Yeah, Bach and I Hang Out

Wednesday March 12, 2008

 Lately I’ve been missing singing and choir in general, so I decided to try and find a choir to sing with there in Spain. I’m here for two more months, why not? I talked to one of the Spanish directors of our program and she set Josh (a guy in my class who also wants to sing) and myself up with a choir from the University. The choir is small, around 25 people, and is consisted of all students that are studying to be music teachers. Today I went for the first time to practice with the choir. The director, Alberto, was really welcoming and within the first 10 minutes we were sitting within the choir and singing along. One of the students in the choir went and copied his music for us and he was really helpful about the whole thing. The choir rehearsal structure was a little different, but it was great to be singing within a choir again. Plus, what a great way of combining two things that I love: music and Spanish. We rehearsed in a medium sized classroom at the university, which I had to take a bus (and get lost) to get to, and we were without a piano. The director used his tuning fork for every note and it was just all around a different structure for choir rehearsal than what I am used to. Afterwards the director told us about the concert set that they are practicing for. He invited us to join the choir and to sing at the concerts but the first catch with that is…the concerts are in Málaga and Ronda. These two cities are somewhat close to Sevilla and are in the southern part of Spain as well. The second catch is that the concert weekend is April 26-27. We leave for May Term on the 28^th; therefore those are the last two days that I would be in Sevilla. AH, what a dilemma. I’m thinking about trying to go for the first day and catching a bus/train back on the next day. I’m still trying to think about weighing the positives and negatives of each decision. Travel as an international student to perform with a Spanish choir or stay in Sevilla and soak up the rest of the city and spend time with my host family before I go? Hum. Nonetheless, after rehearsal some of the choir members went out to a bar for tapas (kind of like appetizers) and drinks. They invited Josh and I to come along and we gladly accepted the invitation. We sat around and talked for a while, I kind of explained why we were here, they asked questions about music/choir in the states and they insisted again that we come on the choir trip with them. They even went as far as taking down my e-mail so they could send me the audio clips of the music that we are working on. I don’t know how possible it’s going to be for me to learn a Bach piece within a month on top of all of my other school work…so we’ll see how all of that works out. After we left the bar, we hopped on the wrong bus, got lost, I found our way home, and I finally got home at about 11:30pm. I was hungry from missing dinner and exhausted from the 2-hour choir rehearsal and possibly from getting lost. (Whatever.) I ate and then 

Midterms Are Officially Over, YES!

Tuesday March 11, 2008

 I had two tests today, but now midterms are officially over and I am quite happy about it. After this week is over we have a week off for Semana Santa. Simply put, Semana Santa is a holy week, the week before Easter, in preparation for Easter. In Seville there are concerts, performances, processionals, masses and many other things related to the Catholic tradition. Therefore, Semana Santa is our “Spring Break,” which seems rather odd having a religious festival as your spring break time. The juxtaposition between a holy week and the normal happenings of a spring break is quite funny to me. Regardless, we have an entire week off of school and I’m exited for it. I wish that I could do a little bit more traveling but apparently that is expensive, so I’m going to have to sit that one out.

 Today I found four more internships that I am applying for, so wish me luck. I’ve decided that I’m going to apply for every internship in the city of Des Moines, if that’s what it’s going to take for me to finally get one. I’m determined to get some real experience in this summer. It has just started to hit me that I am actually going to have to become an adult in the near future and that seems a little scary.

 Tonight we attempted to go shopping. Yes, attempted. I use this because phrase because the streets were packed with people for some reason. I thoroughly enjoy browsing and possibly buying things, but tonight was just chaotic. There were thousands of people out today. Apparently people really like to shop on Tuesdays, rather odd I think. But it’s like that almost every night in the center. All of the new spring fashions are starting to come out, so I’m trying my hardest to not buy out Spain. I’m keeping pretty tight to my budget, so that is a good thing. Nonetheless, the shopping experience stressed Allison and I out so we had a “Coke” date, a.k.a. walked to the supermarket, got Coke and watched an episode of Will & Grace. Overall, it was a good end to a rather chill day.

 

 

It's The Halfway Mark...

Monday March 10, 2008

 Today it has been exactly two months since I left the United States to come to Spain. What a good time to reflect on how much has happened since I have left! It seems like I have been here forever, but I can’t believe that I only have half of my time left. Some days seem shorter than others but overall this semester seems as though it has just flown by. I can honestly say that this semester has been one of the best choices that I’ve made so far in my 21 years of existence. It’s hard for me to sit here and figure out all of the ways that I’ve changed, but there are a few things that I notice from time to time. I think once I get home I’m going to be able to see more of these changes and I think that people that I know really well will be able to point them out as well. When Aaron was here he mentioned that I had changed a bit, but not in a bad way. I think that my travels have made me more of a lax and go-with-the-flow type of person. Many times while being here there have been things that are completely out of my control, and with these things I have learned to relax a bit and let things happen.

 I’ve come to appreciate all of my relationships with people and with friends in general. I never knew now dependent I was on the people that I love. I talk to my parents every weekend and I always find myself asking how my grandparents, sister and the rest of my family are. It has just become a weekly routine to talk to them. I honestly think that I talk to them more now while I’m farther away than when I was back at Simpson. Ironic, I think. As far as friends, I’m constantly writing on people’s walls, writing e-mails and wondering how everything is going with them. It gives me peace of mind knowing that I haven’t completely been forgotten about. Their messages, Facebook posts, letters, packages, and e-mails, as dumb as it sounds, make my weeks here. I don’t know what I would do without them. I could be having the crappiest day ever, and a two-sentence e-mail or post really does turn my day upside down. I love hearing about how they are doing, keeping up with their lives, even if they think that they are telling me things that are “boring” or “dumb.” Everything is of interest to me here. It’s really interesting to see the people that have taken the time out of their busy days to keep in contact with me. You can really tell who you’re true friends are when you leave for such a large period of time.  But overall, I appreciate my friends and family more being here. I miss everyone quite horribly. I have to keep myself from looking at any of the pictures of them on Facebook while I’ve been gone because it brings me to tears every time I think about all of the memories that I have missed out on. But I have to remind myself while they are making stories without me at home, I’m creating my own here as well.

 So I guess this is a just a big “thank you” to everyone that has been there for me for the past couple of months. Your love and support means more to me than you can understand. I love, love Spain, but no one here could ever replace you. So next time you sit down to write an e-mail, send a card or message, know that it is greatly appreciated and that I miss you more than I can explain. Thanks Again…Love Emily. 

Election Day

Sunday March 9, 2008

Today is Election Day here in Spain. There are two major parties here in Spain: PP and PSOE. The weekend of the elections one of the previous major figures in the PSOE party was assonated. He was killed by ETA, the terrorist group from País Vasco, in the northern part of Spain. This kind of brought things close to home, but don’t worry. ETA is really good at killing only people that they want to kill, no innocent bystanders. So I’m good, well unless I make the largest terrorist group in the country mad at me, but I highly doubt that even I could pull that one off. So the results came in and the PSOE candidate won, José Luis Rodriquez Zapatero. He was the current president and now he is keeping his office. On a lighter note, Zapatero has really creepy eyebrows, so that’s always fun. They are somewhat sort of like a creepy clown, so its good that he had some good platforms because he definitely wouldn’t have won based on his looks. Anyway, it was interesting to see the difference between elections here and in the United States. They still use the written ballot style, there isn’t near as much propaganda, and there is no transition period like in the states. I don’t really care much for politics and I thought that this was interesting, so take it for what it’s worth. 

Yah, I'm a Slacker, I know.

March 3, 2008- March 9, 2008

 From the 3^rd through the wee hours of the morning on the 6^th Aaron was here in Seville with me. It was frustrating having to go to class everyday and then doing homework at night when he was here, but it was kind of a necessity. During the day Aaron did his own thing (only got lost a few times, had a minor mishap with a gypsy) and I tried to show him around Seville in the afternoon and at night. It has great having him around and being able to show someone from back home how I’m actually living my life here. I think that Aaron was a little bit overwhelmed/frustrated with the language barrier, but I helped him out as much as possible. He got along really well with my roommates and Encarna as well. I think that Encarna loves him; she was full of good comments and questions about him. She even went as far as having a special “Jonsey” dinner (she couldn’t pronounce Aaron) in which she bought Coca-Cola for everyone to share. She doesn’t even buy Coke for me! Ha! She also made him a lunch to go one day, she’s just a great lady. After our special “Jonesy” dinner Encarna put in a video of her daughter Fatima dancing Flamenco. This is the first time that any of us had seen Fatima dance and Encarna decided to show Aaron and us because “it was a special night.” During the week Aaron and I tried all sorts of quaint little Spanish restaurants and it was fun to be able, or at least have a good reason, to go out to eat. Aaron left at 4:15 on Thursday morning, which wasn’t exactly the most fun thing that happened last week, but it obviously had to happen sometime.

 This week I registered for classes for next semester and it looks like my schedule is going to be jam-packed full of things to do. I think that I’m going to really like a lot of the classes that I’m registered for.

 On Thursday afternoon I decided that I wanted to chop my hair off and get it highlighted so I headed to get it done. My haircut actually turned out really well and I’m in love with it. It’s a little Victoria Beckham-esk, but with a blonde twist. I got my hair washed, cut, colored and styled all for only $34 Euros-what a bargain! Thursday night I went to the play, Don Juan Tenorio, which was performed in an old Baroque style church. We were in the front row and our feet were on the stage. It was a great performance and a lot of fun to go to.

 Friday night we had a group outing with our newly acquired “intercambios.” A few weeks ago we went to the language school in the afternoon and met a few students, although their ages range from 20-70ish, who are learning how to speak English. It was a good time being able to sit down and have someone to speak Spanish with without feeling like an idiot. Friday we all met at a bar and we went around and talked to a bunch of different people. I met a girl and a guy, who are dating, and they talked to me for quite a while. The guy was also studying history, so it was interesting talking to him and finding out more about some of the Spanish traditions and history. We exchanged contact information with some of the Spaniards that night, so hopefully we will be meeting up again sometime soon. I also talked to a few people about possibly finding and internship opportunity with Spanish/Communications, and possibly in Spain. Don’t start to hate me already; there is nothing solid there yet. I also talked to one of the directors and I’m going to go to the University of Seville’s next choir practice with another guy from my class who wants to get involved in music here. Hopefully that works out and I’ll let you know how practice goes next Wednesday. He went this week and absolutely loved it, so I’m sure that I will too. To wrap up a good night, we headed to the “Churrería” and got some churros and chocolate before heading home.

 This past week we have started our Midterms and it really hasn’t been all that fun, then again it wouldn’t be fun back in the States either. I had one test while Aaron was here and then I have three more next week. Wish me luck!

 This past week we have had 4 15-18 year-old Italian girls living in the apartment downstairs. They have had a couple of meals with us and I don’t really care for them much. They are pretty interesting and they think that English is a beautiful language; lets just leave it at that. I’m counting down the days until they leave.

Disclaimer: I know this past couple week I’ve been slacking, but it’s been really busy! I will try and keep up more on it now that Aaron has left and since Midterms will be ending. I only have about half of my time left here and things have absolutely flown by. I can’t believe that I will be back in the States in 60’ish days. You are lucky that I really like you or else I don’t know if I’d be coming back

When in Conil...

Thursday February 27, 2008-Sunday March 2

 

For the past four days I have been in Conil sitting on the beach, sampling native food and drinks, playing cards, and just relaxing. It has been the best thing for my sanity and I decided to take a little bit of a break from the instant replay style blog. Instead I’ve decided to create a guide of things to do while in Conil, so here goes…

 

When in Conil….

n                Don’t do any homework, it’s overrated.

n                Find a bar that you like and visit it twice. You could end up being the bartender’s best friend afterwards.

n                Lie on the beach and enjoy life.

n                Build a sand monster with sand and seashells.

n                Start a collection of seashells but try to avoid taking home the entire beach.

n                Sleep-in past 9am.

n                Get lost and go down a barely lit street that has graffiti on the walls…

n                Rent an apartment for 10 Euros a night.

n                Act like an adult and make your own food: mashed potatoes, grilled cheese, pasta

n                Wear sunscreen even when its cloudy or else you will look like a lobster.

n                Wear a crown of leaves on your head, or a grouping of carrots. I did, and they both worked out well.

n                Get your palm read by an old man named Manila at “La Gloria.”

n                Buy two new rings because you want them, and later find out that they are 50% off.

n                Hang out with a pretty cool guy that may have flown half way around the world to experience Spain with you.

n                Get picked up and taken to the bus stop in a small lime green car with a driver by the name of Pochi.

n                Eat bread and cheese sandwiches for lunch because the grocery store and everything else is closed for a holiday.

n                Have a teeth-brushing party. While brushing your teeth is boring, it’s necessary. It’s better to brush with a friend.

n                Sell your boyfriend to a Spaniard for 30 Euros, making sure that the Spaniard writes you a receipt.

n                Learn how to play Phase 10 before you have a glass of wine.

n                Go down to the beach for sunset.

n                Learn how to light a stove without blowing up an apartment complex.

n                Have 2 hours talks before you fall asleep, slumber party style.

n                Watch “Talladega Nights” for 34 minutes.

n                Take a bus home and sit next to a man who smells really bad, and who will cease to smell bad for 2 hours straight.

 

There are many more things to do while in a beach town, but these are just a few things that I would suggest doing to have a good time. Overall, this weekend was a blast and I had a great time just relaxing on the beach. Did I mention that Aaron is here? Yeah, that hasn’t been so bad either. I thought that I would be a little bit overwhelmed when he arrived, but everything just fell back the way things were. It is nice having a little bit of the States here with me. I think it has helped my sanity immensely and I can’t wait for the rest of this week. 

Aaron Arrives!

Wednesday February 27, 2008

Lets just start out by saying that I didn’t sleep last night, for the record. It was kind of like the night before Christmas. I finally got up and went to class, which I struggled through because I couldn’t pay attention at all. After class ended I headed to the bar where I was to meet Aaron. If things were as planned he would be sitting at “Las Columnas” and waiting for me. As we walked up, Allison spotted a white arm in the distance and we automatically assumed that it was Aarons. After spotting a guy surrounded by luggage, I knew that he was our target. I walked up behind him and gave him a huge hug and then it kind of hit me that he was finally here! I couldn’t believe that he even made it to Spain, let alone to the bar by our house that I had given him. Apparently he had been waiting there for about an hour and a half and was more than ready to come with us to our house. I showed him his room and we moved all of his stuff in. Then we went upstairs; I gave him the grand tour of my house, and introduced him to Rocio. It was fun not being the one who had no clue what was going on for once. He knows a little Spanish, but the hardest part about “knowing” a language is actually speaking, which is quite intimidating and hard to do. We stumbled through that introduction with Rocio kissing him on both cheeks and he headed downstairs to shower before lunch. Lunch was a mix of Spanish and English, mostly translation, but its really nice having such a great host family who so kindly took him in as part of our family. He didn’t get to meet Encarna today because she had left already to visit her other daughter, Fatima, in Madrid for the holiday. After lunch we finished packing up and then headed to the bus station. We got on our bus at 5:30pm and we were on our way to the beach! After about a two-hour bus ride we arrived at our stop. Sam struggled with getting our luggage out from under the bus, as the driver almost shut her in the luggage compartment and drove away. Pochi (yeah, that’s the name of Encarna’s friend) came and picked us up at the bus stop and took us to the apartment. She’s a really nice lady, which I wouldn’t expect any less of her being Encarna’s friend and all. She showed us around the apartment, gave us maps, and told us where the best bars and restaurants in town were. Before leaving she informed us that she is our new “mom” for these next 5 days and if we needed anything we were to call her. After unpacking a bit, we hit the streets to find dinner. We ended up at a bar/restaurant called, “La Gloria.” It was definitely a small hole-in-the-wall bar and probably didn’t have more than 10 seats, but it was amazing. The bartender was great and we ordered dinner. We got a mix of different dishes but they were all delicious. As we went to pay the bartender insisted that we all have a round of shots, and he immediately took them out and poured them for us. The shot wasn’t bad, some sort of Vodka and fresh squeeze orange juice combo. We talked to the bartender for a while and he asked if were we from Canada (what?) and we rebutted that one for a while. He gave us his card, we paid (the shots were on him), and we headed out. We came home and went to bed, Aaron was tired from his travels (which I don’t blame him) and the rest of us were just being lazy. Why not? We are on vacation right?