1.I feel like I am losing my English vocabulary… sometimes it is hard to think of a word in English, but I know the word in Spanish.
2. I love to use the words: guay and chulo, which mean cool. Example: “¿Harry Potter?... ¡Qué guay!” Translation: “Harry Potter?… how cool!”
3.Instead of “Umm” or a different filler of the English language, los espanoles use “Vale.” I find myself saying it almost as much as I find myself using guay and chulo.
4.I was under the impression that a lot of people didn’t like the U.S… I haven’t met anyone yet that hates the U.S.- on the contrary, I’ve met many people who LOVE Obama. It’s all our madre talks about.
5. People can be really forward about your appearance here. Our French roommate tells me I have Angelina Jolie’s lips… interesante. I’ve been mistaken for being from many other countries in Europe though, including Italy?
Well, we’re full into classes now, but I still haven’t had that much homework. Last night I went shopping downtown, and we took the bus. I’ve been on the bus a couple of times… have yet to have a good experience using it. Haha.
Right now I’m having some difficulties with my bank in the U.S. I’ve told them several times that I am in Europe until the end of May, but I still cannot use my credit card. It’s quite frustrating. I’m hoping they will fix that soon so I can get some more Euros.
Other than that, my rommie has really grown on me the past few days. She’s crazy but hilarious at the same time.
Hasta luego!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
My First Weekend in Valencia
This is kind of a long one, but we have seemed to have lost the internet connection in our apartment, so it’s been quite some time without Internet. So, I’ll catch you up on my first lengthy weekend in Valencia.
On Thursday we went to the older part of the city, and it was gorgeous. I love the buildings and churches. Eve, Claire and I had crepes and sat in the sun. It was soo nice out. Plus, we walked through this park and there were a lot of people running in it, and since there is kind of a sketch neighborhood by the beach, I think I want to run in the park we found today instead. The Rally (Amazing Race Valencia style) was fun. After we were all finished, we had to find our way back and Brian whipped out his iPhone and it seemed like he knew where he was going (so even though I had a gut feeling that we were going the wrong way again, I followed un chico). Pues, we got lost, and ended up on the wrong side of the city that we needed. That was the second time I followed a guy who acted like he knew where he was going when in fact had no idea and then proceeded to get us lost for a good amount of time. So, I think I have learned my lesson, and when I think we’re going the wrong way, I’m going to speak up.
The Park. <3.
Outside of the Basilica.
Ceiling inside the Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados.
On Friday I met up with some chicas by the park and then we went to the older part of the city. It was muy guay and we went in was once the city gate. We took some fotos and then returned to our casas para almuerzo. Then we met up and went to the beach for awhile. There were quite a few of us on the beach, and then a good group of us went to a restaurante and had pizza and ice cream. Then Eve and I walked to the newer part of the city- of Science and Arte. We saw un espactáculo of water and music which was kind of cool. Then we sat and chatted in the park and after that I came back to the apartment. There was a bit of a miscommunication between our senora and me, because I told her that I wasn’t going to eat dinner here tonight, and she took it as I was going to eat dinner later when I came back. But, I wasn’t hungry and there was food here for me. So she was like, “Ahh, and now I have to throw this out …” (I still don’t know why they don’t just refrigerate things here… a little strange. Especially since we refrigerate everything in the U.S. and she has a microwave. I don’t know…). Anne solved the problem since she was still starving from dinner, but from now on I guess I’m going to leave her notes so she remembers what I tell her as far as meals go.
View of the city from the castle.
The Beach.
The gang in the restaurante.
The City of Arts and Sciences. muy guay.
On Saturday Eve and I went shopping in the older part of the city which was nice. I bought a scarf and we ran into some other ISA girls. Then Eve finally bought a phone and we made our way home. (It was rainy and cold). Then we ate lunch at home and Anne and I took a nap. After that we ran to the supermercado and bought some more chocolate. Haha. We came back and chatted with Elvira’s grandson Ricardo. He’s six years old and talks really fast. During dinner, it was just Anne, Ricardo and I and he was telling us about these action figures and trading cards. I’m assuming it’s kind of like Captain Planet Spanish style: Earth, Land, Fire, are good and the Darkness is bad. Then he kept telling us jokes, and some of them I kind of understood, but he’d say them SO fast it was hard to catch what he was saying. And I don’t think Anne really got any of the jokes- nonetheless, we laughed either way. Then after dinner we met up with some girls who live in the complex next to us- Emily and Jullieta. We went to a café and had café con leche and chocolate sin churros. We chatted it up and it was nice. Then we went to the 24/7 store that’s by us that I didn’t know about til last night. It literally has everything- including Ben and Jerry’s. So that was quite the discovery.
On Sunday we kind of slept in and then ate some toast and watched cartoons with Ricardo. We watched SpongeBob Squarepants, and Dora the Explorer. I really like watching the cartoons in Spanish- mostly because I’ve already seen all the episodes in English and know what’s going on pretty well. (Especially SpongeBob.) We finally asked her if we could wash some clothes, and she seemed kind of annoyed at the fact that we’ve been wanting to wash our clothes (even though we’ve almost been here for 2 wks now.) So that was kind of an awkward situation. And then we kept hearing fireworks being shot off in the middle of the day, and our neighbors are smoking pot. (It kind of stinks up the place). Sooo needless to say, it has been an interesting weekend, and all I really want to do (besides talk to my family back home) is some good old homework or something. I feel so unproductive and bored here all the time, unless I’m walking around the city. I think it’s going to be awhile before I’m adjusted to some things, but hopefully I'll adjust quickly.
On Thursday we went to the older part of the city, and it was gorgeous. I love the buildings and churches. Eve, Claire and I had crepes and sat in the sun. It was soo nice out. Plus, we walked through this park and there were a lot of people running in it, and since there is kind of a sketch neighborhood by the beach, I think I want to run in the park we found today instead. The Rally (Amazing Race Valencia style) was fun. After we were all finished, we had to find our way back and Brian whipped out his iPhone and it seemed like he knew where he was going (so even though I had a gut feeling that we were going the wrong way again, I followed un chico). Pues, we got lost, and ended up on the wrong side of the city that we needed. That was the second time I followed a guy who acted like he knew where he was going when in fact had no idea and then proceeded to get us lost for a good amount of time. So, I think I have learned my lesson, and when I think we’re going the wrong way, I’m going to speak up.
The Park. <3.
Outside of the Basilica.
Ceiling inside the Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados.
On Friday I met up with some chicas by the park and then we went to the older part of the city. It was muy guay and we went in was once the city gate. We took some fotos and then returned to our casas para almuerzo. Then we met up and went to the beach for awhile. There were quite a few of us on the beach, and then a good group of us went to a restaurante and had pizza and ice cream. Then Eve and I walked to the newer part of the city- of Science and Arte. We saw un espactáculo of water and music which was kind of cool. Then we sat and chatted in the park and after that I came back to the apartment. There was a bit of a miscommunication between our senora and me, because I told her that I wasn’t going to eat dinner here tonight, and she took it as I was going to eat dinner later when I came back. But, I wasn’t hungry and there was food here for me. So she was like, “Ahh, and now I have to throw this out …” (I still don’t know why they don’t just refrigerate things here… a little strange. Especially since we refrigerate everything in the U.S. and she has a microwave. I don’t know…). Anne solved the problem since she was still starving from dinner, but from now on I guess I’m going to leave her notes so she remembers what I tell her as far as meals go.
View of the city from the castle.
The Beach.
The gang in the restaurante.
The City of Arts and Sciences. muy guay.
On Saturday Eve and I went shopping in the older part of the city which was nice. I bought a scarf and we ran into some other ISA girls. Then Eve finally bought a phone and we made our way home. (It was rainy and cold). Then we ate lunch at home and Anne and I took a nap. After that we ran to the supermercado and bought some more chocolate. Haha. We came back and chatted with Elvira’s grandson Ricardo. He’s six years old and talks really fast. During dinner, it was just Anne, Ricardo and I and he was telling us about these action figures and trading cards. I’m assuming it’s kind of like Captain Planet Spanish style: Earth, Land, Fire, are good and the Darkness is bad. Then he kept telling us jokes, and some of them I kind of understood, but he’d say them SO fast it was hard to catch what he was saying. And I don’t think Anne really got any of the jokes- nonetheless, we laughed either way. Then after dinner we met up with some girls who live in the complex next to us- Emily and Jullieta. We went to a café and had café con leche and chocolate sin churros. We chatted it up and it was nice. Then we went to the 24/7 store that’s by us that I didn’t know about til last night. It literally has everything- including Ben and Jerry’s. So that was quite the discovery.
On Sunday we kind of slept in and then ate some toast and watched cartoons with Ricardo. We watched SpongeBob Squarepants, and Dora the Explorer. I really like watching the cartoons in Spanish- mostly because I’ve already seen all the episodes in English and know what’s going on pretty well. (Especially SpongeBob.) We finally asked her if we could wash some clothes, and she seemed kind of annoyed at the fact that we’ve been wanting to wash our clothes (even though we’ve almost been here for 2 wks now.) So that was kind of an awkward situation. And then we kept hearing fireworks being shot off in the middle of the day, and our neighbors are smoking pot. (It kind of stinks up the place). Sooo needless to say, it has been an interesting weekend, and all I really want to do (besides talk to my family back home) is some good old homework or something. I feel so unproductive and bored here all the time, unless I’m walking around the city. I think it’s going to be awhile before I’m adjusted to some things, but hopefully I'll adjust quickly.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Today I had my other two classes which were Spanish Women Writers, and Spanish Grammar- both which I really like. I think that once we get into my Women Writers course I am going to love it, and it might be a good topic for me to use as a basis for my senior paper.
Today nuestra señora had her son over for lunch, which was nice. Up until now Anne and I have had to share the key to get back into the courtyard for the apartment complex. (Or wait and hope someone comes to let us in… =/. But now está bien, because we have two sets up keys and we can come and go quite easily.
We had a meeting earlier today at ISA and then after almuerzo Eve and I went to the Mercado. We bought some huge chocolate bars and ate like half of them. But then we decided that we could eat ten of them and still be losing weight because of all the walking around we’ve been doing.
We have found a bench in a park by ISA and we’ve decided that this is our place to chat and chill. I’ll prolly take a pic of it and at it at some point so you can see it. ; )
Today starts my four day weekend!!! I don’t have class on Thursdays and then Friday is a Fiesta de Vicente-something-something. (One thing I’ve learned is that the Spanish love fiestas, and fireworks). Thus Friday night will be my first time “going out” for a night in Spain. It should be fun!
So, tomorrow I think Eve, Claire and I are going to walk to the older part of the city and then maybe Corte Ingles (which is basically Europe’s Walmart). Then tomorrow night ISA has a game for us where we’ll be running around Valencia trying to find clues and different checkpoints- the fastest team wins... (Amazing Race Valencia style?)
These past couple of days have been a little rough and I really miss my family, but I know things will get better. I’m feeling more at home everyday in Valencia and in el apartamento apartment and Anne and I have bonded over algunas cosas locas. If you haven’t noticed, it’s getting hard for me to type/speak only ingles, which is a good thing tho. Jaja. !Pues, hasta luego!
Today nuestra señora had her son over for lunch, which was nice. Up until now Anne and I have had to share the key to get back into the courtyard for the apartment complex. (Or wait and hope someone comes to let us in… =/. But now está bien, because we have two sets up keys and we can come and go quite easily.
We had a meeting earlier today at ISA and then after almuerzo Eve and I went to the Mercado. We bought some huge chocolate bars and ate like half of them. But then we decided that we could eat ten of them and still be losing weight because of all the walking around we’ve been doing.
We have found a bench in a park by ISA and we’ve decided that this is our place to chat and chill. I’ll prolly take a pic of it and at it at some point so you can see it. ; )
Today starts my four day weekend!!! I don’t have class on Thursdays and then Friday is a Fiesta de Vicente-something-something. (One thing I’ve learned is that the Spanish love fiestas, and fireworks). Thus Friday night will be my first time “going out” for a night in Spain. It should be fun!
So, tomorrow I think Eve, Claire and I are going to walk to the older part of the city and then maybe Corte Ingles (which is basically Europe’s Walmart). Then tomorrow night ISA has a game for us where we’ll be running around Valencia trying to find clues and different checkpoints- the fastest team wins... (Amazing Race Valencia style?)
These past couple of days have been a little rough and I really miss my family, but I know things will get better. I’m feeling more at home everyday in Valencia and in el apartamento apartment and Anne and I have bonded over algunas cosas locas. If you haven’t noticed, it’s getting hard for me to type/speak only ingles, which is a good thing tho. Jaja. !Pues, hasta luego!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Hmmm. It is taking some getting used to everything. Here they don't really have anything but coffee for breakfast, and I have class at 8:45 most days... so I'll be having breakfast at 8:00. Then they don't eat lunch until 2:30- which is a long time, especially since we're walking everywhere. So usually by the time lunch comes around, I'm either starving or past being hungry. Then dinner is sometime after 9. It's different, but I know that I will get used to it eventually...
Today I went to the beach with Eve, and it was beautiful. It took us awhile to get there and we walked throught a kind of sketch neighboorhood to get there, but we were able to avoid that on the way back. I can't wait for a day when it is warm and sunny out so we can just sit there though.
So far I've had two classes. I'm taking four total. Spanish Grammar, Spanish Culture: History, Art, Tradition, Women Writers, and Mediterranean Society in History and in the Present. We'll see how the other two are tomorrow. It will be nice though, because I don't have class on Thursdays!
Today I went to the beach with Eve, and it was beautiful. It took us awhile to get there and we walked throught a kind of sketch neighboorhood to get there, but we were able to avoid that on the way back. I can't wait for a day when it is warm and sunny out so we can just sit there though.
So far I've had two classes. I'm taking four total. Spanish Grammar, Spanish Culture: History, Art, Tradition, Women Writers, and Mediterranean Society in History and in the Present. We'll see how the other two are tomorrow. It will be nice though, because I don't have class on Thursdays!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Madrid, Toledo, and Our New Home
It has been awhile since I've been able to make a post. We haven't had much Internet until now. Luckily I am finally at home in our apartment and we have wifi, which I was really happy to see! Where to start?
Our flight went well, it was all students flying to Madrid. There were students from ISA Valencia, ISA Barcelona, and a program in Toledo with the U of M. So, it was nice for our connection in Philadelphia. The bad part of our flight was that I didn't really sleep at all, and they kept asking for a doctor on the plane-- so it was a really long day. Once we landed we found ISA and they took us to our hotel.
In Madrid we spent most of the time wandering around the city. It reminded me of New York City but in Spanish. The first day we went to a couple bars and had tapas and cerveza, which was fun. The second day in Madrid we went to el Prado Museo, which has some of the most famous and oldest paintings in the world and then (after a group of us got slightly lost for 20 min) we went to the Royal Palace. The rest of the day we wandered around and looked at parks, plazas and then we chilled in a cafe.
The Royal Palace.
After Madrid, we went to Toledo which is the oldest city in Espana. It had some really beautiful buildings. After a bus tour and then a walking tour, we had some free time to wander around. We had some sandwhiches and sangria and then we looked at shops. We bought lollipops, looked at shoes and swords. Aparently the guy that made the swords for Lord of the Rings is from Toledo. The shops all had the Lord of the Rings soundtrack playing in the background, which was kind of funny. Then we made our way to the hotel. I went exploring the hotel with some girls, and the bottom two floors were really sketch- as in there wasn't any light and we thought it could be haunted. Haha. But then we had a long meeting for ISA and then we went to a supermercado and bought bread, cheese, oranges, water, and some cheep wine. So, our dinner was 1 Euro/person, which was really cheap!
A courtyard in a church in Toledo.
A view of Toledo.
Today we had a longer bus ride from Toledo to Valencia, and then we met our families. I'm staying with an older lady, Elvira. She seems really nice and her apartment is beautiful. Tomorrow we have our placement test and start orientation. So, all for now- more to come!
Our flight went well, it was all students flying to Madrid. There were students from ISA Valencia, ISA Barcelona, and a program in Toledo with the U of M. So, it was nice for our connection in Philadelphia. The bad part of our flight was that I didn't really sleep at all, and they kept asking for a doctor on the plane-- so it was a really long day. Once we landed we found ISA and they took us to our hotel.
In Madrid we spent most of the time wandering around the city. It reminded me of New York City but in Spanish. The first day we went to a couple bars and had tapas and cerveza, which was fun. The second day in Madrid we went to el Prado Museo, which has some of the most famous and oldest paintings in the world and then (after a group of us got slightly lost for 20 min) we went to the Royal Palace. The rest of the day we wandered around and looked at parks, plazas and then we chilled in a cafe.
The Royal Palace.
After Madrid, we went to Toledo which is the oldest city in Espana. It had some really beautiful buildings. After a bus tour and then a walking tour, we had some free time to wander around. We had some sandwhiches and sangria and then we looked at shops. We bought lollipops, looked at shoes and swords. Aparently the guy that made the swords for Lord of the Rings is from Toledo. The shops all had the Lord of the Rings soundtrack playing in the background, which was kind of funny. Then we made our way to the hotel. I went exploring the hotel with some girls, and the bottom two floors were really sketch- as in there wasn't any light and we thought it could be haunted. Haha. But then we had a long meeting for ISA and then we went to a supermercado and bought bread, cheese, oranges, water, and some cheep wine. So, our dinner was 1 Euro/person, which was really cheap!
A courtyard in a church in Toledo.
A view of Toledo.
Today we had a longer bus ride from Toledo to Valencia, and then we met our families. I'm staying with an older lady, Elvira. She seems really nice and her apartment is beautiful. Tomorrow we have our placement test and start orientation. So, all for now- more to come!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
And so it begins
I'm making this short and sweet.
We leave tomorrow! I'm all packed. I've actually been all packed for a couple of days now. I'm excited, nervous, and in a lot of anticipation... But the next time I make a post on here, I will be in SPAIN!
We leave tomorrow! I'm all packed. I've actually been all packed for a couple of days now. I'm excited, nervous, and in a lot of anticipation... But the next time I make a post on here, I will be in SPAIN!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Valencia Here I Come!
So, in a little over a week I will be leaving for Spain! It's hard to believe that it's already here. It seems like just yesterday I put up my countdown of the days until departure... there was over 300-some until I left. Now there is a week. I want to say I'm ready. I think I've been mentally ready to leave for quite some time already. This last semester was really rough, and I'm ready for a change in my life. I have a lot to do as far as packing goes though... = / I know in my mind what I have to bring, but I have to physically start packing. I'm getting the last minute things taken care of this week, like my contacts for 6 months and money all in order. I'm in a lot of anticipation for a week from now. I will probally be freaking out, but I know that this is going to be an amazing experience and I can't wait for it to start! I can only look at Google Earth so many times... I need to see the city for real now. I'm just hoping for a smooth trip on Wednesday. Allison, Brian and I fly out of Minneapplois at 4:10 pm and arrive in Philadelphia at 7:49 pm. We then leave from Philadelphia at 8:55 pm- which is going to be kind of crazy and I will most likely be stressing out when we're there until we're on the plane for Madrid. We will then arrive in Madrid on the 14th at 10:15 am. However,the nice thing is that we got an email with everyone's flights in the program and there are 18 of us on the same flight to Madrid, so that could be fun if I get to meet some people before we get there. There's just a lot to do before I leave, and I feel like this week is going to fly by! I just can't wait to get over there!!!
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