I am home!! What a trip! I definitely hope to return to Spain someday to see more of the beautiful country! Spain has more history in a square kilometer than the U.S. has in 100. It's absolutely amazing to see such a rich culture that has survived and adapted over hundreds, maybe even thousands of years.
For any prospective traveling student reading this, you must know that an experience in Spain (or wherever you decide to go) will be one that you will never forget. You will learn more about yourself and discover why you really do the things you do and why you like the things you like. It's an interesting process but one that has been and is great fun!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Day 22
Thanks for the eurovision comment...Azerbijan´s song was also by far the most strange! I didn´t even know there was a country called Azerbijan! Apparently it is one of the thousands that used to belong to the Soviet Union. The voting was so political. All of the countries that used to be part of of the USSR and Russia voted for each other, Spain and Portugal voted for each other and no one voted for the U.K. I think Greece was better than Russia.
AND...I found a place to buy some small, like 2 oz small, bottles of olive oil. Apparently because it is oil you can´t ship it because it´s flammable and the big bottles are pretty heavy. I´m going to get some either today or tomorrow.
Today we just finished our last class and are leaving in a bit to go to the beer brewery. It´s only supposed to last for an hour so hopefully this afternoon I can go to the park and finish my essay or something fun like that. Tonight will be a night of packing.
Sorry there´s not much to say today. We went to the old medieval castle on the mountain overlooking Jaén yesterday. There is an absolutely beautiful view of all of the city from there! It was incredible windy too! The past two days have been pretty cool...around 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit I guess. It´s around 15 or 18C. They say that there hasn´t been weather this cool or rainy in 30 years this time of year. So I guess we brought the weird weather from Alabama with us. Well, I´m going to go meet the group to catch the bus for our short trip. I will be home Friday night!! I´m so excited!!
AND...I found a place to buy some small, like 2 oz small, bottles of olive oil. Apparently because it is oil you can´t ship it because it´s flammable and the big bottles are pretty heavy. I´m going to get some either today or tomorrow.
Today we just finished our last class and are leaving in a bit to go to the beer brewery. It´s only supposed to last for an hour so hopefully this afternoon I can go to the park and finish my essay or something fun like that. Tonight will be a night of packing.
Sorry there´s not much to say today. We went to the old medieval castle on the mountain overlooking Jaén yesterday. There is an absolutely beautiful view of all of the city from there! It was incredible windy too! The past two days have been pretty cool...around 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit I guess. It´s around 15 or 18C. They say that there hasn´t been weather this cool or rainy in 30 years this time of year. So I guess we brought the weird weather from Alabama with us. Well, I´m going to go meet the group to catch the bus for our short trip. I will be home Friday night!! I´m so excited!!
P.S.
Day 20
It´s 10pm as I sit here in my family´s piso (flat) listening to some music coming in through the open window that sounds similar to a 1940s tv sitcom or 1940s marching band. That´s the only way I know to describe it.
I gave my presentation today on terrorism in Spain and I think it went well. After class and lunch, my friend and I went to the park and it was so much fun! Parks are fun in whatever country! Give me some grass, a fountain, a friend and a camera and I´m set!
We then met another friend and after two bus rides later and some confusion we ended up at the cathedral and went shopping. I needed another carry on bag since I am now checking my backpack too due to extra stuff I am bringing home so I bought a super cute bag for only 20 euros! Yes, I know that´s like $35 but it´s cute and it has a crochet flower pin on it!! It´s also really big so functions very well as a carry on bag. :)
I have discovered that you can pick out the Americans here by the type of shoes they wear. Everyone here wears closed toed shoes, even heels and I wear my sandals and flip flops...well, my flip flops broke, but others in my group do. My friend went to the preschool were her host family sister here works and the teacher told all of the students to look at her toes because she wears shoes that show her toes so all of the little children looked at her toes...haha!
I´m going to bed soon, if I don´t stay up and read much more. Goodnight to all! ¡Buenas noches a todos!
¡Sólo faltan 4 días!
I gave my presentation today on terrorism in Spain and I think it went well. After class and lunch, my friend and I went to the park and it was so much fun! Parks are fun in whatever country! Give me some grass, a fountain, a friend and a camera and I´m set!
We then met another friend and after two bus rides later and some confusion we ended up at the cathedral and went shopping. I needed another carry on bag since I am now checking my backpack too due to extra stuff I am bringing home so I bought a super cute bag for only 20 euros! Yes, I know that´s like $35 but it´s cute and it has a crochet flower pin on it!! It´s also really big so functions very well as a carry on bag. :)
I have discovered that you can pick out the Americans here by the type of shoes they wear. Everyone here wears closed toed shoes, even heels and I wear my sandals and flip flops...well, my flip flops broke, but others in my group do. My friend went to the preschool were her host family sister here works and the teacher told all of the students to look at her toes because she wears shoes that show her toes so all of the little children looked at her toes...haha!
I´m going to bed soon, if I don´t stay up and read much more. Goodnight to all! ¡Buenas noches a todos!
¡Sólo faltan 4 días!
Day 19
First thing...one word...EUROVISION. Go YouTube it now and then come back and finish reading this blog... go check it out!! Really...go!
It aired here last night. It´s a competition where countries in Europe and surrounding area can elect an amateur performer and song from their country then send them to compete against other countries. Last night was the final competition and let me just tell you it was very cool! Each country´s song was so different! One were dressed all as pirates and Russia, who won, had a singer, violin player and ice skater! The songs were everything from silly to rock n roll to cultural to pop. You must check it out...it´s very awesome!
Yesterday and today I haven´t done anything too exciting to blog about...just random studying, reading and journaling. I finished my book that I brought, "Through Gates of Splendor," but I think I already blogged about that...if not, what an excellent book!!!!! Charli let me borrow one of hers so today I began the sequel to "The Kite Runner," "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I haven´t read the first but she said it didn´t matter. Let me just say that I began this afternoon and have read about 70 pages and it´s a very very good book. It´s about a girl in Afghanistan who was the result of a sad affair between a maid and a successful businessman. I won´t tell you the whole story in case you want to read it.
We had paella for lunch and it was quite tasty!! I asked my mom here how to make it and she was just like "put in whatever you want with rice." For the OCD, organized, efficient me...that´s not a recipe. :) So they told me to look it up online...haha. O how the culture is different here! There is no pressure, no rush nor future planning for anything. I know for some this would be a wonderful place, but I embrace my planner, watch and organization. This weekend I am really missing American culture.
Well, it´s 10pm here and even tho now we are supposed to eat dinner around this time, I couldn´t wait much longer and ate my bocadillo around 8:45. A bocadillo is just a sandwich and mine was chorizo and cheese...pretty good.
I´m very very very excited to be coming home this week! The only thing I´m concerned about is once again packing everything in bags under 50 lbs. I have no way to check the weight here either before the airport so let´s hope it all works!
De Jaén, España, ¡buenas noches todos!
It aired here last night. It´s a competition where countries in Europe and surrounding area can elect an amateur performer and song from their country then send them to compete against other countries. Last night was the final competition and let me just tell you it was very cool! Each country´s song was so different! One were dressed all as pirates and Russia, who won, had a singer, violin player and ice skater! The songs were everything from silly to rock n roll to cultural to pop. You must check it out...it´s very awesome!
Yesterday and today I haven´t done anything too exciting to blog about...just random studying, reading and journaling. I finished my book that I brought, "Through Gates of Splendor," but I think I already blogged about that...if not, what an excellent book!!!!! Charli let me borrow one of hers so today I began the sequel to "The Kite Runner," "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I haven´t read the first but she said it didn´t matter. Let me just say that I began this afternoon and have read about 70 pages and it´s a very very good book. It´s about a girl in Afghanistan who was the result of a sad affair between a maid and a successful businessman. I won´t tell you the whole story in case you want to read it.
We had paella for lunch and it was quite tasty!! I asked my mom here how to make it and she was just like "put in whatever you want with rice." For the OCD, organized, efficient me...that´s not a recipe. :) So they told me to look it up online...haha. O how the culture is different here! There is no pressure, no rush nor future planning for anything. I know for some this would be a wonderful place, but I embrace my planner, watch and organization. This weekend I am really missing American culture.
Well, it´s 10pm here and even tho now we are supposed to eat dinner around this time, I couldn´t wait much longer and ate my bocadillo around 8:45. A bocadillo is just a sandwich and mine was chorizo and cheese...pretty good.
I´m very very very excited to be coming home this week! The only thing I´m concerned about is once again packing everything in bags under 50 lbs. I have no way to check the weight here either before the airport so let´s hope it all works!
De Jaén, España, ¡buenas noches todos!
Day 17
A relaxing day. No class today because on this trip we don´t have class on Fridays. I went to the library at the university this morning to work on my presentation and research paper. I got a lot done there. I then came home to lunch, a dish of green beans, scramled eggs and ham all mixed together. It was good. And...gazpacho. A cold, tomato pulp soup that I do not like. It takes place of the drink at the meal so needless to say, I took a few sips and that was all I could manage so I went without a beverage until I could go to my room afterwards to drink some bottled water. O you can always depend on water...well, here you can...in Africa I won´t be able to. The meal was also accompanied, as always, by bread and fruit.
Ana and I went shopping a bit this afternoon and I bought a very cute dress that I am super excited about! When I got home, my friend had called to invite me to go out with her and her fam tonight so I quickly left to go meet them. Ok, so get the picture. It´s 9:45ish and has just gotten dark. I am walking about 15-20 minutes according to my family), only 10 minutes if you walk my style, to meet them at the train station where I have been once, in the daylight. It is not dangerous here at night, especially since it´s so early. 9:45 would be like 5:45 in the states. Families are still walking around with their toddlers so I felt safe. I am quite proud that I found my way, without asking for directions or depending on a cell phone. We then went to a bar and had tapas which I like very much. I know I´ve already explained tapas, but when I first arrived they were eating olives and snails so I passed on that round. Then came fries, fried calamari, fried shrimp, a fried something with sausage and cheese inside, and sandwiches of ham, bacon and cheese. This was more my style...no snails for me please. My friend and I sat with 3 couples while their kids, ages 5-8, played up and down the street outside. I was surprised and how the kids can just run and play wherever. I
NOTE:if you think going to a club and coming in at 4 or 5 inthe morning is late, people here go to the discoteca and come in at 7 or 8 in the morning. Coming in at 4 or 5 is considered way early.
NOTE 2: A show comes on tomorrow night that is like American Idol except each country in Europe has voted on a song from their country and tomorrow is the night when each country's song is performed. I am super excited to see it! Spain's song is the "Chiki Chiki" and is sung by this man in an Elvis wig. You must google it and check it out. "Chiki" has no meaning, just a fun word. It's very much just a goofy song, but funny. Huge dance craze here.
Ana and I went shopping a bit this afternoon and I bought a very cute dress that I am super excited about! When I got home, my friend had called to invite me to go out with her and her fam tonight so I quickly left to go meet them. Ok, so get the picture. It´s 9:45ish and has just gotten dark. I am walking about 15-20 minutes according to my family), only 10 minutes if you walk my style, to meet them at the train station where I have been once, in the daylight. It is not dangerous here at night, especially since it´s so early. 9:45 would be like 5:45 in the states. Families are still walking around with their toddlers so I felt safe. I am quite proud that I found my way, without asking for directions or depending on a cell phone. We then went to a bar and had tapas which I like very much. I know I´ve already explained tapas, but when I first arrived they were eating olives and snails so I passed on that round. Then came fries, fried calamari, fried shrimp, a fried something with sausage and cheese inside, and sandwiches of ham, bacon and cheese. This was more my style...no snails for me please. My friend and I sat with 3 couples while their kids, ages 5-8, played up and down the street outside. I was surprised and how the kids can just run and play wherever. I
NOTE:if you think going to a club and coming in at 4 or 5 inthe morning is late, people here go to the discoteca and come in at 7 or 8 in the morning. Coming in at 4 or 5 is considered way early.
NOTE 2: A show comes on tomorrow night that is like American Idol except each country in Europe has voted on a song from their country and tomorrow is the night when each country's song is performed. I am super excited to see it! Spain's song is the "Chiki Chiki" and is sung by this man in an Elvis wig. You must google it and check it out. "Chiki" has no meaning, just a fun word. It's very much just a goofy song, but funny. Huge dance craze here.
Day 16
Finally, a lovely warm sunny day! There have been many many cool, cloudy, rainy days.
After our quiz this morning we went to this little bakery across the street...amazing! My friend and I split a ham pastry and a cream filled, chocolate covered doughnut pastry. Soo good! They doughnuts are real pastries here and not as thick as the ones we have so you don´t feel as gross after you eat it. So now I have an hour and 15 minutes before class to just chill...how nice!
Class is coming to an end which is odd because it just began. Today is our last normal class day. Mon and Tues we have presentations in our culture class, Wed is no class because of a day trip to Cruzcampo, the local brewery, and Thurs no class because we are all going to the Mercadillo in the morning. I haven´t wanted to go to the Mercadillo since the day we got here! It´s an open air street market held here in the city every Thurs morning where you can buy things very cheaply! I didn´t find out we were going until yesterday so my family and I already have plans to go to one in a nearby pueblo (town) on Sunday as well...I´m so up for 2!
Yesterday we left at 4pm to go to Lopera, a nearby pueblo, to see a castle, some trenches used in the Spanish Civil War and the local winery. The trenches were interesting to see. Much different than I had imagined. The winery was nothing but a warehouse with barrels of wine, no tour, no explanation of how the wine is made. We tasted three diff types of wine. They didn´t say the names, but the first was a dessert wine, very thick and sweet. I did not like it at all. The last was a red wine and was much better. Still not something I really like, but much much better than the other two.
I think that´s all for now. My trip is coming to an end and it is bittersweet. I miss everyone so much! I also really love the family I am staying with here; they are so sweet and accomodating! Spain is such a beautiful place! I definitely hope to return!
After our quiz this morning we went to this little bakery across the street...amazing! My friend and I split a ham pastry and a cream filled, chocolate covered doughnut pastry. Soo good! They doughnuts are real pastries here and not as thick as the ones we have so you don´t feel as gross after you eat it. So now I have an hour and 15 minutes before class to just chill...how nice!
Class is coming to an end which is odd because it just began. Today is our last normal class day. Mon and Tues we have presentations in our culture class, Wed is no class because of a day trip to Cruzcampo, the local brewery, and Thurs no class because we are all going to the Mercadillo in the morning. I haven´t wanted to go to the Mercadillo since the day we got here! It´s an open air street market held here in the city every Thurs morning where you can buy things very cheaply! I didn´t find out we were going until yesterday so my family and I already have plans to go to one in a nearby pueblo (town) on Sunday as well...I´m so up for 2!
Yesterday we left at 4pm to go to Lopera, a nearby pueblo, to see a castle, some trenches used in the Spanish Civil War and the local winery. The trenches were interesting to see. Much different than I had imagined. The winery was nothing but a warehouse with barrels of wine, no tour, no explanation of how the wine is made. We tasted three diff types of wine. They didn´t say the names, but the first was a dessert wine, very thick and sweet. I did not like it at all. The last was a red wine and was much better. Still not something I really like, but much much better than the other two.
I think that´s all for now. My trip is coming to an end and it is bittersweet. I miss everyone so much! I also really love the family I am staying with here; they are so sweet and accomodating! Spain is such a beautiful place! I definitely hope to return!
Day 14
¡Hola!
Nothing monumental has happened since yesterday. I went shopping in town for a bit yesterday afternoon with some friends. We got some amazing ice cream!
My family officially bought their first computer yesterday and my dad here asked me to help show him how to set everything up. Sure, sounds easy enough, remember, everything is in Spanish...so it was fun to say the least. The man is supposed to come today to set up the internet connection...supposedly. We shall see if that happens. If so, I can actually have internet time to read the news and check the weather! ¡Qué bueno!
Last night, I had a chorizo bocadillo, a hot one, (chorizo sandwich, chorizo is a type of meat, similar to sausage) and it was amazing!! Sunday my mom here said we are going to the mercadillo! It´s a street market where they sell things really cheap! I´m so excited! AND...we are having paella! I hear it´s very very good!
Believe it or not, I found a ¨restaurante de barbacoa¨ en Madrid, BBQ restaurant, but I don´t know how the BBQ actually is here. I´m sure it´s very different because when I mentioned fried chicken being popular in the south in the U.S., they were like Oh, yes, it is here too...but no, their fried chicken is not breaded and is fried with herbs and olive oil. Much healthier and very good, but not the southern KFC fried chicken.
Nothing monumental has happened since yesterday. I went shopping in town for a bit yesterday afternoon with some friends. We got some amazing ice cream!
My family officially bought their first computer yesterday and my dad here asked me to help show him how to set everything up. Sure, sounds easy enough, remember, everything is in Spanish...so it was fun to say the least. The man is supposed to come today to set up the internet connection...supposedly. We shall see if that happens. If so, I can actually have internet time to read the news and check the weather! ¡Qué bueno!
Last night, I had a chorizo bocadillo, a hot one, (chorizo sandwich, chorizo is a type of meat, similar to sausage) and it was amazing!! Sunday my mom here said we are going to the mercadillo! It´s a street market where they sell things really cheap! I´m so excited! AND...we are having paella! I hear it´s very very good!
Believe it or not, I found a ¨restaurante de barbacoa¨ en Madrid, BBQ restaurant, but I don´t know how the BBQ actually is here. I´m sure it´s very different because when I mentioned fried chicken being popular in the south in the U.S., they were like Oh, yes, it is here too...but no, their fried chicken is not breaded and is fried with herbs and olive oil. Much healthier and very good, but not the southern KFC fried chicken.
Day um...13, I think?
So we went to Madrid for the weekend. It was great! We arrived after a 4-5 hour bus ride on Friday morning around noon. We stopped by our hotel, the HUSA Princesa, which was very nice. I have pictures. When you walk in, you have to leave your card key in a slot beside the lightswitch to use electricity in the room...good electricity saver idea. There´s no leaving the lights on there!
We then went to eat lunch and shop around and eventually met later that evening to go to dinner. Dinner was already paid for, but was not very good. It was a fatty, bloody steak. O, apparently they only do rare here. No way. The waiters were also rude...overall, not a nice place. We also had a salad of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, squid and shrimp. It was very good except for the mushrooms. With the steak we had bread and french fries. For dessert, I don´t know the name, was something with layers of pie crust, white pudding, chocolate pudding, and a flan-like top. It wasn´t bad, just not sweet like our desserts. I think I am just used to Americans over flavoring everything and over here, nothing is as rich. >We had coke, water, and orange fanta to drink. Fanta is huge here.
Reina Sofia: On Saturday, we went to the Reina Sofia, a contemporary art museum. We saw Picasso´s Guernica which is absolutely huge! It is almost 3 meters high and I think 8 or 10 meters long! Yes, they use the metric system here...get out your conversion tables. We then only got to see the Picasso room and the Dali room because we were running behind schedule. Both were amazing though!
El Prado: We then had 2 hours to see the Prado museum. The historical art museum of Goya, Velázquez, Bosco, and tons of others. There was an exhibition of Goya in Times of War which I was super excited about because I wrote part of my final project on 2 of works by Goya showing the war between the Spanish and the French in 1808. I also wrote on Las Meninas, by Velázquez and got to see it too! All three works were so large! They are incredible! El jardín de las Delicias was there too, you have to research this painting by Bosco on the internet. It is incredibly detailed with such strange portrayals of humanity!
Class is about to start now, it´s 12 noon here, so I have to go.
Good news of the week: my host family is buying a laptop this week which means we are getting internet! Or well, that´s the plan. Time is much more relaxed here so "in a few days" may mean, in a few weeks but who knows. ¡Hasta luego!
We then went to eat lunch and shop around and eventually met later that evening to go to dinner. Dinner was already paid for, but was not very good. It was a fatty, bloody steak. O, apparently they only do rare here. No way. The waiters were also rude...overall, not a nice place. We also had a salad of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, squid and shrimp. It was very good except for the mushrooms. With the steak we had bread and french fries. For dessert, I don´t know the name, was something with layers of pie crust, white pudding, chocolate pudding, and a flan-like top. It wasn´t bad, just not sweet like our desserts. I think I am just used to Americans over flavoring everything and over here, nothing is as rich. >We had coke, water, and orange fanta to drink. Fanta is huge here.
Reina Sofia: On Saturday, we went to the Reina Sofia, a contemporary art museum. We saw Picasso´s Guernica which is absolutely huge! It is almost 3 meters high and I think 8 or 10 meters long! Yes, they use the metric system here...get out your conversion tables. We then only got to see the Picasso room and the Dali room because we were running behind schedule. Both were amazing though!
El Prado: We then had 2 hours to see the Prado museum. The historical art museum of Goya, Velázquez, Bosco, and tons of others. There was an exhibition of Goya in Times of War which I was super excited about because I wrote part of my final project on 2 of works by Goya showing the war between the Spanish and the French in 1808. I also wrote on Las Meninas, by Velázquez and got to see it too! All three works were so large! They are incredible! El jardín de las Delicias was there too, you have to research this painting by Bosco on the internet. It is incredibly detailed with such strange portrayals of humanity!
Class is about to start now, it´s 12 noon here, so I have to go.
Good news of the week: my host family is buying a laptop this week which means we are getting internet! Or well, that´s the plan. Time is much more relaxed here so "in a few days" may mean, in a few weeks but who knows. ¡Hasta luego!
Day 9
So let me share a few major culture differences that I have noticed that I don´t exactly appreciate or agree with, but here they are.
1. There are no ´No Soliciting´laws here...thus, fortune telling gypsies are free to roam about.
2. No one obeys speed limits. Everyone drives really small cars, but always withing literally inches of the car next to you. It´s quite scary!
3. There are no Equal Opportunity type acts/laws. We have to pay at different museums simply because we are not from Europe.
4. Pedestrians often cross into oncoming traffic with little hesitation.
5. My dad (my real dad, not the man here) has always taught me when driving to break from far away so you don´t wear out your breaks. Well, there is no such idea here. People accelerate then slam on teh breaks, only to repeat once again.
6. The city shuts down on Sundays and every day from 2-5. Nothing is open.
I think that is all for now. Oh, we had macaroni and cheese yesterday for a meal! It was great! The cheese was like the queso dip that you get at the mexican restaurants, not cheddar, but AMAZING! Love you all! Off to lunch!
1. There are no ´No Soliciting´laws here...thus, fortune telling gypsies are free to roam about.
2. No one obeys speed limits. Everyone drives really small cars, but always withing literally inches of the car next to you. It´s quite scary!
3. There are no Equal Opportunity type acts/laws. We have to pay at different museums simply because we are not from Europe.
4. Pedestrians often cross into oncoming traffic with little hesitation.
5. My dad (my real dad, not the man here) has always taught me when driving to break from far away so you don´t wear out your breaks. Well, there is no such idea here. People accelerate then slam on teh breaks, only to repeat once again.
6. The city shuts down on Sundays and every day from 2-5. Nothing is open.
I think that is all for now. Oh, we had macaroni and cheese yesterday for a meal! It was great! The cheese was like the queso dip that you get at the mexican restaurants, not cheddar, but AMAZING! Love you all! Off to lunch!
Day 8, part 2
So to continue more...
Last night for dinner I had soup (they just call it sopa which means soup, no specific name for the kind) and fried chicken. Both were very very good! The soup is exactly like chicken noodle soup but without chicken - just broth and small noodles. The chicken was not breaded, only fried with garlic in olive oil and it was very very good! Meals are always followed by dessert, but dessert is not sweet here, always fruit: apples, oranges, bananas, pears, melon, cherries, nisperos (I have never seen them in the US, but they are so good!). I still can´t get used to eating dinner around 10:30 or 10 at night. I get hungry at 6 and we don´t eat til much later.
Yesterday in Granada, we got to see a mountain where the gypsies live. They dig caves inside the sides of the mountain and live there in the caves. Some have thatch doors or curtains and some are just open holes. Some say the caves have electricity, but I imagine if they do, it´s just a light bulb or something. While walking from the Alhambra to the cathedral we met several gypsies on the street. It´s very weird because in the US there are ´No Soliciting´laws but here there are none. They grab at your arms to try to stop you to give you rosemary and let them read your palms and tell your fortune so you can pay them in the end. It´s quite annoying honestly because they don´t take no, you just have to scurry away. It was funny because the cheapo ones only give out evergreen branches, not even real rosemary...come one, if you are gonna tell my fortune, i think the spirits would want you to be authentic with your herbs.
I went to a Pastelería on Monday, a bakery. I ordered a torijo, i think that´s how you spell it. It´s a dessert typical of the Holy Week. It consists of two pieces of bread covered in cinnamon and sugar with cream in between them. It seems that they have been soaked in something too. Think french toast covered in cinnamon, sugar, and cream. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I want to bring some back, but it has to be kept cool so I don´t know that that will work on the plane.
I must go home for lunch now. Hopefully it will be good. My host mom said something the other night about making a cake-like dessert of cheese that is very rich. I know it wont´be just like our cheesecake, but I´m hoping it will be similar!
Last night for dinner I had soup (they just call it sopa which means soup, no specific name for the kind) and fried chicken. Both were very very good! The soup is exactly like chicken noodle soup but without chicken - just broth and small noodles. The chicken was not breaded, only fried with garlic in olive oil and it was very very good! Meals are always followed by dessert, but dessert is not sweet here, always fruit: apples, oranges, bananas, pears, melon, cherries, nisperos (I have never seen them in the US, but they are so good!). I still can´t get used to eating dinner around 10:30 or 10 at night. I get hungry at 6 and we don´t eat til much later.
Yesterday in Granada, we got to see a mountain where the gypsies live. They dig caves inside the sides of the mountain and live there in the caves. Some have thatch doors or curtains and some are just open holes. Some say the caves have electricity, but I imagine if they do, it´s just a light bulb or something. While walking from the Alhambra to the cathedral we met several gypsies on the street. It´s very weird because in the US there are ´No Soliciting´laws but here there are none. They grab at your arms to try to stop you to give you rosemary and let them read your palms and tell your fortune so you can pay them in the end. It´s quite annoying honestly because they don´t take no, you just have to scurry away. It was funny because the cheapo ones only give out evergreen branches, not even real rosemary...come one, if you are gonna tell my fortune, i think the spirits would want you to be authentic with your herbs.
I went to a Pastelería on Monday, a bakery. I ordered a torijo, i think that´s how you spell it. It´s a dessert typical of the Holy Week. It consists of two pieces of bread covered in cinnamon and sugar with cream in between them. It seems that they have been soaked in something too. Think french toast covered in cinnamon, sugar, and cream. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I want to bring some back, but it has to be kept cool so I don´t know that that will work on the plane.
I must go home for lunch now. Hopefully it will be good. My host mom said something the other night about making a cake-like dessert of cheese that is very rich. I know it wont´be just like our cheesecake, but I´m hoping it will be similar!
Day 8
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. NOT HERE! Jaen is in the valley and there definitely has been rain the past week. No cute shoes, no cute clothes. THey say it never rains here, until now.
So many things to say, I don´t remember them all. I´ll just begin somewhere.Generally, I have class Monday through Thursday. A grammar class from 9-11 and a culture class from 12-2. Yesterday, we went to Granada for the day to see the Alhambra, the Capilla Real and the Cathedral. They were all absolutely amazing! The pictures in no way do them justice!
I have to share teh computer so for now, I´m gone, but hopefully I can continue in a few hours after class.
So many things to say, I don´t remember them all. I´ll just begin somewhere.Generally, I have class Monday through Thursday. A grammar class from 9-11 and a culture class from 12-2. Yesterday, we went to Granada for the day to see the Alhambra, the Capilla Real and the Cathedral. They were all absolutely amazing! The pictures in no way do them justice!
I have to share teh computer so for now, I´m gone, but hopefully I can continue in a few hours after class.
Day 6
So on the weekends I have no computer access. This without internet thing is frustrating because you can´t find the weather, news, e-mail or anything. I don´t like it at all. I embrace my dependence on the internet. Anyways, enough ranting for now.
Today is our first day of class. It´s 11:15am here and we just finished our first class, Advanced Spanish Grammar. It was actually very good, we went over the difference between ser and estar, two verbs that both mean ´to be.´ I know everyone wants to hear about culture...I´ve gotten a few e-mails asking questions about it.
Yesterday we went to Cazorla, a national park here in Spain. It´s about 2 hours from Jaen, so we rode a charter bus there. It rained most of the day so we could only see between the fog, but what a most beautiful view we did see! I have 150 pictures already so there will be lots to see when I return. First we went to the small town of Cazorla and walked up a HUGE hill to an ancient castle. The stairs in the castle were as tall as my knees! What a hike! We then rode on these winding, curvy mountain roads...european driving is for the birds...for 4 more hours. Everyone was feeling quite sick by the end. Think driving little river canyon at like 50 mph in the rain while meeting other cars that don´t slow down either. I know this is just how they drive and they are used to it, but seriously guys...slow down and leave space between the cars. Anyways, we were able to see over for miles and miles, or kilometers and kilometers, over 60 million olive trees. It is quite a sight to see! So beautiful! It truly screams God´s glory! No other thing could have created anything so magnificent!
Check out these beautiful flowers over this cafe in Cazorla...there were geraniums everywhere. It was very foggy and rainy that day so that's why the pictures are so foggy.
Here we are in the town of Cazorla...
My cacao...
Once again, people are waiting on teh computer so I have to go. Maybe I´ll get to use another one some day...ugh...computer limits..no me gusta...I don´t like them.
Today is our first day of class. It´s 11:15am here and we just finished our first class, Advanced Spanish Grammar. It was actually very good, we went over the difference between ser and estar, two verbs that both mean ´to be.´ I know everyone wants to hear about culture...I´ve gotten a few e-mails asking questions about it.
Yesterday we went to Cazorla, a national park here in Spain. It´s about 2 hours from Jaen, so we rode a charter bus there. It rained most of the day so we could only see between the fog, but what a most beautiful view we did see! I have 150 pictures already so there will be lots to see when I return. First we went to the small town of Cazorla and walked up a HUGE hill to an ancient castle. The stairs in the castle were as tall as my knees! What a hike! We then rode on these winding, curvy mountain roads...european driving is for the birds...for 4 more hours. Everyone was feeling quite sick by the end. Think driving little river canyon at like 50 mph in the rain while meeting other cars that don´t slow down either. I know this is just how they drive and they are used to it, but seriously guys...slow down and leave space between the cars. Anyways, we were able to see over for miles and miles, or kilometers and kilometers, over 60 million olive trees. It is quite a sight to see! So beautiful! It truly screams God´s glory! No other thing could have created anything so magnificent!
Check out these beautiful flowers over this cafe in Cazorla...there were geraniums everywhere. It was very foggy and rainy that day so that's why the pictures are so foggy.
Here we are in the town of Cazorla...
My cacao...
Once again, people are waiting on teh computer so I have to go. Maybe I´ll get to use another one some day...ugh...computer limits..no me gusta...I don´t like them.
Day 3
So, it´s day 3! It´s a little difficult to type on these keyboards because there are additional punctuation marks so all of the punctuation is in different places. So excuse my typing like a 1st grader.
To explain a little more of the culture, they eat breakfast anywhere from 8am to 11am and it´s usually fruit or bread with olive oil, tomato, ham and cheese. Schools let out at 2 and all leave work at 2 or 3 and eat lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Yesterday we had fried fish, spinach tortilla (which was a spinach omelet, just egg and spinach), bread, french fries (yes, i know, odd combo), cherry tomatoes (which i did try, but still don´t like...not even in spain), homemade mayonnaise which you eat with the fish and tortilla, and diet coke to drink. I love the diet coke, or Coke Light as it is called here.
Everyone takes a ´siesta´ (there are no double quotation marks here) from around 3:00ish to 5 or 6. Some go back to work, but not all. All the shops and everything close during this time. It´s wonderful!
Last night I went with my host dad, Blas, to buy some bread at the grocery store, el mercado, and we walked around part of the town. We went into a smoke-filled bar, because everyone smokes here...no me gusta (i don´t like it), and had diet coke and tapas. Tapas are complimentary snacks at bars in small towns. They are the same in larger towns like Madrid, but you have to pay for them. It was a small plate of peanuts, and ham and cheese on small toasts. Like what we commonly eat with bruschetta at parties. The ham is good here. It´s very thin and I think cured. They eat it a lot! Ham and fish are huge foods!
Well people are waiting for this computer so i´m going to go. much love!
To explain a little more of the culture, they eat breakfast anywhere from 8am to 11am and it´s usually fruit or bread with olive oil, tomato, ham and cheese. Schools let out at 2 and all leave work at 2 or 3 and eat lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Yesterday we had fried fish, spinach tortilla (which was a spinach omelet, just egg and spinach), bread, french fries (yes, i know, odd combo), cherry tomatoes (which i did try, but still don´t like...not even in spain), homemade mayonnaise which you eat with the fish and tortilla, and diet coke to drink. I love the diet coke, or Coke Light as it is called here.
Everyone takes a ´siesta´ (there are no double quotation marks here) from around 3:00ish to 5 or 6. Some go back to work, but not all. All the shops and everything close during this time. It´s wonderful!
Last night I went with my host dad, Blas, to buy some bread at the grocery store, el mercado, and we walked around part of the town. We went into a smoke-filled bar, because everyone smokes here...no me gusta (i don´t like it), and had diet coke and tapas. Tapas are complimentary snacks at bars in small towns. They are the same in larger towns like Madrid, but you have to pay for them. It was a small plate of peanuts, and ham and cheese on small toasts. Like what we commonly eat with bruschetta at parties. The ham is good here. It´s very thin and I think cured. They eat it a lot! Ham and fish are huge foods!
Well people are waiting for this computer so i´m going to go. much love!
Day 2
So, wow. My blog from earlier feels like it was written light years ago. Now maybe I can slow down and explain some of how things are here. At 7:45am I woke up and left with my host dad around 8:30 to walk to school. He is an electrician here at the school so it´s good that I can walk with him so I don´t get lost the first few times. The school is a 10 min walk, so not very far.
My family here speaks no English so I really have to learn to ask for definitions in Spanish instead of an English equivalent word. They are very sweet. I can´t remember what I wrote earlier so sorry if I repeat some things. It´s 2:20 and I am done for the day. At 3, I will meet my host dad outside of the library here and we´ll walk home.
Apparently Thursday is the day that everyone goes out at night so I am thinking that might be what happens tonight, but I really have no clue. All I know, is that I hope I get a nap. Today, we had an intro meeting at 9:30 and went to eat breakfast at like 10:30 or 11. For breakfast at home I had a muffin and milk with cacao, which tastes like and I think is exactly hot chocolate. I don´t really like hot chocolate for breakfast. You also are supposed to break off the muffin and drown it in the or hot chocolate as I like to call it. For our 2nd breakfast we had a typical food of Jaen, bread with olive oil and tomato juice on it, ham and cheese. It is very good, as long as you don´t put too much tomato juice on it since I am not a fan of tomatos. It´s similar to the bread at Macaroni Grill. I´m confused at when l unch is because my family packed me a sandwich that they said to eat around 12 or when i get hungry, but I think lunch is at 3ish so who knows. I feel like they eat so often, but usually I prob won´t have 2 breakfasts.
I am actually ready for class and organized events to start because with all of this free time I just sit around because I can´t go explore because if I get lost, I have no phone to call anyone. I realize how dependent I am on my cell phone, and I embrace that dependency. It is a wonderful thing to have a cell phone or . It is a good thing I didn´t get the travel $1.50/min phone though because I def would sacrifice the money to talk to some people at times. Well, I´m going to go for now since there is a sign beside my computer that says for 10 minutes only please and I´ve been here for 30. But at least there are other empty ones nearby so no one is waiting. I think I shall go sit outside and read a bit.
My family here speaks no English so I really have to learn to ask for definitions in Spanish instead of an English equivalent word. They are very sweet. I can´t remember what I wrote earlier so sorry if I repeat some things. It´s 2:20 and I am done for the day. At 3, I will meet my host dad outside of the library here and we´ll walk home.
Apparently Thursday is the day that everyone goes out at night so I am thinking that might be what happens tonight, but I really have no clue. All I know, is that I hope I get a nap. Today, we had an intro meeting at 9:30 and went to eat breakfast at like 10:30 or 11. For breakfast at home I had a muffin and milk with cacao, which tastes like and I think is exactly hot chocolate. I don´t really like hot chocolate for breakfast. You also are supposed to break off the muffin and drown it in the or hot chocolate as I like to call it. For our 2nd breakfast we had a typical food of Jaen, bread with olive oil and tomato juice on it, ham and cheese. It is very good, as long as you don´t put too much tomato juice on it since I am not a fan of tomatos. It´s similar to the bread at Macaroni Grill. I´m confused at when l unch is because my family packed me a sandwich that they said to eat around 12 or when i get hungry, but I think lunch is at 3ish so who knows. I feel like they eat so often, but usually I prob won´t have 2 breakfasts.
I am actually ready for class and organized events to start because with all of this free time I just sit around because I can´t go explore because if I get lost, I have no phone to call anyone. I realize how dependent I am on my cell phone, and I embrace that dependency. It is a wonderful thing to have a cell phone or . It is a good thing I didn´t get the travel $1.50/min phone though because I def would sacrifice the money to talk to some people at times. Well, I´m going to go for now since there is a sign beside my computer that says for 10 minutes only please and I´ve been here for 30. But at least there are other empty ones nearby so no one is waiting. I think I shall go sit outside and read a bit.
Spain!
I feel the title of my blog is very fitting today. I have to go because I can only use the internet at this computer for a few minutes and I have a meeting at 9:30 and it is 9:15. (2:15 at home)My family here is very nice, Blas (dad), Ana(mom) and Jaime (12 yr old brother). Ana Livia is their other daughter (16 i think) and lives with her dog Turco at her own apt. They live in an apt maybe half a mile from the university so it is easy to walk here. I am in the university library now using the computer. They don´t have a computer or internet at their home. Neither do they have land line phones so I have to try to use a public phone. I tried twice yesterday to call my parents and Dane, but I haven´t gotten my phone card to work yet. I will see everyone today and ask if theirs have worked so far. Well, I have to go for now. I will try to write soon, but my internet schedule appears to be very irregular. ç
Mi familia...
Mi dormitorio...
El piso de mi familia...
Mi familia...
Mi dormitorio...
El piso de mi familia...
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