Madrid and Toledo

This weekend was the Madrid and Toledo excursion with CIDE (the study abroad program at our university). We left Friday morning on a bus for Madrid. It took about five hours to get there but I didn’t really mind because that’s about how long it takes from me to get to Ole Miss from my house.The one thing i noticed while driving to Madrid is that there are not many towns in between the big cities. Every now and then you would see a village but it was just a lot of dry desert like scenery for most of the ride. When we got there we checked in to the hotel and had about an hour to rest. Our room were nice, the standard hotel room set up, and a nice bathroom. We had lunch which was an experience in itself. The dorm food is pretty terrible (and keeps getting worse) so everyone living in the dorm freaked when we saw the buffet. We stuffed ourselves all weekend at the hotel knowing when we came back the food would stink again. After lunch we went to the Palacio Real (Royal Palace). On the way there we experienced some extreme traffic. I guess I knew there would be traffic considering how big the city is but I had never really experienced anything like it. We saw an suv try and pass a bus, and instead it side-swiped it and the suv had the side of car ripped off. We finally arrived at the palace after being in traffic for almost an hour. We had a guided tour which was pretty cool. After, we walked to some different plazas and looked in some shops. We headed back and had dinner at the hotel. I was lame and stayed in because I knew a lot of people were planning on going out Saturday night so I decided to just go out then. I was woken up a lot though because apparently its cool to have parties out of the trunk of your car at the train station (which was next to our hotel). Kids literally popped there hatch-backs up, mixed there drinks and socialized. It was kind of unsettling because of course they know we are not from there and love to taunt…

Saturday we drove about and hour and a half south to Toledo (pictured above). I think I kind of liked Toledo more than Madrid. Toledo is such a historic city. It was once the capital of Spain! It was also occupied by both the Romans and Muslims. Because of this history it has some interesting sights. The architecture is a mixture of Roman, Muslim, and Jewish styles. It even has its own name, its called mudejar. We drove to a scenic lookout point which had breathtaking views. After we made our way into the city. We got to go on a tour of the cathedral. I really liked it. It is the second most important Catholic church after St. Peter’s in Rome. It had beautiful stained glass and altars. It had the largest tabernacle I’ve ever seen. It also had great carved marble and wood works. We had lunch in a little restaurant before heading back to Madrid in the afternoon. Amanda, Danyel and I went back to the plazas we had been to before to look for souvenirs but didn’t really find anything. I took a nice nap before dinner and then laid around until we left to go to Teatro Kapital at 12:30. That is one thing I am definitely not used to - the night life. Everybody starts going out when we are usually going in in Oxford. The place was awesome though. It was seven stories and each floor had different music and a different style. It was fun exploring each and dancing with the girls.

We had an early wake up call and had our last buffet breakfast! Like I said before, we took full advantage of the food at the hotel. We went to the Prado Museum. We had an awesome tour guide who kept things interesting. We saw a lot of stuff by Goya and Vasquez and many other famous artists in Spain. After lunch we headed back to Bilbao. For some reason the bus ride back seemed like it lasted forever! I started to go stir crazy. It was the weirdest thing, when we could see Bilbao I felt so relieved. I loved our trip but it felt so nice to be back in Bilbao. I felt more in my element for sure. It was comforting, and that was something I didn’t expect to feel.

adventures in the kitchen of Conchi

so today, Kimberly and I tried to bake a cake for Conchi (Kim's host mom). We knew it wouldnt be exactly the same, but little did we know how different the process would be. It all started with the hunt for the right ingredients. They dont sell very many varieties of cake mix here. We grabbed the one that looked the most like what we might find at home. They didnt have sour cream so we substituted with yougur azucar. we also couldnt find vanilla concentrate, so we hoped the "azcuar" in the yougur would make up for it. we purchased spanish chocolate chips as well. Conchi had the rest. After a very comical lunch with Conchi, we set out to bake the cake! We kind of guestamated the measurements and popped it in the oven. We soon realized that the top of the cake was cooking WAY too fast. we decided to move it down a level in the oven and almost dropped the glass pan because the oven shelves arent stationary. after some maneuvering we moved the pan down, hoping the liquid center would cook before the top turned black. Eventually we just had to take it out and hope for the best. Conchi wont be getting the greatest representation of our culinary arts, to say the least! 

From a distance the cake doesnt look bad, and, after tasting it we realized it wasnt terrible. it had a lemony taste that we didnt expect (we guess the mix must have been lemon flavored). the only real mishap was that all of the chocolate chips sank to the bottom and formed a chocolate layer.

random oberservations

So there are a few things I’ve experienced or noticed over the past few weeks that I feel are worth mentioning.

• Garbage collection in Bilbao occurs at the most random times. Usually right when I’m on the verge of sleep. It is so odd to me that they pick up garbage at late hours of the night. I also never realized how loud garbage collection can be!
• I have observed some intense and not always appealing hair trends. Mullets are huge over here! I think I’ve seen more mullets in this city than I have at home in Mississippi! Its not just the guys either, women rock mullets too!
• The color of women’s hair is also interesting. I have observed maybe 10 middle aged women with purple hair. Not that tint of purple you get when you dye it dark brown, I’m talking crayola purple. I’ve seen one lady with blue and few with unnaturally red hair. I also find it interesting that it isn’t really the young people with crazy hair.
• Dogs are so obedient here. I rarely see dogs on leashes. They instinctively know to follow their owner. One down side to this is that pet owners are not required to pick up dog poop that their pet leaves behind. Sometimes the sidewalk can get a little overtaken with poop. You have to watch your step and it smells!

weekend re-cap

So our constant friend this weekend in Bilbao was rain. It wasn’t that bad though because I enjoyed being lazy! Thursday Amanda, Rachel and I went to Areeta and watched a little bit of the futbol game then caught the metro back into the city. We had a sketchy encounter at a kebab place with the guy that worked there - enough said. Friday was the laziest of all lazy days. Amanda and I got breakfast a little café around the corner and ran to the SimplyMart for a few things (mainly a new can of nutella). After that was a long day of catching up on shows. I watched gossip girl, the office, phantom of the opera, and discovered my new obession - Glee! The weather was pretty miserable so we all stayed in. we played catch phrase. It got pretty intense but was really fun! Saturday included some more laziness but I did go to Zubiarte (a mall) with Rachel. It was good to get some fresh air, I was going a little stir crazy after being in my room for so long.

Today I went to Mass. I actually made it on time! It was so nice to be there and share something universal with people of the same faith. After, Taylor, Astrid and I went and got some breakfast at a café in Deusto. I came back to the dorm and did some homework. Tonight was probably best part of the weekend. I went back to Areeta and watched the Saints game at a bar!!! The guy who runs the bar loves American football so he plays it on Sundays. A few other people from school came too. The saints fans were definitely in the majority. The guy even had a helmet and jersey on display! Winning made the night that much better! Who Dat?!?!

mosquitoes and cow tongues

this week has really flown by! only one more day of class...woo hoo! not much exciting going on on the school front but there are a few things that are worth mentioning about dorm life. my roommate, Amanda, and I have been battling mosquitoes that have decided our room would be a great place to live. I swear they are organized and deliberate. they wait until we are sleeping and then bite us the whole night! two nights ago I tossed and turned for half of the night because I was itching. the next morning I was determined that I would not leave for class until the mosquito was dead. after a few failed attempts I was successful and I thought the problem was solved. Amanda told me later she killed one when she came back to the room! its hard to keep them out because we have to keep our window open for air because there is not AC. maybe they will find a dorm room they like better than ours ;)

today I was pretty starving. we got back from class and went straight to lunch. today’s choice: fried rice (if that’s what you could call it), egg rolls, canned tuna on salad, melon, and meat. I got pretty excited about the fresh melon, yum. I asked the lady serving lunch if the sauce covered dish was "carne," she replied, "is." hmm protein I thought, serve it up! I had only eaten a couple of bites when another girl told me how adventurous I was. confused, I asked "why, its just meat." the answer I received was an unexpected one, "that’s not meat, its cow tongue." COW TOUNGE. yes I really ate cow tongue. once I knew what it was, it answered a few lingering questions I had about its appearance. needless to say, I didn’t eat much more but in the end at least I can now say that I’ve eaten cow tongue. don’t be too jealous.

the weather here has been grey and rainy. its not that bad though. I am pretty excited because I found out that a bar in a nearby town is showing the Saints game on Sunday!!! I will for sure be there!

tapas

tonight we had tapas for taylors birthday! tapas are like little appetizers or mini versions of food. they are very popular in spain. here in the basque country they are called pintxos (pronounced pinchos). they are also very inexpensive with makes them great for the budget! it was really fun. we got her a cake with candles and a birthday crown! here is me with the birthday girl!!!

lessons learned

so the theme for this weekend was lessons. i personally think i learned a lot this weekend. on saturday the girls from the dorm and i went shopping. i went to ikea for the first time - i must say, its pretty amazing. after we decided to go to a bigger mall called MAXcenter. long story short we got lost and ended up taking the long way which brought us back to where we started by ikea. lesson learned: transportation mishaps can be funny and also teach you about how to more efficiently navigate the city.

today i attempted to go to church with Taylor, Astrid and Kimberly. We made it but we were half an hour late. The sheet with the mass times that I got at school was wrong. Lesson learned: we now know the actual mass times at the church closest to us. it did feel nice to be in church. i felt comfortable and welcoming. i'm excited to go back next week and make it for the whole mass.

i went to casco viejo with kimberly and lauren for the afternoon. we found a coffee shop on the plaza nueva. it might be one of my new favorite places. we sat on the second story and it overlooked the plaza (the picture on the left). it had wifi and was decorated with modern furniture. also, the coffee was SO good. it wanst a microscopic sip! i was a nice big cup of coffee! we did homework and just talked and attempted to do some research on a weekend trip to paris we are planning. after, we went to laurens apartment at watched the holiday. i love that movie, it always puts me in such a good mood! i had a nice walk home to the dorm. it was breezy outside and i enjoyed observing all the different people on the street as i walked back. now its just homework and hanging out!

im really loving it here and getting excited about really delving into spanish!

out and about

so i survived the first week of classes! they all went really well. i guess i cant really elaborate more until we really get into the swing of things. i do have homework this weekend. i guess it was inevitable, summer couldnt last forever!

thursday i went for a run with rachel. its fun exploring different parts of the city on our runs. we ran in kind of a residential area then hiked some steps up to place that overlooked the city. we found a neat cemetery up the hill as well! we went to a bar in arreta. it was kind of a welcome thing for the students. it was a lot of fun. one of the guys in charge of the programs worked out drink specials and no cover etc. which was nice.

today we went to the Guggenheim! it really was amazing to just cross the bridge from school, and be at the museum! the huge puppy made of flowers was one of my favorite things! the exhibits inside were neat - definitely modern. they had a piece of art that was 8 little chevy cars with lights sticking out of them in all directions. they were suspended in the air creating the effect of the car following a path. it was different. we ate lunch at this little pincho (tappas) cafe. it was so cheap and so good! i really couldnt stomach the idea of eating lunch at the dorm. i wanted to enjoy food for once.

no sure what the plans are for the rest of the weekend, but i'm really loving no friday classes!

class schedule

here is my class schedule:

Monday:

11:10-12:00 Conversation

12:10-1:00 Spanish Culture

Tuesday:

10-12:00 Grammar

12:10-1:00 Conversation

1:10-2:00 Basque Culture

Wednesday:

9-9:50 Spanish Culture

12:10-1:00 Basque Culture

Thursday:

9-9:50 Spanish Culture

10-12:00 Grammar

12:10-1:00 Conversation

1:10-2:00 Basque Culture

classes and such

school has started! i have officially been to all the classes that i might potentially take. so far so good. these first two weeks are kind of a trail run. we go to the classes we are interested in and then officially sign up for them next week. the way our classes are arranged are a little different than in the US and its going to take some getting used to. for instance, i might have class A on monday at a certain time but then on wednesday and thursday its at a different time. kinda confusing, i know BUT we dont have classes on fridays which is awesome!

i am taking a spanish grammar class, a spanish converstaion class, a contemporary spanish politics and culture class, and basque culture and language. the teachers are great. t

hey are so eager to help and i know that they really do want us to learn and excel. i dont feel as intimidated. my ear is still getting used to hearing everything in spanish, and i struggle to find the right words

to say at times.

yesterday i went to the beach after class with some friends. its so nice to just hop on the metro and be at the beach. it was kind of like a little piece of home- laying under the sun, you kind of forget where you are and just enjoy the relaxing vacation away from the real world. one thing im not used to at the beach is the amount of skin that women expose. a lot of older ladies like to roam the beaches with only bikini bottoms on (its a little unsettling to say the least) but i know that here its not a big thing. i have to remind myself that part of being he

re is trying to understand customs.

here is picture of the beach and the group of us that went!

orientation and such

so thursday and friday we had orientation. on thursday we took a spanish placement test (not so easy or fun) and took a tour of bilbao. friday we got a tour of the school and talked about classes etc. the classes look pretty interesting and the teachers seem nice. im nervous about them though. we start classes on monday and have a week to try them out and see which ones we like. after the orientation we got on a bus and took a tour of the towns of plentzia and gexto. they are towns on the beach near bilbao. they were really cute, kind of reminded me of home.

we finally got phones! its nice to be able to communicate with people here. im still getting used to the dorm food. its not the best. always very random, for example last night we had fried ham and cheese, egg rolls, brocoli, and weird mashed potatoes. and we eat later which is an adjustment.

today i think we might explore the city, not sure though. we might go out tonight to the old town. im ready for classes but nervous at the same time. im trying to keep my emotions in check and not let them get the best of me.

bilbao

so i made it to bilbao! it was so nice to have a few more hours with JP before we had to go our separate ways. i actually got to see the train station in fribourg! it made me sad to be on my own but i was also excited about what lay ahead. i successfuly made it to my overnight train in geneva. it was defintely an experience. i shared a cabin with a priest from venezuela. he was one of the nicest men. he put up with my broken spanish! i showed him the spanish grammar book i had and he took out his missalette and had me read the Gospel to him in spanish. he would stop me and tell me how to say words and ask me to repeat them. it was such a sweet gesture! eventually a family of four completed our six person bunk. i slept ok for a train. everyone in my cabin got off in Lourdes France. When Padre Jose left he hugged me and told he was grandfather in a way. he was defintely someone i wont forget. when i got to irun, i took a bus to bilbao. i arrived at my dorm and my roomate was already here. she is from virginia and is super sweet. our room is actually pretty nice. we have our own bathroom and desks and shelves etc. and a big window. im ready for tomorrow to see what this semester has in store for me!