Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Want to See Pictures?
All Men Should Drive Glorified Tricycles
Monday January 28, 2008
Mondays are always difficult. After having a three-day weekend and then plunging into 5 hours of Spanish classes, it’s not the easiest thing to do and I think today it showed. It’s frustrating being in class here and understanding almost everything that my teachers say but not being able to respond (correctly or quickly) with my thoughts or reactions to our class topics. I feel like the dumb kid not being able to communicate here, even though I am better off than some people. It’s becoming more frustrating as the days pass. The two things that I have going for me in the U.S. are my intelligence and my sense of humor. Here, I have neither. Today we talked about our 15-minute presentations that are all in Spanish without (or little) notes. We have to do research for these speeches. Now it seems easy enough, and we all know that I have the ability to talk that for that long, but there’s a catch. We don’t have Internet to do research. Therefore, we have to go to the library. I don’t even know where the library is, let alone how to use one in Spain. Every little thing that you know in one culture or place is different in another. Every small task turns into a difficult situation because there are many steps and problems to overcome before I can even start what I originally intended to do. These problems all culminated after class when Sam started a conversation with our Spanish teacher Rocio with the words, “You’re class makes me want to kill myself.” I thought I should then jump in and try and fix the situation and make it a little more positive and constructive. We ended up talking to our teacher for about 45 minutes about the hardships of being a student from the U.S. studying in Spain. It was good to get some aggression, tears and concerns (mostly tears) out with a person who has been in my shoes before. She really calmed me down and it helped to bring the situation down to the earth again. My favorite part of the conversation had to be when we were talking about all of the attention that we get from the Spanish men. Almost instantaneously a guy in a glorified tricycle honked his horn at us and called after us. It served to lighten the mood a little and I’ve come to the conclusion that if all men drove these tricycles, the world would be a happier/better place. After our talk Sam and I headed home for lunch. While walking home for lunch I learned a new meaning for the phrase, “to double-park your car.” There were two cars in one parking spot in the plaza outside of Corte Ingles, parked on top of each other. I’m assuming there was a method behind the madness but until I check the papers tomorrow, I will go on naively joking that it is a space issue. After lunch I did a little bit of homework and then Allison, Sam and I met up with a group of students to go to the bus station to buy tickets to Cadiz, a city in Spain where Carnival is, for next weekend. After walking to the wrong bus stop (45 minutes later) we headed to the second bus stop across town. On the way there I actually knew where I was going. For one time, I wasn’t lost and things looked familiar to me. I have a horrible sense of direction so this day was a small feat for mankind, directionally speaking. After arriving at the second bus station we found out that we had to return on Thursday because the bus company wasn’t sure what the schedule for the return bus rides would be. Allison and I came home while Sam went to look for the post office. Allison and I had not been successful with the Spanish Internet the day before so we grabbed our computers and headed to Republica where they have WiFi to catch up on e-mails. While enjoying a Cola Cao (Spanish hot chocolate but a lot better) we caught up with family and friends and finally made connections back home. We came home after we were done on the Internet and ate dinner, a sort of fried egg sandwich with cheese and sausage and an orange. For the record, if I come home looking like an Oompa Loompa its simply because I have been eating approximately 2-3 oranges a day. They are fresh and delicious here and its what we have for dessert or for a snack. I’ll let you know when the transformation begins, but for now I’m enjoying the delicious taste and health benefits that come along with being a compulsive orange eater. After dinner it’s time for more homework and then to hit the sheets.
Monday, January 28, 2008
I Broke a Spanish Bathroom
Sunday January 27, 2008
Today everyone and their mothers were using Skype in the city of Seville. I have never had any problems with connection, but today was horrible. I look forward to Sundays because Sunday is the day of the week that I set aside a couple of hours dedicated to talking to friends, posting blogs and checking and sending e-mails. Today was not a successful day. It was stressful not being able to talk to people from back home. I think I keep my sanity because of Sundays but today just aided to my insanity. I feel bad for not being able to use the computer much here and when I do get time it is pretty limited. A lot of the other students have WiFi in or around their houses so it’s convenient for them, but for Allison, Sam and I that is not the case. I like it because we aren’t as dependent on the Internet as some of the students are but at the same time it can get frustrating when you have days like today. Enough of that…now lets lighten the mood with a funny story. After waking up around 11am this morning I decided that it would be a good idea to shower. I head into the bathroom and get all ready to go and hop in the shower. I pull the curtain back and CRASH. The entire curtain bar that holds the shower curtain up came crashing down on me, metal rod, plastic rings, shower curtain and all. I had no idea what to do, holy cow I had just broken our host family’s bathroom. So I string the shower curtain back onto the rod, which is still half dangling from the right hand side, and try to stealthily reattach the rod and curtain to the top of the wall. I tend to be vertically challenged so this wasn’t as easy as you’d assume. I somehow managed to balance the curtain on my knee and stand on my tiptoes to put the bathroom back together.
Real Alcazar
Today we met up with our classmates at Real Alcazar, where the Spanish royal family used to live, and where they still do on occasion. We got in free with our student I.D.’s which was nice. The building was really cool but the part that impressed me the most was they numerous gardens that they had all within the royal walls. There were mazes, fountains, benches, palm trees, flowers, you name it and they had it. I took about 80 pictures, so needless to say it was a gorgeous place. I definitely plan on going back and taking advantage of the student price. After going through the Real Alcazar Allison and I headed home, looked at a few local artists drawings and paintings and stopped at a small bakery and had pastries on the way home. We came home to find out that Sam had made homemade salsa with all fresh ingredients for later in the evening, score! I’m glad that she likes cooking and that our host mom and sister are good at cooking because I for one am no Rachel Ray. After lunch we all took a quick siesta and then woke up to go shopping for a bit. I haven’t actually bought anything here yet that hasn’t been food or a necessity such as shampoo (and the occasional Coke). The sales are going to be ending soon so we thought we’d look around again and try and take advantage of the rebates. I was looking for a coat, jeans and something for my sister. I bought some cute skinny legged jeans, which all of the girls wear here, for pretty cheap. The coat search was unsuccessful and for Molly I found nothing. I think that I’m just too picky. There are lots of things that I’d like to buy but they either don’t fit or they are too expensive. Shopping here is just pretty depressing all together because I fell awkward and huge compared to all of the gorgeous Spanish girls. Not to mention that I stick out because of the blonde hair. Half of the time I don’t know if they stare because I’m blonde or just because they think I’m awkward looking. We came home and listened to some Dane Cook (a hilarious comedian) before dinner because Allison had never indulged and Sam and I thought that she was long overdue. Dinner was good as usual and for some reason I couldn’t stop eating. I had a bowl of soup, 2 pieces of pizza, oranges and some of Sam’s homemade salsa. Interesting combination, I know. After dinner Sam hopped in bed but Allison and I met up with five other girls from class at Republica to have a glass of wine and to talk for a bit. After about an hour and a half Allison and I decided to head home, while the others continued on their way. It was all in all a pretty low-key day and night. I think I am becoming more accustomed to living here. I feel like it has already been months. Today I was even asked by two sets of people (Spaniards) for directions, which was exciting and hopefully I did them justice. Tomorrow is a homework and family day so I should be off to bed, buenas noches!
The Museum of Popular Arts and Customs of Seville
Friday January 25, 2008
Fridays we don’t have class so typically we have an activity where our class meets up early in the afternoon. Today we were to meet at “El Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares de Sevilla” (The Museum of Popular Arts and Customs of Seville) which is in El Parque de Maria Luisa, 45 minutes away on foot from our house. As we left out house the construction workers that have been working on a building near our house greeted us. Everyday we get some random Spanish phrase thrown out there but today was different. As we rounded the corner to get our daily greeting one of the guys said, “Hey babe.” I couldn’t help it. I started cracking up. They try so hard here its funny and a little sad on their part. Regardless, it made the 45-minute walk more entertaining. We got into the museum for free with our International Student I.D.’s and looked around for about an hour. The museum aims to popularize and research Andalusia’s anthropological and ethnographic heritage. The museum has collections of everything such as: domestic furniture, ceramics, firearms, religious objects and even musical instruments. It was pretty interesting to look at and to learn that Spanish legislation protects popular heritage; which includes the study and documentation of the knowledge, wisdom and behavior, which keep traditions alive in their everyday life. After being a nerd for a while we headed home to eat lunch with our Spanish family. On the way home there were two flamenco dancers and a small band dancing and playing in the street. They are pretty much amazing. After ogling them and putting a few small coins into their hat we kept on our merry little way but only to encounter a protest outside the Cathedral. Earlier in the morning there had been two huge police vans accompanied by 4 policemen riding horses and now we had kind of put together why. There we huge signs but we didn’t stop to listen or stare so I’m still not quite sure what all of the ruckus was about. When I got home I had the best card waiting from Meridith, it pretty much made my day. It’s nice getting mail here and knowing that everyone back home hasn’t forgotten about me! And lets be honest, getting mail in general is just exciting. This afternoon was pretty chill; I didn’t really do anything interesting. I read, took a nap and worked on making some calendars to hang up in our room. Later in the night we met up with a group of people from school and headed out for the night. We went to an Irish pub, where they spoke English, and talked in a booth for a while. After we left there we headed to the Tex-Mex bar, where they also spoke English, watched some figure skating/soccer and stayed until around 2am. After Tex-Mex (the name just cracks me up) we headed for home. Cortney, Nick and I ended up stopping at a café on the way home and having some hot chocolate so we could feel our hands again. In the early mornings and evenings it gets pretty chilly but its gorgeous here during the day. If you ever order hot chocolate in Spain, just a word to the wise, you pretty much will get a melted Hershey’s bar so be aware. It’s amazing but its pretty thick. Nick and Cortney walked me home and then I talked to Sam for a while before going to bed, Allison had already fallen asleep. Allison and Sam had walked Ashley home when we stopped for hot chocolate and I had gotten in a few minutes later than they had. It was a pretty late night when all was said and done but it was a good time going out with friends, talking and relaxing. Tomorrow morning we have to be up and at the Real Alcazar at 11am which doesn’t seem all that early but you have to get up pretty early to get in showers, breakfast (we have a sit down breakfast every morning) and walking for 45 minutes.
You Can Lead a Horse to Water...
Thursday January 24, 2008
Class went really well today because it went faster than normal, so that was good. During a class break Allison and I ran down to the supermarket and grabbed some homemade bread and Coke, and it was a delicious snack. After class we headed to the bookstore to get a few more books for our literature class when our ADD kicked in and we spotted the flowers. There was a fresh flower vender on the street near the bookstore so we decided to stop and buy Encarna and Rocio a bunch of flowers to hopefully brighten their days. When we got home we snuck the flowers in (a.k.a. stealthily snuck them in) and made a card for them and left the flowers on the table as we ran out the door to meet a few classmates at Republica cafe. We went to the café to start planning our trips for the semester. I think that I would like to go to Ireland, Paris, Prague and then a few day trips around Spain. Although in all reality I’m going to end up picking my favorite big place to travel and then probably go on a few smaller ones. It’s hard to coordinate trips that are well planned so we are starting early! We can start traveling in February, so we are starting to plan ahead of time. The prices are better that way as well. After that Sam and I left to meet up with Victor, one of our teachers from school, to find the pool where we are volunteering. We walked about 3 miles down the river to meet up with Victor. We arrived about 15-20 minutes early so we sat on a bench by the main road to keep a lookout for Victor. In the first 10 minutes we got 8 catcalls and one thumbs up, my personal favorite. It’s ridiculous how Don Juan-esk these guys are here. When Victor arrived we left on foot and then had to run, yes Emily had to run, about five blocks to catch the bus in time. We got there winded just as the bus was shutting its doors but Victor knocked and got us on (thank God). It was my first time on real public transportation in Spain, what an adventure. Oh and I forgot to mention that Sam and I bought bus passes for 10 trips before meeting up with Victor and they were actually the right ones. After getting off the bus we headed to the pool and Victor headed inside to find David, the director of the program that we are volunteering with, at the pool. About two seconds after Victor went it, David showed up. Then we had to try and tell David that Victor was inside looking for him, but I may have accidentally said that he was “on top” of the building instead of “inside” of the building. At this point David looked more worried than anything and after a game of charades he finally learned that I meant inside and laughed hysterically at my poor attempt at his native language. At least I provide comedy for the people of Seville. We got into the changing rooms and I had never seen so many Spanish children in my life. Imagine this: 50 English speaking children running around naked or half naked. Nightmare, right? Now imaging 50 Spanish speaking children with the same attire (or un-attire) running around with overbearing Spanish mothers chasing after them, and that’s what you had. Needless to say it was a little overwhelming at first…and then the second trauma happened. We had to wear swim caps. One word: hideous, it wasn’t a pretty sight. We met the owner of the pool and some of the life guards/swim teachers and then met the kids that we were working with. Their ages ranged from about 7-16 and there were 2 children that we actually worked closely with, and then another two that David worked with. These children were handicapped children and we had a lot of fun getting to know them but they didn’t tell us one little detail. Theses children are apparently Olympic swimmers. We started out swimming laps and I was winded while they kept pushing me to go and swim more laps. It was a great sight to see, I’m sure of it. We played a few games and swam some more with them and then we were done after about an hour. After drying off one of the guys at the pool came up to me and started talking to me in Spanish and asking me if I was from America (ok, Christopher Columbus) and questioning why I was in Spain. I told him I was here for the semester to study Spanish. He asked how often I was coming to the pool (every Thursday) and said that if I taught him English he could teach me Spanish. This only meant one of two things: 1. He was our typical Spanish Don Juan, or 2. My Spanish really is that bad that he wanted to help a sister out! Either way it was pretty funny. Regardless, I’m sure that we will see him again next Thursday. After leaving the pool looking like wet dogs we went to catch the bus. I think we took the wrong one, so that was an adventure in itself. We ended up in the wrong place and had to walk back a ways but at least we got home and are alive to tell the story. (Don’t worry mom.) After dinner and showers we decided that we were too worn out to go to the originally planned Flamenco show and opted for our beds instead. I think we’ll just have to catch the next show on Thursday. Tomorrow we are meeting up at 11am to go through a museum in El Parque de Maria Luisa, so that will be nice to experience some culture. As I look back on the day only one cliché comes to mind, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” This quote pretty much sums up our entire bus riding experience. We got the tickets alright, but as far as understanding how the busses go…we need to work on that one. An hour on a “bono” isn’t as much fun as it sounds like, especially when your driver is doing a Sudoko from the paper while driving.
Coke and Wine Don't Mix
Wednesday January 23, 2008
Today was a lot better than yesterday. Class was really long and boring because we had native speakers for five hours straight. After class I just needed some English in my life. We headed straight to the bank after class because it closed at 2:30pm and we have class until 2:00pm. Today was the day that I was to throw out the “CML” name to get my checks cashed. I went into the bank and asked the cashier if I could cash them, she left to ask someone a question, returned and said that I couldn’t cash the check. I told her again that I was a student from CML, a minute later another lady came out. I explained who I was again, and she finally understood. She went and talked to a guy and then came back and said that she couldn’t do it today and to come back tomorrow. I was happy and sad, an awkward emotional mix. At least they understood me this time, but I still didn’t have the cash. You can bet your money on it that I will be there at 8:30am the minute they open until I get those checks cashed. For lunch we came home and had a kind of stir-fry with carrots, peas, artichokes, green beans and mushrooms aside rice and chicken. I worked on some homework and then Allison and I left to check e-mail and to find her a book that we need to buy for class. I sat in the Plaza for about an hour and a half when she returned frustrated and bookless. Because of her frustration she had stopped at the supermarket and bough us cokes and bread. I couldn’t have asked for anything better at that moment. Cokes are few and far between for me here, odd I know. Then we met a new friend, Reilly from Minnesota, who walked up to us and asked us where we were from to start conversation. After learning what program we were with he asked, “Have you found the cheap wine yet” and proceeded to pull a whole bottle out from the side of his bag. He apparently thinks Coke and wine are good together and offered to pour some into my can of Coke. I didn’t know why he would taint such and amazing liquid, the Coke that is. After finishing our Cokes we left to look for books again when my bladder interrupted us. After finding a bathroom in Corte Ingles we searched for books again, failed, and decided to return home. I have learned that it is not impossible to find a public restroom. Today I have also come to the conclusion that Spaniards, the creeper guys, are all talk, which I am definitely okay with. The most direct male approached Allison and I and basically tried to get us to make-out with him today on the way home. Instead of being afraid, I just laughed. Tonight we had game night and played a few games of Phase 10 dice, it was fun to pass the time that we had to wait until dinner. Encarna got home really late (around 10:30pm) and made dinner. We were all happy that we got dinner because we thought that they had forgotten or had some sort of miscommunication. Encarna has been really busy and has been sick (a cold) lately. I think that we are going to try and do something nice for her and Rocio (who’s stressed about her test), so we’ll see what we can’t come up with.
