Triste means sad. Today I am very sad, because I'm packing and cleaning, and tomorrow evening I leave this place, maybe forever. I don't think I'm so sad because I'm leaving, I think I'm more sad because I know that my life will never be like this again. The last five weeks have been the most carefree time of my life, but I know now that it's time to go back to the real world. What a sad day. Also, I will miss the people I met here and the things I learned here and the beautiful things I see here. I am so blessed to have been able to come here and be supported so much by my family. I cannot wait to see my family!!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
RAIN
I woke up today and it was a normal morning. Had some corn flakes, and decided I should do some souvenir shopping. When I left my apartment, it felt cool. I looked later and it was 78 degrees this morning, and when I started to consider that cool, I have no idea. I went to an area that I have only walked through, not shopped in to do my shopping. And then a magical thing happened. IT STARTED RAINING. Seriously, barely ten drops fell, but it was a big deal.
This past weekend, we went to Cordoba and Granada. In Cordoba, they have the oldest mosque that exists, and one of two mosques that exist in all of Spain. (They were all wrecked by the Christians during the revolution) You could look down into a room that contained tiles that and the structure of the room itself was built in the year 800. That to me is unreal, because the only thing that old that's still around is dirt I thought. We were in Cordoba for a few hours and then we proceeded on to Granada for the night.
Granada was my next choice of cities to study in. I can certainly see why from being there too. A major difference between Sevilla and Granada is the Morrocan population in Granada. In Sevilla, you don't find too much Jewish influence, but you could certainly see it in Granada. Also, one thing I liked better at Granada is that the people didn't look at me like I was an alien like they do in Sevilla. When you have blonde hair in Sevilla people think you're a freak. In Granada, there's more ethnicities living there (I don't know why, it's a much smaller city than Sevilla, about 1/3 of the size.) so they don't think you're too weird if you look different. Granada had more of a commercial-y feel though which is actually the reason I didn't ultimately pick it. Second favorite city in Spain, though. That night, we saw a flamenco show, which was bizarre. I'm a fan of dance, I did it for over half my life, but flamenco is weird. It's more about hand movements and the music and I can't say it was my favorite thing.
The next day, we visited the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a giant palace that the Moors built in the 1400s. It's the most intricately designed beautiful thing ever. It's a beast, it took us 2 hours to tour, complete with many buildings and a beautiful garden. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I feel like I continue to say this about every monument I see, but I truly have never seen anything like any of them.
I feel hungry all the time because I'm deprived of my favorite things, ranch and peanut butter. The things that are eaten here are so bizarre and I can't wait to go home and stuff my face. Really good pasta, a really good burger, a really good steak, and a really good grilled chicken salad are all going to be eaten within the first 1-2 days of being home. I have mentally put away adequete money so that when I am home I have enough money to binge eat.
I think I'm learning Spanish. I find myself thinking in Spanish, and it's really weird but when an English song is stuck in my head my thoughts try to mentally sing it in Spanish. So that's really good, basically why I'm here.
This past weekend, we went to Cordoba and Granada. In Cordoba, they have the oldest mosque that exists, and one of two mosques that exist in all of Spain. (They were all wrecked by the Christians during the revolution) You could look down into a room that contained tiles that and the structure of the room itself was built in the year 800. That to me is unreal, because the only thing that old that's still around is dirt I thought. We were in Cordoba for a few hours and then we proceeded on to Granada for the night.
Granada was my next choice of cities to study in. I can certainly see why from being there too. A major difference between Sevilla and Granada is the Morrocan population in Granada. In Sevilla, you don't find too much Jewish influence, but you could certainly see it in Granada. Also, one thing I liked better at Granada is that the people didn't look at me like I was an alien like they do in Sevilla. When you have blonde hair in Sevilla people think you're a freak. In Granada, there's more ethnicities living there (I don't know why, it's a much smaller city than Sevilla, about 1/3 of the size.) so they don't think you're too weird if you look different. Granada had more of a commercial-y feel though which is actually the reason I didn't ultimately pick it. Second favorite city in Spain, though. That night, we saw a flamenco show, which was bizarre. I'm a fan of dance, I did it for over half my life, but flamenco is weird. It's more about hand movements and the music and I can't say it was my favorite thing.
The next day, we visited the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a giant palace that the Moors built in the 1400s. It's the most intricately designed beautiful thing ever. It's a beast, it took us 2 hours to tour, complete with many buildings and a beautiful garden. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I feel like I continue to say this about every monument I see, but I truly have never seen anything like any of them.
I feel hungry all the time because I'm deprived of my favorite things, ranch and peanut butter. The things that are eaten here are so bizarre and I can't wait to go home and stuff my face. Really good pasta, a really good burger, a really good steak, and a really good grilled chicken salad are all going to be eaten within the first 1-2 days of being home. I have mentally put away adequete money so that when I am home I have enough money to binge eat.
I think I'm learning Spanish. I find myself thinking in Spanish, and it's really weird but when an English song is stuck in my head my thoughts try to mentally sing it in Spanish. So that's really good, basically why I'm here.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
HALFWAY.
I'm very torn in how to feel over the halfway point of my adventure. The half of my brain that controls my bank account and keeps up with my general health can't believe that I'm ONLY halfway there. The other half of my brain that is loving every single second of this place and the culture can't believe I'm ALREADY halfway there.
I got gypped by a gypsy. They're sneaky. They come up to you, hand you a branch of a tree, and start reading your palm. Obviously they tell you how awesome your life will be and how kind of a person you are. Then they say something like "Oh, out of the goodness of your already kind heart, please donate." So clearly realizing I've been gypped I gave this woman a euro, which is a coin. SHE LOOKS AT ME AND SAYS NO, PAPER. As in paper money, as in she wanted at least 5 euros from me aka 7 dollars. I handed her the stupid branch back and said absolutely not in English and walked away. She still got a euro out of me though, which makes me so mad, what nerve. On the other hand, that's cooler than anything I've seen homeless people do at home, so it could be worse.
In Barcelona, my camera apparently broke. I thought it was just dead, as in out of battery, but it was actually dead, as in the lens will not work. So, my teacher Nano says the dumbest thing a United States citizen can do is buy electronics here. Of course, that's what I did yesterday. The camera I bought though is a lot nicer than my previous one, and I had found a place called the "Digital Factory" so I got a good price on it.
This week, I have two midterms. This irritates me, because that means today I have to study all day. In an ideal world, I wouldn't have to study for these silly classes. But as me and a few of my friends have been saying, we have to at least pretend to be doing something here, there's no study abroad programs that just let you romp around Europe. (What a shame.)
I am actually learning things though. One of my favorite business topics thus far has been doing business internationally, like learning about their customs and the way they do business. Yesterday in class we did that, and in certain countries you actually have to know what colors not to wear! It's funny because the US is so informal about doing business, it's hard to imagine that people take it so seriously.
I got gypped by a gypsy. They're sneaky. They come up to you, hand you a branch of a tree, and start reading your palm. Obviously they tell you how awesome your life will be and how kind of a person you are. Then they say something like "Oh, out of the goodness of your already kind heart, please donate." So clearly realizing I've been gypped I gave this woman a euro, which is a coin. SHE LOOKS AT ME AND SAYS NO, PAPER. As in paper money, as in she wanted at least 5 euros from me aka 7 dollars. I handed her the stupid branch back and said absolutely not in English and walked away. She still got a euro out of me though, which makes me so mad, what nerve. On the other hand, that's cooler than anything I've seen homeless people do at home, so it could be worse.
In Barcelona, my camera apparently broke. I thought it was just dead, as in out of battery, but it was actually dead, as in the lens will not work. So, my teacher Nano says the dumbest thing a United States citizen can do is buy electronics here. Of course, that's what I did yesterday. The camera I bought though is a lot nicer than my previous one, and I had found a place called the "Digital Factory" so I got a good price on it.
This week, I have two midterms. This irritates me, because that means today I have to study all day. In an ideal world, I wouldn't have to study for these silly classes. But as me and a few of my friends have been saying, we have to at least pretend to be doing something here, there's no study abroad programs that just let you romp around Europe. (What a shame.)
I am actually learning things though. One of my favorite business topics thus far has been doing business internationally, like learning about their customs and the way they do business. Yesterday in class we did that, and in certain countries you actually have to know what colors not to wear! It's funny because the US is so informal about doing business, it's hard to imagine that people take it so seriously.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
barcelona!
I do not even think that Barcelona and Sevilla are even in the same country. Though my weekend at Barcelona was beyond amazing, I am very happy I chose Sevilla for my program.
Catalan is my main reason. I knew that everyone there spoke it, that's why I didn't choose Barcelona for my program, but I didn't realize it was literally like their language. Signs, maps, everything! was in Catalan. I do not speak Catalan, and I have never spoken French, so even with my Spanish knowledge, things were complicated. In Spanish, beach is playa. In Catalan, beach is placta except the c is written with a symbol that I have never seen in my life.
Barcelona is a busy, busy city. Mostly everyone spoke English, and you could definitely see that tourists were more prevalent. Example: Sevilla airport has 11 gates, Barcelona's T2 airport (there's 2 airports) has 3 terminals! I'm not sure the population sizes but Barcelona just had so much more of a big city feel. Sevilla is so quaint and has such a small town feel. I'm definitely loving Sevilla more, and almost everyone in the group agreed that we were glad we were not in Barcelona permanently.
On the first day, we flew in at about 10. We went to the hotel and checked in, and wanted to find the beach. We knew the local beaches were not that awesome but that's what we wanted to do, so we did. Barcelonota beach was nothing awesome. The Mediterranean Sea, however, is the most gorgeous body of water I've ever seen. It's a blue-green color and when you get close it looks liek there's gold glitter everywhere in the water. As it turns out though, it is never warm. I definitely still got in a few times, but it was freezing. Also, Barcelona's weather was a nice relief. Sevilla is just dry and hot everyday, but Barcelona had a bit of humidity and an awesome breeze. So we went to the beach near our hotel, and were in the sun for a very long time. The temperature difference is insane, as in 4 hours by the river in Sevilla burned over half the group and 7 hours in the Barcelona sun didn't burn anyone. It was gorgeous to just lay there and look at the water and the sand. That evening, we decided to splurge on dinner and go to somewhere semi-nice. I'm not much of a meal splurger, but I am SO glad that I did. I got seafood paella, and it was real homemade paella, and it was awesome. I'm getting hungry just thinking about this paella. All the seafood (and actually all the food in general) is soooo fresh! Yes, my shrimp is looking at me when it comes out, but I can't even mind when I know it hasn't been in a freezer for months, unlike in the US. After this, we went out to a few places our friends that we knew that were in/ had been in Barcelona told us about. The first place was called Chupitos. Chupito means shot. This bar serves 2 euro shots but they're interactive and very neat. For example, I did a shot where the bartender dumped alcohol on the bar, handed me a marshmellow on a stick, lit the bar on fire, had me roast it, dunk it in my shot and take it. It was a pretty cool place, definitely unlike anywhere I had ever been. Then we went to a club that had put our name on their VIP list earlier that day called Shoko. The drinks were expensive, but the theme of the evening was Great Gatsby so it was really cool to see the flappers/ have the speak easy kind of feel. Also at one point, all of us girls were standing together, and one of the clubs promoters was like hey, follow me. So we did, and we were taken into VIP and given free champagne, which was really awesome. Just like a lucky once in a lifetime kind of thing, seeing as VIP access in Barcelona is easily 1000 a night.
The next day was our touristy day. Being a tourist is awesome, because ignorance is bliss, and we were so ignorant. We didn't realy know how to get anywhere, so a lot of time was killed trying to look at a map in a foreign language. Eventually, we foudn some things we wanted to see. First up was Casa Batllo, or the house that Gaudi lived in/ designed. It was awesome! The tour was expensive, and I was hesitant, but I'm extremely glad I went on it now. There were like 3 straight lines in the entire house and everything else was colored and set up just so the light and wind would flow through perfectly. The architecture was definitely one of a kind but it's something I am very glad I got to see. Next up was Sagrada Familia. I was sooo excited to see this, because I've heard so many awesome things about this building. I have never seen anything like it in my life. The architecture was so intricate with designs everywhere and specific carvings placed in just the right spots, and it is so big! Looking up at it is just awe stirking because it is so tall and incredible. The main thing that stuck out to me was on the one side of the buiding, there were these reptiles. They were huge, not positive how huge because they were high up, but definitely very heavy and made of concrete. They hang off the side of the towers!! It amazed me that someone could design something and inticately place everything so that nothing fell off and everything was so detailed. In the US, architects would say screw the reptiles, we don't need them, that's too much work. So gorgeous though. After this we siesta-ed. Barcelona's bed time is never. I know this because last night we didn't go to bed. Our flight left at 6 so we needed to leave the hotel by 3:30 so we just didn't get a hotel room to save money. People were awake this entire time. Clubs don't even open until 12:30. It's brutal. But anyways, they also don't siesta. Just another reason to appreciate the south of Spain more! This evening, we actually went with a tour group. The tour was cheap, included free drinks, and did a lot of things in one night. The first took us to a bar that locals tend to frequent. It was small, but I did end up speaking to a lot of Spainards/ people from other countries. After this, we went to a bar on a mountain right outside of Barcelona. This was my favorite, because outside you had a view of the entire city. Totally unlike anything I've ever seen. When we got off the bus, we saw a wild boar just chilling on the sdiewalk! It was insanity! Also, it was raining. (Rain here is not like rain there, trust me.) After this we went to two clubs, one for mostly locals and one for mostly tourists. Both were fun, and we ended up in VIP again at the last one. I saw the sunrise this night, and people were still walking around like it was the middle ofthe day.
On the last day, we really wanted to go to Sitges. It's a beautiful beach right outside of Barcelona (30 mins by train and only 7.50 euros) I've never been on a more beautiful beach in my life, which is a real bummer, because my camera died about 10 minutes after being there. This day was very relaxed, we laid on the beach all day. I walked around a bit, and because of the Corpus Christi holiday, there were festival like things everywhere. Tents selling fresh wheels of cheese right in the street! For dinner, we ate tapas and it was incredible tapas. It was a self serve bar, and each tapa was about a euro. They were all served on bread and it ranged quite a bit. Croquettes (what I would describe as fried balls of mashed potatoes YUM), sausage wrapped in bacon, fried egg with beef, just an incredible assortment. We were pretty bummed that we had to leave this morning, because we probably would've stayed the night in Sitges if we had the opportunity. We returned to our hotel, cleaned up in the bathroom, and spent our last few hours walking on Las Ramblas, which I kind of think was overrated. Maybe I was just bitter about leaving, but it seemed like a really expensive stretch of tourist traps. I'm going to say I was just bitter about leaving, because we didn't really want to get crazy to get on a flight after not sleeping all weekend.
Today I am sleeping. I slept a total of about 8 hours in Barcelona, and 4 of them probably occured on the beach. Another reason we were glad Barcelona was just a weekend visit. I would've probably died. I need a little more shut eye, so Sevilla is perfect. Not much sleep, but definitely more than in Barcelona. Also today I am not eating because I ate a lot yesterday. All those tapas, ice cream, and then a falafel type wrap thing that was in the top 10 greatest things I've ever eaten which it turns out I love falafel. All in like the last 5 hours I was in Barcelona (I didn't want to miss any food!)
Goodnight!
Catalan is my main reason. I knew that everyone there spoke it, that's why I didn't choose Barcelona for my program, but I didn't realize it was literally like their language. Signs, maps, everything! was in Catalan. I do not speak Catalan, and I have never spoken French, so even with my Spanish knowledge, things were complicated. In Spanish, beach is playa. In Catalan, beach is placta except the c is written with a symbol that I have never seen in my life.
Barcelona is a busy, busy city. Mostly everyone spoke English, and you could definitely see that tourists were more prevalent. Example: Sevilla airport has 11 gates, Barcelona's T2 airport (there's 2 airports) has 3 terminals! I'm not sure the population sizes but Barcelona just had so much more of a big city feel. Sevilla is so quaint and has such a small town feel. I'm definitely loving Sevilla more, and almost everyone in the group agreed that we were glad we were not in Barcelona permanently.
On the first day, we flew in at about 10. We went to the hotel and checked in, and wanted to find the beach. We knew the local beaches were not that awesome but that's what we wanted to do, so we did. Barcelonota beach was nothing awesome. The Mediterranean Sea, however, is the most gorgeous body of water I've ever seen. It's a blue-green color and when you get close it looks liek there's gold glitter everywhere in the water. As it turns out though, it is never warm. I definitely still got in a few times, but it was freezing. Also, Barcelona's weather was a nice relief. Sevilla is just dry and hot everyday, but Barcelona had a bit of humidity and an awesome breeze. So we went to the beach near our hotel, and were in the sun for a very long time. The temperature difference is insane, as in 4 hours by the river in Sevilla burned over half the group and 7 hours in the Barcelona sun didn't burn anyone. It was gorgeous to just lay there and look at the water and the sand. That evening, we decided to splurge on dinner and go to somewhere semi-nice. I'm not much of a meal splurger, but I am SO glad that I did. I got seafood paella, and it was real homemade paella, and it was awesome. I'm getting hungry just thinking about this paella. All the seafood (and actually all the food in general) is soooo fresh! Yes, my shrimp is looking at me when it comes out, but I can't even mind when I know it hasn't been in a freezer for months, unlike in the US. After this, we went out to a few places our friends that we knew that were in/ had been in Barcelona told us about. The first place was called Chupitos. Chupito means shot. This bar serves 2 euro shots but they're interactive and very neat. For example, I did a shot where the bartender dumped alcohol on the bar, handed me a marshmellow on a stick, lit the bar on fire, had me roast it, dunk it in my shot and take it. It was a pretty cool place, definitely unlike anywhere I had ever been. Then we went to a club that had put our name on their VIP list earlier that day called Shoko. The drinks were expensive, but the theme of the evening was Great Gatsby so it was really cool to see the flappers/ have the speak easy kind of feel. Also at one point, all of us girls were standing together, and one of the clubs promoters was like hey, follow me. So we did, and we were taken into VIP and given free champagne, which was really awesome. Just like a lucky once in a lifetime kind of thing, seeing as VIP access in Barcelona is easily 1000 a night.
The next day was our touristy day. Being a tourist is awesome, because ignorance is bliss, and we were so ignorant. We didn't realy know how to get anywhere, so a lot of time was killed trying to look at a map in a foreign language. Eventually, we foudn some things we wanted to see. First up was Casa Batllo, or the house that Gaudi lived in/ designed. It was awesome! The tour was expensive, and I was hesitant, but I'm extremely glad I went on it now. There were like 3 straight lines in the entire house and everything else was colored and set up just so the light and wind would flow through perfectly. The architecture was definitely one of a kind but it's something I am very glad I got to see. Next up was Sagrada Familia. I was sooo excited to see this, because I've heard so many awesome things about this building. I have never seen anything like it in my life. The architecture was so intricate with designs everywhere and specific carvings placed in just the right spots, and it is so big! Looking up at it is just awe stirking because it is so tall and incredible. The main thing that stuck out to me was on the one side of the buiding, there were these reptiles. They were huge, not positive how huge because they were high up, but definitely very heavy and made of concrete. They hang off the side of the towers!! It amazed me that someone could design something and inticately place everything so that nothing fell off and everything was so detailed. In the US, architects would say screw the reptiles, we don't need them, that's too much work. So gorgeous though. After this we siesta-ed. Barcelona's bed time is never. I know this because last night we didn't go to bed. Our flight left at 6 so we needed to leave the hotel by 3:30 so we just didn't get a hotel room to save money. People were awake this entire time. Clubs don't even open until 12:30. It's brutal. But anyways, they also don't siesta. Just another reason to appreciate the south of Spain more! This evening, we actually went with a tour group. The tour was cheap, included free drinks, and did a lot of things in one night. The first took us to a bar that locals tend to frequent. It was small, but I did end up speaking to a lot of Spainards/ people from other countries. After this, we went to a bar on a mountain right outside of Barcelona. This was my favorite, because outside you had a view of the entire city. Totally unlike anything I've ever seen. When we got off the bus, we saw a wild boar just chilling on the sdiewalk! It was insanity! Also, it was raining. (Rain here is not like rain there, trust me.) After this we went to two clubs, one for mostly locals and one for mostly tourists. Both were fun, and we ended up in VIP again at the last one. I saw the sunrise this night, and people were still walking around like it was the middle ofthe day.
On the last day, we really wanted to go to Sitges. It's a beautiful beach right outside of Barcelona (30 mins by train and only 7.50 euros) I've never been on a more beautiful beach in my life, which is a real bummer, because my camera died about 10 minutes after being there. This day was very relaxed, we laid on the beach all day. I walked around a bit, and because of the Corpus Christi holiday, there were festival like things everywhere. Tents selling fresh wheels of cheese right in the street! For dinner, we ate tapas and it was incredible tapas. It was a self serve bar, and each tapa was about a euro. They were all served on bread and it ranged quite a bit. Croquettes (what I would describe as fried balls of mashed potatoes YUM), sausage wrapped in bacon, fried egg with beef, just an incredible assortment. We were pretty bummed that we had to leave this morning, because we probably would've stayed the night in Sitges if we had the opportunity. We returned to our hotel, cleaned up in the bathroom, and spent our last few hours walking on Las Ramblas, which I kind of think was overrated. Maybe I was just bitter about leaving, but it seemed like a really expensive stretch of tourist traps. I'm going to say I was just bitter about leaving, because we didn't really want to get crazy to get on a flight after not sleeping all weekend.
Today I am sleeping. I slept a total of about 8 hours in Barcelona, and 4 of them probably occured on the beach. Another reason we were glad Barcelona was just a weekend visit. I would've probably died. I need a little more shut eye, so Sevilla is perfect. Not much sleep, but definitely more than in Barcelona. Also today I am not eating because I ate a lot yesterday. All those tapas, ice cream, and then a falafel type wrap thing that was in the top 10 greatest things I've ever eaten which it turns out I love falafel. All in like the last 5 hours I was in Barcelona (I didn't want to miss any food!)
Goodnight!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
salchicha
Salchicha means sausage, and I am sick of it. I'm sick of the smell, I'm sick of the way it looks, I'm just sick of sausage. Their sausage is like salami except with more of the weird white stuff in salami. Like what is that stuff? I'm extremely glad that I didn't stay in a homestay, because they would feed me this yucky stuff that Spainards think is good. They all must be too drunk to really taste what they're eating or something, because it's weird! Salted olives (as if they aren't salty enough alone!), SNAILS!, and ham. Lots and lots of ham. I see signs all the time that say "Snails to go" like why on earth would I want snails, let alone to carry around?! Disgusting.
Yesterday, I went to the cathedral. It's famous and the third largest Gothic cathedral in the world, which I can't believe because it's massive. It's the size of the the Clearview mall I think. The entire time I was inside, I honestly don't think I was breathing. The details on the walls are so incredible. There are sculptures carved into the walls and it had to take years and years to build. I wouldn't know though because the majority was built in the 15th century. I climbed the tower, which is 98 meters high, and it is the craziest monument ever. First of all, safety restrictions don't seem to exist much. 35 floors of ramps at a probably 35 degree angle on each one to get up. No elevators, no railings, no employees anywhere, you're on your own climbing this tower. But when you get to the top, it's fine. Sevilla is an extremely flat city, and you can see the entire thing from the top. I could point out the church right near our university and the plaza that I walk in. I could see everything and behind it all is some mountains, literally awestriking. Another thing the cathedral claims is that they have the body of Christopher Columbus there. EVERYONE has the body of Christopher Columbus. When I was in the Dominican Republic, they had it. Where on Earth is Christopher Columbus' remains? I will admit though, their monument/ tomb here for him is much more impressive than the one in the Dominican Republic. Anyway, if you get a chance google pictures of the Seville cathedral before I post them, because you have to see it. The pictures won't do it justice, but at least you'll get an idea.
Classes are tough, possibly only because they are 4 hours straight. My classes at Pitt are 50 minutes long. 4 hours straight is really tough and the air conditioning usually doesn't work. International marketing is awesome, I love my teacher, and I think I'm actually learning. The European class is tough, because I don't care so much about the things my teacher does... aka Europe. The surprising part is that they are both very honest about what's going on. My initial thoughts were oh, I'm in Europe and they are Spainards, they're going to try to make both look incredible. They're both very up front about Spain's tanking economy and say that the USA is in charge. Which we obviously are, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't come here and look around. It's a completely different life style, one that everyone should try out for at least a week or two.
Last night was my friends 21st birthday here, which is kind of unfortunate for her since she was already legal here. We went into one bar last night (a group of approx. 23 students from our program) and they gave every single one of us free shots. Chupitos means shots, and I'm almost sick of those too actually.
When I get back to Pittsburgh and it rains, I'm going to think the Earth is falling apart because I'm forgetting what rain is. Also it will be nice to have a dryer, hanging my underwear in the living room is getting a bit silly. I just want to stop sweating!!
Yesterday, I went to the cathedral. It's famous and the third largest Gothic cathedral in the world, which I can't believe because it's massive. It's the size of the the Clearview mall I think. The entire time I was inside, I honestly don't think I was breathing. The details on the walls are so incredible. There are sculptures carved into the walls and it had to take years and years to build. I wouldn't know though because the majority was built in the 15th century. I climbed the tower, which is 98 meters high, and it is the craziest monument ever. First of all, safety restrictions don't seem to exist much. 35 floors of ramps at a probably 35 degree angle on each one to get up. No elevators, no railings, no employees anywhere, you're on your own climbing this tower. But when you get to the top, it's fine. Sevilla is an extremely flat city, and you can see the entire thing from the top. I could point out the church right near our university and the plaza that I walk in. I could see everything and behind it all is some mountains, literally awestriking. Another thing the cathedral claims is that they have the body of Christopher Columbus there. EVERYONE has the body of Christopher Columbus. When I was in the Dominican Republic, they had it. Where on Earth is Christopher Columbus' remains? I will admit though, their monument/ tomb here for him is much more impressive than the one in the Dominican Republic. Anyway, if you get a chance google pictures of the Seville cathedral before I post them, because you have to see it. The pictures won't do it justice, but at least you'll get an idea.
Classes are tough, possibly only because they are 4 hours straight. My classes at Pitt are 50 minutes long. 4 hours straight is really tough and the air conditioning usually doesn't work. International marketing is awesome, I love my teacher, and I think I'm actually learning. The European class is tough, because I don't care so much about the things my teacher does... aka Europe. The surprising part is that they are both very honest about what's going on. My initial thoughts were oh, I'm in Europe and they are Spainards, they're going to try to make both look incredible. They're both very up front about Spain's tanking economy and say that the USA is in charge. Which we obviously are, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't come here and look around. It's a completely different life style, one that everyone should try out for at least a week or two.
Last night was my friends 21st birthday here, which is kind of unfortunate for her since she was already legal here. We went into one bar last night (a group of approx. 23 students from our program) and they gave every single one of us free shots. Chupitos means shots, and I'm almost sick of those too actually.
When I get back to Pittsburgh and it rains, I'm going to think the Earth is falling apart because I'm forgetting what rain is. Also it will be nice to have a dryer, hanging my underwear in the living room is getting a bit silly. I just want to stop sweating!!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Spain is happy
Spain isn't perfect, okay, they have a lot of debris floating around and I have yet to see a clean body of water, and their economy is tanking daily, and they're probably going to get kicked out of the European union soon. But it doesn't matter. And I'll tell you why... because they don't care! None of them care. They get up have their toast and beer and have a nap in three hours. Even the homeless Spainards seem happier than 80 % of people from the United States.
When I have children, I went them to be happy like Spain little babies. They aren't being fed organic pesticide free baby food and they aren't being dragged around on leashes. Their parents let them run around, and stop them when they're too far. They wear little cutesy outfits and run around with their chubby knees. I think even they cry less. Also, the word organic does not exist here. BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS. It is illegal to sell anything that is made with genetically enhanced corn ! That's awesome! Maybe that's why they're so happy because their food is all so natural! (Gross in a lot of cases: ham, but still organic)
Yesterday I slept all day because I needed to and today I didn't do much because there is nothing to do on Sundays. I walked around and found an incredibly gorgeous park near my apartment. They have all these really pretty trees with purple flowers. And fountains and playgrounds and rose bushes and it's just a pretty park. Also I bought some souvenirs and a piece of delicious incredible homemade bread. The piece of bread was as big as my head (and I accidentally ate it with fresh brie in one sitting) Whoops. If a store is open on a Sunday here it is pretty much run by Chinese people.
I love it here. Tonight I'm going to see a soccer game, which is going to be ridiculous.
When I have children, I went them to be happy like Spain little babies. They aren't being fed organic pesticide free baby food and they aren't being dragged around on leashes. Their parents let them run around, and stop them when they're too far. They wear little cutesy outfits and run around with their chubby knees. I think even they cry less. Also, the word organic does not exist here. BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS. It is illegal to sell anything that is made with genetically enhanced corn ! That's awesome! Maybe that's why they're so happy because their food is all so natural! (Gross in a lot of cases: ham, but still organic)
Yesterday I slept all day because I needed to and today I didn't do much because there is nothing to do on Sundays. I walked around and found an incredibly gorgeous park near my apartment. They have all these really pretty trees with purple flowers. And fountains and playgrounds and rose bushes and it's just a pretty park. Also I bought some souvenirs and a piece of delicious incredible homemade bread. The piece of bread was as big as my head (and I accidentally ate it with fresh brie in one sitting) Whoops. If a store is open on a Sunday here it is pretty much run by Chinese people.
I love it here. Tonight I'm going to see a soccer game, which is going to be ridiculous.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
woahhh, i live here
The last few days have been a bit bizarre because my brain is leaving vacation mode. Don't get me wrong I'm still loving it here and doing vacation like activities, but I'm starting to realize I'm here for a bit. The last two days haven't been too eventful. I have decided that my class schedule isn't ideal though. Spain is known for siestas! Because my class is at 4 and we eat lunch at 2:30, most days there is no time for a siesta. That's infuriating, because NOTHING is open during like 2-4. Grocery store... CLOSED FOR THREE HOURS in the middle of the day. Can you imagine?! On my way to class if I want to buy something I can forget about it.
I'm so bad at making coffee. I googled it I've tried everything. They don't have normal coffee pots, it's a percolation type system and I have watchd countless videos online that should be coaching me on how to make my damn coffee. I have a cup sitting next to me now and it tastes like genuine dirt. Which by the way they have none of. It is so dusty here because it never rains. Never. I don't think it will rain once in the entire time that I'm over here. The only moisture that occurs is the canopies outside restaurants spray mist on the sidewalks because otherwise you sweat the entire time you're eating. Or walking. Or thinking. Thinking makes me sweat here because it is just SO hot.
Today I'm taking a day to lay around and do nothing, because I'm exhausted. The days go from 9am to 4am and I don't understand it. They do everything later, eat, stay up, whatever but they don't wake up in the morning later! It's insane. These people are insane.
Time for a siesta!
I'm so bad at making coffee. I googled it I've tried everything. They don't have normal coffee pots, it's a percolation type system and I have watchd countless videos online that should be coaching me on how to make my damn coffee. I have a cup sitting next to me now and it tastes like genuine dirt. Which by the way they have none of. It is so dusty here because it never rains. Never. I don't think it will rain once in the entire time that I'm over here. The only moisture that occurs is the canopies outside restaurants spray mist on the sidewalks because otherwise you sweat the entire time you're eating. Or walking. Or thinking. Thinking makes me sweat here because it is just SO hot.
Today I'm taking a day to lay around and do nothing, because I'm exhausted. The days go from 9am to 4am and I don't understand it. They do everything later, eat, stay up, whatever but they don't wake up in the morning later! It's insane. These people are insane.
Time for a siesta!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
corpus christi...
...is a national holiday. Legitimately, in every country I've ever been in during the month of May, they throw in some random day that nothing happens on. It's like almost summer, people want a day off, so the entire world agreed that during May it was just appropriate. This May, I've lucked out because not only did I not have school today, but I also do not have school next Thursday or Friday.
Yesterday was pretty uneventful, I found the bookstore (of course closed) and went to class. I thought four hours straight of class would get rougher, but yesterday it was okay. The second class I love my teacher. First class I think that I sleep with my eyes open, but that's okay. The hours of their stores is approximately 9-1 and then sometimes they reopen around 4 but if their siesta ran over I literally feel like people just stay home and don't go back to work. Places sometimes have hours on their door... they mean nothing. I'm not quite sure why they're confused about their economy being in the toilet, but something tells me that the economy has a relationship with hours slept per week and beers consumed per week.
Beer here.... is like water. You have to pay to get water in a restaurant. You have to pay for beer in a restaurant. Guess which is cheaper.... not good ole h2o. Beer is the cheapest thing you can buy here, and they drink it from 9am until whenever they want to sleep. With lunch, it's nothing for working professionals to sit down and have three beers and go back to work. And again, they wonder why they're economy isn't blossoming like a flower in springtime.
Today I did a really rude thing to my friends unintentionally (yes I made friends!) We were supposed to catch a megabus type bus to take us to the beach about 45 minutes away... it didn't happen. MY FAULT. My phone with my Spanish number is old school. I'm talking the original Nokia that I always bugged mom/ dad to play snake on. The sound quality... yikes.... I didn't hear the alarm so rather than being at the bus station at 9:30 I woke up at 9:37 and I had just bought two other girls' tickets while I was there so they didn't make it either. Luckily they were very nice about it, and it ended up being my favorite day here thus far. We got some bottled sangria and sat by the river and got our tan on. For lunch, I spent two euros for a sandwich and a beer. I will be frequenting that place because that price is unheard of ! We spent a long time in the sun today, and I most certainly have tan lines/ possibly a slightly burned face.
Tomorrow I have to go try the book store again and actually do some homework. I'm disappointed that these classes aren't going to be a piece of cake and that I'll actually have to do work. There are too many thing in this continent for me to see and do while I'm here that studying just seems so silly. Thus far, I've learned more Spanish/ about culture/ about life at Spanish bars/ restaurants than in classrooms here. Maybe that will change, but something in me doubts it. I feel my Spanish improving though, which is great!!
Yesterday was pretty uneventful, I found the bookstore (of course closed) and went to class. I thought four hours straight of class would get rougher, but yesterday it was okay. The second class I love my teacher. First class I think that I sleep with my eyes open, but that's okay. The hours of their stores is approximately 9-1 and then sometimes they reopen around 4 but if their siesta ran over I literally feel like people just stay home and don't go back to work. Places sometimes have hours on their door... they mean nothing. I'm not quite sure why they're confused about their economy being in the toilet, but something tells me that the economy has a relationship with hours slept per week and beers consumed per week.
Beer here.... is like water. You have to pay to get water in a restaurant. You have to pay for beer in a restaurant. Guess which is cheaper.... not good ole h2o. Beer is the cheapest thing you can buy here, and they drink it from 9am until whenever they want to sleep. With lunch, it's nothing for working professionals to sit down and have three beers and go back to work. And again, they wonder why they're economy isn't blossoming like a flower in springtime.
Today I did a really rude thing to my friends unintentionally (yes I made friends!) We were supposed to catch a megabus type bus to take us to the beach about 45 minutes away... it didn't happen. MY FAULT. My phone with my Spanish number is old school. I'm talking the original Nokia that I always bugged mom/ dad to play snake on. The sound quality... yikes.... I didn't hear the alarm so rather than being at the bus station at 9:30 I woke up at 9:37 and I had just bought two other girls' tickets while I was there so they didn't make it either. Luckily they were very nice about it, and it ended up being my favorite day here thus far. We got some bottled sangria and sat by the river and got our tan on. For lunch, I spent two euros for a sandwich and a beer. I will be frequenting that place because that price is unheard of ! We spent a long time in the sun today, and I most certainly have tan lines/ possibly a slightly burned face.
Tomorrow I have to go try the book store again and actually do some homework. I'm disappointed that these classes aren't going to be a piece of cake and that I'll actually have to do work. There are too many thing in this continent for me to see and do while I'm here that studying just seems so silly. Thus far, I've learned more Spanish/ about culture/ about life at Spanish bars/ restaurants than in classrooms here. Maybe that will change, but something in me doubts it. I feel my Spanish improving though, which is great!!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
classes... real life...
Today, no joke, I walked ten miles around the city of Sevilla at the very least. We had to take our placement exam at 8:45 to see which classes we would be in. Because I'm so far into my spanish major, only one class would count if I got placed into the advanced level, so rather than chancing the class closing or not testing advanced, I chose to take two classes towards the marketing degree. So basically, the placement exam didn't mean anything for me. After this, we went grocery shopping. If you know me, you know how I love grocery stores. Spanish grocery stores are WAY cool. Actually they're very similar to US ones, but I like those too. I spent 20 euros and got a lot of stuff, which is awesome. I haven't done this yet, but in the grocery store, you can buy an 8 pack of the local beer for 89 centidos. That is literally a dollarish. I'm sure it's high class stuff too ;) Anyway though, moving into the apartment and having groceries has thus far saved me a TON of money.
After that, we had to return to the university to receive our class schedules. I got both of the classes I wanted, and everyday I go to class from 4pm-8pm. I thought that would seem like a longer time than it did yesterday. I returned to the apartment after getting my schedule to get everything ready for class/ dinner/ wherever the night may have taken me. Our apartment is about 35 minutes walking from the school. Based on the two locations, I know there's a faster way to get there, but for right now I'm just taking the way I know because, well, I know it. This is a lot of walking. I went to class, and both of my professors are awesome. They're both very educated and their english is extremely good. The two classes are very different, for instance in the first I took a page and a half of notes in an hour and in the other I didn't open the notebook yesterday. My international marketing teacher is awesome, and I can tell he's someone who would rather you learn something than give you a grade. He's very laid back, doesn't have many rules, but I can tell he actually wants to teach and actually wants you to walk away with something useful in real life... imagine that.
We then walked to a hotel banquet room place which was a half an hour walking from the school. We had a meeting, in which we discussed insurance, our day off on Wednesday (no class, yippee!) and weekend excursions. Then they fed us (paella, yum!) They make these little things, no idea what hey are but I'll describe them as buttered garlic mashed potatoes formed into balls and fried. Honestly they're awesome and I have noooo idea what they are. Another thing, I really thought I'd gain a lot of weight here. IF anything, I'm going to lose it. The eating schedule and all the walking just seems like a losing weight situation.
It was a good thing I ate a lot at dinner, because then we walked for literally an hour. Our teacher had told us about a stretch of bars that primarily Americans went to. This obviously isn't what we want to do every night, but a group of about 20 of us decided last night we wanted to go there. We got pretty lost, but eventually found it. 2 for 1 mojitos! It was fun, but a lot of students have 9am classes so we weren't out nearly as late as we had been in Madrid.
Our teacher also told us not to buy his book and to spend our money on Cruzcampo (the local beer)
So I'm a bit disappointed because I don't actually think these classes will be a joke, but on the bright side my schedule is nice!
After that, we had to return to the university to receive our class schedules. I got both of the classes I wanted, and everyday I go to class from 4pm-8pm. I thought that would seem like a longer time than it did yesterday. I returned to the apartment after getting my schedule to get everything ready for class/ dinner/ wherever the night may have taken me. Our apartment is about 35 minutes walking from the school. Based on the two locations, I know there's a faster way to get there, but for right now I'm just taking the way I know because, well, I know it. This is a lot of walking. I went to class, and both of my professors are awesome. They're both very educated and their english is extremely good. The two classes are very different, for instance in the first I took a page and a half of notes in an hour and in the other I didn't open the notebook yesterday. My international marketing teacher is awesome, and I can tell he's someone who would rather you learn something than give you a grade. He's very laid back, doesn't have many rules, but I can tell he actually wants to teach and actually wants you to walk away with something useful in real life... imagine that.
We then walked to a hotel banquet room place which was a half an hour walking from the school. We had a meeting, in which we discussed insurance, our day off on Wednesday (no class, yippee!) and weekend excursions. Then they fed us (paella, yum!) They make these little things, no idea what hey are but I'll describe them as buttered garlic mashed potatoes formed into balls and fried. Honestly they're awesome and I have noooo idea what they are. Another thing, I really thought I'd gain a lot of weight here. IF anything, I'm going to lose it. The eating schedule and all the walking just seems like a losing weight situation.
It was a good thing I ate a lot at dinner, because then we walked for literally an hour. Our teacher had told us about a stretch of bars that primarily Americans went to. This obviously isn't what we want to do every night, but a group of about 20 of us decided last night we wanted to go there. We got pretty lost, but eventually found it. 2 for 1 mojitos! It was fun, but a lot of students have 9am classes so we weren't out nearly as late as we had been in Madrid.
Our teacher also told us not to buy his book and to spend our money on Cruzcampo (the local beer)
So I'm a bit disappointed because I don't actually think these classes will be a joke, but on the bright side my schedule is nice!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
LO SIENTO!
Sorry for the delay! I flew into Madrid Thursday morning (which honestly felt like the middle of the night Wednesday and all day Thursday felt like the extended version of Wednesday because I slept two hours in those two days) but anyways, Thursday was a pretty relaxed day. My roommate Kaylee and I went to eat and I got bread with sausage and brie on it. Their cheese is literally one of the most awesome things in the world. It's so fresh it seems and just has flavor. Compared to cheese in Spain, cheese in the US has absolutely no taste. So we did that, and a nap was absolutely necessary for survival even though they recommended to stay up into the night. Regardless, we slept until our meeting where we got our Spain phones. Those are cool, I'm glad I got one. Then, I went out to dinner with some other people I had met. I have no idea why, but most of the people in my program are from the south of the US. Seriously, Texas, Georgia, Tennesee. So not only will my Spanish improve, but I will more than likely return saying y'all. We had dinner and sangria and rather than going out with a few people I went to sleep because I felt like a dead person.
On Friday, we had lots and lots of tours in Madrid. We did a city tour, walking and by bus, saw lots of really old buildings and got a bit of history. None of it is interesting enough to tell you about, but I made a good academic decision and took the tours in Spanish. I got 90% of it and I guess the other 10% was just sort of fill in the blank. Then after a delicious lunch of an omelette and sangria, we went to the Prado museum. I wish I was more happy about his, but it's difficult to be. It was a guided tour and we only saw select paintings and there were millions of tourists everywhere. I would've wandered around by myself for hours but instead Asian people were everywhere bugging me and it sucked. I did see Las Meninas though and it's one of the most awestriking things ever. Like I've learned about that painting on so many different occasions and it's always been in the Prado but to actually myself be in the Prado staring at it... pretty cool.
After that we returned to the hotel to clean up (it was a lot a lot a lot of walking that day I was so tired) and then we went to shop. I actually didn't buy anything and I have no idea why. So we went to dinner and it was only 7 which is like going at 2 in the US like people look at you like why are you in this restaurant it is not dinnertime yet. But anyway, none of us girls were hungry so all the boys ate and we drank more sangria. I keep mentioning it, but it's really good here. Then we returned to the hotel and waited for one of my friends Madrid resident friend Dan to arrive to take us to a good spot for our last night. We went to an Irish pub and drank too much Guinness. (In Madrid, I know it makes zero sense) This was the night of the Copa del Rey which means King's cup for soccer. Soccer is life here. The two teams playing were Barcelona and a team from a bit north of Madrid. ENORMOUS RIVALRY. Literally the entirety of Madrid was a party and we were all invited. Also, my friend Brian has an internship for the summer in Madrid, so he met up with us and took us to some really cool places that he had been to. For whatever reason, they don't begin going out until midnight, and they never close except for Sundays. You could sit at a bar in Madrid from Monday at 9am to Saturday at 6am and I honestly think they would just keep feeding you alcohol. It's insane. To say the least, getting up the next day to make the bus for Toledo was a challenge.
But after us all being pretty late to the bus, we made it. Toledo is about 45 minutes out of Madrid and the most beautiful place in the entire world. Every single building looks like a castle. I'm going to make someone buy me one someday. Because we only got one day/ night in Toledo, this was another day of many tours. The cathedral of Saint John was beautiful, with two chapel areas and an enormous garden between them. Then we went to a mosque and looked at a painting by El Greco (a painting I've never heard of and still didn't really see because, you guessed it, more Asians in the way) Then we walked the streets and seriously I can't tell you enough how beautiful this city is. It's on top of a hill and you can see for MILES everywhere. I'll have pictures somewhere shortly, but for some reason Facebook doesn't want to upload them. Anyway, I ate paella for lunch and it was fine. Seafood still has a head. That sort of bothers me, but I powered through because as it turns out, I hadn't eaten since the omelette the day before. Then we returned to a newer really nice hotel in Toledo where I did a lot of sleeping. We had a meeting that night where we learned about what we'll learn in classes and how to treat people here and to let people kiss you (on the cheek as a greeting) and that people are freaked out by bare feet. Then I went to eat with my roomie and I had a really weird crab cake consistency roast beef patty that looked like dog food. Not my favorite meal.
This morning we left for Sevilla, which was an enormous relief. We left at 9:30 and arrived here at 5, with stopping for a total of an hour and a half. There's a law in Spain that says no public driver (bus driver, taxi, etc) can drive for more than four hours without stopping for 45 minutes. I think that's brilliant. No drowsy driving!! No idea how that would be enforced, but it's a nice thought. Anywho, everyone else met their host families and then us independent kids were taken to our apartments. The apartments are nice, they seem clean and bug free, and we even have a dishwasher. As of current, our stove top doesn't work, which is an enormous issue, but I'm confident they'll have that solved by tomorrow at this time. (By the way, I'm probably six hours ahead of you currently) It has been very nice to unpack and not live out of a suitcase anymore.
Somehow in those four days (mostly the first 3 days) I spent $300 which simply just can't continue. Food in Madrid was pretty expensive but I'm told that Sevilla's prices are much kinder. Plus, we have a kitchen now, so I'm not going to be eating every single meal out. That's a good thing. There's no open container laws here. Which is weird little Chinese men sell beer out of milk crates for a euro. (Awesome price, think NYC designer purses from Chinese men) And no worries, they're sealed in cans and in no way contaminated. Sevilla is for some reason bigger than I expected but WAY smaller than Madrid. The population is 700,000 and for some reason none of them seem to run on the streets. I went for a run this afternoon and people looked at me like I had eight arms. It was nice though, except extremely hot. If I had to describe the temperature of Sevilla to you, I would say hell. Today it was easily 100 degrees. The nice thing though is it doesn't feel as brutal as Pittsburgh 80 degrees because there is zero humidity. It's dry heat. Pretty cool. I got a little lost on my run, because maps don't really help around here. The roads are tiny little barely able to fit a car on them alley way thingys so like 50% of them aren't named on the map. I unintentionally made an enormous circle.
One thing I did literally run into, however, was the cathedral of Sevilla. I can honestly say I've never seen such a beautiful thing that was so massive in my entire life. The cement wall that the stakes that guard it alone are taller than me. I can't wait to go in it. It's so gorgeous. But I found my way back to my apartment and ate a delicious dinner of free corn flakes and a yogurt (ps their yogurt here is awesome!) and now I'm probably going to go to sleep.
Tomorrow we must be at Plaza Nueva at 8:45 to take our placement exams for classes, which is about a half hour away. I'll know my class schedule tomorrow!
Sorry this is a long post, they'll be shorter in the future. I just had spotty Internet for the first few days with all the traveling. I have Wifi in my apartment, so life just got much easier.
Adios mis amores!
On Friday, we had lots and lots of tours in Madrid. We did a city tour, walking and by bus, saw lots of really old buildings and got a bit of history. None of it is interesting enough to tell you about, but I made a good academic decision and took the tours in Spanish. I got 90% of it and I guess the other 10% was just sort of fill in the blank. Then after a delicious lunch of an omelette and sangria, we went to the Prado museum. I wish I was more happy about his, but it's difficult to be. It was a guided tour and we only saw select paintings and there were millions of tourists everywhere. I would've wandered around by myself for hours but instead Asian people were everywhere bugging me and it sucked. I did see Las Meninas though and it's one of the most awestriking things ever. Like I've learned about that painting on so many different occasions and it's always been in the Prado but to actually myself be in the Prado staring at it... pretty cool.
After that we returned to the hotel to clean up (it was a lot a lot a lot of walking that day I was so tired) and then we went to shop. I actually didn't buy anything and I have no idea why. So we went to dinner and it was only 7 which is like going at 2 in the US like people look at you like why are you in this restaurant it is not dinnertime yet. But anyway, none of us girls were hungry so all the boys ate and we drank more sangria. I keep mentioning it, but it's really good here. Then we returned to the hotel and waited for one of my friends Madrid resident friend Dan to arrive to take us to a good spot for our last night. We went to an Irish pub and drank too much Guinness. (In Madrid, I know it makes zero sense) This was the night of the Copa del Rey which means King's cup for soccer. Soccer is life here. The two teams playing were Barcelona and a team from a bit north of Madrid. ENORMOUS RIVALRY. Literally the entirety of Madrid was a party and we were all invited. Also, my friend Brian has an internship for the summer in Madrid, so he met up with us and took us to some really cool places that he had been to. For whatever reason, they don't begin going out until midnight, and they never close except for Sundays. You could sit at a bar in Madrid from Monday at 9am to Saturday at 6am and I honestly think they would just keep feeding you alcohol. It's insane. To say the least, getting up the next day to make the bus for Toledo was a challenge.
But after us all being pretty late to the bus, we made it. Toledo is about 45 minutes out of Madrid and the most beautiful place in the entire world. Every single building looks like a castle. I'm going to make someone buy me one someday. Because we only got one day/ night in Toledo, this was another day of many tours. The cathedral of Saint John was beautiful, with two chapel areas and an enormous garden between them. Then we went to a mosque and looked at a painting by El Greco (a painting I've never heard of and still didn't really see because, you guessed it, more Asians in the way) Then we walked the streets and seriously I can't tell you enough how beautiful this city is. It's on top of a hill and you can see for MILES everywhere. I'll have pictures somewhere shortly, but for some reason Facebook doesn't want to upload them. Anyway, I ate paella for lunch and it was fine. Seafood still has a head. That sort of bothers me, but I powered through because as it turns out, I hadn't eaten since the omelette the day before. Then we returned to a newer really nice hotel in Toledo where I did a lot of sleeping. We had a meeting that night where we learned about what we'll learn in classes and how to treat people here and to let people kiss you (on the cheek as a greeting) and that people are freaked out by bare feet. Then I went to eat with my roomie and I had a really weird crab cake consistency roast beef patty that looked like dog food. Not my favorite meal.
This morning we left for Sevilla, which was an enormous relief. We left at 9:30 and arrived here at 5, with stopping for a total of an hour and a half. There's a law in Spain that says no public driver (bus driver, taxi, etc) can drive for more than four hours without stopping for 45 minutes. I think that's brilliant. No drowsy driving!! No idea how that would be enforced, but it's a nice thought. Anywho, everyone else met their host families and then us independent kids were taken to our apartments. The apartments are nice, they seem clean and bug free, and we even have a dishwasher. As of current, our stove top doesn't work, which is an enormous issue, but I'm confident they'll have that solved by tomorrow at this time. (By the way, I'm probably six hours ahead of you currently) It has been very nice to unpack and not live out of a suitcase anymore.
Somehow in those four days (mostly the first 3 days) I spent $300 which simply just can't continue. Food in Madrid was pretty expensive but I'm told that Sevilla's prices are much kinder. Plus, we have a kitchen now, so I'm not going to be eating every single meal out. That's a good thing. There's no open container laws here. Which is weird little Chinese men sell beer out of milk crates for a euro. (Awesome price, think NYC designer purses from Chinese men) And no worries, they're sealed in cans and in no way contaminated. Sevilla is for some reason bigger than I expected but WAY smaller than Madrid. The population is 700,000 and for some reason none of them seem to run on the streets. I went for a run this afternoon and people looked at me like I had eight arms. It was nice though, except extremely hot. If I had to describe the temperature of Sevilla to you, I would say hell. Today it was easily 100 degrees. The nice thing though is it doesn't feel as brutal as Pittsburgh 80 degrees because there is zero humidity. It's dry heat. Pretty cool. I got a little lost on my run, because maps don't really help around here. The roads are tiny little barely able to fit a car on them alley way thingys so like 50% of them aren't named on the map. I unintentionally made an enormous circle.
One thing I did literally run into, however, was the cathedral of Sevilla. I can honestly say I've never seen such a beautiful thing that was so massive in my entire life. The cement wall that the stakes that guard it alone are taller than me. I can't wait to go in it. It's so gorgeous. But I found my way back to my apartment and ate a delicious dinner of free corn flakes and a yogurt (ps their yogurt here is awesome!) and now I'm probably going to go to sleep.
Tomorrow we must be at Plaza Nueva at 8:45 to take our placement exams for classes, which is about a half hour away. I'll know my class schedule tomorrow!
Sorry this is a long post, they'll be shorter in the future. I just had spotty Internet for the first few days with all the traveling. I have Wifi in my apartment, so life just got much easier.
Adios mis amores!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
PIT->JFK JFK->MADRID
As bizarre as it may seem, today is the first day I've truly been excited because I've said my goodbyes. Goodbyes suck and I get all teary and emotional. Now that I've said them all and cried a bit, I feel better and excited. It's like you're sitting at the terminal, you don't have much of a choice other than to get on the dang plane. I don't feel old enough to go on an adventure this big and long by myself but I guess it appears that I am. So basically right now I'm creeping on everyone sitting at the gate to see if maybe they're going to Spain also. Who knows.
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