12.12.12

• I developed what I'm now calling the Salamancan plague, since being sick with the plague sounds far more legit than being sick with a cold. It's much, much better than the Moroccan plague, on the bright side. Just a cough and a runny nose, but it made me feel very sorry for my poor classmates who had to sit next to me when I started coughing up half a lung in the middle of the front row. Nothing like being the sick kid. Especially when you're already the foreign kid…
• I got better! Moving on.
• My classmate decided we were going to speak English more often–which led to me teaching her curse words. In my defense, she said them first when we were talking about our presentation. But the really fun part about this was that I have a much better personality in English than I do in Spanish–mainly because I actually have a personality when I speak in English, and my Spanish personality is a very simplified version.
• We had a magical palindrome day! Which meant that my American brain could relax and not worry about messing up the date when I wrote it on my Spanish notes. It's the little things. Happy 12/12, everyone.
• I started writing an essay about cancioneros del renacimiento–which basically translates to "song books of the Renaissance." That basically translates to me metaphorically banging my head against the internet for a million years (I exaggerate during finals week, get used to it) and hoping something that sounded vaguely like an intelligent Spanish thesis. Minimal success, owing largely to the help of a few classmates. Note to future study abroad students–if you decide to take the hard classes, MAKE FRIENDS. They will keep you sane and afloat come finals time.
• I also drank a lot of coffee–Mandala, Pancake, university café… This also means I consumed a lot of sugar, since I put so much in my coffee.
• Fake New Years! Basically, since Salamanca is chock-full of international students who go home for the holidays, the Salamantinos decided to start doing their own New Year's celebration in December, before everyone left. This way, the international students get to see how the Spanish ring in the new year (it involves grapes), plus they never turn down a chance to celebrate.
  
  In all reality, it involves packing 30,000 people into the Plaza Mayor, aaaaand it's incredibly crowded. The countdown was a lot of fun, and then we all dispersed and every girl in the world had to use the bathroom–meaning every bathroom in town had a super long line. It was sheer nonsense, and meant we went home pretty soon afterwards. The plaza part of it all was fun because they gave out grapes to eat during the countdown, which is supposed to be good luck! They had a giant stage set up and everyone counted down together to midnight, when our "new year" started!

• I packed up my suitcase a little bit and grabbed my backpack to go meet Jake at the airport in Madrid! And I ate my last dinner with Megan at our little kitchen in María's apartment–spinach tortilla. Yumm!

Thanksgiving!

So here's the scoop on how I passed my foreign Thansgiving. My program (ISA) knows that all of their 80 American students are probably a little homesick, so they prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for us. We dressed up, they made turkey, we had a lovely time. The food wasn't exactly like home, but they tried really hard. For example, mashed potatoes were not really mashed… it was more like a puree. Zero lumps sir. But hey, they were potatoes! And watching both our fellow students and our ISA directors figuring out how to carve a turkey was pretty funny at times. No one lost a finger, that's why I can say it was funny. But if I couldn't be with my family, being with my Fall 3 family was a pretty decent alternative! Here's a photo of most of the people I've spent my last couple months hanging out with!!

(PS–7 of these people are from Colorado, and 5 of them go to DU. That's why when I tell people I'm from Denver, they usually respond, "Oh, another one!")

Pomegranate City

Beginning your day with an 8:30 bus time is not what I would call the most fun I've ever had. Especially if you are planning to be on that bus for roughly 8 hours. We did stop twice for a quick rest stop and for lunch, but that's still a LOT of time on the bus. In any case, we arrived in Granada after 8 hours, two movies (Million Dollar Baby and Casino,), two bocadillos (sandwiches), and many, many short naps.

About an hour from Granada

After checking into the hotel, we decided to go wander the city and track down a place to eat dinner. We ended up in the shopping district, so we wandered around there for a while, ran into some pretty city scenery, and almost found the Cathedral (we could hear the bats screeching as it was getting dark, that's how we knew. The bats in Salamanca scream all the way through our French class, it's horrible.)

For dinner we found a Mexican restaurant (after wandering in the rain for a while, part of which involved me walking into a very deep puddle and soaking my shoe…). But the food was fantastic. We were all starving by the time we got our food so we downed it all in about 15 minutes from when our waitress brought out the first plate. But the food had actual spice in it!! That was a big win of the night, which made sitting there with my jeans soaked to the ankle slightly more worth it.

After being fed we were all much happier, and we headed back to the hotel to meet up with ISA for a flamenco performance. Which was also incredible. You have to have a crazy sense of rhythm and be able to move your feet to two different beats to do it, which is hard enough without adding the other moves they do. It's amazing

The next morning, we got up and had another fantastic breakfast at the hotel. I'm telling you, I'm going to miss Spanish hotel breakfasts. They serve good stuff, and there's no syrup involved which I actually really love.

After breakfast, we walked up to the Capilla Real, where the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand & Isabella) are buried along with their daughter, Juana la Loca and her husband. Photos were technically prohibited… but that never stopped an army of college students armed with digital cameras, right?

Outside of the Capilla–this was technically acceptable.

The graves beneath their pretty marble carvings up above

Yeah I took this photo of the altar without looking. Sneaky awesomeness.

So if you ever studied Columbus in school, there's always a photo of this cool box that the King & Queen give him before he sails off to the Americas… turns out the box is real!

After the chapel, we did more tourist shopping, obviously. We're really good at that. And just wandering cities in general. It's the best way to see it sometimes. We ended up in a marketplace where everything was all shoved together and it was hard to tell one store from the next one, because they all carry roughly the same set of merchandise. I got some postcards, but nothing too exciting.

 Oh yeah, and we found this fountain next to the awesome kebab place we ate lunch. Foods America needs to start loving more: kebabs and peach juice. They don't have to be together, although that's not bad either...

Today, It Rained

So when I was about fourteen, my cousin Maggie was visiting and we decided we wanted to bake cookies. Unfortunately, there were no chocolate chips in the house. So, being the super independent 14-year-olds we were, we decided to bike to the store to get them. As we were leaving, it was kinda cloudy, but not something we were worried about because we were A) young and stubborn and B) in the middle of Colorado where rain is not a real thing. But of course, halfway there, it started raining. Two minutes later, it started pouring. And there we were, stranded literally halfway between home and the store, in the middle of the rain. We ended up walking into the store completely soaked to get our chocolate chips, much to the joy of the employees responsible for keeping the floors clean.

I'm telling you this story because it basically describes our morning. Megan heard about this market kinda far away from our house where we could buy cheap stuff. Obviously, cheap is a convincing factor. So we got all ready and went to leave for this market. As we're leaving, David told us it was raining, and we basically blew it off, figuring that we'd figure it out. Because it wasn't actually raining right then. I'm pretty sure it rained earlier that morning, so I was assuming it wouldn't actually rain again, just be cloudy and kinda chilly, maybe sprinkle a little.

We didn't find the market. We walked wayyyyy up the street Megan's friend had marked on the map, no luck. When we finally decided to turn back, the wind was kicking up. And then it started pouring. And at this point, we just didn't care. So we walked home soaking wet, through the rain. We had to stop once at a gas station and look at the map again, we got honked at twice, Megan's shoes kept falling off, and we didn't really know where we were for like half of our walk home. When we finally found the Plaza de Toro, it was like finding the promised land because we finally knew both where we were and that we were close to home.

Moral of the story is, I need to find my umbrella and listen to David when he warns me about the weather.

Also, we went to see Total Recall at the theater today (I think Sunday movies may just become a habit) which was really good. I don't think I picked up enough of the details to figure out the "twist" of the movie, but the big picture is good enough that I enjoyed it! I very much recommend it in English. 

Weekly Roundup

• Sunday–we stayed in most of the day and I was finally able to Skype my mommy and catch up on all the Broomfield gossip. Always a good time. Later, we went el cine (movie theater) and saw the movie Las Aventuras de Tadeo Jones. We were the oldest people in the theater who didn't bring kids, but we could actually understand this movie, so it was all worth it. It was a cute movie too. Apparently it's known as Tad, the Lost Explorer in 'Merica, so just imagine that in Spanish. Except the song "That's What Makes You Beautiful" is still in there too, don't worry.

• Monday–we had to run down to the ISA office to pay for part of our Morocco trip, so that was a fun time. And then we went shopping again, because it's just too easy to do on our way home. On the bright side, growing up with my mom means I shop nothing but sale racks so I'm not broke yet! Woo!
• Tuesday–Megan had to work all day, so I went wandering all over the city. Really nothing exciting happened today, sorry team.
• Wednesday– Today I realized that a) I was out of eyeliner and b) I have no idea where I'd even buy makeup. They don't sell it at supermarkets. Thus began my exploration of (slightly expensive) makeup stores in the city. I finally found one that sold cheaper eyeliners, and lucky for me it's right on the way to the Plaza from my apartment so I'll actually remember where it is!
  Also, I went to this gym that María was telling me about and finally got a semi-decent workout in. I was still super nervous despite the fact that it's basically all the same equipment as back home (the directions are even in English on half of them...), so I didn't get a super great workout in, but it's a start! I'm going to try to go again when it's not so busy so I can get a workout in and figure out the gym a little bit better.
• Thursday–I went back to the gym in the morning, got a real workout in and felt awesome! In the afternoon I had a tour with ISA of the various buildings on campus so we'd know where our classes are on Monday. I have one right across the plaza from the Catedral Nuevo, and another kind of by the building where our intensive classes we just finished are. I know that means relatively nothing to those of you reading this blog, but that's okay! I'll take photos sometime.
  And it rained today! Finally a little bit of relief from the heat, plus I love the rain so much.
• Friday–So today there was this ceremony and parade in the Plaza Mayor in honor of the military, which David (my "brother") was going to be in so María was over-the-moon excited to go. It consisted of a lot of standing around and listening to speeches in the blistering Salamanca sunshine, but it was kinda cool to see. María and I went separately, so I ended up being alone watching it and had a conversation with this guy who was there to see his son, so he kept pointing things out to me so I wouldn't get too confused. I also realized that I don't know the Spanish national anthem, but when they play the British one (see the flags they put up in the photo below) I sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" instead of "God Save the Queen". Thank you, elementary school music classes.

 Flags of Portugal, Spain, France & the United Kingdom

Stage where all the speakers sat

Some of the military. Don't worry, they just swing their arms really high, they don't actually walk like that!

The guy in the middle there is my super-serious host brother David being super-seriously serious. He was very entertained by the fact that I told him he looked angry in the photos I took at the parade.

First Day of School!

Today began classes with all kinds of (mostly) American students. Don't fret Mom & Dad, my classes with the locals will begin after this two week intensive class. We had two hours of language (I forgot how much I hate studying grammar), one hour of conversation (literally talked in pairs the whole time, best class ever), and one hour of culture (no one knew who the president was…). But it was a lot of fun actually.

This is the view from my classroom building...

 After class, a bunch of us wandered back towards the plaza, then we split off and headed home for lunch! María made us paella, so I had to tell her I hated shrimp… but the rice was really good!! We had a long conversation about how they speak the purest form of Spanish in Salamanca, so this is the place to be to learn!

Anyway, after all that we decided to go be tourists, because Megan has an internship at the tourism office, so she has to go visit all the sites! So we set off with another girl from the program to explore the city even more.

So we went to see Casa de las Conchas, the library that literally has stone shells all over the outside of it, and the first building ever built at the university (see library photo above) and then of course we had to get churros con chocolate at this place called Valor that was recommended to us by Bea from ISA. It was delicious, as predicted.

After a few more wanderings and church findings and shop enterings, we got back to the apartment in one piece. Megan and I noted that while we've only needed a map to get home once, we still take a different route every time. Yeah, that's the kind of layout this city has, that you can be coming and going from the same place every day and take a different route at least four times. Maybe more, I'm not sure how many times we've come home from the Plaza so far!

María had dinner ready for us, which looked like those breaded chicken breasts at first, but it turns out it was ham and cheese. Jamón in Spain, of course! And french fries too, those were good. And of course yogurt. She always gives us yogurt for dessert at night because it's good for our digestion. We spent a long time sitting in the kitchen and talking about her life pre-ISA students.

A very long, but lovely day. Loving it here still, even if I have to take class now!

Chau, os extraño!
(I miss you all!)

Cookies for Breakfast

Yeah, I ate cookies for breakfast, I kid you not. I wish I had photos. They weren't super sugary, but they were definitely cookies, and there were small amounts of chocolate involved. So we downed all of that then sped off to the Plaza Mayor with our mamá to meet the group.

After we said goodbye to María and the rest of the group arrived, we went to the College of International Studies for our placement test. It was one of those sneaky ones where you think it's gonna be super easy and then the last page is like, "If you have four apples and John takes three, calculate the mass of the sun." The grammar just got more and more complicated. But it was all multiple choice, and then we had a little oral part of the test, where she just asked me about if I'd taken Spanish for long, and if I'd visited Spain/Europe before. Super simple.

Next, we took a tour of the city! La Plaza, Universidad, abroad program offices, post office, shopping street, etc.

They turned us loose after a short meeting at the abroad office. Megan and I went to shop! She ended up with a Universidad hoodie, I got a clearanced skirt from Zala.

We came home to a very large amount of spaghetti that Maria had made for our lunch. We ate, she chastised us for not eating enough, showed her our purchases, and then she went off for a siesta and we went out to shop and explore more. We ended up wandering the Plaza, going into more shops, finding the library (Casa de Conchas), then going down to the New Cathedral of Salamanca. We were able to go inside this one and look around. Also, the outside was restored in the last century, and the guy who did it carved an astronaut into the facade outside the church! 

After more exploring and buying school supplies (one notebook), we walked back to the ISA office to get our schedules. Congratulations to me, I am in the Superior level class! Tomorrow begins the classes at the San Isidrio building, not pictured here. We then wandered back home, and are waiting for la cena (dinner). I think it might be tortilla española again, this time with the leftover spaghetti since we apparently don't eat enough. Sorry María!

Also, a few more photos of our exploration. We made it down to the Río Tormes and all sorts of places.

Casa de los Conches (the library)

And that is a human arm on display in the cathedral. We're really not sure why, we think it was a bishop or something... still not sure why. But we are all about dead people this week, I guess.

Salamanca, finalmente.

Today began with another buffet breakfast–gracias ISA!

 After that, we trekked back onto the bus and began our drive back north to just outside Madrid at El Escorial. El Escorial is quite large, and made all of granite, the same as the granite used in the aqueduct in Segovia! The Romans liked that one, apparently.

When we arrived, we met up with a tour guide who began in inglés but switched to español the moment we asked, so we could practice a little more! It's a really awesome thing that everyone in the group is excited enough to learn Spanish that we're actually asking for people to speak Spanish to us. Win. Other groups we've encountered on this trip have been… less than happy to be in a place where they don't speak the language. I believe the phrase "Get on the English train" was used the other day. We may have relentlessly mocked them ever since… Sorry guys.

Anyway, we went on in that giant door you see in the picture above, and, after going through our bazillionth bag & metal scanner, entered el Patio de los Reyes, where there were several quite large statues of kings that all were related to King Solomon's Temple somehow. Solomon is the one on the middle left I believe.

We got to tour inside, but sadly I couldn't take any photos. We toured the museum surrounding the church in the middle. The left side of Escorial is a private college, and the right side is where the monks of El Escorial live. So in the museum there were a lot of old paintings and old artifacts, things like old beds, an old office, et cetera. We saw the bed where el Rey Felipe II passed away while listening to mass, because the bedchamber has a door that opens to the main church room, so he could lay there and listen to mass, since he was sick. 

Then we went down to the crypt where a whole bunch of remains are kept. First we went to the main crypt where the kings and mothers of kings are buried. Beautiful dark granite and gold detailing. I was so sad I couldn't take photos. But since I have no photos, here's a fun fact I learned. They only put the bones in the caskets. So where, you may ask, does the rest of the body go? Well, when a royal passes away, they bring the body to a room that basically translates to "rotting room". And the body sits there for 25-40 years, until the bones can be separated to put them into the casket. You know you find that fascinating, even if it's a little bit repulsive. Anyway, at the end of this story, I'm about 80% sure I walked by the door of the rotting room where the parents of Juan Carlos, the current king, are currently residing and waiting to fill the last two empty spaces in the crypt!

Mkay back to real life now. We went to lunch, we got ice cream (dulce de leche flavor, yum!) then got back on the bus for 2 hours until we reached Salamanca!

Once in Salamanca, we trooped off the bus and all got picked up by our respective host mamás! Everyone was all skittery and nervous, it was kind of funny. Megan and I were picked up by David, María's son. He brought us back to the apartment building, where María met us on the first floor with besitos and a barrage of Spanish! She's absolutely fantastic and was so excited to meet us. So excited that we seemed normal too, she was scared she'd have crazy ones or something. She's been working with students for 15 years though, so she's got a pretty good handle on it! And our room is just the cutest thing, just like María. 

She made us tortilla española for dinner, which is basically a quiche-looking thing that has potatoes and eggs. It's delicious! And salad, which consisted of lettuce with corn on it. New, but actually pretty good. Also, everywhere I've been has a little holder for salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar on the tables, including María's house!

I'd love to write all about how amazing it is to finally be here, but we only get internet until 10 PM and I am just a few minutes outside of that, so I'll leave you with my first photo of Salamanca before I go! This is really all I've seen of the city. I get a tour (and therefore you get more photos) tomorrow!

I'm heeeere!

And I am writing this from what I really would like to call my miniature hotel room. Even the elevator was miniature-sized. Me & my roommate were the first ones to get our room assignments, and seriously, we walked into the elevator and got real friendly real quick, there was no personal space with our suitcases in there. And the whole hotel is like that, except, oddly enough, the body wash. It's like a built-in dispenser. Which is genius, because then A) hotels wouldn't have to use SO MUCH plastic when they have to replace all the mini bottles that people steal, and B) you can actually wash up without spending half of the shower just tapping the stupid bottle on your hand to get a little dollop of soap on your hand. Genius! It's a cute little place though, and showering did wonders for my jet lag exhaustion problem.
My flights went super well too. Everything was on time, I found the right gates, I met up with two girls from my program in Philadelphia, and then was able to sit next to one of them on my final flight to Madrid! And I got to watch almost two movies on the super fancy touch-screen video screen on my seat. Seriously, if you haven't been on an international flight in a while, you should do it just to see the technology on those things, it's crazy!
When we landed, myself & Kristi (I'm throwing random names out here, just take them as introductions) just followed Jenna around like little ducklings because she was here last spring and knows her way around much better than we do. My luggage arrived just fine, and then we went out to the meeting place and realized, it's only 8:00. Our pickup wasn't due until 10:00, and even then we had to stay until 11:00 because that's how long they said they'd be at the airport for. So we sat on the stone floor of the Madrid airport for literally 3 hours, I'm not even kidding. But we did get to meet everyone and even talk to a few other people in other ISA programs who were waiting for their pickups as well. And, since there were about 9 of us at the airport and 4 of us were from DU, plus one more from CU Boulder, there were plenty of comments about how everyone in the ISA programs is from Colorado. Oops. It's nice though, I had some familiar faces to sit with at the airport.
Just finished going to lunch with some people from my program at this place called VIPS. It took us forever and a day to find it, but we did! Really good food, muy fresca. Seriously though, the food looked just like it did in the photos, and the photos looked fantastic! Someone wanted to find a supermarket, but they were closed for la siesta, so that threw a wrench in our plans! We just came back to the hotel instead.
Also, here's some photos from the flight! Chau!

Home Sweet Homestay

I have housing info! Here's some brief details! Myself and another girl from Tennessee are staying with a 60-year-old woman named María. According to the info I got from my program, "former students have rated her as excellent in every way." I'm calling that a plus! I'll be staying in an area which is a 15-20 minute walk from the universidad.

That's my exciting news, now I really am ready to head off! Just a few more boxes to check off in the next 21 (eek!) days!