checked out of my hotel, I took a taxi to the NH Nacional.  The driver seemed confused at first when I told him the name of the hotel, but he then reassured me that he knew where it was (in Spanish... of course).  Well... he ended up taking me to El Plaza Del Sol, where our hostel was our first night in Madrid, and he wanted to just dump me there!!  So in very broken Spanish, I explained to him that this is not where the hotel is, it is a 15 minute walk that I do not know how to, nor will I, make with my suitcase!  He just drove around and around pretending he knew where it was and speaking very fast to me and then asking why I didn't understand him.  I told him that I took a taxi from NH Nacional to my original hotel and it was 18 Euro, so thankfully he stopped the meter.  I could not find the address for the hotel in any emails, but by some stroke of luck it was still entered in the 'Map' Application on my iTouch!  He was very angry when I told him the address, but he took me there for 18 Euro (I gave him a 5 Euro tip).  So that was frustrating.... but now I am here and just have to wait for the rest of the students in my program to arrive.  I am so ready for some structure and to not be on my own; it is exhausting having to figure out every move I make on my own, with no one else to speak to.

Plaza del Sol

Since not much else has happened, now is a good time to list my observations thus far:

-I can definitely see why I was warned before I came, and the Spanish stereotypes that I heard seem to ring pretty true thus far....#1-"Spanish men are forward."-- OHHH YES they are!  A matter of minutes after stepping of the plane, we got smooched and and cat-called, and it has not gotten any better since. #2-"Spanish people are loud"-- I only have one good example of this up to this point, at lunch a few minutes ago, the couple next to me was VERY loud.  They were clearly arguing in loud, heated tones in the middle of the cafe, and it didn't seem to phase anyone but me.

-Flying over Dublin, Paris, and now Spain, the country sides look so different and beautiful here than in the states.  There are huge rolling fields of all different colors and textures with no roads or houses in between, and then you see little clusters of villages every so often, it is so quaint and really shows the community spirit that these cultures seem to possess.

-I saw a cemetery in Madrid today, it was so strange!  All the gravestones were the big, tall, bulky ones that you only see scattered in American cemeteries, and all of them were literally stacked on top of each other!  It looked more like a concrete junkyard than a cemetery.  Nothing like the beautiful, lush, old cemeteries we saw in Dublin.

That is all for now, my program starts tomorrow and I can't wait!! adios :)