I will probably get into the habit of updating my blog on Sundays since it helps me in putting off all the homework I have to do that has accumulated over the week. Procrastination lives on...but this week(end) was pretty exciting due to Carnaval! But let me go chronologically:
I'm settling into the routine of things here in Toledo when it comes to classes and my schedule and stuff. Monday through Thursday pass by pretty normally with all my classes and homework and late nights writing papers. This past Tuesday at my service-learning job at the school I work at, I talked with the kids in English and gave each one a "grade" on how well they understood me and responded to me. I either gave mal, con dificultidad, bien, muy bien, and excelente grades lol. Some of the kids were actually very good, but most of them were probably really shy and nervous, even though I spoke very simply and slowly and tried to make them feel comfortable. It was pretty cool. Apparently I don't have to go this week because the kids don't have school Mon-Weds...so free time for me!
On Thursday I did something that I've wanted to do for a long time and I finally got up the balls to do it: get my nose pierced. My roommate Sara went with me, and she could tell you by how hard I was squeezing her hand that I was nervous for the pain lol. The piercing place was very close and the guy who did it for me was very nice and professional...I'm really glad I did it. I like the way it looks but it is still healing, so I have to clean it and deal with the swelling. But yeah for more new experiences!
Friday there was a program trip to El Escorial, which is about 20 minutes or so outside of Madrid. It is a giant monument/museum where all the Spanish royalty is buried and there is a church, school, lots of art, library, courtyards, etc inside it. We went on a guided tour through it which was cool to see, but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside so that's a bummer. After that we went to lunch at a restaurant by the museum where we had less than mediocre food and service, but maybe we were just hungry and demanding since it was 2pm and we hadn't really eaten anything all day. After we got home from Escorial, we napped and got ready to go out on the town.
So this weekend all over Spain, there was a festival called Carnaval. It is pretty much the exact same thing as Halloween in the United States, but it lasts the whole weekend. I bought a cheap 3€ disfraz (costume) as el diablo for Friday night, and then I switched with Sara for her cat costume for Saturday. Friday we went out to a few clubs and danced and saw some costumes, and it was a pretty normal night out. Last night though was the big party! In the Plaza de Zocodover, they set up a huge stage for an all night concert, where a band played a good mix of Spanish and American music. That was really fun to go right up to the stage amidst a hoard of people in all sorts of costumes and just dance and have a good time. McDonalds was open so we all gave in and got some food, and just hung out and danced until around 4 in the morning (although lots of people stayed out much later than that haha). It was one of the coolest experiences of my life, and I'm glad I can say that I have been to Carnaval in Spain!
Well this coming week will be a pretty relaxed one; we have midterms not this week, but the next one, so there will be a lot of studying to do. I will write more about my classes in the days to come!
Time to get stuff done! Until next time!
Angie
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A Week in Review...
...kind of. I will make note of the important things that happened in my week, because there were several!
1. I started my service learning job on Tuesday! I work at Colegio Divina Pastora, which is about a 10 minute walk away from the Fund. It is a school for 2 year olds up to 16 year olds, and there are about 600 kids in it altogether I believe. On Tuesdays I go twice a day, in the morning for an hour and the afternoon (after siesta) for 2 hours. My job is to help 9 year olds (I believe they are 4th graders) with their English! These little spanish kids are probably the best kids ever. When I walked into the classroom and the teacher introduced me, they looked so excited to have me there. I explained a little bit about myself in Spanish, and then they asked me questions in English and I responded in simple English. They were so enthusiastic about my presence, it made me feel so welcome. One boy didn't believe that I was 20 years old...I guess I just look that young? And another boy kept staring at me during class and I would smile at him and he would blush and look away...sooo adorable haha. And they all waved and said adios to me when I left! I wish I could spend more time there during the week, but what can you do. Next week I get a list of all the students' names and they will come up to my desk one at a time and I will talk to them a little bit in English to get to know them better. One thing I noticed about the teaching style here is that they are much more strict with young kids than in the US. One of the teachers I worked with like never smiled and yelled at her kids, and the next professor slapped a girl's wrist because she either didn't have something or did something wrong, I couldn't tell. During my morning shift, I had to keep from laughing so hard because the kids listened to the Michael Jackson song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" through their headphones 5 times in a row, and they had a sheet with a lyrics in front of them and they were singing along...funniest thing ever. And they loved the song too, they kept asking to play it over and over...
2. I met with my intercambio for the first time! Her name is Marcela Blanco, she's 26 years old and basically the coolest person ever. She's actually from Costa Rica, but she has been in Toledo for a year and a half. We met in the Plaza de Zocodover and walked to a cafe, where we both learned we are really big on tea (I had jasmine, like how Daddy makes at home sometimes...mmm). I am meeting her again on Monday, and she is taking me to a Moroccan tea house! So for the first 30 minutes we talked in Spanish, just getting to know each other, and then for the next 30 minutes we switched over to English. She said my Spanish was very good, but I really think her English was way better than my Spanish was haha. She said that if I ever wanted to hang out or go shopping or go to Madrid, she would take me, and that I should never hesitate to ask her if I have questions about anything. Needless to say, I think we will have a good relationship throughout my semester here!
3. Some friends and I booked flights to Alicante, Spain for the first weekend in March! The tickets were super cheap, and Alicante is on the SE coast of Spain...maybe it will be warm enough to check out the beaches by then? I am excited to go out and see the different parts of Spain, regardless. I am sure I will have a long post about Alicante when I return from that trip.
4. Yesterday, me and 4 friends finally checked out the big mall in Toledo called "El Centro Comercial Luz del Tajo." We took the bus (my first time having to take it here) which wasn't too difficult to figure out, except for that it felt like it dropped us in the middle of nowhere haha. We walked for a few minutes and then saw it so no big deal. It looked pretty much like your typical mall, and all the trendy clothing stores were on the second floor. I'm beginning to pick out a few favorite Spanish retail stores, like Zara, Mango, and Sfera. I bought a pair of skinny jeans at the insistence of my roommate...I think I will get used to them eventually. All the Spanish women here have a thing for skinny jeans and tall boots. I feel like I am on my way to coming away from Spain with a heightened sense of fashion, which I am rather happy about. After shopping for a few hours, we decided to get dinner at the mall since we haven't eaten out while have been here yet. We go upstairs to the restaurants and what do we find? An American restaurant! It was called Hollywood Grill or something like that, and the menu outside the restaurant is what drew us in. Pictures of burgers and pancakes and just good ol' fashion USA cuisine. All the restaurants didn't open until 8 for dinner though, so we shopped around some more and were right there when they opened. It is so interesting to see the differences in service and portion size between Spain and America though. If you ask for a few more minutes to choose what you want, the waitress doesn't come back for like 30 minutes. Good thing people don't tip here. And the portion sizes were very noticeably smaller than what we would see at home too. It was ok because I felt satisfied after the meal, but not overly stuffed like I normally would. And the concept of splitting the bill 5 ways based on what people ordered was very difficult to translate to our waitress. I feel like when friends in Spain go out, one person might pay for everything and the next time another person will get the bill, and so on. It seemed like our waitress had not had anyone ask to split the bill before...que interesante.
Well that's pretty much my thoughts on this past week! Next weekend there is the Carnaval here, which has been explained to us as basically a Halloween. At the mall, we bought cheap masquerade masks to use as our costumes lol. That should be an experience. I've been feeling a little under the weather for the past couple days, but hopefully I will feel a little better in the morning. Tomorrow will consist of homework...wheeee.
Hasta luego!
Angie
1. I started my service learning job on Tuesday! I work at Colegio Divina Pastora, which is about a 10 minute walk away from the Fund. It is a school for 2 year olds up to 16 year olds, and there are about 600 kids in it altogether I believe. On Tuesdays I go twice a day, in the morning for an hour and the afternoon (after siesta) for 2 hours. My job is to help 9 year olds (I believe they are 4th graders) with their English! These little spanish kids are probably the best kids ever. When I walked into the classroom and the teacher introduced me, they looked so excited to have me there. I explained a little bit about myself in Spanish, and then they asked me questions in English and I responded in simple English. They were so enthusiastic about my presence, it made me feel so welcome. One boy didn't believe that I was 20 years old...I guess I just look that young? And another boy kept staring at me during class and I would smile at him and he would blush and look away...sooo adorable haha. And they all waved and said adios to me when I left! I wish I could spend more time there during the week, but what can you do. Next week I get a list of all the students' names and they will come up to my desk one at a time and I will talk to them a little bit in English to get to know them better. One thing I noticed about the teaching style here is that they are much more strict with young kids than in the US. One of the teachers I worked with like never smiled and yelled at her kids, and the next professor slapped a girl's wrist because she either didn't have something or did something wrong, I couldn't tell. During my morning shift, I had to keep from laughing so hard because the kids listened to the Michael Jackson song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" through their headphones 5 times in a row, and they had a sheet with a lyrics in front of them and they were singing along...funniest thing ever. And they loved the song too, they kept asking to play it over and over...
2. I met with my intercambio for the first time! Her name is Marcela Blanco, she's 26 years old and basically the coolest person ever. She's actually from Costa Rica, but she has been in Toledo for a year and a half. We met in the Plaza de Zocodover and walked to a cafe, where we both learned we are really big on tea (I had jasmine, like how Daddy makes at home sometimes...mmm). I am meeting her again on Monday, and she is taking me to a Moroccan tea house! So for the first 30 minutes we talked in Spanish, just getting to know each other, and then for the next 30 minutes we switched over to English. She said my Spanish was very good, but I really think her English was way better than my Spanish was haha. She said that if I ever wanted to hang out or go shopping or go to Madrid, she would take me, and that I should never hesitate to ask her if I have questions about anything. Needless to say, I think we will have a good relationship throughout my semester here!
3. Some friends and I booked flights to Alicante, Spain for the first weekend in March! The tickets were super cheap, and Alicante is on the SE coast of Spain...maybe it will be warm enough to check out the beaches by then? I am excited to go out and see the different parts of Spain, regardless. I am sure I will have a long post about Alicante when I return from that trip.
4. Yesterday, me and 4 friends finally checked out the big mall in Toledo called "El Centro Comercial Luz del Tajo." We took the bus (my first time having to take it here) which wasn't too difficult to figure out, except for that it felt like it dropped us in the middle of nowhere haha. We walked for a few minutes and then saw it so no big deal. It looked pretty much like your typical mall, and all the trendy clothing stores were on the second floor. I'm beginning to pick out a few favorite Spanish retail stores, like Zara, Mango, and Sfera. I bought a pair of skinny jeans at the insistence of my roommate...I think I will get used to them eventually. All the Spanish women here have a thing for skinny jeans and tall boots. I feel like I am on my way to coming away from Spain with a heightened sense of fashion, which I am rather happy about. After shopping for a few hours, we decided to get dinner at the mall since we haven't eaten out while have been here yet. We go upstairs to the restaurants and what do we find? An American restaurant! It was called Hollywood Grill or something like that, and the menu outside the restaurant is what drew us in. Pictures of burgers and pancakes and just good ol' fashion USA cuisine. All the restaurants didn't open until 8 for dinner though, so we shopped around some more and were right there when they opened. It is so interesting to see the differences in service and portion size between Spain and America though. If you ask for a few more minutes to choose what you want, the waitress doesn't come back for like 30 minutes. Good thing people don't tip here. And the portion sizes were very noticeably smaller than what we would see at home too. It was ok because I felt satisfied after the meal, but not overly stuffed like I normally would. And the concept of splitting the bill 5 ways based on what people ordered was very difficult to translate to our waitress. I feel like when friends in Spain go out, one person might pay for everything and the next time another person will get the bill, and so on. It seemed like our waitress had not had anyone ask to split the bill before...que interesante.
Well that's pretty much my thoughts on this past week! Next weekend there is the Carnaval here, which has been explained to us as basically a Halloween. At the mall, we bought cheap masquerade masks to use as our costumes lol. That should be an experience. I've been feeling a little under the weather for the past couple days, but hopefully I will feel a little better in the morning. Tomorrow will consist of homework...wheeee.
Hasta luego!
Angie
Saturday, January 30, 2010
I put aside my stubborn side and took some advice...
If I wasn't in love with Toledo before, then I fell in love with it today. But I also found out something rather unfortunate today too: I am pathetically out of shape.
Today was (well and still is, as the sun gets closer and closer to setting into the horizon) one of the most beautiful days here so far. After spending the majority of yesterday sleeping/watching movies/eating/lying around, my goal today was simple: get out of the Fund! Also, the extra pudge around my midsection has reminded me that I should probably try to get out and get some exercise (and probably eat better, but I'll talk about that later). So, most people know how I hate running...and how I hate doing things because people tell me to. Well, today I put my stubbornness aside and took some advice given to me by both my sister and my boyfriend: go for a goddamn run. (I'm using the colon way too much in this blog post...). But yes, I went for a run today...and I hate to admit it, but it was the best thing I've done since I've been here in Spain so far.
Let me be clear though, it was more like a walk/jog/slow trot. But I loved it because usually at home I never would "run" because I am so self-conscious of people looking at me or seeing people I know when I'm exercising. Here though, I don't know anyone, and everyone is doing their own thing and paying no attention to me. It's great. So armed with a map, my phone, 20€ (in case I stopped at a store I liked...I didn't), and my MP3 player, I set out into the streets. The map was only necessary to get me out of the labyrinth that is the streets of Toledo, and I was able to get out onto the road that lies alongside the Rio Tajo. I peered over the edge of the cliff on the side of the road and saw a little trail way below me that was right next to the river...it was so perfect! So I figured out my way down there and read about La Ruta de Don Quijote on one of those touristy informational panels, and started my jog. I saw a lot of cool things on the trail...families with young children, a young couple holding hands (aww!), a few old men walking with canes, and a woman relieving herself on the side of the trail. That was kinda awkward...I couldn't tell what number she was doing exactly lol, but either way I don't think that is appropriate for a woman to do in public! Crazy...
Anyway, my point is that it was beautiful. Next time I will take a camera so I can share the view! For my culture class, I have to write a paper on either a geographical or historical aspect of Toledo and my thoughts on it. I might do it about the Rio Tajo...I'm not sure yet. On that note, my classes are going well! for all my classes (except for service learning), we have a midterm and a final, along with papers and discussions and such. I don't get that much homework in the classes I am in, which is really nice. My hardest class might be my "Arte de leer" literature class, just because it takes so long to read so many pages of spanish literature when they use so many words I don't know and I have to look them up lol. But I absolutely love every single one of my professors, they are some of the nicest and best profs I have ever had. Oh, and I just found out that I'm working at a school for my service-learning job, helping kids in the classroom. I'm excited to start next week! And I also got myself an intercambio, which is where I am paired with a native spaniard and we meet once or twice a week for me to help her with her english, and her to help me with my spanish. It's just conversation, and we spend one hour talking in english, and the next hour talking in spanish. I feel like this will be really good for my spanish, and to build a relationship with a spanish person here. I will start meeting with her next week!
Well, there are 2 hours until dinner and I might read until then I think. The food here is getting progressively less appetizing to me, but I eat it anyway haha. The only thing is that it is so much carbs, and the meat that they serve is basically a hunk of fat with a bit of meat on it. Ridiculous! And I bought a bottle of hot sauce to take down to meals with me, since I miss spicy food so much. Nothing here is spicy at all, which is a little surprising to me but it's not a big deal lol.
Well that's all for now! Adios!
Angie
Today was (well and still is, as the sun gets closer and closer to setting into the horizon) one of the most beautiful days here so far. After spending the majority of yesterday sleeping/watching movies/eating/lying around, my goal today was simple: get out of the Fund! Also, the extra pudge around my midsection has reminded me that I should probably try to get out and get some exercise (and probably eat better, but I'll talk about that later). So, most people know how I hate running...and how I hate doing things because people tell me to. Well, today I put my stubbornness aside and took some advice given to me by both my sister and my boyfriend: go for a goddamn run. (I'm using the colon way too much in this blog post...). But yes, I went for a run today...and I hate to admit it, but it was the best thing I've done since I've been here in Spain so far.
Let me be clear though, it was more like a walk/jog/slow trot. But I loved it because usually at home I never would "run" because I am so self-conscious of people looking at me or seeing people I know when I'm exercising. Here though, I don't know anyone, and everyone is doing their own thing and paying no attention to me. It's great. So armed with a map, my phone, 20€ (in case I stopped at a store I liked...I didn't), and my MP3 player, I set out into the streets. The map was only necessary to get me out of the labyrinth that is the streets of Toledo, and I was able to get out onto the road that lies alongside the Rio Tajo. I peered over the edge of the cliff on the side of the road and saw a little trail way below me that was right next to the river...it was so perfect! So I figured out my way down there and read about La Ruta de Don Quijote on one of those touristy informational panels, and started my jog. I saw a lot of cool things on the trail...families with young children, a young couple holding hands (aww!), a few old men walking with canes, and a woman relieving herself on the side of the trail. That was kinda awkward...I couldn't tell what number she was doing exactly lol, but either way I don't think that is appropriate for a woman to do in public! Crazy...
Anyway, my point is that it was beautiful. Next time I will take a camera so I can share the view! For my culture class, I have to write a paper on either a geographical or historical aspect of Toledo and my thoughts on it. I might do it about the Rio Tajo...I'm not sure yet. On that note, my classes are going well! for all my classes (except for service learning), we have a midterm and a final, along with papers and discussions and such. I don't get that much homework in the classes I am in, which is really nice. My hardest class might be my "Arte de leer" literature class, just because it takes so long to read so many pages of spanish literature when they use so many words I don't know and I have to look them up lol. But I absolutely love every single one of my professors, they are some of the nicest and best profs I have ever had. Oh, and I just found out that I'm working at a school for my service-learning job, helping kids in the classroom. I'm excited to start next week! And I also got myself an intercambio, which is where I am paired with a native spaniard and we meet once or twice a week for me to help her with her english, and her to help me with my spanish. It's just conversation, and we spend one hour talking in english, and the next hour talking in spanish. I feel like this will be really good for my spanish, and to build a relationship with a spanish person here. I will start meeting with her next week!
Well, there are 2 hours until dinner and I might read until then I think. The food here is getting progressively less appetizing to me, but I eat it anyway haha. The only thing is that it is so much carbs, and the meat that they serve is basically a hunk of fat with a bit of meat on it. Ridiculous! And I bought a bottle of hot sauce to take down to meals with me, since I miss spicy food so much. Nothing here is spicy at all, which is a little surprising to me but it's not a big deal lol.
Well that's all for now! Adios!
Angie
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Madrid y otras cosas
These past few days have been pretty fun!
On Thursdays, I only have one class and it´s at 8:40am so I have basically the whole day off! So this past Thursday, me, my roommate Sara, and one of our friends in the Fund Kim went on a mini adventure through the streets of Toledo. Ok it wasn´t really an adventure, our main goal was to get our "carnet joven" which is a free card that students can get while traveling in Europe, and it can get you discounts and stuff into museums and probably lots of other places. We did that and checked out some shops and went to the biblioteca publica (which is pretty nearby, but we had to walk up like 8 or 9 flights of stairs to get to the actual library part). It was really cool though! They have lots of CDs and DVDs in spanish and I think some in English too, so Kim and I got library cards to make use of it during our semester! Thursday night was pretty chill, I wanted to get some rest before Madrid the next day, but my unfortunate sleeping habits didn´t really allow me to...que lastima. Oh well!
Madrid was really cool though, although I think I will need to go again and spend a full weekend there. I really wanted to see El Museo del Prado, but there wasn´t really enough time in our day to not feel rushed through it. But what I did see of Madrid was amazing! Our first stop was El Palacio Real, or the Royal Palace. We spent about 2 hours there, and wow...probably the most ornate thing I have ever seen! They don´t allow pictures inside but I could have gone crazy taking pictures of all the rooms. We had a tour guide who led our little group through the palace and explained everything and what all the rooms were for and what they represented. I brought my Rick Steves book that I got for my birthday along (see, I´m using the books Mom and Dad!) so I was able to read along and make sure that the tour guide wasn´t lying to us haha. It would have been so cool to be royalty in Spain back in the day, and just live in that place. There were separate rooms for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for changing clothes, for sleeping, for smoking, for silver, for porcelein, for armory, everything! When I walked into a room and I thought it was the most ornate, detailed, and beautifully decorated room I had ever seen, I would walk into the next one that was even more beautiful. My favorite room was this one that was decorated in an Oriental fashion, which was apparently trendy in Spain at the time. Actually, I´m surprised at a lot of the Asian influences I have seen around here, I didn´t think there would be that many.
Then we went to El Museo del Jamon for lunch...yes, that is the ham museum (it´s just the restaurant name though, I´m pretty sure they don´t have like exhibits about ham and stuff). Guess what we ate? Chicken...haha. And I should note here that the bread everywhere is so amazingly delicious, I can just eat loaves of it by itself...but the ketchup here tastes like vinegar. Don´t put ketchup on your french fries. Which reminds me, I have to make it out to the McDonalds in Plaza de Zocodover sometime and see how it stacks up to the US. Mmmmm.
Then we had a couple hours of free time before we had to get back on the bus to go to Toledo, so my group of girls checked out the shopping scene! There were a lot of trendy stores (and a giant H&M) and sales all over the place, but most of the stuff on sale was still pretty expensive. But me and my bargain-hunting self found a cute gray t-shirt with sequins for 3 euros! Haha but that was all I bought in Madrid, and I took some pictures but my camera died so I need to charge it first and I will upload them. Then it was time to head home, so I need to go back to Madrid some weekend to experience more! That won´t be hard to do, since it is so close to Toledo.
Friday night a group of us went to the tapas bar right down the street, Enebros, where I tried a delicious drink called a Tinto Verano. So good! Then we went to O´Briens, an Irish pub near the PLaza de Zocodover. Fun was had by all haha. I like that bar because it plays American music and stuff, which reminds me of home and that is nice sometimes. We went there last night again also, and then to a discoteca called Tsunami para bailar! That was really fun. I think I need to resign myself to the fact that I will perpetually smell like smoke here...people smoke everywhere, and I still smell like it from last night. Gross.
Well, today I am going to finish up some of my homework (I hardly really have any! It´s nice) and then probably head down to O´Briens around 1am with the rest of the Vikings fans here to watch the game, since that is the only place that is showing it. I figure I wouldn´t be able to fall asleep by then anyway, so I might as well go! I can always take a siesta tomorrow...oh how I love my siestas...
Muchos besos y abrazos!
Angie
On Thursdays, I only have one class and it´s at 8:40am so I have basically the whole day off! So this past Thursday, me, my roommate Sara, and one of our friends in the Fund Kim went on a mini adventure through the streets of Toledo. Ok it wasn´t really an adventure, our main goal was to get our "carnet joven" which is a free card that students can get while traveling in Europe, and it can get you discounts and stuff into museums and probably lots of other places. We did that and checked out some shops and went to the biblioteca publica (which is pretty nearby, but we had to walk up like 8 or 9 flights of stairs to get to the actual library part). It was really cool though! They have lots of CDs and DVDs in spanish and I think some in English too, so Kim and I got library cards to make use of it during our semester! Thursday night was pretty chill, I wanted to get some rest before Madrid the next day, but my unfortunate sleeping habits didn´t really allow me to...que lastima. Oh well!
Madrid was really cool though, although I think I will need to go again and spend a full weekend there. I really wanted to see El Museo del Prado, but there wasn´t really enough time in our day to not feel rushed through it. But what I did see of Madrid was amazing! Our first stop was El Palacio Real, or the Royal Palace. We spent about 2 hours there, and wow...probably the most ornate thing I have ever seen! They don´t allow pictures inside but I could have gone crazy taking pictures of all the rooms. We had a tour guide who led our little group through the palace and explained everything and what all the rooms were for and what they represented. I brought my Rick Steves book that I got for my birthday along (see, I´m using the books Mom and Dad!) so I was able to read along and make sure that the tour guide wasn´t lying to us haha. It would have been so cool to be royalty in Spain back in the day, and just live in that place. There were separate rooms for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for changing clothes, for sleeping, for smoking, for silver, for porcelein, for armory, everything! When I walked into a room and I thought it was the most ornate, detailed, and beautifully decorated room I had ever seen, I would walk into the next one that was even more beautiful. My favorite room was this one that was decorated in an Oriental fashion, which was apparently trendy in Spain at the time. Actually, I´m surprised at a lot of the Asian influences I have seen around here, I didn´t think there would be that many.
Then we went to El Museo del Jamon for lunch...yes, that is the ham museum (it´s just the restaurant name though, I´m pretty sure they don´t have like exhibits about ham and stuff). Guess what we ate? Chicken...haha. And I should note here that the bread everywhere is so amazingly delicious, I can just eat loaves of it by itself...but the ketchup here tastes like vinegar. Don´t put ketchup on your french fries. Which reminds me, I have to make it out to the McDonalds in Plaza de Zocodover sometime and see how it stacks up to the US. Mmmmm.
Then we had a couple hours of free time before we had to get back on the bus to go to Toledo, so my group of girls checked out the shopping scene! There were a lot of trendy stores (and a giant H&M) and sales all over the place, but most of the stuff on sale was still pretty expensive. But me and my bargain-hunting self found a cute gray t-shirt with sequins for 3 euros! Haha but that was all I bought in Madrid, and I took some pictures but my camera died so I need to charge it first and I will upload them. Then it was time to head home, so I need to go back to Madrid some weekend to experience more! That won´t be hard to do, since it is so close to Toledo.
Friday night a group of us went to the tapas bar right down the street, Enebros, where I tried a delicious drink called a Tinto Verano. So good! Then we went to O´Briens, an Irish pub near the PLaza de Zocodover. Fun was had by all haha. I like that bar because it plays American music and stuff, which reminds me of home and that is nice sometimes. We went there last night again also, and then to a discoteca called Tsunami para bailar! That was really fun. I think I need to resign myself to the fact that I will perpetually smell like smoke here...people smoke everywhere, and I still smell like it from last night. Gross.
Well, today I am going to finish up some of my homework (I hardly really have any! It´s nice) and then probably head down to O´Briens around 1am with the rest of the Vikings fans here to watch the game, since that is the only place that is showing it. I figure I wouldn´t be able to fall asleep by then anyway, so I might as well go! I can always take a siesta tomorrow...oh how I love my siestas...
Muchos besos y abrazos!
Angie
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A bit about everyday life...
The Fund is going to make me fat. Sigh.
Yes, the food has been very good in my opinion, despite the many complaints I have been hearing about it from others. There are usually two entrees, with either some sort of meat or eggs or potatoes or something else muy extraño but most of the time it is good. And they have some sort of soup which have been consistently delicious! And then at the salad bar the have lettuce and tomatoes and mixed vegetables and sometimes pasta...and there is always tons of bread muy sabroso! I could eat the bread with olive oil and black pepper like all the time, but then I really will get fat...
I haven´t done much of anything about exercise either. My legs actually feel sore from lack of use! I have been too much of a wimp to go out for a walk/jog in the streets, but I have promised myself I will soon. I am just too afraid I will get lost...my terrible sense of direction combined with the labrinyth-like streets here is not working in my favor. But I spend too much of the day either sleeping (or trying to...more on that later) or sitting in class or at meals or on my computer. ¡Necesito ejercicio!
The one (and pretty much only) thing that I am not happy with here is the internet connection! They say there is wireless throughout the whole building but in my room the signal is so low, it goes in and out very frequently. I either use the computer labs or bring my laptop right outside of the computer lab where the signal is much stronger. It´s just frustrating when I´m trying to skype someone and I can´t because my internet sucks! I apologize in advance for anyone I try to chat with via the web!
Las clases empezaron el lunes y generalmente, me gustan todas mis clases. I am having a slight issue with one of my classes though, gramática avanzada (advanced grammar). I am in two grammar classes, that one and the lower level one, redacción y gramática. I need to take the lower level for its equivalent at the U, and it seems like it should be fairly easy. But the same profesora teaches both classes, and she advised me against taking both at the same time. I am trying to switch the advanced grammar class for a conversation class, but I am on the waiting list since so many of the classes here están llenas (I hope people can understand my spanglish lol). So I will see...I think I would be fine in the advanced grammar too but if I have the opportunity to swtich, I think I will.
My school days generally go like this: wake up around 8:30am, get ready and eat breakfast (cornflakes...breakfast here is really small) and go to class. I think my room is one of the lucky ones when it comes to showers, because I have heard so many people complain about having to take cold showers. Ours gets plenty hot, which is really nice. I don´t know what I would rather have though, a hot shower or working internet in my room lol. Depending on when I have class (it varies from day to day), I go to lunch which starts at 1:30pm, and then I probably take a really long siesta because I can´t sleep at nights! Maybe I am just still getting used to the time difference and stuff, but it has been nearly a week so I´m not sure. Like last night, I think I slept about 3 hours. But today is going to be tough, since I have classes on and off until 9pm and the time in between is not long enough to take a nap in! But hopefully I can get a good night´s sleep tonight then.
That´s about everything for now! I have class again in about 30 minutos. I will most likely update again after our trip to Madrid this Friday! Oh and I put pictures on my facebook, www.facebook.com/angie.maharaj so take a look if you haven´t already!
¡Ok Adios!
Angie
Yes, the food has been very good in my opinion, despite the many complaints I have been hearing about it from others. There are usually two entrees, with either some sort of meat or eggs or potatoes or something else muy extraño but most of the time it is good. And they have some sort of soup which have been consistently delicious! And then at the salad bar the have lettuce and tomatoes and mixed vegetables and sometimes pasta...and there is always tons of bread muy sabroso! I could eat the bread with olive oil and black pepper like all the time, but then I really will get fat...
I haven´t done much of anything about exercise either. My legs actually feel sore from lack of use! I have been too much of a wimp to go out for a walk/jog in the streets, but I have promised myself I will soon. I am just too afraid I will get lost...my terrible sense of direction combined with the labrinyth-like streets here is not working in my favor. But I spend too much of the day either sleeping (or trying to...more on that later) or sitting in class or at meals or on my computer. ¡Necesito ejercicio!
The one (and pretty much only) thing that I am not happy with here is the internet connection! They say there is wireless throughout the whole building but in my room the signal is so low, it goes in and out very frequently. I either use the computer labs or bring my laptop right outside of the computer lab where the signal is much stronger. It´s just frustrating when I´m trying to skype someone and I can´t because my internet sucks! I apologize in advance for anyone I try to chat with via the web!
Las clases empezaron el lunes y generalmente, me gustan todas mis clases. I am having a slight issue with one of my classes though, gramática avanzada (advanced grammar). I am in two grammar classes, that one and the lower level one, redacción y gramática. I need to take the lower level for its equivalent at the U, and it seems like it should be fairly easy. But the same profesora teaches both classes, and she advised me against taking both at the same time. I am trying to switch the advanced grammar class for a conversation class, but I am on the waiting list since so many of the classes here están llenas (I hope people can understand my spanglish lol). So I will see...I think I would be fine in the advanced grammar too but if I have the opportunity to swtich, I think I will.
My school days generally go like this: wake up around 8:30am, get ready and eat breakfast (cornflakes...breakfast here is really small) and go to class. I think my room is one of the lucky ones when it comes to showers, because I have heard so many people complain about having to take cold showers. Ours gets plenty hot, which is really nice. I don´t know what I would rather have though, a hot shower or working internet in my room lol. Depending on when I have class (it varies from day to day), I go to lunch which starts at 1:30pm, and then I probably take a really long siesta because I can´t sleep at nights! Maybe I am just still getting used to the time difference and stuff, but it has been nearly a week so I´m not sure. Like last night, I think I slept about 3 hours. But today is going to be tough, since I have classes on and off until 9pm and the time in between is not long enough to take a nap in! But hopefully I can get a good night´s sleep tonight then.
That´s about everything for now! I have class again in about 30 minutos. I will most likely update again after our trip to Madrid this Friday! Oh and I put pictures on my facebook, www.facebook.com/angie.maharaj so take a look if you haven´t already!
¡Ok Adios!
Angie
Sunday, January 17, 2010
¡Estoy enamorada con Toledo!
Well, it´s been an interesting past couple of days to say the least. I left off on Friday morning...
I had my entrevista oral after I wrote my last post, which didn´t really end up being much of an interview. The professor just determined that the classes I had pre-registered for were the right ones for me, and I got my class schedule. I have 3 classes on Mondays, 4 on Wednesdays, and one on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. Everyone has Fridays off, and every now and then they will take us on a group trip on Fridays. This coming Friday we are going to Madrid!
Later that night we had a really long meeting about all the logistics of the program and being safe in Spain. Then we had our welcome dinner, which was so cool! There were numerous tables lined with hors d´oeuvres (I guess you would call them tapas, I don´t know if all appetizer-type things are referred to as tapas though...). But everything was sooo delicious. Then a Spanish band came in with their guitars and tambourines, all decked out in traditional attire. They played lots of songs that none of the Americans really knew, but the Puerto Ricans on our program knew them pretty well haha. I got some pictures of them that I will post on my facebook later today.
Then came time for the nightlife! It was one of the girl´s 21st birthday, so a big group of us went out to a local club to celebrate. It is so strange for me to be able to go up to the bar and order a drink! It was really fun though. I had a flaming shot, which was worth it to be able to say i took a shot that was on fire haha. But it was really good to meet a lot of the other people on the program, since most of the people there were in our program. There were a few old creepy Spanish men, and I think a lot of us learned how to deal with them that night! It was a really good time though.
The next morning, those of us who could drag ourselves out of bed went on a guided tour of Toledo. We started out on a bus which stopped at the scenic points, and then we got out and walked around in small groups with a tour guide. She explained a lot about the architecture and history and religion of what we were seeing, and she was speaking in pretty fast Spanish but I got the jist of what she was saying most of the time. It was just really cool to walk the streets and not worry about being lost, since it is so easy to on these streets. A few girls and I went to a cafe afterwards, where I got some tea (I miss it...) and then we went back to the Fund for lunch and a long siesta. When I woke up, I got showered and ready for a more low-key night out!
We went to a bar just down the street for some vino y tapas. It was really nice just sitting outside and talking over the food and drinks. The other girls had heard of a hookah bar not too far away, so I went along since I am all about new experiences now haha. I was the only one who hadn´t ever done hookah before lol. I am still not 100% sure if I understand the point of it because I didn´t really feel anything (maybe I didn´t do it right...I thought I did though), but it was still a fun social thing to sit around and talk over.
Well, today I am just taking it easy before classes start tomorrow! I will check in on the vikings game tonight too haha. I will probably make my posts a little more general after this, they are so long!
Ok hasta luego!
Angie
I had my entrevista oral after I wrote my last post, which didn´t really end up being much of an interview. The professor just determined that the classes I had pre-registered for were the right ones for me, and I got my class schedule. I have 3 classes on Mondays, 4 on Wednesdays, and one on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. Everyone has Fridays off, and every now and then they will take us on a group trip on Fridays. This coming Friday we are going to Madrid!
Later that night we had a really long meeting about all the logistics of the program and being safe in Spain. Then we had our welcome dinner, which was so cool! There were numerous tables lined with hors d´oeuvres (I guess you would call them tapas, I don´t know if all appetizer-type things are referred to as tapas though...). But everything was sooo delicious. Then a Spanish band came in with their guitars and tambourines, all decked out in traditional attire. They played lots of songs that none of the Americans really knew, but the Puerto Ricans on our program knew them pretty well haha. I got some pictures of them that I will post on my facebook later today.
Then came time for the nightlife! It was one of the girl´s 21st birthday, so a big group of us went out to a local club to celebrate. It is so strange for me to be able to go up to the bar and order a drink! It was really fun though. I had a flaming shot, which was worth it to be able to say i took a shot that was on fire haha. But it was really good to meet a lot of the other people on the program, since most of the people there were in our program. There were a few old creepy Spanish men, and I think a lot of us learned how to deal with them that night! It was a really good time though.
The next morning, those of us who could drag ourselves out of bed went on a guided tour of Toledo. We started out on a bus which stopped at the scenic points, and then we got out and walked around in small groups with a tour guide. She explained a lot about the architecture and history and religion of what we were seeing, and she was speaking in pretty fast Spanish but I got the jist of what she was saying most of the time. It was just really cool to walk the streets and not worry about being lost, since it is so easy to on these streets. A few girls and I went to a cafe afterwards, where I got some tea (I miss it...) and then we went back to the Fund for lunch and a long siesta. When I woke up, I got showered and ready for a more low-key night out!
We went to a bar just down the street for some vino y tapas. It was really nice just sitting outside and talking over the food and drinks. The other girls had heard of a hookah bar not too far away, so I went along since I am all about new experiences now haha. I was the only one who hadn´t ever done hookah before lol. I am still not 100% sure if I understand the point of it because I didn´t really feel anything (maybe I didn´t do it right...I thought I did though), but it was still a fun social thing to sit around and talk over.
Well, today I am just taking it easy before classes start tomorrow! I will check in on the vikings game tonight too haha. I will probably make my posts a little more general after this, they are so long!
Ok hasta luego!
Angie
Friday, January 15, 2010
Holy Toledo!
I made it to Toledo! I gave myself the night to sleep before I wrote about my travel experience and first day, so maybe now my post won´t sound delerious and scatterbrained. Here we go!
As I discovered on Wednesday, MSP international airport is not that busy at all around 1:30pm. I thought I was going to be late, but my bag check-in and security only took a few minutes. I held back my tears as I said goodbye to my mom and sister (impressive, since I cry at everything as you will see later), and went through security without a hitch. My 2-hour wait at the gate was pretty uneventful, and I was a little nervous because a lot of the people who came to sit around already seemed to know each other. My nerves faded as I boarded the plane though, and the first flight to Philadelphia flew by as a group of about 7 U of M kids sitting around each other talked and joked the whole time.
We had no problems making it to our connecting flight to Madrid at the Philadelphia, which is what I was nervous about, and even had time to grab something to eat (well, my cheapo self ate the special K bar I had in my backpack while others bought McDonalds lol). Our international flight was a huge plane, with seats that went 2-4-2, except I was so far back in the plane and the last 4 rows went 2-3-2. Lucky me was in the middle seat of the grouping of 3, but the girl to the left of me was also in my program, and the really chatty guy on my right was going on a program in Barcelona. A least that guy let me play games on his iPhone...we had a little competition going, I won, but no big deal ;) I got the pasta for dinner, which I hear was a good choice since the chicken was suspcious. I got zero sleep on this flight, which was due both to discomfort and the fact that I watched Love Happens (which I cried probably way too much during...see note about my crying above) and Julie and Julia (which was so cute!) on my little personal TV in front of me. Needless to say, I was pretty out of it when I got off the plane.
Customs went smoothly, and I was relieved to see my suitcase on the conveyor belt after only 15 minutes of waiting. The girls I was with and I walked over to the sign for our Toledo program, and hopped on the bus to take us there. First thing I noticed out of getting out of the airport...it´s like 52 degrees! That is so warm! It felt wonderful, and I promptly stuffed my jacket into my suitcase. I noticed a few things on the drive to Toledo: lots of graffiti, lots of signs that said "muebles" (or furniture stores), and lots of car dealerships. But when we pulled into Toledo...all I could think was "holy toledo..." I was in such awe! I will take lots of pictures when we go on our tour of the city tomorrow, but the scenery is really breathtaking. The bus took us as far as it could, and then we walked the narrow cobblestone streets for about 5 minutes until we got to the Fund. Luckily, they put all our large luggage on a little truck and it met us there, so we didn´t have to drag it up the steep inclines.
Lunch was ready for us when we got there. Many of the food options were very interesting to say the least, and I stuck with some pasta salad and vegetables as my first meal. I promise I will be more adventurous in my food choices from now on, but at the time I just couldn´t lol. I got my room key and lugged my stuff up one flight of stairs to my room. I live in habitacion 1 with 3 other girls. There are two bedrooms and one bathroom area with a toilet (and a bidet! haha) and sink, and another bathroom area with the shower and two more sinks. Each room actually has 3 beds and 3 closets, but there are only two of us in each room. So lots of space! And our view out the window...amazing. I will take pictures soon. After I took a quick look around my room, the activities coordinator Jose Luis gave us a tour of the building, and proclaimed those of us living in the Fund "libres" for the rest of the day. So a 4 hour nap later, I ate dinner (guess what they served...burgers! haha) and took a shower and chatted with my roommate. I was invited out to the bars by some of the girls I had met on the plane, but I was just way too drained lol. The first night is just too much for me! I ate breakfast this morning with the girl I sat next to on the 2nd flight and we discussed going out tonight, so that should be an adventure! I had a written pre-test in spanish this morning, which wasn´t too bad, and I have my oral interview in about an hour. Perhaps I should get reviewing...
I am still getting used to the whole "habla solo en espanol" thing, and the keyboard I am using in the computer lab is a little difficult at times to use (I still can´t figure out how to do accents or tildes on it either). Otherwise everything is going really well! Sorry this post was so long and detailed, but these are my first experiences. I will post again soon!
Angie
As I discovered on Wednesday, MSP international airport is not that busy at all around 1:30pm. I thought I was going to be late, but my bag check-in and security only took a few minutes. I held back my tears as I said goodbye to my mom and sister (impressive, since I cry at everything as you will see later), and went through security without a hitch. My 2-hour wait at the gate was pretty uneventful, and I was a little nervous because a lot of the people who came to sit around already seemed to know each other. My nerves faded as I boarded the plane though, and the first flight to Philadelphia flew by as a group of about 7 U of M kids sitting around each other talked and joked the whole time.
We had no problems making it to our connecting flight to Madrid at the Philadelphia, which is what I was nervous about, and even had time to grab something to eat (well, my cheapo self ate the special K bar I had in my backpack while others bought McDonalds lol). Our international flight was a huge plane, with seats that went 2-4-2, except I was so far back in the plane and the last 4 rows went 2-3-2. Lucky me was in the middle seat of the grouping of 3, but the girl to the left of me was also in my program, and the really chatty guy on my right was going on a program in Barcelona. A least that guy let me play games on his iPhone...we had a little competition going, I won, but no big deal ;) I got the pasta for dinner, which I hear was a good choice since the chicken was suspcious. I got zero sleep on this flight, which was due both to discomfort and the fact that I watched Love Happens (which I cried probably way too much during...see note about my crying above) and Julie and Julia (which was so cute!) on my little personal TV in front of me. Needless to say, I was pretty out of it when I got off the plane.
Customs went smoothly, and I was relieved to see my suitcase on the conveyor belt after only 15 minutes of waiting. The girls I was with and I walked over to the sign for our Toledo program, and hopped on the bus to take us there. First thing I noticed out of getting out of the airport...it´s like 52 degrees! That is so warm! It felt wonderful, and I promptly stuffed my jacket into my suitcase. I noticed a few things on the drive to Toledo: lots of graffiti, lots of signs that said "muebles" (or furniture stores), and lots of car dealerships. But when we pulled into Toledo...all I could think was "holy toledo..." I was in such awe! I will take lots of pictures when we go on our tour of the city tomorrow, but the scenery is really breathtaking. The bus took us as far as it could, and then we walked the narrow cobblestone streets for about 5 minutes until we got to the Fund. Luckily, they put all our large luggage on a little truck and it met us there, so we didn´t have to drag it up the steep inclines.
Lunch was ready for us when we got there. Many of the food options were very interesting to say the least, and I stuck with some pasta salad and vegetables as my first meal. I promise I will be more adventurous in my food choices from now on, but at the time I just couldn´t lol. I got my room key and lugged my stuff up one flight of stairs to my room. I live in habitacion 1 with 3 other girls. There are two bedrooms and one bathroom area with a toilet (and a bidet! haha) and sink, and another bathroom area with the shower and two more sinks. Each room actually has 3 beds and 3 closets, but there are only two of us in each room. So lots of space! And our view out the window...amazing. I will take pictures soon. After I took a quick look around my room, the activities coordinator Jose Luis gave us a tour of the building, and proclaimed those of us living in the Fund "libres" for the rest of the day. So a 4 hour nap later, I ate dinner (guess what they served...burgers! haha) and took a shower and chatted with my roommate. I was invited out to the bars by some of the girls I had met on the plane, but I was just way too drained lol. The first night is just too much for me! I ate breakfast this morning with the girl I sat next to on the 2nd flight and we discussed going out tonight, so that should be an adventure! I had a written pre-test in spanish this morning, which wasn´t too bad, and I have my oral interview in about an hour. Perhaps I should get reviewing...
I am still getting used to the whole "habla solo en espanol" thing, and the keyboard I am using in the computer lab is a little difficult at times to use (I still can´t figure out how to do accents or tildes on it either). Otherwise everything is going really well! Sorry this post was so long and detailed, but these are my first experiences. I will post again soon!
Angie
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