Wine in a juice-box: three for 85 cents. My childhood could have been a lot different.

(too bad these tasted like fingernail polish remover)

Doctor, Doctor, Doctor

September 26, 2011

     Soooo, my foot has been hurting really bad and I can barely walk. It really sucks because I have a 20 minute walk to class every day and that’s not including the other times I am walking around the city throughout the day. I don’t think the cobblestones are helping or the fact that I refuse to wear any shoes besides flats. I finally went to the doctor though because I was feeling like I had caused another stress fracture like I had this summer which caused me to be in a walking cast for about a month. Well, this was my experience with the doctor…. I pretty much just showed up at the doctor’s office and he was able to see me after about 30 minutes. I told him that my foot hurt and that I thought I probably had a stress fracture. So he wrote me a prescription to get x-rays done at the hospital. Sooooo, then I went to the hospital. It was really strange. I walked in and gave them the form and waited for about 20 minutes. They called my name along with 4 others and we were directed to another room. There were 5 doors in front of us and we were each given one to enter. It kind of felt like I was in a corral for a horse race or something. Idk. When I entered my door I stood in a room the size of a walk in closet. God help you if you are claustrophobic. I waited until they called my name and then walked through the door at the other side of where I had entered. They took my x-ray and then gave it to me. It kind of looked like a goody bag but just my x-rays were inside. Claire was waiting for me but then left so that our padres knew where we were since they were expecting us for dinner. As I was waiting for my x-rays Ricardo (my padre) showed up unexpectedly after he heard I was there by myself to make sure I was okay and was able to communicate well enough with the doctors. It was really sweet. (This was yesterday). Today I went back to the doctor and he looked at my x-ray and told me he didn’t think I had a stress fracture and gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatories. I’m hoping this helps. As soon as I have a way to take money out (since I lost my wallet and had to cancel all my cards---- and am still waiting for them to come in the mail) I am buying a pair of old lady orthopedic shoes so that I can walk without hurting myself.  For now, I just stroll around Salamanca with my pimp walk. I’m thinking about getting a pimp cane. 

Ze Germans and Celine Dion

September 19-21, 2011

     On Monday night I went with Claire, Kelsey, and Olivia to an open mic night. There were musicians, poets, singers, and comedians of which most were locals. I really enjoyed it. It’s nice to do things that make me practice my Spanish and are also cultural experiences. One of the acts was a group of blonde German boys that played flamenco music. There was also this comedian wearing a clown nose and honestly I couldn’t tell you a thing that he was saying. From the reactions of the people around me, I gathered that he wasn’t that funny and that most of his jokes seemed to be off-color. There were these two guys that played the guitar and sang and they were amazing. One of the guys wrote the song they sang for his daughter and it was by far the greatest performance.

     So on Wednesday night we went to another bar that we go to pretty frequently. They were having a karaoke night and guess who we saw…. Our blonde German boys from Monday’s open mic night. We were so excited that they were there and approached them. We didn’t know until that moment that they were German and we probably got more excited than we should have about it. Claire and I just started telling them all of the German words we knew. (Ausfahrt, nien, and yaaaaaaaaa)…. Which means exit, no, and yes). Throughout the night we just kept saying these words to them which was probably really bizarre if you put it into context. For example, what would you do if you meant a group of German people that only knew three words of English and they just kept saying them out of context, “ EXIT, YES, NO!”  So we talked to them for a while and they said they would sing a karaoke song with us. They had picked some song by The Police and so when we got up on stage this is what they were expecting. HOWEVER, they didn’t know that we had changed the song to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” (the theme song from The Titanic). HAHAHA. It was weak. Those poor German boys. They were good sports about it and it wasn’t a big deal since the words played on the screen anyways. It was really a beautiful yet surreal yet odd moment hearing three German boys sing Celine Dion. I loved it. 

Cantabria

Gondola 

At the top of the mountain after the gondola 

Cathedral in Burgos

I just really liked this picture. Burgos, Spain

Cantabria, Spain: Mountains, Gondola, Beach, Lost Wallet.

This weekend we went to a region called Cantabria located in northern Spain. We left on Friday at 6:45 in the morning which was less than fun. I was able to sleep on the bus for a while so it wasn’t too horrible. We went to prehistoric caves called Las Cuevas de Castillo where we were able to see cave paintings that are believed to be around 24,000 years old. There were hands, bison, horses, and abstract symbols.

After driving another 2 hours we arrived at our hotel which was located in the mountains. It was so peaceful and also a nice break from being so busy lately. We had free time for the rest of the day which I used to walk around outside. Olivia and I climbed this really sketchy wooden structure. We weren’t really sure what it was but we think it may have been part of an old gondola. I really didn’t think I was going to be able to get down from it. I wasn’t even that high, I just don’t like heights apparently. Later, a group of us went for a hike. I knew I should have brought sneakers with me. I’m an idiot. It was a challenge hiking in flats but ‘asi es la vida.’ It started thundering and raining a bit on our hike but it wasn’t too big of a deal. We hiked pretty far up the mountain and could see a great view of the surrounding mountains and our hotel. The next day was wonderful. I RODE IN A GONDOLA!!!!! At first it was kind of irritating because at the bottom of the mountain it was very foggy and you couldn’t even see the mountain. However, the gondola took us higher than the clouds so when we reached the top we could see so much. We were able to hike around at the top of the mountain for a few hours. I couldn’t believe how high up we were.

Next, we went to Las Cuevas de Altamira. They are considered the Sistine Chapel of cave paintings. I was so so so excited because I had learned all about them in one of my Art History classes. They were also around 24,000-30,000 years old. They are famous because for the longest time no on believed them to be authentic and it wasn’t until the 70s that they were accepted to be from the prehistoric period by the scientific community. They were also the first prehistoric caves to be discovered in that region of Spain. We weren’t actually permitted to go in the real caves because only certified individuals are allowed in now. This is because the original paintings were starting to deteriorate from the number of tourists visits. They now have an exact reproduction right next to the caves. This is what we visited… kind of disappointing but also understandable.

After the caves we went to a torture museum about the Inquisition. It was kind of gross but also kind of interesting. We saw devices that were once used to torture individuals accused of heresy.

Our next hotel was a block away from the beach in Santander. I went exploring with Olivia and Katherine that night. We randomly stumbled into a casino and decided to grab a drink. Then we walked to the beach. On a whim, we decided to go in the water. It was freezing. We got out of the water to find wet and sandy clothes opposed to the dry ones we had left at the shore. Apparently we misjudged how far the waves were coming to shore. I couldn’t even be upset. It started to downpour as soon as we got out of the water anyways. We ran into a few Spanish boys at the pier and we talked to them for a few minutes and then headed back to our hotel.

In the morning I couldn’t find my wallet and went into panic mode. We went back to the casino (which was closed) and retraced our steps along the beach. I had either left it at the casino or had been pickpocketed by the people we had met at the beach. Both were likely options. Jesus called the casino for me and they said that if they found it they would call. Hours later he got a call that they had found it. Thank you Jesus (both of you). Now I’m waiting for it to arrive in the mail at my apartment which is a hassle because I literally only have 20 cents to my name right now. Oh, and I had to cancel all my cards so that will probably be another week or 2 before I can actually get moneys as well. I’m hoping that the person that found my wallet is a good person and left everything that was in it there. My license, JAC card, school id, USB drive, 70 EURO, and a copy of my passport are in it. ---------- As I was typing this the doorbell rang and it arrived. Everything was still there. There are good people in this world.WINNING.

September 15, 2011

Today our final exam and project in our conversation class were due. First off, my studying consisted of grabbing a beer from one of the casetas and sitting on the steps of the school studying my notes with some friends.Good thing the exam wasn't hard. Second, for our final project we included a wine tasting at 10 in the morning for the activity part of the presentation. Only in Spain. The other highlight of our presentation was one of the commercials we had to come up with. Claire and I have been having problems with our host madre feeding us too much and then getting upset when we tell her we don’t want seconds. Sooooo, we created a public service announcement about it and played “In the Arms of an Angel” (the SPCA sad puppy commercial song) in the background. This was the commercial that I presented and I literally started crying in the middle of speaking about it. It was actually because I was laughing and geeking so hard, but it was kind of legit. Im pretty sure I did well on both the exam and presentation but I won’t even know my grade until December because we will have an oral exam at the end of the semester. After the exam we sat on the lawn in front of the school and finished the rest of the bottle of wine we had used for our presentation. Not even a big deal since this week is still La Fiesta de Salamanca and they are selling drinks and food in the streets still. Have I mentioned that I love, love, love, love, love Spain?

Tomorrow we are going to Cantabria which is in northern Spain.  Im excited to see more of Spain but not so excited to have to be at the bus at 6:45 a.m.  

Paella.

Spanish Cooking Class, ect, ect, ect.

September 14, 2011

The last two days we have had Spanish cooking classes. On the first day we learned how to make La Tortilla Espanola and El Gazpacho. We went into a kitchen in the hospitality building and were able to learn and help make several dishes. We had to wear hair nets and aprons so all of the pictures came out really goofy and ridiculous…. But kind of hilarious. Today we learned how to make Paella and dessert pastries that are usually sold during La Semana Santa. The chef was really nice and I could understand everything he was saying. I really appreciate it when people are easy to understand in Spanish.

Tomorrow we have to present our final presentation, as well as take our final exam in our Intensive Spanish class. I can’t believe it’s already over. Eight class periods for a 3 credit class = a good deal. I really enjoyed the class and the professor. I didn’t mind having to sit there for 4 hours a day either. It was probably the first Spanish class in college that I haven’t felt intimidated or petrified to talk and participate in. I guess being forced to speak Spanish in real life for the last 2 weeks has finally cracked some of my inhibitions. I’m okay with that.  I learned a lot about social norms as well as lists upon lists of vocabulary words in this class. I’m not particularly thrilled to study for the exam but I figure I’ll manage. I probably should have started to study earlier but ehhhh… ‘asi es la vida.’ On top of that, we really need to work on our final presentation. We have to create a radio show that is 30 minutes long. It’ll get done eventually.

I finally got my schedule for the rest of my classes I will be taking this semester. It couldn’t be better. My weekend starts at 10 a.m. on Thursdays. Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss! I’m taking Spanish Art History, Latin American Civilization, Spanish Cinema, and a Practical Spanish class. In the practical Spanish class I get to go into one of the local public schools and work in the classroom with 8 year olds. I’ll either be placed in an English, Science, or PE class. I’m really excited but kind of nervous. I’m afraid that the kids are going to be difficult to understand but I guess I’ll survive. On top of that, kids are not necessarily my favorite, but I’m sure it’ll be an experience none the less.

Castle of the Moors

Castle of the Moors in Sintra, Porugal. (World Heritage Site).

Built between 9th and 10th centuries

Fado

Julia and I went to watch a Fado band in Barrio Alto. 

Alfama

View of Alfama (Moorish neighborhood in Lisbon)

PORTUGAL

This past weekend we visited Lisbon, Portugal. It was beautiful. On the first night I went out with a bunch of people from my group. We went into an area called ‘Barrio Alto’ and just walked around and went to a few bars. There were so many people. It was so strange because you pretty much just drank your beer in the streets and walked from place to place. There were people walking around drinking out of liquor or wine bottles. You obviously are allowed to walk down the street with an open container here which is nice if you feel like just walking around. We met some kids from Lisbon as well. They spoke English which was refreshing since for the past week I’ve only been able to speak Spanish to people from the city.

The next day we went to a nearby area called ‘Sintra.’ Sintra is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Apparently Christopher Columbus sailed from Sintra. Here I went into the Sintra Palace and took so many pictures. I also went to a Moorish castle which was located on the top of the mountain in the city. From here you could view the entire town. I really loved the city because you could see a lot of the Islamic influence in their buildings and streets from where it used to be inhabited by the Moors. Some of the apartment buildings were completely covered in decorative tiles and it was gorgeous.

Later I went with a few people to a Moorish neighborhood in Lisbon called Alfama. We walked around for a while just to look at the neighborhood. We went to a Portuguese restaurant that was right on the water. I had fish and a beer. It’s really hard to practice self-control when beer costs the same amount of money as water.

One of my friends and I decided to see a ‘Fado’ band later that night. Fado is the traditional music of Portugal. We went to this little restaurant in ‘Barrio Alto’. The show was free except there was a catch: you had to spend at least 16 euro. So we bought a bottle of wine and went to work. It was a really cool show. There was a band of three individuals playing the guitar, violin, and cello. There were four different singers that took turns performing. I couldn’t really understand what they were saying on account of I don’t speak Portuguese but I guess the gist of the songs had to do with their love for Portugal. What an awesome experience.  We also had a really good conversation with our cab driver that night. He spoke nearly perfect English and was telling us about his life. He kept telling us about having a ‘second wife’ about ten years ago and that he was married at the age of 14. Life is so different there.  Portugal is a much poorer country than Spain and it was defitleney noticeable. However, every person from Portugal we met was very kind and hospitable. Apparently the Portugese have a reputation of being really kind and hospitable according to my host padres.

I got to see the beach as well. It was neat to be on the oposeite side of the Atlantic than I usually am. We walked around more monuments and cathedrals before departing back to Salamanca again. What a long bus ride. I would definitely like to go back to Portugal for longer than 2 days sometime in the future.   

September 8, 2011

September 8, 2011

I took a yoga class in Spanish yesterday. It was awesome. Not only did I get to practice my Spanish but I felt super mellow and relaxed afterwards. It was one of those things where you can try a class out for free and then decide if you want to join or now. A few friends and I are thinking about doing it. I think it would be a great experience since it’s in Spanish and it’s not actually through the university. I really just felt awesome afterwards. AND I learned some new words. Loved it.

Claire and I decided to walk around the city to see all the casetas (booths selling food/beer/wine) that were set up for La Fiesta de Salamanca. We came across a little place selling ‘Tinto Verano’ and decided to grab a glass and sit down to chat. Tinto Verano is this delicious wine drink which pretty much translates to ‘summer red wine.’ It has red wine, citrus flavored sparkling water, and ice. It is very good. Anyways, we were sitting there just drinking our vino tinto and then I see my old man friend Manuel. He comes over and Claire and I chat with him for a while. He said that he would take us to get jamon iberica at a restaurant some time. So friendly. Getting to know the locals = win.

                Also, for La Fiesta de Salamanca there have been free concerts in La Plaza Mayor this week. They are actually pretty legit. We have drank vino and watched them a couple of nights. There were also fireworks the other night. It was so cool to watch them from in between the buildings. We had to stand in a random side street to see them since the buildings are too tall.

I love spain.

first day of escuela

this is where i go to school.

my old man picked up a bird.

September 6, 2011

Okay, so today was eventful. I met a new friend and I GOT HIT BY A CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!        

I told myself that I wasn’t going to take a nap because I haven’t been able to sleep much at night due to the 2 hour siestas I’ve been taking. I hate time differences. Anywho, instead of taking a nap I decided to go to la plaza to read for a bit. Well, long story short it was too sunny so I moved to a building where I have class at to sit on a bench. I’m just sitting there for a few minutes, staring into space when an old man comes over and sits next to me on the bench. He starts saying, “beep, beep, beep, beep.” At first it was really bizarre but then he started throwing bread on the ground because apparently this is how you do bird calls in Spain. He starts to chat with me about the birds and such, explaining to me how you can tell the female from the male by their markings and such. Mind you, this is all in Spanish so I was pretty proud of myself for being able to hold a real conversation. While this is happening there is a group of four men (probably late 20s) who look scary as hell a few benches from us. They are obviously drunk and on some sort of drug (mind you its 3 in the afternoon). They are yelling obscenities and shouting at people as they pass. The old man starts his next remark with, “en el era de Franco esta nunca ocurrio.” (in the era of Franco this never happened.) Kind of surreal. Well, one of the boys pulls down his pants and that was just lovely as well. The next thing you know two of them are fist fighting. This is when the police show up. They simply walk up to the guys (laughing at them) and the guys stop physically fighting but continue to verbally fight. The police then get back in their car and start to drive off. This is when the fatter of the two guys pushes the other to the ground and starts beating him up and screaming, “voy a matarte!/ im going to kill you.” The police then back up and get out the car and come over. They attempt to break them up but then the one that was on the ground punches one of the cops. Well they take him away in the car and leave the other 3 (including the one that was actually beating the guy up) in the plaza. It was crazy to see cops literally do nothing. They left 3 incredibly drunk and rowdy guys there even after they were screaming at citizens and hitting each other.

                After this the old man and I continue to chat and he is telling me all of these things that I need to do in Salamanca. This week is la Fiesta de Salamanca so there are tons of little carts that sell beer and tapas, concerts, bullfights, among other events. He is telling me about the bull fights and how its something that you have to do if you are here. He then asks me if I have a map so he can show me where I can get tickets. I pull my map out of my bag (it was in about 5 pieces because I’ve been using it way too much due to my lack of any sense of direction at all). He tells me right then that he is going to walk me to the office of tourism and get me a new one, which he does. I was so thankful because even though I don’t really know which ways is north, nor do I really know how to read a map at all, I use that thing like my life depends on it.

                While walking to the office of tourism this old man (Manuel) is asking me if I’ve been to all of these different places of which I had been to none of them. He also was telling me something about a horse that bit this bull a few times but I feel like this was just a bad case of ‘lost in translation’ so I pretty much just nodded my head and smiled like I usually do when I have no clue what is going on. He tells me that he has to go meet his brother but if I wanted he would meet me back at the same bench at 8p.m. so he could give me a tour of a few building in Salamanca. I agreed.

                At 8 p.m. I see Manuel coming through the plaza. I got to meet his older brother (who was probably about 70 and Manuel was probably in his late 60s) which was also pretty cool. We walk around for about an hour and he tells me about all of the architectural history and details of several of the surrounding buildings. He is telling me dates, names, and fun facts about each of the buildings. It was actually really awesome since I love art history.  He buys us these flat pastries that kind of look and taste like flat ice cream cones.  It was actually a lot of fun. Yay for making friends with the locals and yay for being able to practice my Spanish in real life.

                Oh, and yeah I got hit by a car. I was just walking down the street and this car just comes by and clips me on the side. I pretty much just screamed and proceded to laugh uncontrollably. People here are crazy drivers.

                Today was a good day. 

La Plaza Mayor

El Primer Dia

Sooooo, I am finally in Salamanca.  I am laying in my bed trying not to fall asleep considering the fact that I really haven’t slept  in about 30. Claire and I just got back from a guided tour courtesy of our host madre of la Plaza Mayor and the streets of Salamanca. She is such a chatty lady. (This thankfully makes things a lot less awkward).  As soon as we got off the bus from the Madrid airport (which was actually way longer than they originally told us) and she was assigned as our madre she tells us to follow her only after snatching one of my leopard print suitcases. (Come to find out she is 72 years old--- which is actually really embarrassing on my part considering I was struggling down the street with my luggage at the age of 21. Oh well.) She is 72 and her husband is 65. Neither look a day over 55. Spanish people apparently don’t age. During dinner she explains to us that it will only me herself, Claire, and me dining since her husband doesn’t eat dinner because he has gotten fat over the last two years since he quit smoking. This man is by no means fat. However, according to Spanish standards and this woman he is gordo. It is really bizarre/funny to hear her saying all of this especially since he was sitting right there with us. For dinner she made us these ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches which were actually really delicious. She also made homemade croquets which were bangin’ as well. Tomato salad and yogurt were also included. She fixed Claire and me twice the amount of food as she did herself because she said that she didn’t want to get fat. Well, apparently I’m going to gain like 20 pounds on this trip but I think I’m okay with it. During dinner we watched celebrity gossip shows (on which I had no clue who the celebrities were). 

                They said they have been hosting students for about 30 years now. They have been hosting jmu students for about 9. This makes me feel better since I can’t imagine that I will be the worst guest they have ever had. She explained that when we come in at 4 or 5 in the morning make sure we don’t bang doors too loud because it scares her and wakes her up. She knows what’s up.

Our apartment is pretty great. It kind of looks ghetto from the outside since its littered with graffiti and its on this side street but its actually really quaint inside. My room has a chandelier as well as a leopard print blanket. I love this. Also. if I look out the window I can creep on the neighbors. (I may have given them an accidental free show earlier.)  The one downside of our home is that we don’t have internet. However, I went an entire semester without a computer and about 2 years with shotty internet so this isn’t even that big of a deal to me.  Oh well, I’m over it.

I am going to take the most amazing shower in the morning. We have to meet our group at la Plaza Mayor at 9:15 a.m. for an orientation day. It’s weird but this time difference thing isn’t even hitting me that hard. For instance, we got to Madrid at around 8:30 a.m. local time but at home that would be 2:30 a.m. My body is being such a champ about this no sleep situation.

Our madre also explained to us that when we come in at 4 or 5 in the morning make sure we don’t bang doors too loud because it scares her and wakes her up. Our padres also advised us not to mix liquor, wine, and beer. They told us that we shouldnt throw up in the house but to do it in the plaza instead. She knows what’s up. What great advice.