Friday, February 27, 2009
Went to Plaza Nueva around 10:30 to sign up for the Arab baths but found out that the student discount was only good Monday-Thursday :( Hopefully we'll get to do it next week. Anyway, walked straight uphill to the Alhambra to meet Salvador and our class. We went through all the same stuff as last time but it was still just as cool. We got a little different information and it wasn't raining this time! We wandered through for a while afterwards and ate our bocadillos in the Generalife then came back downhill to Plaza Nueva. We got some DELICIOUS ice cream and wandered toward the cathedral. Taylor bought some Arabic poetry paintings while I was harrassed by a gypsie trying to give me rosemary then we walked through the little moroccan shops. We finally got back home after about 8 1/2 hours of walking which we didn't think anything of until we sat down! Hombre, if I walked that long in the US I'd be complaining and exhausted! We relaxed a bit, did some reading and I took a shower then had a big dinner. A while later we met up with some friends and went to a teteria - something I'd definitely never experienced. It was a cute little moroccan tea/hookah place with really dim lighting, Arabic music, and silk draperies hung from the ceilings and walls. It was just really relaxed and I'm not a big tea drinker or hookah-smoker but we had a good time watching the other people around us and I had a "shake" (milk with strawberry mix..). Ate my first real schwarma on the way home and it was surprisingly delicious! I found a good place and ordered it just how i wanted it, waaay better, but I still couldn´t eat a whole one to save my life...
2-26-09
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tossed and turned all morning until I finally got up around 8:30. Yes, that´s right, 14+ hours of sleep since yesterday afternoon. Got ready then did some more reading until breakfast. Headed to school to use the computer before school and write to my pen pals. Took my sweet time walking here though, it took about 40 minutes today! (My fastest is about 20 minutes) Art History was boring as usual but we get to go to the Alhambra tomorrow for class so I guess I can´t complain!
Tossed and turned all morning until I finally got up around 8:30. Yes, that´s right, 14+ hours of sleep since yesterday afternoon. Got ready then did some more reading until breakfast. Headed to school to use the computer before school and write to my pen pals. Took my sweet time walking here though, it took about 40 minutes today! (My fastest is about 20 minutes) Art History was boring as usual but we get to go to the Alhambra tomorrow for class so I guess I can´t complain!
2-25-09
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Woke up not feeling so hot today. My throat is a little sore and I´m just exhausted. I´m glad I only had one class today! I came back after class and talked with Julia for quite a while. I had to ask her a bunch of questions and get her opinion on stuff for my homework and also for my pen pals. It was good to chat for a while, especially while she was making lunch. It´s so fun to watch her cook and see how different it is from American foods. Anyway, I tried not to fall asleep before lunch but was too tired to take a shower so I did some reading instead. I finished The Reader and started my next one, Playing House. I´m so glad I´ve had time to read so much, I honestly can´t even remember the last time I read for fun. So we had a huge lunch then I absolutely crashed. I woke up 5 hours later and had to force myself to turn on the lights. I took a shower which felt amazing, then hung around until dinner. Taylor came home and showed us all her purchases from her shopping spree for her birthday - so fun! I can´t wait to do some spring shopping .. it´s dangerous though with all these cute little shops! I let Julia know I was planning on skipping my 8:30 class tomorrow and she was as excited as I was with that decision! She´s still sick after several weeks of it and Taylor´s just getting what I have so I decided that we all needed a morning off.. I tried to stay up as late as I could so that I would be able to sleep through the night and finally surrendered around 11:00.
Woke up not feeling so hot today. My throat is a little sore and I´m just exhausted. I´m glad I only had one class today! I came back after class and talked with Julia for quite a while. I had to ask her a bunch of questions and get her opinion on stuff for my homework and also for my pen pals. It was good to chat for a while, especially while she was making lunch. It´s so fun to watch her cook and see how different it is from American foods. Anyway, I tried not to fall asleep before lunch but was too tired to take a shower so I did some reading instead. I finished The Reader and started my next one, Playing House. I´m so glad I´ve had time to read so much, I honestly can´t even remember the last time I read for fun. So we had a huge lunch then I absolutely crashed. I woke up 5 hours later and had to force myself to turn on the lights. I took a shower which felt amazing, then hung around until dinner. Taylor came home and showed us all her purchases from her shopping spree for her birthday - so fun! I can´t wait to do some spring shopping .. it´s dangerous though with all these cute little shops! I let Julia know I was planning on skipping my 8:30 class tomorrow and she was as excited as I was with that decision! She´s still sick after several weeks of it and Taylor´s just getting what I have so I decided that we all needed a morning off.. I tried to stay up as late as I could so that I would be able to sleep through the night and finally surrendered around 11:00.
2-24-09
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Happy birthday Taylor!!
Got up, got ready, and went to class. Lit is soooo boring - I know I say it every time but it´s true! If I didn´t need it I would drop it in a flash. The worst part is that she´s my only prof who doesn´t take attendance so I´m edging close to that slippery slope.. Anyway, between lit and art I did a little shopping - bought myself a UGR (University of Granada) hooded sweatshirt that I´m really exicted about, then finished my birthday shopping for Taylor. I ¨rented¨a couple books from Verónica (students from past semesters leave them behind - wish I would´ve known she did that before I bought a book for her) then got two bags of her favoite candies, and a potted flower for our balcony! They´re called margarita flowers but white and pink daisy mums is the best way I can describe them. She was home when I got there so I shut the door and quick arranged her presents then gave them to her. She was pretty happy I think :) We went to class then back home for lunch. Man, today was a lot of walking! Julia was so pumped about her special meal she had prepared and said that we have to celebrate birthdays big! I guess Francisco studied in Switzerland or somewhere for a while and his host family made his day really special and because she was so thankful as a mom she does it for all her ¨niñas¨that stay in her house too. She made this zucchini purée soup thing that was surprisingly good and stuffed red peppers that were delicious! They had the same béchamel that´s in the croquetas and some sort of meat - it looked like ground beef but tasted a little different. She had a special tablescape if you will, with a flowery tablecloth, a candle, fancy silverware, and pretty glasses that she put the napkins in just like Mom does :) The best part was at the end - the cake. It was special ordered from the ¨best pastelería in Granada¨ and she put 19 regular candles on it with one special gold striped candle in the middle. We sang (after practicing for a week or so every time Taylor was out of the house) and I punished my slice. I could tell that she went to a lot of work preparing the meal, not only because she told me a couple weeks in advance but because she was so proud of it! She put on a sweater and some fancy earrings and insisted that we take pictures - how sweet is she! I´m so excited to have more cake tonight after dinner .. we never have dessert! Unfortunately, it was time to come back to the CLM for POE, another break, then French and Granada Seminar. Came home for dinner then went out to Paddy´s for Taylor´s birthday. Whew - what a long day!
PS I just got an email from Verónica with the finalized list for the Morocco trip and I´m definitely going to be able to go to Italy without any more flight changing - yay!!
Happy birthday Taylor!!
Got up, got ready, and went to class. Lit is soooo boring - I know I say it every time but it´s true! If I didn´t need it I would drop it in a flash. The worst part is that she´s my only prof who doesn´t take attendance so I´m edging close to that slippery slope.. Anyway, between lit and art I did a little shopping - bought myself a UGR (University of Granada) hooded sweatshirt that I´m really exicted about, then finished my birthday shopping for Taylor. I ¨rented¨a couple books from Verónica (students from past semesters leave them behind - wish I would´ve known she did that before I bought a book for her) then got two bags of her favoite candies, and a potted flower for our balcony! They´re called margarita flowers but white and pink daisy mums is the best way I can describe them. She was home when I got there so I shut the door and quick arranged her presents then gave them to her. She was pretty happy I think :) We went to class then back home for lunch. Man, today was a lot of walking! Julia was so pumped about her special meal she had prepared and said that we have to celebrate birthdays big! I guess Francisco studied in Switzerland or somewhere for a while and his host family made his day really special and because she was so thankful as a mom she does it for all her ¨niñas¨that stay in her house too. She made this zucchini purée soup thing that was surprisingly good and stuffed red peppers that were delicious! They had the same béchamel that´s in the croquetas and some sort of meat - it looked like ground beef but tasted a little different. She had a special tablescape if you will, with a flowery tablecloth, a candle, fancy silverware, and pretty glasses that she put the napkins in just like Mom does :) The best part was at the end - the cake. It was special ordered from the ¨best pastelería in Granada¨ and she put 19 regular candles on it with one special gold striped candle in the middle. We sang (after practicing for a week or so every time Taylor was out of the house) and I punished my slice. I could tell that she went to a lot of work preparing the meal, not only because she told me a couple weeks in advance but because she was so proud of it! She put on a sweater and some fancy earrings and insisted that we take pictures - how sweet is she! I´m so excited to have more cake tonight after dinner .. we never have dessert! Unfortunately, it was time to come back to the CLM for POE, another break, then French and Granada Seminar. Came home for dinner then went out to Paddy´s for Taylor´s birthday. Whew - what a long day!
PS I just got an email from Verónica with the finalized list for the Morocco trip and I´m definitely going to be able to go to Italy without any more flight changing - yay!!
2-23-09
Monday, February 23, 2009
Rolled over about 4:00am and remembered that I hadn´t set my alarm - LUCKY. Got up, got ready, breakfast, class (super boring) then killed 4 1/2 hours before my meeting. I got to Skype with both Mom & Dad and Rob! I did some looking online at flights and trips I want to take but they all seem pretty expensive at this point. I also got a chocolate pastry, yum! I´m so addicted. I had my group meeting with Verónica that was pretty pointless, got back on the computer, then had tutorías with José, killed another hour, then fonética with José. It seems like every day is like this and I wish my schedule was more compact so my days don´t seem as long .. I was absolutely starving when we got back (a common occurence) and we had a delicious dinner - homemade french fries and empanadas. I did a little homework, did some reading, then crashed! I guess I was still tired from Carnaval..
Rolled over about 4:00am and remembered that I hadn´t set my alarm - LUCKY. Got up, got ready, breakfast, class (super boring) then killed 4 1/2 hours before my meeting. I got to Skype with both Mom & Dad and Rob! I did some looking online at flights and trips I want to take but they all seem pretty expensive at this point. I also got a chocolate pastry, yum! I´m so addicted. I had my group meeting with Verónica that was pretty pointless, got back on the computer, then had tutorías with José, killed another hour, then fonética with José. It seems like every day is like this and I wish my schedule was more compact so my days don´t seem as long .. I was absolutely starving when we got back (a common occurence) and we had a delicious dinner - homemade french fries and empanadas. I did a little homework, did some reading, then crashed! I guess I was still tired from Carnaval..
2-22-09
Sunday, February 22, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!!! I thought about you at midnight, but I guess it was only 5:00pm there so I'm not sure that counts.
Anyway, I'm not really sure where Saturday ended and Sunday ended so I guess I'll start with our walk to the bus. The sun had risen and we were all exhausted, dirty, and ready to get back to Granada. Remember when I said it was absoulte craziness? Yeah, there were still plenty of people out when we left around 9:00am. We could finally see the street and it was absolutely trashed - so disgusting. I don't understand when they zamboni (these cute little machines they use to wash the streets) the city because we got there in the afternoon it was clean and there were as many people out as there when we left in the morning. Anyway, we were dropped off at a different place than where we were supposed to get on the bus so we had a horrible time finding it. We called the people in charge about 5 times and wandered around forever until we finally saw that beautiful purple and yellow thing. I'm pretty sure most of us were asleep before the bus even pulled away. The seats were pretty comfortable but I was so happy I brought my blanket and inflatable neck pillow. That thing has definitely come in handy! We stopped after a few hours for a 45 minute break (ugh), made it back to Hipercor, then another 45 minute back to our place and we were finally home! Julia laughed at Taylor's face which had been stained pink from her mask and told us we looked like we were dead tired. We had lunch, showered, then took a 3 hour nap which was hardly enough. We made ourselves get up though so we would be able to sleep during the night. Had dinner, did some homework, then got to talk to Rob!! I probably used too much of my phone card, but I was glad to talk to him :) Hopefully we'll be able to Skype soon.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!!! I thought about you at midnight, but I guess it was only 5:00pm there so I'm not sure that counts.
Anyway, I'm not really sure where Saturday ended and Sunday ended so I guess I'll start with our walk to the bus. The sun had risen and we were all exhausted, dirty, and ready to get back to Granada. Remember when I said it was absoulte craziness? Yeah, there were still plenty of people out when we left around 9:00am. We could finally see the street and it was absolutely trashed - so disgusting. I don't understand when they zamboni (these cute little machines they use to wash the streets) the city because we got there in the afternoon it was clean and there were as many people out as there when we left in the morning. Anyway, we were dropped off at a different place than where we were supposed to get on the bus so we had a horrible time finding it. We called the people in charge about 5 times and wandered around forever until we finally saw that beautiful purple and yellow thing. I'm pretty sure most of us were asleep before the bus even pulled away. The seats were pretty comfortable but I was so happy I brought my blanket and inflatable neck pillow. That thing has definitely come in handy! We stopped after a few hours for a 45 minute break (ugh), made it back to Hipercor, then another 45 minute back to our place and we were finally home! Julia laughed at Taylor's face which had been stained pink from her mask and told us we looked like we were dead tired. We had lunch, showered, then took a 3 hour nap which was hardly enough. We made ourselves get up though so we would be able to sleep during the night. Had dinner, did some homework, then got to talk to Rob!! I probably used too much of my phone card, but I was glad to talk to him :) Hopefully we'll be able to Skype soon.
2-21-09
Saturday, February 21, 2009
After a 45 minute walk to Hipercor, we got on the bus for Cadiz! There were lots of crazy people and that should've given us a clue what we were getting ourselves into. We rode for about 40 minutes then stopped for AN HOUR AND 10 MINUTES. I have no idea what we were waiting for but the other 4 busses were there too. So we finally got to Cadiz and as soon as we stepped off the bus, the craziness began. (Actually, that's a lie - it started when we got to the bus stop). Everyone was in costumes, we were really happy to have our masks because we definitely would've been out of place without them - everyone was totally over the top. I'd say the most common ones were cows and pirates but I definitely saw everything in between. Group costumes were a common theme, one of my favorites was a bunch of Where's Waldo people. Also, showers? Hard to explain, but pretty creative. We wandered around the city for a while, along the boardwalk and down to the beach where a path led out to an old castle. After that we went to this really really pretty cathedral. Above every street lights were hung in different designs and confetti was all over the ground. We went from plaza to plaza all night checking out the costumes, talking to people, looking at the lights, and listening to the chirrigotas (groups of men who sing late in the night criticizing everything from pop culture to the government. They are really good because they practice for weeks and have competitions for the best groups). We even ran into quite a few people we knew, including a bunch of people from our program. In the plazas, especially in front of the cathedral it was so packed, people were literally shoulder to shoulder for the majority of the night. We didn't have a hostel reserved for the night because everyone (other students, professors, Veronica, and even Julia) told us not to. People definitely just stay up all night long, but we couldn't do it. For about 2 hours we layed on the beach and tried to get some rest even though it was freezing cold. It would've been nice to have a place to stay but everywhere was full and our bus left early in the morning so it probably wouldn't have been worth it. Anyway, the night was absolute madness and I'm glad I experienced it but it's something I definitely will not do again.
After a 45 minute walk to Hipercor, we got on the bus for Cadiz! There were lots of crazy people and that should've given us a clue what we were getting ourselves into. We rode for about 40 minutes then stopped for AN HOUR AND 10 MINUTES. I have no idea what we were waiting for but the other 4 busses were there too. So we finally got to Cadiz and as soon as we stepped off the bus, the craziness began. (Actually, that's a lie - it started when we got to the bus stop). Everyone was in costumes, we were really happy to have our masks because we definitely would've been out of place without them - everyone was totally over the top. I'd say the most common ones were cows and pirates but I definitely saw everything in between. Group costumes were a common theme, one of my favorites was a bunch of Where's Waldo people. Also, showers? Hard to explain, but pretty creative. We wandered around the city for a while, along the boardwalk and down to the beach where a path led out to an old castle. After that we went to this really really pretty cathedral. Above every street lights were hung in different designs and confetti was all over the ground. We went from plaza to plaza all night checking out the costumes, talking to people, looking at the lights, and listening to the chirrigotas (groups of men who sing late in the night criticizing everything from pop culture to the government. They are really good because they practice for weeks and have competitions for the best groups). We even ran into quite a few people we knew, including a bunch of people from our program. In the plazas, especially in front of the cathedral it was so packed, people were literally shoulder to shoulder for the majority of the night. We didn't have a hostel reserved for the night because everyone (other students, professors, Veronica, and even Julia) told us not to. People definitely just stay up all night long, but we couldn't do it. For about 2 hours we layed on the beach and tried to get some rest even though it was freezing cold. It would've been nice to have a place to stay but everywhere was full and our bus left early in the morning so it probably wouldn't have been worth it. Anyway, the night was absolute madness and I'm glad I experienced it but it's something I definitely will not do again.
2-20-09
Friday, February 20, 2009
Slept in and woke up in time for lunch. After that we went to what looked like a college house to sign up for Carnaval. Steph went with us because her, Caitlin, and Janelle already had their tickets. Anyway, we got a pretty good deal for a bus ride there. Stopped by a costume shop and bought some really fun masks :) On our way home we made a pit stop for churros y chocolate in Bib-Rambla. mmmmm! Then Mitch, Taylor and I watched Ocean's 12 on my computer. We had dinner then went to bed early to prepare for a looooooong day tomorrow.
Slept in and woke up in time for lunch. After that we went to what looked like a college house to sign up for Carnaval. Steph went with us because her, Caitlin, and Janelle already had their tickets. Anyway, we got a pretty good deal for a bus ride there. Stopped by a costume shop and bought some really fun masks :) On our way home we made a pit stop for churros y chocolate in Bib-Rambla. mmmmm! Then Mitch, Taylor and I watched Ocean's 12 on my computer. We had dinner then went to bed early to prepare for a looooooong day tomorrow.
2-19-09
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Nothing special that I can remember about this day.. Class, eat, sleep? Maybe I'll think of it later.
Oh yeah, we had class like normal then had a movie night for the program. We watched The Secret Life of Words. It was pretty good but really intense. After we came home and changed, Mitch, Taylor, Jeff and I went for tapas then to Paddy's. I had never been there before but it was pretty cool, much more relaxed then going to a disco or something. We chilled there for quite a while then bedtime!
Nothing special that I can remember about this day.. Class, eat, sleep? Maybe I'll think of it later.
Oh yeah, we had class like normal then had a movie night for the program. We watched The Secret Life of Words. It was pretty good but really intense. After we came home and changed, Mitch, Taylor, Jeff and I went for tapas then to Paddy's. I had never been there before but it was pretty cool, much more relaxed then going to a disco or something. We chilled there for quite a while then bedtime!
2-18-09
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I left my flash drive in the computer yesterday but it was there when I got back. Today I did the same thing on the upstairs computer but unfortunately, it´s nowhere to be found. Someone said they thought it was turned in but I checked both ¨lost and found¨ places and they didn´t have it. So, updating blogs might be a bit difficult for a while but I´ll do my best.
Ok, so this morning I woke up early for grammar class which was fine then I had from 10:30-2:30 to bum around and wait for my meeting. I did lots of stuff on the computer but also took the time to wander around the city a bit. I explored this area off Recogidas where my Let´s Go Europe book told me there was an international bookstore. I eventually found it and picked up a new book for Taylor´s birthday that I know she´s going to be really excited about :) It´s next Tuesday and Julia is making a special meal and already ordered a cake - yay! I think I might get her some candy or flowers or something too but that will have to wait until Monday. I also found a cute little toy shop and looked around for souvenirs but instead found some stuff I like! (for my future classroom, of course) I found a little jewelry shop and a shoe store with with some really cute SUPER CHEAP stuff that I might have to go back for. I also went through the UGR (University of Granada) bookstore and found a sweatshirt and little bag that I´d really like to have. I was so proud of myself for not buying anything - only Taylor´s present! Unfortunately, on my way back to the CLM I wasn´t so successful. I accidently went into this little pastry shop and accidently bought the most delicious triangular chocolate pastry ever. Only €1, uh oh - I can see myself accidently going in that direction again very soon. Went to my Intercultural meeting at CCA2, had my bocadillo (cheese & evoo, my fave) then did some more walking. On my way home I walked along the river the opposite way where I´d never been and did some more exploring. I found these cute little bridges, outdoor tennis courts, and a high school right next to where we walk every day. Who knew? On my way past the park the orange trees caught my eye and got me thinking - if they're all over town like this, why do people ever pay for them? They looked really orange and ripe and a few were on the ground below the tree. I decided to test my hypothesis. I made sure nobody could see me, found a good one within reach, and yanked. It absoultely would not budge. I felt like I bent the whole tree over! So naturally, I tried again. This time I got pricked by a thorn and even bled a tiny bit. Seriously - orange trees have thorns?! Disappointed, I came back and took an amazing shower, then started some homework. Taylor came back from class and we both crawled in bed for a little rest which turned into a 2 hour nap. Whoops! Woke up for dinner - leftover pureed veggie soup and fish balls - which is way better than it sounds. Then, Taylor picked up internet connection so I got to Skype with Rob for a little bit! The connection wasn´t very strong so was super annoying when the call would drop every 2 minutes but I was still happy to talk to him :)
I left my flash drive in the computer yesterday but it was there when I got back. Today I did the same thing on the upstairs computer but unfortunately, it´s nowhere to be found. Someone said they thought it was turned in but I checked both ¨lost and found¨ places and they didn´t have it. So, updating blogs might be a bit difficult for a while but I´ll do my best.
Ok, so this morning I woke up early for grammar class which was fine then I had from 10:30-2:30 to bum around and wait for my meeting. I did lots of stuff on the computer but also took the time to wander around the city a bit. I explored this area off Recogidas where my Let´s Go Europe book told me there was an international bookstore. I eventually found it and picked up a new book for Taylor´s birthday that I know she´s going to be really excited about :) It´s next Tuesday and Julia is making a special meal and already ordered a cake - yay! I think I might get her some candy or flowers or something too but that will have to wait until Monday. I also found a cute little toy shop and looked around for souvenirs but instead found some stuff I like! (for my future classroom, of course) I found a little jewelry shop and a shoe store with with some really cute SUPER CHEAP stuff that I might have to go back for. I also went through the UGR (University of Granada) bookstore and found a sweatshirt and little bag that I´d really like to have. I was so proud of myself for not buying anything - only Taylor´s present! Unfortunately, on my way back to the CLM I wasn´t so successful. I accidently went into this little pastry shop and accidently bought the most delicious triangular chocolate pastry ever. Only €1, uh oh - I can see myself accidently going in that direction again very soon. Went to my Intercultural meeting at CCA2, had my bocadillo (cheese & evoo, my fave) then did some more walking. On my way home I walked along the river the opposite way where I´d never been and did some more exploring. I found these cute little bridges, outdoor tennis courts, and a high school right next to where we walk every day. Who knew? On my way past the park the orange trees caught my eye and got me thinking - if they're all over town like this, why do people ever pay for them? They looked really orange and ripe and a few were on the ground below the tree. I decided to test my hypothesis. I made sure nobody could see me, found a good one within reach, and yanked. It absoultely would not budge. I felt like I bent the whole tree over! So naturally, I tried again. This time I got pricked by a thorn and even bled a tiny bit. Seriously - orange trees have thorns?! Disappointed, I came back and took an amazing shower, then started some homework. Taylor came back from class and we both crawled in bed for a little rest which turned into a 2 hour nap. Whoops! Woke up for dinner - leftover pureed veggie soup and fish balls - which is way better than it sounds. Then, Taylor picked up internet connection so I got to Skype with Rob for a little bit! The connection wasn´t very strong so was super annoying when the call would drop every 2 minutes but I was still happy to talk to him :)
2-17-09
Tuesday, January 17, 2009
So I lost my flash drive (twice) and haven´t been able to upload my journal entries, entonces I´m a little behind! I can´t really remember what I did Tuesday but I´ll give it a shot. Woke up early as usual and headed to class. Lit was super boring - I know I´m going to have a lot of problems paying attention in there. Hung out on the computer until art history which was ok. The material from that class isn´t exactly rivoting but the professor is pretty entertaining. We also get to go on a lot of visits which will be nice to see the stuff we´re studying in person. Came home for lunch, had a little rest, then back to the CLM for POE. (For lunch I had my first horrible food experience, well.. besides having to eat chicken off the bone but that´s another story. I´m not a big fan of eggs unless they´re hot and scrambled, the smell of vinegar is repulsive, and tuna is probably my least favorite food so what´s for lunch today? Deviled eggs with tuna in the creamy part. Sick. I was a good sport and took a couple bites but then I tried to politely say that I would vomit if I put any more of it in my mouth. I tried to say I was full and that my stomach hurt but I think Julia got the message. I´m lucky that I´ve been here for a month already and that was my first time absolutely refusing to eat something she served!) After that I had another break then my first French class! I really like the professor and the other students in the class who are mostly Spanish. There are two young girls, another professor, a girl from Seattle, a guy who´s probably 30´s, then a Russian lady who works at the CLM too. It was a fun class but it´s so hard for me when he switches back and forth from Spanish to French so quickly. It would probably help if we just spoke French the whole time.. Anyway, we reviewed the passé composé for about 30 minutes (wow) and imperfect vs. preterite in about 3 minutes which is next to impossible. He was kind of making fun of us as Americans because it doesn´t exist in English and we´re not that great at it but the native Spanish speakers in the class should definitely have it mastered. oh well! Came back, had dinner, then went to the internet café to talk to Rob and whoever would be at home. Even though Rob reads my blogs and I get emails from him all the time, I still think we could talk for hours and never run out of things to say! Then I got to talk to mom, she was still recovering from surgery but she was doing pretty good. Grandma was there taking care of her and visiting the kiddos so I got to talk to her too! It was definitely worth the €1.50 or whatever I paid.
So I lost my flash drive (twice) and haven´t been able to upload my journal entries, entonces I´m a little behind! I can´t really remember what I did Tuesday but I´ll give it a shot. Woke up early as usual and headed to class. Lit was super boring - I know I´m going to have a lot of problems paying attention in there. Hung out on the computer until art history which was ok. The material from that class isn´t exactly rivoting but the professor is pretty entertaining. We also get to go on a lot of visits which will be nice to see the stuff we´re studying in person. Came home for lunch, had a little rest, then back to the CLM for POE. (For lunch I had my first horrible food experience, well.. besides having to eat chicken off the bone but that´s another story. I´m not a big fan of eggs unless they´re hot and scrambled, the smell of vinegar is repulsive, and tuna is probably my least favorite food so what´s for lunch today? Deviled eggs with tuna in the creamy part. Sick. I was a good sport and took a couple bites but then I tried to politely say that I would vomit if I put any more of it in my mouth. I tried to say I was full and that my stomach hurt but I think Julia got the message. I´m lucky that I´ve been here for a month already and that was my first time absolutely refusing to eat something she served!) After that I had another break then my first French class! I really like the professor and the other students in the class who are mostly Spanish. There are two young girls, another professor, a girl from Seattle, a guy who´s probably 30´s, then a Russian lady who works at the CLM too. It was a fun class but it´s so hard for me when he switches back and forth from Spanish to French so quickly. It would probably help if we just spoke French the whole time.. Anyway, we reviewed the passé composé for about 30 minutes (wow) and imperfect vs. preterite in about 3 minutes which is next to impossible. He was kind of making fun of us as Americans because it doesn´t exist in English and we´re not that great at it but the native Spanish speakers in the class should definitely have it mastered. oh well! Came back, had dinner, then went to the internet café to talk to Rob and whoever would be at home. Even though Rob reads my blogs and I get emails from him all the time, I still think we could talk for hours and never run out of things to say! Then I got to talk to mom, she was still recovering from surgery but she was doing pretty good. Grandma was there taking care of her and visiting the kiddos so I got to talk to her too! It was definitely worth the €1.50 or whatever I paid.
2-16-09
Monday, February 16, 2009
I didn´t sleep well last night and wasn’t feeling too hot all morning. I had Grammar class which was fine, then finally did a bunch of stuff online – posting blogs, pictures, mass email, etc. It was nice to get some of that done! I bought my art book then Taylor and I headed home for lunch. We had lentil soup and some sort of fried meat patty that Julia explained it was like a hamburger with milk, uhh what? I wrote postcards to Grandma and Grandma and Grandpa then went to CCA2 for Tutorías with José. He just cracks me up! Waited around on the internet for an hour until fonética, which is basically my principles of linguistics course from last semester ... in Spanish. We came home (after a pit-stop at Mercadona for some candy) then had exactly what we guessed we would have for dinner – grilled cheese with deli sliced chicken. I started a new book, the one Taylor just finished reading and I’m pretty excited about it since I can’t even remember the last time I read a novel for fun! I was even happier when I heard my phone vibrate and it was Dad calling! Mom had her surgery today and he was calling to let me know how it went. She sounded exhausted but it sounded like Grandma and Dad were taking good care of her. Hopefully we´ll be able to Skype tomorrow!
I didn´t sleep well last night and wasn’t feeling too hot all morning. I had Grammar class which was fine, then finally did a bunch of stuff online – posting blogs, pictures, mass email, etc. It was nice to get some of that done! I bought my art book then Taylor and I headed home for lunch. We had lentil soup and some sort of fried meat patty that Julia explained it was like a hamburger with milk, uhh what? I wrote postcards to Grandma and Grandma and Grandpa then went to CCA2 for Tutorías with José. He just cracks me up! Waited around on the internet for an hour until fonética, which is basically my principles of linguistics course from last semester ... in Spanish. We came home (after a pit-stop at Mercadona for some candy) then had exactly what we guessed we would have for dinner – grilled cheese with deli sliced chicken. I started a new book, the one Taylor just finished reading and I’m pretty excited about it since I can’t even remember the last time I read a novel for fun! I was even happier when I heard my phone vibrate and it was Dad calling! Mom had her surgery today and he was calling to let me know how it went. She sounded exhausted but it sounded like Grandma and Dad were taking good care of her. Hopefully we´ll be able to Skype tomorrow!
Note to reader ...
Note to reader:
Being the perfectionist that I am, I’m thoroughly embarrassed by the majority of my entries. Internet is relatively expensive and quite frankly, I don’t want to spend my time here editing my blog. Also, the computers here have international keyboards which are a lot trickier than you think! Not to mention, the blog website doesn’t accept italics and smiley faces which apparently I use quite frequently for emphasis. (I think they turn into a capital J or something…) That being said, I do appreciate the responses I’ve gotten so far – I honestly can’t believe so many people are reading it and keeping up with all of the boring day-to-day stuff! Skimming through, I’ve noticed that I tend to write about the same stuff, “woke up at ____, had breakfast, got ready…” sound familiar? If there’s anything that I’m forgetting to mention definitely let me know. There’s so much to talk about and it’s tough to think of everything when I finally sit down to journal. Hasta pronto!
PS They´re a little out of order, sorry!
Being the perfectionist that I am, I’m thoroughly embarrassed by the majority of my entries. Internet is relatively expensive and quite frankly, I don’t want to spend my time here editing my blog. Also, the computers here have international keyboards which are a lot trickier than you think! Not to mention, the blog website doesn’t accept italics and smiley faces which apparently I use quite frequently for emphasis. (I think they turn into a capital J or something…) That being said, I do appreciate the responses I’ve gotten so far – I honestly can’t believe so many people are reading it and keeping up with all of the boring day-to-day stuff! Skimming through, I’ve noticed that I tend to write about the same stuff, “woke up at ____, had breakfast, got ready…” sound familiar? If there’s anything that I’m forgetting to mention definitely let me know. There’s so much to talk about and it’s tough to think of everything when I finally sit down to journal. Hasta pronto!
PS They´re a little out of order, sorry!
2-15-09
Sunday, February 15, 2009
This morning my feet still hurt but I put on my tennis shoes anyway and climbed a mountain. No joke. Mitch’s señor offered to take him and a couple friends up to the Sierra’s for some hiking and sightseeing so obviously Taylor and I gracefully accepted the invitation. It seemed like Julia wasn’t too excited about us going and having fun with the neighbors but whatever. He drove us up to some place I can’t remember the name of and we hiked for about 3 hours. It was a perfect day – warm sun but crisp air and no clouds. José knew grew up in Granada so he knew his way around perfectly. The views were so beautiful, you could see the whole city (including the main streets) and the snowy peaks of the Sierras (even the ski lifts). He also picked up a couple different plants and had us smell them, we’re pretty sure they were Rosemary and Thyme, just growing wild on the side of the mountain! We stopped at a secluded place toward the end of the trail where the guys had sandwiches and we had oranges. It was so quiet and peaceful; you could barely hear the trickle of the stream way down below. There were tons more people on our way back, I’m glad José knew to take us in the mid-morning. On our way back to our place he stopped to show us around the little town of Monachil where he used to spend his summers as a kid. It was adorable! There was a fresh stream down the middle of the city with cute bridges and ducks. The houses were almost all white with Spanish tile roofs and were right up against the side of the mountains. We walked around and found some caves (like the ones where the Gypsies live in Sacromonte) and a spring we could drink out of. I had such a fun time and José must have too because he offered to take us again on another Sunday! I really hope it happens because it was so nice to get out of the city and get some fresh air, but also to see things we wouldn’t be able to on our own. When we got back Julia had lunch ready and good thing because we were starving! Bad part is that the main dish was really gross but obviously I ate it anyway. It’s the first dish that I’ve really had to choke down, but that’s pretty good odds as far as I’m concerned. We were exhausted after a late night then a tiring day so we crashed. Taylor actually napped for about 3 hours! I took a shower and did some picture stuff on my computer then we went searching for wifi. There was absolutely nowhere in our neighborhood with wireless but we finally found a place near the school. It was a cute little café and I had hot chocolate which was about ½ whipped cream – mmm. I updated my blogs and sorted pictures until it was time to come back for dinner. We ate pretty late then finally it was time for bed!
This morning my feet still hurt but I put on my tennis shoes anyway and climbed a mountain. No joke. Mitch’s señor offered to take him and a couple friends up to the Sierra’s for some hiking and sightseeing so obviously Taylor and I gracefully accepted the invitation. It seemed like Julia wasn’t too excited about us going and having fun with the neighbors but whatever. He drove us up to some place I can’t remember the name of and we hiked for about 3 hours. It was a perfect day – warm sun but crisp air and no clouds. José knew grew up in Granada so he knew his way around perfectly. The views were so beautiful, you could see the whole city (including the main streets) and the snowy peaks of the Sierras (even the ski lifts). He also picked up a couple different plants and had us smell them, we’re pretty sure they were Rosemary and Thyme, just growing wild on the side of the mountain! We stopped at a secluded place toward the end of the trail where the guys had sandwiches and we had oranges. It was so quiet and peaceful; you could barely hear the trickle of the stream way down below. There were tons more people on our way back, I’m glad José knew to take us in the mid-morning. On our way back to our place he stopped to show us around the little town of Monachil where he used to spend his summers as a kid. It was adorable! There was a fresh stream down the middle of the city with cute bridges and ducks. The houses were almost all white with Spanish tile roofs and were right up against the side of the mountains. We walked around and found some caves (like the ones where the Gypsies live in Sacromonte) and a spring we could drink out of. I had such a fun time and José must have too because he offered to take us again on another Sunday! I really hope it happens because it was so nice to get out of the city and get some fresh air, but also to see things we wouldn’t be able to on our own. When we got back Julia had lunch ready and good thing because we were starving! Bad part is that the main dish was really gross but obviously I ate it anyway. It’s the first dish that I’ve really had to choke down, but that’s pretty good odds as far as I’m concerned. We were exhausted after a late night then a tiring day so we crashed. Taylor actually napped for about 3 hours! I took a shower and did some picture stuff on my computer then we went searching for wifi. There was absolutely nowhere in our neighborhood with wireless but we finally found a place near the school. It was a cute little café and I had hot chocolate which was about ½ whipped cream – mmm. I updated my blogs and sorted pictures until it was time to come back for dinner. We ate pretty late then finally it was time for bed!
2-14-09
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Our plans for the day were to go to Monachil for some hiking and exploring up around the Sierras, I guess there’s a bunch of really nice paths and awesome views. But, that didn’t happen. We woke up and saw that the bus schedule we were looking at was Monday-Friday and the busses stop on Saturdays around 1:45 so we wouldn’t have much time at all. So we hurried to get ready and rushed to the bus stop but we were too late so we’ll have to do it another day. We had bocadillos already so we decided to spend the day out and about enjoying the nice weather. We changed, bought some magazines, grabbed a blanket, and bought some big juicy strawberries from a fruit stand on the way to the Frederico Garcia Lorca Park. There were lots of people at the park, it was really pretty with fountains, a little bit of green grass (I think the only place in Europe), and trees. So we spread out our stuff and had a picnic and talked all afternoon. We even listened to some music and tried to take a nap in the sun. Ahhh how relaxing! There were tons of couples around and actually lots of them on motos with the girl on the back holding flowers, how cute! We came back and crawled into bed for a nice long nap then around 7 I called Rob. I was missing him pretty bad so we ended up talking for quite a while. It was so good to talk to him but it’s definitely hard to be apart… I relaxed for a little while until dinner then Mitch, Taylor and I headed out for tapas. Everywhere was absolutely packed! I’m not sure if it was because it was nice weather on a Saturday or because it was Valentine’s Day but it was seriously shoulder to shoulder in almost every place we tried. We found a cute little place called Central where we hung out for a while. Then we wandered around when a random guy on the street asked us if we wanted free shots – what? How shady… Like usual, we ended up at our old favorite – Hannigan’s. On our way out we ran into probably 10 people from our program who were going to a discoteca and said they were getting in free since it was before 2:00 but when we all got there it didn’t happen (not surprised). I was pretty tired and Mitch and I were both in bad moods but would’ve gone and Taylor loves to dance but none of us wanted to pay the €10 to get in. We hung out and talked to some people for a little while but then we went with Jeff on a hunt for a different discoteca that was supposedly cheaper. Well, since we didn’t have great directions to begin with, we wandered around for what seemed like an eternity and never found it. After not wearing heels for at least two months, I thought it would be a great night to break them out since I was grouchy already … wrong. After basically walking and standing for 5 hours, my feet were so swollen by the time we got home that I could barely stand. We finally crawled in bed after a long, tough day (with some good parts).
Our plans for the day were to go to Monachil for some hiking and exploring up around the Sierras, I guess there’s a bunch of really nice paths and awesome views. But, that didn’t happen. We woke up and saw that the bus schedule we were looking at was Monday-Friday and the busses stop on Saturdays around 1:45 so we wouldn’t have much time at all. So we hurried to get ready and rushed to the bus stop but we were too late so we’ll have to do it another day. We had bocadillos already so we decided to spend the day out and about enjoying the nice weather. We changed, bought some magazines, grabbed a blanket, and bought some big juicy strawberries from a fruit stand on the way to the Frederico Garcia Lorca Park. There were lots of people at the park, it was really pretty with fountains, a little bit of green grass (I think the only place in Europe), and trees. So we spread out our stuff and had a picnic and talked all afternoon. We even listened to some music and tried to take a nap in the sun. Ahhh how relaxing! There were tons of couples around and actually lots of them on motos with the girl on the back holding flowers, how cute! We came back and crawled into bed for a nice long nap then around 7 I called Rob. I was missing him pretty bad so we ended up talking for quite a while. It was so good to talk to him but it’s definitely hard to be apart… I relaxed for a little while until dinner then Mitch, Taylor and I headed out for tapas. Everywhere was absolutely packed! I’m not sure if it was because it was nice weather on a Saturday or because it was Valentine’s Day but it was seriously shoulder to shoulder in almost every place we tried. We found a cute little place called Central where we hung out for a while. Then we wandered around when a random guy on the street asked us if we wanted free shots – what? How shady… Like usual, we ended up at our old favorite – Hannigan’s. On our way out we ran into probably 10 people from our program who were going to a discoteca and said they were getting in free since it was before 2:00 but when we all got there it didn’t happen (not surprised). I was pretty tired and Mitch and I were both in bad moods but would’ve gone and Taylor loves to dance but none of us wanted to pay the €10 to get in. We hung out and talked to some people for a little while but then we went with Jeff on a hunt for a different discoteca that was supposedly cheaper. Well, since we didn’t have great directions to begin with, we wandered around for what seemed like an eternity and never found it. After not wearing heels for at least two months, I thought it would be a great night to break them out since I was grouchy already … wrong. After basically walking and standing for 5 hours, my feet were so swollen by the time we got home that I could barely stand. We finally crawled in bed after a long, tough day (with some good parts).
2-3-09
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Up around 9:00 then had the most awkward and awful breakfast at the hostel. There were 6 people crammed into the tiniest kitchen and we ate warm milk on cereal and some mysterious form of hot chocolate. This French guy walked in and goes, “buenas días, good morning, bonsoir” that means goodnight, monsieur, don’t you know your own language? Got ready and used the internet for a bit then left around 11:00. Went to Corte Inglés and mailed my receipts to Iberia to get my reimbursement then did some grocery shopping. Got some snacks and stuff for lunch – the cutest mini bottles of EVOO you’ll ever see! Took the Metro to the airport but there were 3 stops at different terminals and we didn’t know which one to go to so we definitely picked the wrong one. Super confusing place, I hate it. It’s just not logical. Ate our lunch and did some people watching then got checked in. There was a lady we’re pretty sure just lives at the airport with her dog on a cart. I was only allowed one carry on so we smushed our stuff in, and this is when I earned the nickname “turtle”. The flight was pretty rough, no assigned seats, nothing for free, and I guess that’s how they’re so cheap! There was a screaming kid who repeated himself a million times and two gay couples with matching haircuts J When we got there we had no idea how to get to our airport so we just followed everyone else onto this bus that cost €13 and took about an hour and dropped us off into an empty parking lot. Apparently that’s the other way RyanAir flights cut cost. Followed the crowd down to the Metro but accidently went the wrong way and had to waste 2 tickets to go up the stairs to the other side, ugh. Walked to our hostel and saw homeless people sleeping on vents on the sidewalk. Checked in and it wasn’t super nice, tiny room that was by no means clean, but still expensive because we were right in the middle of the city, about a 3 minute walk to the Louvre so it was worth it. We were in a 4 person room and when we got there it looked like two boys were staying with us and we started to get pretty nervous but they came in a bit later and it was a super nice guy and a girl from Australia.
Up around 9:00 then had the most awkward and awful breakfast at the hostel. There were 6 people crammed into the tiniest kitchen and we ate warm milk on cereal and some mysterious form of hot chocolate. This French guy walked in and goes, “buenas días, good morning, bonsoir” that means goodnight, monsieur, don’t you know your own language? Got ready and used the internet for a bit then left around 11:00. Went to Corte Inglés and mailed my receipts to Iberia to get my reimbursement then did some grocery shopping. Got some snacks and stuff for lunch – the cutest mini bottles of EVOO you’ll ever see! Took the Metro to the airport but there were 3 stops at different terminals and we didn’t know which one to go to so we definitely picked the wrong one. Super confusing place, I hate it. It’s just not logical. Ate our lunch and did some people watching then got checked in. There was a lady we’re pretty sure just lives at the airport with her dog on a cart. I was only allowed one carry on so we smushed our stuff in, and this is when I earned the nickname “turtle”. The flight was pretty rough, no assigned seats, nothing for free, and I guess that’s how they’re so cheap! There was a screaming kid who repeated himself a million times and two gay couples with matching haircuts J When we got there we had no idea how to get to our airport so we just followed everyone else onto this bus that cost €13 and took about an hour and dropped us off into an empty parking lot. Apparently that’s the other way RyanAir flights cut cost. Followed the crowd down to the Metro but accidently went the wrong way and had to waste 2 tickets to go up the stairs to the other side, ugh. Walked to our hostel and saw homeless people sleeping on vents on the sidewalk. Checked in and it wasn’t super nice, tiny room that was by no means clean, but still expensive because we were right in the middle of the city, about a 3 minute walk to the Louvre so it was worth it. We were in a 4 person room and when we got there it looked like two boys were staying with us and we started to get pretty nervous but they came in a bit later and it was a super nice guy and a girl from Australia.
2-13-09
Friday, February 13, 2009
Slept in until about 11:30 and felt well rested! Had some breakfast and got to have honey on our toast – what a nice change. We tested out our wireless connections again and we picked one up without security! The signal is really weak and it probably won’t work long but we had it on and off all day. We’ve been total nerds on our laptops moving around the house testing out hotspots. Anyway, had one of my favorite meals for lunch (baked pasta dish with meat- maybe chorizo – and cheese, salad, and bread) then straight back to the internet. It’s so amazing to have it right here in my room for free. Got to Skype with Mom and Dad then Kent for just a minute and sent Mom pictures of my room. Then Taylor and I went out to the tourist office to get some information about hiking and skiing this weekend and Cadiz for Carnaval. They didn’t have a lot and one guy wasn’t particularly helpful but it was such a beautiful day out that I didn’t care. It was I think 18°C which is around 65°F and so sunny. Someone said it hit 70 but I don’t think it felt that warm. The city really does heat up when the sun comes out because in the shade it was way colder. We did some souvenir shopping around Plaza Nueva then came back. Caught up on some journaling from break then had dinner and Taylor headed to the internet café. We met up with Mitch and walked to the Mirador de San Nicolas to see the Alhambra at night. It’s just breathtaking, especially all lit up. After that we went to a little café and had some sweets to celebrate Valentine’s Day J
Slept in until about 11:30 and felt well rested! Had some breakfast and got to have honey on our toast – what a nice change. We tested out our wireless connections again and we picked one up without security! The signal is really weak and it probably won’t work long but we had it on and off all day. We’ve been total nerds on our laptops moving around the house testing out hotspots. Anyway, had one of my favorite meals for lunch (baked pasta dish with meat- maybe chorizo – and cheese, salad, and bread) then straight back to the internet. It’s so amazing to have it right here in my room for free. Got to Skype with Mom and Dad then Kent for just a minute and sent Mom pictures of my room. Then Taylor and I went out to the tourist office to get some information about hiking and skiing this weekend and Cadiz for Carnaval. They didn’t have a lot and one guy wasn’t particularly helpful but it was such a beautiful day out that I didn’t care. It was I think 18°C which is around 65°F and so sunny. Someone said it hit 70 but I don’t think it felt that warm. The city really does heat up when the sun comes out because in the shade it was way colder. We did some souvenir shopping around Plaza Nueva then came back. Caught up on some journaling from break then had dinner and Taylor headed to the internet café. We met up with Mitch and walked to the Mirador de San Nicolas to see the Alhambra at night. It’s just breathtaking, especially all lit up. After that we went to a little café and had some sweets to celebrate Valentine’s Day J
2-12-09
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Woke up super early again for lit class at 8:30, and Julia was back in bed as soon as she put breakfast on the table! She has been pretty sick and later told us she had a horrible headache. Class was ok, kind of a long day though. Lit was fine, about how you would expect a Spanish lit class to be but I’m definitely glad it’s only the last two centuries. Then I had a break where I used the internet and got some stuff done, then went to art history. The professor is really cool and funny and I know lots of people in the class so even if the material is boring I think it’ll be just fine. Came home for lunch, took a mini nap, then headed back to school. I feel like I should definitely be in a higher POE class but I really like the professor and it would be hard to reschedule so I don’t think I’m going to change it. I hope I still learn a lot even if it’s going to be super easy material. Came back and didn’t do too much, had dinner then bummed around a while, took a shower, then we watched “On the Road Again”, a special that Taylor has on her computer with Mario Batalli, Gweneth Paltrow, and two other people who travel around Spain. It’s mostly focused on food and it kept making us hungry J I swear I’m always hungry here, it’s so bizarre because I eat so much! It’s always on our minds though…
Woke up super early again for lit class at 8:30, and Julia was back in bed as soon as she put breakfast on the table! She has been pretty sick and later told us she had a horrible headache. Class was ok, kind of a long day though. Lit was fine, about how you would expect a Spanish lit class to be but I’m definitely glad it’s only the last two centuries. Then I had a break where I used the internet and got some stuff done, then went to art history. The professor is really cool and funny and I know lots of people in the class so even if the material is boring I think it’ll be just fine. Came home for lunch, took a mini nap, then headed back to school. I feel like I should definitely be in a higher POE class but I really like the professor and it would be hard to reschedule so I don’t think I’m going to change it. I hope I still learn a lot even if it’s going to be super easy material. Came back and didn’t do too much, had dinner then bummed around a while, took a shower, then we watched “On the Road Again”, a special that Taylor has on her computer with Mario Batalli, Gweneth Paltrow, and two other people who travel around Spain. It’s mostly focused on food and it kept making us hungry J I swear I’m always hungry here, it’s so bizarre because I eat so much! It’s always on our minds though…
2-11-09
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Something was going on with my alarm and Julia came in saying, “desayuno, desayuno, chica! Desayuno” so good thing I had all of my stuff laid out and my bag packed because I was definitely rushed. Julia definitely looked like she was still sleeping and kept saying that it was still nighttime and before I was even out the door she was back in bed! I have been anxious to get into a more stable schedule after so much traveling and orientation so today was nice even though it was an early start. Grammar class was the only one I had today and it went pretty well. There’s a ton of people in it and the desks are so tiny so we were pretty much shoulder to shoulder. The teacher seems really cool and our book was super cheap – only €5 for a bunch of worksheets bound into a book. After class I decided to do a little shopping and I’m soooo happy with my purchases – a pink summer dress and a bright green spring jacket. (Both from Zara, obviously) Came back for lunch then headed back to the CLM for my French placement test. It was pretty tough, especially the grammar and written portions. After that I had an interview with the professor and he said that my test was ok, the writing part wasn’t bad, but my conversation skills are much better. He said I was on the boarder but suggested that I be in 3B and I immediately declined. That’s even higher than my Spanish and there’s no way that’s possible! The other only option was to take 2B which will hopefully be pretty easy and I can move up if I need to. The other kid taking the test who tested into 3B was an Erasmus student who was more or less fluent and I definitely didn’t want to be in his class. Another girl tested into 5B – I didn’t even know it went that high! Got money out because my funds have been depleted since the trip, and came back to my place. I tried to organize some stuff and get things done before dinner and when Taylor got back but I still feel like I have so much to do! We had dinner and Julia and I got into some pretty deep conversations. We discussed euthanasia, her ex-husband, and two bad experiences she’s had with students staying with her. I kept trying to get away from the table and Taylor gave some “subtle” hints, but in such personal and intense topics it was impossible to just cut her off even though we were 45 minutes late for our plans. Finally Mitch rang the bell and the three of us headed to Hannigan’s (again) to watch the Spain vs. England soccer game. It wasn’t as exciting as I’d hoped but it was still fun, especially since Spain won! PS it was a really nice day today, maybe 60’s? I sported my new fluorescent jacket J
Something was going on with my alarm and Julia came in saying, “desayuno, desayuno, chica! Desayuno” so good thing I had all of my stuff laid out and my bag packed because I was definitely rushed. Julia definitely looked like she was still sleeping and kept saying that it was still nighttime and before I was even out the door she was back in bed! I have been anxious to get into a more stable schedule after so much traveling and orientation so today was nice even though it was an early start. Grammar class was the only one I had today and it went pretty well. There’s a ton of people in it and the desks are so tiny so we were pretty much shoulder to shoulder. The teacher seems really cool and our book was super cheap – only €5 for a bunch of worksheets bound into a book. After class I decided to do a little shopping and I’m soooo happy with my purchases – a pink summer dress and a bright green spring jacket. (Both from Zara, obviously) Came back for lunch then headed back to the CLM for my French placement test. It was pretty tough, especially the grammar and written portions. After that I had an interview with the professor and he said that my test was ok, the writing part wasn’t bad, but my conversation skills are much better. He said I was on the boarder but suggested that I be in 3B and I immediately declined. That’s even higher than my Spanish and there’s no way that’s possible! The other only option was to take 2B which will hopefully be pretty easy and I can move up if I need to. The other kid taking the test who tested into 3B was an Erasmus student who was more or less fluent and I definitely didn’t want to be in his class. Another girl tested into 5B – I didn’t even know it went that high! Got money out because my funds have been depleted since the trip, and came back to my place. I tried to organize some stuff and get things done before dinner and when Taylor got back but I still feel like I have so much to do! We had dinner and Julia and I got into some pretty deep conversations. We discussed euthanasia, her ex-husband, and two bad experiences she’s had with students staying with her. I kept trying to get away from the table and Taylor gave some “subtle” hints, but in such personal and intense topics it was impossible to just cut her off even though we were 45 minutes late for our plans. Finally Mitch rang the bell and the three of us headed to Hannigan’s (again) to watch the Spain vs. England soccer game. It wasn’t as exciting as I’d hoped but it was still fun, especially since Spain won! PS it was a really nice day today, maybe 60’s? I sported my new fluorescent jacket J
2-10-09
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Slept in until about 12:30 and Julia was so glad to see us. We had a little breakfast (much smaller than what we’d been having during the trip!) then ate lunch about an hour later. It was so good to be back “home” (I’m struggling with that, we decided to call it “our place” instead) where there’s warm homemade meals every day and no map-reading necessary. We gave Julia her gifts – a free scarf and an olive oil pourer jar thing. She absolutely loved them and I have to say they were pretty much perfect! She uses EVOO for every single meal and the colors match her tablecloth and living room. She was so appreciative of them and I know it was genuine. After that we sat down and showed her our pictures from Paris, Nice, and Madrid. She was really interested in all of them and kept cupping her hand below her chin and saying that her “teeth were down to here!” aka she was surprised/happy/jealous/old? Haha we haven’t exactly mastered all the local lingo but we’re working on it... She told us about a trip that she went on around Europe when she was younger so it was cool to share stories. She also lived in Madrid for most of her life and in one of the pictures of the Puerta del Sol you can see the building where she studied for a few years. We had our computers out so when we finished we shared pictures of our families and friends. She really liked how Taylor’s whole family is redheads and when we were talking about nationalities she basically dismissed the fact that she’s French and German and was positive that her family is 100% Irish. When she asked about my heritage I explained that I’m Dutch and German but she looked at me and said, “no, I think you look more Italian.” What? You can’t say no when someone tells you their heritage… Oh, Juli Juli J She said that I definitely look like Dad and that the three of us girls have the same smiles but we look much different. Laura – dark eyes and dark hair, Mandy – clear (light) eyes and dark hair, and me – lighter hair and dark eyes. Usually we hear the opposite, that we could all pass for twins! She also loved seeing pictures of our boyfriends – she was intrigued by the contrast between Musa’s dark skin and curly hair and Taylor’s pale skin and red hair. She even said, “if you had babies they would be chocolate con leche.” Hilarious! She also repeated a million times that our boys are muy guapos but we’re much more attractive than them. I let Rob know that she thinks I’m dating down and I don’t think he appreciated it too much J After about 2-3 hours of that we went to the school to use the internet and check when our classes were. I have class MW 8:30-10:00 and TR 8:30-10:00, 11:30-1:00 and 3:30-5:00. I also have French but I don’t know when that will be, I have to take the level test tomorrow then I have no idea when it starts. Came back for dinner then I had a Skype date with Rob. It’s so weird that I hadn’t talked to him for a week and a half. Ugh. It’s bad to say but we’ve both decided this time is easier than Mexico because since he’s been in Kansas City we can’t spend near as much time together. It feels almost normal to go 3+ weeks without seeing each other even though we’re used to talking several times a day. After that Taylor, Mitch and I headed out for some tapas then to Hannigan’s for a bit to catch up about each others’ trips. Grabbed some candy on the way home and probably stayed out too late because class is at 8:30 tomorrow!
Random side note – I got these weird bumps on my face for pretty much the whole time we were traveling, I don’t know whether it was the lotion I was borrowing, body wash, water, gross towel, or what but they’re pretty much gone by tonight!
Slept in until about 12:30 and Julia was so glad to see us. We had a little breakfast (much smaller than what we’d been having during the trip!) then ate lunch about an hour later. It was so good to be back “home” (I’m struggling with that, we decided to call it “our place” instead) where there’s warm homemade meals every day and no map-reading necessary. We gave Julia her gifts – a free scarf and an olive oil pourer jar thing. She absolutely loved them and I have to say they were pretty much perfect! She uses EVOO for every single meal and the colors match her tablecloth and living room. She was so appreciative of them and I know it was genuine. After that we sat down and showed her our pictures from Paris, Nice, and Madrid. She was really interested in all of them and kept cupping her hand below her chin and saying that her “teeth were down to here!” aka she was surprised/happy/jealous/old? Haha we haven’t exactly mastered all the local lingo but we’re working on it... She told us about a trip that she went on around Europe when she was younger so it was cool to share stories. She also lived in Madrid for most of her life and in one of the pictures of the Puerta del Sol you can see the building where she studied for a few years. We had our computers out so when we finished we shared pictures of our families and friends. She really liked how Taylor’s whole family is redheads and when we were talking about nationalities she basically dismissed the fact that she’s French and German and was positive that her family is 100% Irish. When she asked about my heritage I explained that I’m Dutch and German but she looked at me and said, “no, I think you look more Italian.” What? You can’t say no when someone tells you their heritage… Oh, Juli Juli J She said that I definitely look like Dad and that the three of us girls have the same smiles but we look much different. Laura – dark eyes and dark hair, Mandy – clear (light) eyes and dark hair, and me – lighter hair and dark eyes. Usually we hear the opposite, that we could all pass for twins! She also loved seeing pictures of our boyfriends – she was intrigued by the contrast between Musa’s dark skin and curly hair and Taylor’s pale skin and red hair. She even said, “if you had babies they would be chocolate con leche.” Hilarious! She also repeated a million times that our boys are muy guapos but we’re much more attractive than them. I let Rob know that she thinks I’m dating down and I don’t think he appreciated it too much J After about 2-3 hours of that we went to the school to use the internet and check when our classes were. I have class MW 8:30-10:00 and TR 8:30-10:00, 11:30-1:00 and 3:30-5:00. I also have French but I don’t know when that will be, I have to take the level test tomorrow then I have no idea when it starts. Came back for dinner then I had a Skype date with Rob. It’s so weird that I hadn’t talked to him for a week and a half. Ugh. It’s bad to say but we’ve both decided this time is easier than Mexico because since he’s been in Kansas City we can’t spend near as much time together. It feels almost normal to go 3+ weeks without seeing each other even though we’re used to talking several times a day. After that Taylor, Mitch and I headed out for some tapas then to Hannigan’s for a bit to catch up about each others’ trips. Grabbed some candy on the way home and probably stayed out too late because class is at 8:30 tomorrow!
Random side note – I got these weird bumps on my face for pretty much the whole time we were traveling, I don’t know whether it was the lotion I was borrowing, body wash, water, gross towel, or what but they’re pretty much gone by tonight!
2-9-09
Monday, February 9, 2009
Woke up, had breakfast in the hostel, got ready, then checked out at 9:30. Paid to lock our backpacks in lockers then wandered around Paris for quite a while and once again, it was freezing cold and raining. Went back to check out the Hôtel de Ville, Ile de la Cité, the Latin Quarter, La Sorbonne, Luxembourg gardens, then took the Metro to Sacre-Coeur. It was so beautiful! Came back and stopped at a little café by the Louvre for lunch and split two meals again – such a great way to do it because if one is bad you won’t starve and they’re usually too rich/sharp tasting to finish one whole meal. Got our bags and warmed up a bit (literally, I was hugging the radiator and Taylor laid next to it and put her feet on it) then went to the bus stop to head to the airport. It was a little over an hour and when we got there we ran into Ashley Ranniger and Brigitte Newman! I just knew I’d see someone we knew on the trip J Checked in then had the craziest experience – there was no line and no assigned seating so it was a free for all of people literally elbowing and boxing out to get to the plane first. Nuts. Creepy dude ended up sitting next to us. Anyway, went to the Avenida America bus station from the Metro because Julia said that’s the one she always takes but apparently they closed the route to Granada a year ago so we paid for two more Metro tickets and went to Estacion Sur. So annoying and this is the worst part of traveling. So we got our tickets and then started our horrible ride back. There were these really rude people behind us who refused to let us recline our seats. Also, they absolutely STUNK so we’re pretty sure they were homeless and only used the bus to sleep. Obviously I didn’t get much sleep sitting straight up then finally got in around 4:30. We got a taxi to our apartment but the guy didn’t really seem to know where he was going. We changed into clean clothes and crawled in a comfy, warm, clean bed for the first time in about 10 days. Ahhhh…
Woke up, had breakfast in the hostel, got ready, then checked out at 9:30. Paid to lock our backpacks in lockers then wandered around Paris for quite a while and once again, it was freezing cold and raining. Went back to check out the Hôtel de Ville, Ile de la Cité, the Latin Quarter, La Sorbonne, Luxembourg gardens, then took the Metro to Sacre-Coeur. It was so beautiful! Came back and stopped at a little café by the Louvre for lunch and split two meals again – such a great way to do it because if one is bad you won’t starve and they’re usually too rich/sharp tasting to finish one whole meal. Got our bags and warmed up a bit (literally, I was hugging the radiator and Taylor laid next to it and put her feet on it) then went to the bus stop to head to the airport. It was a little over an hour and when we got there we ran into Ashley Ranniger and Brigitte Newman! I just knew I’d see someone we knew on the trip J Checked in then had the craziest experience – there was no line and no assigned seating so it was a free for all of people literally elbowing and boxing out to get to the plane first. Nuts. Creepy dude ended up sitting next to us. Anyway, went to the Avenida America bus station from the Metro because Julia said that’s the one she always takes but apparently they closed the route to Granada a year ago so we paid for two more Metro tickets and went to Estacion Sur. So annoying and this is the worst part of traveling. So we got our tickets and then started our horrible ride back. There were these really rude people behind us who refused to let us recline our seats. Also, they absolutely STUNK so we’re pretty sure they were homeless and only used the bus to sleep. Obviously I didn’t get much sleep sitting straight up then finally got in around 4:30. We got a taxi to our apartment but the guy didn’t really seem to know where he was going. We changed into clean clothes and crawled in a comfy, warm, clean bed for the first time in about 10 days. Ahhhh…
2-8-09
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Happy birthday Dad! And Cory! Woke up at 5:00 and walked to the train station (people were still out from the night before) and left for Paris around 7:30. Long ride, slept for over 3 hours! The weather changed drastically back and forth from rain, sun, lots of snow on the ground, then one place where there was lots of ice on the track which made weird noises and I felt like Laura on a plane J Got in around 12:15, went into the Metro the wrong way (stupid signs, it was not our fault this time) so we snuck in behind a dad and his little boy who started at us. Bad example but we paid, and it’s so easy to cheat the system! Anyway, went to the hostel and got a private room this time for only a couple Euros more. Sat outside a café next to our hostel and picked up their wireless. Then we went to a little café by the Louvre for lunch and to hang out. Treated myself to a Minute Maid “tropical” juice and we split a crepe with chocolate, bananas, and whipped cream. Mmmm. Of course in true Tam & Dad fashion I went straight for the whipped cream first, happy birthday! Got ready to give him a call when I found out I had a voicemail from him – ran down to the pay phone and got to talk for a while but got cut off because it ran out L He sounded good and I was so happy to talk, he even said he’s waiting to have ice cream cake until I get home! It was also Taylor’s Grandpa’s birthday today and her Mom’s tomorrow, what a coincidence. Settled into our room then went to the Musée d’Orsay. It was cool and had lots more unique works. Still sick of naked people though. Monet, Degas, Manet, Cezanne, etc. These were some of the painters who were turned away from the Louvre and are now there! Went to the grocery store to get cheap dinner again and came back to our room to eat. Went again to get internet but it zapped my battery and I couldn’t charge it. Called home again and this time everyone was there – yay! It was so fun to talk to them J Tried to call Rob but I didn’t have enough left to complete the call, ugh. I feel spoiled saying this but I’m totally ready to go home right now. At least back to Granada but Ankeny would be better! Traveling is so much fun but it’s exhausting and makes me miss the comfort of home.
Happy birthday Dad! And Cory! Woke up at 5:00 and walked to the train station (people were still out from the night before) and left for Paris around 7:30. Long ride, slept for over 3 hours! The weather changed drastically back and forth from rain, sun, lots of snow on the ground, then one place where there was lots of ice on the track which made weird noises and I felt like Laura on a plane J Got in around 12:15, went into the Metro the wrong way (stupid signs, it was not our fault this time) so we snuck in behind a dad and his little boy who started at us. Bad example but we paid, and it’s so easy to cheat the system! Anyway, went to the hostel and got a private room this time for only a couple Euros more. Sat outside a café next to our hostel and picked up their wireless. Then we went to a little café by the Louvre for lunch and to hang out. Treated myself to a Minute Maid “tropical” juice and we split a crepe with chocolate, bananas, and whipped cream. Mmmm. Of course in true Tam & Dad fashion I went straight for the whipped cream first, happy birthday! Got ready to give him a call when I found out I had a voicemail from him – ran down to the pay phone and got to talk for a while but got cut off because it ran out L He sounded good and I was so happy to talk, he even said he’s waiting to have ice cream cake until I get home! It was also Taylor’s Grandpa’s birthday today and her Mom’s tomorrow, what a coincidence. Settled into our room then went to the Musée d’Orsay. It was cool and had lots more unique works. Still sick of naked people though. Monet, Degas, Manet, Cezanne, etc. These were some of the painters who were turned away from the Louvre and are now there! Went to the grocery store to get cheap dinner again and came back to our room to eat. Went again to get internet but it zapped my battery and I couldn’t charge it. Called home again and this time everyone was there – yay! It was so fun to talk to them J Tried to call Rob but I didn’t have enough left to complete the call, ugh. I feel spoiled saying this but I’m totally ready to go home right now. At least back to Granada but Ankeny would be better! Traveling is so much fun but it’s exhausting and makes me miss the comfort of home.
2-7-09
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Got up early, had breakfast, got ready, then went to the market again which was bigger because it was Saturday. We bought a few super cheap apples then caught the bus to Monaco which was about 45 minutes for only €1. It was such a scenic drive, that was worth it in itself! Got off at the Hotel Paris right next to the Monte Carlo Casino (two really famous places) then walked along the port. Really pretty with TONS of super expensive stores. All of the most expensive things in the world are easily accessible within about 1 square mile: Cars? Check. Clothes? Check. Yachts? Check. Mansions? Check. Food? Check. Jewelry? Check. Climbed up to the Royal Palace (same family in charge of Monaco for 100’s of years) and saw a car drive in which all of the guards waved at, I’m convinced it was the Royal Family. J The cathedral where Grace Kelly and His Majesty Your Highness Sir Prince Reneir or whatever he’s called got married was really close. There was an amazing view of the port, the bay, the city, and the ocean. We’re really confused on what exactly Monaco is because it has its own government, laws, and taxes but nobody refers to it as a country. They call it a “principality”, we didn’t have to show passports, they speak French and use the Euro. It’s quite tricky and I still haven’t quite figured it out. Anyway, we came back because there wasn’t much else to see. We bought fresh focaccia bread and split it on a bench by the sea. The sun finally peeked out and we laid on the rocks by the shore for a while listening to the waves and soaking up the warmth. Ahhh! There were tons of people out and about and when the sun was ducking under we did some more souvenir shopping. Bought goffres with ice cream and sat in the plaza, mmmm. Came back to the hostel and napped, packed up, had dinner, used the internet, bummed around, showered, then went to bed!
PS found out tons of news from home – lots of babies coming in August, Jamie’s getting divorced, Sue broke her wrist and ribs, and Mom is getting her gallbladder removed – holy smokes!
Got up early, had breakfast, got ready, then went to the market again which was bigger because it was Saturday. We bought a few super cheap apples then caught the bus to Monaco which was about 45 minutes for only €1. It was such a scenic drive, that was worth it in itself! Got off at the Hotel Paris right next to the Monte Carlo Casino (two really famous places) then walked along the port. Really pretty with TONS of super expensive stores. All of the most expensive things in the world are easily accessible within about 1 square mile: Cars? Check. Clothes? Check. Yachts? Check. Mansions? Check. Food? Check. Jewelry? Check. Climbed up to the Royal Palace (same family in charge of Monaco for 100’s of years) and saw a car drive in which all of the guards waved at, I’m convinced it was the Royal Family. J The cathedral where Grace Kelly and His Majesty Your Highness Sir Prince Reneir or whatever he’s called got married was really close. There was an amazing view of the port, the bay, the city, and the ocean. We’re really confused on what exactly Monaco is because it has its own government, laws, and taxes but nobody refers to it as a country. They call it a “principality”, we didn’t have to show passports, they speak French and use the Euro. It’s quite tricky and I still haven’t quite figured it out. Anyway, we came back because there wasn’t much else to see. We bought fresh focaccia bread and split it on a bench by the sea. The sun finally peeked out and we laid on the rocks by the shore for a while listening to the waves and soaking up the warmth. Ahhh! There were tons of people out and about and when the sun was ducking under we did some more souvenir shopping. Bought goffres with ice cream and sat in the plaza, mmmm. Came back to the hostel and napped, packed up, had dinner, used the internet, bummed around, showered, then went to bed!
PS found out tons of news from home – lots of babies coming in August, Jamie’s getting divorced, Sue broke her wrist and ribs, and Mom is getting her gallbladder removed – holy smokes!
2-6-09
Friday, February 6, 2009
Woke up at 9, had tons of hot chocolate and bread! Got ready then went out to explore the city. Did some souvenir shopping and headed to Vieux Nice, really pretty with narrow streets and we stumbled upon an outdoor market with tons of really fresh produce, herbs, fish, flowers, and some crafts. Started POURING but we browsed around for a while. We climbed up an old château which had ancient roman ruins but was rebuilt by some French king a few centuries ago. It was so cool with amazing views of the coast, the port, and the city. There were lots of trees and some mini waterfalls from the other torrential downpours we encountered. Took a bunch of pictures and literally swam down from all the rain. Walked all along the coast and got free Carnaval posters from the tourism office. Bought cheap baguette and made lunch. There was another woman staying with us from London and she said they got 10” of snow there! Crazy, and it makes the rain seem not so bad. Went to go shopping but every store (except one with a creepy Dutch guy who wanted us to come party with him) was closed. It’s so much different than Granada, I couldn’t believe nothing was open! So we walked around in the monsoon until we found a cute little place to eat. Took a shower then hit the sack.
Woke up at 9, had tons of hot chocolate and bread! Got ready then went out to explore the city. Did some souvenir shopping and headed to Vieux Nice, really pretty with narrow streets and we stumbled upon an outdoor market with tons of really fresh produce, herbs, fish, flowers, and some crafts. Started POURING but we browsed around for a while. We climbed up an old château which had ancient roman ruins but was rebuilt by some French king a few centuries ago. It was so cool with amazing views of the coast, the port, and the city. There were lots of trees and some mini waterfalls from the other torrential downpours we encountered. Took a bunch of pictures and literally swam down from all the rain. Walked all along the coast and got free Carnaval posters from the tourism office. Bought cheap baguette and made lunch. There was another woman staying with us from London and she said they got 10” of snow there! Crazy, and it makes the rain seem not so bad. Went to go shopping but every store (except one with a creepy Dutch guy who wanted us to come party with him) was closed. It’s so much different than Granada, I couldn’t believe nothing was open! So we walked around in the monsoon until we found a cute little place to eat. Took a shower then hit the sack.
2-5-09
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Woke up at 5:15AM! Took the metro to the train station where there were more pigeons. We were there really early and had my new favorite treat – a chocolate filled croissant. Asked for help finding our platform then got on my first real train (well, TGV)! Pretty cool. Sat across from a total nut who was tripping out the whole time, had to be drugs. Slept on and off for a few hours then when we got close the scenery was so pretty! Saw Cannes, St. Tropez, etc. with all the Mediterranean style houses, steep hills, and the blue/teal water on the rocky coast. It was cloudy though and sprinkled. Stopped by the tourist office and got a map then headed toward our hotel. Had lunch at a cute little place nearby and split two meals – lasagna and pizza. Good but just different, it’s hard to explain but all the food in France is so sharp. Waited out the rain for a bit then headed to the hostel we wanted to stay in which was being completely gutted and reconstructed. That explains a lot! Went to our next choice which you had to buy a €15 hosteling international card, ugh. Headed to the mall to regroup a little and got kicked out of our seats since we weren’t going to buy anything but there were no benches or chairs and bathrooms costed – so frustrating. Went to our choice but that was also under construction so we gave up and came back to #2. Free breakfast and wifi and kitchen was open to use so it ended up being ok. However, the sheets were super messed up, so hard to explain but the pillow tucked under it and it was sort of like a sleeping bag. Bright yellow furniture and 7 beds but we were alone. Walked around town – so cute! Lots of shopping and the whole city is setting up for Carnaval which starts on the 13. Lights, grandstands, speakers, etc. – this is a huge event that someone explained as “rivaling Rio”. Walked along the shoreline where the water was SO blue, but a different color than other places I’ve been to. Really pretty and not completely freezing but sprinkling a little and the clouds were rolling in. Stopped by the grocery store and got soup, sandwiches, chips and salsa, and bought chocolate croissants in bulk J Had dinner and used the internet for a little bit and noticed that there were a lot of older people in the hostel – odd. There was a group of four French adults having a full sit-down meal? Showered and almost felt clean. (FYI you had to hold the shower button the whole time for constant water at both of our hostels in France, how annoying.) Super tired and missing home tonight.
Woke up at 5:15AM! Took the metro to the train station where there were more pigeons. We were there really early and had my new favorite treat – a chocolate filled croissant. Asked for help finding our platform then got on my first real train (well, TGV)! Pretty cool. Sat across from a total nut who was tripping out the whole time, had to be drugs. Slept on and off for a few hours then when we got close the scenery was so pretty! Saw Cannes, St. Tropez, etc. with all the Mediterranean style houses, steep hills, and the blue/teal water on the rocky coast. It was cloudy though and sprinkled. Stopped by the tourist office and got a map then headed toward our hotel. Had lunch at a cute little place nearby and split two meals – lasagna and pizza. Good but just different, it’s hard to explain but all the food in France is so sharp. Waited out the rain for a bit then headed to the hostel we wanted to stay in which was being completely gutted and reconstructed. That explains a lot! Went to our next choice which you had to buy a €15 hosteling international card, ugh. Headed to the mall to regroup a little and got kicked out of our seats since we weren’t going to buy anything but there were no benches or chairs and bathrooms costed – so frustrating. Went to our choice but that was also under construction so we gave up and came back to #2. Free breakfast and wifi and kitchen was open to use so it ended up being ok. However, the sheets were super messed up, so hard to explain but the pillow tucked under it and it was sort of like a sleeping bag. Bright yellow furniture and 7 beds but we were alone. Walked around town – so cute! Lots of shopping and the whole city is setting up for Carnaval which starts on the 13. Lights, grandstands, speakers, etc. – this is a huge event that someone explained as “rivaling Rio”. Walked along the shoreline where the water was SO blue, but a different color than other places I’ve been to. Really pretty and not completely freezing but sprinkling a little and the clouds were rolling in. Stopped by the grocery store and got soup, sandwiches, chips and salsa, and bought chocolate croissants in bulk J Had dinner and used the internet for a little bit and noticed that there were a lot of older people in the hostel – odd. There was a group of four French adults having a full sit-down meal? Showered and almost felt clean. (FYI you had to hold the shower button the whole time for constant water at both of our hostels in France, how annoying.) Super tired and missing home tonight.
2-4-09
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Woke up around 8:30 and had a good breakfast at the hostel. The hot chocolate is served in bowls in France and I couldn’t help but think how Kandi would hate people slurping it up using both hands J The milk wasn’t exactly cold but it was better than the day before. Had tons of fresh bread with butter, like pretty much every day. I swear I eat a whole baguette every day. Lucky though since it’s so cheap – less than $1. Headed out to the islands, crossed Pont Neuf, and our first stop was Notre Dame. Bought some cool artwork then walked around the outside. It was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside! Tons of stained glass, candles lit, flying buttresses, and an amazing altar area up front. Walked by St. Chappelle on our way to the Metro and took it to the Eiffel Tower instead of walking like we planned because it was sooo cold. It’s much bigger up close than we thought from the day before and that morning (looks tiny from far away) and it was plenty high once we started going up. First though we took some great pictures on the green grass of the Jardin du Champ de Mars in front of the Ecole Militaire. An English lady who wanted me to take her picture asked me in French then was surprised when I understood English – yes! Paid €3.50 to climb to the second level but definitely could’ve only paid for the first and gotten all the way to the top in the elevator. Oh, well we’re honest, right? Also, we wanted to warm up a bit so it was way better. There’s enclosed rooms on both lookout levels and we stopped in both for a while. Weird thing – there were pigeons everywhere in Europe, even inside those rooms on the Eiffel Tower … sick. There were signs around the outside pointing out landmarks. On our way down I got a bit nervous and my fear of heights came out there and on the second level when we were taking pictures. Came down and crossed a pedestrian bridge on the Seine where a lady asked us if we dropped a ring, but we said no. Will and Kate (our roommates) said the same thing happened to them but when she gives it to them she says it was real gold and asks for money. There were also young girls all around the city asking if you speak English (I always said no in French) then they hold up a sign asking for money. Anyway, walked along the river up then up to the Arc de Triomphe! Saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then decided not to go up to the top because it was too expensive and cold and we’d seen almost the same thing from the Eiffel Tower. Walked down the Champs-Elysées and stopped in a few stores. There was an interesting mix of super high fashion and trashy souvenir shops. They were taking the lights down though; I thought they were up all year round? Got lunch in a little place which was not the best, club sandwich and Thai carrot soup both had weird flavors. Walked some more toward the gardens and it started to snow huge flakes but didn’t last long. Came to the Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuileries where there were a couple of cute little ponds then finally to the Louvre. Saw the pyramids and the fountains, such a pretty building. Walked back to the hostel but went about a ½ hour out of our way. Went to a grocery store and got stuff for dinner then finally to the room to warm up. One thing I’ve noticed is that French people have been super nice which is opposite of everything I’ve heard. Actually much more polite than in Spain! Decided to go to the Louvre since it was cheaper at night and on our way there together Will and Kate showed us a good place for crepes so we stopped and I had nutella and Taylor had dark chocolate, yum! Very rich though. Waited in the ticket line and this French lady came up and asked if we wanted two free tickets. I kept thinking she was trying to rip us off or something but she was persistent and lucky she was because she was genuinely giving them to us – I think whoever she was meeting couldn’t come. When we finally made it in and saw they were valid we ran ahead to thank her. We were pretty museum-ed out by that time and exhausted from such a busy day so I probably didn’t love the Louvre as much as I should have but I was thoroughly disappointed by the Mona Lisa. There were so many people around it and it was tiny and covered in glass. Why is it even so cool? There are many other works even by the same artist that are way better. Saw the Code of Hammurabi which was pretty cool. The museum was so huge and really pretty and we felt bad for speeding through (and skipping!) a lot of it. I got mistaken for being French again! Came back to the hostel and ate our sandwiches, showered (yuck, and we had to buy a towel), packed, and went to bed early.
Woke up around 8:30 and had a good breakfast at the hostel. The hot chocolate is served in bowls in France and I couldn’t help but think how Kandi would hate people slurping it up using both hands J The milk wasn’t exactly cold but it was better than the day before. Had tons of fresh bread with butter, like pretty much every day. I swear I eat a whole baguette every day. Lucky though since it’s so cheap – less than $1. Headed out to the islands, crossed Pont Neuf, and our first stop was Notre Dame. Bought some cool artwork then walked around the outside. It was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside! Tons of stained glass, candles lit, flying buttresses, and an amazing altar area up front. Walked by St. Chappelle on our way to the Metro and took it to the Eiffel Tower instead of walking like we planned because it was sooo cold. It’s much bigger up close than we thought from the day before and that morning (looks tiny from far away) and it was plenty high once we started going up. First though we took some great pictures on the green grass of the Jardin du Champ de Mars in front of the Ecole Militaire. An English lady who wanted me to take her picture asked me in French then was surprised when I understood English – yes! Paid €3.50 to climb to the second level but definitely could’ve only paid for the first and gotten all the way to the top in the elevator. Oh, well we’re honest, right? Also, we wanted to warm up a bit so it was way better. There’s enclosed rooms on both lookout levels and we stopped in both for a while. Weird thing – there were pigeons everywhere in Europe, even inside those rooms on the Eiffel Tower … sick. There were signs around the outside pointing out landmarks. On our way down I got a bit nervous and my fear of heights came out there and on the second level when we were taking pictures. Came down and crossed a pedestrian bridge on the Seine where a lady asked us if we dropped a ring, but we said no. Will and Kate (our roommates) said the same thing happened to them but when she gives it to them she says it was real gold and asks for money. There were also young girls all around the city asking if you speak English (I always said no in French) then they hold up a sign asking for money. Anyway, walked along the river up then up to the Arc de Triomphe! Saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then decided not to go up to the top because it was too expensive and cold and we’d seen almost the same thing from the Eiffel Tower. Walked down the Champs-Elysées and stopped in a few stores. There was an interesting mix of super high fashion and trashy souvenir shops. They were taking the lights down though; I thought they were up all year round? Got lunch in a little place which was not the best, club sandwich and Thai carrot soup both had weird flavors. Walked some more toward the gardens and it started to snow huge flakes but didn’t last long. Came to the Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuileries where there were a couple of cute little ponds then finally to the Louvre. Saw the pyramids and the fountains, such a pretty building. Walked back to the hostel but went about a ½ hour out of our way. Went to a grocery store and got stuff for dinner then finally to the room to warm up. One thing I’ve noticed is that French people have been super nice which is opposite of everything I’ve heard. Actually much more polite than in Spain! Decided to go to the Louvre since it was cheaper at night and on our way there together Will and Kate showed us a good place for crepes so we stopped and I had nutella and Taylor had dark chocolate, yum! Very rich though. Waited in the ticket line and this French lady came up and asked if we wanted two free tickets. I kept thinking she was trying to rip us off or something but she was persistent and lucky she was because she was genuinely giving them to us – I think whoever she was meeting couldn’t come. When we finally made it in and saw they were valid we ran ahead to thank her. We were pretty museum-ed out by that time and exhausted from such a busy day so I probably didn’t love the Louvre as much as I should have but I was thoroughly disappointed by the Mona Lisa. There were so many people around it and it was tiny and covered in glass. Why is it even so cool? There are many other works even by the same artist that are way better. Saw the Code of Hammurabi which was pretty cool. The museum was so huge and really pretty and we felt bad for speeding through (and skipping!) a lot of it. I got mistaken for being French again! Came back to the hostel and ate our sandwiches, showered (yuck, and we had to buy a towel), packed, and went to bed early.
2-2-09
Monday, February 2, 2009
We had our big hotel breakfast again but this time we were specifically warned by the rude person working it that we couldn’t take food out and she was hawking us the whole time. But don’t worry, we still managed to get 3 apples, 2 sandwiches and an orange anyway! Tried to call hostels in France but they wouldn’t go through and everyone that answered wouldn’t give us any information. Left for the Royal Palace and it was freezing cold and raining. The tour was awesome though, we had CIA headpieces on and our guide wore a mic so we could all hear perfectly. The inside was so cool – table feeds 145 people, there are 2800 unique rooms on 7 floors, and the throne room was the best of all. The king and queen don’t live there for security and personal reasons but they do go often. Picked up our bags from the hotel because the rest of the group was headed back to Granada so we stayed and watched tv in the lounge and that same worker kept coming back and glaring at us. Went to check into our hostel – so cute and really clean. 6 beds (but we were the only ones), bright walls, free internet, and our own bathroom. Napped for about 2 hours then had dinner at this adorable Italian place called Gino’s. The waiters were rude and kept laughing at us but the food was good so we didn’t really care. Walked around to try and find the San Isidro chapel which is supposed to be really cool but I was completely unimpressed; not even sure it was the right one it was that boring. Stopped by a Häagen Dazs place that looked like a museum on the way back and dropped €12.50 between the two of us! It was delicious and we didn’t even feel bad since we’d been saving so much money and eating so many sandwiches. Came back and showered but I was too cheap to rent a towel for €1.50 so I just drip dried. We’ve learned where to skimp and where to splurge that’s for sure! Read magazines then went to bed.
We had our big hotel breakfast again but this time we were specifically warned by the rude person working it that we couldn’t take food out and she was hawking us the whole time. But don’t worry, we still managed to get 3 apples, 2 sandwiches and an orange anyway! Tried to call hostels in France but they wouldn’t go through and everyone that answered wouldn’t give us any information. Left for the Royal Palace and it was freezing cold and raining. The tour was awesome though, we had CIA headpieces on and our guide wore a mic so we could all hear perfectly. The inside was so cool – table feeds 145 people, there are 2800 unique rooms on 7 floors, and the throne room was the best of all. The king and queen don’t live there for security and personal reasons but they do go often. Picked up our bags from the hotel because the rest of the group was headed back to Granada so we stayed and watched tv in the lounge and that same worker kept coming back and glaring at us. Went to check into our hostel – so cute and really clean. 6 beds (but we were the only ones), bright walls, free internet, and our own bathroom. Napped for about 2 hours then had dinner at this adorable Italian place called Gino’s. The waiters were rude and kept laughing at us but the food was good so we didn’t really care. Walked around to try and find the San Isidro chapel which is supposed to be really cool but I was completely unimpressed; not even sure it was the right one it was that boring. Stopped by a Häagen Dazs place that looked like a museum on the way back and dropped €12.50 between the two of us! It was delicious and we didn’t even feel bad since we’d been saving so much money and eating so many sandwiches. Came back and showered but I was too cheap to rent a towel for €1.50 so I just drip dried. We’ve learned where to skimp and where to splurge that’s for sure! Read magazines then went to bed.
2-1-09
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Had a huge, free breakfast at the hotel and filled up my bag with fruit, crackers, and sandwiches for later that day. Got €10 for each meal from Veronica, obviously pocketed it! El Escorial trip was cancelled because of SNOW so the road was closed. Ugh, pretty bummed because I really wanted to go there or on other day trips from Madrid. Instead, a group of us took the Metro to a science museum. My first ever trip on the Metro was successful J The museum was small and some exhibits were closed but it was pretty cool and free! HUGE flakes, accumulated a bit and the ground was so sloppy. Came back to our sauna of a room and ate lunch while we watched Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer (Madrid vs Barcelona, Julia says) for the championship of the Australian Open. Relaxed for a while then did some shopping with Taylor and Brittney who I’m staying with at the hotel. Went to a theatre performance with the group, “La Duquesa al Hoyo y la Viuda al Bollo.” It was a comedy that critiqued the government and even made fun of Americans. One of the characters had a see through lace shirt with nothing on and a girl with pretty much just underwear which was, umm interesting. Weird plot but entertaining. Went for churros with a group then went hostel hunting for the next night with Taylor. Super tired!
Had a huge, free breakfast at the hotel and filled up my bag with fruit, crackers, and sandwiches for later that day. Got €10 for each meal from Veronica, obviously pocketed it! El Escorial trip was cancelled because of SNOW so the road was closed. Ugh, pretty bummed because I really wanted to go there or on other day trips from Madrid. Instead, a group of us took the Metro to a science museum. My first ever trip on the Metro was successful J The museum was small and some exhibits were closed but it was pretty cool and free! HUGE flakes, accumulated a bit and the ground was so sloppy. Came back to our sauna of a room and ate lunch while we watched Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer (Madrid vs Barcelona, Julia says) for the championship of the Australian Open. Relaxed for a while then did some shopping with Taylor and Brittney who I’m staying with at the hotel. Went to a theatre performance with the group, “La Duquesa al Hoyo y la Viuda al Bollo.” It was a comedy that critiqued the government and even made fun of Americans. One of the characters had a see through lace shirt with nothing on and a girl with pretty much just underwear which was, umm interesting. Weird plot but entertaining. Went for churros with a group then went hostel hunting for the next night with Taylor. Super tired!
1-30-09
Friday, January 30, 2009
Woke up at 11:00, had breakfast. Went to the internet café to book our trip but the one flight we already had apparently didn’t go through so we scratched Greece. Had a huge lunch, went to school where we had our level test. I tested right where I wanted to be (3A: Lengua y Cultura) Booked some more stuff for the trip, we’re going to Nice and Paris!! I can’t wait J Came home, dinner, packed, bed!
Woke up at 11:00, had breakfast. Went to the internet café to book our trip but the one flight we already had apparently didn’t go through so we scratched Greece. Had a huge lunch, went to school where we had our level test. I tested right where I wanted to be (3A: Lengua y Cultura) Booked some more stuff for the trip, we’re going to Nice and Paris!! I can’t wait J Came home, dinner, packed, bed!
1-31-09
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Got money out, met at the bus stop for Madrid! Nice bus, slept a little bit. Nice hotel, right in the center of the city – Puerta del Sol. Really busy square with painted people, tons of people around. Sunny day, warm(ish). Went to the Prado Museum which was really big and quite frankly, most of the art looked the same. Kind of overwhelming, and we didn’t come close to seeing everything, exhausting. Favorite paintings were one huge one of Jesus on the cross by a really famous painter that I can’t remember his name, and Crossing the River Styx or something like that. Tips for being a famous painter: make big artwork, create a new “movement” or style, paint royalty or Jesus (or the Virgin Mary), or criticize the government or war. After the museum we wandered to the Parque del Buen Retiro which is a huge park with paths, trees, fountains, a lake with an amphitheatre, but hardly any grass. We took lots of pictures and almost froze to death! Listened to a bunch of random people playing bongos/drums along a bench. Afterwards we went to the Reina Sofia museum which has more modern art and even better, we got in free J Much smaller and didn’t even go to one of the floors, just focused on Picasso and Dalí stuff which there was a ton of. Guernica was huge, two guards and sensors that wouldn’t let you get within several feet of it. Whole rooms of sketches and pictures of its creation. Dalí had lost of weird stuff – extreme surrealism, but no melting clocks. Went to a place on the way back and had a huge greasy pepperoni pizza with a coke that really hit the spot. Wandered w/ Taylor through Plaza Nueva, awesome – big courtyard with cafes and horse thing. Found Zara, went to a little souvenir shop and bought a little something ;) Went for churros – super expensive and nothing like the ones in Granada. Hung out with some people in the fancy lounge at the hotel and wrote some emails with my iPod. Took a shower with no door and obviously the water went everywhere – what were people thinking?
Got money out, met at the bus stop for Madrid! Nice bus, slept a little bit. Nice hotel, right in the center of the city – Puerta del Sol. Really busy square with painted people, tons of people around. Sunny day, warm(ish). Went to the Prado Museum which was really big and quite frankly, most of the art looked the same. Kind of overwhelming, and we didn’t come close to seeing everything, exhausting. Favorite paintings were one huge one of Jesus on the cross by a really famous painter that I can’t remember his name, and Crossing the River Styx or something like that. Tips for being a famous painter: make big artwork, create a new “movement” or style, paint royalty or Jesus (or the Virgin Mary), or criticize the government or war. After the museum we wandered to the Parque del Buen Retiro which is a huge park with paths, trees, fountains, a lake with an amphitheatre, but hardly any grass. We took lots of pictures and almost froze to death! Listened to a bunch of random people playing bongos/drums along a bench. Afterwards we went to the Reina Sofia museum which has more modern art and even better, we got in free J Much smaller and didn’t even go to one of the floors, just focused on Picasso and Dalí stuff which there was a ton of. Guernica was huge, two guards and sensors that wouldn’t let you get within several feet of it. Whole rooms of sketches and pictures of its creation. Dalí had lost of weird stuff – extreme surrealism, but no melting clocks. Went to a place on the way back and had a huge greasy pepperoni pizza with a coke that really hit the spot. Wandered w/ Taylor through Plaza Nueva, awesome – big courtyard with cafes and horse thing. Found Zara, went to a little souvenir shop and bought a little something ;) Went for churros – super expensive and nothing like the ones in Granada. Hung out with some people in the fancy lounge at the hotel and wrote some emails with my iPod. Took a shower with no door and obviously the water went everywhere – what were people thinking?
1-29-09
Thursday, January 29, 2009
We didn’t have anything until 12:30 today so we got to sleep in a little bit again – I love this schedule! Went shopping for flat boots for Taylor but we still couldn’t find the perfect ones. It was such a beautiful day – sunny, warm, and no clouds! It felt like Spring J I hear it’s supposed to be even nicer tomorrow then back to rainy and cold. Headed to the meeting and gave our PowerPoint presentations. They were really informal but I think ours was ok. Headed back for a delicious lunch, but first I checked my mail and I had a package of Valentine’s candy from Mom – yay!! I’m trying to stash it and make it last as long as I can but I doubt that will last long… Back to school for our last orientation classes. In the culture/vocab class with Susana we talked about ham for at least twenty minutes and I was about to vomit. I hate ham but even worse I hate thinking about how it’s made, stored, processed, served, all the different types, etc. Sick. After we were done she looked at me and asked if I was feeling ok! Then we had a meeting with Verónica about our trip to Madrid which is in two days and we finally got some details about when we’re leaving, what we’re doing, and where we’re staying. I think it’s going to be a really fun trip and I can’t wait to see Madrid! After scarfing down my sandwich during our 5 minute break, we started our session with Aurelio about Flamenco. We learned all about the history and saw some video clips which were interesting but I think everyone just wanted to get out of there. Came back and Julia was out for tapas with her friend J She’s hardly every leaves the house so we were excited for her. So we left soon after with Mitch to meet up with Cassandra, Christine, and Whitney. We went to a cute little tapas place then Hannigan’s. It was so Americanized, it was really bizarre - everyone was speaking English. The best part was that it was karaoke night and the songs they played were sooooo old school. (I’m blue dah ba dee dah ba dyyyye, Discovery Channel song, 80’s Madonna, Sheryl Crow, etc.) It was a fun night!
We didn’t have anything until 12:30 today so we got to sleep in a little bit again – I love this schedule! Went shopping for flat boots for Taylor but we still couldn’t find the perfect ones. It was such a beautiful day – sunny, warm, and no clouds! It felt like Spring J I hear it’s supposed to be even nicer tomorrow then back to rainy and cold. Headed to the meeting and gave our PowerPoint presentations. They were really informal but I think ours was ok. Headed back for a delicious lunch, but first I checked my mail and I had a package of Valentine’s candy from Mom – yay!! I’m trying to stash it and make it last as long as I can but I doubt that will last long… Back to school for our last orientation classes. In the culture/vocab class with Susana we talked about ham for at least twenty minutes and I was about to vomit. I hate ham but even worse I hate thinking about how it’s made, stored, processed, served, all the different types, etc. Sick. After we were done she looked at me and asked if I was feeling ok! Then we had a meeting with Verónica about our trip to Madrid which is in two days and we finally got some details about when we’re leaving, what we’re doing, and where we’re staying. I think it’s going to be a really fun trip and I can’t wait to see Madrid! After scarfing down my sandwich during our 5 minute break, we started our session with Aurelio about Flamenco. We learned all about the history and saw some video clips which were interesting but I think everyone just wanted to get out of there. Came back and Julia was out for tapas with her friend J She’s hardly every leaves the house so we were excited for her. So we left soon after with Mitch to meet up with Cassandra, Christine, and Whitney. We went to a cute little tapas place then Hannigan’s. It was so Americanized, it was really bizarre - everyone was speaking English. The best part was that it was karaoke night and the songs they played were sooooo old school. (I’m blue dah ba dee dah ba dyyyye, Discovery Channel song, 80’s Madonna, Sheryl Crow, etc.) It was a fun night!
1-28-09
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Woke up around 9:30, breakfast as usual. Put on my new shirt, bandaged up my feet and put on my tennis shoes – much better! Got to the CLM pretty early and Taylor and I spent some time in the computer lab. I sent a couple emails and we looked up flight stuff for our trip. Didn’t finalize anything but checked almost every flight website under the sun. I think we’ll definitely end up with the cheapest flight possible! I took a few minutes to call Iberia before class with José and the lady was so much nicer than yesterday. She gave me clear information and answered all of my questions. I was still bummed though because 10 days from today they would more or less quit looking for it. So I walked upstairs and Verónica stopped her conversation with José to look at me and say, “tu maleta está en mi oficina” – WOW! No way … how could my bag be in her office? I just called and they told me it hadn’t been found yet. I tried not to get my hopes up but I couldn’t help it J I definitely wouldn’t believe it for sure until I saw it. Our class was to prepare us a little bit for our trip to Madrid; he focused on the Prado museum and three specific artists that we’ll see. It would’ve been pretty boring if this was any other class but to see the slideshow of pictures is so much better when I know I’m going to see them in person this weekend! After class I rushed down to take a peek at my bag and it was true!! I have no idea where it was found because the tag said “RUSH Madrid-Granada Jan 18” which was the Sunday we began orientation. AKA the bag must have been at the Granada airport somewhere but I went and it was nowhere in sight? As Julia says, “Stupid people who work for that airline…” (roughly translated of course) Verónica told us that Taylor and I were very lucky because last semester one girl never got her suitcase. Whew! I’m glad she didn’t tell me that until I had mine because I was already imagining the worst and that would not have helped. After digging through to make sure everything was there, we ate our egg and cream cheese bocadillos right outside of Verónica’s office with my bag at my feet. It’s definitely not my favorite meal but it was big, filling, and I scarfed it down anyway. Then Brittney and I met to make our PowerPoint for our group presentation tomorrow about the Casa de Porras. It didn’t take long but we’re going to finish it up tomorrow before the meeting. Class was ok as usual, with Rosana we did some writing practice for the level test; with Susana we played a game in small groups to work on speaking then did some listening comprehension with a popular Spanish song. In between I ate my M&M’s that Mandy and Laura gave me for Christmas to celebrate the arrival of my long lost bag. They were delicious and I scarfed them as well. Walked home with my 50 lb suitcase (I would like to meet the person who though it was a good idea to put wheels on suitcases, they deserve a big thank-you) and Julia was so happy when I walked in with my suitcase. Her first words were, “What did I tell you! What did I tell you!” She loves to brag and she does think she knows everything but I will definitely give her credit where it’s deserved, she called it. I definitely did not expect my bag to be in Verónica’s office today but Julia knew it would come today. She had a friend over but I didn’t hang around to talk to her long, I wanted to unpack! We had a late dinner (delicious though, veggie soup and empanadas) then headed to the internet café. I got to Skype with Mom and Rob which was so good! Technology is so wonderful. I tried to convince mom (and dad) to extend their Spring Break trip and maybe come to Granada but I’m not sure how that will fly, and I also tried to convince Rob to come visit on his break before the doctorate program starts. There are a few small problems with both and I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but how awesome would that be?! Taylor and I looked at more flights and hostels and finally booked our flight from Paris to Athens!!! We still have a lot to plan and book but it’s a definite start. The guy who works at the internet place is so sweet but I’m fairly sure he hates us: I’ve used the bathroom there twice (which I doubt is public) and can’t figure out how to flush the toilet, we’re pretty sure they were supposed to close at 11:00 tonight but we didn’t leave until 11:20, and every computer I use is broken or I somehow mess up. I feel so bad but it is pretty expensive (€1 per hour) so we give him pretty good business. Came back, put on my long socks and a fresh shirt, put my green blanket on my bed and am ready to call it a night. Today was definitely better than yesterday! Hopefully this pattern continues ..
Woke up around 9:30, breakfast as usual. Put on my new shirt, bandaged up my feet and put on my tennis shoes – much better! Got to the CLM pretty early and Taylor and I spent some time in the computer lab. I sent a couple emails and we looked up flight stuff for our trip. Didn’t finalize anything but checked almost every flight website under the sun. I think we’ll definitely end up with the cheapest flight possible! I took a few minutes to call Iberia before class with José and the lady was so much nicer than yesterday. She gave me clear information and answered all of my questions. I was still bummed though because 10 days from today they would more or less quit looking for it. So I walked upstairs and Verónica stopped her conversation with José to look at me and say, “tu maleta está en mi oficina” – WOW! No way … how could my bag be in her office? I just called and they told me it hadn’t been found yet. I tried not to get my hopes up but I couldn’t help it J I definitely wouldn’t believe it for sure until I saw it. Our class was to prepare us a little bit for our trip to Madrid; he focused on the Prado museum and three specific artists that we’ll see. It would’ve been pretty boring if this was any other class but to see the slideshow of pictures is so much better when I know I’m going to see them in person this weekend! After class I rushed down to take a peek at my bag and it was true!! I have no idea where it was found because the tag said “RUSH Madrid-Granada Jan 18” which was the Sunday we began orientation. AKA the bag must have been at the Granada airport somewhere but I went and it was nowhere in sight? As Julia says, “Stupid people who work for that airline…” (roughly translated of course) Verónica told us that Taylor and I were very lucky because last semester one girl never got her suitcase. Whew! I’m glad she didn’t tell me that until I had mine because I was already imagining the worst and that would not have helped. After digging through to make sure everything was there, we ate our egg and cream cheese bocadillos right outside of Verónica’s office with my bag at my feet. It’s definitely not my favorite meal but it was big, filling, and I scarfed it down anyway. Then Brittney and I met to make our PowerPoint for our group presentation tomorrow about the Casa de Porras. It didn’t take long but we’re going to finish it up tomorrow before the meeting. Class was ok as usual, with Rosana we did some writing practice for the level test; with Susana we played a game in small groups to work on speaking then did some listening comprehension with a popular Spanish song. In between I ate my M&M’s that Mandy and Laura gave me for Christmas to celebrate the arrival of my long lost bag. They were delicious and I scarfed them as well. Walked home with my 50 lb suitcase (I would like to meet the person who though it was a good idea to put wheels on suitcases, they deserve a big thank-you) and Julia was so happy when I walked in with my suitcase. Her first words were, “What did I tell you! What did I tell you!” She loves to brag and she does think she knows everything but I will definitely give her credit where it’s deserved, she called it. I definitely did not expect my bag to be in Verónica’s office today but Julia knew it would come today. She had a friend over but I didn’t hang around to talk to her long, I wanted to unpack! We had a late dinner (delicious though, veggie soup and empanadas) then headed to the internet café. I got to Skype with Mom and Rob which was so good! Technology is so wonderful. I tried to convince mom (and dad) to extend their Spring Break trip and maybe come to Granada but I’m not sure how that will fly, and I also tried to convince Rob to come visit on his break before the doctorate program starts. There are a few small problems with both and I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but how awesome would that be?! Taylor and I looked at more flights and hostels and finally booked our flight from Paris to Athens!!! We still have a lot to plan and book but it’s a definite start. The guy who works at the internet place is so sweet but I’m fairly sure he hates us: I’ve used the bathroom there twice (which I doubt is public) and can’t figure out how to flush the toilet, we’re pretty sure they were supposed to close at 11:00 tonight but we didn’t leave until 11:20, and every computer I use is broken or I somehow mess up. I feel so bad but it is pretty expensive (€1 per hour) so we give him pretty good business. Came back, put on my long socks and a fresh shirt, put my green blanket on my bed and am ready to call it a night. Today was definitely better than yesterday! Hopefully this pattern continues ..
1-27-09
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
So today was a tough day. I’m probably being a baby but it’s true. Woke up, had breakfast, then rushed to get ready – put on my new sweater, jeans and red shoes. I didn’t want to wear my tennis shoes so my socks could be washed with the dark load today and I didn’t want to wear my black heels because of the cobblestone streets. Big mistake. After the walk to class my feet were ripped apart and I could feel blisters on almost all parts of my feet. Then we had to walk to the two other buildings where classes are held – ouch. I’ve noticed that I’m really cautious about people here, especially when I walk by myself I think that everyone’s out to get me. I’ve probably been reading too much about pickpocketers but I grip my backpack or swing it side to side so nobody can steal anything. One time walking down the sidewalk I caught this weirdo guy creeping around Taylor’s backpack and since then I’ve been even worse. Anyway, I’m jumpy as it is but as we were walking this high school kid flinched at me and I almost pulled a José. After a meeting in CCA 2 I came back and talked to Verónica. She is going to sign me up for class in Lengua and Cultura which is great. Then, her assistant said Iberia had called and gave me a new file number so Verónica called them to check on it. Then, she connected me to talk to a lady in English about reimbursement. Basically it’s still completely lost and she gave me opposite information money-wise from what I was told yesterday. I was getting pretty impatient and she kept contradicting herself so finally she more or less hung up on me. I was not happy at all and I’ll definitely have something to say to whichever Iberia representative gets to talk to me tomorrow! I checked my email a little bit, ate my bocadillio then got online with Taylor to look up information for our trip. The ryanair website was down which is what we were hopefully going to book our flights through so that was definitely disappointing. We found some good prices but everything back from Athens is crazy expensive. Also, I was kinda grouchy because she got an email from her mom right as she sat down that said her bag had been delivered so she ran downstairs and it was there! I’m so happy for her but at the same time it’s frustrating that I still don’t have mine and it seems like they’re not even trying to look for it. So then we headed to class where things didn’t get any better - we were learning a tense I have never really studied and just couldn’t get the hang of it. The next class wasn’t great either but at least we didn’t have to study much, we just talked in small groups. I really like the professors but they can rub me the wrong way sometimes. I’m not saying I’m completely conservative nor unwilling to see the other side but almost everyone I’ve met is extremely liberal, including my señora, Verónica, my professors, and even Taylor. (We talked about religion and politics our first night here - no big deal though) Anyway, I’m just not interested in politics and I’m pretty tired of hearing everyone’s opinions. Tonight we watched An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary about Al Gore and global warming. It’s probably best that I keep my comments inside for now. So after the movie we went down to get Taylor’s bag and thankfully she had a pair of flip flops for me to walk home in because I was ready to walk the whole way barefoot. When I took off my shoes my feet had dried blood all over and they were shredded. I only slipped 2304985 times on the way home (like usual) because the streets are so slick! I didn’t fall though, just a couple of close calls for this baby deer. Julia was so excited to see that Taylor had her bag and very concerned about my cold, bloody feet. She thinks she knows best but sometimes she’s way off. For example, she thinks the reason Taylor got her bag was because Julia told her to call Málaga but really it was because her mom had been calling daily for quite a while. Also, she doesn’t let us use the outlets behind our beds because she says it will heat up the wooden headboards and start a fire. How about the lace curtain that’s inches away from the radiator that’s always hot? There are more examples… I really am glad that I’m here though; this is very insignificant compared to a lot of things that students put up with in host family situations. She did wash a dark load of laundry today and put underwear and socks on the radiators to dry so I had something clean to put on after my shower. Enough complaining, even I’m annoyed at listening to it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better; Julia says she just knows my suitcase will come tomorrow. I’m not holding my breath…
So today was a tough day. I’m probably being a baby but it’s true. Woke up, had breakfast, then rushed to get ready – put on my new sweater, jeans and red shoes. I didn’t want to wear my tennis shoes so my socks could be washed with the dark load today and I didn’t want to wear my black heels because of the cobblestone streets. Big mistake. After the walk to class my feet were ripped apart and I could feel blisters on almost all parts of my feet. Then we had to walk to the two other buildings where classes are held – ouch. I’ve noticed that I’m really cautious about people here, especially when I walk by myself I think that everyone’s out to get me. I’ve probably been reading too much about pickpocketers but I grip my backpack or swing it side to side so nobody can steal anything. One time walking down the sidewalk I caught this weirdo guy creeping around Taylor’s backpack and since then I’ve been even worse. Anyway, I’m jumpy as it is but as we were walking this high school kid flinched at me and I almost pulled a José. After a meeting in CCA 2 I came back and talked to Verónica. She is going to sign me up for class in Lengua and Cultura which is great. Then, her assistant said Iberia had called and gave me a new file number so Verónica called them to check on it. Then, she connected me to talk to a lady in English about reimbursement. Basically it’s still completely lost and she gave me opposite information money-wise from what I was told yesterday. I was getting pretty impatient and she kept contradicting herself so finally she more or less hung up on me. I was not happy at all and I’ll definitely have something to say to whichever Iberia representative gets to talk to me tomorrow! I checked my email a little bit, ate my bocadillio then got online with Taylor to look up information for our trip. The ryanair website was down which is what we were hopefully going to book our flights through so that was definitely disappointing. We found some good prices but everything back from Athens is crazy expensive. Also, I was kinda grouchy because she got an email from her mom right as she sat down that said her bag had been delivered so she ran downstairs and it was there! I’m so happy for her but at the same time it’s frustrating that I still don’t have mine and it seems like they’re not even trying to look for it. So then we headed to class where things didn’t get any better - we were learning a tense I have never really studied and just couldn’t get the hang of it. The next class wasn’t great either but at least we didn’t have to study much, we just talked in small groups. I really like the professors but they can rub me the wrong way sometimes. I’m not saying I’m completely conservative nor unwilling to see the other side but almost everyone I’ve met is extremely liberal, including my señora, Verónica, my professors, and even Taylor. (We talked about religion and politics our first night here - no big deal though) Anyway, I’m just not interested in politics and I’m pretty tired of hearing everyone’s opinions. Tonight we watched An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary about Al Gore and global warming. It’s probably best that I keep my comments inside for now. So after the movie we went down to get Taylor’s bag and thankfully she had a pair of flip flops for me to walk home in because I was ready to walk the whole way barefoot. When I took off my shoes my feet had dried blood all over and they were shredded. I only slipped 2304985 times on the way home (like usual) because the streets are so slick! I didn’t fall though, just a couple of close calls for this baby deer. Julia was so excited to see that Taylor had her bag and very concerned about my cold, bloody feet. She thinks she knows best but sometimes she’s way off. For example, she thinks the reason Taylor got her bag was because Julia told her to call Málaga but really it was because her mom had been calling daily for quite a while. Also, she doesn’t let us use the outlets behind our beds because she says it will heat up the wooden headboards and start a fire. How about the lace curtain that’s inches away from the radiator that’s always hot? There are more examples… I really am glad that I’m here though; this is very insignificant compared to a lot of things that students put up with in host family situations. She did wash a dark load of laundry today and put underwear and socks on the radiators to dry so I had something clean to put on after my shower. Enough complaining, even I’m annoyed at listening to it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better; Julia says she just knows my suitcase will come tomorrow. I’m not holding my breath…
1-26-09
Monday, January 26, 2009
After being in bed for almost 12 hours, I finally got out and got ready. When we woke up it was snowing outside. Rosana told our class today that it was the craziest/worst winter they’ve had since 1971. We were planning on going to Barcelona next week but plans have changed since the weather in the north of Spain is what I would describe as ridiculous. They’ve never had a cyclone (I’ve heard it also referred to as a hurricane and a tornado so we’re not really sure what’s going on) in Spain and this has resulted in forest fires, 5 deaths, and constant pictures and coverage on the news. We had breakfast then did a little shopping. We put money on our phones, got more calling cards, Taylor got some socks (I didn’t find any yet, and my feet stink) then we did some damage at Zara. I got four shirts and she got a bunch of stuff. I can’t wait to wear it tomorrow! I’ve already worn my black sweater two days in a row… Came back for lunch, then called airport and they couldn’t tell me anything. Again. Went to class which was fine, I was a little down about the whole luggage thing but whatever. Afterward my group got together and we ventured out to find Casa de Porras for a project. We went through some pretty shady streets but somehow stumbled upon it. We got our information then headed home. I stopped by Corte Inglés and bought a pair of jeans. They’re not my absolute favorite but they fit, they were reasonably priced, and I am in desperate need. Had dinner, did some homework, then I was missing Rob a lot so I just had to call him. We talked for a little bit but I couldn’t use too much time but it was great to catch up quick and hear his voice. It was right before bed here but I forgot about the time difference and said, “good night!” but it’s just after lunch for him there.. Hombre, this is hard to get used to. Tomorrow is going to be a long day … In class we learned a way to say that you’re exhausted and when I tried to use it in context tonight I accidently said, “hecha pavo” (I’m made of turkey) instead of “hecha polvo” (I’ve turned to dust). Guess I am tired!
After being in bed for almost 12 hours, I finally got out and got ready. When we woke up it was snowing outside. Rosana told our class today that it was the craziest/worst winter they’ve had since 1971. We were planning on going to Barcelona next week but plans have changed since the weather in the north of Spain is what I would describe as ridiculous. They’ve never had a cyclone (I’ve heard it also referred to as a hurricane and a tornado so we’re not really sure what’s going on) in Spain and this has resulted in forest fires, 5 deaths, and constant pictures and coverage on the news. We had breakfast then did a little shopping. We put money on our phones, got more calling cards, Taylor got some socks (I didn’t find any yet, and my feet stink) then we did some damage at Zara. I got four shirts and she got a bunch of stuff. I can’t wait to wear it tomorrow! I’ve already worn my black sweater two days in a row… Came back for lunch, then called airport and they couldn’t tell me anything. Again. Went to class which was fine, I was a little down about the whole luggage thing but whatever. Afterward my group got together and we ventured out to find Casa de Porras for a project. We went through some pretty shady streets but somehow stumbled upon it. We got our information then headed home. I stopped by Corte Inglés and bought a pair of jeans. They’re not my absolute favorite but they fit, they were reasonably priced, and I am in desperate need. Had dinner, did some homework, then I was missing Rob a lot so I just had to call him. We talked for a little bit but I couldn’t use too much time but it was great to catch up quick and hear his voice. It was right before bed here but I forgot about the time difference and said, “good night!” but it’s just after lunch for him there.. Hombre, this is hard to get used to. Tomorrow is going to be a long day … In class we learned a way to say that you’re exhausted and when I tried to use it in context tonight I accidently said, “hecha pavo” (I’m made of turkey) instead of “hecha polvo” (I’ve turned to dust). Guess I am tired!
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