Barcelona, Rome and Back

Although I have failed at writing in my blog often, it is only because I am too busy enjoying my life abroad! A few weeks ago I went to Barcelona with a group of people in my program and I had a blast. I saw the beautiful yet unfinished La Sagrada Familia and took an elevator ride up into the towers. The view was amazing...the climb down, not so much. Another highlight of my trip was going to the Market de la Boqueria.



I had a blueberry banana smoothie, MMM! Before heading back Madrid I also bought some brie and bread for the bus ride, so sophisticated.

While in Barcelona, I also got to reconnect with Annie Mickle, eat the BEST MEXICAN FOOD I'VE HAD SINCE HOME (Go to Rosa Negras!), go clubbing on the beach, see the Museo de Picazzo, and experience hostel living for the first time! The name of our hostel was Equity Point Centric. It was pretty clean and we met a lot of cool people in our 12 person room.


The last day in Barcelona my wallet was stolen. Yeah, dude. Two middle aged women stampeded me as I tried to get on the metro. My purse was crossed over my body and zipped in front of me, a suitcase in one hand and a bag of food in the other. Two seconds after making it onto the metro, I look down, my passport is on the floor, my ipod speakers are hanging out of my purse, and my wallet is gone. Those two ladies even had the audacity to STAY on the metro with me! So for the whole metro ride I was screaming at them and they were only responding with "que?" and had smirks on their faces. What the fuck, Barcelona? Luckily I had made copies of all my credit cards and had my parents cancel all my cards within 10 minutes of the attack.

Anyways, later that day I was back in Madrid and wallet-less. Two days later I was in Roma, visiting Whitney! Rome was a blast. We did a Colosseum Pubcrawl...which would've sucked if it wasn't for the insane break dancers at the final club we went to! Felt like I was in Step Up or something, not that I've seen the movie.

I got to eat REAL food, AUTHENTIC gelato, and take lots of pictures! Whitney's friends were really fun and one of them was a total history buff! I got to see all the major sites like Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Forum, Colosseum, Campo, Vatican, and more while also receiving a history lesson!


Now I'm back in Madrid and Courtney is here visiting! I LOVE HAVING HER HERE :) We've gone out every night since she's been here. And now, 4 bottles, 3 discotecas, and 3 nights later, we are TIRED! We managed to make a day trip today to El Escorial. It was only 3.5e to go there via charter bus. We went to the museum at the famous monasterio there and met Jahel and a friend for lunch after! (Jahel is an exchange student my family had when I was 5 years old, now she's a grown woman and she's showing me around her country!)

Monday and Tuesday I have class and then Wednesday Courtney and I are going to Toledo for the day! THEN AMSTERDAM FROM THURSDAY - SUNDAY! Thanks for booking a 5 star hotel for us, Mom & Dad! It's going to be a REAL vacation :) I love my life!

Plans after Amsterdam: Cordoba, Granada, and then Dublin in November!

A rough week.

I still love America.

The Spanish public education system makes me appreciate the UC system SO MUCH. I started class at Complutense on Monday and it was definitely a cultural experience. First of all, I'm not officially enrolled in any classes yet because EAP doesn't allow us to matriculate until a week after classes start. We also wont know if the classes we attended during the first week of school are even on the "approved course list." Disorganized much? Anyways, here's a run-through of my day:
Cervantes, my first class- I've never fought so hard to stay awake in my entire life.
Teatro griego- couldn't find the classroom, gave up. Would it really break the bank if the university put some signs on the front of their buildings?
Mitos (Myths)- professor doesn't show.
Literatura española desde 1975- professor says the class will be "mierda" if all the foreigners try to take it.
Literature hispanoamericano I- professor says the class will be too difficult for you.

The second day was much better. Cervantes was slightly more interesting. I attended a history class of the americas, very interesting from the spanish point of view. The mitos professor showed up and told us class was cancelled for the next two weeks (woo hoo)! (Who does that?) And I plan to take an anthropology class at the other Complutense campus starting next week!

Campus reminds me of a scene that should have been in Inception. The literature buildings are modern looking, with clean lines and lots of stairs and there is a large courtyard with overgrown weeds and randomly a few beds of roses. The mixture of modern architecture, with weeds, roses, benches, and graffiti everywhere is just kinda spooky.

Most of the graffiti I see everywhere is about women's rights, Latin America, or Israel. I had no idea that there are Spanish people who think that the government should be helping Latin America. It's an interesting topic and I want to look into more. Also I didn't know that there was still a strong anti-Jewish sentiment in Spain. I thought that was over centuries ago, but apparently not. The graffiti about Israel basically accuses the country of committing genocide.


Anyways, as my last post said, I was supposed to be in Brussels right now. But thanks to the Belgian and Spanish national strike, I have been deprived of the waffles I so seriously desired. Who is begging to go to Brussels? Uh, I guess I was. I think everyone should just boycott Ryanair instead of going to work. Ryanair es mierda. My roomies and I had to call 5-6 times before they promised to refund our flights... and I had a bad feeling that's not even going to happen. So much for going to Brussels. I don't think I'm going to try again... I already spent all the money and time I had in me for Brussels. I hope Easyjet is better.

Toledo & Plans!

A lot has happened since my last entry and I don't think I'm going to be able to write about everything that went on simply because I have no free time and I'm a little lazy.

TOLEDO
Last weekend Danielle, Erin, and I went to Toledo! We arrived at the Atoche Renfe train station in Madrid thinking that 30 minutes would be enough time to buy tickets and find the train. Oh no, I'm beginning to figure out that it's better to expect everything to take a long time and be unnecessarily complicated. Well, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if we bought our tickets online.

We arrived in Toledo around 6ish, found Hotel Imperio, dropped off our stuff and then began exploring. After shopping, taking pictures, and eating ice cream (yum), we met up with some girls in our program for dinner. It was nice to be with some native speakers. The way they can just communicate with everyone is envious. I really need to be fluent now. Dinner wasn't bad and the wine was delicious! After we finished dinner, the seven of us went out to a small bar, don't know the name, and had mojitos. It was a much older crowd in the bar but we got to practice our Spanish a little bit.

Toledo is such a cute town and I definitely would like to go back once more before I go home. I'm a big fan of the jewelry :)

CLASS
The ILP is practically over! I take two finals tomorrow and I'm done! After the finals we get to drink with our professors in the cafeteria too. I love Spain. In America it would definitely be inappropriate to get crunk with our professors, but here it's an event! I really want to get a picture with my favorite professor, Antonio. He made fun of me and called me out during class all the time, but I know he loves me. He was substituting the other day and called me out for having a lentil face? I guess that means I looked expressionless (it's a phrase here)? But before I figured out what he said, I definitely turned to Danielle and said, "...Did he just ask me if I like lentil soup and if it's expensive?" The miscommunication that goes on between the spaniards and me can really lead to some hilarious situations.


PLANS!
Next week Danielle, Erin and I are going to Brussels and Brugges! Can't wait to see the capital of Europe and eat some waffles. Then the second week in October I'm going to visit Whitney in Rome and Megan in Siena! AND THEN, Courtney is coming to Madrid and we are going to AMSTERDAM for Halloween weekend! Too much excitement headed my way.

Oh yes, and I have finals tomorrow and a lease to sign tonight. So I really don't have any more time to write. Hope the next entry is better!

Found my piso!

I had only been here for 7 days until I found myself, Danielle, and Erin a piso! It is a beautiful planta 4 (5th floor) flat located in Chueca. It has three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and two balconies (both of which are located in my bedroom!). Chueca is a neighborhood in Madrid known for its nightlife, great cuisine, trendy stores, and for being home to lots of gay people!

Last weekend a group of kids in my program and I ventured into Chueca to find El Tigre, a tapas bar that Sydney recommended. El Tigre was cheap, delicious, and packed with people. For a giant mojito and a large plate of tapas, I only paid 6e. Yeah, we were big fans of that place. But anyways, the girls and I immediately fell in love with the area and said we wanted to live there. Didn't know it was really going to become a reality!I'm so excited to live in such a social and lively area. I think its going to feel like a combination of Isla Vista and San Francisco but in Europe, and SO much better.

The only reservation I had about taking this piso was that I wouldn't be living with spaniards or other international students. However, I don't think living with girls in my program is going to get in the way of my becoming fluent in Spanish because I'm determined to make spanish friends and practice spanish on the daily. Also, most spaniards my age live with their parents still. So the spaniards I would be trying to live with are in their late 20s. While it's possible that I could connect with them, its unlikely that we would really become great friends since they already have adult lives. And living with international students would be fun too, but who knows if they will even speak spanish or whatnot. So after much contemplation, we have decided to live together in this BEAUTIFUL place :) However, our contract for this piso in Chueca is on a month-to-month basis anyways, so if for some reason I feel like I need to live with spaniards this year, I can still make it happen.

The ILP has begun and I'm almost done with the first week of classes! I think it's actually helping my spanish too, at least I'm hoping it does. I just wish I didn't have to wake up so early. If I want to shower before class I have to wake up at 6:45am, eat breakfast at 7:30, walk to the bus stop by 8:30 and catch a bus to get me to the Somoaguas campus for class at 9am! It's definitely more of an ordeal to make it to class, but I like living in the city like this.

My favorite class is my Madrid class! We had a walking tour of Old Madrid today and I got to see parts of the city that are a little more hidden from the everyday tourists. What class lets you just wander around and PAYS for the students to eat tapas and drink sangria together? Only the best class ever.

This city makes me feel like I am an adult. I'm doing everything on my own and I'm actually getting by so far. I love how much more walking I do here and I thoroughly enjoy trying a different way of living. Waking up to spanish voices outside my window, going to a breakfast bar that has cereal but no cups, eating at dining tables that have salt and no pepper, fighting to try on a pair of shoes at the store, and getting anxiety over calling landlords and other people to only speak in spanish... all these little idiosyncrasies and obstacles are enlivening.

Mi vida, tu sueño.

Inception

If you've seen the recent movie, Inception, and you remember how when the characters did strange things in their dreams their projections would begin to stare at them. Well, that's kinda what it's like here in Madrid. When spaniards hear you talking in english or when you're walking down the street with your girlfriends (and you look nice) some people may begin to stare. And it feels like the staring as a domino effect. Like when one person points in the sky, everyone has to look... well, if one man begins to stare, his entire possy will start to stare. Sometimes the staring is out of curiosity and sometimes the staring only precedes the catcalling.

My friends and I have managed to just make jokes out of those situations so it hasn't become too big of a deal. The cultural differences are really interesting to examine though. Here in the dorms, the spaniards are extremely loud and sometimes even obnoxious. I thought Americans were supposed to be the noisy and annoying ones.

For the most part, however, the spaniards I have come into contact with have been jovial and patient people. I've already gone to look at a few pisos (a piso is a flat) for rent and the landlords were SO nice and spoke slowly so we could understand them. The first piso I looked at was in Palacio (a certain barrio/ neighborhood). It was right smack in the middle of so many pubs, restaurants, etc. but the room I would have had only had a window to the interior of the building and there was no living room. And for some reason, my room wouldn't have gotten internet...strange. BUT AHHH, the second piso I went to look at was BEAUTIFUL. It is located in Sol (pretty much in the center of Spain), right next to the Plaza Mayor and the Ópera metro station on Calle Arenal. GREAT AREA... but Danielle and I would have had to share a room. And for the price we'd be paying, we can probably find a place with our own habitación.

Oh the food here in the dorms is HORRIBLE. They put HAM in EVERYTHING. I can't even pretend to be hungry when I enter the dining hall. Its like my stomach is begging me not to eat.

But the nightlife is AMAZING. On wednesday, Erin (my roomie), Danielle, Scott and Chris went to Joy and Palace (two clubs in Sol). It was funny how on the first night all of us SBers found each other and went out together. I realized that night that I LOVE CLUBS. The girls got in for free everywhere and we all got free sangria at Palace. We danced and drank and had a grand time. I even made friends with some of the people working there :) It was a great way to start off our time here in Spain.

Last night the entire program went to Kapital, a 7 story high nightclub in Madrid. I LOVED THE LATIN FLOOR. The men actually dance here! They were swinging Danielle and I around like we were pro salsa dancers! I didn't even attempt to wear heels either of these nights I went out. My feet hurt enough from all the walking I've been doing during the day. I'm definitely in the market for a pair of grandma shoes (super comfy) that I can pull off as fashionable shoes for all the walking I do when I'm exploring the city.

School starts on Monday and I don't know how I feel about that. While I do want to brush up on my spanish, I also don't want to have class everyday! :( But I just have to remember its only for a month... and then hopefully I'll only have class twice a week :).

Sorry this entry was so random and jumbled. I haven't had time to keep this updated with everything going on... but I'm going to get on top of it! Thanks for reading :)

PS- I bought my first bottle of wine the other day! Probably going to drink it tonight before dinner with some chicas...maybe it will make the food taste better.

DAY ONE

Estoy en Madrid!! I can't believe I'm actually here. The city is unbelievable. This place is a jungle of the ancient mixed with the modern. The architecture is breathtaking. I can't believe I had the option to dine at restaurants that have been serving food for 150+ years. But before I describe the food, I'm going to give you a run-through of my day.



The last three days have really run together in my head. At midnight, 4 hours before I had to leave my house for the airport, I realized that one of my suitcases was of a lot cheaper than I thought. My good old 25'' inch red suitcase that I lugged back and forth from school and home was now ripping at the seams and busting open. So LESSON NUMBER 1: Pack your bags to the maximum capacity at least 24 hours before your time of departure, so you don't end up frantically searching for a suitcase at midnight the night before your flight. (Guess Mom was right about the dangers of waiting until the last minute to finish things). Luckily, Marc Rios (my little brother from another mother) brought a suitcase to my house around 1 am and let me take it to Spain, for possibly the whole year. The only other suitcase that I could have brought didn't have a working handle to roll it... so thanks Marc, you're the best.

Saying bye to my parents was so hard. Many tears were shed as we said our goodbyes and gave hugs. I'm going to miss them more than anything. They better visit me for Christmas!

Anyways, I slept all the way from LAX to Dulles Internatl. Danielle and I got lunch during our layover and got more and more excited for Spain. I think our flight from DC to Madrid was about 7 hours... but I'm not sure because I my concept of time is totally thrown and I slept most of the time. Between naps I watched The Joneses and few episodes of Sex & The City. On my second flight I also met a few other girls in my program. Each of them were traveling by themselves. I don't know how they did it. It would have been hard to do all this without Danielle... it's nice to have a buddy :)

We arrived in Madrid just in time for the sunrise. It was beautiful and surreal. I can't believe this is my home for the next 6 months- year! In the airport it was weird to see this room for smoking... It was right near the luggage belt and close to the exit. But it was filled with people huffing and puffing. The funniest part about it was the room only had 3 walls...so all the smoke was coming into the main area anyways.

Our taxi driver barely fit all of Danielle's and my luggage in the car. I had to sit with my MONSTER of a backpack on my lap. Conversing with the taxi driver actually made Danielle and I feel like our spanish wasn't that bad... until we to El Corte Ingles, a department store, to get cell phones. I don't think we would have been able to get phones without the interpreter on staff. After looking at the different plans, we ended up using Vodaphone. It seems to have the cheapest SMS and calling internationally, but whatever, I just wanted a working phone. All day I kept carrying around my blackberry like a security blanket even though it's really just a paperweight.

Dinner was interesting. We found a place near the Plaza Mayor called Restaurante Europa with lots of outside tables. Most of the chairs at the tables were on the same side, so that everyone could people-watch comfortably. SO COOL. One of the waiters, an older man, was very nice to us. But the other, a guy that actually looked kinda asian, was pretty rude. We ordered the house white wine and figured it would be safe to go with the 1/2 chicken on the menu. The chicken was pretty bland and the fries were mushy. I thought the chicken was going to be yummy because the waiter told me there was salsa on the chicken...? I learned that salsa= just sauce.

Since our internal clocks are off, we ended up eating pretty early...around 6. So we went out for a snack around 11 tonight. I love that it's a tuesday and the streets still have people socializing and cafes and restaurants are busy. I'm going to love my time here :)

On Luggage, Love, & Learning

One more week until I depart for Madrid! I think it's hitting me now that I have begun to seriously pack, stock up on essential items, and say goodbye to close friends. After making several trips to REI, Bag'n Baggage, Macy's, and Sports Authority, I have selected the luggage that I will pack my most necessary and essential items.

Today I made a trip to the mall with my friend Sonja to buy a few more things for my trip. From my list of things to buy, I checked off boots, casual tops, a pair of black toms, 2 bare escentual foundations, 3 eyeliners, 3 mascaras, moisturizers, and a giant red suitcase! For a long time, I was sold on the idea of taking either one LARGE rolling duffel bag, or two medium sized rolling duffels. But after purchasing two, and packing one of them, I realized that they don't stand up on their own! I don't want to deal with rolling duffels falling all over the place as I fumble through the Barajas Airport in Madrid... which is why I'm bringing two large red suitcases instead. No, unfortunately they don't have those fancy wheels that let you push your suitcase alongside you while you walk... I will be dragging them behind me as I find my way from the airport to my hotel.

I still have lots to do before I leave... and I love making lists so bear with me.
-Make copies of my passport/visa and ID.
-Fax in a Power of Attorney to the financial aid office at school for my parents.
-Get a mani pedi.
-Download new music for the flight.
-Get my hair cut and colored back to my natural color.
-Buy outlet adapters.
-Make a FB event to get everyone's skype names!
-Eat Grandma Betty's cooking one last time.
-Set up online banking.
-Exchange some green for some euros.
-Figure out my medical coverage.
-Clean my room? Eh, maybe.
-PACK FO REAL.
-Become fluent in Spanish within the next week.
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-These blanks ones are for the things I know I'm forgetting.

This summer has been filled with such highs and lows. I've gotten to go so many places with friends and family. I've been to Orlando, New York City, Las Vegas, Darby (that's in Montana), Santa Barbara, and even Norcal! I've tanned, surfed (tried to), wakeboarded (tried to, ha), hiked, went shooting, fished, cried, laughed, danced, and shopped! I'm going to miss my life here so much. The last month has been extra rough because Michael and I broke up. I knew that going abroad might mean that I'd lose him... I guess I just wasn't prepared. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions, feeling shocked, angry, in denial, rejected, sad...

But I can honestly say that I'm feeling better now. Our lives are leading us in different directions and we are too young to hold on. I have so much to learn about myself and what I want from life. I have to do this on my own. This adventure is for me. I hope to become independently happy, to be captivated by another culture, expand my world perspective, abandon unnecessary inhibitions, try new food, get lost, say yes, and to live by these words: "To have courage for whatever comes in life - Everything lies in that" (Mother Theresa).

PS- I changed my blog name. I'm just a sucker for alliteration!

:(

You can feel like you two are on the same page, but you might be reading different books.

33 Days

Only a little over a month until I leave for Madrid and say goodbye to a loving boyfriend, apprehensive parents, and two coffee named dogs for 6 months. The summer seemed to have slipped through my fingers like a handful of sand. Where did the time go?

Lately I've been feeling more anxious than excited as I think about leaving behind everything I know. Michael has probably felt the brunt of my anxiety with all the mini-freak outs I've put him through. But c'mon, this whole "I'm-perfectly-happy-with-you-but-we-are-going-on-a-break" deal has really got me shaken up. I get that it's the most mature agreement that we could come to, but it still hurts knowing that two people can love each other but be free to see other people.

However today I woke up really looking forward to my time abroad. It's a fresh start, like coming to college for the first time... but better. I'll be immersed in a different culture with like-minded people; people who have put going abroad first on their list of priorities in college. With all the bureaucratic nonsense it takes to get a student visa, get into the program, etc. no one is going to go abroad unless they REALLY want it. So in that respect, I'm looking forward to a new group of friends who all have that in common.