On Sunday, we went to Trujillo for a wine and cheese festival. Tried lots of different cheeses and cheese cakes and a couple types of wine. There was lots of goat and lamb cheese, which I thought was disgusting. We spent most of the day there and when we returned to Caceres, we were going to climb the mountain one last time but we were tired. So, we went to a cafe and got ice cream and then went to a plaza/park and watched the movie Bridget Jones's Diary on a computer. The Spanish people looked at us kind of funny because we probably apppeared homeless(we were sitting on blankets on the sidewalk eating food) but oh well. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do that again tonight.
On Monday, we had no school because it was Labor Day. When I woke up, I found out the news about Bin Laden. Everyone here has been congratulating us because we are Americans...kinda strange and not sure how I feel about that. We had our last bible study and then had a farewell dinner on Monday night. I tried calamari-octopus legs! It was disgusting due to the texture but check that off the list of exotic foods to eat. We went to the Plaza Mayor afterwards and got ice cream and sat and talked. It was lots of fun being together as a group.
Last night, I took some NyQuill for my cough which caused me to be a bit late to my first class due to oversleeping...oopsie. We had my favorite food for lunch today-bean soup and empanadillas. This afternoon, Casey and I went to the park for 2 hours...had to get our last Spanish sunning in! I hear Iowa is like 40 degrees which is very disappointing considering it is in the 80s here! Tonight is a Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona soccer game, so of course all of Spain will be watching that. Afterwards, we are having a going away party/birthday party for Casey at a bar in the Plaza Mayor area. It will be fun and will be our last time together as a whole group. So crazy that this is already the end. It hasn't flown by but the semester has gone pretty fast.
I have 3 last classes tomorrow...one test and one speech left! I leave on a bus from Caceres at 3:30pm and will be spending a night in Madrid. We fly out around 11am on Thursday and I will go to Newark then Des Moines. I should be in Des Moines at 9:15pm Iowa time on Thursday. Praying for safe flights!
This is my last post from Spain :( There are definitely things here I will miss!! But I am very excited to come home!!!
Love you all!
Annette
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Patrons of Caceres
On Monday, we had no school because Easter Monday is considered a holiday here in Spain. We went to a pueblo called Torrequemada for their fiesta, which turned out to be a bit of a waste of time because it was just for the people of the pueblo and we were like outsiders. We had to walk for 45 minutes from the bus stop to this hill in the woods/countryside where they had the fiesta. Casey and I left and went back to Caceres after staying there for like one hour. There was seriously nothing to do there. Wish I wouldn't have gone...biggest waste of time yet. Oh well. When we got back to Caceres, we went to the park for a couple hours with Shea. It was fun and good to catch up with her about our Semana Santa trips.
On Tuesday, I woke up with a very bad headache and chills. As it turns out, I was dehydrated from being in the sun for 5-6 hours on Monday and not drinking enough. Ooops. Other than going to school, I spent the day at home in bed drinking water and powerade.
On Wednesday, I felt much better and in the evening went on a tour of the old part of the city. After the tour, we went to see the Virgin come down from the mountain. Mary is the female patron of Caceres and they carried a statue of her all the way down the mountain to the Cathedral of Santa Maria. She will stay there all week. Each day they change the color of clothes she is wearing and the kind of flowers in the cathedral. There were TONS of people watching the procession down the mountain.
On Thursday evening, we went to see the festival of San Jorge, the male patron of Caceres. Legend has it that San Jorge killed a dragon and saved the city of Caceres in the 1200s. There was a theater-like production in the Plaza Mayor that lasted almost 2 hours. There was a huge dragon that was set on fire by San Jorge. At the end they set off fireworks from the roof of the City Hall. Safety standards are so different here. We were getting rained on with ashes from the fireworks the whole time. But, the fireworks were pretty good! Makes me miss the US.
After San Jorge, we went out for our last Thursday night in Caceres! We went to Divina Comedia, La Habana, and Cameron (a discoteca). We decided to go out like true Spaniards-aka stay out all night until the churrerias are open. We stayed at Cameron until 5:45am and then left to find a place to buy churros for breakfast. Luckily, we found a place that opened at 6am! We ate churros and chocolate and got home around 6:30am. It was a very fun night!
On Tuesday, I woke up with a very bad headache and chills. As it turns out, I was dehydrated from being in the sun for 5-6 hours on Monday and not drinking enough. Ooops. Other than going to school, I spent the day at home in bed drinking water and powerade.
On Wednesday, I felt much better and in the evening went on a tour of the old part of the city. After the tour, we went to see the Virgin come down from the mountain. Mary is the female patron of Caceres and they carried a statue of her all the way down the mountain to the Cathedral of Santa Maria. She will stay there all week. Each day they change the color of clothes she is wearing and the kind of flowers in the cathedral. There were TONS of people watching the procession down the mountain.
On Thursday evening, we went to see the festival of San Jorge, the male patron of Caceres. Legend has it that San Jorge killed a dragon and saved the city of Caceres in the 1200s. There was a theater-like production in the Plaza Mayor that lasted almost 2 hours. There was a huge dragon that was set on fire by San Jorge. At the end they set off fireworks from the roof of the City Hall. Safety standards are so different here. We were getting rained on with ashes from the fireworks the whole time. But, the fireworks were pretty good! Makes me miss the US.
After San Jorge, we went out for our last Thursday night in Caceres! We went to Divina Comedia, La Habana, and Cameron (a discoteca). We decided to go out like true Spaniards-aka stay out all night until the churrerias are open. We stayed at Cameron until 5:45am and then left to find a place to buy churros for breakfast. Luckily, we found a place that opened at 6am! We ate churros and chocolate and got home around 6:30am. It was a very fun night!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Return to Caceres and Easter Weekend
NOTE: This is the final post from my Spring Break adventures. I recommend that you go to the post called When in Rome and then read the ones above until you get to this one. There are 7 posts total because there is so much to say!
The bus we rode to Madrid was extremely small and there was hardly any room for our legs because the people in front of us put their seats back all the way. It was bad. I felt very claustrophobic...not enough room to breathe even with our seats back too! Thank goodnes for the Melotonin that Aunt Mary gave me to bring with. It is 2 months expired but still does the trick! I slept some on the bus but tossed and turned a lot trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.
We got to Madrid at 5:45am and waited for the metro to open at 6am to go to the other bus station. We got there and had to wait until 8am for our next bus to leave. We got some breakfast. On our second bus, we all slept for the first 2 hours. There was so much more room and we each took 2 seats because there were extra. We met a very funny guy named Martin who was from Austria and was coming to Caceres to visit his girlfriend and meet her family. He was concerned about "keeping his legs" because her dad had threatened him that he would cut off his legs if he did something wrong haha. He said some very funny things about soccer and I wish I could remember his quotes. He also gave us Austrian chocolate! We got to Caceres around 12pm and were so tired that we decided to take a taxi home instead of walking in the rain. So lazy of us, but it only cost like 1.5 euros so whatever! When I got back, I told my host family about my trip and talked to my parents on Skype. Changed my plane ticket to May 5.
Friday night, I went to Good Friday service at Guadalupe. It was a very very good Mass! The homily was good and it was about each of us carrying our own cross in our lives, just like Jesus carried his cross. They did pretty much everything the same as we do in the US on Good Friday.
On Saturday, I went shopping with Casey to the mall and then to the downtown stores. I bought some scarves to bring home. We still need to make one more shopping trip before coming home. We went to La Caballeriza and met Courtney's mom, aunt, and sister before trying to go to a procession. However, the procession took forever to get to the Plaza Mayor, so Casey and I left before it got there to go to the Easter Vigil at Fatima. I was surprised at how few people were at the Easter Vigil. We started just like in the US-outside with a fire and candles. There were 4 baptisms-3 babies and 1 kid who was probably 8 years old or so. The priest annointed them with oil before baptising them and put very little water on their head to baptise them. I really missed singing "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" at the end. It lasted about 1.5 hours. They went really fast through everything!
This morning, I got up at 6:30am to go with Casey to the non-denominational church's Easter service on top of the mountain. We got a ride in a car to the top thankfully and got to see the sunrise. It was so cool! We listened to a reading, sang some praise and worship songs, and prayed a bit. Then, we went down the mountain and went to a cafe for breakfast. After, I came home and took a nap. At 12pm, there was another procession, so I went to the beginning of that and then went to Easter Mass at Fatima with Taylor and Clint. Once again, I was surprised at how few people there were at Easter Mass. I expected it to be packed like it is in the US for Easter. This afternoon, I did some homework and updated all of this on my blog. My host sister Maria left to go back to her university today, so I had to say goodbye since I won't see her again before I come back to the US. She is the one I will miss the most!
The bus we rode to Madrid was extremely small and there was hardly any room for our legs because the people in front of us put their seats back all the way. It was bad. I felt very claustrophobic...not enough room to breathe even with our seats back too! Thank goodnes for the Melotonin that Aunt Mary gave me to bring with. It is 2 months expired but still does the trick! I slept some on the bus but tossed and turned a lot trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.
We got to Madrid at 5:45am and waited for the metro to open at 6am to go to the other bus station. We got there and had to wait until 8am for our next bus to leave. We got some breakfast. On our second bus, we all slept for the first 2 hours. There was so much more room and we each took 2 seats because there were extra. We met a very funny guy named Martin who was from Austria and was coming to Caceres to visit his girlfriend and meet her family. He was concerned about "keeping his legs" because her dad had threatened him that he would cut off his legs if he did something wrong haha. He said some very funny things about soccer and I wish I could remember his quotes. He also gave us Austrian chocolate! We got to Caceres around 12pm and were so tired that we decided to take a taxi home instead of walking in the rain. So lazy of us, but it only cost like 1.5 euros so whatever! When I got back, I told my host family about my trip and talked to my parents on Skype. Changed my plane ticket to May 5.
Friday night, I went to Good Friday service at Guadalupe. It was a very very good Mass! The homily was good and it was about each of us carrying our own cross in our lives, just like Jesus carried his cross. They did pretty much everything the same as we do in the US on Good Friday.
On Saturday, I went shopping with Casey to the mall and then to the downtown stores. I bought some scarves to bring home. We still need to make one more shopping trip before coming home. We went to La Caballeriza and met Courtney's mom, aunt, and sister before trying to go to a procession. However, the procession took forever to get to the Plaza Mayor, so Casey and I left before it got there to go to the Easter Vigil at Fatima. I was surprised at how few people were at the Easter Vigil. We started just like in the US-outside with a fire and candles. There were 4 baptisms-3 babies and 1 kid who was probably 8 years old or so. The priest annointed them with oil before baptising them and put very little water on their head to baptise them. I really missed singing "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" at the end. It lasted about 1.5 hours. They went really fast through everything!
This morning, I got up at 6:30am to go with Casey to the non-denominational church's Easter service on top of the mountain. We got a ride in a car to the top thankfully and got to see the sunrise. It was so cool! We listened to a reading, sang some praise and worship songs, and prayed a bit. Then, we went down the mountain and went to a cafe for breakfast. After, I came home and took a nap. At 12pm, there was another procession, so I went to the beginning of that and then went to Easter Mass at Fatima with Taylor and Clint. Once again, I was surprised at how few people there were at Easter Mass. I expected it to be packed like it is in the US for Easter. This afternoon, I did some homework and updated all of this on my blog. My host sister Maria left to go back to her university today, so I had to say goodbye since I won't see her again before I come back to the US. She is the one I will miss the most!
Stadiums, Soccer Game, and Sagrada Familia
On Wednesday, we woke up at 9am, had breakfast at the hotel, got ready, and metroed to the market. There was lots of disgusting things to see at the market-goat's heads with the eyes still in them, animal tongues, pig's feet, and lots of fish-most of it still alive. Reminds me why I don't eat a lot of meat. We bought some fruit for lunch and it was very fresh and only 1 euro!
We metroed to Camp Nou-FC Barcelona's Soccer Stadium. The boys took a tour. We girls decided we had already seen one soccer stadium and that was enough for us, so we went to the souvenir store and then decided to metro to the Olympic Park Area, which the boys didn't seem to want to see anyways. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics, so we got to see the outsides of the buildings, the inside of the main stadium, and the pool area. I'm glad we went to see it!
We met the boys back at the hotel and then took naps for 2.5 hours :) We got food at the grocery store, showered, and went to watch the Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona soccer game. Those are the two main teams in Spain. We watched the game at an Irish Pub and I got a Magner's :) We met college students from Hamilton College in the Northeastern US I think. One of the guys got his Blackberry stolen from his pocket by a pickpocket while we were at that bar that night. Scary! Everyone always told us how bad Rome was supposed to be for pickpockets but we had no problems there and had 2 problems in Barcelona. Thankfully all they got was Taylor's gum. Anyways, Real Madrid won!!!!! 1-0 :) They are my team! We couldn't cheer too loud because we were in Barcelona, home of the losing team.
After the game, we went to another Irish pub where we had a very deep discussion about faith and the difference between Christianity and other religions. I am so thankful for my strong Catholic faith!!! We left there when it closed and headed to a discoteca. It was the coolest discoteca we have been to! Lots of creepy guys came up to us, so Cory and Taylor had to pretend to be our boyfriends but there were lots of cute guys there too. At 5:30am, it closed and we left. Thankfully, the metro happened to be open already, so we metroed back to the hotel. On our walk from the metro station to the hotel, Lizzy convinced Taylor he needed to climb a tree to get us back to the hotel...hilarious video! We went to bed around 6:30am.
On Thursday, we woke up at 10:20am! We almost missed breakfast!!! We ran downstairs and thankfully got food before they closed it. We got ready and checked out of our hotel. They let us leave our bags there so we did not have to carry them around all day. We went to the Sagrada Familia and waited in line for 30 minutes before going in. It was very cool. Very different than any other cathedral I have seen. Gaudi designed the inside to look like trees going up to the sky. It is definitely a work of modern art. It is expected to be completed in 2026.
We met up with Bev and her family and went to eat lunch around 5pm...a little late! They were very nice and it was fun to meet someone else's family. We went shopping in Las Ramblas again and Casey and I found artists who were selling jewelery so we got lots of souvenirs! We met back up with Lizzy, Cory, and Taylor, got our backpacks from the hotel, and walked to the bus station. On our way we stopped at the Tower of Agbar which was lit up at night and was really cool. We got on our bus to go to Madrid and left at 10:15pm.
We metroed to Camp Nou-FC Barcelona's Soccer Stadium. The boys took a tour. We girls decided we had already seen one soccer stadium and that was enough for us, so we went to the souvenir store and then decided to metro to the Olympic Park Area, which the boys didn't seem to want to see anyways. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics, so we got to see the outsides of the buildings, the inside of the main stadium, and the pool area. I'm glad we went to see it!
We met the boys back at the hotel and then took naps for 2.5 hours :) We got food at the grocery store, showered, and went to watch the Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona soccer game. Those are the two main teams in Spain. We watched the game at an Irish Pub and I got a Magner's :) We met college students from Hamilton College in the Northeastern US I think. One of the guys got his Blackberry stolen from his pocket by a pickpocket while we were at that bar that night. Scary! Everyone always told us how bad Rome was supposed to be for pickpockets but we had no problems there and had 2 problems in Barcelona. Thankfully all they got was Taylor's gum. Anyways, Real Madrid won!!!!! 1-0 :) They are my team! We couldn't cheer too loud because we were in Barcelona, home of the losing team.
After the game, we went to another Irish pub where we had a very deep discussion about faith and the difference between Christianity and other religions. I am so thankful for my strong Catholic faith!!! We left there when it closed and headed to a discoteca. It was the coolest discoteca we have been to! Lots of creepy guys came up to us, so Cory and Taylor had to pretend to be our boyfriends but there were lots of cute guys there too. At 5:30am, it closed and we left. Thankfully, the metro happened to be open already, so we metroed back to the hotel. On our walk from the metro station to the hotel, Lizzy convinced Taylor he needed to climb a tree to get us back to the hotel...hilarious video! We went to bed around 6:30am.
On Thursday, we woke up at 10:20am! We almost missed breakfast!!! We ran downstairs and thankfully got food before they closed it. We got ready and checked out of our hotel. They let us leave our bags there so we did not have to carry them around all day. We went to the Sagrada Familia and waited in line for 30 minutes before going in. It was very cool. Very different than any other cathedral I have seen. Gaudi designed the inside to look like trees going up to the sky. It is definitely a work of modern art. It is expected to be completed in 2026.
We met up with Bev and her family and went to eat lunch around 5pm...a little late! They were very nice and it was fun to meet someone else's family. We went shopping in Las Ramblas again and Casey and I found artists who were selling jewelery so we got lots of souvenirs! We met back up with Lizzy, Cory, and Taylor, got our backpacks from the hotel, and walked to the bus station. On our way we stopped at the Tower of Agbar which was lit up at night and was really cool. We got on our bus to go to Madrid and left at 10:15pm.
Arrivederci Italia! Bienvenidos a Barcelona!
On Monday, we woke up at 5am. We had AMAZING breakfast-yogurt, fruit, cookies, and of course croissants with nutella! We got a taxi to the airport and listened to Italian pop music all the way. Got psalms and holy water through security! We took a shuttle and got on our plane. It left around 8:15am from Rome and got to Barcelona at 10:15am or so. When we were walking through the Barcelona airport, we overheard a British lady say, "If you pay a little more for your nickers, they last longer than that cheap shit." Gosh, I want to go to England!
We took a shuttle to the city center and sat in Cafe Zurich to wait for the boys. Cory and Taylor had been in Lisbon for the first part of their Semana Santa and came to meet up with us in Barcelona. We told them to meet us by the small fountain in the plaza and watched as they walked right by us to the big fountain. We decided to take some pictures of them looking for us so we hid in the trees and got some pretty good ones. We got a little to close and they saw us...oops. We eventually all met up and they weren't too mad. They never did get to our small fountain anyways. We metroed to the Holiday Inn and checked into our room. All 5 of us stayed in the same room. Taylor ended up sleeping on the floor a couple nights but we made it work.
We walked to the beach, found sea shells, swam a bit (it was freezing cold!), and buried Taylor in the sand and made outfits for him. We went back to the hotel, showered, and went to a restaurant near our hotel for supper. It was okay food. We went back to the hotel and went to bed.
On Tuesday, we got up at 9am, at breakfast in the hotel-DELICIOUS!, and walked to the bus station to try to get tickets for a bus home to Caceres on Thursday. The bus that went directly from Barcelona to Caceres was full, so we had to get tickets for a bus to Madrid and then a bus from Madrid to Caceres. We walked to the Sagrada Familia, a famous cathedral that is still underconstruction and has been for over 100years. It was designed by Gaudi, a Spanish architect who we learned about in our Spanish art class. When we got there, we found out that there was a fire, so we could not go in. Apparently some 55 year old guy who had been acting suspicious the last few days set some of the priests' robes on fire in the Sacristy in the crypt. I don't know how much damage there was.
We walked to Parc Guell, another thing designed by Gaudi, and saw the famous lizard and park benches. We saw this absolutely crazy guy dressed in leopard print tights, a leather vest, and sunglasses that were shaped like electric guitars who was playing music in the park. He played "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" and we all sang along. He was the most crazy person I have ever seen...I really think his brain was gone from too many drugs. Good entertainer though.
Next, we walked down Paseo de Gracias and walked past a couple famous houses that Gaudi designed. We waited in line to go inside one, but decided it was too expensive. In line, we met Rhonda and her husband-bold New Yorkers. Rhonda told us she was going to go "hablabla some Spanish to find out what was going on" and her husband stayed and talked to us. I think she assumed that we didn't know Spanish at all. Oh well. Their accents were hilarious and we enjoyed meeting them.
As we continued down the road, it turned into Las Ramblas, the famous shopping street of Barcelona. We stopped at H&M and I bought a dress. We continued down Las Ramblas until we got to the ocean and boat docks. We metroed to the hotel and went to the grocery store to get food for supper. We ate lots of cheese sandwiches, chips, apples, and breakfast cookies from the grocery store while in Barcelona to try to cut down on how much we spent on food. It was nice to eat some Americanish food for once. We were going to go out, but changed our minds and stayed in the hotel, telling stories, listening to music, and watching movies. At 2am we finally went to sleep. Taylor kept scaring Lizzy and I by standing at the edge of our bed and trying to grab our feet.
We took a shuttle to the city center and sat in Cafe Zurich to wait for the boys. Cory and Taylor had been in Lisbon for the first part of their Semana Santa and came to meet up with us in Barcelona. We told them to meet us by the small fountain in the plaza and watched as they walked right by us to the big fountain. We decided to take some pictures of them looking for us so we hid in the trees and got some pretty good ones. We got a little to close and they saw us...oops. We eventually all met up and they weren't too mad. They never did get to our small fountain anyways. We metroed to the Holiday Inn and checked into our room. All 5 of us stayed in the same room. Taylor ended up sleeping on the floor a couple nights but we made it work.
We walked to the beach, found sea shells, swam a bit (it was freezing cold!), and buried Taylor in the sand and made outfits for him. We went back to the hotel, showered, and went to a restaurant near our hotel for supper. It was okay food. We went back to the hotel and went to bed.
On Tuesday, we got up at 9am, at breakfast in the hotel-DELICIOUS!, and walked to the bus station to try to get tickets for a bus home to Caceres on Thursday. The bus that went directly from Barcelona to Caceres was full, so we had to get tickets for a bus to Madrid and then a bus from Madrid to Caceres. We walked to the Sagrada Familia, a famous cathedral that is still underconstruction and has been for over 100years. It was designed by Gaudi, a Spanish architect who we learned about in our Spanish art class. When we got there, we found out that there was a fire, so we could not go in. Apparently some 55 year old guy who had been acting suspicious the last few days set some of the priests' robes on fire in the Sacristy in the crypt. I don't know how much damage there was.
We walked to Parc Guell, another thing designed by Gaudi, and saw the famous lizard and park benches. We saw this absolutely crazy guy dressed in leopard print tights, a leather vest, and sunglasses that were shaped like electric guitars who was playing music in the park. He played "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" and we all sang along. He was the most crazy person I have ever seen...I really think his brain was gone from too many drugs. Good entertainer though.
Next, we walked down Paseo de Gracias and walked past a couple famous houses that Gaudi designed. We waited in line to go inside one, but decided it was too expensive. In line, we met Rhonda and her husband-bold New Yorkers. Rhonda told us she was going to go "hablabla some Spanish to find out what was going on" and her husband stayed and talked to us. I think she assumed that we didn't know Spanish at all. Oh well. Their accents were hilarious and we enjoyed meeting them.
As we continued down the road, it turned into Las Ramblas, the famous shopping street of Barcelona. We stopped at H&M and I bought a dress. We continued down Las Ramblas until we got to the ocean and boat docks. We metroed to the hotel and went to the grocery store to get food for supper. We ate lots of cheese sandwiches, chips, apples, and breakfast cookies from the grocery store while in Barcelona to try to cut down on how much we spent on food. It was nice to eat some Americanish food for once. We were going to go out, but changed our minds and stayed in the hotel, telling stories, listening to music, and watching movies. At 2am we finally went to sleep. Taylor kept scaring Lizzy and I by standing at the edge of our bed and trying to grab our feet.
BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
I had been waiting for Sunday and seeing the Pope at Psalm Sunday Mass ever since we bought the plane tickets to Italy. I was SOOOOOO excited! We woke up at 5:45am and got ready, listening to Christian music on Casey's iPod. We found really good chocolate cookies in the hostel to eat for breakfast and left around 6:45am to walk to Vatican City.
We got to the line outside at 7am. We saw a guy in line wearing a plaid shirt who we had seen two times before, wearing two different plaid shirts. It was strange to think that we were beginning to recognize people! We waited in line and talked to Scott who was standing by us. He is a deacon who lives in Rome and is from Illinois. They opened the security at 8am and we got in and got REALLY good seats. We were shocked to get seats in the first place because I assumed they would be reserved for priests and nuns and such but I guess it is just a free for all. We were in the middle of the section closest to the front, on the right side of the main aisle. I sat like 5 seats from the middle aisle-which is where the opening procession would go down! We were given olive branches instead of psalms. There were huge psalms that they gave to the people in the middle aisle to hold up during the procession.
At almost 9:30am exactly, the procession began-first with the cross and priests, then bishops, then cardinals, then THE POPE!!!!!!! The first thing I saw was his gold hat! He was riding on top of a little white car. I was so happy that I cried two tears and then started taking pictures and videos. We stood up on the chairs to try to get a better view, which angered the guards and one of the guards came over and yanked a guy off his chair and said something to him in Italian and threw him on the ground. That was not very Christian of him. Pope Benedict did a blessing of the psalms/olive branches at the obelisk in the middle of the square and then his car took him up to the front altar. On the way to the altar, he went right down the middle aisle and at one point, HE WAS LITERALLY NO MORE THAN 10 FEET FROM US!!!!!!!!! He was smiling the whole way and it was so cool!!!
The people we were sitting next to were Spanish students, about our age and they were EXTREMELY RUDE!!! I was so frustrated because I wanted to tell them to leave, but I didn't. Two of them were making out, one was plucking her eyebrows and then checking to see if we saw her by looking at us in her mirror, and the others were sleeping the whole time. It was very offensive. Just guess it shows what problems there are with youth in the church in Spain. They were so disrespectful!
So other than them, Mass was great! The readings were one in English, one in Spanish, and the Gospel (the Passion) was sung by 3 priests...so cool! We got little books with all the music, readings, prayers, etc. so we could follow along. We could understand enough to know what was going on most of the time. I couldn't get anything from the homily though. I know it was supposed to be directed at youth, so I'll have to look it up and read it online. The petitions were read in Portuguese, Arabic, French, Polish, and German by a native speaker from each of those countries. For Communion, they had a Vatican staff member with each priest who held a yellow and white striped umbrella so that we could locate a priest to get Communion from. At the end of Mass, the Pope did a blessing in at least 8 different languages and everyone cheered when they heard their language.
After Mass, we met Jeff Dole, a former ISU student, who is now a seminarian in Rome. We asked him lots of questions we had come up with and he told us lots about the history of St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Square, and the Vatican etc. He also showed us the spot where Pope John Paul II was shot, which I did not know about before. Miraculously, the bullet weaved through his organs and did not damage anything. He also told us that the obelisk in the middle of St. Peter's Square is thought to be the last thing that Peter saw before he died. He told us the story of how they moved it to its current location. He also recommended that we visit St. John's Basilica, one of the other 4 main Basilicas in Rome.
We walked to the metro and rode to the Coliseum area. We stopped at the Roman Forum gift shop to see if we could get tickets there to avoid the line at the Colliseum and a guy told us that the Colliseum was closed to prepare for the Stations of the Cross that the Pope does there on Good Friday. We were heartbroken because here we had gone to Rome and not even seen the Colliseum! So, we walked to the Colliseum and saw people going inside. Turns out that guy was wrong and we got inside! We met a couple from Texas-Lizzy's favorite couple ever-and had them take a picture of us. I think they ruined the inside of the Colliseum because the area where they would have had gladiator fights looks like a maze made of bricks. It was turned into a small city and market area many hundred years ago, which is very unfortunate. I would much rather see the area where the gladiators fought. Oh well.
As we left the Colliseum, it started to rain so we walked to St. John's Basilica. We stopped at St. Clement's on the way which is a smaller Basilican in Rome. We didn't stay there long. San Giovanni-St. John's had Mass every hour that we were there. In the main sanctuary area are statues of the 12 disciples with the weapon/way they were killed. For example, Bartholemew (I think) was skinned alive, so he is shown with a human skin in his hand. It is all made of stone, of course. In front of the altar, there is an opening with stairs that lead down, which is where the table from the Last Supper is kept. It was under glass and looked like the real thing to me. Above the altar is the box with the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul.
We left the basilica and stopped at our last gelateria on our way to the metro. It was not as good as the other one, but it was still gelato! I got cream, raspberry, and cotton candy. We metroed to the Spanish Steps which are basically just steps with azaleas planted there. Nothing that special. Lots of couples and people drinking alcohol. We looked above the steps and saw another obelisk-a sign of a major basilica! So, we decided to go quickly. The nuns told us that you could get another indulgence if you went to all 4 of the major basilicas, but we only ended up getting to 3. Oh well!
As we were coming out of the basilica, the sun was setting. It was a gorgeous, red, firey ball. We got on an elevator with two couples to get to the metro station. The elevator hesitated a bit and one of the guys said, "Maybe backpacks aren't allowed." He was joking of course. When we got to the metro, we saw the father-what-a-waste from the day before at Pope JP II's grave but we could not get a picture before the metro came...what a shame! We metroed to the end of Line A and got a taxi to our hostel. We had to do some bargaining with the taxi men. They were trying to charge us double what the hostel told us it would take to get there. You're not going to rip us American girls off! The taxi driver didn't play any music or anything. It was just silent. Lizzy asked, "So has it been a busy night?" and got no response...pretty sure he only spoke Italian! We laughed so hard in the back seat, trying to be quiet so he didn't notice.
We arrived at our hostel-the Flower Inn B & B and it was the CUTEST little hostel/B & B ever!!! It had only been open one month and we found it on hostelworld and loved the pictures, so we just HAD to stay there. It was very nicely decorated and everything was SUPER clean! We went to bed at about 10:30pm. And that was how the best day of my life ended!
We got to the line outside at 7am. We saw a guy in line wearing a plaid shirt who we had seen two times before, wearing two different plaid shirts. It was strange to think that we were beginning to recognize people! We waited in line and talked to Scott who was standing by us. He is a deacon who lives in Rome and is from Illinois. They opened the security at 8am and we got in and got REALLY good seats. We were shocked to get seats in the first place because I assumed they would be reserved for priests and nuns and such but I guess it is just a free for all. We were in the middle of the section closest to the front, on the right side of the main aisle. I sat like 5 seats from the middle aisle-which is where the opening procession would go down! We were given olive branches instead of psalms. There were huge psalms that they gave to the people in the middle aisle to hold up during the procession.
At almost 9:30am exactly, the procession began-first with the cross and priests, then bishops, then cardinals, then THE POPE!!!!!!! The first thing I saw was his gold hat! He was riding on top of a little white car. I was so happy that I cried two tears and then started taking pictures and videos. We stood up on the chairs to try to get a better view, which angered the guards and one of the guards came over and yanked a guy off his chair and said something to him in Italian and threw him on the ground. That was not very Christian of him. Pope Benedict did a blessing of the psalms/olive branches at the obelisk in the middle of the square and then his car took him up to the front altar. On the way to the altar, he went right down the middle aisle and at one point, HE WAS LITERALLY NO MORE THAN 10 FEET FROM US!!!!!!!!! He was smiling the whole way and it was so cool!!!
The people we were sitting next to were Spanish students, about our age and they were EXTREMELY RUDE!!! I was so frustrated because I wanted to tell them to leave, but I didn't. Two of them were making out, one was plucking her eyebrows and then checking to see if we saw her by looking at us in her mirror, and the others were sleeping the whole time. It was very offensive. Just guess it shows what problems there are with youth in the church in Spain. They were so disrespectful!
So other than them, Mass was great! The readings were one in English, one in Spanish, and the Gospel (the Passion) was sung by 3 priests...so cool! We got little books with all the music, readings, prayers, etc. so we could follow along. We could understand enough to know what was going on most of the time. I couldn't get anything from the homily though. I know it was supposed to be directed at youth, so I'll have to look it up and read it online. The petitions were read in Portuguese, Arabic, French, Polish, and German by a native speaker from each of those countries. For Communion, they had a Vatican staff member with each priest who held a yellow and white striped umbrella so that we could locate a priest to get Communion from. At the end of Mass, the Pope did a blessing in at least 8 different languages and everyone cheered when they heard their language.
After Mass, we met Jeff Dole, a former ISU student, who is now a seminarian in Rome. We asked him lots of questions we had come up with and he told us lots about the history of St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Square, and the Vatican etc. He also showed us the spot where Pope John Paul II was shot, which I did not know about before. Miraculously, the bullet weaved through his organs and did not damage anything. He also told us that the obelisk in the middle of St. Peter's Square is thought to be the last thing that Peter saw before he died. He told us the story of how they moved it to its current location. He also recommended that we visit St. John's Basilica, one of the other 4 main Basilicas in Rome.
We walked to the metro and rode to the Coliseum area. We stopped at the Roman Forum gift shop to see if we could get tickets there to avoid the line at the Colliseum and a guy told us that the Colliseum was closed to prepare for the Stations of the Cross that the Pope does there on Good Friday. We were heartbroken because here we had gone to Rome and not even seen the Colliseum! So, we walked to the Colliseum and saw people going inside. Turns out that guy was wrong and we got inside! We met a couple from Texas-Lizzy's favorite couple ever-and had them take a picture of us. I think they ruined the inside of the Colliseum because the area where they would have had gladiator fights looks like a maze made of bricks. It was turned into a small city and market area many hundred years ago, which is very unfortunate. I would much rather see the area where the gladiators fought. Oh well.
As we left the Colliseum, it started to rain so we walked to St. John's Basilica. We stopped at St. Clement's on the way which is a smaller Basilican in Rome. We didn't stay there long. San Giovanni-St. John's had Mass every hour that we were there. In the main sanctuary area are statues of the 12 disciples with the weapon/way they were killed. For example, Bartholemew (I think) was skinned alive, so he is shown with a human skin in his hand. It is all made of stone, of course. In front of the altar, there is an opening with stairs that lead down, which is where the table from the Last Supper is kept. It was under glass and looked like the real thing to me. Above the altar is the box with the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul.
We left the basilica and stopped at our last gelateria on our way to the metro. It was not as good as the other one, but it was still gelato! I got cream, raspberry, and cotton candy. We metroed to the Spanish Steps which are basically just steps with azaleas planted there. Nothing that special. Lots of couples and people drinking alcohol. We looked above the steps and saw another obelisk-a sign of a major basilica! So, we decided to go quickly. The nuns told us that you could get another indulgence if you went to all 4 of the major basilicas, but we only ended up getting to 3. Oh well!
As we were coming out of the basilica, the sun was setting. It was a gorgeous, red, firey ball. We got on an elevator with two couples to get to the metro station. The elevator hesitated a bit and one of the guys said, "Maybe backpacks aren't allowed." He was joking of course. When we got to the metro, we saw the father-what-a-waste from the day before at Pope JP II's grave but we could not get a picture before the metro came...what a shame! We metroed to the end of Line A and got a taxi to our hostel. We had to do some bargaining with the taxi men. They were trying to charge us double what the hostel told us it would take to get there. You're not going to rip us American girls off! The taxi driver didn't play any music or anything. It was just silent. Lizzy asked, "So has it been a busy night?" and got no response...pretty sure he only spoke Italian! We laughed so hard in the back seat, trying to be quiet so he didn't notice.
We arrived at our hostel-the Flower Inn B & B and it was the CUTEST little hostel/B & B ever!!! It had only been open one month and we found it on hostelworld and loved the pictures, so we just HAD to stay there. It was very nicely decorated and everything was SUPER clean! We went to bed at about 10:30pm. And that was how the best day of my life ended!
Mamma Mia! Gratzi! Ciao!
On Saturday, we left our hostel at 9:45am. We had to check out and pack everything up to take with us since we had to move hostels that day. We walked to St. Peter's and waited in line for 1 hour and 15 minutes to get in to see the Basilica. We checked our bags with a cute Vatican guy and went in to the Basilica. The 7 sacraments were depicted on the doors, which was very cool. We also saw a statue that a man destroyed part of Mary's nose and fingers with a hammer in the 70s so now it is under glass. We saw the altar where Pope John Paul II's body will be put when it is exhumed on May 1. We also saw the guards march, which was pretty cool. The inside of St. Peter's was huge and it was GORGEOUS! We also had an opportunity to pray in a chapel for about 5 minutes before it closed which was really neat. Lizzy and I climbed 551 steps to the top of the dome to look out over the city. I bought some rosaries and we got a drink of water from the fountain outside of the gift shop (we have lots of pictures of this). We also walked through the Tombs of the Popes again. Each had a little placard about their life. It is crazy that some only served for like 22 or 31 days! We saw JP II's grave again and this time there were lots of notes, pictures, and many more flowers on it. We saw an Italian priest here that we ran into the next day on the metro. He was a father-what-a-waste if you know what I mean ;)
Outside of the basilica, Lizzy tried to take an artys picture of people taking pictures of the Vatican guards but they put down their cameras too fast...awkward! We walked to our new hostel and the owner took literally 5 minutes of attempting to buzz us in before it finally worked. Our room was huge and even had a table with chairs and a mini fridge. Our hostel actually turned out to be a bit sketch...the other people staying there were smoking pot in the bathroom and it was really dirty. But, we made it through and at least we only had to be there one night!
We metroed to the Trevi Fountain area and walked to the Pantheon. Funny story. So I said in my earlier post that we went to the Pantheon...or so we thought! We actually saw the City Hall which we thought was the Pantheon because we were reading the map wrong...it only took us like one day to figure this out haha. The real Pantheon was much older like we expected and was conveniently located by the Giolitti gelateria from the day before so we went back again! When in Rome, right? I got oreo, banana, and strawberry this time. We had supper at a restaurant. Lizzy and I ordered pesto and got a Lady and the Tramp picture. We also saw this CUTE baby girl who we named tourist baby because she would point to things in the stores as her parents pushed her in her stroller. After dinner, we went back to the hostel and went to sleep around 10:15pm. Early, I know, but we had to be up very early to get to Psalm Sunday Mass the next day.
Outside of the basilica, Lizzy tried to take an artys picture of people taking pictures of the Vatican guards but they put down their cameras too fast...awkward! We walked to our new hostel and the owner took literally 5 minutes of attempting to buzz us in before it finally worked. Our room was huge and even had a table with chairs and a mini fridge. Our hostel actually turned out to be a bit sketch...the other people staying there were smoking pot in the bathroom and it was really dirty. But, we made it through and at least we only had to be there one night!
We metroed to the Trevi Fountain area and walked to the Pantheon. Funny story. So I said in my earlier post that we went to the Pantheon...or so we thought! We actually saw the City Hall which we thought was the Pantheon because we were reading the map wrong...it only took us like one day to figure this out haha. The real Pantheon was much older like we expected and was conveniently located by the Giolitti gelateria from the day before so we went back again! When in Rome, right? I got oreo, banana, and strawberry this time. We had supper at a restaurant. Lizzy and I ordered pesto and got a Lady and the Tramp picture. We also saw this CUTE baby girl who we named tourist baby because she would point to things in the stores as her parents pushed her in her stroller. After dinner, we went back to the hostel and went to sleep around 10:15pm. Early, I know, but we had to be up very early to get to Psalm Sunday Mass the next day.
Bones, Buried Popes, and Boys :)
On Friday morning, we woke up at 7:30am because we had a tour at 9am. Someone kept banging on the door of the hostel and ringing the doorbell, which turned out to be the hostel man. He was quite a character. He was a 60 year old Italian man who told us that he had eaten a little to much spaghetti. He only spoke Italian, so we communicated by speaking Spanish to him. He had a serious breathing problem that sounded like someone with only one lung. Poor guy. Anyways, he gave us a fabulous breakfast! Nutella-filled croissants that were fresh from the bakery down the street! Deeeeelicious! We got ready and went to our tour.
I set this up about 1 month in advance so that we could see the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica where they found the bones of the original St. Peter in the 1940s. The hill where St. Peter's Basilica was built was at one time a cemetary where they buried important rich people from the church as well as St. Peter. They know that it is the remains of St. Peter because they tested the bones and they are from a person from the Middle East. Also, the head and feet are missing which fits with what they know about Peter because he was killed by being hung upside down on a cross. After his death, they cut off his feet to get him down, so that's how his feet disappeared. His head is in a box above the altar of another basilica in Rome with St. Paul's head...more about this later. Peter's body was marked by the Trophy of Gaeus which is a two level grave-marker type stone. The whole necropolis is kept at 95% humidity to preserve it. We also saw lots of other mosseliums with other families buried in them. Our tour ended under the basilica in a room with a bunch of coffins of Popes. We saw Pope John Paul II's grave! I really liked him as a Pope, so this was very cool to see. There were lots of roses on it.
After the tour, we went to the post office to send some more post cards. The Canadian girls from the hostel told us of a good restaurant so we tried to find that for lunch. We walked over and asked some cute Italian boys for directions. They used our map and said "You are here" in their accent. (Our policy was that whenever we were lost, we find some good-looking boys to ask for help ;)). We finally found the restaurant, called Al Giardino del Gatto e la Volpe. It was really empty and an old Italian guy who had worked for the Italian government in America kept asking us questions. We ate lunch, which was okay and were on our way.
We metroed to the Trevi Fountain and threw our coins in. Contrary to what the movies tell you, throwing one coin into the Trevi Fountain guarantees that you will return to Rome, not that you will find true love. However, we are hoping for both! We walked to the US Bishop's Office for Visitors to the Vatican and picked up our tickets to go to Psalm Sunday Mass. We met lots of nice nuns and priests from Indiana who talked to us quite a while. One priest told us lots of stories about saints and their miracles. He also told us that Pope John Paul II will be beatified (the first step to becoming a saint) on May 1. His miracle was curing a French nun who had the same disease as he had which led to his death. One of the nuns explained to us that we could get an Indulgence (pardon from all of our sins from birth to that point in our lives) if we went to Mass, received Communion, had Reconciliation, said a Prayer for the Holy Father, and truly intended to change our lives within 8 days of visiting the Basilica. Lizzy and I went to Reconciliation, since that was the only one we would not be able to accomplish by going to Mass on Sunday.
We stopped at McDonalds to try to find WiFi, but had no luck. Outside there was this man using spray paint to paint this beautiful pictures of waterfalls and the Colliseum. It was so cool! If we did not have only a backpack to fit things in, we definitely would have bought one or two! We walked to Giolitti, the best gelateria in Rome according to our cab driver and got some real gelato! It was AMAZING! I don't know if I can ever eat ice cream again! I got Oreo cookie, white chocolate, and raspberry. The raspberry was my favorite! It was raining a bit outside and there were tons of people selling umbrellas. Lizzy was using mine and someone still came up to her and asked if she wanted one. She was like "I've got one, thanks!" We walked to the "Pantheon" and were surprised at how white it was. We thought they much white-wash the outside to keep it looking so white. There were two guards standing at the top by two flames. Inside, there was a museum about Italy and everything was in Italian, so we didn't understand too much. When we left the "Pantheon" we were shocked to see the Colliseum just down the road. We knew that they were close but did not think it was that close. We saw tons of Roman ruins on the way. The Colliseum was lit up with blue and yellow lights at night and it was GORGEOUS!
We were going to go out, but the bars recommended by my guidebook were not very promising so we stopped at a pizza-to-go store to get some supper. The man selling the pizza asked us, "Can I...make it hot?". We tried not to burst out laughing and answered yes. We walked all the way to our hostel and went to bed.
I set this up about 1 month in advance so that we could see the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica where they found the bones of the original St. Peter in the 1940s. The hill where St. Peter's Basilica was built was at one time a cemetary where they buried important rich people from the church as well as St. Peter. They know that it is the remains of St. Peter because they tested the bones and they are from a person from the Middle East. Also, the head and feet are missing which fits with what they know about Peter because he was killed by being hung upside down on a cross. After his death, they cut off his feet to get him down, so that's how his feet disappeared. His head is in a box above the altar of another basilica in Rome with St. Paul's head...more about this later. Peter's body was marked by the Trophy of Gaeus which is a two level grave-marker type stone. The whole necropolis is kept at 95% humidity to preserve it. We also saw lots of other mosseliums with other families buried in them. Our tour ended under the basilica in a room with a bunch of coffins of Popes. We saw Pope John Paul II's grave! I really liked him as a Pope, so this was very cool to see. There were lots of roses on it.
After the tour, we went to the post office to send some more post cards. The Canadian girls from the hostel told us of a good restaurant so we tried to find that for lunch. We walked over and asked some cute Italian boys for directions. They used our map and said "You are here" in their accent. (Our policy was that whenever we were lost, we find some good-looking boys to ask for help ;)). We finally found the restaurant, called Al Giardino del Gatto e la Volpe. It was really empty and an old Italian guy who had worked for the Italian government in America kept asking us questions. We ate lunch, which was okay and were on our way.
We metroed to the Trevi Fountain and threw our coins in. Contrary to what the movies tell you, throwing one coin into the Trevi Fountain guarantees that you will return to Rome, not that you will find true love. However, we are hoping for both! We walked to the US Bishop's Office for Visitors to the Vatican and picked up our tickets to go to Psalm Sunday Mass. We met lots of nice nuns and priests from Indiana who talked to us quite a while. One priest told us lots of stories about saints and their miracles. He also told us that Pope John Paul II will be beatified (the first step to becoming a saint) on May 1. His miracle was curing a French nun who had the same disease as he had which led to his death. One of the nuns explained to us that we could get an Indulgence (pardon from all of our sins from birth to that point in our lives) if we went to Mass, received Communion, had Reconciliation, said a Prayer for the Holy Father, and truly intended to change our lives within 8 days of visiting the Basilica. Lizzy and I went to Reconciliation, since that was the only one we would not be able to accomplish by going to Mass on Sunday.
We stopped at McDonalds to try to find WiFi, but had no luck. Outside there was this man using spray paint to paint this beautiful pictures of waterfalls and the Colliseum. It was so cool! If we did not have only a backpack to fit things in, we definitely would have bought one or two! We walked to Giolitti, the best gelateria in Rome according to our cab driver and got some real gelato! It was AMAZING! I don't know if I can ever eat ice cream again! I got Oreo cookie, white chocolate, and raspberry. The raspberry was my favorite! It was raining a bit outside and there were tons of people selling umbrellas. Lizzy was using mine and someone still came up to her and asked if she wanted one. She was like "I've got one, thanks!" We walked to the "Pantheon" and were surprised at how white it was. We thought they much white-wash the outside to keep it looking so white. There were two guards standing at the top by two flames. Inside, there was a museum about Italy and everything was in Italian, so we didn't understand too much. When we left the "Pantheon" we were shocked to see the Colliseum just down the road. We knew that they were close but did not think it was that close. We saw tons of Roman ruins on the way. The Colliseum was lit up with blue and yellow lights at night and it was GORGEOUS!
We were going to go out, but the bars recommended by my guidebook were not very promising so we stopped at a pizza-to-go store to get some supper. The man selling the pizza asked us, "Can I...make it hot?". We tried not to burst out laughing and answered yes. We walked all the way to our hostel and went to bed.
When in Rome
I am so excited to tell you all about my travels this past week! This will be very detailed because I wrote down what we did every couple days so I didn't forget! It was so much fun! Pretty much the best time of my life ever!!!
To start off, on Wednesday, I went to one class and skipped the rest...no big deal! We left Caceres at 12pm on a bus to Madrid. On the bus ride, they played the movie Wooly Boys-an American movie dubbed over in Spanish about some sheep herders I think. We met a girl from New Orleans who was working for the government in Caceres for a year and was traveling to London for the next week. Once we got to Madrid, we went to our favorite hang out-Doner Kebab, which we renamed Loner Kebab because Lizzy will be all alone on her last trip to Madrid and will have to go by herself! We rode the metro to the airport and this super cute little Spanish boy kept staring at us. Then, he became shy and a hot German guy told us that "he didn't like us anymore."
When we got to the airport, a lady with bright yellow hair and a bright yellow suitcase had us show her how to get to Terminal 1 (the same place we were going). We went through security and sat around waiting for our flight to leave. It was delayed 1 hour so we did not leave Spain until 10:15pm! On the plane, we met girls from the US who were studying in Salamanca and were going to Rome as well. We arrived in Rome around midnight and were shocked to find out that there were no customs to go through. I guess that since we stayed inside the European Union, we did not have to go through customs. The sad part is that we were unable to get our passports stamped :( We found a very nice cab driver to take us to our hostel. He asked us what we thought about Obama and told us the best restaurants and gelaterias to go to in Rome. We were able to communicate pretty well with the people in Rome because many of them spoke English. If they only spoke Italian, we spoke in Spanish since the two languages are pretty close. Our hostel man met us at the door and the 3 of us with our very full backpacks plus the hostel man (who was by no means small) crammed into a tiny elevator and rode up 4 floors to the hostel. He showed us our room and we went right to sleep.
On Thursday, we woke up early-6:30 am because we had tickets to enter the Vatican Museums at 8am and did not want to be late. Our hostel owner showed us how to get to the museums. We got our tickets online, which I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone planning to go to the Vatican because we did not have to wait in the long line. Also, the museums are not open to people without advanced tickets until 9am, so there was like no one there for the first hour while we were walking around, which was nice. We stopped at a coffee shop inside the museum and got Italian coffees with little hearts from the lady adding the milk. I still cannot drink coffee but was so desperate for caffine that I did.
Next, we went to the Sistine Chapel. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! The walls are filled with paintings by Michaelangelo and it is so gorgeous!!! It was my favorite thing that I saw in Rome. The paintings depict Jesus's life and Moses's life. There is also the famous Creation painting with two fingers touching, which is actually part of a larger painting of two people, which I did not realize before seeing it in person. It was SO cool! I could have stayed there all day! Another note, I would recommend getting the audio guides for 5 or 7 euro because they went through each painting and pointed out things that I did not notice at first glance.
We went to the gift shop and got some postcards which we wrote in a little garden outside of the museums. It is a big deal to send postcards from Vatican City because it is its own country and has special stamps. While sitting outside, Casey noticed that the guy at the table next to us was wearing a hat that said Nebraska and Lizzy was very excited since she is from Omaha so she talked to him and took a picture with him.
After leaving the museums, we went to get our first pizza and gelato! I got chocolate and Mister Nico, which were both delicious of course. As we were walking back to our hostel, we passed 4 college students and Casey noticed that one was wearing a get your Sig Ep heart on shirt which could only mean one thing...they were from Iowa State!!! It was Casey's dream to run in to someone that we randomly knew in Europe, so here was our chance! We ran after them and found out that they were from Iowa State and were studying in Wales. We talked about people we both knew and told them where we got our gelato and were back on our way to our hostel. How crazy that we would find other ISU students like that!
Back at our hostel, we took a nap since we had not slept very much the night before. We met other girls in our hostel who were from Canada and they told us that we were in luck because it was culture week in Rome and lots of museums, including the Colliseum, had free admission. Later that afternoon, we metroed to the Trevi Fountain. On the metro, we met a couple from North Carolina. The guy was stationed in Italy for the Marines (we think) and they were nice to talk to. On our walk to the fountain, we passed by White Restaurant which serves pizza and gelato. We went in and the Italian guy serving the gelato tried to give Lizzy a sample and ended up putting it on her nose.
By the time we got to the Trevi Fountain, it was dark and it was all lit up. I never realized that it is actually attached to a building and is not free standing. We took pictures and a super nice guy came up and talked to us. He was from southern California and was on a trip to Rome with his sister and dad. His sister got tired of waiting for him to finish talking to us so she pretended he was her husband to try to embarrass him and get him to leave. It was pretty funny.
We went back to the White Restaurant and got a pizza to split. It was good. As we were leaving, a waiter was staring at us and dropped a whole tray of glasses. We just walked away and laughed. We decided to go out for a drink and followed my guidebook to Trinity College Bar-an Irish pub. It was pretty much an American hang out but that was okay with us! I got a Magner's which was good. The bartender, who was wearing a sweatervest kept staring at us and started playing music we listened to in middle school. We could not believe some of the songs he played. There were also some creepers there but we ignored them for the most part. One guy was just sitting in the corner dancing to himself...strange. Anyways, there was a super cute American guy who did a trick with a euro bill and some euro coins and he taught me how to do it too.
Around midnight, we left the bar and it was raining. We started down the street and ran into the guy who taught me the money trick, which was slightly awkward so we turned around and crossed the street. We were just about past the guy and his group on the other side of the street when Lizzy slipped on the wet cobblestone and grabbed Casey to hold herself up. We are pretty sure the guy and his friends saw and were all dying laughing as we got to the next building where no one could see us. We were laughing so hard. We took a cab to our hostel and went to bed after a very successful day...2nd best day of my life!
To start off, on Wednesday, I went to one class and skipped the rest...no big deal! We left Caceres at 12pm on a bus to Madrid. On the bus ride, they played the movie Wooly Boys-an American movie dubbed over in Spanish about some sheep herders I think. We met a girl from New Orleans who was working for the government in Caceres for a year and was traveling to London for the next week. Once we got to Madrid, we went to our favorite hang out-Doner Kebab, which we renamed Loner Kebab because Lizzy will be all alone on her last trip to Madrid and will have to go by herself! We rode the metro to the airport and this super cute little Spanish boy kept staring at us. Then, he became shy and a hot German guy told us that "he didn't like us anymore."
When we got to the airport, a lady with bright yellow hair and a bright yellow suitcase had us show her how to get to Terminal 1 (the same place we were going). We went through security and sat around waiting for our flight to leave. It was delayed 1 hour so we did not leave Spain until 10:15pm! On the plane, we met girls from the US who were studying in Salamanca and were going to Rome as well. We arrived in Rome around midnight and were shocked to find out that there were no customs to go through. I guess that since we stayed inside the European Union, we did not have to go through customs. The sad part is that we were unable to get our passports stamped :( We found a very nice cab driver to take us to our hostel. He asked us what we thought about Obama and told us the best restaurants and gelaterias to go to in Rome. We were able to communicate pretty well with the people in Rome because many of them spoke English. If they only spoke Italian, we spoke in Spanish since the two languages are pretty close. Our hostel man met us at the door and the 3 of us with our very full backpacks plus the hostel man (who was by no means small) crammed into a tiny elevator and rode up 4 floors to the hostel. He showed us our room and we went right to sleep.
On Thursday, we woke up early-6:30 am because we had tickets to enter the Vatican Museums at 8am and did not want to be late. Our hostel owner showed us how to get to the museums. We got our tickets online, which I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone planning to go to the Vatican because we did not have to wait in the long line. Also, the museums are not open to people without advanced tickets until 9am, so there was like no one there for the first hour while we were walking around, which was nice. We stopped at a coffee shop inside the museum and got Italian coffees with little hearts from the lady adding the milk. I still cannot drink coffee but was so desperate for caffine that I did.
Next, we went to the Sistine Chapel. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! The walls are filled with paintings by Michaelangelo and it is so gorgeous!!! It was my favorite thing that I saw in Rome. The paintings depict Jesus's life and Moses's life. There is also the famous Creation painting with two fingers touching, which is actually part of a larger painting of two people, which I did not realize before seeing it in person. It was SO cool! I could have stayed there all day! Another note, I would recommend getting the audio guides for 5 or 7 euro because they went through each painting and pointed out things that I did not notice at first glance.
We went to the gift shop and got some postcards which we wrote in a little garden outside of the museums. It is a big deal to send postcards from Vatican City because it is its own country and has special stamps. While sitting outside, Casey noticed that the guy at the table next to us was wearing a hat that said Nebraska and Lizzy was very excited since she is from Omaha so she talked to him and took a picture with him.
After leaving the museums, we went to get our first pizza and gelato! I got chocolate and Mister Nico, which were both delicious of course. As we were walking back to our hostel, we passed 4 college students and Casey noticed that one was wearing a get your Sig Ep heart on shirt which could only mean one thing...they were from Iowa State!!! It was Casey's dream to run in to someone that we randomly knew in Europe, so here was our chance! We ran after them and found out that they were from Iowa State and were studying in Wales. We talked about people we both knew and told them where we got our gelato and were back on our way to our hostel. How crazy that we would find other ISU students like that!
Back at our hostel, we took a nap since we had not slept very much the night before. We met other girls in our hostel who were from Canada and they told us that we were in luck because it was culture week in Rome and lots of museums, including the Colliseum, had free admission. Later that afternoon, we metroed to the Trevi Fountain. On the metro, we met a couple from North Carolina. The guy was stationed in Italy for the Marines (we think) and they were nice to talk to. On our walk to the fountain, we passed by White Restaurant which serves pizza and gelato. We went in and the Italian guy serving the gelato tried to give Lizzy a sample and ended up putting it on her nose.
By the time we got to the Trevi Fountain, it was dark and it was all lit up. I never realized that it is actually attached to a building and is not free standing. We took pictures and a super nice guy came up and talked to us. He was from southern California and was on a trip to Rome with his sister and dad. His sister got tired of waiting for him to finish talking to us so she pretended he was her husband to try to embarrass him and get him to leave. It was pretty funny.
We went back to the White Restaurant and got a pizza to split. It was good. As we were leaving, a waiter was staring at us and dropped a whole tray of glasses. We just walked away and laughed. We decided to go out for a drink and followed my guidebook to Trinity College Bar-an Irish pub. It was pretty much an American hang out but that was okay with us! I got a Magner's which was good. The bartender, who was wearing a sweatervest kept staring at us and started playing music we listened to in middle school. We could not believe some of the songs he played. There were also some creepers there but we ignored them for the most part. One guy was just sitting in the corner dancing to himself...strange. Anyways, there was a super cute American guy who did a trick with a euro bill and some euro coins and he taught me how to do it too.
Around midnight, we left the bar and it was raining. We started down the street and ran into the guy who taught me the money trick, which was slightly awkward so we turned around and crossed the street. We were just about past the guy and his group on the other side of the street when Lizzy slipped on the wet cobblestone and grabbed Casey to hold herself up. We are pretty sure the guy and his friends saw and were all dying laughing as we got to the next building where no one could see us. We were laughing so hard. We took a cab to our hostel and went to bed after a very successful day...2nd best day of my life!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Past Week: Tanning, Tapas, Talking, and Torta-making
Sorry for no update in a long time! The weather has been so nice that I have been going to the park almost every day to get some sun! I have gotten burned once but we are all getting pretty tan :) We go to Park Rodeo and lay in the grass next to a fountain and if you close your eyes, the fountain sounds like the ocean. Also, there is usually a bit of a breeze and that sprinkles us with little drops of water. Just like being at the beach. I could seriously live at Park Rodeo in the sun for the rest of the time here and be content!
Last Wednesday, we went to Salamanca on an excursion with all of the Americans. We saw the University which has been there for like 700 or more years. It is the oldest university in Spain and is where my host sister Maria studies. We found the frog on one of the faces of the main building, which is supposed to make you lucky. We also visited the cathedral which was beautiful as always. Saw the Plaza Mayor and a park and that was about it. I really liked Salamanca and I wish the semester in Spain program was there instead!!
On Thursday, we had class, I taught the ninos, went to Parque Principe, and then we went out at night. We started at a bar in the Plaza Mayor which is finally open (it was under construction before) and then went to Corral and Divina Comedia and eventually got in to the Cameron (the best discoteca in Caceres) for free by saying that we were Erasmus students. Normally we would have to pay 6 euro, so that was a good deal! Casey and I were going to try to stay out all night and get churros at 8am but we got too tired and went home around 4:15am.
On Friday, Casey and I got churros and then went around Caceres to visit different medical buildings to try to get info about the medical system in Spain. We went to the Red Cross, a hospital, and a clinic. We didn't get too much info but it was lots of fun looking around. We had to make a presentation for my phonetics class and decided to do it on medicine since we both want to work in the medical field. We worked on our presentation some and then I went to Parque Rodeo with Shea. At night, we went shopping at the mall but it was mainly a looking trip. We bought a cake mix and salad and Casey, Courtney, Lizzy, and I had supper at my house since my host family was gone. We had fried eggs (courtesy of Lizzy), sauteed mushrooms (courtesy of Courtney), delicious salad (courtesy of Casey), and a goat cheese and spinach pizza (courtesy of my host family-what I was supposed to eat for supper). We also made a chocolate cake (called torta in Spanish) and put Hershey's kisses in it. That's what made it good! Between the four of us, we ate the whole thing :)
On Saturday, we went to the Feria de Extregusta, which was a tapas fair in the central part of Caceres. There were TONS of people there and like 70 different tapas we could try. Tapas are like appetizers. I had a chicken empanada with some sort of fruit sauce on top, a hamburger (best European burger yet...almost like a hamburger from the US!), and this AMAZING chocolate dessert in a cup! It was all really good! After the tapas fair, I went to the park with Shea for an hour and then went home to work more on my presentation I gave on Monday in my phonetics class.
On Sunday, I went to Mass at Fatima with Lizzy. In the afternoon, I went to Parque Rodeo with Shea for 2.5 hours. This was the day I got a sunburn. When I got back home, my host family had returned and they were so concerned that I was sunburned. I really don't think it is that bad and not as big of a deal as they make it. Oh well. I'll be wearing long clothes around home for the next couple days. I finished my presentation and practiced with Casey.
On Monday, we gave our presentation, which went pretty well! We didn't get a grade yet but I don't think our professor will be too hard on us. I Skyped mom and dad for the final times yesterday. Then, I went to the park with Shea and Claire. Last night, Casey and I had an intercambio and practiced our Spanish with 3 adults from Caceres who are trying to learn English. It was a very good experience! We were a bit surprised that the people were adults but it was really fun talking to them and one of the ladies is going to introduce us to her son and his friends from Caceres who are our age when we get back from Semana Santa so that should be fun! They all wanted to learn English so that when they travel, they can understand things. I had never thought about that before-there is always a sign in English but not always other languages. After our intercambio, we went home for supper and then went out to celebrate Courtney's 21st birthday!!
Today, I went to my classes and am getting ready to go teach the ninos one more time. We are learning about animals today and I am going to teach them the Old MacDonald and I'm Going on a Bear Hunt songs. I will probably go to the park for a bit. I also need to go to the mall and pack for Italy/Barcelona! WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!!! SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!! Visiting Rome is on the list of things I want to do before I die and I am so excited to have this opportunity!!!
We will be in Italy from Wednesday night-Monday morning. We plan to see the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, Tomb of St. Peter, Colliseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain. We are planning on going to Psalm Sunday Mass at St. Peter's and will hopefully meet up with Jeff Dole who is a seminarian studying in Rome right now (he used to go to ISU). I am also hoping to see my friend Abby who is studying abroad in Ireland but will be in Italy during the weekend. I'm also hoping to have lots of pasta, pizza, and gelato!
In Barcelona, we are planning on visiting the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, the beach :), and Las Ramblas. We will be in Barcelona during the last FC Barcelona v. Real Madrid soccer game so we will definitely be going to a bar or somewhere to watch the game! Those two teams are the biggest rivals in Spain, and I hope Real Madrid wins!!!
We will return to Caceres next Friday so there definitely won't be any blog updates until at least then! I am SO excited! This next week is going to be something I will NEVER forget!!
Goodbye!!!
Last Wednesday, we went to Salamanca on an excursion with all of the Americans. We saw the University which has been there for like 700 or more years. It is the oldest university in Spain and is where my host sister Maria studies. We found the frog on one of the faces of the main building, which is supposed to make you lucky. We also visited the cathedral which was beautiful as always. Saw the Plaza Mayor and a park and that was about it. I really liked Salamanca and I wish the semester in Spain program was there instead!!
On Thursday, we had class, I taught the ninos, went to Parque Principe, and then we went out at night. We started at a bar in the Plaza Mayor which is finally open (it was under construction before) and then went to Corral and Divina Comedia and eventually got in to the Cameron (the best discoteca in Caceres) for free by saying that we were Erasmus students. Normally we would have to pay 6 euro, so that was a good deal! Casey and I were going to try to stay out all night and get churros at 8am but we got too tired and went home around 4:15am.
On Friday, Casey and I got churros and then went around Caceres to visit different medical buildings to try to get info about the medical system in Spain. We went to the Red Cross, a hospital, and a clinic. We didn't get too much info but it was lots of fun looking around. We had to make a presentation for my phonetics class and decided to do it on medicine since we both want to work in the medical field. We worked on our presentation some and then I went to Parque Rodeo with Shea. At night, we went shopping at the mall but it was mainly a looking trip. We bought a cake mix and salad and Casey, Courtney, Lizzy, and I had supper at my house since my host family was gone. We had fried eggs (courtesy of Lizzy), sauteed mushrooms (courtesy of Courtney), delicious salad (courtesy of Casey), and a goat cheese and spinach pizza (courtesy of my host family-what I was supposed to eat for supper). We also made a chocolate cake (called torta in Spanish) and put Hershey's kisses in it. That's what made it good! Between the four of us, we ate the whole thing :)
On Saturday, we went to the Feria de Extregusta, which was a tapas fair in the central part of Caceres. There were TONS of people there and like 70 different tapas we could try. Tapas are like appetizers. I had a chicken empanada with some sort of fruit sauce on top, a hamburger (best European burger yet...almost like a hamburger from the US!), and this AMAZING chocolate dessert in a cup! It was all really good! After the tapas fair, I went to the park with Shea for an hour and then went home to work more on my presentation I gave on Monday in my phonetics class.
On Sunday, I went to Mass at Fatima with Lizzy. In the afternoon, I went to Parque Rodeo with Shea for 2.5 hours. This was the day I got a sunburn. When I got back home, my host family had returned and they were so concerned that I was sunburned. I really don't think it is that bad and not as big of a deal as they make it. Oh well. I'll be wearing long clothes around home for the next couple days. I finished my presentation and practiced with Casey.
On Monday, we gave our presentation, which went pretty well! We didn't get a grade yet but I don't think our professor will be too hard on us. I Skyped mom and dad for the final times yesterday. Then, I went to the park with Shea and Claire. Last night, Casey and I had an intercambio and practiced our Spanish with 3 adults from Caceres who are trying to learn English. It was a very good experience! We were a bit surprised that the people were adults but it was really fun talking to them and one of the ladies is going to introduce us to her son and his friends from Caceres who are our age when we get back from Semana Santa so that should be fun! They all wanted to learn English so that when they travel, they can understand things. I had never thought about that before-there is always a sign in English but not always other languages. After our intercambio, we went home for supper and then went out to celebrate Courtney's 21st birthday!!
Today, I went to my classes and am getting ready to go teach the ninos one more time. We are learning about animals today and I am going to teach them the Old MacDonald and I'm Going on a Bear Hunt songs. I will probably go to the park for a bit. I also need to go to the mall and pack for Italy/Barcelona! WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!!! SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!! Visiting Rome is on the list of things I want to do before I die and I am so excited to have this opportunity!!!
We will be in Italy from Wednesday night-Monday morning. We plan to see the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, Tomb of St. Peter, Colliseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain. We are planning on going to Psalm Sunday Mass at St. Peter's and will hopefully meet up with Jeff Dole who is a seminarian studying in Rome right now (he used to go to ISU). I am also hoping to see my friend Abby who is studying abroad in Ireland but will be in Italy during the weekend. I'm also hoping to have lots of pasta, pizza, and gelato!
In Barcelona, we are planning on visiting the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, the beach :), and Las Ramblas. We will be in Barcelona during the last FC Barcelona v. Real Madrid soccer game so we will definitely be going to a bar or somewhere to watch the game! Those two teams are the biggest rivals in Spain, and I hope Real Madrid wins!!!
We will return to Caceres next Friday so there definitely won't be any blog updates until at least then! I am SO excited! This next week is going to be something I will NEVER forget!!
Goodbye!!!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Profesora Ana Tries Again
This afternoon, I met with the ninos for the second time. It went so much better! I went over to their house and taught them about colors and shapes. This time there were only 2 boys and they listened so much better and I was so relieved! I discovered that they liked to color so they made paper snakes with each segment of the snake body as a different color. I tried to teach them Twister but they didn't really get it. We also played Simon Says. It is kinda fun playing little kid games again!
Today it is 90 degrees and the people of Caceres are walking around in jeans and light, long-sleeved jackets...how are they not dying of a heat stroke? We have had gorgeous weather here for the past few days, which is great! I am starting to get tan! My host sister said that in spring, when the sun starts shinning, it never stops. I love it! I am getting anxious to get to Barcelona and go to the beach! One week til I go to Rome by the way :)
Today it is 90 degrees and the people of Caceres are walking around in jeans and light, long-sleeved jackets...how are they not dying of a heat stroke? We have had gorgeous weather here for the past few days, which is great! I am starting to get tan! My host sister said that in spring, when the sun starts shinning, it never stops. I love it! I am getting anxious to get to Barcelona and go to the beach! One week til I go to Rome by the way :)
Toledo and Trip to the National Park
On Sunday, Lizzy, Cory, Casey, and I went with some Erasmus students to Toledo, which is a city about 1 hour from Madrid. The city is built on hills and there were lots of inclining streets. We saw la Iglesia de San Tome which is where El Greco (an artist from the 1600's) painted a famous painting that we learned about in our Spanish art class. It was cloudy and a little bit cold because of the wind, so we tried to find things to do inside but not much was open since it was Sunday. We went to a couple bars, ordered tapas, and sat and talked to a guy we met who is studying to become a doctor. To become a doctor in Spain, you have to go to 6 years of school which is like a bachelor's and medical school combined. Then, you take one year to study for an exam. After you take the exam, you do a residency for 4-5 years, depending on your specialization. It was really interesting talking to him because Casey and I are going to do a project on the differences in health care systems between Spain and the US for our phonetics final speech. At the last bar we went to, they had Bulmer's cider that I had in Ireland, but this time pear instead of apple. I was so surprised they had it and tried pear, which I liked even better!
On Monday, we went to the national park in our state called Monfrague. They canceled our classes so we spent the whole day there. I had already gone with my sister but it was fun to go again with everyone else. I got a little bit sunburned...thank goodness my host mom didn't notice or I would have been in trouble for not wearing enough sunscreen. We climbed up to a castle, hiked down a mountain, and spent a lot of time just standing and looking at the landscape.
On Monday, we went to the national park in our state called Monfrague. They canceled our classes so we spent the whole day there. I had already gone with my sister but it was fun to go again with everyone else. I got a little bit sunburned...thank goodness my host mom didn't notice or I would have been in trouble for not wearing enough sunscreen. We climbed up to a castle, hiked down a mountain, and spent a lot of time just standing and looking at the landscape.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Fiesta de Primavera y Nuestra Fogata en la Montana
On Thursday night, we went to the Fiesta de Primavera (Spring Festival) in the outskirts of Caceres. We took a bus there and it was an area with open patches of grass-like a parking lot for tailgating. It was crazy how many people were there! Like literally all the young people from Caceres went. We ran into lots of people we knew. Everyone buys alcohol from the grocery store and then just takes it to the festival to drink there. There were lots of cars with their stereos turned up full blast but every car had a different song playing so it was hard to find one beat to dance to. For a while, we went and stood by a car and danced until we met these creepy Spanish guys so we left. We stayed there until about 3am and then took the bus home. It was a good night.
Last night, we climbed the mountain at about 7:45pm to watch the sunset over Caceres and then had supper and a small (probably illegal) bonfire at the top of the mountain. Cory, Mindy, Alex, and Taylor worked really hard at keeping the fire going since it was a bit windy but we made it last the whole time we were up there. We roasted marshmellows and made smores. We also sat around and told stories and it was a great group bonding time as 15 out of the 19 of us were there. We stayed up on the mountain until midnight and then went home. My host mom and sister could not believe we were up there for so long! It was probably my favorite night in Caceres so far.
Today, I am planning on Skyping Patrick and Dad, doing homework, and going to Mass tonight at 8pm. One of our friends from Germany (who goes by Banana) has a birthday party tonight so we will probably go to that for a little while and then sleep some before we leave for Toledo at 6:30am. It is a city about 3.5 hours from Caceres and Lizzy, Cory, Casey and I are going on a day trip there on Sunday.
Last night, we climbed the mountain at about 7:45pm to watch the sunset over Caceres and then had supper and a small (probably illegal) bonfire at the top of the mountain. Cory, Mindy, Alex, and Taylor worked really hard at keeping the fire going since it was a bit windy but we made it last the whole time we were up there. We roasted marshmellows and made smores. We also sat around and told stories and it was a great group bonding time as 15 out of the 19 of us were there. We stayed up on the mountain until midnight and then went home. My host mom and sister could not believe we were up there for so long! It was probably my favorite night in Caceres so far.
Today, I am planning on Skyping Patrick and Dad, doing homework, and going to Mass tonight at 8pm. One of our friends from Germany (who goes by Banana) has a birthday party tonight so we will probably go to that for a little while and then sleep some before we leave for Toledo at 6:30am. It is a city about 3.5 hours from Caceres and Lizzy, Cory, Casey and I are going on a day trip there on Sunday.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Profesora Ana (Teacher Annette)
Today, I had my first meeting with 3 ninos who are around age 5 to try to teach them some English. The mother told me I should bring games or fun activities, so I brought an ABC song, memory game, and bingo game. I also did Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes and the Hokey Pokey with them. The three boys definitely had a lot of energy, and I could hardly get them to listen to me when I was trying to explain things. Unfortunately, I don't think one of them will be able to come back next time because he didn't behave very well at all. Two of them are brothers which doesn't help the situtation. The other boy is very well behaved and gave me a kiss on the cheek when I was done teaching them. It's hard enough to get 5 year olds to pay attention in the US, let alone in Spain. I think it would be a lot of fun if they just could behave. I am meeting with them again on Tuesday and am going to try to teach them shapes and colors and hopefully play Twister...better luck next time hopefully! Tomorrow, I have my first test of the semester!!! I'm a bit nervous since it will be over all that we have learned in one class over the last 2 months in our Spanish history class. It's only 20 multiple choice questions though, so that shouldn't be too bad.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
2 Month Mark
Tomorrow marks that I have been here for 2 months. In some ways, it seems like I left Iowa just yesterday, but I am starting to get really anxious to go home (43 days left)! This weekend we didn't do too much. I got caught up on lots of homework that I didn't do while I was in Ireland. On Saturday, we went to Trujillo for the day, which was a bit of a disappointment. A lot of other students had visited the city on one of the first weekends here so they thought it was really cool but since we had already been to cooler places, it wasn't as great. We saw a church, museum of Pizzaro, and a castle. Pizzaro was actually born in Trujillo and eventually went on to discover part of South America (near Peru area). We also ate at La Troya restaurant which, other than accidentally ordering a plate of rice and rabbit meat, was pretty good. Today we had a one hour time change so now I am back to being seven hours ahead of Iowa time. I had a chance to Skype lots of friends and family which was fun. My cousin Daniel even played a song on his violin for me via Skype yesterday.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Come On, Ireland!
Here is the rest of my trip to Ireland:
On Sunday, we slept in a bit, then had an Irish breakfast at Tony's Bistro. Taylor was really excited to have Irish breakfast. It consisted of an egg sunny-side up, toast, sausage links, bacon (more like ham though), and a hash brown. The boys also got mushrooms and baked beans with theirs...what a strange thing to eat for breakfast but it's what the Irish do! Afterwards, we went to the bus station and took a ten minute bus ride to Blarney and went to the Blarney Stone. It was sunny and pretty warm that day-like 50 degrees or so which was great. We first went to the poisonous gardens and then to the castle. There were lots of steps to get to the top and it was a pretty skinny staircase because when it was built people were a lot smaller. It probably didn't help that we had our backpacks on but we all made it to the top and kissed the stone! It tasted like Lysol because they spray it with disinfectant. They have two bars that you hold on to and then a guy leans you back until you get to the stone. It was fun! Next, we took a walk around the park area and saw lots of waterfalls and eventually ended up at a lake. We skipped rocks and then headed back to get on the bus. We had to wait a bit for the bus so we went to a pub and gots some food. Casey and I shared nachos...we've been missing them so much since there is nothing like chips and salsa here. When we got back to Cork, we went to one of Cory's friends' apartments to hang out for a couple hours until our bus left for Dublin. We arrived in Dublin at 10:30pm and went right to our hostel. It was a pretty cool hostel and we just hung out in our room talking until about 1am and then went to sleep.
On Monday, we got up and had breakfast at the hostel and then started our sightseeing for the day. We saw the Molly Malone statue, walked through Trinity College, and went inside St. Patrick's Cathedral. Then, we went to Christchurch Cathedral to try to go to Mass since we weren't able to on the weekend. The church's website said there was Holy Eucharist at 12:45pm but apparently that meant a priest and deacon saying Mass to themselves in the back of the cathedral and we were supposed to sit outside and listen. So, we gave up and said our own prayer together at the church and then continued on with our day. We went to a pub for lunch and then to the Guinness Storehouse. We took the tour and learned all about how Guinness Beer is made. We all learned how to properly pour a pint and got a certificate. The storehouse was shaped like a pint glass and there was a bar at the top where you could look out and see the whole city of Dublin. After our tour and complimentary glass of Guinness (which I didn't drink because I don't like it), we went to the area near Graftan Street to do some shopping. We went to H & M and a couple other clothing stores but didn't find anything to buy that would fit in our backpacks. We went back to the hostel for a bit and then went out to find some food. We ended up at The Temple Bar, which is Dublin's most famous pub/bar I think. It was the coolest bar I have ever been to! We ate sandwiches there and listened to live music by Irish people. It was so cool to hear them sing with their accents!!! There was also a guy playing bagpipes. Just like the Ireland we imagined! After a couple hours there, we went back to the hostel and went to bed.
On Tuesday, we woke up at 5am to get to the airport on time. Our flight left at 7:20am from Dublin and got to Madrid at about 10:50 Madrid time (there was an hour time change again). We went on the metro to the bus station and bought our tickets for the next bus but had 2 hours to wait until it left, so we walked around and found a restaurant to eat lunch at and eventually got on the bus. That was the longest bus ride of my life! I was so anxious to get "home" and stop traveling for a while. When I got back, I Skyped people and did homework and went to bed.
It's been classes as usual for the last 2 days. We are getting more and more planned for our Spring Break trip which is good. For the weekend, we are planning to climb the mountain, visit Trujillo (a small town about 1 hour away by bus), and go to my host sister's basketball game. It should be a relaxing time and hopefully we'll all get caught up on homework. I also have lots of Skype dates for this weekend with friends and family so that will keep me busy! Oh and by the way, we all miss Ireland already! It was so much fun and such good food and good times....I want to go back sooooo bad!!!! Last weekend is probably my favorite weekend so far!
On Sunday, we slept in a bit, then had an Irish breakfast at Tony's Bistro. Taylor was really excited to have Irish breakfast. It consisted of an egg sunny-side up, toast, sausage links, bacon (more like ham though), and a hash brown. The boys also got mushrooms and baked beans with theirs...what a strange thing to eat for breakfast but it's what the Irish do! Afterwards, we went to the bus station and took a ten minute bus ride to Blarney and went to the Blarney Stone. It was sunny and pretty warm that day-like 50 degrees or so which was great. We first went to the poisonous gardens and then to the castle. There were lots of steps to get to the top and it was a pretty skinny staircase because when it was built people were a lot smaller. It probably didn't help that we had our backpacks on but we all made it to the top and kissed the stone! It tasted like Lysol because they spray it with disinfectant. They have two bars that you hold on to and then a guy leans you back until you get to the stone. It was fun! Next, we took a walk around the park area and saw lots of waterfalls and eventually ended up at a lake. We skipped rocks and then headed back to get on the bus. We had to wait a bit for the bus so we went to a pub and gots some food. Casey and I shared nachos...we've been missing them so much since there is nothing like chips and salsa here. When we got back to Cork, we went to one of Cory's friends' apartments to hang out for a couple hours until our bus left for Dublin. We arrived in Dublin at 10:30pm and went right to our hostel. It was a pretty cool hostel and we just hung out in our room talking until about 1am and then went to sleep.
On Monday, we got up and had breakfast at the hostel and then started our sightseeing for the day. We saw the Molly Malone statue, walked through Trinity College, and went inside St. Patrick's Cathedral. Then, we went to Christchurch Cathedral to try to go to Mass since we weren't able to on the weekend. The church's website said there was Holy Eucharist at 12:45pm but apparently that meant a priest and deacon saying Mass to themselves in the back of the cathedral and we were supposed to sit outside and listen. So, we gave up and said our own prayer together at the church and then continued on with our day. We went to a pub for lunch and then to the Guinness Storehouse. We took the tour and learned all about how Guinness Beer is made. We all learned how to properly pour a pint and got a certificate. The storehouse was shaped like a pint glass and there was a bar at the top where you could look out and see the whole city of Dublin. After our tour and complimentary glass of Guinness (which I didn't drink because I don't like it), we went to the area near Graftan Street to do some shopping. We went to H & M and a couple other clothing stores but didn't find anything to buy that would fit in our backpacks. We went back to the hostel for a bit and then went out to find some food. We ended up at The Temple Bar, which is Dublin's most famous pub/bar I think. It was the coolest bar I have ever been to! We ate sandwiches there and listened to live music by Irish people. It was so cool to hear them sing with their accents!!! There was also a guy playing bagpipes. Just like the Ireland we imagined! After a couple hours there, we went back to the hostel and went to bed.
On Tuesday, we woke up at 5am to get to the airport on time. Our flight left at 7:20am from Dublin and got to Madrid at about 10:50 Madrid time (there was an hour time change again). We went on the metro to the bus station and bought our tickets for the next bus but had 2 hours to wait until it left, so we walked around and found a restaurant to eat lunch at and eventually got on the bus. That was the longest bus ride of my life! I was so anxious to get "home" and stop traveling for a while. When I got back, I Skyped people and did homework and went to bed.
It's been classes as usual for the last 2 days. We are getting more and more planned for our Spring Break trip which is good. For the weekend, we are planning to climb the mountain, visit Trujillo (a small town about 1 hour away by bus), and go to my host sister's basketball game. It should be a relaxing time and hopefully we'll all get caught up on homework. I also have lots of Skype dates for this weekend with friends and family so that will keep me busy! Oh and by the way, we all miss Ireland already! It was so much fun and such good food and good times....I want to go back sooooo bad!!!! Last weekend is probably my favorite weekend so far!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Can you tell me how to get to Cork....Ireland?
I'm finally back! This weekend was probably my favorite yet and it was not in Spain. I absolutely LOVED Ireland and had I been able to get some sort of credit toward my major, I would have studied abroad there in a heartbeat. Irish accents, meat and potatoes (Iowa food), live music in pubs :)
On Friday morning, we got on a train from Caceres at 5am. We got to Madrid at 9am and quickly took taxis to the airport. We didn't quite plan to be at the airport the full two hours ahead of our flight, but luckily the airport runs on Spanish time (our flight left 30 min late), so everything worked out. We arrived in Dublin, Ireland at 1:30pm. It was one hour behind Spain time. First, we took a shuttle to the city center and found a pub called The Brazen Head which is said to be Ireland's oldest pub, started in the 1300s. We had our first Irish beer called Smithwicks and had lunch. It was nice to have potatoes, called chips in Ireland. We met up with Cory's friends Nate, Fitz, Kenney, Tom, and Allen. They are all from ISU and are studying abroad in Cork, Ireland. After lunch, we walked with them to the Guinness Storehouse to get a tour, but when we got there we realized we would not have enough time to see it and get to the bus station in order to get on a bus to Cork. So, Cory asked the lady at the Guinness Storehouse if she could tell him how to get to Cork, Ireland and she made fun of him asking if he wanted to know how to get to Cork, England instead. That was one of our jokes the whole weekend. We took the Luas cable-car train to the bus station and got on the 6pm bus to Cork (Ireland). We met up with 5 other students from ISU who were on our same bus and are in the Cork program as well.
We arrived in Cork at 10:30pm and Ben (another ISU student we know) walked us to one of Cory's friend's apartments while we waited for them to return from Dublin (they took cheap flights). When they got there, they took us to The Bailey which is an Irish pub where we spent the whole night until it closed at 2am. It was Cory's birthday, so we had to celebrate. We finally got to bed around 4:30am. And to bed, I mean sleeping on couch cushions on the floor of Cory's friend's room. It was a little cold but actually not too bad.
On Saturday, we woke up at 12:30pm. We hung out and then decided to go see the city of Cork. Cory's friends gave us a tour. It was raining the whole day which was kinda disappointing, but typical Ireland weather. We went to the English market, which is like a farmer's market then to see the University College Cork's campus. They have a really cool building that looks like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. You should check out my pictures on Facebook. After that, they took us back the The Bailey to watch the Ireland v. England rugby game. The Irish people kept saying Come On, Ireland! (in their Irish accents of course :)) And when the captain of the team scored, they gave everyone in the pub a free drink and appetizers. Ireland won the match like 24-8 I think.
After the game, we went to the grocery store and bought frozen pizzas to make for supper. The pizza was like normal US pizza which was good since all we have here in Spain is extremely thin-crusted and nasty. After supper, we went out looking for live Irish music. We went to a couple pubs but couldn't find exactly what we were looking for so we ended up going to a cool pub called An Brog. It was my second favorite pub of the trip! They played only American music, and I tried Bulmer's Irish Cider for the first time. It is like apple cider mixed with alcohol. So good!! The last song they played was Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons and afterwards, everyone was chanting "one more tune, one more tune". Notice they call it tune instead of song. After An Brog closed, we went back and went to sleep.
I'll write more tomorrow about Sunday and Monday but for now, I need to do my homework and go to bed! Buenas Noches!
On Friday morning, we got on a train from Caceres at 5am. We got to Madrid at 9am and quickly took taxis to the airport. We didn't quite plan to be at the airport the full two hours ahead of our flight, but luckily the airport runs on Spanish time (our flight left 30 min late), so everything worked out. We arrived in Dublin, Ireland at 1:30pm. It was one hour behind Spain time. First, we took a shuttle to the city center and found a pub called The Brazen Head which is said to be Ireland's oldest pub, started in the 1300s. We had our first Irish beer called Smithwicks and had lunch. It was nice to have potatoes, called chips in Ireland. We met up with Cory's friends Nate, Fitz, Kenney, Tom, and Allen. They are all from ISU and are studying abroad in Cork, Ireland. After lunch, we walked with them to the Guinness Storehouse to get a tour, but when we got there we realized we would not have enough time to see it and get to the bus station in order to get on a bus to Cork. So, Cory asked the lady at the Guinness Storehouse if she could tell him how to get to Cork, Ireland and she made fun of him asking if he wanted to know how to get to Cork, England instead. That was one of our jokes the whole weekend. We took the Luas cable-car train to the bus station and got on the 6pm bus to Cork (Ireland). We met up with 5 other students from ISU who were on our same bus and are in the Cork program as well.
We arrived in Cork at 10:30pm and Ben (another ISU student we know) walked us to one of Cory's friend's apartments while we waited for them to return from Dublin (they took cheap flights). When they got there, they took us to The Bailey which is an Irish pub where we spent the whole night until it closed at 2am. It was Cory's birthday, so we had to celebrate. We finally got to bed around 4:30am. And to bed, I mean sleeping on couch cushions on the floor of Cory's friend's room. It was a little cold but actually not too bad.
On Saturday, we woke up at 12:30pm. We hung out and then decided to go see the city of Cork. Cory's friends gave us a tour. It was raining the whole day which was kinda disappointing, but typical Ireland weather. We went to the English market, which is like a farmer's market then to see the University College Cork's campus. They have a really cool building that looks like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. You should check out my pictures on Facebook. After that, they took us back the The Bailey to watch the Ireland v. England rugby game. The Irish people kept saying Come On, Ireland! (in their Irish accents of course :)) And when the captain of the team scored, they gave everyone in the pub a free drink and appetizers. Ireland won the match like 24-8 I think.
After the game, we went to the grocery store and bought frozen pizzas to make for supper. The pizza was like normal US pizza which was good since all we have here in Spain is extremely thin-crusted and nasty. After supper, we went out looking for live Irish music. We went to a couple pubs but couldn't find exactly what we were looking for so we ended up going to a cool pub called An Brog. It was my second favorite pub of the trip! They played only American music, and I tried Bulmer's Irish Cider for the first time. It is like apple cider mixed with alcohol. So good!! The last song they played was Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons and afterwards, everyone was chanting "one more tune, one more tune". Notice they call it tune instead of song. After An Brog closed, we went back and went to sleep.
I'll write more tomorrow about Sunday and Monday but for now, I need to do my homework and go to bed! Buenas Noches!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
To Ireland We Go!!!
A few noteworthy things that happened this week:
1. Our coordinator from Iowa came to visit and check how we are doing. She told us it is unacceptable to miss class to travel but whatever we are doing it anyways for this weekend :)
2. On Wednesday night, we went out to celebrate Neha and Cory's Birthdays! We found a very nice bartender from the US who let us come and play our American music and gave us free food. We danced all night! We also ate chocolate birthday cake that we bought from Eroski (the grocery store) with straws because we didn't have any forks.
3. WE ARE GOING TO IRELAND IN LESS THAN 13 HOURS!!! So today was St. Patrick's Day and being good Americans, we all wore green to school. None of the Spanish people celebrate this holiday so we kinda stuck out but oh well. I am so excited for Ireland!!! We will be gone til Tuesday! We are planning to visit the Blarney Stone, the Book of Kells at Trinity College, the Guinness Factory, St. Patrick's Cathedral, an English Market, and the Cork Jail. We will be in Cork and Dublin.
Adios until next week!
1. Our coordinator from Iowa came to visit and check how we are doing. She told us it is unacceptable to miss class to travel but whatever we are doing it anyways for this weekend :)
2. On Wednesday night, we went out to celebrate Neha and Cory's Birthdays! We found a very nice bartender from the US who let us come and play our American music and gave us free food. We danced all night! We also ate chocolate birthday cake that we bought from Eroski (the grocery store) with straws because we didn't have any forks.
3. WE ARE GOING TO IRELAND IN LESS THAN 13 HOURS!!! So today was St. Patrick's Day and being good Americans, we all wore green to school. None of the Spanish people celebrate this holiday so we kinda stuck out but oh well. I am so excited for Ireland!!! We will be gone til Tuesday! We are planning to visit the Blarney Stone, the Book of Kells at Trinity College, the Guinness Factory, St. Patrick's Cathedral, an English Market, and the Cork Jail. We will be in Cork and Dublin.
Adios until next week!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Time Flies When You're Having Fun!
Last Wednesday, Dad and Patrick went to school with me. We started out the morning getting on a very full city bus and rode the 15 minutes to school. Dad could not believe that the bus driver kept letting people on the bus when we were already packed like sardines but that's how they do it here. They must not follow the maximum capacity rules. Dad and Patrick met all of my professors since I had all 4 of my classes. It was fun to see how much English the professors would speak to them since we have only heard them talk in Spanish. After school, we went to one of the most fancy restaurants in Caceres. It was called El Figon. The waiter even carried around a little white towel just to show you how nice it was. Dad and I tried the salmon and it was amazing! I really don't like fish that much but it was sooo good! Melted in my mouth. After the restaurant, we went and spent a couple hours at the hotel and then Dad and I walked to the bus station and bought bus tickets for our trip back to Madrid. At 6pm, we met up with my host mom and host sister Clara and the two of them took us through the Parte Antigua-Old part-of the city and explained the history. I translated. It was fun! Later, we met up with Cory, Lizzy, Courtney, Casey, and Bev to go to Ash Wednesday Mass. Receiving ashes was a little different than in the US because we bent our head down they just sprinkled some in our hair. They said something about converting yourself. The priest's homily was really good, and it was the first time I could actually get something out of a homily! We went to eat supper at El Montaito which is one of our favorite tapas restaurants and then to La Habana where I bought dad a Desperado beer. First time I've ever done that!
On Thursday, Dad and Patrick slept in while I went to classes. We had lunch and then made our way to the bus station. We got into Madrid at about 7:30pm. We took the metro to our hotel area and Dad almost got pick-pocketed. One guy was holding up part of his suitcase and another was trying to open the pocket of his jacket. Luckily, Dad dropped the suitcase on the accomplice and nothing was taken. Close call! We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went to meet Claire for supper. She is another student in my program who had an unfortunate situation getting on a flight since she forgot her passport and was stuck in Madrid. We went out to eat and then went back to the hotel to sleep.
On Friday, we got up, ate breakfast, and went to the Prado Museum. We saw the paintings by El Greco, Goya, and Velazquez as well as other Spanish artists. I was very excited to see the painting called Las Meninas by Velazquez because it was something I had learned about in my high school Spanish class. It was cool! We spent about 3 hours at the Prado and that was about all the art we could take in for a while. We probably only saw about half of what was there! We ate lunch at a restaurant near the Prado. They seated us in a room of all English speaking people. The Spanish speaking people sat downstairs and people who spoke other languages sat upstairs...interesting concept. After lunch, we went to La Reina Sofia which is a modern art museum. We saw paintings by Dali and Picasso-including Guernica which is his most famous painting. It was huge!!! After about 2 hours there we had really had all the art we could take in for one day. We met up with Alex, another student from my program who was in Madrid for the weekend, and went to the Plaza Mayor. Unfortunately it was raining, but it was probably the coolest Plaza Mayor I have seen. It was completely surrounded by buildings. We went with Alex so she could find a hostel and then the four of us went to supper at a tapas bar. This was Dad and Patrick's last Spanish meal, so we made sure to get their favorites. We went out for ice cream and called it a night.
On Saturday, we got up early to get to the airport by 9am. We had a really nice taxi driver who told us his whole life story about driving a taxi and tending to his farm and his family, etc. His name was Ignacio. At the airport, we had breakfast and said goodbye. I really really enjoyed having them visit! I went to the bus station and got on my bus back to Caceres. I arrived here around 4pm and spent the rest of yesterday doing homework. I'm trying to get ahead since I will be going to Ireland from Friday-Tuesday.
Today, I went to Mass at a new church with Casey. We went to the ninos (kids) Mass, thinking that it might have some people there our age, but I guess not. Oh well it was lots of fun! And crazy!!! Kids were talking out loud like the whole time and the priest was very cool and read the Gospel reading using voices for Jesus and Satan. In a way it was like a school Mass at Sacred Heart because the priest asked the kids lots of questions. But it was very chaotic. All the kids would run up to answer the questions so that they could talk into the microphone. They were so cute though!! I spent the rest of today doing homework and planning trips. Also, as of note, Spain does not have their Daylight Savings Time until the end of March so from now til then, I am only 6 hours ahead of Iowa time. Off to bed!
On Thursday, Dad and Patrick slept in while I went to classes. We had lunch and then made our way to the bus station. We got into Madrid at about 7:30pm. We took the metro to our hotel area and Dad almost got pick-pocketed. One guy was holding up part of his suitcase and another was trying to open the pocket of his jacket. Luckily, Dad dropped the suitcase on the accomplice and nothing was taken. Close call! We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went to meet Claire for supper. She is another student in my program who had an unfortunate situation getting on a flight since she forgot her passport and was stuck in Madrid. We went out to eat and then went back to the hotel to sleep.
On Friday, we got up, ate breakfast, and went to the Prado Museum. We saw the paintings by El Greco, Goya, and Velazquez as well as other Spanish artists. I was very excited to see the painting called Las Meninas by Velazquez because it was something I had learned about in my high school Spanish class. It was cool! We spent about 3 hours at the Prado and that was about all the art we could take in for a while. We probably only saw about half of what was there! We ate lunch at a restaurant near the Prado. They seated us in a room of all English speaking people. The Spanish speaking people sat downstairs and people who spoke other languages sat upstairs...interesting concept. After lunch, we went to La Reina Sofia which is a modern art museum. We saw paintings by Dali and Picasso-including Guernica which is his most famous painting. It was huge!!! After about 2 hours there we had really had all the art we could take in for one day. We met up with Alex, another student from my program who was in Madrid for the weekend, and went to the Plaza Mayor. Unfortunately it was raining, but it was probably the coolest Plaza Mayor I have seen. It was completely surrounded by buildings. We went with Alex so she could find a hostel and then the four of us went to supper at a tapas bar. This was Dad and Patrick's last Spanish meal, so we made sure to get their favorites. We went out for ice cream and called it a night.
On Saturday, we got up early to get to the airport by 9am. We had a really nice taxi driver who told us his whole life story about driving a taxi and tending to his farm and his family, etc. His name was Ignacio. At the airport, we had breakfast and said goodbye. I really really enjoyed having them visit! I went to the bus station and got on my bus back to Caceres. I arrived here around 4pm and spent the rest of yesterday doing homework. I'm trying to get ahead since I will be going to Ireland from Friday-Tuesday.
Today, I went to Mass at a new church with Casey. We went to the ninos (kids) Mass, thinking that it might have some people there our age, but I guess not. Oh well it was lots of fun! And crazy!!! Kids were talking out loud like the whole time and the priest was very cool and read the Gospel reading using voices for Jesus and Satan. In a way it was like a school Mass at Sacred Heart because the priest asked the kids lots of questions. But it was very chaotic. All the kids would run up to answer the questions so that they could talk into the microphone. They were so cute though!! I spent the rest of today doing homework and planning trips. Also, as of note, Spain does not have their Daylight Savings Time until the end of March so from now til then, I am only 6 hours ahead of Iowa time. Off to bed!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Dad and Patrick in Spain!
Dad and Patrick arrived in Madrid on Saturday around 11am. We had no trouble finding each other at the airport. After they arrived, we left the airport and went by metro to the hotel to drop off the luggage. It was a bit of a long walk but we made it! Then we went to tour the Royal Palace and the Real Madrid Stadium. We went to supper at the TGIFridays near the stadium. It was good to have American food for a change.
On Sunday we got up and went to Mass at the Basilica near the Atocha Train Station. Mass was only about 40 minutes long and after we got some pastries for breakfast at a bakery. Then we took the metro to el Rastro-the big market. Dad just couldn't get over how big it was and how many people were walking around. We bought some batteries. A very nice policeman recommended a very good restaurant for lunch and Dad and Patrick had their first Spanish bocadillos (similar to sandwiches). After lunch we went back to the hotel, got our luggage, and went to the bus station. Our bus ride to Caceres was about 4.5 hours and we arrived here at 9pm. We took a taxi to the hotel and then found supper at a restaurant down the street.
On Monday, Dad and Patrick slept in while I went to school. I went to the hotel around 1pm and we left shortly after to climb the mountain just outside of the city. It took us about 1 hour to get up the mountain because we climbed at a very leisurely pace. We ate lunch at the restaurant on the top of the mountain. Patrick got a Pepsi to drink and that was the first time I had seen Pepsi in Spain. Most people drink Coke products. We saw a few Catholic priests walking around on the top of the mountain because there is an office for the Diocese up there. One of the priests looked Dad up and down and could hardly believe he saw someone wearing shorts in March. It was close to 60 degrees though! We climbed back down the mountain, took a short siesta, and then walked to the mall. I showed Patrick the stores that were the European versions of Hollister and American Eagle. He wasn't too crazy about it being stylish for men to wear scarves. We ate supper at the mall and then walked back to the hotel.
Today, we got up very early and took the 6:45am train to Merida. I had already been here with my school and I thought it was somewhere Dad and Patrick would enjoy and they did. It is a city about 1 hour from Caceres with a lot of Roman ruins. Dad was amazed at how old everything was...at least 2000 years or so. We returned to Caceres at 4pm and took siestas :) Tonight we are going for tapas with the other American students so they can meet Dad and Patrick and tomorrow they will be going to classes at the university with me.
On Sunday we got up and went to Mass at the Basilica near the Atocha Train Station. Mass was only about 40 minutes long and after we got some pastries for breakfast at a bakery. Then we took the metro to el Rastro-the big market. Dad just couldn't get over how big it was and how many people were walking around. We bought some batteries. A very nice policeman recommended a very good restaurant for lunch and Dad and Patrick had their first Spanish bocadillos (similar to sandwiches). After lunch we went back to the hotel, got our luggage, and went to the bus station. Our bus ride to Caceres was about 4.5 hours and we arrived here at 9pm. We took a taxi to the hotel and then found supper at a restaurant down the street.
On Monday, Dad and Patrick slept in while I went to school. I went to the hotel around 1pm and we left shortly after to climb the mountain just outside of the city. It took us about 1 hour to get up the mountain because we climbed at a very leisurely pace. We ate lunch at the restaurant on the top of the mountain. Patrick got a Pepsi to drink and that was the first time I had seen Pepsi in Spain. Most people drink Coke products. We saw a few Catholic priests walking around on the top of the mountain because there is an office for the Diocese up there. One of the priests looked Dad up and down and could hardly believe he saw someone wearing shorts in March. It was close to 60 degrees though! We climbed back down the mountain, took a short siesta, and then walked to the mall. I showed Patrick the stores that were the European versions of Hollister and American Eagle. He wasn't too crazy about it being stylish for men to wear scarves. We ate supper at the mall and then walked back to the hotel.
Today, we got up very early and took the 6:45am train to Merida. I had already been here with my school and I thought it was somewhere Dad and Patrick would enjoy and they did. It is a city about 1 hour from Caceres with a lot of Roman ruins. Dad was amazed at how old everything was...at least 2000 years or so. We returned to Caceres at 4pm and took siestas :) Tonight we are going for tapas with the other American students so they can meet Dad and Patrick and tomorrow they will be going to classes at the university with me.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Update
What a week! I am starting to really like all of my classes! The professors are great now that we are getting to know them better. Yesterday, I went all by myself to the bus station to buy bus tickets and everything went well! I am very very excited to see Dad and Patrick who are flying into Madrid on Saturday!!! Just 2 days away!!! I am leaving Caceres at 1:45am on Saturday to go get them. We will be spending the weekend in Madrid and doing whatever they want to see the city. Today I went shopping at the mall with Casey. Rebajas (Sales) are pretty much over but I found 2 super cute dresses from the new collections that I just couldn't pass up! Tonight we are going out so that should be fun! Tomorrow, I'm doing homework and getting rested up before I go to Madrid. That's all for now!
Monday, February 28, 2011
One month down, two and a half to go!
Starting from where I left off, last Thursday I went with my host sister and her friend Sergio to Monfrague National Park, which is about one hour out of Caceres by car. It was perfect weather-like 75 degrees and sunny! We stopped at a castle and walked up very narrow steps to the top. There were no guard rails on the top of the castle so we had to be careful not to get too close to the edge but it was very cool looking out over the park. There were lots of olive trees and the Tajo River (I think). There were also a lot of red/orange rocks. I think the soil is pretty much the same color and it is hard to believe that so much can grow in this soil since it is nothing like the black soil of Iowa. We also stopped at a lookout to see some birds. The bird of Extremadura (the state Caceres is in) is the stork so there were a lot of storks we could see on top of a cliff. We kept driving and got to a town that has only one street and only 4 houses that are inhabited. Apparently they are trying to build cabins and make it into a touristy area. The town was having a bird convention last weekend so there were actually quite a few people walking around. Thursday night I packed and got ready for our trip.
On Friday, we got on a bus at 8am and left for Granada. We all slept almost the whole bus ride. We had to stop twice for the driver and to eat. At one of the rest stops, we found 2 very scragly dogs that we gave some extra food to. They ate it right up. As a note, there are quite a few stray cats who live in the street in Caceres. I wish they were safe to pet. We got to Granada around 4pm and went to La Capilla Real and La Catedral first. Basically it is 3 cathedrals built connected to each other. Our professor thinks it is the only place in the world that has such a thing. The first cathedral was built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (If you remember, they were the people that Christopher Columbus got money from to go on his expedition to America). It was a pretty simple building with little decoration on the walls because Queen Isabella wanted it to be decorated in a humble manner. The king and queen were also buried in this cathedral in addition to their daughter, a prince, and another person. We got to see the crypt which had a window so you could see the lead caskets. Before the construction of that cathedral was finished, their son decided to have another cathedral built next door that was much more extravagant to show the prosper of Spain during their rule. This cathedral was huge and extravagantly decorated. It had 2 huge pipe organs.
After seeing the cathedrals, we went to our albergue. An albergue is like a cheap hostel that offers meals. We had a room with two beds and our own shower and bathroom! We ate at the dinning room in the hostel and then got ready to go out. We went to two bars in the city and then went to check out a discoteca. While we were talking as a group to decide whether or not to pay 10 euro to get into the discoteca, we were escorted out of the lobby by some security guards...guess we took to long! Oh well. We got to bed at about 4am.
On Saturday, we had breakfast at the albergue and left at 10am to go to La Alhambra, which translates into "The Red Fort" because the walls of made of a red clay like substance. Apparently Bill Clinton was very inspired by his visit here and thinks it is the most beautiful thing he has seen. I thought it was absolutely HUGE!! The palace is where the Muslim King lived. The outside walls have no decoration but the inside is absolutely covered with intricate design and decoration. I think that relates to a Muslim belief that the inside of a person is much more important than the outside. The main thing that we saw is the Palacio Nazaries. It is divided into 3 parts. The first part is where the King would receive citizens who had complaints. It is the public part of the palace. We saw where the king would sit, etc. There were a lot of mosaics on the walls and some that were actually poems or stories about the construction of the Alhambra. Each of the three parts had a patio with lots of vegetation and water because the Muslim's idea of paradise is a place filled with water and vegetation. Next, we moved to the semi-private part of the palace. This is where the king would receive diplomats from other nations. We saw where his throne would sit as well as where the people he consulted with would sit. The ceilings and walls were much more detailed in the architecture. There was also this beautiful, long fountain that we saw. Finally, we reached the private part of the palace. This is where the king, his wife, his mistresses, and his children lived. The king had a lot of women because that was a sign of power. They were not allowed to leave the palace or by seen by anyone from the outside. We saw the royal bedrooms and also a famous Fountain of Lions, which was a gift from another country.
After our visit to the Alhambra, we got back on the bus and went to Cordoba. It was about a 3 hour bus ride so we arrived at 10pm, had supper, and I went to bed. On Sunday morning, we got up early to try to get to Mass before we had to leave. We walked all over the city trying to find churches, which was difficult since they were not on our map. Eventually we found our way to the Monasterio de la Incarnacion-Monastery of the Incarnation. They had Mass at 9:30am so we decided to go. When we walked in, we were very surprised to see about 20 nuns sitting in the choir loft at the back of the church, dressed in black habits and white robes. There were about 6 older adults in the church and the 11 of us Americans. The nuns sang all of the songs for Mass and we all felt a little like we were in The Sound of Music. It was definitely a type of Mass none of us had ever experienced before. The priest directed the homily to us "jovenes"-young people-telling us to not be afraid to get to know God and that we should use Mary as an example for our lives, since she was once a young person like us. When we went up for Communion, they took the host and dipped it in wine. This was the first time we had experienced this too.
After Mass, we went back to the albergue to meet the rest of the group and go to an old city of ruins on the top of a hill just a short trip outside of the city. It wasn't really that exciting, just really windy! After that, we went back to the city, got lunch and ice cream and then went to La Mezquita-the Mosque. This was probably my favorite part of the weekend. First a little history: When the Christians/Catholics conquered a Muslim city, usually they destroyed the mosques or religious buildings and then built a Catholic Church over it to show their power. However, in Cordoba, they decided to keep the mosque and just build a cathedral inside and over part of the mosque. They also put lots of crosses around on the walls of the mosque part. The mosque is the only mosque in the world that was not built aligned with Meca. It was built in the direction that people would go if they would take a pilgramage to Meca. The cathedral was SO pretty and I will try to get pictures up sometime. I just don't think I can describe it well enough because it was so gorgeous.
After the mosque, we walked across a bridge that covers the river that Christopher Columbus set sail from when he went to America. We got back on the bus and got back to Caceres at 10:30pm. I skyped a few friends and went to bed.
Today, I got up and walked to school. I had 2 classes and then we finally booked our tickets for spring break. We will be going to Rome from the Wednesday before until the Monday after Palm Sunday and then will be going to Barcelona, Spain for about 4 days. It is going to be a lot of fun. Going to Rome is like my dream come true! I can't wait!!
Also, Sunday marked the end of our first month here in Spain! So much has happened and I can't wait for everything that we have coming up in the next couple months. Miss you all!!!
On Friday, we got on a bus at 8am and left for Granada. We all slept almost the whole bus ride. We had to stop twice for the driver and to eat. At one of the rest stops, we found 2 very scragly dogs that we gave some extra food to. They ate it right up. As a note, there are quite a few stray cats who live in the street in Caceres. I wish they were safe to pet. We got to Granada around 4pm and went to La Capilla Real and La Catedral first. Basically it is 3 cathedrals built connected to each other. Our professor thinks it is the only place in the world that has such a thing. The first cathedral was built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (If you remember, they were the people that Christopher Columbus got money from to go on his expedition to America). It was a pretty simple building with little decoration on the walls because Queen Isabella wanted it to be decorated in a humble manner. The king and queen were also buried in this cathedral in addition to their daughter, a prince, and another person. We got to see the crypt which had a window so you could see the lead caskets. Before the construction of that cathedral was finished, their son decided to have another cathedral built next door that was much more extravagant to show the prosper of Spain during their rule. This cathedral was huge and extravagantly decorated. It had 2 huge pipe organs.
After seeing the cathedrals, we went to our albergue. An albergue is like a cheap hostel that offers meals. We had a room with two beds and our own shower and bathroom! We ate at the dinning room in the hostel and then got ready to go out. We went to two bars in the city and then went to check out a discoteca. While we were talking as a group to decide whether or not to pay 10 euro to get into the discoteca, we were escorted out of the lobby by some security guards...guess we took to long! Oh well. We got to bed at about 4am.
On Saturday, we had breakfast at the albergue and left at 10am to go to La Alhambra, which translates into "The Red Fort" because the walls of made of a red clay like substance. Apparently Bill Clinton was very inspired by his visit here and thinks it is the most beautiful thing he has seen. I thought it was absolutely HUGE!! The palace is where the Muslim King lived. The outside walls have no decoration but the inside is absolutely covered with intricate design and decoration. I think that relates to a Muslim belief that the inside of a person is much more important than the outside. The main thing that we saw is the Palacio Nazaries. It is divided into 3 parts. The first part is where the King would receive citizens who had complaints. It is the public part of the palace. We saw where the king would sit, etc. There were a lot of mosaics on the walls and some that were actually poems or stories about the construction of the Alhambra. Each of the three parts had a patio with lots of vegetation and water because the Muslim's idea of paradise is a place filled with water and vegetation. Next, we moved to the semi-private part of the palace. This is where the king would receive diplomats from other nations. We saw where his throne would sit as well as where the people he consulted with would sit. The ceilings and walls were much more detailed in the architecture. There was also this beautiful, long fountain that we saw. Finally, we reached the private part of the palace. This is where the king, his wife, his mistresses, and his children lived. The king had a lot of women because that was a sign of power. They were not allowed to leave the palace or by seen by anyone from the outside. We saw the royal bedrooms and also a famous Fountain of Lions, which was a gift from another country.
After our visit to the Alhambra, we got back on the bus and went to Cordoba. It was about a 3 hour bus ride so we arrived at 10pm, had supper, and I went to bed. On Sunday morning, we got up early to try to get to Mass before we had to leave. We walked all over the city trying to find churches, which was difficult since they were not on our map. Eventually we found our way to the Monasterio de la Incarnacion-Monastery of the Incarnation. They had Mass at 9:30am so we decided to go. When we walked in, we were very surprised to see about 20 nuns sitting in the choir loft at the back of the church, dressed in black habits and white robes. There were about 6 older adults in the church and the 11 of us Americans. The nuns sang all of the songs for Mass and we all felt a little like we were in The Sound of Music. It was definitely a type of Mass none of us had ever experienced before. The priest directed the homily to us "jovenes"-young people-telling us to not be afraid to get to know God and that we should use Mary as an example for our lives, since she was once a young person like us. When we went up for Communion, they took the host and dipped it in wine. This was the first time we had experienced this too.
After Mass, we went back to the albergue to meet the rest of the group and go to an old city of ruins on the top of a hill just a short trip outside of the city. It wasn't really that exciting, just really windy! After that, we went back to the city, got lunch and ice cream and then went to La Mezquita-the Mosque. This was probably my favorite part of the weekend. First a little history: When the Christians/Catholics conquered a Muslim city, usually they destroyed the mosques or religious buildings and then built a Catholic Church over it to show their power. However, in Cordoba, they decided to keep the mosque and just build a cathedral inside and over part of the mosque. They also put lots of crosses around on the walls of the mosque part. The mosque is the only mosque in the world that was not built aligned with Meca. It was built in the direction that people would go if they would take a pilgramage to Meca. The cathedral was SO pretty and I will try to get pictures up sometime. I just don't think I can describe it well enough because it was so gorgeous.
After the mosque, we walked across a bridge that covers the river that Christopher Columbus set sail from when he went to America. We got back on the bus and got back to Caceres at 10:30pm. I skyped a few friends and went to bed.
Today, I got up and walked to school. I had 2 classes and then we finally booked our tickets for spring break. We will be going to Rome from the Wednesday before until the Monday after Palm Sunday and then will be going to Barcelona, Spain for about 4 days. It is going to be a lot of fun. Going to Rome is like my dream come true! I can't wait!!
Also, Sunday marked the end of our first month here in Spain! So much has happened and I can't wait for everything that we have coming up in the next couple months. Miss you all!!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
We found Catholic Teens!
Last night, we decided to meet up and go to see the movie Invictus that was advertised online as being free at a theater near the old part of the city. When we got there, it turned out to be a fundraiser for Catholic teens from Caceres to go to the World Youth Day in Madrid, which will be held in August. Since it was a fundraiser, it was unfortuately not free and the group decided not to go since a lot of us didn't bring money. We told them how much we wanted to go to World Youth Day but we just don't have the money to make it possible. They suggested selling cookies....I can only imagine how many thousand cookies I'd have to sell to get enough for the plane ticket. How nice it would be to only have to go 4 hours to Madrid to get there. However, we did get a chance to talk to some of the people there and apparently they have a Mass that they all go to on Sunday night at 8pm and they have a couple Bible studies and other activities that they do together. I gave one girl my contact info so I really hope they invite us to join them for some of their activities! It was very exciting to finally find some Spanish people our age who actually go to church! We have been looking for them ever since we got here!
Today I had all four of my classes and my professor prepared us for our trip to Granada and Cordoba this weekend. All 19 of us will be going as well as our professor and program director. We will visit La Alhambra, which is a palace in Granada, and La Mezquita, which is a really old mosque in Cordoba. It should be a very fun weekend!
Going back to my computer problem, I am so incredibly thankful that everything worked out! When I emailed my mom about what happened, she told me that she knew that God had a reason and a lesson for me that would come out of this and as hard as it was for me to hear that, I definitely can see it now. No matter if I am halfway across the world from my closest friends and family, God is still here with me. I also feel like I was being reminded that although I want to be independent and do things for myself, there are times when I need other people's help and God puts everyone in my life for a reason. I can definitely see God working in my life here which is so good!
It has been so good catching up on skyping with friends and family! I will continue to do that tonight as well as work on planning more of an itinerary for my dad and brother when they get to Spain. They will be here in 10 days! I am SOOOO excited to see them!!!
Today I had all four of my classes and my professor prepared us for our trip to Granada and Cordoba this weekend. All 19 of us will be going as well as our professor and program director. We will visit La Alhambra, which is a palace in Granada, and La Mezquita, which is a really old mosque in Cordoba. It should be a very fun weekend!
Going back to my computer problem, I am so incredibly thankful that everything worked out! When I emailed my mom about what happened, she told me that she knew that God had a reason and a lesson for me that would come out of this and as hard as it was for me to hear that, I definitely can see it now. No matter if I am halfway across the world from my closest friends and family, God is still here with me. I also feel like I was being reminded that although I want to be independent and do things for myself, there are times when I need other people's help and God puts everyone in my life for a reason. I can definitely see God working in my life here which is so good!
It has been so good catching up on skyping with friends and family! I will continue to do that tonight as well as work on planning more of an itinerary for my dad and brother when they get to Spain. They will be here in 10 days! I am SOOOO excited to see them!!!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Buenas Noticias! Good News!
I am very happy to report that I got rid of my computer's virus myself! It is so nice to be able to get on the internet whenever I want now! I ended up googling the message that was on my wallpaper from the virus and downloaded a program that worked to get rid of it. What a relief!
On Saturday, we got up early and took the 6am bus to Madrid. We could not find any good prices on hostels or hotels before we left, so that was the first thing we did when we got there. We arrived at 10am and took our first trip on the metro to a station near the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where Real Madrid plays. We walked up the street and found a hotel called Hotel Aitana which had a room with 2 single beds for a reasonable price. It was a super nice hotel!! There were 5 of us total staying in the room, so 4 slept on the beds and one slept on chair cushions on the floor. Also, the shower was great!! There was hot water and pretty good water pressure!! Best shower I've had in Spain so far!
Saturday afternoon, we went on the tour of the Real Madrid Stadium. We went through the trophy room, down to touch the field, sat in the seats that the players who are on the bench sit in during the game, and saw the press room. It was definitely more than you would get to see in any US football stadium due to not as much security here! We went to the Real Madrid v. Levante soccer game on Saturday night. It lasted about 2.5 hours total. By the way, it rained all day Saturday and during the entire game. Good thing our seats were in the nosebleed section so we had the overhang to protect us from the rain and heat lamps to keep us warm :)
After the game, we went out in the Puerta del Sol area of the city. There were lots of people out but all the discotecas cost quite a bit to get in, so we decided not to go there.
On Sunday, we went to El Rastro, which is a huge market in the city. They sold everything there...from powerstrips, to clothes, to fingernail polish, to flowers. It was pretty cool and there were lots of people there. Next, we went to the Prado Museum, but we decided we didn't have enough time to go in. At least we'll know how to get there when we go back to Madrid in the future. We went to the bus station and got something to eat before getting on our 5 hour bus ride home. We got back to Caceres at 10:30pm last night and everyone was really tired!
Today, I had classes and nothing much new has happened...I'll try to put up pictures of the game, etc. soon!
On Saturday, we got up early and took the 6am bus to Madrid. We could not find any good prices on hostels or hotels before we left, so that was the first thing we did when we got there. We arrived at 10am and took our first trip on the metro to a station near the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where Real Madrid plays. We walked up the street and found a hotel called Hotel Aitana which had a room with 2 single beds for a reasonable price. It was a super nice hotel!! There were 5 of us total staying in the room, so 4 slept on the beds and one slept on chair cushions on the floor. Also, the shower was great!! There was hot water and pretty good water pressure!! Best shower I've had in Spain so far!
Saturday afternoon, we went on the tour of the Real Madrid Stadium. We went through the trophy room, down to touch the field, sat in the seats that the players who are on the bench sit in during the game, and saw the press room. It was definitely more than you would get to see in any US football stadium due to not as much security here! We went to the Real Madrid v. Levante soccer game on Saturday night. It lasted about 2.5 hours total. By the way, it rained all day Saturday and during the entire game. Good thing our seats were in the nosebleed section so we had the overhang to protect us from the rain and heat lamps to keep us warm :)
After the game, we went out in the Puerta del Sol area of the city. There were lots of people out but all the discotecas cost quite a bit to get in, so we decided not to go there.
On Sunday, we went to El Rastro, which is a huge market in the city. They sold everything there...from powerstrips, to clothes, to fingernail polish, to flowers. It was pretty cool and there were lots of people there. Next, we went to the Prado Museum, but we decided we didn't have enough time to go in. At least we'll know how to get there when we go back to Madrid in the future. We went to the bus station and got something to eat before getting on our 5 hour bus ride home. We got back to Caceres at 10:30pm last night and everyone was really tired!
Today, I had classes and nothing much new has happened...I'll try to put up pictures of the game, etc. soon!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Mi Ordenador Enfermo
My computer has a virus. I was trying to make a powerpoint for my speech I will give next week on illnesses, and I clicked on a picture on Google of someone with a stomach ache and it downloaded a virus to my computer. I was very sad :( My sister had her friend look at it but he was not able to remove the virus. I think I will have to format my hard drive and delete everything to get rid of the virus. Luckily I had backed up my documents to a flash drive on Sunday, so those are safe. The only problem is my pictures. There were too many to save to my flash drive, so I didn't worry about it on Sunday, but now I am uploading them onto shutterfly and Kodak websites so I don't lose them. It takes forever but I know it will be worth it! It's a very unfortunate thing to have happen but I'm getting over it and moving on.
Last night (Thursday) we went to the filmoteca to see Toy Story 3. We thought that it would be in English like the movie last week and were very surprised when the characters started talking in Spanish. They even sang the songs in Spanish..."Hay un amigo en mi"=You've Got a Friend in Me. We learned some phrases like "al infinito y mas alla"=to infinity and beyond! and "hay un serpiente en me bota"=there's a snake in my boot. The movie only costs one euro and we always stop at the Sanchez-Cortes candy store to buy gummy bears before going in.
After the movie, I went home, had supper, and went out. We went to a new discoteca and then to La Habana for a party with the Erasmus students. It was lots of fun and there was lots of music in English. I also ran into my sister and her friends there. I met so many new people that I can hardly remember any of their names. When La Habana closed at 3AM, we headed toward another area of town that opens later in the night. I didn't stay long because another person wanted to go home so I walked back with her. We were out til 4AM!! Latest I've ever stayed out!
Today I slept in, had lunch, and am working on homework. Yes, we finally got homework. I have to finish my powerpoint for my speech, write a reflection paper on our trip to Merida, read a couple chapters in a book, and translate an American recipie into Spanish (I'm doing Corn on the Cob). We leave tomorrow morning at 6am on a bus to go to Madrid!!! Can't wait!
Last night (Thursday) we went to the filmoteca to see Toy Story 3. We thought that it would be in English like the movie last week and were very surprised when the characters started talking in Spanish. They even sang the songs in Spanish..."Hay un amigo en mi"=You've Got a Friend in Me. We learned some phrases like "al infinito y mas alla"=to infinity and beyond! and "hay un serpiente en me bota"=there's a snake in my boot. The movie only costs one euro and we always stop at the Sanchez-Cortes candy store to buy gummy bears before going in.
After the movie, I went home, had supper, and went out. We went to a new discoteca and then to La Habana for a party with the Erasmus students. It was lots of fun and there was lots of music in English. I also ran into my sister and her friends there. I met so many new people that I can hardly remember any of their names. When La Habana closed at 3AM, we headed toward another area of town that opens later in the night. I didn't stay long because another person wanted to go home so I walked back with her. We were out til 4AM!! Latest I've ever stayed out!
Today I slept in, had lunch, and am working on homework. Yes, we finally got homework. I have to finish my powerpoint for my speech, write a reflection paper on our trip to Merida, read a couple chapters in a book, and translate an American recipie into Spanish (I'm doing Corn on the Cob). We leave tomorrow morning at 6am on a bus to go to Madrid!!! Can't wait!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Mi Casa-Part 1
Today we rode the bus to school because it was absolutely pouring rain. We were all soaked by the time we walked from the bus stop to our building at the university even though we were using umbrellas. I had all 4 of my classes today, which tends to be a bit long since we sit there for 4 hours straight with no break. Everyday my host mom makes me a cheese sandwich and gives me a juice box to take as a snack. After classes, thankfully the rain was over. We took the bus home and I had lunch with my sister and host mom. Clara made lemonade from the lemons that her dad gave us. It was really good. This afternoon, my host sister and I watched last week's episode of Grey's Anatomy. She absolutely loves that show and so do I!
Casey, Lizzy, and I are starting to make our plans for Italy. The cities on our list to visit are Rome, Florence, Venice, and Siena. We will only have about 7.5 days there, so we will try to see as much as we can. Also, a couple days ago we booked our tickets to go to Ireland for the weekend after St. Patrick's Day!!! I'm so excited! I will get to visit my friend Abby who is studying abroad in Cork for a couple days and then we will spend 2 days in Dublin.
I've decided to put up some pictures of where I live. I'll put up more tomorrow hopefully but for now, the kitchen and living room!
The Kitchen! We have plastic yellow chairs to sit on and pretty much every meal we have to get the stool from the bathroom for someone to sit on since there are 3 of us.
Washing machine on the left. They do not have dryers here-only washers so everything is hung out on the line to dry. There is a dishwasher in the middle/right of the picture.
Microwave and Oven
There is always fresh fruit on the table. Refrigerator is on the left and freezer is below.
Every living room has a table like this with heater underneath. The blankets go down over the heater to keep the heat in. You can put them over yourself and warm up while watching TV.
Living Room
TV :) They don't have many channels here and my family doesn't have cable. They sometimes watch American shows like Extreme Makeover Home Edition that are dubbed over in Spanish. They watch a lot of tv!!
More living room.
/
Casey, Lizzy, and I are starting to make our plans for Italy. The cities on our list to visit are Rome, Florence, Venice, and Siena. We will only have about 7.5 days there, so we will try to see as much as we can. Also, a couple days ago we booked our tickets to go to Ireland for the weekend after St. Patrick's Day!!! I'm so excited! I will get to visit my friend Abby who is studying abroad in Cork for a couple days and then we will spend 2 days in Dublin.
I've decided to put up some pictures of where I live. I'll put up more tomorrow hopefully but for now, the kitchen and living room!
The Kitchen! We have plastic yellow chairs to sit on and pretty much every meal we have to get the stool from the bathroom for someone to sit on since there are 3 of us.
Washing machine on the left. They do not have dryers here-only washers so everything is hung out on the line to dry. There is a dishwasher in the middle/right of the picture.
Microwave and Oven
There is always fresh fruit on the table. Refrigerator is on the left and freezer is below.
Every living room has a table like this with heater underneath. The blankets go down over the heater to keep the heat in. You can put them over yourself and warm up while watching TV.
Living Room
TV :) They don't have many channels here and my family doesn't have cable. They sometimes watch American shows like Extreme Makeover Home Edition that are dubbed over in Spanish. They watch a lot of tv!!
More living room. Tomorrow I'll try to post pictures of my room and the bathroom!
Hasta luego!
/
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Rain, Rain Go Away
It rained and was overcast almost all of the day today :( Only about 45 degrees here and a little bit windy. Hard to believe that the weather in Iowa was probably better than the weather here today! Went to classes this morning and gave a speech. I really love the two classes I had today-Spanish Conversation and Phonetics. The professors for both are really good at teaching and keep class interesting! They are probably my favorite 2 classes.
The Spanish grading system is much different than what we have in the US. First of all, there is no such thing as Web CT, where we can go and view our scores for each assignment, test, quiz, and project. I think we will not know what are grades are until we finish the semester. When we get back assignments, the professor does not put a grade on them, but instead a word. It can say Mal, Bien, Muy Bien, or Perfecto. Each word is associated with a number on a 10 point scale:
Mal= less than 5
Bien=5-6
Muy Bien=7-8
Perfecto=9-10
Then, at the end of the course, the teacher translates those numbers into a number on a 4 point scale:
Mal=1=F
Bien=2=C
Muy Bien=3=B
Perfecto=4=A
It is a very rare occasion that professors give perfectos (9-10). Students here only have to pass the classes (Bien), so they are not very concerned about getting the highest grade possible. I am very proud to say that I got my first "Perfecto" on an essay today for my Phonetics class :)
After class, I came home on the bus because of the rain and had lunch with my sister and host mom. We had french fries! They were definitely not as good as American french fries, but still good. My host mom and sister asked me what I thought about President Obama and Bush and Sarah Palin. It is so crazy how much they know about the US. I never realized how big of an impact our country had on the world.
This afternoon, I took a siesta, skyped a friend, and went to the bus station to buy a ticket for this weekend. We are going to Madrid on Saturday and coming back on Sunday. We are getting tickets to see Real Madrid (a professional soccer team) play on Saturday night. I am SOOO excited!!!
Tonight, we all went to Cafe Dipas to meet some Spanish people and have a dialogue with them. We spoke in Spanish and they spoke in English, and we helped correct each other. It was a very good time. I met Raul, Dani, and two people named Carmen. I think we will be doing this almost every week.
The Spanish grading system is much different than what we have in the US. First of all, there is no such thing as Web CT, where we can go and view our scores for each assignment, test, quiz, and project. I think we will not know what are grades are until we finish the semester. When we get back assignments, the professor does not put a grade on them, but instead a word. It can say Mal, Bien, Muy Bien, or Perfecto. Each word is associated with a number on a 10 point scale:
Mal= less than 5
Bien=5-6
Muy Bien=7-8
Perfecto=9-10
Then, at the end of the course, the teacher translates those numbers into a number on a 4 point scale:
Mal=1=F
Bien=2=C
Muy Bien=3=B
Perfecto=4=A
It is a very rare occasion that professors give perfectos (9-10). Students here only have to pass the classes (Bien), so they are not very concerned about getting the highest grade possible. I am very proud to say that I got my first "Perfecto" on an essay today for my Phonetics class :)
After class, I came home on the bus because of the rain and had lunch with my sister and host mom. We had french fries! They were definitely not as good as American french fries, but still good. My host mom and sister asked me what I thought about President Obama and Bush and Sarah Palin. It is so crazy how much they know about the US. I never realized how big of an impact our country had on the world.
This afternoon, I took a siesta, skyped a friend, and went to the bus station to buy a ticket for this weekend. We are going to Madrid on Saturday and coming back on Sunday. We are getting tickets to see Real Madrid (a professional soccer team) play on Saturday night. I am SOOO excited!!!
Tonight, we all went to Cafe Dipas to meet some Spanish people and have a dialogue with them. We spoke in Spanish and they spoke in English, and we helped correct each other. It was a very good time. I met Raul, Dani, and two people named Carmen. I think we will be doing this almost every week.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Feliz Día de San Valentín!
Happy Valentine's Day! This holiday is not celebrated very much in Spain. I think only couples celebrate it. I saw lots of people carrying around roses this afternoon so they must give flowers as a gift. I saw this cute little old man walking with a cane in his right hand and a single red rose wrapped in plastic in his left. He was so cute I wish I had taken a picture! At school, we learned about the legend of San Valentin and how he married people in secret until he was arrested and killled.
It rained and was overcast most of today. It was pretty cold and windy too which is a big change from our weather last week. This afternoon, Bev, Casey, Cory and I went to get frozen yogurt from a frozen yogurt store near the Plaza Mayor. It was pretty good and I tried nutella for the first time. It was so good!!! Tonight, Mariah, Alex, Lizzy, Courtney, and I started our Bible Study. It was a very good session! Tomorrow I have to give a speech on my major and what I want to do when I graduate from college. There is no translation for physician's assistant in Spanish, and I don't think such a career exists outside the US.
It rained and was overcast most of today. It was pretty cold and windy too which is a big change from our weather last week. This afternoon, Bev, Casey, Cory and I went to get frozen yogurt from a frozen yogurt store near the Plaza Mayor. It was pretty good and I tried nutella for the first time. It was so good!!! Tonight, Mariah, Alex, Lizzy, Courtney, and I started our Bible Study. It was a very good session! Tomorrow I have to give a speech on my major and what I want to do when I graduate from college. There is no translation for physician's assistant in Spanish, and I don't think such a career exists outside the US.
Mountain Climbing and Mass Going
Friday night, I went with Bev, Casey, Taylor, and Cory to a bar called Corral in the Parte Antigua to watch a local singer perform. It was okay..it was just a girl singing and two guys accompanying her-one on drums and the other on guitar. Some of her songs were in English. The thing that really bothered me was all of the people smoking since it was outside...I can't stand smoke but oh well.
On Saturday, we met up at 11am and went to get churros con chocolate which is a Spanish food we had been dying to try. If you don't know, churros are a fried bread and in Spain, they dip it in a thick chocolate sauce and it is SO delicious! After our churros, we started our journey toward "the mountain". Apparently it is the only one around because everyone refers to it as THE mountain. We knew the general direction we were supposed to go but didn't really know how to get to the road that goes up the mountain, so we ended up taking a detour through some grass, past some sheep, and over a creek to get up to the road. It was a very hot walk up the mountain since the sun was shining the whole time and the road was pretty steep! It took us about 1 hour to get to the top. We could see all of the city of Caceres when we reached the top, even our university! We spent the afternoon on the top of the mountain and had a picnic with the sandwiches our families packed for us. It was lots of fun just hanging out together. Around 3pm, we headed back down the mountain. We all ended up a little sunburned but it was worth it...starting my summer tan already :)
Saturday night we all went out. Went to Corral again, La Habana, and Divina Comedia. I was soooo tired from climbing the mountain that I went home at 2am. One of these weekends, I gotta stay out til 6am like a true Spaniard!
On Sunday, I woke up at 11am and got ready and went to 1pm Mass at the Parroquia de Fatima with Taylor and Cory. It is a new Catholic church that my host mom recommended that is only 5 minutes from my house. It was great!!! There were so many people there and they actually had a choir that sang!!! Most of the people were old but at least there were lots of them there. I printed off a translation of the Order of the Mass in Spanish and we tried to follow along and respond but the people talk so fast! We'll have to work on it! There was one guy who was so excited that we were there that he ran over to give us the sign of peace. I still can't understand much at Mass but at least I can participate somewhat now. The music was pretty good...only bad part was when the pianist played Amazing Grace at the offertory...can't stand that song...thank goodness they didn't sing the words too yet! Mass only lasted 45 minutes. I spent the rest of the day working on homework and relaxing at home. I also skyped several friends over the weekend and it was so good to catch up with them!
On Saturday, we met up at 11am and went to get churros con chocolate which is a Spanish food we had been dying to try. If you don't know, churros are a fried bread and in Spain, they dip it in a thick chocolate sauce and it is SO delicious! After our churros, we started our journey toward "the mountain". Apparently it is the only one around because everyone refers to it as THE mountain. We knew the general direction we were supposed to go but didn't really know how to get to the road that goes up the mountain, so we ended up taking a detour through some grass, past some sheep, and over a creek to get up to the road. It was a very hot walk up the mountain since the sun was shining the whole time and the road was pretty steep! It took us about 1 hour to get to the top. We could see all of the city of Caceres when we reached the top, even our university! We spent the afternoon on the top of the mountain and had a picnic with the sandwiches our families packed for us. It was lots of fun just hanging out together. Around 3pm, we headed back down the mountain. We all ended up a little sunburned but it was worth it...starting my summer tan already :)
Saturday night we all went out. Went to Corral again, La Habana, and Divina Comedia. I was soooo tired from climbing the mountain that I went home at 2am. One of these weekends, I gotta stay out til 6am like a true Spaniard!
On Sunday, I woke up at 11am and got ready and went to 1pm Mass at the Parroquia de Fatima with Taylor and Cory. It is a new Catholic church that my host mom recommended that is only 5 minutes from my house. It was great!!! There were so many people there and they actually had a choir that sang!!! Most of the people were old but at least there were lots of them there. I printed off a translation of the Order of the Mass in Spanish and we tried to follow along and respond but the people talk so fast! We'll have to work on it! There was one guy who was so excited that we were there that he ran over to give us the sign of peace. I still can't understand much at Mass but at least I can participate somewhat now. The music was pretty good...only bad part was when the pianist played Amazing Grace at the offertory...can't stand that song...thank goodness they didn't sing the words too yet! Mass only lasted 45 minutes. I spent the rest of the day working on homework and relaxing at home. I also skyped several friends over the weekend and it was so good to catch up with them!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)