Two things about Sevilla, the capital of Andalucia, Spain are true. The first is that it does not rock as hard as Granada or Cordoba. The second is that it still rocks a lot harder than most places of the world.
The Sevilla trip started as a day trip that was already planned by our program. In one day we visited The Alcazar, another Muslim turned Christian palace that is very similar to the Alambra in Granada, the Plaza de Espana, as well as the old Jewish quarter of the city. The Alcazar was very cool in that it had a lot of the artistic detail of Muslim architecture as well as a lot of beautiful gardens.After that we visited the tomb of "Colon",the wonderful man who apparently discovered my homeland. (By the way that is Columbus's actual last name, i honestly do not know where the English speaking world got "Columbus" from, that just makes the man even more silly.) The Plaza de Espana was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen, containing placards with magnificent paintings pertaining to each Spanish city, and completely lining the plaza. The Jewish quarter was preciosa, as any Jewish quarter in most Andalucian Spanish cities are. After all of our tours were finished, me and five of my friends headed to our hostel, called the Garden Backpacker. The place was situated in one of the ancient parts of the city so it took us forever to find it because all the streets look the same in any ancient part of any European city. Once we got there the guy at the front desk was pretty rude, and continued to be the whole weekend but it didn't matter because the place was pretty nice, offering cheap piella dinners, and free bar crawls and tours of the city. I booked a eight person dorm, and this was my first time experiencing that. It ended up being a really good experience because the six of us were in the same room, and we ended up meeting another American, named Isaac who randomly decided to do a "woofing', or farming program in Spain. Needless to say we all got along pretty well.
The next day a couple of us decided to go on the walking tour that the hostel offered just to get a feel for the city. Our tour guide who was also the bartender at the hostel was pretty cool. A Mexican women with a lot of attitude who made a what could be boring tour of the city a pretty entertaining one. (The butthead guy at the front desk called her the "Mexican mojito maker." We originally thought it was a machine that made the drinks but once we saw her making the mojitos we realized it was his attempt at being funny) During the tour we met some more people from our hostel. One, a girl from China and two women who were getting their PHD in Barcelona. (One woman was from Mexico, the other from Columbia) (I liked these women because we connected about how hard it is to understand Spanish Spanish.Sometimes it is nice hearing that other native Spanish speakers have a hard time understanding Andalucians, and that you're not just some dummy) After the tour was finished we got lunch and decided to rent bikes,(a service that our hostel provided for pretty cheap) and ride around the city for the day. This was a great idea. We ended up riding to Sevilla's famous gardens, the gardens of Maria Luisa, one of Spain's former queens. These were just completely impressive. The place extended for miles, and was packed with beautiful trees, shrubbery, and statues. (Needless to say if you ever visit the city go here first.) I am still impressed just thinking about it. Right next to the park was a famous archeological museum, containing a lot of Roman ruins and artifacts. All in all pretty impressive. After we rode back to the hostel, bought some groceries in a local supermarket, and cooked in our hostel that had a pretty well-stalked kitchen. Later that night my friends and I ended up drinking with a couple Dutch guys we met at our hostel, and Isaac of course, and did what college students do best, went out to the bars. Sevilla's night life kind of reminded me of Bologna's in that it had the same effect of people pouring out of the bars and drinking in the streets. The next night was great as well because we ended up going to this really nice jazz concert at another bar, a very good time. All, in all a good time I would say, I good time indeed.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Pizza
Before going to Bologna, Italy I really knew only two things. One was said by a source that right now I cannot recall, that Italians like the Spanish do not speak one word of English. The other was "Bologna es preciosa!", a statement proclaimed by my current history professor, Antonio. So, I went to Italy to find out if these things were true. (In reality I went to visit my former housemate and dorm buddy, Evan who is living and studying there for a year.)
I arrived in the city late on a Friday night after a much too long flight on RyanAir. While I was listening to the constant, and I mean non-stop advertisements for lottery tickets, children's toys, and crappy cheeseburgers for a much higher prices than the market in three different languages on the flight I just kept thinking about how much I just wanted to get there! Anyways I got there at midnight, and was met by Evan at one of the random bus stops in the city. We walked to his apartment, catching up of course, dropped my stuff off, then immediately went out. Seeing him was like a breath of fresh air, especially since i realized that for over a month the only familiar face I had seen was my own. Now here we were both transplanted to two crazy places, together. At about one in the morning we arrived at the strip with a whole bunch of bars where all the college students pile out into the streets and partay. My favorite of all of them was a place named "bar college", a bar, that gave us one euro beers in plastic cups, I thought it was pretty funny. Evan ran into some people he knew, so we stayed and talked to them for a while. (He is in an immersion program, which means that most of his friends are Italians.) I tried very comically to talk to some of these people. My first attempt was in Spanish, with the logic that a lot of Italians would of course know Spanish because it so similar right??? Nope they just looked at me like I escaped from a mental institution. I tried to see if any of them spoke English, but that was of course a lot cause. They ended up just speaking to me completely in Italian, and then Evan had to answer for me; from then on I became the mute friend. That night I met all of his housemates as well, who only spoke to me Italian. As the weekend went on with my still somewhat limited knowledge of Spanish I was able to translate what everyone was saying. one cool thing I understood was that one of his housemates would be one the whole weekend so I got my own bed..SWEET.
The next couple days we walked a lot around the city. Evan just told me he was going to take me to places he liked to go, instead of to random museums or churches, which I was completely fine with. I completely fell in love with this place. The architecture was so completely different from the south of Spain. Compared to narrow cobble stone streets lined with white buildings and yellow window sills, Bologna excelled in the terracotta colors and the grand piazzas.(Piazzas are basically just sidewalks but with huge roofs over them, so you have constant protection when you are walking.) I literally freaked out the entire time we were walking through the city. Evan took me to a couple really nice parks,(typical Santa Cruz students) which I of course loved. The first day for lunch we ended up stopping for pizza. Can you say whole pizza, and best pizza you ever ate for 3.50 euro? I can (Evan had to order for me of course) I love food, and I love pizza, but I had never tasted pizza like this until October 9th, 2010. It is a day I will never forget. Yeah I ate the whole pizza, what of it? The next day for lunch we ate at an actual sit down retaurant where we ordered sage raviolli, fried zuccini, and a spinach fritada thing. Yeah I am not even going to comment because I could go on for pages. Also I think I had gelato like four times. You all know how much I love ice cream, I really don't know how ice cream stores in America can stay in business.
Sunday night we really did not do much because Evan had school the next day,and I had to leave the next morning. Saturday night, however we ended up meeting up with one of my friends from my Cordoba program, who has a friend that is also studying in Bologna. We went out for "apperativo" which was basically the Spanish equivalent of "tapas", but not as good of food. Whatever free cheese with the really awesome margarita that I ordered, I was DOWN. Later we went to my friend's friend's apartment, drank some more then went prancing around the city once more. I realized that I chose the right place to spend my first long weekend away from Cordoba. Bologna, unlike Florence or Rome or Venice was a student more than a tourist city, so it had a good night life and things were cheap. Plus i got to see a good friend and eat some really good food. So it was written that Bologna was "preciosa."
I arrived in the city late on a Friday night after a much too long flight on RyanAir. While I was listening to the constant, and I mean non-stop advertisements for lottery tickets, children's toys, and crappy cheeseburgers for a much higher prices than the market in three different languages on the flight I just kept thinking about how much I just wanted to get there! Anyways I got there at midnight, and was met by Evan at one of the random bus stops in the city. We walked to his apartment, catching up of course, dropped my stuff off, then immediately went out. Seeing him was like a breath of fresh air, especially since i realized that for over a month the only familiar face I had seen was my own. Now here we were both transplanted to two crazy places, together. At about one in the morning we arrived at the strip with a whole bunch of bars where all the college students pile out into the streets and partay. My favorite of all of them was a place named "bar college", a bar, that gave us one euro beers in plastic cups, I thought it was pretty funny. Evan ran into some people he knew, so we stayed and talked to them for a while. (He is in an immersion program, which means that most of his friends are Italians.) I tried very comically to talk to some of these people. My first attempt was in Spanish, with the logic that a lot of Italians would of course know Spanish because it so similar right??? Nope they just looked at me like I escaped from a mental institution. I tried to see if any of them spoke English, but that was of course a lot cause. They ended up just speaking to me completely in Italian, and then Evan had to answer for me; from then on I became the mute friend. That night I met all of his housemates as well, who only spoke to me Italian. As the weekend went on with my still somewhat limited knowledge of Spanish I was able to translate what everyone was saying. one cool thing I understood was that one of his housemates would be one the whole weekend so I got my own bed..SWEET.
The next couple days we walked a lot around the city. Evan just told me he was going to take me to places he liked to go, instead of to random museums or churches, which I was completely fine with. I completely fell in love with this place. The architecture was so completely different from the south of Spain. Compared to narrow cobble stone streets lined with white buildings and yellow window sills, Bologna excelled in the terracotta colors and the grand piazzas.(Piazzas are basically just sidewalks but with huge roofs over them, so you have constant protection when you are walking.) I literally freaked out the entire time we were walking through the city. Evan took me to a couple really nice parks,(typical Santa Cruz students) which I of course loved. The first day for lunch we ended up stopping for pizza. Can you say whole pizza, and best pizza you ever ate for 3.50 euro? I can (Evan had to order for me of course) I love food, and I love pizza, but I had never tasted pizza like this until October 9th, 2010. It is a day I will never forget. Yeah I ate the whole pizza, what of it? The next day for lunch we ate at an actual sit down retaurant where we ordered sage raviolli, fried zuccini, and a spinach fritada thing. Yeah I am not even going to comment because I could go on for pages. Also I think I had gelato like four times. You all know how much I love ice cream, I really don't know how ice cream stores in America can stay in business.
Sunday night we really did not do much because Evan had school the next day,and I had to leave the next morning. Saturday night, however we ended up meeting up with one of my friends from my Cordoba program, who has a friend that is also studying in Bologna. We went out for "apperativo" which was basically the Spanish equivalent of "tapas", but not as good of food. Whatever free cheese with the really awesome margarita that I ordered, I was DOWN. Later we went to my friend's friend's apartment, drank some more then went prancing around the city once more. I realized that I chose the right place to spend my first long weekend away from Cordoba. Bologna, unlike Florence or Rome or Venice was a student more than a tourist city, so it had a good night life and things were cheap. Plus i got to see a good friend and eat some really good food. So it was written that Bologna was "preciosa."
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
What would I give Granada? Granada, diez
I think I found a place that I like more than my own city, yes ladies and gentleman I think Granada made the cut for one of the top places I have ever been ever.
Our day started out with a tour of the Alambra, a historical Muslim palace that also is famous for its status as a wedding gift from King Fernando to Queen Isabella. The Alambra is actually a series of buildings, an ancient city if you will that is also adorned with MAGNIFICANT gardens. The palace is pretty cool and definitely worth seeing, but if you ever take a tour of this place I would even go so far as to say skip the palace go straight to the greenery. I seriously felt like I was in a fairy tale walking throught this place with its array of flowers, green arches, ponds, and a fantastic view of the city. Madre mia!
After our tour we made our way to our hostel. This was my first time ever staying at a hostel so i didn't really know what to expect. When we arrived we realized that our room was on the roof, and when we walked outside our room we had yet another amazing view of the city. The room was fine too, except Mariko and I had to share a bed and I think we got the sex bed or something, because when i laid back on it it swayed like fifty times, and then we discovered a mysterious white stain on our comforter....hmmm.
When our check in(and siesta) were completed we decided to explore the city to find some cheap tapas. Apparently Granada is world renown BECAUSE when you go to any restuarant or bar and order a drink, you get free tapas. (Tapas are basically Spanish appetizers, my personal favorites are the Spanish omelette, or tortilla and fried calamari) The first night was a success. For a beer,a vino tinto, and dinner I paid 4.50 euro!
Later that night we decided to explore the night life of the city a little bit. Since most of us were a little tired we just decided to hit up some bars. The owner of the hostel suggested some places, one of them being "Afrodesia" a free bar/club hidden in a street covered in graffitti that only played funk and jazz.Even though this place was pretty cool, we decided to explore a little. Some girls and i strayed off and found ourselves at what seemed to be a pretty happening place, a club called "Granada Diez." I speculated that this place earned its title either because of its perfect ten status with it's flashing lights and array of platforms to dance on(at least that is what I liked about it) or because of the 10 euro cover charge to get in. Either way this place was a huge step above any club I have been to in Europe so far, which was further highlighted by the fact that we somehow got in for free :) A perfect end to our night I would say.
Our next day was jampacked. Full of first exploring the famous cathedral where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella have their tombs, and then taking a bus up to the ancient city on a hill called "Albacin." This miniture little hideway contained a fantastic view of the entire city and the Alambra, as well as an entire street dedicated to tiny Morroccan tea shops. My American girl statement of the day is that sitting in one of these little shops honestly made me feel like I was in a scene in Aladdin, plus I drank some of the best tea I have ever had!The events later that night only improved my opinion of this place.
We ended up meeting up with one of our friends from our program who has a friend that is studying abroad in Granada, which meant that she knew truly where all the legendary Granada tapas places were. The first place we went to was pretty typical; a couple rounds of drinks with some great Spanish tortilla and croquetas. The second place was out of this world, because I only have to say three words:Thai.food.tapas. Yep, this time with a round of drinks we got a serving of our choice of any Thai dish on the menu. While there we easly striked up a conversation with the owner, an Irishman who said he's been all over the world, but since Granada was his favorite place he had ever seen he decided to settle down, and start a different type of tapas bar to offer the people here a little taste of something new. I was of course amazed.
Later that night we decided to go to another one of Granada's famous clubs that is built in a cave and has a fantastic view of the city and the Alambra. First, however we made our way to a random parking lot in the city that hosts a giant "botellon"(Spanish pre-game party). We had heard rumors about this place, mainly being since that there are so many college students in the city, and since most of them like to pre-game in random parks before going to the clubs, the city actually decided to designate a spot where they could do it legally. When we got there I was completely stunned that what i was seeing was actually real. Yes, it was true what I saw,(and partcipated in) was about a thousand(not an exaggeration) young people gettng drunk in a huge parking lot. I felt like I was at a concert, minus the band. Taking part in this, and preceding to dance in a beautiful club on a hill was an evermore perfect ending to this new city that i have fallen in love with. Granada, te quiero.
Our day started out with a tour of the Alambra, a historical Muslim palace that also is famous for its status as a wedding gift from King Fernando to Queen Isabella. The Alambra is actually a series of buildings, an ancient city if you will that is also adorned with MAGNIFICANT gardens. The palace is pretty cool and definitely worth seeing, but if you ever take a tour of this place I would even go so far as to say skip the palace go straight to the greenery. I seriously felt like I was in a fairy tale walking throught this place with its array of flowers, green arches, ponds, and a fantastic view of the city. Madre mia!
After our tour we made our way to our hostel. This was my first time ever staying at a hostel so i didn't really know what to expect. When we arrived we realized that our room was on the roof, and when we walked outside our room we had yet another amazing view of the city. The room was fine too, except Mariko and I had to share a bed and I think we got the sex bed or something, because when i laid back on it it swayed like fifty times, and then we discovered a mysterious white stain on our comforter....hmmm.
When our check in(and siesta) were completed we decided to explore the city to find some cheap tapas. Apparently Granada is world renown BECAUSE when you go to any restuarant or bar and order a drink, you get free tapas. (Tapas are basically Spanish appetizers, my personal favorites are the Spanish omelette, or tortilla and fried calamari) The first night was a success. For a beer,a vino tinto, and dinner I paid 4.50 euro!
Later that night we decided to explore the night life of the city a little bit. Since most of us were a little tired we just decided to hit up some bars. The owner of the hostel suggested some places, one of them being "Afrodesia" a free bar/club hidden in a street covered in graffitti that only played funk and jazz.Even though this place was pretty cool, we decided to explore a little. Some girls and i strayed off and found ourselves at what seemed to be a pretty happening place, a club called "Granada Diez." I speculated that this place earned its title either because of its perfect ten status with it's flashing lights and array of platforms to dance on(at least that is what I liked about it) or because of the 10 euro cover charge to get in. Either way this place was a huge step above any club I have been to in Europe so far, which was further highlighted by the fact that we somehow got in for free :) A perfect end to our night I would say.
Our next day was jampacked. Full of first exploring the famous cathedral where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella have their tombs, and then taking a bus up to the ancient city on a hill called "Albacin." This miniture little hideway contained a fantastic view of the entire city and the Alambra, as well as an entire street dedicated to tiny Morroccan tea shops. My American girl statement of the day is that sitting in one of these little shops honestly made me feel like I was in a scene in Aladdin, plus I drank some of the best tea I have ever had!The events later that night only improved my opinion of this place.
We ended up meeting up with one of our friends from our program who has a friend that is studying abroad in Granada, which meant that she knew truly where all the legendary Granada tapas places were. The first place we went to was pretty typical; a couple rounds of drinks with some great Spanish tortilla and croquetas. The second place was out of this world, because I only have to say three words:Thai.food.tapas. Yep, this time with a round of drinks we got a serving of our choice of any Thai dish on the menu. While there we easly striked up a conversation with the owner, an Irishman who said he's been all over the world, but since Granada was his favorite place he had ever seen he decided to settle down, and start a different type of tapas bar to offer the people here a little taste of something new. I was of course amazed.
Later that night we decided to go to another one of Granada's famous clubs that is built in a cave and has a fantastic view of the city and the Alambra. First, however we made our way to a random parking lot in the city that hosts a giant "botellon"(Spanish pre-game party). We had heard rumors about this place, mainly being since that there are so many college students in the city, and since most of them like to pre-game in random parks before going to the clubs, the city actually decided to designate a spot where they could do it legally. When we got there I was completely stunned that what i was seeing was actually real. Yes, it was true what I saw,(and partcipated in) was about a thousand(not an exaggeration) young people gettng drunk in a huge parking lot. I felt like I was at a concert, minus the band. Taking part in this, and preceding to dance in a beautiful club on a hill was an evermore perfect ending to this new city that i have fallen in love with. Granada, te quiero.
If I could change one thing about this place it would be....
The fact that dog owners here don't pick up after their pets. I am not entirely sure what the law is here about picking up after you dog, but I don't think it is very strict because I cannot tell you how many piles of crap I have to encounter on my walk to school. (I mean it is just absolutely ridiculous I have to dodge them literally like bullets). When this happens I have to give myself a pep talk to refrain from throwing a tantrum. (Deep breath Jo, dodging this shit just keeps you on your toes, It's all part of the experience!) I guess there are a lot of differences between here and back home that i am willing to accept and even embrace but this I just have to keep a closed mind about.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Barthelona Barthelona
With only four hours of rest after a night out in Cordoba, I headed to the bus station for the first leg of my first trip of the program. Destination? Barcelona, a prized city in the northwestern portion of Spain. Three bus rides and a flight later i arrived in the early evening with Mariko at an apartment of a friend that is currently living and studying in the city. So began our adventure in this new, and in my opinion very strange place.
Barcelona is, in reality, a very precious city. Its main squares, the plazas,are adorned with magnificant fountains, eateries, and local shops that extend for what it seems to be miles. This weekend was exceptional in that it was the festival "La Merce", which means that these areas were even more bustling and lively than usual. Add an array of concerts, events such as "the fire run", the creation of a human wall, plus a whole bunch of mimes wandering the street and trying to entice different crowds, instead of a city you got yourself a gigantic fiesta to end all fiestas. My Saturday here was full of sightseeing. A good friend of Mariko's is studying in Barcelona as well and her knowledge of a lot of the different places here is astounding and really helped us really see the city for what it truly is. The main attractions here are the many different construction projects done by the famous artist Gaudi, and man are they some sort of spectacular. My favorite one? Of course the prized church "La Sagrada Familia." This church, although construction began a way long time ago is yes, still under construction. The continuous building of this monument is dependent on public donations, so when the public gives more money, more can get finished. Even though this monument is still unfinished, it is still impossible to not stare at it with mouth and eyes wide open. Towering high above you in the clouds, it is filled with various carvings of Biblical stories. The whole church is like 50 million eye-popping sculptures. I'm not even an art history buff but tears easily came to my eyes when I saw this place.
Like I said the city of Barcelona is precious, although, in my opinion something a little different can be said about the people.(Before i left, Poli, my senora warned me that while the city is beautiful, la gente? she says, son feas!) A lot of my knowledge of this place, like i said is only drawn from being there for a little more than a full day and a half, but was assisted a lot from hearing the experiences with the people and the place told by Mariko and I's friends that live there. So, here it goes. Barcelona is the capital of the region of Catalonia in Spain, and apparently there is a lot of political drama involved with this region and the rest of the country. Catalonia considers itself to be a "separate' region from the rest of the country. This can be easily viewed in their creation of a different language Catalan, their "diverse" or "unique" form of dress, their elimination of bullfighting in the region and as it seemed to me, their bad attitude towards everyone that is not from Catalonia. (This whole rebelious desire to be independent stemmed from the conquering of this region by Spain like over three hundred years ago. I guess they like to hold grudges.)
I like to think of the relation of Catalonia to the rest of Spain in this way.Say you have a family that is really close knit and loves each other a lot. Then there is like one son that is always a problem, and has been rebelling since he was like fourteen, for really no reason at all, except now the son is like forty, and his only contact with his familiy is when he stumbles in late and really drunk every year on Thanksgiving, and always picks a fight with his older sister or something. Just imagine the derranged son is Catalonia and the rest of the family is Spain. The youth of Catalonia are what cracks me up. Their appearance can be described in the way. If you take a teenager in the U.S who is going through his punk phase in high school, add some lip piercings, a rat tail, or an intense mullet, whichever you prefer, plus a good amount of negative shower time, you have a teenager from Catalonia. (My favorite sight was a mullet made out of dreadlocks, que guapa!)( I got super excited this weekend too because I got to see many many baggy pants, something i dearly had been missing in the U.S.) I mean it's cool I guess that they want to dress that way, different cultures have different views of what defines beauty, so i can't judge the mullet right?? Gahh it's so hard!!
All in all I definitely think going to Barcelona was an experience worth having, but I sure did miss my Andalucians. When my final bus arrived in Cordoba Sunday afternoon, and I walked in the door to have Poli greet me, man was I glad to be.....home? Yes, home.
Barcelona is, in reality, a very precious city. Its main squares, the plazas,are adorned with magnificant fountains, eateries, and local shops that extend for what it seems to be miles. This weekend was exceptional in that it was the festival "La Merce", which means that these areas were even more bustling and lively than usual. Add an array of concerts, events such as "the fire run", the creation of a human wall, plus a whole bunch of mimes wandering the street and trying to entice different crowds, instead of a city you got yourself a gigantic fiesta to end all fiestas. My Saturday here was full of sightseeing. A good friend of Mariko's is studying in Barcelona as well and her knowledge of a lot of the different places here is astounding and really helped us really see the city for what it truly is. The main attractions here are the many different construction projects done by the famous artist Gaudi, and man are they some sort of spectacular. My favorite one? Of course the prized church "La Sagrada Familia." This church, although construction began a way long time ago is yes, still under construction. The continuous building of this monument is dependent on public donations, so when the public gives more money, more can get finished. Even though this monument is still unfinished, it is still impossible to not stare at it with mouth and eyes wide open. Towering high above you in the clouds, it is filled with various carvings of Biblical stories. The whole church is like 50 million eye-popping sculptures. I'm not even an art history buff but tears easily came to my eyes when I saw this place.
Like I said the city of Barcelona is precious, although, in my opinion something a little different can be said about the people.(Before i left, Poli, my senora warned me that while the city is beautiful, la gente? she says, son feas!) A lot of my knowledge of this place, like i said is only drawn from being there for a little more than a full day and a half, but was assisted a lot from hearing the experiences with the people and the place told by Mariko and I's friends that live there. So, here it goes. Barcelona is the capital of the region of Catalonia in Spain, and apparently there is a lot of political drama involved with this region and the rest of the country. Catalonia considers itself to be a "separate' region from the rest of the country. This can be easily viewed in their creation of a different language Catalan, their "diverse" or "unique" form of dress, their elimination of bullfighting in the region and as it seemed to me, their bad attitude towards everyone that is not from Catalonia. (This whole rebelious desire to be independent stemmed from the conquering of this region by Spain like over three hundred years ago. I guess they like to hold grudges.)
I like to think of the relation of Catalonia to the rest of Spain in this way.Say you have a family that is really close knit and loves each other a lot. Then there is like one son that is always a problem, and has been rebelling since he was like fourteen, for really no reason at all, except now the son is like forty, and his only contact with his familiy is when he stumbles in late and really drunk every year on Thanksgiving, and always picks a fight with his older sister or something. Just imagine the derranged son is Catalonia and the rest of the family is Spain. The youth of Catalonia are what cracks me up. Their appearance can be described in the way. If you take a teenager in the U.S who is going through his punk phase in high school, add some lip piercings, a rat tail, or an intense mullet, whichever you prefer, plus a good amount of negative shower time, you have a teenager from Catalonia. (My favorite sight was a mullet made out of dreadlocks, que guapa!)( I got super excited this weekend too because I got to see many many baggy pants, something i dearly had been missing in the U.S.) I mean it's cool I guess that they want to dress that way, different cultures have different views of what defines beauty, so i can't judge the mullet right?? Gahh it's so hard!!
All in all I definitely think going to Barcelona was an experience worth having, but I sure did miss my Andalucians. When my final bus arrived in Cordoba Sunday afternoon, and I walked in the door to have Poli greet me, man was I glad to be.....home? Yes, home.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
I came here not knowing what to expect. Not knowing whether I would get totally lost trying to get here from a bustling Madrid. Not knowing who I would meet along the way, or even scarier what was waiting for me in a place that can easily be considered a completely different world than the one I have been living in. My Spanish language skills? minimal at best.My knowledge of Spain or the Spanish way of life? nonexsistent. My stress level? THROUGH THE ROOF
The first few days mirrored that of move-in day freshman year except five times more insane. Meeting 60 something new people at the same time is crazy in itself .When you add thoughts like which of these people will actually be my friends? what will school will be like? where am I going to travel to and who with? Do I have enough money? I still need to find an electrical converter, a gym, a place with internet, and what seems like a billion other things, where the hell do I go??; and, when you're in a place that is totally new to you, where the only familiar face that exists is on a facebook page, and where everyone around you speaks a completely different Spanish than the one that you have learned and heard for years, these thoughts start getting really scary.And to add that it is over a hundred degrees outside :)
Things start to ease a little when I meet my "senora", the women whose house I will be living in and the woman who I will be eating all of my meals with for the next three and a half months. I got lucky in that I got placed with another student from my program, Mariko someone who has become my top buddy in Espana. We each have our own room, and live with Poli, an incredibly sweet, joke-cracking SPANISH teacher in the local secondary school, and her "perrito" Elena. Poli has been hosting international students for over fifteen years, so she knows exactly what to expect in that she already knows how late students stay out, what they like to eat, the best places to shop and eat, the best clubs(I liked this one) and most importantly to speak the slowest Spanish possible for us so we can understand.She immediately explains,that she is fluent in Italian and French however that she neither desires nor can speak English. (Crap! Oh wait yes! more practice right?) yet another exciting challenge, and it's only day two here!!!.
I never thought it would happen but I am finally settled in here. (You could not imagine how many Zoolander who am I? emotional up and down moments I have had in the past few weeks.) I am finally not only getting used to but really truly starting to appreciate the way of life here.
I go to school from 9:30-3 Monday-Thursday at the special wing of the school called the "enfermeria"(I thought the name was pretty silly). School is great here. Great teachers, small classes, and a homework load that probably equals that which I had in elementary school. Heyoh! I just like to consider that to be a purposeful push to really spend time immersing yourself in the culture and in the city, and what can I say it is working! One of my favorite pastimes during the week is watching dubbed over American movies in Spanish with Poli and Mariko, and practicing my Spanish.
I joined a gym that has evening cycling classes. I now go twice a week to listen to a buff Spanish man in skin tight spandex shout and scream a colorful variety of Spanish commands while I sweat profusely. I cannot tell you how awesome it is. To add to it I made my FIRST Spanish friend at my FIRST class. Check.
The free internet cafe I have found? It's called Cafe Niza, a loud, smoke filled place with ringing casino slot machines and all male employees who only communicate with me in cat calls, but who at least give me a free churro every time I come in. "For the guapa" they say. (Apparently most Spanish men are this forward, really it just seems that women are their type.)
This second whole week, I finally not only start making friends with some of the locals but also really start liking a lot of my fellow UC students I am here with. Weekends (really only two so far) are spent resting, "botelloning"(Spanish word for pregaming) in the local park, and going to the "discotecas" until 5AM.(the norm for the Spaniards is 7AM, apparently we tuck in early)
The life of the people here follows such a nice pattern, it flows, and since I am so new to it it seems like it is almost musical, a breath of fresh air. Why? Here are my reasons
Primarily I think it is because family is so important here.When kids are done with school, and people done with work(around 3) they go home and spend time with their familiy. Everyone eats lunch together,talks, and after takes their daily "siesta", a planned nap and Spanish custom(seriously all the shop close from like 3-7:30), together. People enjoy spending time together here. There is no such thing as a "togo" coffee or meal. You sit down outside with someone, and talk and enjoy what you're eating. From about 9 PM-12 you can find all of the plazas here packed with people and families just sitting here and talking.
I have not met one stranger here. Everyone you make an effort to talk to or make friends with makes that effort right back. The Spanish friends I have made here have been a result of completely coincidental events. My first friend at the gym? Maria, who asked me before the cyclying class if I was American, which turned into a long conversation after class and a facebook exchange. You start trying to talk to a group of Spaniards in Spanish? They talk back in Spanglish, happy to meet an American to practice language with. (Thats how I made Spanish friend # 2, 3, 4, and 5). They have names don't worry.
To add to this these people have some of the best fashion sense I have ever seen.I don't even remember what flip Flops, saggy dude pants, and shorts that make your butt fall out look like. Talk about culture shock when I get back to the U.S. Both girls AND GUYS put in the effort to look nice. I have seen some old ladies that are better dressed than I have been on many occasions.My Spanish teacher does not once hesitate to apply her super fly makeup and wear her heels every day to her job. Looking nice is part of the lifestyle, it's not considered to be petty or silly or a pain.
To sum it all up? what an adventure, and my full month here has not even finished.
The first few days mirrored that of move-in day freshman year except five times more insane. Meeting 60 something new people at the same time is crazy in itself .When you add thoughts like which of these people will actually be my friends? what will school will be like? where am I going to travel to and who with? Do I have enough money? I still need to find an electrical converter, a gym, a place with internet, and what seems like a billion other things, where the hell do I go??; and, when you're in a place that is totally new to you, where the only familiar face that exists is on a facebook page, and where everyone around you speaks a completely different Spanish than the one that you have learned and heard for years, these thoughts start getting really scary.And to add that it is over a hundred degrees outside :)
Things start to ease a little when I meet my "senora", the women whose house I will be living in and the woman who I will be eating all of my meals with for the next three and a half months. I got lucky in that I got placed with another student from my program, Mariko someone who has become my top buddy in Espana. We each have our own room, and live with Poli, an incredibly sweet, joke-cracking SPANISH teacher in the local secondary school, and her "perrito" Elena. Poli has been hosting international students for over fifteen years, so she knows exactly what to expect in that she already knows how late students stay out, what they like to eat, the best places to shop and eat, the best clubs(I liked this one) and most importantly to speak the slowest Spanish possible for us so we can understand.She immediately explains,that she is fluent in Italian and French however that she neither desires nor can speak English. (Crap! Oh wait yes! more practice right?) yet another exciting challenge, and it's only day two here!!!.
I never thought it would happen but I am finally settled in here. (You could not imagine how many Zoolander who am I? emotional up and down moments I have had in the past few weeks.) I am finally not only getting used to but really truly starting to appreciate the way of life here.
I go to school from 9:30-3 Monday-Thursday at the special wing of the school called the "enfermeria"(I thought the name was pretty silly). School is great here. Great teachers, small classes, and a homework load that probably equals that which I had in elementary school. Heyoh! I just like to consider that to be a purposeful push to really spend time immersing yourself in the culture and in the city, and what can I say it is working! One of my favorite pastimes during the week is watching dubbed over American movies in Spanish with Poli and Mariko, and practicing my Spanish.
I joined a gym that has evening cycling classes. I now go twice a week to listen to a buff Spanish man in skin tight spandex shout and scream a colorful variety of Spanish commands while I sweat profusely. I cannot tell you how awesome it is. To add to it I made my FIRST Spanish friend at my FIRST class. Check.
The free internet cafe I have found? It's called Cafe Niza, a loud, smoke filled place with ringing casino slot machines and all male employees who only communicate with me in cat calls, but who at least give me a free churro every time I come in. "For the guapa" they say. (Apparently most Spanish men are this forward, really it just seems that women are their type.)
This second whole week, I finally not only start making friends with some of the locals but also really start liking a lot of my fellow UC students I am here with. Weekends (really only two so far) are spent resting, "botelloning"(Spanish word for pregaming) in the local park, and going to the "discotecas" until 5AM.(the norm for the Spaniards is 7AM, apparently we tuck in early)
The life of the people here follows such a nice pattern, it flows, and since I am so new to it it seems like it is almost musical, a breath of fresh air. Why? Here are my reasons
Primarily I think it is because family is so important here.When kids are done with school, and people done with work(around 3) they go home and spend time with their familiy. Everyone eats lunch together,talks, and after takes their daily "siesta", a planned nap and Spanish custom(seriously all the shop close from like 3-7:30), together. People enjoy spending time together here. There is no such thing as a "togo" coffee or meal. You sit down outside with someone, and talk and enjoy what you're eating. From about 9 PM-12 you can find all of the plazas here packed with people and families just sitting here and talking.
I have not met one stranger here. Everyone you make an effort to talk to or make friends with makes that effort right back. The Spanish friends I have made here have been a result of completely coincidental events. My first friend at the gym? Maria, who asked me before the cyclying class if I was American, which turned into a long conversation after class and a facebook exchange. You start trying to talk to a group of Spaniards in Spanish? They talk back in Spanglish, happy to meet an American to practice language with. (Thats how I made Spanish friend # 2, 3, 4, and 5). They have names don't worry.
To add to this these people have some of the best fashion sense I have ever seen.I don't even remember what flip Flops, saggy dude pants, and shorts that make your butt fall out look like. Talk about culture shock when I get back to the U.S. Both girls AND GUYS put in the effort to look nice. I have seen some old ladies that are better dressed than I have been on many occasions.My Spanish teacher does not once hesitate to apply her super fly makeup and wear her heels every day to her job. Looking nice is part of the lifestyle, it's not considered to be petty or silly or a pain.
To sum it all up? what an adventure, and my full month here has not even finished.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)