My mama made us additional food. Gracias!
The "Alexis Pose"
Que Será Será.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Jan 17 - Girls Night IN!
After last weekends hike and the hustle of our first full week of classes we needed a girls night IN. There is a small group of us that all walk home together and we decided that hanging our sharing stories and talking would be tons of fun. So we went shopping and bought everything you could need for such an event. Personal pan pizzas, cookies, chips, ice cream and Coke. I had five girls over and we had a great time. In Spain the home is just for the family and a lot of the host parents don't let you have people over, but because I have a super cool host mom it was no problem. It was nice to do something a little more "American".
Jan 11 - That one Time
This is a day that can only be called "That one Time." And will always be refered to as such. Because on January 11th 2014 I climbed a mountain. No. I'm not exaggerating. It was to a mountain! 18,000 ft approximately. I'll start from the beginning.
Our first weekend in Spain we went out. Obviously. It was a great Friday night. But I would not have gone out if I had realized that Saturday would be so torturous. I have bad feet and ankles and due to the constant walking here in Spain my feet were feeling the toll of the first week. That Saturday morning I woke up and my ankle were swollen. But hiking was mandatory. We met at a train station about 20 minutes from my house. I don't know why, but I was under the impression we would meet at the train station take a train to this mountain then hike a little, come back. I was clearly wrong. So walked to the train station, then I walked to the mountain, then we hike the mountain. The first half of the hike we stopped and looked at two historic churches, after that my prof gave us the option to turn back or go all the way to the top to see the Jesus statue waiting with open arms. People told me we were over half way (I shouldn't have listened to them). Others said I could come back and hike it another day (I wasn't going to do that). So I decided to go to the top. I should have turned back.
We were given the choice of the steeper quicker route, or the longer less steep route. I don't know who was in charge, but they took the steeper route. WHY?! That was a two hour hike I can never forget. One the way up I asked my prof how many times he had done this. "Never." Never he said. That should have been my red flag. Because the way down was....well I'll get there. When I got to the top I was so tired I didn't even want to take a picture with the statue and it was so cloudy my view was terrible. I was a little cranky. Keep in mind my ankles are still swollen and my feet hurt.
On top of the mountain we ate lunch and proceeded down. I'm not sure why, I will never know why, but we did not go down the way we came. My prof. (who had never done this before) led us down the opposite side of the mountain. And like most of my stories in Spain play out we got lost. For 3.5 hours. FOR THREE AND A HALF HOURS! At one point I told the group to leave me on the mountain that was the closet that I had been to Jesus, in a couple different very literal ways. Somehow, (by the grace of God), we made it down. And as we trekked down the country side a smaller group of us got separated from the lager group and when we came to a fork in the road we went the wrong way. We got lost again.
So, ankles still swollen feet still sore we headed towards the city. We were passed by two taxies that could have gotten us home. When we got to an actual street, we couldn't find the street name on the map. Of course! With a whole range of emotions, but mostly tired we stopped in a cafe for 15-20 minutes to get Churros and Chocolate. After that we each somehow managed to find our way home within the hour. We were supposed to get home at 5pm. We got home at 7pm.
I see that mountain everyday on my way to school. And the five of us who got lost twice now laugh when we say, "Hey, you remember that one time..."
Que Será Será.
Our first weekend in Spain we went out. Obviously. It was a great Friday night. But I would not have gone out if I had realized that Saturday would be so torturous. I have bad feet and ankles and due to the constant walking here in Spain my feet were feeling the toll of the first week. That Saturday morning I woke up and my ankle were swollen. But hiking was mandatory. We met at a train station about 20 minutes from my house. I don't know why, but I was under the impression we would meet at the train station take a train to this mountain then hike a little, come back. I was clearly wrong. So walked to the train station, then I walked to the mountain, then we hike the mountain. The first half of the hike we stopped and looked at two historic churches, after that my prof gave us the option to turn back or go all the way to the top to see the Jesus statue waiting with open arms. People told me we were over half way (I shouldn't have listened to them). Others said I could come back and hike it another day (I wasn't going to do that). So I decided to go to the top. I should have turned back.
We were given the choice of the steeper quicker route, or the longer less steep route. I don't know who was in charge, but they took the steeper route. WHY?! That was a two hour hike I can never forget. One the way up I asked my prof how many times he had done this. "Never." Never he said. That should have been my red flag. Because the way down was....well I'll get there. When I got to the top I was so tired I didn't even want to take a picture with the statue and it was so cloudy my view was terrible. I was a little cranky. Keep in mind my ankles are still swollen and my feet hurt.
On top of the mountain we ate lunch and proceeded down. I'm not sure why, I will never know why, but we did not go down the way we came. My prof. (who had never done this before) led us down the opposite side of the mountain. And like most of my stories in Spain play out we got lost. For 3.5 hours. FOR THREE AND A HALF HOURS! At one point I told the group to leave me on the mountain that was the closet that I had been to Jesus, in a couple different very literal ways. Somehow, (by the grace of God), we made it down. And as we trekked down the country side a smaller group of us got separated from the lager group and when we came to a fork in the road we went the wrong way. We got lost again.
So, ankles still swollen feet still sore we headed towards the city. We were passed by two taxies that could have gotten us home. When we got to an actual street, we couldn't find the street name on the map. Of course! With a whole range of emotions, but mostly tired we stopped in a cafe for 15-20 minutes to get Churros and Chocolate. After that we each somehow managed to find our way home within the hour. We were supposed to get home at 5pm. We got home at 7pm.
I see that mountain everyday on my way to school. And the five of us who got lost twice now laugh when we say, "Hey, you remember that one time..."
Que Será Será.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Jan 10 - Some Things About Spain
Granted, I've only been here four days but I've seen a lot.
1. You walk everywhere. Everywhere. And Spanish women do it in heels. I don't know how or why.
2. If you have a car, it's small. Because everything in Europe is small. And there mostly all hatchbacks. Some of the cars I've seen are Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, and BMW. Nothing American.
3. I've seen more Burger Kings, than McDonalds.
4. The McDonalds I went to was huge. It had two stories of seating. If you are paying with a credit card at McDonalds you can order at a kiosk and then pick it up.
1. You walk everywhere. Everywhere. And Spanish women do it in heels. I don't know how or why.
2. If you have a car, it's small. Because everything in Europe is small. And there mostly all hatchbacks. Some of the cars I've seen are Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, and BMW. Nothing American.
3. I've seen more Burger Kings, than McDonalds.
4. The McDonalds I went to was huge. It had two stories of seating. If you are paying with a credit card at McDonalds you can order at a kiosk and then pick it up.
5. Small Coke at McDonalds is actually a small and not a medium or a large (SMH). And the Coke actually has real sugar in it which taste soooo much better.
6. You can buy beer at McDonalds for 1euro or about $1.35 american
(See. Beer, Coke and water.)
7. You can find water, beer, wine and coffee any and everywhere.
8. There is no sales tax. If it says a euro it cost a euro no more no less. Which is great!
9. There are lots of parks. There are three just between my house and campus.
10. Vietnamese women do nails in the mall here too. That might be a little over the line, but I did find that very interesting. And I'm not just guessing that there vietnamese, the sign over their shop said "Vietnamese Nail Salon".
11. Your host mom will think you don't eat enough no matter how much you eat.
12. If you have a 9 o'clock class, it actually starts at 9:10 and goes to 10. At Calvin it would start at 9 and go to 9:50.
13. Most people have at least one dog.
14. Oviedo has an H&M!
15. They sell bras kind of everywhere. I find that very strange.
16. Elevators only fit four people. They are crazy small.
17. Notebooks are longer and more expensive, when converted to USD.
18. I don't know if this is just because we are from America or what, but you don't register for classes. We get a list of classes and then just show up for class. Then if you don't like it you have a week to try other classes. No adding or dropping. Nice, huh?
19. They have really small pennies. You can't tell because I zoomed in but their penny can on ours. Its itty bitty.
20. They work really hard to conserve electricity and water.
So that's 20! I will probably do more like this in the future. But I'm going out tonight! If something fun or wild happens I'll let you know. If its boring or too good to tell I won't. :p
Que Será, Será.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Jan 9 - A compliment, A Coke, and Ice Cream!
So, today I had my second class today - Vocabulary. My first class was Spanish 315 which is for cross cultural engagment. I'm just gonna take a minute to go on a little rant. I live on a special floor called Grassroots which requires that I take an extra class for Cross Cultural Engagement. I have lived there for three semesters, and you only need one CCE credit to graduate - I have three. This class Spanish 315, is another three credits of CCE except I have to give a twenty minute presentation and write a 5 -8 page paper in spanish! Along with weekly journal entries about a crisis in Spain! I just don't know why I can't be exempt from this class! So much work for a credit I have two times over - now five times! Anyway-
I had vocabulary which I think will be very interesting. But today I got an odd, semi-agressive compliment. I know that sounds weird - and it was. My professor went through attendance and asked everyone where they were from and what languages they spoke. When she came to me I said I was from Indiana in the United States and that I spoke English and a little Spanish. Then she went on to everyone else in the class, but when she gets to the end, she looks at me with a stern face "What is your name?"
- "Me?"
- "Yes, you."
- "Lauren."
- "And where are you from?"
- "Indiana. In the United States."
- "How long have you been studying Spanish?"
- "Six years more or less"
- "Your Spanish is very good. Why?"
- "Ummm my high school was completely immersed."
- "Oh well your spanish is very clear I wanted to know why."
- "Oh! Thank you...?"
It was the strangest compliment. But I very much appreciated it. Then she passed out the syllabus; our final is 50% of our grade -_- Great.
Then I had a two hour long Spanish history class. A two hour long class in English is difficult, but two hours in Spanish, with unfamiliar content that is just a real struggle bus. After class a bunch of went to go get school supplies. But that class was so draining we needed comfort food - Coke and Ice cream. It took us forever for a place that sold Coke in something other than a two liter and or a six pack of cans. Finally we found a little corner shop that sold cans of Vanilla Coke. Haven't had that in ages! He was so excited to sell it because it was imported from the United States and our cans are bigger than the ones in Spain and Vanilla Coke is hard to get. The Coke was actually kind of difficult to drink, because all I have had for a while is water and wine. But the ice cream in the cream sold in the mall was 3.4 euros for one scoop. Crazy! So we decided to walk around the city for a while until we found a cheaper one. We walked for about 30 min in the opposite direction of campus looking for a Heladeria (Ice cream shoppe). I asked one lady if there was one near by and she said no. Literally a block we found an ice cream shoppe and actually we ended up near campus and our houses. The ice cream was only 1.8 euros and it was delicious. The flavor I had is Turron. The best way I can describe it is that it has the same consistency as fudge and it had nuts in it. Someone told me it can come in different flavors. This ice cream had a sort of carmel, coffee taste. Yumm! A much needed treat.
Que Será, Será.
I had vocabulary which I think will be very interesting. But today I got an odd, semi-agressive compliment. I know that sounds weird - and it was. My professor went through attendance and asked everyone where they were from and what languages they spoke. When she came to me I said I was from Indiana in the United States and that I spoke English and a little Spanish. Then she went on to everyone else in the class, but when she gets to the end, she looks at me with a stern face "What is your name?"
- "Me?"
- "Yes, you."
- "Lauren."
- "And where are you from?"
- "Indiana. In the United States."
- "How long have you been studying Spanish?"
- "Six years more or less"
- "Your Spanish is very good. Why?"
- "Ummm my high school was completely immersed."
- "Oh well your spanish is very clear I wanted to know why."
- "Oh! Thank you...?"
It was the strangest compliment. But I very much appreciated it. Then she passed out the syllabus; our final is 50% of our grade -_- Great.
Then I had a two hour long Spanish history class. A two hour long class in English is difficult, but two hours in Spanish, with unfamiliar content that is just a real struggle bus. After class a bunch of went to go get school supplies. But that class was so draining we needed comfort food - Coke and Ice cream. It took us forever for a place that sold Coke in something other than a two liter and or a six pack of cans. Finally we found a little corner shop that sold cans of Vanilla Coke. Haven't had that in ages! He was so excited to sell it because it was imported from the United States and our cans are bigger than the ones in Spain and Vanilla Coke is hard to get. The Coke was actually kind of difficult to drink, because all I have had for a while is water and wine. But the ice cream in the cream sold in the mall was 3.4 euros for one scoop. Crazy! So we decided to walk around the city for a while until we found a cheaper one. We walked for about 30 min in the opposite direction of campus looking for a Heladeria (Ice cream shoppe). I asked one lady if there was one near by and she said no. Literally a block we found an ice cream shoppe and actually we ended up near campus and our houses. The ice cream was only 1.8 euros and it was delicious. The flavor I had is Turron. The best way I can describe it is that it has the same consistency as fudge and it had nuts in it. Someone told me it can come in different flavors. This ice cream had a sort of carmel, coffee taste. Yumm! A much needed treat.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Jan 8 - I Got Lost!
Last night it took me a long time fall asleep but it was nice sleeping on a bed, a real bed; not a seat on a plane or a hard hotel bed with one pillow a real bed. I woke up and thought 4.5 months. The time seems forever; FOR-EV-ER (if you have seen the movie Sandlot you should know how to read that last forever). But I know it will go quickly.
My "older brother" walked me to campus. The walk is actually very nice. It's not far. I pass a park and the weather is beautiful today. Sorry to anyone who has snow - it's 65 degrees and partly cloudy ;p A lot of people have dogs. Dogs are all over the place! But the mornings are really pretty.
The orientation was... Overwhelming. The directors spoke and I felt like as soon as they finished I had a headache. The only thing that helps is that there are 19 of us all going through the same thing and I can speak to them whenever in both languages.
Now, before I start this next story I want you all to know that each day I blog on my iPod as things happen or shortly after they happen, which is why my blog is a little jumpy hopefully it will gain some fluidity and there will be less of a report as I gain a routine. But today I got lost, not "lost for five minutes" lost, but LOST. Like "Oh! Crap! I don't know where I'm going anymore" lost. Like "I don't speak the language very well" lost. Like "Is it worth and international phone call - No you can't call internationally because your phone is cut off and your professor doesn't give you your new cell phone until tonight!" lost. In case you were confused I am now home (I hope that much is obvious). But today after orientation, Prof. TenHuisen showed us around Oviedo (more walking) and then to his apartment. After we got books from his apartment he walked us back to campus. Some students walked on their own from his apartment, I have no idea how they did that, but good for them! At campus he asked the last of us if we knew how to get home. I said yes. Because I did - apparently just only to a certain point. I walked from campus crossed the street, walked down to the park, crossed through the park, walked along the street, down the steps and through the rest of the park then I reached the corner at the end of the park and thought "Hmm. I don't know where to go." I walked to a nearby bus stop to stop and think. Nothing. I couldn't remember which direction I had come from earlier that day. I walked in all the different directions. I knew I was close. Really close. I just couldn't figure it out. I decided freaking out was not the answer. But I also couldn't walk in a circle for much longer, because someone would notice I was lost. I saw a young couple in a bank and thought what is safer than a bank. I ducked into the bank and pulled out my wallet that had my host family's address and phone number on it. I asked the woman if she had a phone. She tried to explain to me that down the street there was a pay phone for me to call, but I wasn't certain enough to just go, so instead I asked if she could just direct me to the address. Her husband came out to the street and told me that the street I was looking for was parallel to the one I was on. Parallel! I was one street over. He told me to go left at the intercestion and that was the street. I went left and immediately recognized the street. But of course I couldn't be sure without street signs...ugh! If I know enough to navigate, I think I can make it. I walked up to what I thought was my building but the key didn't work. Of course. The building looked right, but the ramp was on the other side. Then I walked farther up and there was another building that looked exactly like the other, and the key worked just fine. The door to the apartment took a minute to open, but I got in, took of my shoes and knew I had to blog you all. So that's what I did and here I am. I hope you all are reading. Leave comments! I'm posting this now even though it's only 2:30 here. I doubt anything more interesting will happen today, but no worries if it does I will definitely blog about it.
Until tomorrow.
Que Será, Será
My "older brother" walked me to campus. The walk is actually very nice. It's not far. I pass a park and the weather is beautiful today. Sorry to anyone who has snow - it's 65 degrees and partly cloudy ;p A lot of people have dogs. Dogs are all over the place! But the mornings are really pretty.
The orientation was... Overwhelming. The directors spoke and I felt like as soon as they finished I had a headache. The only thing that helps is that there are 19 of us all going through the same thing and I can speak to them whenever in both languages.
Now, before I start this next story I want you all to know that each day I blog on my iPod as things happen or shortly after they happen, which is why my blog is a little jumpy hopefully it will gain some fluidity and there will be less of a report as I gain a routine. But today I got lost, not "lost for five minutes" lost, but LOST. Like "Oh! Crap! I don't know where I'm going anymore" lost. Like "I don't speak the language very well" lost. Like "Is it worth and international phone call - No you can't call internationally because your phone is cut off and your professor doesn't give you your new cell phone until tonight!" lost. In case you were confused I am now home (I hope that much is obvious). But today after orientation, Prof. TenHuisen showed us around Oviedo (more walking) and then to his apartment. After we got books from his apartment he walked us back to campus. Some students walked on their own from his apartment, I have no idea how they did that, but good for them! At campus he asked the last of us if we knew how to get home. I said yes. Because I did - apparently just only to a certain point. I walked from campus crossed the street, walked down to the park, crossed through the park, walked along the street, down the steps and through the rest of the park then I reached the corner at the end of the park and thought "Hmm. I don't know where to go." I walked to a nearby bus stop to stop and think. Nothing. I couldn't remember which direction I had come from earlier that day. I walked in all the different directions. I knew I was close. Really close. I just couldn't figure it out. I decided freaking out was not the answer. But I also couldn't walk in a circle for much longer, because someone would notice I was lost. I saw a young couple in a bank and thought what is safer than a bank. I ducked into the bank and pulled out my wallet that had my host family's address and phone number on it. I asked the woman if she had a phone. She tried to explain to me that down the street there was a pay phone for me to call, but I wasn't certain enough to just go, so instead I asked if she could just direct me to the address. Her husband came out to the street and told me that the street I was looking for was parallel to the one I was on. Parallel! I was one street over. He told me to go left at the intercestion and that was the street. I went left and immediately recognized the street. But of course I couldn't be sure without street signs...ugh! If I know enough to navigate, I think I can make it. I walked up to what I thought was my building but the key didn't work. Of course. The building looked right, but the ramp was on the other side. Then I walked farther up and there was another building that looked exactly like the other, and the key worked just fine. The door to the apartment took a minute to open, but I got in, took of my shoes and knew I had to blog you all. So that's what I did and here I am. I hope you all are reading. Leave comments! I'm posting this now even though it's only 2:30 here. I doubt anything more interesting will happen today, but no worries if it does I will definitely blog about it.
Until tomorrow.
Que Será, Será
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Jan 7 - Host Family Time!
This morning we all got up and went to breakfast. For our last day in Avila we visited different churches and Catedrals. That was the most walking I've done thus far. And I now realize I will be doing a lot more. We walked from about 10:30 to 1:30. Just walked up and down hills and through churches. At 1:30 we had yet another delicious meal. I had Crujiente de Langostinos (Fried Shrimp), but it was nothing like fried shrimp in America, it was prettier. The shrimp was rolled in the middle of this long thin fired "paper". The only thing I can compare it too is a potato chip, except it's a batter. Then I had Albondigas (Meatballs). Yummm. After lunch we, of course, walked back to our hotel got our luggage and then with our luggage walked back to our bus. A lot of walking. We had a 4.5 hour bus ride to Oviedo until we met our family.
On the bus ride I slept a good portion of the trip, then we took a 30 minute break at a gas station/coffee shop. Then from there to Oviedo we watched Mission Impossible 4. Which is way less intense in Spanish. Partly because you don't catch half of it and then partly because when you do it sounds too passionate and over dramatic.
Then Dwight, my professor spoke into the microphone telling us we needed to get our things quickly we were going to meet our families - a remember lean to the left for the kiss on the cheek. Up until that moment this was all just traveling through Spain. Now it was real. Too real. I looked around at the university and thought there is a reason that I did not go to a university - TOO BIG. It was huge. And you know what else? Nothing can prepare you for greeting someone in another language. The kiss on each cheek, no matter how many times Lauren Clark and I practiced over the semester, it was still odd. My host mom said something to me. WOOOSHH. That was the noise it made when it went in one ear and out the other before stopping in my brain to translate. What? I'm sure I said I'm Sorry, Repeat, and Huh? like twenty time each. Then she told me she would speak slower and use simpler translations - until my brain caught up with things is should already know! ( That last part was just me). It was just sooo fast and the words were so different and I am upset with whichever prof said we wouldn't use vosotros. Well, I'm in Spain and guess what?! They use vosotros! For those who don't know what that is it's a spanish form of conjugation that refers to "you all" and almost every teacher has said you wont use it... -_- She introduced me to her son and husband and showed me to my room to unpack. I think i was in there for an hour, unnecessarily.
I unpacked everything one by one. I was not ready. I mean I thought I wasn't ready before and then I got here and was thought Nope. Not ready. But I couldn't go back home. As I unpacked I realized Yea. I didn't bring enough clothes. Not even close. Then as I unpacked my backpack, all of my photos of my family and the letter all of my floormates wrote to me fell out of one of my Spanish books. Then I wanted to cry. I letter a tear fall... or two... or three, but then reigned it in. I really didn't want to leave that room. Then I realized I need a WiFi. I looked for WiFi and nothing showed up. For a second I was scared that they didn't have WiFi, which would have been the end of my life in Spain. Then different networks popped up and I relaxed, but I still didn't want to ask for a code. Finally I left my room, thinking it would be rude to stay there the rest of the night just because I was scared. She found me and ask if I wanted to shower. So I did. It was nice and refreshing. I didn't want to leave there either. Finally I came out of hiding. She gave me a sandwich. It was the most interesting, filling sandwich. It was a tuna sandwich; Bread, tuna, lettuce, tomato, another slice of bread, then cheese, an egg, and mayo and then another slice of bread. It was very good. Just different. We talked and got to know each other and I relaxed a little. Her husband came out with the WiFi code. Thank Goodness! After that sandwich I FaceTimed my family. My parents met my Spain mom. Translating was better than I thought it would be.
Oh my goodness! Today was eventful, as I'm sure the next 4.5 months will be. And it can only get better. Tomorrow I have a language test. Ay!
Que Será, Será.
On the bus ride I slept a good portion of the trip, then we took a 30 minute break at a gas station/coffee shop. Then from there to Oviedo we watched Mission Impossible 4. Which is way less intense in Spanish. Partly because you don't catch half of it and then partly because when you do it sounds too passionate and over dramatic.
Then Dwight, my professor spoke into the microphone telling us we needed to get our things quickly we were going to meet our families - a remember lean to the left for the kiss on the cheek. Up until that moment this was all just traveling through Spain. Now it was real. Too real. I looked around at the university and thought there is a reason that I did not go to a university - TOO BIG. It was huge. And you know what else? Nothing can prepare you for greeting someone in another language. The kiss on each cheek, no matter how many times Lauren Clark and I practiced over the semester, it was still odd. My host mom said something to me. WOOOSHH. That was the noise it made when it went in one ear and out the other before stopping in my brain to translate. What? I'm sure I said I'm Sorry, Repeat, and Huh? like twenty time each. Then she told me she would speak slower and use simpler translations - until my brain caught up with things is should already know! ( That last part was just me). It was just sooo fast and the words were so different and I am upset with whichever prof said we wouldn't use vosotros. Well, I'm in Spain and guess what?! They use vosotros! For those who don't know what that is it's a spanish form of conjugation that refers to "you all" and almost every teacher has said you wont use it... -_- She introduced me to her son and husband and showed me to my room to unpack. I think i was in there for an hour, unnecessarily.
I unpacked everything one by one. I was not ready. I mean I thought I wasn't ready before and then I got here and was thought Nope. Not ready. But I couldn't go back home. As I unpacked I realized Yea. I didn't bring enough clothes. Not even close. Then as I unpacked my backpack, all of my photos of my family and the letter all of my floormates wrote to me fell out of one of my Spanish books. Then I wanted to cry. I letter a tear fall... or two... or three, but then reigned it in. I really didn't want to leave that room. Then I realized I need a WiFi. I looked for WiFi and nothing showed up. For a second I was scared that they didn't have WiFi, which would have been the end of my life in Spain. Then different networks popped up and I relaxed, but I still didn't want to ask for a code. Finally I left my room, thinking it would be rude to stay there the rest of the night just because I was scared. She found me and ask if I wanted to shower. So I did. It was nice and refreshing. I didn't want to leave there either. Finally I came out of hiding. She gave me a sandwich. It was the most interesting, filling sandwich. It was a tuna sandwich; Bread, tuna, lettuce, tomato, another slice of bread, then cheese, an egg, and mayo and then another slice of bread. It was very good. Just different. We talked and got to know each other and I relaxed a little. Her husband came out with the WiFi code. Thank Goodness! After that sandwich I FaceTimed my family. My parents met my Spain mom. Translating was better than I thought it would be.
Oh my goodness! Today was eventful, as I'm sure the next 4.5 months will be. And it can only get better. Tomorrow I have a language test. Ay!
Que Será, Será.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Jan 6 - Madrid & Avila
After the flight to Amsterdam we had a 2.5 hour layover and then flew to Madrid. The flight was relatively short. Upon arriving in Madrid we went to baggage claim and EVERYTHING was there. Hallelujah! The was my second fear. But everything was right were it was supposed to be. We got onboard a coach bus and drove two hours north west Avila. Madrid looks as one would expect a capitol city to look like, but Avila is beautiful! It's a walled in city, with cobble stone streets, and cute shops and restaurants one right next to the other! And a beautiful cathedral.
When we arrived in Avila, a small group of us stopped to help a girl whose suitcase broke, consequently we got separated from the group. Well that was as good a time as any to break out the spanish. We split up and asked different people if they had seen our group, they said no. It was only five minutes until someone came and got us. Well we had to get lost at least once. Check. The hotel we are in for the night is very pretty!
When we arrived in Avila, a small group of us stopped to help a girl whose suitcase broke, consequently we got separated from the group. Well that was as good a time as any to break out the spanish. We split up and asked different people if they had seen our group, they said no. It was only five minutes until someone came and got us. Well we had to get lost at least once. Check. The hotel we are in for the night is very pretty!
Then after a quick rest and shower we went to dinner. The restaurant was very nice, but I soon realized that all the words I know are Central American words and that there are completely different words in Spain. I had Parrilladas de Verduras (Roasted Vegetables), Calamares a la Romana (Breaded Calamari), and Arroz con leche (Rice Pudding). To drink I had Coke and Vino (red wine). All of it was delicious. (In that order below).
This is food that others had:
Ensalada Mixta (Chopped Salad, but in Spain they put Tuna on top)
I can't remember what this is in Spanish but its grilled Squid/Calamari
Yumm! Flan. It's kinda like a custard.
Here are some photos of Avila at night!
And this is only the beginning! Can't wait!
Que Será, Será.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)