Thursday, February 19, 2009
Pictures!
Senderismo: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008830&id=1232310007&l=e2ae5
Ronda: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008819&id=1232310007&l=db2c7
Granada: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008735&id=1232310007&l=66443
Random: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008741&id=1232310007&l=086ec
Senderismo: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008830&id=1232310007&l=e2ae5
Ronda: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008819&id=1232310007&l=db2c7
Granada: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008735&id=1232310007&l=66443
Random: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008741&id=1232310007&l=086ec
19/2/09
It appears that I updated last Friday. Friday itself was great. Kai, Ally, Sasha and I sat on the banks of the Gualdalquivir and discussed travel plans. It was so nice to be back with the core group, which always makes me feel so much better, and to get some sun. I got a little burnt, but now I'm just freckled and tan and even blonder than usual.
Travel: we are going to make use of weekends, Semana Santa (the important days are at the end, so we'll come back), Feria (again, stay for few days then travel) and after the program ends. Weekends will be around Spain, and some Portugal. I think Sasha and I are going to France during Semana Santa. We want to visit friends abroad in Dijon and Paris. We're going to try to squeeze something else in there, possibly Switzerland or Belguim (I first wrote "Belchertown"). During Feria Ally and Sasha want to do Madrid and Barcelona. I'm torn, because they're not my top priorities, since I've seen them, but I want them to come along when I travel, so I'm looking into what new friends are doing then. I want to spend adequate time in Galicia, on my old stomping grounds, so I kind of want more than a weekend, so we'll see. I'm also going to try to make it to Morocco, with one of the several student travel groups here (safest and easiest).
I'm really excited about the summer. Ally, Sasha and I have agreed to stick together for a bulk of it, and Kai will travel with us for part of it, too. Ally's family has a timeshare in Greece, so right after the program ends the four of us are heading to Greek islands, for which I am SO SO excited. We're also going to do some Italy (my coin thrown into the Trevi fountain in '01 is doing it's job), Prague, a stop in Germany, etc. Sasha leaves five days before I do, so I'm thinking of where to go for those five days. I fly out of Madrid, so I'll be making my way South again. It's very exciting, but I have to start actually booking soon!
Saturday: Ronda
Last Saturday Kai and I joined five new friends from the Advanced program for a day in Ronda. I know one through choir, and met the others on a quest for ice cream once. Ronda is great. It's a smallish town about two hours out of Seville famous for it's big gorge. There are also two bridges, old and new, which draw many tourists. It was so nice to just get out of the city. There were mountain views and little houses and everything, plus just the amazingness of the natural wonder of the gorge. The best part was when Kai and I ditched the group (it turns out the advanced group gets $200 apiece to spend on "cultural" stuff!!!) as they spent lots of money on tourist stuff to just play outside. We explored the trails around the hills and the gorge, which was a lot of fun. We also went to the Bandit Museum. It was pretty cool, although we were disappointed that we could not buy costumes or comic books in the gift shop.
Sunday: Senderismo.
Sunday morning I got up early to go on a CIEE-sponsored hiking trip. Another two hour bus ride later we were in Alacena marching through the hills. We had two guides, who were great, so we learned a lot. It was so beautiful, and so nice out, and I had a really great time. It reminded me how important it is to spend time outside, away from the city, so I'm going to try to find similar outlets. My host family had the biggest laugh ever when I returned. I had been under the impression that "Senderismo" was the name of a place. I came to this conclusion because I signed up for four events at once: Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, and Senderismo, three out of four of which are, indeed, places. I had no idea why my host family kept asking me the few days before where I was going. "Senderismo," I repeatedly told them. "Where?" "As I said, Senderismo." I thought they wanted extreme details, like "North Senderismo" or the name of an exact mountain or something. I learned that day that "Senderismo" is actually the word for "hiking." This suddently made more sense. I explained my error upon returning, which was THE single funniest thing any of them had ever heard. The three of them spent the rest of the evening making Senderismo jokes, asking why I didn't send them a postcard from the town of Senderismo, suggesting they go to Senderismo for vacation, etc.
This week is flying by with classes and schoolwork. Everyone in the program seems to be craving Mexican food, so last night the six Clarkies went to "La Tijuana" for dinner. (Clarkies=Kai, Ally, Sasha and I, plus Emma, who's advanced, and Elsa, who we didn't know as well before but with whom we've become friends.) Emma's friend also came, who was really cool. It was not the best Mexican food, but it was nice to change things up and get time with my friends.
Moment of complaint: the food is not much better at my new house. It's weird, because all of them go on about how Carmen's the best cook, and how she spends all this time cooking and stuff, but the food is seriously underwhelming. Yesterday for lunch we had white rice with tomato paste on it. Nothing is much fancier than that. The good thing is that I can raid the kitchen whenever I want. I did the math yesterday, and I have eaten at least 80 oranges in the last month.
This weekend: I think I'm going to Gibraltar on Friday. Making plans today. Saturday night I'm going with a big group to Carnaval in Cadiz. The cheapest and most logical way for young people to go is to take a bus that leaves at 9 pm, doing the carnival thing all night, and getting on a bus to come back at 5:00 AM. So it's not ideal for those of us who are secretly fifty inside, but it'll be a night unlike anything I've done before. It's a bit stressul now because we don't have costume yet, which are a MUST for this.
Last thing: I went to my first Chamber Choir rehearsal tuesday night. Basically it's just a smaller group made of people from the big choir. This week was a test, and the director is going to decide if we're going to keep going (fingers crossed). We were seriously short on tenors (although Manolo was there!!!) so I wanted to join them, as I frequently do in my own choir. I didn't want to be laughed out of choir for suggesting this in a country with very traditional gender roles, so in a moment of commotion and side conversations I subtly presented the idea to the director. He thanked me, and a few minutes later announced that I would be singing with them. This was a big ego boost, because I think I was the best sight-reader there, and we sounded better once I made the switch:) This was generally great because I was the only American there, which I love, and people were so nice; I talked to lots of people. I really hope that chamber keeps going, and that no more Americans join.
Off to class, more to come!
Travel: we are going to make use of weekends, Semana Santa (the important days are at the end, so we'll come back), Feria (again, stay for few days then travel) and after the program ends. Weekends will be around Spain, and some Portugal. I think Sasha and I are going to France during Semana Santa. We want to visit friends abroad in Dijon and Paris. We're going to try to squeeze something else in there, possibly Switzerland or Belguim (I first wrote "Belchertown"). During Feria Ally and Sasha want to do Madrid and Barcelona. I'm torn, because they're not my top priorities, since I've seen them, but I want them to come along when I travel, so I'm looking into what new friends are doing then. I want to spend adequate time in Galicia, on my old stomping grounds, so I kind of want more than a weekend, so we'll see. I'm also going to try to make it to Morocco, with one of the several student travel groups here (safest and easiest).
I'm really excited about the summer. Ally, Sasha and I have agreed to stick together for a bulk of it, and Kai will travel with us for part of it, too. Ally's family has a timeshare in Greece, so right after the program ends the four of us are heading to Greek islands, for which I am SO SO excited. We're also going to do some Italy (my coin thrown into the Trevi fountain in '01 is doing it's job), Prague, a stop in Germany, etc. Sasha leaves five days before I do, so I'm thinking of where to go for those five days. I fly out of Madrid, so I'll be making my way South again. It's very exciting, but I have to start actually booking soon!
Saturday: Ronda
Last Saturday Kai and I joined five new friends from the Advanced program for a day in Ronda. I know one through choir, and met the others on a quest for ice cream once. Ronda is great. It's a smallish town about two hours out of Seville famous for it's big gorge. There are also two bridges, old and new, which draw many tourists. It was so nice to just get out of the city. There were mountain views and little houses and everything, plus just the amazingness of the natural wonder of the gorge. The best part was when Kai and I ditched the group (it turns out the advanced group gets $200 apiece to spend on "cultural" stuff!!!) as they spent lots of money on tourist stuff to just play outside. We explored the trails around the hills and the gorge, which was a lot of fun. We also went to the Bandit Museum. It was pretty cool, although we were disappointed that we could not buy costumes or comic books in the gift shop.
Sunday: Senderismo.
Sunday morning I got up early to go on a CIEE-sponsored hiking trip. Another two hour bus ride later we were in Alacena marching through the hills. We had two guides, who were great, so we learned a lot. It was so beautiful, and so nice out, and I had a really great time. It reminded me how important it is to spend time outside, away from the city, so I'm going to try to find similar outlets. My host family had the biggest laugh ever when I returned. I had been under the impression that "Senderismo" was the name of a place. I came to this conclusion because I signed up for four events at once: Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, and Senderismo, three out of four of which are, indeed, places. I had no idea why my host family kept asking me the few days before where I was going. "Senderismo," I repeatedly told them. "Where?" "As I said, Senderismo." I thought they wanted extreme details, like "North Senderismo" or the name of an exact mountain or something. I learned that day that "Senderismo" is actually the word for "hiking." This suddently made more sense. I explained my error upon returning, which was THE single funniest thing any of them had ever heard. The three of them spent the rest of the evening making Senderismo jokes, asking why I didn't send them a postcard from the town of Senderismo, suggesting they go to Senderismo for vacation, etc.
This week is flying by with classes and schoolwork. Everyone in the program seems to be craving Mexican food, so last night the six Clarkies went to "La Tijuana" for dinner. (Clarkies=Kai, Ally, Sasha and I, plus Emma, who's advanced, and Elsa, who we didn't know as well before but with whom we've become friends.) Emma's friend also came, who was really cool. It was not the best Mexican food, but it was nice to change things up and get time with my friends.
Moment of complaint: the food is not much better at my new house. It's weird, because all of them go on about how Carmen's the best cook, and how she spends all this time cooking and stuff, but the food is seriously underwhelming. Yesterday for lunch we had white rice with tomato paste on it. Nothing is much fancier than that. The good thing is that I can raid the kitchen whenever I want. I did the math yesterday, and I have eaten at least 80 oranges in the last month.
This weekend: I think I'm going to Gibraltar on Friday. Making plans today. Saturday night I'm going with a big group to Carnaval in Cadiz. The cheapest and most logical way for young people to go is to take a bus that leaves at 9 pm, doing the carnival thing all night, and getting on a bus to come back at 5:00 AM. So it's not ideal for those of us who are secretly fifty inside, but it'll be a night unlike anything I've done before. It's a bit stressul now because we don't have costume yet, which are a MUST for this.
Last thing: I went to my first Chamber Choir rehearsal tuesday night. Basically it's just a smaller group made of people from the big choir. This week was a test, and the director is going to decide if we're going to keep going (fingers crossed). We were seriously short on tenors (although Manolo was there!!!) so I wanted to join them, as I frequently do in my own choir. I didn't want to be laughed out of choir for suggesting this in a country with very traditional gender roles, so in a moment of commotion and side conversations I subtly presented the idea to the director. He thanked me, and a few minutes later announced that I would be singing with them. This was a big ego boost, because I think I was the best sight-reader there, and we sounded better once I made the switch:) This was generally great because I was the only American there, which I love, and people were so nice; I talked to lots of people. I really hope that chamber keeps going, and that no more Americans join.
Off to class, more to come!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Quick Update
List of excuses for not posting very often:
1. No internet at my house since moving;
2. Long lines at the computer lab at the school;
3. School is a forty-minute walk away;
4. If I use an internet cafe, I have to buy something, and I can't afford that many croissants;
5. Once I take off walking to an internet source, the Mediterranean sun gets the better of me and I forget to go inside.
Updates:
I. Classes. For the first two weeks we had an intensive grammar class. We were placed in these according to the online placement test we took last fall and a quick interview with a staff member. I felt that I was misplaced, as my Spanish was far better than most people's in the class, and we were reviewing very easy concepts. However, it was a positive experience, because the grammar review really did help (haven't had a Spanish class since freshman year), the professor was great, many classmates were great, and it enabled me to visit the Alcazar, Museo de Bellas Artes, Museo del Baile Flamenco, y others to write papers on them. It was a good deal because we get the credit equivalent of a whole class, and it was just two weeks (three hours a day). Now we've started real classes.
A. Masterpieces of Famous Spanish Painters. Pretty self-explanatory, great professor (Concha)
B. History of Flamenco in Andalucia (or something, forget the names). Also pretty self-explanatory, also great professor (Pepa Sanchez), really looking forward to it. We already practiced our palmas (hand-clapping), and we'll be singing at some point!
C. Three Cultures in Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This class is supposed to be great. However, last week was rough because our professor was recovering from surgery so we had a sub. It was very hard to pay attention, but the prof has a great reputation, and I'm really interesting in learning my history.
D. Just changed. I signed up for "Cocina y Alimentacion de la Mediterranean in Ancient and Medieval times" or something. This is a "curso para extranjeros," which are through the University of Seville, with all Americans from various programs. I wanted to do one to get into the University somehow, but the first two days did not go well. Although it sounds cool, it was impossible to follow the first two days. This also gave me four history classes, which has never been a strongsuit. The add-drop period is very short, so I switched today. I am now taking "Comparative and Contrastive Syntax." This was recommended by Kai, and the professor is fabulous. He's a CIEE staff member, so we had some training with him, and he's funny and loud and animated and awesome. This class will be good, because it will really improve my ability to say what I want to say in English in Spanish. The bad news is that we can only change classes once, so if I don't like the others, too bad. This means I don't have classes at the university, but I still have an in through.......
II. CHOIR!!!
So excited. Choir is monday and thursday nights 8:30-10. I couldn't start until this week, because I had my intensive grammar class 6-9, and I didn't really want to go late my first day, and dinner and stuff. I was very glad to learn that my friend Leia joined too, so I've been going with her. I've been twice now, and it's so great. There are guys!!!! I don't need to sing tenor!!! The choir is open to the community, so there are a lot of older folks. The director is great. He's just super nice, and funny, and very welcoming to foreigners, and he's good!! We practiced dynamics!! We're singing a Mozart mass, among some other stuff. It felt so, so good to be singing again.
Highlight: We pulled out a song called "Sarabanda Academica." This was hilarious for many reasons. First of all, the words were written by Geronimous Grape. This short piece is in an intense, dramatic, minor key. It is in English, which we practiced. The words are as follows: KNOWLEDGE. EFFORT. SCIENCES. FINE ARTS. FRIENDSHIP. JOY. [reeeally minor] THE SPIRIT OF COLLEGE! You have to imagine sixty Spaniards belting this (EFF-ORT) in their accents. Leia and I were in hysterics the whole time, wishing we had our cameras to record. The sad news is that I think we're done with it, they sang it at an academic event last week.
Thursday was even better, because people were so nice! I talked to so many people, Germans, moms, etc. Leia and I talked to two Spanish girls in front of us, Maria Jose and Estrella. Choir was good, we sang, love Mozart, but the fun really began after. I stayed after for a minute to get music for chamber! That was the best news, I will now be going Tuesday nights in addition to sing with the small, a cappella, chamber choir. Maggie, another CIEE girl who goes to choir, invited me to come out with her and some choir people. At first I thought it was just her and these two young Spanish guys, both named Jose. As it turned out, it was like thirty people. It was great, we went to a restaurant (El Torre de Plata) where we got some tapas and vino. This group included Estrella and Maria Jose, the two Joses, the accompaniest, the director, his wife, lots of others, and, most importantly, Manolo.
Manolo: The man of my dreams. I spotted him right as he walked into choir. He was wearing a blue, flannel jacket, a gray sweater vest, a gray felt fedora, and he was dancing as he walked with his umbrella. He has a great mustache, and can be best described as the love child of Groucho Marx and Grandpa Joe from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Oops, forgot to mention that he's about 70. I immediately started fantasizing about strolling by the river together, ice cream in hand, playing the Spanish equivalent of Scrabble on a rainy afternoon, and singing together. I wanted him as my Grandpa figure, and spent choir trying to think of a decent conversation starter. As it turned out, I did not need it, because he made the first move. As we were walking (I hadn't noticed that he had come along), I felt someone lift up my heavy backpack. "Ay, cuantos libros tienes??" (how many books do you have?) Starting then, Manolo and I were fast friends. I could understand his Spanish, he laughed at my jokes in Spanish, and he continued humming Mozart all night. We sat at the end of our group's big table and talked, sang, and joked over our baked goat cheese with honey. He used his deep purple scarf to explain "berenjena" (eggplant). I cannot wait to build this friendship more.
This night was generally awesome. In addition to Manolo, I made friends with the two Joses (one's from Cadiz, one's from Jerez), Estrella and Maria Jose, and this girl Laura who wanted to practice English. It was strange speaking English with her, since I had been in Spanish mode all night, but is was nice to finally spend quality time with Spaniards. I realized that that's what I've been missing, companionship from spaniards outside my host family. I can't wait to reunite with my new friends on monday, and perhaps go out again next thursday!
That's all for now, I have to head back for dinner. Saturday: day in Ronda (tiny white-washed town with a big gorge) with Kai, Leia from choir, and two of her friends. Sunday: hiking in Senderismo with a group from CIEE.
I want news from home! Send me emails! socrafts@clarku.edu!
P.S. I have a little sunburn. Take that, New England!
1. No internet at my house since moving;
2. Long lines at the computer lab at the school;
3. School is a forty-minute walk away;
4. If I use an internet cafe, I have to buy something, and I can't afford that many croissants;
5. Once I take off walking to an internet source, the Mediterranean sun gets the better of me and I forget to go inside.
Updates:
I. Classes. For the first two weeks we had an intensive grammar class. We were placed in these according to the online placement test we took last fall and a quick interview with a staff member. I felt that I was misplaced, as my Spanish was far better than most people's in the class, and we were reviewing very easy concepts. However, it was a positive experience, because the grammar review really did help (haven't had a Spanish class since freshman year), the professor was great, many classmates were great, and it enabled me to visit the Alcazar, Museo de Bellas Artes, Museo del Baile Flamenco, y others to write papers on them. It was a good deal because we get the credit equivalent of a whole class, and it was just two weeks (three hours a day). Now we've started real classes.
A. Masterpieces of Famous Spanish Painters. Pretty self-explanatory, great professor (Concha)
B. History of Flamenco in Andalucia (or something, forget the names). Also pretty self-explanatory, also great professor (Pepa Sanchez), really looking forward to it. We already practiced our palmas (hand-clapping), and we'll be singing at some point!
C. Three Cultures in Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This class is supposed to be great. However, last week was rough because our professor was recovering from surgery so we had a sub. It was very hard to pay attention, but the prof has a great reputation, and I'm really interesting in learning my history.
D. Just changed. I signed up for "Cocina y Alimentacion de la Mediterranean in Ancient and Medieval times" or something. This is a "curso para extranjeros," which are through the University of Seville, with all Americans from various programs. I wanted to do one to get into the University somehow, but the first two days did not go well. Although it sounds cool, it was impossible to follow the first two days. This also gave me four history classes, which has never been a strongsuit. The add-drop period is very short, so I switched today. I am now taking "Comparative and Contrastive Syntax." This was recommended by Kai, and the professor is fabulous. He's a CIEE staff member, so we had some training with him, and he's funny and loud and animated and awesome. This class will be good, because it will really improve my ability to say what I want to say in English in Spanish. The bad news is that we can only change classes once, so if I don't like the others, too bad. This means I don't have classes at the university, but I still have an in through.......
II. CHOIR!!!
So excited. Choir is monday and thursday nights 8:30-10. I couldn't start until this week, because I had my intensive grammar class 6-9, and I didn't really want to go late my first day, and dinner and stuff. I was very glad to learn that my friend Leia joined too, so I've been going with her. I've been twice now, and it's so great. There are guys!!!! I don't need to sing tenor!!! The choir is open to the community, so there are a lot of older folks. The director is great. He's just super nice, and funny, and very welcoming to foreigners, and he's good!! We practiced dynamics!! We're singing a Mozart mass, among some other stuff. It felt so, so good to be singing again.
Highlight: We pulled out a song called "Sarabanda Academica." This was hilarious for many reasons. First of all, the words were written by Geronimous Grape. This short piece is in an intense, dramatic, minor key. It is in English, which we practiced. The words are as follows: KNOWLEDGE. EFFORT. SCIENCES. FINE ARTS. FRIENDSHIP. JOY. [reeeally minor] THE SPIRIT OF COLLEGE! You have to imagine sixty Spaniards belting this (EFF-ORT) in their accents. Leia and I were in hysterics the whole time, wishing we had our cameras to record. The sad news is that I think we're done with it, they sang it at an academic event last week.
Thursday was even better, because people were so nice! I talked to so many people, Germans, moms, etc. Leia and I talked to two Spanish girls in front of us, Maria Jose and Estrella. Choir was good, we sang, love Mozart, but the fun really began after. I stayed after for a minute to get music for chamber! That was the best news, I will now be going Tuesday nights in addition to sing with the small, a cappella, chamber choir. Maggie, another CIEE girl who goes to choir, invited me to come out with her and some choir people. At first I thought it was just her and these two young Spanish guys, both named Jose. As it turned out, it was like thirty people. It was great, we went to a restaurant (El Torre de Plata) where we got some tapas and vino. This group included Estrella and Maria Jose, the two Joses, the accompaniest, the director, his wife, lots of others, and, most importantly, Manolo.
Manolo: The man of my dreams. I spotted him right as he walked into choir. He was wearing a blue, flannel jacket, a gray sweater vest, a gray felt fedora, and he was dancing as he walked with his umbrella. He has a great mustache, and can be best described as the love child of Groucho Marx and Grandpa Joe from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Oops, forgot to mention that he's about 70. I immediately started fantasizing about strolling by the river together, ice cream in hand, playing the Spanish equivalent of Scrabble on a rainy afternoon, and singing together. I wanted him as my Grandpa figure, and spent choir trying to think of a decent conversation starter. As it turned out, I did not need it, because he made the first move. As we were walking (I hadn't noticed that he had come along), I felt someone lift up my heavy backpack. "Ay, cuantos libros tienes??" (how many books do you have?) Starting then, Manolo and I were fast friends. I could understand his Spanish, he laughed at my jokes in Spanish, and he continued humming Mozart all night. We sat at the end of our group's big table and talked, sang, and joked over our baked goat cheese with honey. He used his deep purple scarf to explain "berenjena" (eggplant). I cannot wait to build this friendship more.
This night was generally awesome. In addition to Manolo, I made friends with the two Joses (one's from Cadiz, one's from Jerez), Estrella and Maria Jose, and this girl Laura who wanted to practice English. It was strange speaking English with her, since I had been in Spanish mode all night, but is was nice to finally spend quality time with Spaniards. I realized that that's what I've been missing, companionship from spaniards outside my host family. I can't wait to reunite with my new friends on monday, and perhaps go out again next thursday!
That's all for now, I have to head back for dinner. Saturday: day in Ronda (tiny white-washed town with a big gorge) with Kai, Leia from choir, and two of her friends. Sunday: hiking in Senderismo with a group from CIEE.
I want news from home! Send me emails! socrafts@clarku.edu!
P.S. I have a little sunburn. Take that, New England!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Things That Are Not Easy to Explain in a Second Language:
1. Maple syrup. ("Jugo del árbol. Es muy sabrosa!")
~("Tree juice. It's very delicious!")
2. Groundhog Day ("El animal de la tierra se despierta y quizás puede ver la cosa que el sol hace. Entonces, tal vez hay primavera!")
~("The animal of the earth wakes up and maybe it can see the thing that the sun makes. Then, maybe there will be spring!")
3. "Wicked," the book. ("Conoces la historia sobre la niña, el león, el hombre de metal, y el hombre de césped viejo? Pues, mi libro es sobre la bruja sola.")
~("Do you know the story about the girl, the lion, the man of metal, and the man of old lawn? Well, my book is about the witch only.")
More to come once I remember/encounter them.
1. Maple syrup. ("Jugo del árbol. Es muy sabrosa!")
~("Tree juice. It's very delicious!")
2. Groundhog Day ("El animal de la tierra se despierta y quizás puede ver la cosa que el sol hace. Entonces, tal vez hay primavera!")
~("The animal of the earth wakes up and maybe it can see the thing that the sun makes. Then, maybe there will be spring!")
3. "Wicked," the book. ("Conoces la historia sobre la niña, el león, el hombre de metal, y el hombre de césped viejo? Pues, mi libro es sobre la bruja sola.")
~("Do you know the story about the girl, the lion, the man of metal, and the man of old lawn? Well, my book is about the witch only.")
More to come once I remember/encounter them.
Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!
I am officially terrible at keeping this updated, and due to lack of time or patience, I'm going to give up on any chronology or logic and write whatever.
1. The most important piece of news: I moved! My homestay was not ideal. I had requested a big, kind family with kids and pets who likes to talk a lot, joke around, and spend quality family time together. They gave me a cranky fifty-something year old woman who lives alone and does not possess the ability to smile. Needless to say, it was not ideal. From the start she had no desire to chat. I suppose it was all for the better, because I could not understand a word she said. She scowled and yelled all the time, and mocked me for not knowing how to do simple things like using the microwave or peeling oranges (which she interpreted was the case).. My imperative tense is great now, because that was all she said to me. She would criticize every thought or action displayed, yell everything, and generally make me uncomfortable. Our biggest discrepancy was about shoes. She was convinced that I was going to get sick all the time. I managed to shake her off until it started raining every day. I came unprepared in the shoe department. Due to issues involving toes and elastic, I pretty much have one pair of [very un-waterproof] shoes. They got soaked walking home through the rain one night. For the next several days, I had to keep wearing them. It was not ideal, but I layered on the socks and avoided additional puddles. She was severely opposed to this. I was getting ready to leave once, and went to the laundry room to retrieve my damp shoes. She entered the kitchen and cornered me in the laundry room. She was full out yelling that I could not leave the house without dry shoes. Explaining that I had no others did not help, and I had to actually sort of push her aside to get out of the house, and I was still late. She also refused to believe that it is literally impossible to buy size 10 (42) shoes in Spain. That would have been the obvious solution, but it is literally impossible. It got to the point where I felt physically uncomfortable when I heard her keys in the door, and I would hide in my room. She basically has no manners or heart, and would respond to my cheerful "Buenos dias, Maria Jose!" or "Buenas noches!" with more yelling.
Anyway, I talked to the homestay coordinator, who had fabulous news. A girl had just moved out of her house because she was allergic to cigarette smoke. This left an opening in a family with a mom, dad, eight-year-old daughter, and puppy. They had had fourteen students before me, and had all good evaluations. The one downfall is that they smoke in the house, but there's no way I'm going to avoid smoke in this city. I went to meet them last Monday, and moved in on Wednesday. They are an absolute dream come true. It is almost amusing how perfect they are, and how much they match my request. Right when I got there to first meet them, the eight-year-old, Esperanza, took me by the hand to show me the pretty, homey, house. The adorable little black puppy, Belí, jumped up, allowing me to feel THE softest ears in the world. We sat in the living room to talk. Some highlights:
1. Esperanza snuggled up, pulling my arm around her
2. The dog lay down on my feet
3. The dad, Carlo, told me that they joke around alllll the time, and I hope that's okay
4. Carlo also said that I should get used to constant singing
5. I can understand their Spanish! I understand everything that Esperanza says, most of what Carlo says, and slightly less, but still a lot, of what Carmen says.
6. Esperanza told me the one rule of the house: I can come in drunk at 5:00 AM if I want, but I can't bring guys home then because the other bedrooms are very close.
7. They have a camper van and they go to the beach a lot of weekends once it gets warm.
8. Esperanza has a boyfriend picked out for me! She asked if I have one, I said no, but told her that I'd like a Spanish boyfriend, so if she has anyone in mind she should let me know. She promptly told me about her tall, dark, handsome 21-year-old student teacher.
It's been a few days now, and remains totally great. I have to FIGHT Esperanza to leave the house. She literally throws me down on my bed to do my hair and makeup for me, and to put every piece of jewelery that I brought on me. She has had fifteen college girls in her house during her whole life, so she knows the drill. Carmen and Carlo are more like roommates than parents ("Quiero ser tu amiga mejor. No soy una 'senora,' solo tengo 37 anos!") They let me stop eating when I'm full, wear whatever the hell shoes I want, and spend time outside. As you may imagine, the old house was getting me down, so generally speaking everything has gotten better since moving. I'm happy, I'm not lonely, I don't live in fear, and I've exercised my laughing muscles.
Through Skyping home, checking facebook, writing this, and talking to two other friends abroad I've been at this internet cafe for three hours, so I'm going to head home. More to come soon, I promise!
1. The most important piece of news: I moved! My homestay was not ideal. I had requested a big, kind family with kids and pets who likes to talk a lot, joke around, and spend quality family time together. They gave me a cranky fifty-something year old woman who lives alone and does not possess the ability to smile. Needless to say, it was not ideal. From the start she had no desire to chat. I suppose it was all for the better, because I could not understand a word she said. She scowled and yelled all the time, and mocked me for not knowing how to do simple things like using the microwave or peeling oranges (which she interpreted was the case).. My imperative tense is great now, because that was all she said to me. She would criticize every thought or action displayed, yell everything, and generally make me uncomfortable. Our biggest discrepancy was about shoes. She was convinced that I was going to get sick all the time. I managed to shake her off until it started raining every day. I came unprepared in the shoe department. Due to issues involving toes and elastic, I pretty much have one pair of [very un-waterproof] shoes. They got soaked walking home through the rain one night. For the next several days, I had to keep wearing them. It was not ideal, but I layered on the socks and avoided additional puddles. She was severely opposed to this. I was getting ready to leave once, and went to the laundry room to retrieve my damp shoes. She entered the kitchen and cornered me in the laundry room. She was full out yelling that I could not leave the house without dry shoes. Explaining that I had no others did not help, and I had to actually sort of push her aside to get out of the house, and I was still late. She also refused to believe that it is literally impossible to buy size 10 (42) shoes in Spain. That would have been the obvious solution, but it is literally impossible. It got to the point where I felt physically uncomfortable when I heard her keys in the door, and I would hide in my room. She basically has no manners or heart, and would respond to my cheerful "Buenos dias, Maria Jose!" or "Buenas noches!" with more yelling.
Anyway, I talked to the homestay coordinator, who had fabulous news. A girl had just moved out of her house because she was allergic to cigarette smoke. This left an opening in a family with a mom, dad, eight-year-old daughter, and puppy. They had had fourteen students before me, and had all good evaluations. The one downfall is that they smoke in the house, but there's no way I'm going to avoid smoke in this city. I went to meet them last Monday, and moved in on Wednesday. They are an absolute dream come true. It is almost amusing how perfect they are, and how much they match my request. Right when I got there to first meet them, the eight-year-old, Esperanza, took me by the hand to show me the pretty, homey, house. The adorable little black puppy, Belí, jumped up, allowing me to feel THE softest ears in the world. We sat in the living room to talk. Some highlights:
1. Esperanza snuggled up, pulling my arm around her
2. The dog lay down on my feet
3. The dad, Carlo, told me that they joke around alllll the time, and I hope that's okay
4. Carlo also said that I should get used to constant singing
5. I can understand their Spanish! I understand everything that Esperanza says, most of what Carlo says, and slightly less, but still a lot, of what Carmen says.
6. Esperanza told me the one rule of the house: I can come in drunk at 5:00 AM if I want, but I can't bring guys home then because the other bedrooms are very close.
7. They have a camper van and they go to the beach a lot of weekends once it gets warm.
8. Esperanza has a boyfriend picked out for me! She asked if I have one, I said no, but told her that I'd like a Spanish boyfriend, so if she has anyone in mind she should let me know. She promptly told me about her tall, dark, handsome 21-year-old student teacher.
It's been a few days now, and remains totally great. I have to FIGHT Esperanza to leave the house. She literally throws me down on my bed to do my hair and makeup for me, and to put every piece of jewelery that I brought on me. She has had fifteen college girls in her house during her whole life, so she knows the drill. Carmen and Carlo are more like roommates than parents ("Quiero ser tu amiga mejor. No soy una 'senora,' solo tengo 37 anos!") They let me stop eating when I'm full, wear whatever the hell shoes I want, and spend time outside. As you may imagine, the old house was getting me down, so generally speaking everything has gotten better since moving. I'm happy, I'm not lonely, I don't live in fear, and I've exercised my laughing muscles.
Through Skyping home, checking facebook, writing this, and talking to two other friends abroad I've been at this internet cafe for three hours, so I'm going to head home. More to come soon, I promise!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Granada
I have had no time to go back and write old stuff, but so much is happening! I figured I'll try to keep up with the current stuff, then when I have time I'll go back and fill you in.
Last weekend CIEE organized a trip to Granada. I had an absolutely wonderful time, mostly because Kai, Ally, Sasha, and I were together. I hadn’t seen them for a very long time, because we all have classes at different times. It was nice to be back with my support group, with people with whom I always feel comfortable. The three buses left at 8:30 AM Saturday morning. My friend Nolan was supposed to come too, but due to his crazy Friday night he slept through his multiple alarms and phone calls. After the three and a half hour drive, we arrived. We would be staying at a fancy hotel right next to the Alhambra. Ally, Sasha and I were glad to learn that we could share a triple. Each bus had a different schedule and different staff members. There are a whole bunch of tour guides who I guess work for CIEE and tour everything. I recognized guides from the Cathedral and from Italica with us. We started out with a massive, delicious, buffet at the hotel. Many members of our group sampled their first paella, and we had great delight in watching Sasha removing her first shrimp head. It was amusingly frustrating how efficient the hotel staff was. As soon as you finished a plate, a staff member would swoop in and remove it. However, “finished” is a rough term. Many people’s plates were removed when their forks were merely on the return trip. I half-peeled an orange, got up to get tea, and came back to find my orange, half-peeled, gone. From then on we designated food-guarders if anyone had to get up. My group started out with a walk through the Albayzin, the San Nicolas viewpoint, and a visit to the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). In a strange and quick walk downstairs we saw the tombs of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel. It was really cold and rainy, so I was glad that our bus terminated the tour at a Tetería, where we had tea and Arabic pastries. We had free time after that, so the four of us just walked around. Luckily, Kai went to Granada last semester, so he wasn’t completely clueless. Granada is a hippie haven, and in one area there were sepetecientos identical shops selling hemp clothes, incense, tea, and the works. We looked for a new nose ring for Sasha, and warmed up with hot chocolate and pastries. Finally, we hopped on the 32 bus to ride up the hill to the hotel, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner.
Afterwards, Ally, Sasha, Kai and I spent way to long “getting ready.” When we were all primped, we walked down the hill into town. This night was the most fun yet, because it was the four of us happy to be together with matching desires for a night out. We went to a few bars, strangely didn’t run into any of the other hundred people on our trip, and laughed about everything we could in the past two weeks. As we were walking, we spotted a few people wearing the reflective yellow vests worn by Spanish garbage collectors. However, writing on the back said “Yo soy fan de Gonzalo.” We saw several more, and finally saw a bar packed with people wearing these vests. As we walked by, we were beckoned to come join. We asked what it was, and one fan de Gonzalo informed us that it was a bachelor party. He insisted that we join, and gave us vests. Ally became a fan de Gonzalo, I was “Dama de Honor, Granada 2009,” Sasha had “Tengo Novio” (much to her dismay) and I forget Kai’s. The bar was predominantly drunk thirty-year-old men, and we were the four token young Americans, including three girls and two blonds. This was a total riot. It didn’t matter that we knew no one, we belonged to the party. Finally we saw a man dressed head to toe in reflective yellow gear. His back read, “No busca más, yo soy Gonzalo!” (Don’t look any more, I’m Gonzalo). We wished him Felicidades, and he naturally greeted us with kisses. We stayed for only about five minutes, much to the dismay of the groom’s friends, and didn’t stop laughing for about an hour.
We proudly wore our vests as we walked around more (well Ally and I did, Sasha didn’t want to advertise her non-existent boyfriend and Kai didn’t want to embarrass himself since we were looking for his hopefully future boyfriend). We were so glad that we had been in the right place at the right time for the cherry on top of a great trip. We gave up on trying to meet up with other friends, and took a taxi back to the hotel. We were speaking all Spanish, and the driver complimented mine (since I was sitting up front) once we arrived. He speculated that I was German, and a guy at the bachelor party thought I was British, so I was glad to learn that I’m not an obvious American. We were all in such great spirits when we got back and we sadly parted ways with Kai when we went to our room. It was so nice going to bed with two great friends in the two beds on either side of me. After so many nights of being yelled at by my host mom, going to bed alone, waking up alone, and tiptoeing around as to not wake her up so I don’t have to be yelled at more, it was just what I needed. I woke up the next morning to the sound of Ally in the shower, and got to talk to friends before I even got out of bed.
We met a bunch of groggy Americans at breakfast, where we were celebrities because we were fans of Gonzalo, whom everyone had seen around the night before. After that, we split into groups again to head to the Alhambra. I was glad that we ended up with the guide who had toured Italica. I think Sasha and Kai were bummed that we didn’t have Alejando, the young, attractive, charming tour guide, but I was glad to have a mom figure for the morning. This guide is so kind, so warm, and so patient with all of our photo-taking needs and such. She speaks slowly, she laughs at our jokes, and she has the best smile. She remembered me as the one who stuck with the cat at Italica, and was not surprised when another girl and I were lagging behind because we had found another cat who was purring in our arms. The other girl named the cat Isabel, and the guide asked if we were sure it was a girl, then calmly grabbed the poor cat’s legs to check.
Anyway, the Alhambra was amazing (duh). We first walked through the Generalife Gardens, which were not at their prime season (full of flowers in the spring) but still gorgeous. It was full of sculpted hedges and fountains and artfully placed trees. Next stop was the tower, where we climbed up and had an amazing view of everything, including the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains. We could faintly see people (from the other buses in our group) at the San Nicolas viewpoint where we had been the day before. The next part was the palace, similar to the Alcazar in appearance but much greater in size and grandeur. It was full of the Moorish architecture, tiles, and other decorative arts. The cool part about the palace is that there is always water in all parts. There were numerous fountains, canals, and pools. Even just a tiny canal running through the floor was enough to give that room the tranquility and essence of the water. In the rooms with the bigger pools, the amazing architecture was reflected in the green water, an effect I could only dream of capturing on camera. There was also a little room with a domed ceiling that provided the cool corner-to-corner sound thing made famous by Grand Central Station. Kai and I told secrets in Spanish to whoever was listening on the other side (turned out to be a pair of elderly tourists).
After our tour we had free time before lunch. We were all cold and damp, and sort of in a relaxed trance after the history and magnificence of the Alhambra. We remedied this by setting up camp in the bar’s café, where we drank coffee, played cards (with Spanish cards, no less!) and watched the tail end of Federer vs. Nadal on TV. This group was the four of us, our friend Brendan from Indiana, and our new friend Dan from Macalester. When it was time, the same group proceeded into the dining hall for another beautiful paella. At this time, I learned the proper way to peel an orange in Spain. After lunch, we piled into the buses for the return trip. We stopped halfway at the weirdest rest stop in the world, where Sasha ran into a girl she went to high school with (now Kai’s the only one has yet to bump into someone he knows). The rest of the drive was very relaxing, because it was dark and raining, and Sasha and I confirmed our identical childhoods once again with our common car trip games. The five of us (four plus new friend Dan) played Ghost and Boticcelli as we ate un-PC candy. It was pouring out when we arrived, and a bunch of us headed towards Triana (our neighborhood). I happen to love walking in the rain, so this was a great way to end the trip. As people left the group for their respective side streets, Kai, Dan and I continued on. I love walking in the rain and I greatly enjoy their company, so rather than going straight home to the lovely Maria Jose I walked the two of them home, deep in Triana. We learned that Kai and Dan actually live very close together, which was a comfort to Kai who was feeling out of the loop. I walked back home reflecting on the wonderful weekend, feeling the best I have this whole time.
Last weekend CIEE organized a trip to Granada. I had an absolutely wonderful time, mostly because Kai, Ally, Sasha, and I were together. I hadn’t seen them for a very long time, because we all have classes at different times. It was nice to be back with my support group, with people with whom I always feel comfortable. The three buses left at 8:30 AM Saturday morning. My friend Nolan was supposed to come too, but due to his crazy Friday night he slept through his multiple alarms and phone calls. After the three and a half hour drive, we arrived. We would be staying at a fancy hotel right next to the Alhambra. Ally, Sasha and I were glad to learn that we could share a triple. Each bus had a different schedule and different staff members. There are a whole bunch of tour guides who I guess work for CIEE and tour everything. I recognized guides from the Cathedral and from Italica with us. We started out with a massive, delicious, buffet at the hotel. Many members of our group sampled their first paella, and we had great delight in watching Sasha removing her first shrimp head. It was amusingly frustrating how efficient the hotel staff was. As soon as you finished a plate, a staff member would swoop in and remove it. However, “finished” is a rough term. Many people’s plates were removed when their forks were merely on the return trip. I half-peeled an orange, got up to get tea, and came back to find my orange, half-peeled, gone. From then on we designated food-guarders if anyone had to get up. My group started out with a walk through the Albayzin, the San Nicolas viewpoint, and a visit to the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). In a strange and quick walk downstairs we saw the tombs of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel. It was really cold and rainy, so I was glad that our bus terminated the tour at a Tetería, where we had tea and Arabic pastries. We had free time after that, so the four of us just walked around. Luckily, Kai went to Granada last semester, so he wasn’t completely clueless. Granada is a hippie haven, and in one area there were sepetecientos identical shops selling hemp clothes, incense, tea, and the works. We looked for a new nose ring for Sasha, and warmed up with hot chocolate and pastries. Finally, we hopped on the 32 bus to ride up the hill to the hotel, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner.
Afterwards, Ally, Sasha, Kai and I spent way to long “getting ready.” When we were all primped, we walked down the hill into town. This night was the most fun yet, because it was the four of us happy to be together with matching desires for a night out. We went to a few bars, strangely didn’t run into any of the other hundred people on our trip, and laughed about everything we could in the past two weeks. As we were walking, we spotted a few people wearing the reflective yellow vests worn by Spanish garbage collectors. However, writing on the back said “Yo soy fan de Gonzalo.” We saw several more, and finally saw a bar packed with people wearing these vests. As we walked by, we were beckoned to come join. We asked what it was, and one fan de Gonzalo informed us that it was a bachelor party. He insisted that we join, and gave us vests. Ally became a fan de Gonzalo, I was “Dama de Honor, Granada 2009,” Sasha had “Tengo Novio” (much to her dismay) and I forget Kai’s. The bar was predominantly drunk thirty-year-old men, and we were the four token young Americans, including three girls and two blonds. This was a total riot. It didn’t matter that we knew no one, we belonged to the party. Finally we saw a man dressed head to toe in reflective yellow gear. His back read, “No busca más, yo soy Gonzalo!” (Don’t look any more, I’m Gonzalo). We wished him Felicidades, and he naturally greeted us with kisses. We stayed for only about five minutes, much to the dismay of the groom’s friends, and didn’t stop laughing for about an hour.
We proudly wore our vests as we walked around more (well Ally and I did, Sasha didn’t want to advertise her non-existent boyfriend and Kai didn’t want to embarrass himself since we were looking for his hopefully future boyfriend). We were so glad that we had been in the right place at the right time for the cherry on top of a great trip. We gave up on trying to meet up with other friends, and took a taxi back to the hotel. We were speaking all Spanish, and the driver complimented mine (since I was sitting up front) once we arrived. He speculated that I was German, and a guy at the bachelor party thought I was British, so I was glad to learn that I’m not an obvious American. We were all in such great spirits when we got back and we sadly parted ways with Kai when we went to our room. It was so nice going to bed with two great friends in the two beds on either side of me. After so many nights of being yelled at by my host mom, going to bed alone, waking up alone, and tiptoeing around as to not wake her up so I don’t have to be yelled at more, it was just what I needed. I woke up the next morning to the sound of Ally in the shower, and got to talk to friends before I even got out of bed.
We met a bunch of groggy Americans at breakfast, where we were celebrities because we were fans of Gonzalo, whom everyone had seen around the night before. After that, we split into groups again to head to the Alhambra. I was glad that we ended up with the guide who had toured Italica. I think Sasha and Kai were bummed that we didn’t have Alejando, the young, attractive, charming tour guide, but I was glad to have a mom figure for the morning. This guide is so kind, so warm, and so patient with all of our photo-taking needs and such. She speaks slowly, she laughs at our jokes, and she has the best smile. She remembered me as the one who stuck with the cat at Italica, and was not surprised when another girl and I were lagging behind because we had found another cat who was purring in our arms. The other girl named the cat Isabel, and the guide asked if we were sure it was a girl, then calmly grabbed the poor cat’s legs to check.
Anyway, the Alhambra was amazing (duh). We first walked through the Generalife Gardens, which were not at their prime season (full of flowers in the spring) but still gorgeous. It was full of sculpted hedges and fountains and artfully placed trees. Next stop was the tower, where we climbed up and had an amazing view of everything, including the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains. We could faintly see people (from the other buses in our group) at the San Nicolas viewpoint where we had been the day before. The next part was the palace, similar to the Alcazar in appearance but much greater in size and grandeur. It was full of the Moorish architecture, tiles, and other decorative arts. The cool part about the palace is that there is always water in all parts. There were numerous fountains, canals, and pools. Even just a tiny canal running through the floor was enough to give that room the tranquility and essence of the water. In the rooms with the bigger pools, the amazing architecture was reflected in the green water, an effect I could only dream of capturing on camera. There was also a little room with a domed ceiling that provided the cool corner-to-corner sound thing made famous by Grand Central Station. Kai and I told secrets in Spanish to whoever was listening on the other side (turned out to be a pair of elderly tourists).
After our tour we had free time before lunch. We were all cold and damp, and sort of in a relaxed trance after the history and magnificence of the Alhambra. We remedied this by setting up camp in the bar’s café, where we drank coffee, played cards (with Spanish cards, no less!) and watched the tail end of Federer vs. Nadal on TV. This group was the four of us, our friend Brendan from Indiana, and our new friend Dan from Macalester. When it was time, the same group proceeded into the dining hall for another beautiful paella. At this time, I learned the proper way to peel an orange in Spain. After lunch, we piled into the buses for the return trip. We stopped halfway at the weirdest rest stop in the world, where Sasha ran into a girl she went to high school with (now Kai’s the only one has yet to bump into someone he knows). The rest of the drive was very relaxing, because it was dark and raining, and Sasha and I confirmed our identical childhoods once again with our common car trip games. The five of us (four plus new friend Dan) played Ghost and Boticcelli as we ate un-PC candy. It was pouring out when we arrived, and a bunch of us headed towards Triana (our neighborhood). I happen to love walking in the rain, so this was a great way to end the trip. As people left the group for their respective side streets, Kai, Dan and I continued on. I love walking in the rain and I greatly enjoy their company, so rather than going straight home to the lovely Maria Jose I walked the two of them home, deep in Triana. We learned that Kai and Dan actually live very close together, which was a comfort to Kai who was feeling out of the loop. I walked back home reflecting on the wonderful weekend, feeling the best I have this whole time.
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