A day for awkward convos... 31/01

Today was a lovely day where I didn't have class until 12:30.  I woke up and lazily had breakfast/got ready and then took some time to stretch which was very relaxing. I then headed out to class with Gladys which was pretty boring, all we do is discuss the reading we have done.  Some kids were missing from class and apparently a stomach bug and a strep-like thing is going around right now so I have to be extra careful! I stayed after class to chat with Gladys for a while about the crisis in Spain. It is really sad because the people in positions of power here are embezzling money and banks used people's savings to pay for things.  The government then paid the banks back so that the people whose savings they stole could have money but the government isn't making the bank pay the money back. Seems like the government is making a series of dumb choices. But anyways then I went home to a lunch of beans, potatoes, fried zucchini (she always fries it, poor zucchini), avocado with slimy red pepper, and bread of course. It was very tasty! Then it was time to head back to an art class where we learned about the Romans and their stuff.  We were told that when she says to write a two page paper, it means two pages front and back (so really four pages). This means we all did the first paper wrong, but also it is an annoyingly large amount of paper for the given topics! After a good facetime with mom and kristin, it was time to head home and enjoy a wonderful dinner of eggs and veggie soup. Puri was asking Tomo (the Japanese student) about his sex life and it was thoroughly entertaining for me because I had to keep translating sentences such as "do you and your gf have sex?" "what forms of contraceptives do you use? do they have condoms in Japan?" He was bright red. It was wonderful! I am going to get to bed 'early' (early for here) because 1.) I don't want to get sick 2.) I'm tired 3.) unlike a lot of people, I have class tomorrow!

Words:

To have your period- tener la regla

I've got my period- estoy con la regla

fatal- terrible, awful (not as dramatic as the word fatal in english)

switchblade- la navaja de muelle

Songs:

moon- The Flobots

There was just a huge fire in a nightclub in Brazil that killed over 230 people. It is scary because it happened around the night that I was in a club in Madrid. It makes you want to be more careful and more aware of your surroundings, like always taking a quick look for the emergency exits and the best way to get out. It is absolutely tragic and terrifying.

A casual walk through Segovia... 30/01

Today started out a normal day, I went to my mitos class where everyone was bored and falling asleep as per usual.  He is a fan of using power points filled with definitions that go by too quickly to write down.  It is really quite boring.  Then I had some time before my next class so a bunch of us were chatting and doing homework in a study room. Suddenly an alarm started going off and we all looked at each other like... should we evacuate? We saw some people leaving and eventually we decided to leave. A girl in our group asked a girl in the hall "should we leave the building?" and the girl said "DUH, it's a fire alarm". Haha so rude. Fire alarms here are nothing like back home, they are quiet and there are no flashing lights. Much less extreme.  It didn't last long so pretty soon we were let back inside and went to class with Gladys.  We chatted about our host families and then watched a movie on the spanish civil war, daily life.  Mariah and I then went and got some gummies from this awesome candy shop. I snacked on a few at home while waiting for lunch. Puri made me beans, carrots, potatoes, and peas with an egg on top. It was delicious! So many veggies! After that I did some super lame homework for art class and then asked a few girls on facebook to go for a walk.  Three of us met up to get our daily casual workout in.  There is no such thing as an ordinary or casual walk here. We stumbled across SO many beautiful things.  We were above the castle and then below it and we found a few beautiful cathedrals that we went into. You know, pretty typical... It was the best walk! We also came across a park with outdoor workout equipment that was super fun to play on. We plan on going back and working out on it! We got the most spectacular pictures.  Each day we walk we are going to take a different path and discover new things. I am so excited.

After the walk I went home and had some time to hang out while Puri was working. Suddenly Puri bursts into my room saying she just got a text and she forgot something and then the language barrier set in and it was like blah blah blah nine o'clock tonight, bla bla bla and then she left. I didn't think much of it, I was just chilling doing my homework when suddenly the doorbell rings at 8:30pm and Puri is saying oh no he is early ah! And I'm like "he who?" haha and then there was a Japanese guy here with suitcases and moving into the upstairs. This is when I remembered a convo Puri and I had the other day about a Japanese student she had stay with her two years ago coming to visit for a few days. It all made sense then but for a few minutes it was really confusing! He moved in and I got the chance to skype with Trina for a bit which was wonderful :) Then I had to go be social and I went and talked to him while Puri made dinner. He is very nice and we speak in english because his english is better than his spanish.  We had fun talking but it was awkward too. Soo... cough. What to talk about? But then it was time for dinner which was also awkward because we didn't really know what to talk about and his spanish is bad so it was a strugglefest.  I have retreated to my room (door open, just incase I'm needed) so that they can catch up on life. Tonight is the Barcelona-Madrid futbol game so my classmates are at a bar watching it. I am going to go to bed, WAY cooler. I guess today was a day for new experiences!

Words:
guay- smashing (kristin, like the thornberrys, SHHHMASHING- said with his huge BIGOTE)

Songs I liked today:
So Long Arletta- Ghosts and Skeletons
A Skylit Drive- Sleepwalker
Push Play- Far From Beautiful

The calm after the storm 29/01

This morning I was able to sleep in until just after 10 o'clock which was very needed! It was still hard to wake up then though.  I ate breakfast and then had to attack the mess that was my room.  I had to unpack, get resettled into my room, respond to a few emails, organize my backpack, and then of course catch up on my blog! It took me forever to write out about Madrid because it was the longest weekend ever.  I feel really tired today despite the fact that I slept a lot.  It is going to take some time to catch up on the sleep I need after this weekend! I have no idea how these spanish people do it! This is not a life I am used to.  After getting all settled in I showered and then uploaded my pictures to my computer and then to Facebook.  It is always such a chore getting pictures all loaded and then choosing what to post. I broke mom's "ten photos only" rule but I think I did ok :) I then impatiently waited for lunch time, as per usual. Hungry hungry hungry! We had tortellini with spinach and salad which was wonderful. I was craving veggies after that trip.  Puri said to tell mom that she is learning a lot through cooking for me and that you shouldn't worry about my food. She and her friends chat about what to cook for me. It's really sweet. It was then time to head to class which was a bit of a shock because I haven't done homework or thought about homework in what seems like forever. It was a rough class today, art class, a lot of information about the Romans conquering Spain and the influence that had on architecture and such. Some was interesting but it was a lot! I was amused by all of the people falling asleep. Then after class I stayed at school to work on some homework.  I was distracted by various family members which was wonderful. After only successfully doing a little bit of homework, I headed home.  A short while later I was able to eat dinner (leftovers from lunch) and then chat with dad for a bit.  I have now gotten distracted by classic joke tuesday on twitter and cute pictures of Emma. But alas I must go to bed.

People here are very friendly.  In the hallway of my apartment/ in the elevator everyone always says hello and goodbye, no matter what. It is super friendly!


Uses of 'good': Bueno- foods or person  VS   Bien- things/places
Hediondo- stinky, filthy repulsive

Songs I liked:
Do Anything- Say Anything
Sunshine- The All-American Rejects
Work it out- Dave Matthews Band/Jurassic 5
Harmony- Nevershoutnever

Weekend in Madrid 26/01-28/01

26/01- Saturday
Day:
Today we woke up at a descent time, I packed and got showered and ready.  We had to be at the bus at 10:30am which was not too bad at all! The bus ride took about 1.5 hours which also wasn't too bad.  It was nice to just sit there and relax on the bus.  I'm doing this thing right now where I'm going to listen to my entire iPod (1,716 songs) on shuffle. I don't really have a reason besides the fact that I know that I don't listen to more than half of the music on my iPod.  I've already discovered some music that I forgot about that I love! It is quite fun, so that is what I did on the bus.  We then got the hotel Mediodia which was in the center of one of those crazy huge traffic circles in Madrid.  We picked roommates, I was in a double with Katie DSA, and then got a couple of hours of free time.  Katie and I put stuff in our room, ate our lunch (puri packed me the smelliest sandwich! It was egg and smelly fish on soggy white bread. Sadly I was less than happy with it but I downed it because I was hungry!), and then we went to explore.  It was beautiful out! We didn't even have to wear a coat. It was so nice :) She had seen a picture of a vertical garden on Pintrest so we went looking for it.  To our surprise, we found it and it was pretty cool.  It was a building which had a side that was completely lush plants and probably pretty flowers in the summer!  After that we went back to the hotel to meet up with the group.  As a group we walked to the Reina Sofia museum which was an all of thirty seconds away from our hotel.  For our art class we had a few paintings we had to look at, but mostly we just wandered around.  The Guernica, a famous painting by Picasso, was beautiful. It was huge and has so much going on! There is a picture of it in my room that I see everyday here so it was cool to see the original.  There was a lot of work by Picasso there and it was pretty cool.  After a few hours in the museum we all started to get pretty wiped out, there are only so many Spanish Civil War paintings you can look at.  This museum was huge! So we left but I couldn't find my roommate so I had to go chill in someone else's room until she came back (luckily not that much time, whew).
Early Evening:
We sat around talking for  a while and then decided to go out for tapas and drinks with Gladys! We went to a bar right by the hotel called Copas Rotas which sells glasses of Cava, Beer, Wine, or Moscato for one euro and tapas for one euro too! We got patatas bravas (potatoes with hot sauce) and patatas alioli (potatoes with garlic mayonnaise) and Gladys paid for these which was so sweet of her :) They were delicious! I got a cava which was also delicious. After that we wandered around trying to find a grocery store to buy food for dinner. Grocery stores are shockingly hard to come across! Eventually we found one and Katie and I bought bread, laughing cow cheese (translated as la vaca que rei- the cow that laughs), drinkable yogurt, and oranges.  We went back and had a picnic on our beds in the hotel which was fun! A lot of people got McDonalds (gross- expensive- gross- so american- gross) and we were very happy with our dinner. Katie and I also picked up a bottle of sparkling red wine that has lemon and soda in it (very popular here, not sure what it is called) and some ice.  By this time it was probably 8:00pm.  There was still a lot of night ahead of us! So we again sat around talking which was really nice and then slowly we started getting dressed to go out and we started drinking a bit.
Night:
It took forever it seemed like for it to become 1:00am, we were starting to get tired but this was when we had to get prepared to leave.  We met in one hotel room to meet up with three spanish guys (good friends with guys on our trip) who were going to show us the way to a club we were heading to, La Kapital.  They got us a really great deal! We each paid 21 Euros to get into the club (usually 15 euros to get in) but along with getting in, we got a private balcony, something like nine bottles of hard alcohol (rum and vodka), and never ending supply of soda for mixers.  The private balcony had seats and was just for us! There were only six of these in the club and we got one, so that was pretty cool.  But as we were all coming together in the hotel, there were a few noise complaints (over thirty people cannot be quiet...) so the hotel manager came up to that room and said if we didn't get out in five minutes that he was going to call the police.  Then he saw the spanish boys and knew they weren't a part of our group and they were escorted out. We got in a lot of trouble the next day. Apparently it is not allowed to have people up to your hotel room who aren't staying there too (who knew?). So after this ordeal we left to go to the club (approx a two min walk from our hotel- Gladys planned this, she is the best) but then we didn't have the three spanish boys with us because they had left the hotel before us! We couldn't get into the club without them so we stood outside in the cold until they showed up (thank goodness).  We got inside and then were escorted to our private balcony, we felt really special! The club was SO CRAZY! There were dance floors, all kinds of floors, lots of lights, different music on different floors, fog everywhere, and there were a lot of people.  Our balcony looked over the main dance floor which had two fun live DJ's and they played some fun music. Most of the music was American so that worked for us! On the main dance floor there was this machine on the ceiling that periodically shot out a huge stream of fog (I've never seen anything like it before) that was loud and terrifying! But when we were dancing it and it happened we figured out that the fog was freezing cold, it instantly cooled you off. It was the best idea ever! I think every club should get one! I danced most of the time and had a blast.  Eventually a few of us left around 4:30am and got to bed by 5:15am only to have to wake up early the next day! All I can say is that it was entirely worth it.

27/01-Sunday
This morning we had to wake up at 8:30 to shower and get ready for our long touring day.  We got breakfast at the hotel which consisted of juice, bad coffee, and rock hard rolls with jelly. Less than satisfying! Everyone was super tired and hungover which is such a bad combination with a long touring day.  But then we headed out for a long walk where we eventually ended up at the Plaza Mayor.  A short walk from there later, we got to an outdoor market called the Rastro.  There are lots of people who set up booths that sell anything you could ever want! It was the biggest outdoor market that I have ever seen! It was amazing.  At one of the first tables I saw this necklace that I loved but I thought I would walk around first before buying anything.  We got a feel for prices and things being sold before Katie and I stumbled across this booth selling beautiful scarves for two euros (to ruin the surprise, I got one for me, mom and Krisp).  Then we walked for a while more and I found a pretty bracelet that is pearls with some shiny beads too, so naturally I bought it.  A couple hours went by and the whole time I was still thinking about that necklace I saw at the first booth so a few minutes before we had to leave I made the people I was with come with me to go buy it. It is a brown necklace (like leathery so I'm not allergic to it!) with fold beads, shiny beads, and one big and one small gold elephant. It is SO pretty! I love it :) I got it for 8 euros (originally it was 9) and I'm so glad I went back for it.  After my wonderful purchases we went back to the plaza mayor to head out.  We then walked to the Mercado of San Miguel where mom and I had gone for tapas before which was nice. It was super crowded and it was a hard place to get lunch. We were all starving and this place only sells little tapas that are one billion euros each haha not to be dramatic. But I was having a food mood so I had to step away from the group and eat something because I was about to cry. I found a nice man selling tortillas on bread and I bought one and scarfed it down. It was wonderful! Then I found some people to walk around with and we got a few more things to eat (a mini pizza and then some juice of a tropical fruit I've never heard of) until we were satisfied and it was time to go.  From there we walked to the Palacio Real which mom and I saw from the outside.  It is a magnificent building and the inside was beautiful.  Every room was so detailed! The ceilings were wonderful, chairs had fabric the same pattern as the wall paper, and everything was just grand. I loved every second of it! I think palaces are way cooler than museums. I found out that if I either become Queen of Spain or a head of state (or a wife of a head of state) that I could attend parties at this palace. This is my new life goal. After the palace we headed out to go for a pretty long walk to an outdoor park.  At this point we were all exhausted and my feet hurt so badly (lesson learned- next trip bring my walking shoes not my keds). A few of us went to sit at Starbucks for our thirty minutes of free time instead of exploring the park because it was raining. At 5 o'clock we went into the Prado museum because it is free after 5.  We had to wait in a few lines but then got inside.  Originally we were supposed to stay until 7 o'clock but Gladys saw how tired we were so she let us leave at 6 o'clock. I was too tired to really enjoy the museum, but I don't really enjoy museums either way.  The second I got inside I realized that Kristin and I had been here on our Madrid trip a few years ago so I felt less bad about leaving early.  We took off and ate another picnic dinner in the hotel (same dinner) which was great. Sitting down and stuffing our faces was just what we needed! Three of us (Katie, Tara and I) then watched Pitch Perfect, which I had never seen but it was really good! Relaxing felt so good.  After that it was around 10 o'clock and I wanted to go to bed but people were getting dressed to go out so I decided that I would go out for a little bit.  We went back to that bar with cheap drinks where we befriended the bartender and he gave us bottles of Moscato for 6 euros.  We drank a few bottles and it was really tasty and cheap! After that I had planned to go to bed but the boys in our group said that they wanted to go to another bar close to the hotel so I was like fineeee. But a 25 min walk later we were at Gran Via (a major shopping street in Madrid) where they admitted they didn't actually know of any bars but they thought there would be some here. It was so annoying! There are no bars on a shopping street! Everything was closed.  So four of us ladies decided to walk back to the hotel instead of wandering around forever and getting more annoyed.  We made it back to bed by 2 and I slept like a rock.

28/01-Monday
Today we woke up at 9:00 to get our day going, it being our last day in Madrid and all. Katie and I had planned on going and walking around with a few other girls and the guys.  After we waited for an hour for them at breakfast and at least thirty minutes while they went to Starbucks (again, so american, also VERY expensive in Madrid) Katie and I left them and went off on our own.  She had a map marked with all of the places she had read about and wanted to go to.  We started off going to the outdoor park that was close to the Prado museum, it is a huge and beautiful park! We saw a statue of "the fallen angle" aka the devil which is the only one of its kind in Spain.  Then we saw the Palacio de Cristal which is a building made out of glass. It was really pretty! It is not actually used as a Palace, it is actually a piece of art.  It represents that two people can be really close but be separated (one person outside, one person inside, see each other but can't communicate). It was beautiful! Then we saw some very cool monuments and another palace that had free entrance. Katie and I went in and much to our surprise it wasn't a palace either, it was holding some really ugly post-modern art. I do not understand nor enjoy modern art. One exhibit was a room, white walls, with gray carpet.  The artist called it "untitled". Ahhh, yes, art. So we left that! Then we walked up to see the huge library in Madrid, it is like four blocks all together. It's huge and cool! We continued walking and saw lots of cool things along our way. Eventually we got to Gran Via and took all of the touristy pictures that you find on post cards.  We went up to the eighth floor of Corte Ingles which has a beautiful birds eye view of Gran Via.  The top floor was all glass to look out and it was also a cafeteria so we decided to eat lunch there and enjoy the view! We got some delicious pizza and rested our tired feet.  After snapping a few more pictures we left to keep going on our walk.  We went back to see the Plaza Mayor and the San Miguel Market where we stopped to get churros and chocolate. It was the most delicious churros and chocolate I've ever had! Fresh made warm churros dipped in DARK chocolate. I was in heaven.  We were starting to get tired so after eating we had to get right up and keep moving on.  We were trying to find our way back to the Puerto del Sol and we got a bit confused as to where to go but then I recognized where we were! Mom and I had gotten lost on our way from the hotel to Puerto Del Sol and we had my suitcases with us, we stopped and asked for directions. I saw the place where we asked for directions and remembered what we had gotten told! What a small world. So we very easily got to Puerto Del Sol where we went to Corte Ingles so that I could exchange the hair dryer I had bought before that was broken. It was so easy, they just gave me a new one! So after that we kept walking to find another outdoor park that Katie wanted to see. We found it and it was super sketchy, full of graffiti, and you could tell drug deals went on there. But it had a beautiful view of Madrid and the mountains behind Madrid! I did not know you could see mountains from Madrid.  After that we decided to walk a different way home in order to see a different side of Madrid.  We came across a lot of beautiful things, Madrid has so much to see! Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn and ended up in the south of Madrid in a place that was cut off of our map... awkward. Luckily Katie was really good with directions and she was like oh if we cut up this street we will be home.  So after 25 min of walking on this street we ended up at the hotel and I was like "wait, what?" I was impressed with her. It felt good to get back because I was so tired and my feet were aching.  We got to sit for a little bit before we all decided to go get one last glass of Moscato at the cheap bar, I also got some spanish tortilla for a snack because I knew dinner would be far away.  After that it was time to get onto the bus. It felt so good to be on the bus. I fell right asleep and woke up when we were pulling up to the aqueduct! The rest was much needed.  I got home to a big hug from Puri, she said she had missed me a lot. It was very sweet to come home to that :) She and I talked for an hour about my trip and about her weekend and then I Face-Timed with mom which was nice.  After that Puri called me in for dinner.  Normally dinners are smaller but she had made me a huge dinner of fish sticks, empanadas, salad, and a potato. I ate every single bite! I had no idea I was so hungry, but I was.  She said she figured I would be hungry after eating bread and cheese all weekend. She was right! After dinner Puri and I watched her favorite soap opera, it takes place in her hometown.  It is interesting because it ran from 10:40-11:40 without commercials. I enjoyed it though! By the end of the show I was wiped, so I crawled into bed. I'm gonna need a few days to recover from that trip! It was so much fun!

I feel as though this weekend was hard on my learning spanish.  Everyone in Madrid speaks to Americans in english no matter what and our group spoke to each other in english. I have to get back into the spanish mindset!

A Day of Exploration 26/01

Today was an adventurous and fun day!  I had class early in the morning where we watched a movie called 1492 about Christopher Columbus. It was really interesting! But it was another movie that was originally in English but we watched it in Spanish. Sigh. Haha but then I had some time before lunch so I decided to go out for a walk where I stumbled across a beautiful view of Alcazar, found an old Jewish Cemetery, and some great hiking trails. It was beautiful and I got some nice pictures :) I want to go exploring more/hiking when I have another person with me. I didn't want to wander too far away. Then I came home and painted my nails and sat around 'doing homework' until it was lunch time. For lunch I had veggie soup with bread and some salad and empenadas. Very tasty! Then it was back to school for learning about the Aqueduct and how it was built. It was interesting but also dragged on.  It was built by the Romans and apparently a group of Japanese people (not too long ago) found out that without restorations it was going to fall soon.  So it has been since restored/cleaned. Then I hung out with some people at school doing homework and got a nice long Face Time chat with Luke :) When I got home it was 9pm and I ate the pizza that Puri had left for me (she had movie group) and now I'm in bed! I have a big weekend so I need to get the most sleep possible. I hope Madrid is fun!

Dia de espector 24/01

Today started off slowly, I didn't have class until 12:30 which is always enjoyable. Puri had a friend over in the morning which was overwhelming for me! Puri left me with her friend Maite and it was hard to talk to her.  I was telling her that our group was going to Madrid this weekend and she was like "where?" and I told her "madrid" and this went back and forth for a bunch of times until I finally said "you know the capital..." and she was like "oh, Madrid" (in spanish accent). COME ON! After that I wanted to run away so I eventually was like ohhh yeah gotta get to class bye.  Class with Gladys went well, we got to watch some more of a movie about the civil war.  I then came home for a very typically Segovian lunch: a soup made out of veggies, potatoes, and huge white beans. I loved it! It was right down my alley! Then I had to get back to class. Art class is very funny because the professor hacks all of her 'j's' (gross) and rolls her 'r's' like it's her job. She also talks SO slow. I know we aren't very good at spanish, but I'm not 2. But we learned about some more art history. No funny neanderthal videos today.  We all hung out at school "doing homework" which mostly consisted of chatting, making spring break plans, and for me, chatting with mom and krispy.  Then a few of us went to a candy shop and got YUMM YUMM gummies. So good! I came back and had some time to hang out before going to a movie later. (Thursdays here are 'el dia de espector' which is a day where going to the movies is half priced! Pretty sweet deal.)  Suddenly Puri rushes in and is like "the movie is at 9:30, not 10:30!!!" so I shoved in some dinner, put on my coat and we ran away.  We went with Jill and Jill's host mom, host aunt, and host grandma. The movie was dubbed. I was pretty lost. It was also long. It was a lot of spanish. Also I hate dubbed movies because I get distracted by the lips not matching the words... but otherwise it was good! The movie ended at midnight and we then came right home.  Puri and I had a snack and chatted about the movie.  She told me that she and Jill's family had been talking and they see a big difference between me and Jill.  She said they all think I'm very mature, I take a lot in, and I can have good discussions. That was really nice to hear :)

My gray heel boots are not so much fun on the cobblestone, I do fine but it made me realize that I will probs never wear my actual heels here!

Sue and Tom- the days here are so long that sometimes when I read one of your notes in the morning, I can't remember if I read a note that day or not! I love them.

Words I learned (in discussion with Puri)
Obesa- obese

Puri and I listened to spanish rap today. I was laughing so hard. We danced in the living room. Check it out :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ4XvgIeiSU

Take care of #1 day 23/01

Today was a very relaxing day. I had two morning classes which went well.  In Mitos we learned about how all of the days of the week in spanish stem from pagan gods/astrology.  Apparently also the myth is that Hercules founded Segovia.  We pondered questions such as are myths true? and then what is the truth? who determines this truth? Deep stuff. Then in the next class with Gladys we talked about our upcoming trip to Madrid, which looks pretty cool. Mom- we get to go into that palace that you and I found. Then we watched some movie on the spanish civil war about Americans who volunteered to go help the Spaniards defeat Franco.  People from all over the world did this and they had to do it by sneaking into Spain via the mountains because Spain was blocked off.  They interviewed some real people who were there serving as Lincoln's Army or as nurses and it was pretty cool.  Then I came home and had a relaxing rest of my day.  It was snowy and cold so I didn't want to go outside.  Instead I took a nice shower, did my nails, straightened my room etc.  Eventually I did some homework, ate with Puri and also chatted with Puri.  It felt good to just chill for a night! I think people here are realizing that #1 there's not actually that much to do in Segovia and #2 we need to chill out and not see everything all at once and then have nothing new to experience later. We have a long time here and we have to live a realistic life (which means not going out every night).

Words I learned (from the evil evil book):
irremisiblemente condenados- hopelessly doomed
desdentado- toothless
pelambrera- long thick hair
nuez- adam's apple
procaz- obscene
paleta- small shovel, small spade, fish slice, lollipop, popsicle, fire-shovel, a painter's tablet, iron ladle, a mason's tool, blade-bone of the shoulder, ice lolly, topside of beef, chopsticks, blade
^This one is my favorite, it has SO many meanings!

Snow! 22/01

Today was a very nice and normal day here in Segovia.  The only odd thing was that it was snowing. A LOT. Which is rare for here.  I woke up and had time to get ready and relax.  I then went to La Colonial to get a coffee and do some homework.  I attempted to continue reading the extremely absurdly hard book, but did not get very far.  I didn't actually get much of anything done but that was ok! I went home for lunch, and we ate veggie soup, fish, peas, and bread (yum!).  Then Puri and I talked for a while until it was time for me to head to class.  Today in art class we learned about the evolution of man and when the first drawings were made (cavemen era) and it was interesting.  We watched a video that was a recreation of the Neanderthals and I could not stop laughing into my scarf.  They were actors with big teased hair and glued on uni-brows wandering around the forest smashing rocks together.  I was quite amused!
After class we returned to the coffee shop to hang out and a few people talked about spring break. Sounds like some other people may be going to Mallorca too, that'd be pretty neat.  After that we went into Mango (clothing store) to look around and then I decided to go home.  Puri and I sat in the living room and talked for like two hours before she had to go make dinner. I learned about her life and her sad divorce.  She is always hosting several students (there will be a Japanese girl here in Feb and French girls here in April) because her ex-husband left her completely broke and she needs the money from hosting students. I think it is so sad but I love that she doesn't treat the students like we're here just for the money.  She is wonderful and always gives me plenty to eat and I never feel like she is tight on money, even though I now know she is.  We then ate dinner which was eggs and a tortilla and then a yogurt (again, so tasty) and that was the end.  I know it is only a week into the program but I'm already frustrated with the language barrier.  I feel like I can't ever say what I want to and like I'm quiet and awkward because I can't communicate my thoughts.  I hope it gets better!

Monday's are hard everywhere!

Today (and every monday) I have three classes in a row.  I'm in class straight from 9:30-1:45 in the same classroom, no breaks.  There were a lot of us in the same boat, so we ate snacks when the professors were trading places.  The first class was by far the hardest to sit through, I was so tired! I have to figure out how to have good attention span/be awake during that much class.  I think next time we should all change seats for each class! Mix it up, live on the edge.  After classes I came home to eat a wonderful lunch of tortellini with Puri. It was delicious and I loved it.  I then went to do a bit of homework but ended up taking a glorious nap.  Puri was meeting with a patient when I woke up, so I went to the coffee shop close to the apartment with a few people.  We had the intention of doing homework but mostly we chatted and tossed around ideas for spring break.  I decided that I want to do spring break with the fam. Trying to find people with similar travel interests (location and activities) is hard. I've only been here a week and don't know people that well! Most people have bought tickets and have plans.  I'm very pleased that my family is free and can do spring break with me! I am so excited! It is going to be a blast.  We will go somewhere warm, it has been so cold here.  It snowed for a bit today and was chilly. The sun was out for a few brief moments though!  I hung out at the coffee shop, talked to mom and sis for a while and attempted a bit of homework before taking off to come home.  The book we are reading for Gladys' class is absurd. It is so hard! I have to look up every other word.  The best thing today was I translated a whole sentence I didn't know and this is what it meant "a lean ominous bird stood by, crowning his clerical collar". I mean really? really? it is ABSURD! Once I got home, I again attempted to read but seeing as it was crazily hard and I was starving, I mostly just laid on my bed staring into space waiting for Puri to call me to dinner.  We had the leftover tortellini (again, yum!) and she made me a tortilla (like actual tortilla, not spanish tortilla) warmed up in a pan with butter and it was delicious.  Then we had yogurt with instant coffee in it for dessert (shockingly tasty, kind of like coffee ice cream).  The days here seem to last forever! I think I am starting to get sick (grrr) so I am going to go put on some music or a movie and fall asleep.  Gotta stay healthy!

It is hard being in such a big group and trying to stay involved/being invited. Without cell phones a lot of plans happen by word of mouth and it is easy to accidentally be excluded. It is hard, but I am trying to figure out how to connect with people.

words I learned today:
relamido - prim and proper (for kristin)
prodigiosamente - amazingly, enormously, beautifully, marvelously, miraculously, charmingly (pretty much it means everything good ending in -ly)
mono - monkey or overalls (depending on context)
cicatriz - scar
raído - threadbare

My big fat Spanish Sunday 20/01

Today was a very long, tiring, and yet very fun day! I was able to sleep in (thank goodness) and then met up with another host family and their student, Jill, to go to mass.  We went to mass at the huge cathedral in the plaza mayor. During the week you have to pay to get in, but it is free for mass. The cathedral was beautiful.  It was the last gothic-style cathedral built in Spain.  The bishop delivered the mass which was pretty cool. I was pretty lost... I was super proud when the our father came around because I know that one. Thanks Mullen! Communion is really different here. It is like a free for all, there is no organization or waiting in line. Just running and grabbing communion. Plus only like half the people took communion.  Also the altar boys (as termed here) hold a plate under the host until it is in your mouth.  After mass we stayed to "pray" and by that we meant sitting there and staring at the beautiful ceiling until they turned the lights off.  Then we did what everyone does after church, went to a bar. Oh wait, NO ONE does that haha. It seems common here though... we all got wine and tapas before heading back to the other host families apartment to prepare lunch.  Lunch was a huge ordeal.  Lots of food (egg bake with vegetables and white asparagus just for me and chicken for everyone else). We ate lunch until 5:30pm! It was a group with seven women and one man and boy was it loud. They were all shouting and talking with their hands and talking over each other and arguing and laughing and enjoying life and Jill and I were just SUPER lost the whole time.  Finally Puri (you could tell she has had students before) told us that we could go do our hw and then come back at nine for dinner.  Jill and I happily escaped to a coffee shop to speak in english and get a bit of homework done.  Then nine o'clock rolled around and Jill and I braced ourselves for the craziness once more.  We helped cook dinner which was pancakes (quite different- a mi no me gusta) with chocolate and whipped cream. Um EW for dinner, for me. Ouch my tummy. But oh well. After another hour and a half of talking, Puri saved the day again and said it was time for us to leave.  She is such a mom :)

Complaint for the day: I HATE the tap water here. But that is what we are served so I try to drink it but for realz, I hate it. It is commonly known that I am picky about water, I don't like that I am but I am. Here it smells funky and tastes weird. But I have to get used to it I guess... blehhhhh

Day trip to Salamanca 19/01

This morning I woke up early to get ready for our day trip to Salamanca and it was pouring.  I took my time getting ready and eating breakfast, hoping it would stop raining, but no.  We hoped on the bus and it took us 2.5 hours to get to Salamanca.  When we got there it had stopped raining momentarily but was windy and cold.  We walked around the city for a while (much to our dismay) until we got to the Cathedral.  A bunch of us needed the bathroom, but cities aren't really built to accommodate that so we had to wait.  We got to go up the tower in the Cathedral (lots of spiral stairs, like Alcazar) but it was terrifying because two months ago an American man got vertigo in the stairs and then fell to his death. Needless to say, we were all very cautious. The view from the top was pretty, but nothing compared to the view from Alcazar.  It was also pouring.  We then walked around outside (again, to our dismay) until we got to a McDonalds on the plaza mayor.  It had a huge upstairs where we could all eat the sac lunches packed by our host families.  My host mom packed me THREE sandwiches (woah) which I gave to some other people who were still hungry.  I ate the one with tortilla on it which was super tasty.  We then had two hours to walk around but none of us wanted to! So a few of us went to get hot chocolate and churros (a big spanish thing, hot chocolate is more like liquid brownie) which hit the spot.  There were some weird looking tapas at the place so I decided to ask what they were.  The man working there was so nice and talked to us about tapas for like thirty minutes.  A popular one was a sausage type thing made with rice (or beans or potatoes, depending), meat, and pigs blood.  Very interesting, very gross looking but a big part of spanish culture.  Apparently they use every part of the pig here which I think is great. They sell fried pig nose! We then killed some time and then met the group.  The group then walked back to the cathedral to tour the inside.  There are lots of little sections inside the church which were bought by rich people of the time.  They had private mass and then eventually were buried there.  Pilar then asked us if we wanted to walk around or go home, and we all wanted to go home! It took us a bit longer to get home because it was raining a lot and when we got back to Segovia it was still raining and freezing. You can see your breath! No one told me Spain was going to be like this!

But today I learned a few things. I don't like touring places via busses or tour groups. I have done a lot of it in my life and I hate it.  I hate being dependent on other peoples schedules and not having a say in what we do.  It is also hard to do anything (like find a place inside to eat) with a group of thirty people. I think no more touring like this after this trip! I also learned that our generation is camera crazy. I only took a few pictures today, because I realized that #1 pictures don't capture the beauty and #2 I don't enjoy the moment as much.  I looked around at my classmates only to realize that the only way they saw the views today was through their camera lens.  While I think it is good to remember where we were, I also think we need to stop, put the camera down and enjoy the moment.  People also are always on their phones when we are at cafes, due to free wifi.  No one talks to each other and I think it is really sad. We get wifi at school and at home, plus those people on facebook can wait a few hours. I guess it just makes me kind of sad. There is such a disconnection from real life, whether it be cameras or phones.

While touring the other places we are going to tour is not going to be my favorite (because it involves busses and tour groups and tour guides and whatnot), I have also realized that I have to accept being a tourist.  The girls here are always so concerned about "looking american" and while at first I was like oh ya we stand out, now I'm kind of like so what? we are americans! When we tour, we are a group of thirty people and nothing we do will stop us from looking like tourists.  Even just being here in Segovia, we stand out, and it is ok.  However, I am looking forward to just living life here. While I don't like homework and class, it is part of a life routine, but in Segovia. This is the way I would rather see and experience a place. Now I get some time to do some homework while listening to Puri play spanish music. It is quite lovely :)

Sleeping Beauty's Castle - A dream come true 18/01

Today is finally friday! It has been the longest week ever.  I can say I was quite tired waking up this morning after such a late (and fun) evening.  I went to my Spanish Cine (movies+history) class for the first time and that was... well... an interesting experience.  The prof is from Argentina and has an accent that is hard to understand and also talks super quickly.  His train of thought is all over the place and his handwriting is like chicken scratch.  The whole class for me was a fight to stay awake and at the same time understand anything he was saying. I felt good though because everyone was in the same boat.  After returning from class and having lunch, we got to go tour Alcazar.  It was the castle that Sleeping Beauty's Castle was designed after. Turns out Walt Disney summered in Segovia and was inspired by this castle.  It was absolutely beautiful on the inside.  We got to walk up to the tallest tower and see the view of the city from the highest point in Segovia.  We got to the top right when the sun was setting and it was spectacular.  Pilar, one of my profs, was our tour guide and she talked A LOT which was cool sometimes and boring sometimes.  I learned a lot about the details of the castle.  There were the most interesting ceilings in the building.  The castle was freezing cold, like a fridge.  It was colder inside than outside, and man it was cold outside! After touring it was nice to come home and relax for a little bit.  I got to eat dinner early and early to bed as well. How great to have finally toured Alcazar.

Thirsty Thursdays 17/01

Today was a class day like any other, wakeup, class, lunch, class, home.  Classes went well, didn't get too much homework yet :) After a day of classes we do the typical things, coffee shop, homework, relax, dinner with our host families, and then that is when the real fun begins! When most people (in other countries) are thinking about bed, we are getting dressed to go out. We began our evening at a bar where a lot of students from our university, and also nearby high schools (weird), go to. Five euros for all you can drink... a deal that really only paid off for the guys in our group who can drink a fair share of alcohol.  We stayed at this bar for a while because when we went out at 11:30pm, it was too early and no one was around.  The bathrooms at this place were just the worst. I went a couple of times to show girls where it was and each time there was a girl just standing in the bathroom putting on makeup and what not.  Finally I said I liked her sweater and we talked a little bit.  A little while later she bursts out onto the stage dancing in a little yellow leotard and fishnets... I guess she was an exotic dancer! I was not expecting that.  Around 1:30 the crowd in the bar changed from people our age to older, very creepy spanish men (creepin on the dancer) and that is when we decided to go to the next place.  The next bar was called Buddah and was pretty empty when we got there.  It only started to pick up around 2:00-2:30.  They played some nice old school American music, the kind you would find on guitar hero.  Then 3:00 rolled around and I decided I had to find someone else who wanted to leave, so that I could leave.  The thought of class the next day was very daunting.  I was able to get into bed by 3:30, que bueno!

Bars, not just for weekends! 16/01/13

So something different here is showering, or as I like to call it, a very cold and non relaxing mild form of torture.  I may be a little dramatic.  But the shower is just a small tub in the bathroom, no door or shower curtain, with a handheld nozzle.  Turns out, it's pretty cold to shower when the water isn't constantly running on your body. It is going to take some getting used to! Today nature gave me the chance to shower outside, it was pouring. Classes went well, my mythology prof had the best time telling everyone that their passport pictures are super ugly and then he wrote ALL over the white board with permanent marker. Whoops... The rain gave me a good excuse to relax and slowly come to terms with the fact that yes, there is homework when studying abroad.  It is not fun.  Puri went out to a concert and left me with a pizza to eat, which I happily enjoyed while watching Transformers.  A bunch of us then headed out to a bar for 'Euromania' which is a deal that every Wednesday and Sunday all foods and drinks are one euro.  I bought and enjoyed my very first legal beverage without the presence of my family and it was really fun. It is a drink called Sarango, basically a sparkling wine that comes from the tap, very tasty! Now it is time to catch up on the sleep I missed out on yesterday.

Today I learned some pretty neat spanish curse words from my reading, who knew that reading about the spanish civil war would teach you curse words?

Long days and longer nights 15/01/13

Today, despite being a day with class, was surprisingly touristy. I got to see the castle Alcazar again and then just walk around and go into the random stores.  There is a street connecting la plaza mayor and the aqueduct that has a bunch of stores with everything you could need ever.  January is the month of 'rebajas' aka sales so people were buying lots of clothes and other necessities.  We stopped at a coffee shop to warm up and got croissants to tide us over until our very late lunch.  I usually eat lunch here at around 3, so by the time I was done eating today, it was time for my first ever class in Segovia.  The class is Culture and Art History and it is from 4:30-6:00pm, which is not a class time that I am used to.  I think it is going to be really interesting! A few of us then went to La Colonial for a cafe con leche but then, tired, went home.  I was able to squeeze in a short nap before waking up to my host mom's friend (another host mom) coming over.  Normally Puri speaks slowly for me but the two of them were just going at it muy rapido but I understood more than I thought I would.  She was over until around 9:45pm and then thank goodness Puri started making dinner.  We ate together and then I went to meet the group and she went to watch a show that she loves.  I love that we are both independent and can have time together but also time apart.  Almost the whole group met at the aqueduct where we proceeded to walk to the top and look at the beautiful views.  We took many crazy photos and then began our journey to the bar 'el oso blanco' which was mostly a huge group of American's taking up the whole street and then the whole bar.  A few of us took off to see Alcazar (otra vez!) at night but the gate was closed so we walked home.  The days here seem to last forever, and the nights do too! I don't know how people go out so late and get to class the next day.  The morning is going to come early tomorrow. Hopefully I will be accustomed to the spanish lifestyle soon :)

Jet lag, unforgettable taxi rides, and the loss of Emma

It has been a really long week! A week ago today I left the United States for Sweden. It was a rough adjustment to the time there because it is almost never light out, yes mom and dad, I will attest to that for you.  Friday morning mom and I headed out in a taxi to get our flight out of Stockholm.  Dad wasn't able to come because he got sick, but I'm glad that he had time to get better :) The trip that followed was something like this: throwing up in the taxi, flight delayed, tight connection to next flight, made it to Madrid, and suitcases no where to be found. Made it to a nice hotel in Madrid and mom and I walked around el Puerto de Sol, which is apparently the center of Spain, and also saw a grand palace. Very luckily my bags got there that night and we got some sleep.  The next day ensued with lugging two suitcases through the center of Spain, train, devour sandwich, high speed train, taxi, then we arrived at the hotel in Segovia! We got to walk around Segovia and see my school, the plaza mayor, the aqueduct, and where I would be living.  We then met Gladys for dinner and followed up with drinks and tapas at the Juan Bravo(?) bar.  A night of much stressing and little sleeping was to follow.  The next morning we woke up and walked to Alcazar and then quickly retreated back to get warm tea.  It was snowing so much by the time we left, bags in hand, to meet my group and host mom.  Fifteen minutes after arriving at the designated meeting spot, we were worried we had missed the group because we didn't see anyone.  Stress. Stress. Stress. Lots of snow. Cold. Wet everything. We then found the host mom's together under the awning of Burger King and that is when we met Puri. She had mom over for lunch which was wonderful.  Mom helped me unpack and then headed out with a tearful goodbye and a hug from Puri with a reassurance that I would be well taken care of.  I got some time to relax and was extremely tired and after a while, starving! Eventually Puri and I had cena a las diez, much later than I am used to. Puri is an amazing cook and is so accommodating to my likes and dietary needs.  It was after dinner that I got the call that Emma was going to be put down and that I should write a goodbye.  I sat on the bed sobbing as I tried to form words that could express to Emma how much love I had for her.  I didn't sleep much.  I woke up early to read a text from Kristin, "Emma went in peace, in my arms." I disregarded my shower time in order to pour over photos of Emma on my computer and Facebook. I then got ready quickly, ate breakfast, and met my group. To my surprise, I started crying again the second I saw a familiar face and it took me some time to pull myself together. This group is full of caring people, and I was checked on throughout the day. We then proceeded to have a full and overwhelming (at times) day where my mind didn't have a chance to think about Emma.  We met our profs, toured the school, and learned the rich history of our school (it was a church, then convent, then jail, then orphanage, then nursing home, and now a university).  We then also saw the city and bought all of the stuff that we didn't have including school books. I went on an adventure to a store next to my apartment where I successfully purchased a princess notebook and colorful pens :) With much time to kill before dinner, several of us went to a coffee shop (la colonial) where I strugglebussed to order Earl Grey tea (lots of pointing, a la izquierda, un poco mas, no, no, SI!).  The group, including Gladys, then went to a bar called el Oso Blanco before going home for dinner.   Despite being in a constant state of hunger (because the meals are so far apart) I am pretty positive I am going to leave here fat. Tonight for instance we had Spanish tortilla and I wasn't even finished with one piece when Puri said "more?" and I was like ok a little bit..... HALF the tortilla later (quiche sized) I was given a break from being unwillingly served more. Very delicious though, so I can't complain! Tonight, I sleep (ojala) :)