Click Your Heels Together Three Times

I was so surprised...WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!

Well, in case you were wondering, we're all finished with our finals and our classes! We received our certificates and everyone did really well! Hopefully that amounts to some credits with NAU. ;] 

This weekend, Caroline got to visit both Astorga and León. She says, "They were awesome. Well, mostly Leon. Leon was having a festival, so it was cool. Um, there were a lot of flowers all around...and some guy was on stilts in a priest costume, with a big plaster head, and he chased me around. It was scary. And then, the cathedral was beautiful, cause I love stained glass windows. I saw a cool basilica, too. Isidore's body was in there. (Not that I really know who that is--I don't really know my saints at all) And then, also, it was just a really beautiful city. Astorga was not as beautiful, but it had some cool stuff, too. We can leave it at that. I think that is it. Yeah. Oh, and I saw a really cool carousel. It had a submarine on it, instead of horses, and it had dragons and a lot of cool stuff on it. Carousels need to be like that in America." "That's it?" "Yep. Thanks." You're welcome, friend. 

All that day, Giana and I took our German friend, Peguy, to the city pool. It's been ridiculously, unbearably hot for about a week, so we thought it would be a nice treat--and it was. We took a bus that some nice old lady pointed us to, and ended up in some strange, sketchy area. Luckily, we followed other swim suits to the pool. It was a little strange--there were two pools, each fenced off around the pool deck, and then surrounded by grass. I'd never seen a grassy pool area before, but it was interesting at least. The water was freezing, and so refreshing. It was a very nice, relaxing day.

We went out both Friday and Saturday nights, as well. We danced and had a lot of fun, chatting with random people as well. Nothing too exciting or out-of-the-ordinary happened, so I won't give you any more details unless you want them. :]

Sunday morning, we went to the flea market we'd been told about a few times. It was hot and sticky, and Giana wasn't feeling too well, so she sat down for a while in the shade--though I personally thought it was hotter under that plastic tent, ugh. Caroline, Peguy, Michael and I perused the little vendors, and found mostly a bunch of clothes. It was a little awkward to see underwear being sold in the middle of the walkway, but hey, whatever. Caroline and I both bought some pretty fans--practical, cheap, and a Spanish tradition (they really, seriously use them). They helped a TON. 

Anyway, we walked around there for a while, checked out the interesting things, and finally went home. Later that day, we spent a long time souvenir shopping, checking out almost every shop around the Plaza (which is a lot, let me tell you). We were hot and tired by the time we finally dragged ourselves home, and slept terribly in our un-air conditioned room. Apparently Spaniards don't believe in air conditioning? I don't even want to know how ridiculously hot it must be in the south! It got to be about 100 degrees here, and it's been fairly humid, as well. Ugh. I feel like at any minute I'll melt into a puddle of sweat and humidity. Hopefully that doesn't happen tonight, because

WE ARE GOING HOME TOMORROW!! We're so excited, it's ridiculous. I love Spain, but home is calling. Oh! And, we went to an American restaurant yesterday, to be ironic. The food was good, but not a delicious American hamburger. Bring on the calories, please! Who knew I'd miss the fatty fast food of home?

We're hopping on a bus out of here at 7 am tomorrow, driving back to Madrid, and saying goodbye to Giana at noonish. Then, Caroline and I ship off at 1. She and I will be getting into Phoenix around 11 pm, 8 am Spain time. It's gonna be a long day, and I'm sure the flight from Atlanta to Phoenix is gonna be torture, but I can't wait to touch ground at home again!

To all our friends and family: We love and miss you! Can't wait to see you so soon! Until then, ¡adios!

'Cause It's a Bittersweet Symphony, This Life.

I was so surprised...our time here is almost done. 

It's a bittersweet feeling, having the end of our month creeping toward us. On the one hand, I'm so fricking excited--I want to go home, share a room with only one person, eat whenever I want to, stuff my face full of American junk food, watch movies for a couple days, read, be lazy, never, ever go outside again. Sure, there are some things I definitely miss about America (Friends and family, for one; English, for another), but really, I know I'll miss Spain once I'm back in the States. I wish I could spend an entire year here--with an unlimited budget, of course. Spain is so full of history, and has such a strange, different culture. I absolutely adore many of the Spaniards I've met, and wish I had more time to meet more. 

One of the only pictures I've taken since Madrid...Sangria night 3.

Aside from all that idle prattle, I'd like to detail the most interesting things we've encountered this week. First, we went to our favorite sangria restaurant, plopped down at a table in the Plaza, and began our chatter. About 12:30, one of the Jersey boys that joined our host family comes marching up to us. He's drunk, he tells us, and the other one is even worse. He needs someone to help him get Gabe (the really drunk, 15-year-old one) home. Being the kind, responsible adults we are, we agreed. Since Giana had just ordered another sangria, we had to wrestle Gabe into a chair, keep him quiet and calm, and listen as Andrew (the more contained, 16-year-old one) vents his anger with Gabe. "I just can't stand people who can't hold their alcohol," he tells us. Sad, thinks-he's-so-mature kid. Anyway, Caroline and I linked arms with Gabe and walked him separately up the long road home, letting Andrew continue to vent his frustration to Giana and Michael a ways behind us.

When we finally made it home, Yolanda (our host "mom") flipped out. Apparently, Jersey boys were due home at midnight, and it was now one. Also, they'd signed wavers saying they wouldn't drink, and Yolanda's no idiot. She stormed past us, tore into their room, and ripped a hole in them. Needless to say, they haven't been allowed to go out after dinner all week. 

The boys are alright. They're so typically Jersey sometimes, it's ridiculous. But they're entertaining enough. They absolutely love Peguy, and he cannot figure it out. It's hilarious. We told him it's because he's so fly (he loves that word) and he just said, "I haven't even done anything cool yet." It's funnier in a German accent...We love hanging out with Peguy, really. He just says the funniest things sometimes--and he's so frank. He literally talked about how stupid the boys were with Yolanda, while they were at the dinner table. Awkward. And still funny. 

Unfortunately, Giana and Caroline have convinced me to show off my creepy/weird walks to both Peguy and Michael...and also in the park we were playing soccer in one night. Oh well. They can think I'm weird. At least Peguy now remembers my name's not Brittany...

On Tuesday, we got to go to a wine tasting for T&E. Surprisingly, they had some good wine, and it was a really interesting lesson. We actually learned how to be wine tasters--how to pour it, smell it, check the color and everything. Giana had to leave a little early to finish a group project, but Caroline and I came to the conclusion that we both prefer the Reservada, which means it's been in reserves for more than three years. Good stuff, and so smooth. We also concluded that wine is quite affecting, but that it wears off pretty quickly. Maybe I'll have to take up drinking a glass every now and then--red wine's supposed to be good for your heart, too. 

In other news, exams started on Wednesday, and we've been plowing right through them. Aside from a few road bumps, they've been pretty easy, as expected. Spanish professors seem to be more interested in the fact that you've learned something than that you can answer questions on a test--weird. We all have our last finals tomorrow, so there that goes. Then we just have this weekend, two days of filler classes, a farewell dinner on T&E, and flights home. 

So strange to think that we'll be leaving all this so soon. It's been such an experience, and I can't even explain what it's meant to be in Spain, practicing Spanish, living with a real Spanish family. Of course there have been some annoyances, but what's the good without a little taste of the bad? All in all, this has been a great first experience with traveling, and I know that I, personally, have been bitten by the travel bug. (Darn German guy has been to Greece! And he knows Ancient Greek and Latin. I'm so jealous of him. But that's not important.) 

Sorry this post is lacking in pictures, but there haven't been many picture-worthy events lately. Just funny memories. Hopefully we get some good pictures in this weekend to round it out, and I'm sure Caroline and I will be awkward on the plane again, so don't worry. :] 

Until then, ¡hasta luego! ¡Echamos de menos a todos! Por lo mejor... ;]

Madrid Madness

I was so surprised...we survived today.

Oy, did we have a heck of a day today. Last night, as expressed yesterday, we went out for fiestas. Here's a quick recap of our night: lots of walking, on cobblestone streets in heels; lots of dancing; Giana, Caroline, and Michael shoving me on a boy who was not having it; and a fun little jaunt in the park. We were a little...happy...so the park was definitely the best part. Giana and I swung around in the baby swings again, we climbed the jungle gym thing, and generally made people feel awkward. Apparently college-aged Spanish kids don't play on playgrounds like Americans... (Again, I have pictures, but my camera is dead and I am about to pass out for the next 12 hours--you'll get them tomorrow, sheesh.) :]

But anyway, it was a fun night, and a long one. We were pretty tired by the time we dragged ourselves up the stairs at 5 in the morning (before you judge, remember that you literally cannot go out before midnight). You can, however, still judge us a little, since we knew full well that we would need to get up at 7:30 to go to Madrid...

Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep, and Giana and I slept like the dead through alarms and Yolanda's knocking on our door for breakfast. I swear I didn't hear a sound until Caroline's "You guys!" Well, we hurried ourselves along, got ready, and bolted out the door, waited an extra hour to get on the buses--because T&E is full of idiots that don't know how to start anything even remotely on time. 

Anyway, we passed out on the 3-hour bus ride to Madrid, and began our journey in Spain's capital city. Giana wasn't feeling very well--a lot of alcohol plus two birth control pills plus two hours' sleep apparently equals a bad day. Who knew? So we kept an eye on her as she trudged along behind us, drinking 2 1/2 bottles of water before finally answering us and joining conversations. 

There were so many statue people! Everywhere!

I personally felt a little rushed, a lot tired, and really hot during our two-hour tour, but it was still very interesting and a pretty city. We also got to see the protesters that have been flashing on the news everyday. An interesting experience--if you don't know about it, Spain has a terrible unemployment rate right now, and there are people camped out in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. There has also been a lot of footage of violence with these protests, so we were a little worried. Nothing happened, however, no worries. 

Protest signs. In person!

After our tour, we were released for lunch, and we parked ourselves in McDonald's, adding fries and Coke to our packed lunch (picnic) of sandwiches (bocadillos), some little bread thing we love, and water. We hung out there for a while, then walked around the Plaza Mayor and down a few streets. Finally, we met again with our group and had to wait half an hour for a couple people who'd apparently gotten lost (leaving us with sunburns, thank you, stupid people). When they made it, we walked forever to the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. We all would've preferred to go to El Prado, but we accepted Reina Sofía, and still enjoyed ourselves.

Though we spent all day there, I have to say that none of us really feel like we got to experience Madrid like we should. I suppose we'll just have to go back again someday. :] 

Finally, exhausted beyond reason, we trudged our way back home, scarfed down some food, and finally chatted with the new kids living with us. This time, we get two American boys (15 and 16) from New Jersey. They're super cute, and really funny, so we're pretty sure we're going to enjoy having them around. Peguy likes them, too, and we all laughed quite a bit over dinner tonight. These kids are seriously so obviously from Jersey (not the terribly annoying kind; just clearly cocky and funny)--it's hilarious. 

Tomorrow, after I charge my dear camera, I will upload more pictures for you guys. :] Sorry this post is a little random and awkward...Please keep in mind that I'm deprived of sleep...haha Hopefully I'll also go through and edit this for you tomorrow, but I may be too lazy--let's discover together. :] Anyway, we're gonna jump in bed now, so you all have a great...evening...So weird. Night!

**UPDATE: I finally added a couple pictures. Madrid, sadly, didn't give me quite as interesting pictures as the other cities...Also, I'm too lazy to edit. So just accept this terrible post. :]

'Cause this is Filler! Filler night!...or day...

Unfortunately, Giana actually does look slightly surprised...haha

 I was so surprised...to see a little girl peeing in a park.

Well, it's been several days since our last post, so I thought I'd type up something real quick as a little filler. :] 

Not too much has happened since, but there are still some fairly noteworthy stories. The first of which being the trip to the police station. In case you were wondering, we did make it to the police station, after getting lost a couple times (I swear, if anyone came to Salamanca and didn't get lost, I would call them a god). It was a little awkward, since we were there for Giana and she tends to be reluctant to speak in Spanish--not that she's bad at it; she just hesitates enough to where I feel awkward and step in. Can't help it. So anyway, we wandered the huge police station--seriously, there was a marble, spiral staircase--and finally found the claims department. The dude gestured Giana into his office, telling us to wait in a bare room next door. There goes her backup. It didn't take too long, and she says the policeman was very nice and patient (and that she had to draw or write a lot to get her point across), and now she's got a police report filed. She's more hopeful than I am about it doing much, but I can be cynical. 

Anyway, we went out on Wednesday to the Irish Rover, a foreign student hotspot, and found absolutely no one. Though it was karaoke night (and there were some entertaining "singers"), apparently no one wanted to be out. So we hung around there a little bit, walked to a different club (to find it more barren than the Irish Rover), and sauntered back. We didn't stay out very long, and Giana, Caroline, and I stopped by a park on our way home--surprise, surprise. While Giana and I were trying (and succeeding) to fit ourselves into the baby swings, Caroline joined in an awkward conversation with some locals from their third-story balcony. Before they could come down to talk face-to-face (or murder us), Giana and I quickly disentangled ourselves and hustled us back home.

Yes, Spain has weird baby swings that fit college kids.

Besides those exciting events, not much has happened--we've been going to classes, walking all around Salamanca's parks, and just hanging out in general. We're all pretty exhausted, and I'm pretty sure we all feel our leg muscles either A. Getting stronger, or B. Getting weaker. Either way, we've certainly made use of them. 

One guy did show up to my writing class drunk the other day, and we all laughed about that for a while, but nothing very new has gone down since Saturday, sadly. Tonight, however, we'll be scouring the streets for sexy Spanish men. And then tomorrow, we travel to Madrid--finally. It seems we'll be walking a lot while there (goody), so hopefully we're not too tired from tonight...If we are, there's always the two-hour bus ride to and from. 

Well, that's all I've got for today. Oh, except that we walked down the river Monday (since we didn't have school), and ended up at a park (again, big surprise). As we were walking toward a little boardwalk, a small child crouched down to the grass, pulled her pants down, and proceeded to pee, right in front of all the people walking by--including random, American college kids. That was an interesting sight. I've got a picture of Giana looking "surprised" in front of the area--she was the most traumatized--but I'm too lazy to upload those few new pictures. I'll add it sometime or other. 

So there's your food for thought for today. Hopefully I don't see that happening when I get back to America--I'd like to think it's just a European thing...But I doubt it. Watch for peeing children! ¡Adios! ;]

**UPDATE: I added a couple pictures for you. You're welcome.

Thieves and Bulls.

I was so surprised...Giana got her camera and wallet stolen. :(

Well, we went out to "fiestas" on Saturday. It was so much fun. There were people littering the streets and crammed in the bars. We got hit on almost constantly--and I somehow kept ending up with the ones who couldn't speak English. I have to say, I was pretty proud of my Spanish skills. So anyway, after roaming the streets and dancing everywhere, we finally ended up in one bar, with Giana and Michael pushing and goading me into trying to talk to some hot Spanish dude. First, I ended up attracting the shorter, not-as-cute one. Second, Giana came hurrying over to me, a look of distress on her face. 

She proceeded to tell me that her camera had been stolen. She was really upset about it, so we sat for a little bit, and I checked every single pocket and crevice of her purse, before peacing out and heading home. By the time we got home, Giana realized that her wallet had also been taken--leaving her with no cash, no debit card, and no driver's license. That, on top of the missing camera (with over 900 pictures), did not make for a good night. She called her mom, worked things out with the bank, and we went to bed. 

In the morning, we ate a very Spanish meal of McDonald's, then hustled down to the tourist office and asked for advice, where we were told to inform the police. Realizing that it was ridiculously hot and sunny (and we wanted to change), and that we only had an hour before we needed to leave for the bullfight, we decided to visit the police after.

Finally, we made it to the Plaza de Toros, ready for some authentic Spanish culture. Nothing can compare to the real thing, in person. It was amazing. Our novella (young guy, 21, in training to be a matador) was Juan del Alamo, and he was pretty darn cute. Just watching the grace and arrogance of his movements, though, made me practically fall in love. He moved like a dancer, all straight lines and fluidity. Gah, I loved it. 

There were definitely some scary moments during the corrida (bullfight in Spanish), too. If you didn't know, Juan fought six young bulls, a completely new event for Salamanca. This being said, we pretty much understand the sequence of a bullfight now. First, they bring out the bull, get it a little riled up with other torreros (guys who aren't matadors, but still swing a cape around and entice the bulls), and set it loose on the matador or novella. Juan would step in, all confidence, and begin leading the bull around him with a huge pink and yellow cape. 

My favorite picture ever.

After a while of this, some horses would trot out, confusing us at first. The bulls, for some reason, were really intimidated by these padded-up horses, so they always attacked. We learned real quick that the horses were blindfolded (so frickin calm as they were rammed!) and super-padded to protect them against the bull. The bulls always seemed to be trying to flip the horse over, freaking us out considerably. But those horses were so sturdy and calm! And eventually (if you don't want details about injuring bulls, don't read until the next underlined words), the guy on the horse would stab a spear-thing into the bull's back, and the torreros would lead it away from the horses to let them run away. Then, torreros would take turns sticking two decorated arrow-like things into the bull's back. It took a lot of skill and concentration to get them on there, since the bulls always charged, too. Scary! 

Juan, on his knees, with his little, red cape. Amazing!

Our dear Juan del Alamo would then come back out with a short, red cape and a sword. He would play around with the toro some more, using more daring and beautiful moves than before, and being an all-around bad ass, basically. Finally, (quit reading again until the underlined words, my faint-of-heart friends) Juan would prepare himself, raise his sword, and run at the bull head-on, leaping over a horn and stabbing the sword right into the middle of its back. I won't include the next moments, because they're not important in the scheme of things, but if Juan did really well, he received one of the bull's ears--if he did really, really well, he would receive two. By the end of the whole thing, he ended up with a lot of ears, which he mostly threw out into the crowd or handed to people he cared about, I suppose. 

Basically, it was an experience I will never forget, and would love to see again someday. It's not as cruel or mean as it seems, I promise. The bulls are treated with such respect, and are given a very quick end. Plus, one bull got in a good swipe at Juan. Scared the crap out of us, since it managed to flip him over its massive shoulder and tried to stab him right through the ground. Luckily, Juan managed to get in between the horns, rolled up, and picked up his cape again. Seriously, the dude didn't even flinch at the fact that he was almost run-through. So crazy!

We've been pretty chill today, and all that we have on our agenda for this Salamanca holiday Monday is to visit the police station. Hopefully something will happen with that, but if not, at least we tried. I just can't believe Giana got her things stolen. It was really like magic--just how everyone describes it. So if you're ever in Europe, pay very close attention to your things. That's my advice. And, see a bullfight. You won't regret it. 

Fiestas, Siestas, and Getting Lost.

I was so surprised...there are strange Tetris statues around Salamanca.

Well, let's see what's happened since our last post. There's been a lot of going to classes--shocking--and randomness. This past week, there's been an art festival going on, so there have been random things in the Plaza almost every night. Just a couple nights ago, there were some crazy French dudes dancing a kind of mix between modern dance, African dances, hip hop, and crazy acrobatic and strength things. It was so awesome. The Plaza was packed, and sometimes I couldn't even see anything, but there was a lot of flipping around and climbing on top of each other, so I was fine for most of it. So amazing. Made me miss dancing, or at least watching dancing, a lot. 

That night, we also got to talk to a group of pretty cute rugby guys from England. Ahh, their accents! They were pretty entertaining, but we weren't going out that night, so we only talked to them for a little bit, sadly. 

The night before that, Caroline and Giana went out. We'd been walking around all day, so I was stuck inside with back pains exhaustion. But they had a ton of fun. In fact, they're dictating this next part to me: Giana says, "It was the best night ever because it was 5 euros for all you can drink sangria and beer the whole night. As we were getting our second glass of sangria, some Holland guy that liked Caroline (C--"He liked you too!" G--"No he didn't.") bought us this blue shot and then we had to run away." Caroline says, "we had to find Becca and Sam. Took a few pictures with them. Then, as we were talking, a strange man stumbled down the stairs. We never did hear his voice, because he said nothing, but offered to do a cheers with us. So we did, and he stumbled away." Giana--"It's true. The rest of the night was dancing, sitting in front of the Casa de las Conchas, and spying on people from the balcony. Like the skater guy that couldn't dance." Caroline--"Wait, on the way from the Casa de las Conchas, some guy grabbed my hand and kissed it, and tried to take me away, but Giana grabbed me back and pulled me away. She saved me." Giana--"Then me, Caroline, and PG (the German kid who lives with our host family now, who's name sounds a lot like Piggy. I don't know how to spell it, and Giana calls him PG) went to the playground. We swung on the swings and I cut open my toe. Somehow. I'm assuming that's how it happened. But it's okay, cause Caroline forgot her purse, and PG ran back for it." Caroline--"But then I wrote our names in the sand, and PG was happy about it because it meant we were friends." 

Giana says, "We need to redo that night tonight," and Caroline is agreeing, so we'll see how tonight goes. haha But basically, they had a great night--much better than when we all went out on Thursday. There was no one anywhere, even though it's supposedly the night for foreigners. I was trying to catch and entice that German kid from my classes, all to no avail. Caroline says she thinks he might be gay, Giana is waiting til she talks to him to make a judgment, and some random Irish chick I asked said she thinks he's just vain. Not looking too promising for me, so hopefully I just find a Spanish dude tonight. haha My official type: gay guys.

A picture of us looking fly on Thursday. Yeah, I was laughing.

Anyway, we hung around last night, talking and watching (or falling asleep to, in my case) Monsters, Inc. Then we slept in forever today--apparently we were tired--and seriously pissed off Yolanda (our host "mother") since we missed breakfast and lunch...Oops. But really, just knock on our door and ask if we want food! We were all passed out for hours. So we should be up for a typical Spanish fiesta night tonight. 

Oh! And, Caroline and I got extremely lost on Thursday, as well. We were supposed to meet Dr. Schairer, our professor from NAU, to read Don Quixote, but we had no idea where to go. We checked the map, and got a pretty good idea of where the building was, checked the map frequently, and still passed it somehow. We missed streets left and right, ended up on streets that weren't even on the map (which I didn't know was possible), and at one point, found ourselves across the river. How in the world we ended up across the river, or why, I have no clue. We were so confused. We trudged across the bridge, stopping to take pictures with strange Tetris figures (I'm serious). We walked by every building in the south part of the university campus, and still have no idea where that building is supposed to be. 

Even Spaniards like Tetris.

By the time we finally got back to central-ish Salamanca, it was starting to rain. We stopped at one point to treat ourselves to a little chocolatey, donut-ish thing, bought a mini Spanish-English dictionary, and finally dripped into our apartment building. We were lost for two hours looking for that stupid building, and have no clue where it is, still. At least it was a funny experience, and we like rain. Seriously, I have no idea how we ended up across the river--still blows my mind. 

Well, we've got nothing else to report. Ooh, except that we talked about what we like about Spain, and what we miss about home at lunch today. We had pizza at a nice little place, thank goodness. So good. Here are our thoughts, reconstructed from my memory (not exact quotes, haha): Giana--"I really like how much we walk around here. I've lost weight already. I wish I could do that so much at home, but there's really no way. What I miss most about home is that there is so much more to do. Like in the afternoons. I'm already bored." Brandi--"I really like the history and the old feel of all the buildings here. Walking through the city is so much more of an experience than in baby America. What I miss the most about home is American food. Spanish food is alright, and sometimes really good, but I frickin miss cheeseburgers and french fries!" (Giana says, "But you eat so unhealthy at home!" Brandi responds, "Yeah, and I don't want to just eat this healthy Spanish stuff") Caroline--"What I like most about Spain is all their parks. (Brandi--"Really? Parks are what you like about Spain?") Fine. That is pretty sad. What I like then is the crazy, completely different schedule here. There are some bad parts about it, but it's just so different. What I miss about home is being lazy. (Giana--"You are lazy here.") No, not really. We just always have to be doing something here." 

So there you go. Our thoughts on Spain and home. Of course, we miss all of our friends and family, but that is just too cheesy and too simple an answer. :] Bull fight tomorrow evening, and fiestas tonight. Have a great afternoon, you weirdos. It's 8:30 pm here!

**I'm adding pictures to this in just a little bit.

A Life Full of Pictures...And Rain.

My metal friend was surprised by my confession...

I was so surprised…to see an aqueduct from Roman times still standing (and working until recently!).

This weekend, we went to visit Segovia and Ávila, as I mentioned in the last post. The night before, Friday, we attempted to go out to the bars with a couple other girls from NAU. Yeah, they backed out on us as soon as we walked all the way to the Plaza and found them missing. A little angry about that (but with no surprise on my part), we decided to do another sangria night. So we sauntered over to our café/restaurant place, chose a table, and sat down. I’m telling you, either I’m a lightweight (and I very well may be) or sangria is really strong. Either way, I was feeling it, and chowing down on the free potato chips (tapas!) that are the perfect complement to sangria. It was a nice night—a little chilly—but we enjoyed ourselves, and even ALMOST got a picture with a group of costumed men. Needless to say, we are all three very sad we turned them down before realizing what we were missing.

Regardless, we got up the next cold morning and hustled off to the bus. It was a good two and a half hour drive to Segovia, but completely worth it. The aqueduct was gigantic. It towered over the city, the stones held in place by nothing but the weight of the other stones. It was a true Roman masterpiece, and even was working until sometime in the 80s, I think. Roman architecture at its best! 

Doesn't do the size justice, but still gorgeous!

After the aqueduct, we took a guided tour through the city to the castle. Yes, there was a fricking castle! It was so beautiful, and huge! We got to tour inside it, looking through all the room, gawking at the gold-inlaid, intricate designs on the ceiling, admiring the real suits of armor. Amazing. 

Hey look, it's a castle!

After that, we were left with TWO HOURS of free time for lunch and other activities. What the heck are you supposed to do for two hours in a strange city? Well, we sat at a café in their Plaza Mayor (NOWHERE near as impressive as ours), and people watched. The people of Segovia were the happiest people I think I’ve seen in my life. Everyone walked around smiling, holding hands, dancing. There was a band playing country music—blah—and men and women and children were all dancing around in their versions of a hoedown. It was great. 

And we got into the Segovian mood...

Finally our time was up and we hopped on our bus to Ávila—another hour or so away. There wasn’t much to Ávila—it was a very small city, and not much different from Salamanca with regards to the facades of the buildings. The most amazing thing, however, was seeing the city from afar. There was a little stopping point a little ways away, and the view was stunning. The city is literally surrounded by a medieval wall. The entire wall is still intact, making the city look like something out of a history book. It was amazing. I was stunned. 

Gah, can you imagine??

But that was the end of our trip, besides the drive back home. Giana still went out that night, but Caroline and I were exhausted, and my back was killing, so we chilled in our room and I passed out pretty quick.

Last night, Monday, T&E took us on a ruta de tapas—something you can guess by the words, a route of tapas bars. They split our giant group into three—and somehow Giana ended up in a different one from me and Caroline—and headed off. Officially, we visited three bars—each group trading with the other after a certain amount of time—but our group, being apparently slow and the last to even go to our last bar, got to have another round of free drinks at yet another bar.

Here’s how it went down: at the first place, we got vino tinto (red house wine), a plate of tapas full of shrimp on bread, and a plate of tapas full of shish kabob on bread. The shish kabob one was delicious, and the wine was really smooth and tasty. At the next place, the weird place with apple and snake decorations (we assume it has to do with the garden of Eden?), we asked our server what he suggested. He told us to get a cider-wine made of apples called sidra, so we did. The dude from T&E came over with a swipe card and cups, and gave us vague instructions to put the cup in the holder and swipe the card. Confused, Caroline tried it. The sidra came pouring out of the mouth of a snake sculpture some 5 feet above the cup! It was so entertaining! Then, our T&E guy proceeded to tell us that we had 7 more swipes! 

So sweet!

Well. We drank two glasses of sidra a piece, and I was feeling a little tipsy, so at the next place I elected to have a Coke, while Caroline drank a cerveza con limón, which is exactly what it sounds like. She said it was good--I don’t know, I didn't try it. Finally, our T&E dude informed us that he was going to take us to one more spot, even though no other group got to go there. Well, we couldn’t pass that up, could we? So we both tried the vino tinto de verano (a drink created in the south so that when you're drinking wine all day to cool down, you don't get drunk quite so fast), which is about half red wine and half gaseosa, which I think is like club soda. That was delicious! It had just the barest hint of the best-tasting part of wine.

Basically we had a bunch of wine and a bunch of meat last night. Spaniards do love their meat—especially ham here in Salamanca. But it was a really fun night, and really cool to try so many different things, and talk with people we didn’t normally talk with. I’m personally a fan of tapeando, which is almost exactly how it sounds—going from one bar to the next, having tapas in each. Great stuff experiencing the culture.

Speaking of which, there’s a bull fight coming up this Saturday, and Caroline and I are thinking about going. It’s only 5 euros for the cheap seats, and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don’t think Giana’s exactly up for it, but we’ll see when the time gets closer. We got an exclusive demonstration of the techniques and the reasoning behind everything by a real matador. It was pretty sweet.

Yeah, a fat guy pushed a wheelbarrow-like thing like a bull.

Until then, I’m not sure what we’ll be doing. (Besides getting rained on constantly--this is not summer weather!) Salamanca’s having a giant festival this entire weekend though, so I’m sure we’ll have tons of fun. :]

Cathedrals, Gardens, and Wine, Oh My!

Written: Thursday, June 2

She's so surprised, too.

I was so surprised…that Spanish classes are almost exactly like American classes.

So a couple nights ago, after posting our last blog, we went out to dinner with T&E. They paid for everything—salad, potato things, Coke (Spaniards love Coke), lemonade, wine, beer, and paella. First, the potatoes were delicious—everything here is so fresh, and even the fried things don’t taste fried and greasy. Second, the waiter never brought our table beer, so I have no idea how it was—though I’m sure it was still gross, since it was beer. Third, the wine was pretty good—it was weird drinking wine with dinner, but, hey, when in Spain. It was actual red wine—a little dry, not too strong, and pretty smooth—but I still wasn’t a huge fan. The taste just lingers too much, or something. But anyway, finally, the paella was creepy. Yes, I did mean creepy. If you don’t know what it is, it’s basically rice, saffron, and a bunch of seafood. And by “a bunch of seafood,” I mean, “shrimp with eyes, clams with shells, and questionable hunks of meat. The rice was actually pretty good, but in the end we all we too creeped out to eat a lot of it. Apparently every Spaniard agrees that the paella in Salamanca is terrible, and that the dish should never be judged by Salamanca’s version. I’m a little wary, but if I ever get over to Valencia, I’ll still try the “real” thing—that’s where it originated, by the sea—weird.

Doesn't do it creepy justice.

So anyway, we took our placement exams yesterday morning to find out what level of Spanish we are, and so they could place us in classes for today. Fast workers, right? After that, we went on an inside tour of the cathedrals. The Catedral Vieja and Catedral Nueva are connected by one wall, and are completely linked inside, so we got to wander through both easily. They are simply stunning. The architecture is so beautiful and intricate in the new cathedral and so blocky and commanding in the old one. We were all in awe, basically, walking alone the walkway above the main floor. We also got to take a bunch of scary, stone stairs up onto the different balconies outside. The views from those heights were gorgeous. You could see almost the entire city from up there, and it really gives you a sense of just how massive the cathedrals are. There is just tons and tons of stone building up at least fours stories high. Amazing.

One of the MANY gorgeous views from the Catedral.

We also toured the Huerto de Calixto y Melibea, which is a garden used in one of the first novels written. It was so beautiful and green, and there was a cute little well that had a bunch of padlocks hanging from it. It sounds weird, but apparently people—lovers, since the novel was a tragic love story—write their names or initials on padlocks and attach them to the well. I assume it’s to symbolize their everlasting bond or something, but we never got an explanation. It was just a cool and strangely pretty scene.

Later that day, at 6, we hustled back down to the Plaza Mayor to meet our group and get our books and class schedules. Giana broke off and walked to a sort of mall with a couple other girls in our program, but Caroline and I didn’t join because we were afraid we wouldn’t make it back in time for dinner with our family. Oddly enough, after telling our “mom” Giana wasn’t going to be there, she showed up at 8:55.  (Did I tell you Spaniards have crazy eating schedules?) Oops. Yolanda wasn’t very happy they had to prepare another plate when they’d been told she wasn’t coming, but it was all good in the end.

After dinner, we decided we wanted to be out of the house, but not at bars. So we walked down to the Plaza, sat down at a table in front of a restaurant/café/bar thing, and ordered sangrias. When in Spain, right? Well, sangria, by the way, is pretty strong—at least from the place we got it. It was really tasty though—it still dried out my mouth and made me sleepy, as wine apparently does, but it was actually really nice. We sat for a couple hours, people watching and chatting and laughing, looking out at the lit-up Plaza Mayor. The place is so gorgeous, and I loved that. We will definitely have to do it again sometime. (And we have.)

Sangria!

Also, look at this giant leaf!

Classes today were pretty good—sounds like everyone (in our group of three) mostly has some awesome professors and some interesting classes. For our grammar classes, we all got into some good ones. The proficiency levels go from 1-4, 1 being a native speaker, and I assume that the decimals after also go in ascending order, though I’m not exactly sure. But anyway, Giana’s at 3.5, Caroline’s at 3.2, and I’m at 2.1. Not bad at all. None of us have any classes together, which sucks, but at least we’re meeting new people—and there’s a hot German guy in 3 of my 4 classes. :]

Other than all our random adventures, we’ve mostly been eating (mostly good, and sometimes great, food), taking siestas (or doing random things while Caroline and Giana siesta), walking, walking, walking, and chatting with our family. It’s really interesting to talk with them. They’re very supportive, and still constructively critical, of our Spanish usage. They don’t speak English at all, and I’ve been trying to let Giana and Caroline get practice in too, even though sometimes it’d be easier for me to step in and answer for us. I feel more proficient than ever, especially in listening to Spanish, and it’s only been a few days. I would strongly recommend living with a host family any time anyone wanted to study abroad—it seriously forces you to use to the language constantly and lets you become more comfortable with it.

There was my little plug for anyone thinking about studying abroad, and now I’m done with that. Sorry this post is so long…I just have so much to say! It should slow down a bit next week, when I’m in classes all morning and in the groove of things, but until then you’ll have to put up with a lot of information all the time. :]

Well, it’s 6 pm here and about time to wake the kids up to wander or something before dinner. Tonight, we’re trying the nightlife. Just a small taste, I hope, since we still have class at 9 tomorrow…Ugh. Pues, ¡hasta luego!

To Tide You Over...

I was so surprised...the sun is practically never down here!

Seriously, the sky doesn´t get even remotely dark until about midnight, and then it´s already risen by the time we wake up at 7:30. It´s crazy. Really makes you realize why Spaniards have such long days--get up by 9, be up and about all day, party at night, and go to bed by 5 am. Again, one of my professors seriously told us that she doesn´t even eat dinner until 11 at least, and then they stay up, doing who knows what. Insane. Giana, Caroline and I are exhausted just attempting even part of their schedule.

We´ve been a little snippy with each other lately, and I am fully attributing that to lack of sleep and long days, and walking, walking, walking. 

But anyway, I have a whole other post typed out on my computer that´s more interesting, but we stopped by the internet café by chance tonight before going out to tapas (in other words, bars). 

Giana and Caroline saw the mayor today, and got us a bunch of free Salamanca stuff--they were pretty excited about that. (I was in class, missing the text that told us to meet at the Plaza, oops.) Other than that, we learned to dance the salsa, merengue, and bachata. Weird, since none of those are Spanish dances, but it was one of our program´s <<excursions>> around the city. The dude teaching us was hot, and clearly annoyed by our sad, not-dancer, group. But the dances were really fun, and I´m glad I´ve finally gotten to learn them. :] 

Tomorrow morning, we´re taking our first, all-day excursion. We´re going to be exhausted, and probably sleep all day Sunday, but we´re going to be visiting the cities of Segovia and Ávila. They´re about 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 hours away, respectively, from Salamanca and are supposed to be really beautiful. Plus the trip is free as part of our program. :] I´m tired just thinking about it, but it´s going to be such a cool experience. 

I absolutely love being in Spain. I am exhausted--physically because we never seem to rest and are always walking, and mentally because I´m constantly trying to think in Spanish. It gets really tiring sometimes and I just want to yell out and only speak in English forever. But really, for the most part it´s just exciting realizing how close to being fluent I am. So close! And Salamanca is gorgeous. The cathedral is in view for most of my walk to school in the morning! An 800-year-old work of magnificence welcomes me to Spanish classes every morning! Insane! 

Well, that´s all I´ve got so far. Probably won´t be back in here until Sunday (if they´re even open) or Monday, if we walk all the way down here again. We´ll have to see when you get the segment of our lives contained in that previous post I don´t have with me... :] ¡Que tengan un buen día! (By the way, for those who know a little about Spanish, they use the vosotros form almost constantly here! I never fully learned it and now I have to know it all the time! They never, ever, ever use ustedes!) But seriously, good...is it afternoon there?...

¡Bienvenido a Salamanca!

La Catedral Nueva (Built in 1600s)

I was so surprised…that Salamanca is absolutely gorgeous.

Well, we finally made it to Salamanca. Let me just recap what happened after that last blog (which I typed yesterday, even though it’s being posted at the same time…sorry): So we waited for that bus I mentioned...apparently in the wrong place. We ended up missing the bus we paid for, buying another ticket (50 euro for both, ugh), and meeting a really sweet guy.

Seriously, this dude was so nice and helpful. We had to call T&E, the program we’re here with, to have them let our host family know we’d be later than expected. My card wasn’t working at the payphones (which I have successfully learned to use in Spain), so we were running out of options. Suddenly, this guy walks up and asks if we needed help. I work my Spanish magic to get out that we need to make a call and he goes ahead and does it for us on his cell phone. I mean, I could’ve explained it to the lady myself, but I guess the guy thought we wouldn’t be able to communicate with her…Anyway, he gave me his business card. Not a big deal.

After that experience, we moseyed over to the bus parking lot (really?) and eventually got on, rode the 2 ½ hours to Salamanca, and got in the car with our host “mother” Yolanda, and a very happy Giana—she’d been with our host family practically all day by herself and was feeling a little overwhelmed.

I love our living situation. Sure, it’s kind of a long walk when you have to do it several times a day, but it’s really a nice walk anyway. And our family is so nice. We don’t really know the names of the other people in the house—they never introduced themselves—but they’re very patient while we try to answer and ask them things, and they really take the time to make sure we’re having a good stay and that we understand the customs of the house.

The house, by the way, is kind of more of an apartment—I’m not sure how to describe it. Really, I’ll just say it’s mostly like an apartment. We live on the second floor of four. There isn’t a lot of space around the house—narrow walkways, skinny rooms, etc.—but it is nice, and we’re told that most Spaniards live in close quarters. It’s just how they live. Our room is tiny. And yes, we all share one room. Seriously, our three beds take up the entire space from one wall to the other, leaving maybe 40 square feet between the door and the other wall—not including the desk and tiny wardrobe we share. Basically, we’ve converted the desk into our “bathroom supplies” area, and have to stow our suitcases, full of other random things there’s no space for, under the beds. But it’s really not that bad. 

About 3/4 of our bedroom...

It’s really strange adjusting to the Spanish way of life already, and the fact that we’re completely surrounded by the language 24/7, but we’re working on it. We got up this morning at 8, had breakfast (consisting of two slices of toast) at 9, and were led to the Plaza Mayor straight after. Lunch was supposed to be at 2 at home, but we didn’t get back in time. Instead, Giana, Caroline and I bought stuff in a small shop—it was siesta time, meaning that practically everything was closed, and we had to take what we could get. We had a very healthy lunch of cold hot dogs, Lay’s potato chips, Coke, water, and weird wafer things Caroline bought. Oh, and we ate it on a bench off the street. The Spaniards were definitely looking at us funny for that—especially since we obviously look like tourists. But it was fun, and Giana and I rediscovered our love for cold hot dogs. 

Here we are, looking really cool...

I won’t bore you with all the details of our day, but we got a tour, and also wandered around a little on our own after siesta. The city is gorgeous. The buildings are just so beautiful, and so Medieval and Renaissance. The churches we’ve seen are absolutely stunning—so much intricate work with the stone—and the streets are so clean. It’s beautiful. I love the city a lot, and being forced to use Spanish all the time has already made me feel, if not more confident, then maybe a little more comfortable, with it. It’s intimidating talking with people who don’t even know English and who speak the “purest” Spanish (apparently the language was mostly developed here, not a big deal), but they tend to be very patient, it seems.

Sorry this is so long, but there was just so much to tell! And there’s so much more I feel I’ve left out, but it’s really only relevant to us here, so I won’t relate it. Also, I’ll try to get some pictures up as soon as we find some internet—there is absolutely none in the house, and we haven’t found an internet place yet. For now, know that we’re here, we’re enjoying ourselves, we’re struggling a little, and we’re learning a lot. And we may go to a tapas bar tonight—we’ll see. If so, it won’t be too late, since we have our placement test at 9 tomorrow. But again, we’ll see.

Hopefully we get internet before I end up having to post three posts at once…¡Hasta luego!

Madrid Airport Sucks...

Written: Tuesday, May 30, 2011
 

I was so surprised…we wandered around the Madrid Barajas Airport for literally three hours.

Yeah, not a shining moment in our trip, for sure. Caroline, in fact, says, “It didn’t happen.”

Basically what happened was: first, we had a terrible 2 ½ hour flight from Amsterdam to Madrid. The plane was tiny, we were exhausted and cranky, and there was a group of six very obnoxious Dutch women (yes, women, as in forties) on board. They laughed and talked in their annoying, German-like language, making a ridiculous amount of noise the entire time.

After that fun trip, we got lost in this stupid airport. We knew we had to be in Terminal 1 to hop on our little bus to Salamanca, so we traversed the plains searching for it. We walked and walked, and easily found it. Then came the real fun. We had no idea where to meet Dr. Schairer or the bus. I knew she was going to be at some restaurant, but the name was just not coming back to me. I knew it seemed like three random letters thrown together, but strangely that was not helpful.

Neither were the Spaniards. Never, ever ask Spaniards for help. Ever. At least not at the airport. They really could not care less if you figure out your problems. Sure, there are some really nice people, of course, but as a whole, they were extremely unhelpful and sometimes just plain mean about it.

There’s really no need to delve into all the sad details of us wandering up and down Terminal 1, asking for help and being pointed to Terminal 4 (which is apparently located in Timbuktu), scurrying back to T1, and finally shelling out some euros for internet to get the emergency T&E (the program we’re using for this adventure) number and for the phone calls. Oh, and the new bus tickets. What it all boils down to is: today, Monday, May 30 sucks. Besides Amsterdam, I’ve hated this day.

So in order to prevent more tragedies (I told Caroline that penny would give us bad luck today!), we are now camped out by the door nearest the bus stop waiting for it to come for us.

I really, really hope nothing else goes wrong today. I know Caroline and I will be crying if anything does. On the positive side, we get to meet our host family in just a few hours…or not...