"I have a brilliant idea...chino store...I need super glue...i´m going to fix my shoes!" "Alissa, thats the worst idea I have ever heard!"

The Alhambra Gardens

Me in the Alhambra

Flamenco show in Sevilla

Me in Plaza Espana in Sevilla

Alcazar

Me in front of a Orange tree at the Cathedral/Mosque in Cordoba

Mosque/Cathedral in Cordoba

Mosque/Cathedral in Cordoba

Me in the Alcazar gardens in Sevilla

My Andalucia adventure!

So since I didn´t go home for the holidays, me, Alissa, and Natalie decided to do Andalucia...great idea! Our itenery included Cordoba (2.5 stars), Sevilla (4 stars), and Granada (3 stars). While I would have preferred doing it in the summer, Natalie did it in the summer before and she said the heat made it absolutely miserable and she much rather preferred this time of year. I trust her judgement....

First Stop: Cordoba- so we get to Cordoba on Christmas night and the town was dead! I am still convinced that nobody actually lives in Cordoba, but the desertion was completely understandable Christmas night. So we get there, its raining, its cold, its raining, oh and did I mention...it was raining. It was the first night of vacation and the hostel was pretty deserted as well, and Natalie and Alissa wanted to wander around and see the town, so I decided to tag along purely to avoid being alone in a hostel. Considering it was pouring like piss out of boot, I would have much rather used the free internet, and in retrospect I probably would have enjoyed myself more, but no more complaining...So we wondered around the city for a bit and then came back to the hostel and me and natalie ate dinner with the 3 other people staying there. Chicken and pototes...it was absolutely delicious! I ended up talking with these two Muslim girls about the misadventures of traveling for about an hour, and then headed to bed. We woke up the next morning at 6:3o a.m. (I am still more than baffaled about the reasoning) had some coffee, and then went to the Cathedral, which is the main reason that people visit Cordoba. A little history about the Cathedral, in about the 6th century a basilica was built in Cordoba. In around 785 when the Moors took over Cordoba and most of Andalucia, they tore down the basilica and built an absolutely gorgeous mosque. Then in 1236 Spain re-conquered Cordoba and instead of completely destroying the Mosque, they decided to just convert it into a Catholic Cathedral. So all through the Mosque you still see absolutely stunning Islamic architecture, and then it looks like they just threw a random cross on the wall. Now don´t get me wrong, there are parts that do look like a beautiful Cathedral because they actually took the time to build a Cathedral, but there are other parts where just a cross or a painting has been thrown on the wall and therefore, it is a Cathedral. It´s kinda funny if you ask me. After the Cathedral we just wondered around for awhile, went back to the hostel and took a nap, and then headed to Sevilla!

Random Cordoba Note: So there are Orange trees everwhere in Andalucia lining the streets, but Cordoba was the first stop on our trip so now when I think I orange trees I think Cordoba. The funny thing is that I love oranges so I thought "look at all these FREE oranges" and I gave it a little hop and grabbed an orange. I peeled it meticulously, took a slice...and...EEK!! It was not even close to ripe and was beyond sour. I couldn't even look at those orange trees for the rest of our trip!!

Sevilla/Seville: So we arrived in Sevilla pretty late, checked into our hostel, and they informed us that they had additional buildings besides the "main building" and we were in this other building. So we start walking, following the directions to a T and couldn't find this "hostel". So we finally ask someone and sure enough its this indescript home. So we open the door and its literally a home that has been converted into a hostel. Now...don't get my wrong I really liked it because it was very clean, new, and nice BUT the worrywart that I am did not like the security, or rather the non existent security. There was one entrance off the street just like a house, no guards, no security cameras, nothing..AND THEN...the rooms didn't lock. So in short...i'm not a fan of the Oasis Hostel in Sevilla.

Aside from the hostel, I really liked Sevilla. It was soo pretty!! First we went to the Alcazar which is a royal palace that was formally a Moorish Port. When Spain start getting really involved in trading from the Indies to the Americas, Sevilla served as a major "port-like" city and many of the decision makers were based out of the Alcazar. The building was gorgeous and pictures can only begin to show it, but know that I loved it. There was this one area in the Alcazar that was the "garden/foyer" that the women's private chambers opened up to, and I caught myself thinking about the lives that people lead is this building and I could actually imagine the women looking over the bannisters down into the foyer.

So after the Alcazar me and Alissa headed to Plaza Espana which I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it was equally as stunning. After site-seeing we just walked around for awhile, fell in love with the city, and truly felt the Andalucian Spirit, if that makes any sense. We then headed back to the hostel for a bit, changed, and went with a group from the hostel to a tapas tour and a free flamenco show (which I believe that was what truly sealed the deal between me and Sevilla). I wish I knew the name of some of those tapas we had because I think I had only tried about half of them before, but I pretty much liked all of them! You wouldn't think you could get full on appetizers, but it is definately possible. So after we all got done eating the lady from the hostel led us down this somewhat dark street and turns into this inconspicuous and unmarked building, talks to the guy at the front, and we are in! So we go inside, grab a drink, and sit on some benches. About 20 minutes later I am convinced I will be dying soon of lung cancer, but the show is about to begin, so there goes 1 lung. I obviously can't describe every movement or every feeling, but the entire time she was dancing you could see the emotion on her face. There were two guys behind her, one with a guitar, and one singing. I don't think she was "professionally" trained as a Flamenco dancer, I think it was more of a learned/handed down talent, which to me makes it more "authentic" if that is possible the 21st century. Before coming to Spain going to a Flamenco show was something I wanted to do, so I can officially check it off my list! I would definately suggest people to find a fairly authentic Flamenco show to go to instead of paying a lot of money to see a "professional" one....

Granada: So I haven't been addressing the excessive amount of rain that Andalucia was getting during our trip, but know that there were days that were just miserable. En route to Granada from Sevilla we took the train which would take 5 hours. About an hour into the train theconductor comes over the speaker and starts talking. I didn't catch everything, just that he was sorry. So I ask Natalie, Natalie asks this other guy, and I couldn't believe what I heard.....the tracks had been washed out/covered due to all the rain, and as a result.....EVERYONE had to get off the train in BFE, take a bus to another BFE location, and get on another train about an hour away from where we currently were. It was one of the situations that is like WTF, but at the same time it all goes over which such ease because there was absolutely NOTHING anyone could do about it. So after a not-so-short detour, we FINALLY get to Granada, start walking towards our hostel, and it was in a really unique/eclectic area. After staying in that neighborhood for a couple nights, I could probably say I've been to Morocco because it was lined with Moroccan shops, Moroccan food, Morocco, Morocco, Morocco. The hostel was also really cool too, very homey actually. So the first night we were there we just wondered around the little street shops, walked through the main streets of Granada, and bought some boots in hopes of keeping the rain out of our shoes.

The next morning we had to wake up around 7 because we had 8:30 tickets to the Alhambra. FYI-- if anyone reading this ever plans on taking a trip to the Alhambra buy your tickets before!! The line to buy them for that day was out of control. Now personally, I was not taken with the Alhambra. Everyone I say that too blames the time of year because I wasn't able to see the gardens in their full bloom, but I prefer architecture over gardens, so I doubt I would be that impressed even in the summer. It's the buildings that have been there since forever, and that is what is suppose to put me in awe. The Alhambra was actually the home to a Sultan, so it is beautiful, yes. But I didn't feel it was as a grand or colorful as the Alcazar. Maybe it was my mood, the rain, the end of my vacation, etc. Not really sure...but I think the Alhambra is only as famous as it is because it had a book written about it. Which I must admit, that is probably why I had heard about the Alhambra and not the Alcazar before coming to Spain, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Alhambra is better. I did appreciate the Alhambra for what it was, for what it represented, everything. The history is almost mind boggling...but in pure beauty...its a little subpar. Something I did find really cool about the Alhambra is that they had a lot of arabic bathes in the most random places. Obviously its the mere remnants now...but really...a bath in the middle of a fort? I guess everyone needs to bathe....

So after the Alhambra I was beyond tired, not feeling the best, so I decided to have my "solo day" I rave about (really, they are essential when traveling for awhile)...and I just went around and wondered around the city. Granada is really surrounded by all types of walls and barriers and forts left over from Moorish occupation. They were pretty nervous, but I guess history shows they had reason to be. It's just so neat though...walking down the street, stopping at a cafe for cafe and a postre, and seeing these walls built forever ago literally just dotting the landscape. Amazing. If I would pick one thing that makes Granada the Granada I had imagined, its not necessarily the Alhambra...but the ruins that just dot the city and the mountains.

Overall, I really liked Andalucia and now I know why so many people fall in love with it but at the same time...its a very poor region. On the busses and trains across the region I saw lots of little villages, abandoned cities, barely functioning farms...everything. At times it reminded me of the midwest because it is very agricultural. However, we all know what is happening to the Midwest...... enough said.

Random thought: At what age are you too old to stay in hostels? On this trip I stayed in hostels with probably 5 people that were at least over the age of 50. At what age do you stop "roughing" it and actually stay at hotels? I don't see myself staying in hostels past the age of probably 26-28.... I mean yes they are cheap, but they are inconvenient, uncomfortable, usually fairly dirty, just not the best...but they are cheap! I talked to two of the older people in my hostel in Granada and they both said they were traveling now in the 50's because they didn't travel when they were younger...so to all those people that haven't taken the time to travel, experience life outside of their bubbles....you will regret it, so do it now!!! OOORRR wait until your 50, your choice!

"let me see that tootsie roll!"

Salamanca (12/8)

Talk about a super puente! So after getting home from Paris on Monday morning, I slept all day, went grocery shopping, drank a little wine, had a good nights rest, and then got up early and headed to Salamanca with my booskie! Salamanca is about a 2.5 hour drive from Madrid but its a pretty drive. I can´t exactly put my finger on it, but I really like getting out of the city for awhile. It just´s overall refreshing. Before going I had done a little research about what there was to see there and such, and everyone kept talking about the Old Cathedral ( constructed in the 12th century) and then the New Cathedral ( built in the 15th century). Both of them are world heritage sites by UNESCO and both are considered must-see´s of Spain. So when we get to Salamanca I keep seeing all these beautiful extremely old buildings and I kept asking Gonzalo "is that the cathedral? is that the cathedral?" but it never was! I think almost every building in Salamanca could easily rivale the Cathedrals, especially the old University of Salamanca buildings. Nothing really puts how young the US is until you see buildings that were bulit in the 14th century and still used to this day!! The thing about Salamanca and almost every other city in Spain is that almost all the monuments are in regards to Catholicism. While I am not necessarily touched by the message, I more than appreciate the history, as well as the politics, behind it all. And yes, religion is more than political.

In Salamanca there is also a fairly large collection of archives from the Spanish Civil War, complete with some of the propaganda used during the civil war, as well some of the official documents that were accusing people of conspiracy against Spain and such. A lot of the propaganda is almost identical to what the states used during WWII all the way through the cold war. Lots of "communist" rhetoric and such. I know that I personally know very little about the Spanish civil war and somehow in all my "western civilization" type courses, Spain was always overlooked. However, if anything, I think it would be interesting to study/research the allegations of communism during the civil war, and what exactly they considered "communism". I know you can ask a lot of Americans "is communism good or bad?" and they would answer "bad, of course! Damn commies!" and then if you precede to ask what communism is they would say something like "they want to take my land and my money!" While that definition falls more than short of the actual definition of communism, that is what American's have been taught to believe, and i'm sure it was very similar during the Spanish Civil War.

Little Cultural Note : So when we were in Salamanca Gonzalo told me that in Spain frogs are considered good luck. So on one of the University of Salamanca buildings there are a ton of carvings and figurine-ish like things and according to legend, if you can find the frog you will do well in your studies. Also in almost every store in Salamanca you can buy these little frogs, for good luck of course! I've never particularly considered a frog good luck, but I' ll run with it!

Birthday Weekend (12/11)

So a couple fridays ago (man, i'm really behind on this blogging business) I celebrated my first birthday away from home. While I have been away from a fair amount, I have always made sure to be home for my birthday. So when I was in Australia I came home like December 8th, and then I left Washington D.C. on my birthday to be home to go out with my mom and rick. I'm not exactly sure why I have always made sure to be home for my birthday, but I have. Well this year that just wasn't feasible. I actually didn't tell anyone at school it was birthday because it was one of those things, that if somebody mentioned it when I wasn't mentally prepared for it, i might have had an emotional breakdown. So just to be on the safe side, nobody at school knew. However, Maria and Marina, one of the girls I give private lessons to, actually remembered it was my birthday (I don't even remember telling them!), so when I went to give my private lesson on the 10th they had bought me this really expensive pencil case!! They are amazing. I got really lucky in regards to private lesson parents. On my actual birthday, I woke up with a ton of energy and a smile on my face! I treated myself to a little shopping, had some chinese food, and partied with my friends. Me and Alissa tried to make Mojitios but failed miserably! I really wanted a Strawberry Daquiri but we don't have a blender...boo! So at about 11 we started the party at my piso despite it's extreme coziness. I actually think cozy is an understatement . So anyways, Jasmine (who bought me these really cool incense things for my birthday!!) Tom, Megan, Natalie and Sarah ( Natalie's friend that was in town visiting), and then Gonzalo came with both Jesus's, Alex, and Carlos. Yay for my Madrid family!! It was really sweet because when Gonzalo's friends came they had bought my chocolates and a teddy bear! Beyond adorable. So after I said hello to everyone and thanked Gonzalo's friends for the chocolates and the bear, Gonzalo took me in my room and gave me his present....a ring! CALM DOWN, CALM DOWN! So as many of you might know, I have been wearing this really cheap ring on my left pointer finger for 4 years. It has very little sentimental value besides that I have been wearing it for 4 years. It was a ring I bought in Florida at John's Pass. So anyways, Gonzalo had noticed that I wore the same ring all the time so for my birthday he got me another one! I also confessed to him my "I Love Lucy" addiction and showed him pictures of my room back in the states, so for my birthday he got my 2 "I Love Lucy" posters for my bedroom to help it feel more like home. Pretty sweet, huh?

So back to my birthday celebration, I think everyone had a really good time, I know I did. It is definately in the top of my birthdays. Not exactly sure why, but I just felt like it was a good group and wouldn't have had my birthday any other way. So after getting throughly liquered up at my apartment, we walked to this club near Diego de Leon and danced the night away. I give my birthday celebration 4 stars :) Thanks again to everyone that made it special!!

School happenings: As I have mentioned before, one thing that my school has the auxiliaries do is perform "classics" for the school each month. So this month we did Little Red Riding Hood with a Christmas theme. We had Little Red Riding Hood taking Christmas presents to her Grandma. I played the Grandma and while I only had two lines, I gave it my all! The Thespian in me came out and the kids loved it! We even got an "OTRA! OTRA! OTRA!"

Not so good news: Unfortunately, homesickness has oficially set in the past 2 weeks, damn holidays! However, I am just human, right? I am thoroughly ready for the holidays to be over with, so come on 2010!

My Holidays: Since I am not able to be with my family this holiday season, Ana (the pharmacists I give lessons to) invited me and Alissa to her house for Christmas Eve Spanish style! So I WILL be spending Christmas Eve with a family which will be really nice. Then, on Christmas day me, Alissa, and Natalie are heading down to Andalucia for our vacation time. The itinerary is Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada, and back to Madrid for the New Year!!!!!

I most likely won't blog before the Holidays again, So Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy New Year...see you in 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Megan, where are you? Russia? There are flowers growing!"

Wow..Paris seems like a distant but very fond memory at this point, but thankfully I have a lot of pictures so that helps me remember...so here goes remembering!

So me and Megan went to Paris for our "Puente" and it was an amazing choice! Here in Europe there are a couple of low budget airlines that sell really cheap tickets to all around Europe, one of which is Ryan Air. So when me and megan decided we were going to Paris we of course went to look at the cheapest airlines website, found tickets for 60 euro round trip, and booked! Well....next time we fly we might look at other options. We get to the airport, grab some food, and go looking for our gate. So we see this extremely long line were thinking "What's going on? Is a celebrity in town?" Nope. It was the line to get on our plane. Everyone but us knew that people started lining up at the gate an hour or so before the gate opened because there were no assigned seats, and then if there was no room left in the cabin for your carry-on luggage (because nobody wants to pay the fees to check the bag), then they require you to check your bag (which in the end is way more expensive than if you would have checked luggage in the beginning). So thankfully, we got on the plane, had aisle seats right next to each other, our luggage fit...we were saved!

We land in Paris 2 hours later, get off the plane, and there is no terminal really. We just climbed down and walked over to this building. We get in the building and the only option is to buy this bus ticket that costs 14 euros, and everyone is doing it! So I get out the directions that the Hostel gave us and sure enough it said from Beauvais (sp?) airport, we had to take this bus for 1 hour and 15 minutes! So I'm a little confused but whatever, i'm in Paris! Right? So we buy the tickets and go get on the bus. Well we start driving and i'm noticing there are no lights, no people, nothing. About 10 minutes into the bus ride I see a street sign "Paris...80 km" WTF?!? I bought a ticket to Paris, what do you mean i'm not even in Paris??! So After an hour and a half on the bus, and another hour on the metro, we got to the hostel, which was probably the best hostel I have ever stayed in. I would definately give it two thumbs up!

First Day in Paris:

Well the first day we got up with no real plan, but everyone in our room was telling us to take advantage of the day and do things outside instead of going to the thousands of museums that occupy Paris. While yes it was sunny, it was freezing! It was that "straight to the bone" freezing, but we were in Paris so no complaining! First stop-Arc de Triumph (its way bigger than I imagined--you know how things always look smaller in person than on the movies, not the case for the Arc de Triumph). Second stop- Chino store to get batteries and fruit. Third stop- Eiffel Tower. When actually seeing the Eiffel Tower its an "oohhh ahhh" moment, but not necessarily because it is gorgeous, but more what it represents. The eiffel tower is like the "welcome to Paris sign", it makes your trip official! So after posing in front of it countless times, taking hundreds of pictures that now all look so incredibly similar despite the obvious difference at the time I took them, we went to a less touristy thing...Third stop: an above ground cemetery (I truly felt like my grandmother's grandaughter). Maybe I am just ignorant to French customs, but most of their cemetaries are above ground, just like they are in New Orleans. I always thought they buried people above ground in New Orleans because of flooding and such, but they do the same in France, so it could be a tradition brought by the french...not exactly sure. But the cemetary was row after row after row of tombs...beautiful tombs. There was a directory of all the famous people buried there, but I know nothing about french composers or writers, so the "stardom" was lost on me, but the experience was a win. Fourth stop- Gallerie de La Fayette. So the Galleria de La Fayette is this really famous shopping center/mall in Paris because it is every designer you could ever think of all under the same roof. Imagine a 6 story wal-mart full of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and designers only the rich have heard of. So while we were walking through this place knowing we probably couldn't even afford a pen, my $15 purse breaks! Talk about a sign from the Gucci Gods! So after meandering for a little while longer, we went across the street to H&M to buy yet another cheap purse that will probably break in a year as well. Day 1 ended like any day in Paris should end--with a pastry! I believe that was my strawberry tarte night, that I almost didn't get because I said "tarte" in any overly American accent I am assuming, and they had no clue what I wanted. Thankfully, pointing always works!

Second Day in Paris:

So Megan's grandpa spent a lot of time in Paris during WWII and he told her that we had to take a boat tour (call me ignorant, but I didn't even know there was a river than ran through Paris!) We got really lucky because we found this boat tour that was only 8 euro and stopped at most of the major landmarks. First stop- the Louvre, which absolutely huge. Rumor is that if you stopped at every piece of art for 10 seconds, and stayed inside for 24 hours, you would be in the Louvre for 3 weeks! I actually didn't go in the Louvre but I took pictures of me in front of it...I know, bad tourist. Second stop- Notre Dame Cathedral: Gothic Architecture, enormous, and stunning. Being the antsy tourist I am, I actually didn't go in this one eitherbut once again, I would have been there all day waiting, so I admired it from the outside and kept it moving! Third Stop- Champs Elysees. I'm not exactly sure what the Champs Elysees was, but I really liked this area. The cool thing was that the entire time we were walking around I kept seeing this gold encrusted dome that looked stunning. I just assumed it was a museum, but then I found out it was Napolean's tomb! My mouth started salivating when I found out what it was!!! So while I didn't see the Champs Elysees (at least I don't think i did), I found Napoleon, which means WWAAYYY more to a history/political science major... Fourth Stop: Eiffel Tower at night--while the Eiffel Tower is pretty during the day (despite my mom's critique's), its reallllyyy pretty at night when they turn the lights on. I definitely understand why 1/2 the world has got engaged under the Eiffel Tower at night, no women with a pulse could ever say no with that type of scenery! Fifth stop- Crepes at Natalie's! So while I couldn't really afford to try really expensive food, I did want to try the stuff that was actually in my price range, so Crepes fit perfectly! While my crepe was good, It wasn't "all that". Sixth stop- a "faked" migraine and a pastry of course, followed by a sugar induced coma!

Note- So Natalie was actually staying in an apartment in Paris and when you wanted to use the bathroom you went into the equivalent of a hall closet which just had the toilet. No sink, nothing. Then, when you wanted to wash your hands (maybe the french don't wash their hands, so it doesn't seem like such a big hassel) but you had to walk through the front room and through the bedroom to get to the sink to wash your hands. Megan couldn't believe it!

Day Three in Paris: I was really wanting to go to Versailles on the third day, but I had to buy my ticket like 2 days in advance and I didn't even think about it, so I failed in that area, but I still had a good third day. I think anytime you go with other people on trips, and you each have different interest, at least one day must be spent solo. Mainly just because there are things that we are each interested in, that the other might not be interested so. So at least one day should be dedicated to doing what you want to do..or at least that's my opinion. So the third day in Paris was that for me and Megan. Megan rented a bike and just rode around. While I really like biking, it was freezing and raining..no thanks. So I went to Montmaret (sp?) which was an amazing choice! First stop- Sacred Cross: A beautiful church that is set really high up on a hill/mountain,and it offers give you the best view of Paris besides the Eiffel Tower. Second Stop- meandering through the street market, little shops, and street performers in Montmaret --2 thumbs up and 5 stars. Can't really explain it, but it was a good time. All I can say is that it actually matched my expectations of France. If I could bottle up that area, i would use as the explanation of why people love Paris. Third Stop- Moulin Rouge...pretty disappointing. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but I'm glad I didn't make a special trip out there to see it. It's literally just a windmill and a sign that says Moulin Rouge. However, I guess what Moulin Rouge is famous for isn't necessarily the fine architecture or breath taking views.

My Commentary: I can totally understand why people absolutely love Paris. I don't know if there is any other place in the world with so many amazing sights, breathtaking views, accompanied by a cultural feeling that can only be felt and not explained. Usually when people visit places they know of maybe one thing that they want to see, and then seek out other things. In Paris, its like every time you turn around its another site that you know! I will definitely be making another trip to Paris. I think Paris is some place you could go over and over and over again to, and never get tired of it. Which I don't think I have ever felt like that about a place I have visited. Good job Paris!

Bonjour from Paris!!!

Well as the title suggests, i am writing this blog from Paris!!! Who would have ever thought little Nikki would be living in Europe and making weekend trips to Paris, not me for sure! While I am in Paris now, I have much much more to blog about...so let the distant memories start flooding into my head....NOW!

Wednesday, November 25th
So two weeks ago Gonzalo decided he wanted to take some vacation time, not to go anywhere, just to have some time off work. So since he wasn't working crazy hours, we were able to actually see eachother during the week which was really nice. As some of you may know I legally only work 16 hours a week (believe me, i work much more than that), so my work schedule for the school only has me work 2 hours in the morning on Wednesday so I am done working at 11:30 in the morning. Well Gonzalo knows what a history/political geek I am and decided he was going to take me valle de los caidos, which is where Franco's tomb is. So he came and picked me at the school, in hand with a packed lunch complete with a Gonzalo special sandwich, tangerines, and a diet coke (all of my favorites!) Talk about a sweety!! So we first met up with his sister and had coffee, and then went on to see Franco's tomb but....bad news bears....it was closed for maintence! We even checked the website and there was no mention of it being closed, so we didn't actually get to go inside the tomb but it was a stunning view! I was more than happy just being out of the city. I would never consider myself a "rural" person, but i do find some enjoyment getting out of the city and being surrounded by natural beauty. So not only were the views amazing, but the tomb is absolutely huge and the walls were filled with propoganda, per usual.
So since the tomb was closed, we went over to the montesary which was everything but a dissapoint. While neither me nor Gonzalo are religious, we still really liked it. While I may not agree with these huge churches, and the messages they are flaunting, i can still appreciate the sacrifice that have been made for these churches to be built, the architecture, the art, and the faith that so many people have complete trust in and/or have lost their lives for their religious beliefs. The history geek in me always reverts to the Crusades when i go in these churches. Not necessarily in the sense of "these horrible people killed lots of believe to spread their religion", but instead I always wonder, what is so powerful in these churches, in these words, in these beliefs that make people willing to go above and beyond to ensure the longevity of their religion.....

Thursday, November 26th: "I had to slap the bitch, but she said okay"
So while all my American counterparts in the States were celebrating Thanksgiving, I was jetsetting to Barcelona with Alissa, Natalie, Jasmine, Luis, and Jared. I did get a small part of thanksgiving because I skyped into my kitchen at home and watched my mom cook, listened to rick complain, just like i was at home. It's things like that, that make missing holidays bareable. I'm not exactly sure how I am going to take Christmas, but lets not talk about that right now...

Soo overall, Barcelona is a good city but I was really shocked by the amount of english I heard. It was my first time out of Madrid since September and i've been living in a city where very few people understand me if i'm speaking english and me and my friends can fairly freely say whatever is on our mind with little chance of anyone completely understanding...at best they would get the jist. So we get to Barcelona and it is FULL of english speaking tourists..full of it! I remember me and Alissa were walking down the street and I heard American english behind me and I turned around thinking I would know the person, but I didn't and it was really a strange feeling. Not that I know every single person in Madrid that speaks english, but usually when I hear someone talking around me in english, i know them becasue we are together. Its just a strange feeling that I don't think i'm describing accurately....

As for the siteseeing, we did this double decker bus that took you all around the city. While it was overly touristy, it is really the only way you could see the entire city and know what things are in 2 days. Especially since none of us really did any research on what there was to do in Barcelona....So the bus took us to all of the major Gaudi places like La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and a couple other places. While I think his buildings are ...unique, I really wonder if we get the word gaudy from his pieces, because that is how his name is pronounced, and gaudy could definately describe it. It also took us by where the Olympics were, which happens to be by this mountain called Montjuic, which was historically a jewish burial ground and can be translated as the montain of jews.... i'm not going to offer my commentary on that, i still need to think it over a little bit more...... I think my favorite part was going to the Royal Palace. It was gorgeous, gothic looking, and just amazing. It is also really close to the Christopher Columbus monument so my imagination took me away and I was thinking about Columbus going to the Palace asking Spain to sponsor his voyage to the Americas......and my geekiness has genuinely just shown through to a new level!I totally understand though why people are so taken by Barcelona because the ports are beautiful, it is a mix of Spanish and French architecture, and you could get by in Barcelona without knowing a word of Spanish, but my heart is still in Madrid...

My Week, November 30-December 3 "Oye, no pelotas!"
So after a fun packed yet exhausting weekend in Barcelona, I muster up enough energy to go to work and my private lesson on Monday. I hadn't seen Gonzalo all weekend so he picked me up from my private lesson, with umbrella in hand (that will be a blog at a later point, I just wanted to mention it here for my own memories). So I get home and Maria Luisa, one of the teachers I work with, calls me and asks me if I could teach the class solo because her mom had a stroke down in the southern part of Spain and was leaving immediately. Even though our contracts say we are not to be left alone with the kids, it happens all the time. To say I was intimidated would be an understatement. I only speak english, they only speak spanish, joder! So I went in with coffee in hand, and it went wonderfully!! I think the other teachers really respected me after that because they realized that i'm not just this walking translator, and that I can actually handle things myself. And while I wouldn't have thought this before, I think i actually prefer being solo because I was able to do things at my own pace, focus more on what I wanted to focus on, and in the end I earned more respect from the kids and the other teachers because they saw that Daniella plays no games!

I think the funniest part of my work week though was when I came in to class and the kids realized that Maria Luisa wasn't just late, that she offically wasn't coming. So one of my favorites raised her hand and asked where Maria Luisa, and I said in english, that her mom was sick and Maria Luisa wasn't going to be here for the next few days. They looked at me overly confused so I repeated "her mom...is sick" and I coughed like I was sick. And a kid yelled "esta muerto?" (is she dead?) I said nooooooo, her mom (the class translator says "su madre" and i shake my head) is sick, and I cough again...another kids yells out "gripe A?!?!" (Swine flu?!?!) NOOOO........finally a kid says "enferma" and I shook my head and moved on to the next subject...

Weekend in Paris, December 3-7 "Danielle, you have the attention span of an insect!" "why is the toilet in the hall closet? and where is the rest of your bathroom?"

STILL TO BE WRITTEN!

Disclaimer: So as the title suggests, this post WAS written in Paris but I noticed as I started writing that I had wwwaayyy much to write and couldn't even get to describing Paris---failed I know! So do not be fooled by this title because it doesn't include Paris nor is this post even even being published in Paris---double failed!

I think I have gained 5lbs after the past 2 weekends

November 13-15 (Taco Bell and Burger King)

So I was talking to Gonzalo one night and I was telling him that the first thing I wanted after landing in Chicago from Australia was Taco Bell. I even had my mom go out of the way in search out a Taco Bell, slightly ridiculous I know . It’s not like its even great food, and I can’t even really describe or justify the craving. I think they put drugs in the food to be honest because there is no real logical reason that of all food to crave, I crave Taco Bell when I move abroad. So anyways, I was telling Gonzalo all this and the GENIUS that he is did some research and found that there are like 3 in Spain, and all are in Madrid! So on Friday he called me after my private lesson and said he was taking me and Alissa to Taco Bell!!! Pretty amazing if you ask me. So we drive up to Barrio de Pilar and the Taco Bell was decorated/designed the exact same way as all the new ones they are building in the states. While the menu is a little different, they had all the classics and “Taco Bell musts”. While I am not sure if Gonzalo particularly liked it, he tried it (it was his first Taco Bell!) Yay for a Chicken Burrito from Taco Bell in Madrid!

November 20-22 (Doner Kebab, Take a Wok, ½ of a Falafeel, Doner Kebab, and a midnight pastry that was a ½ off)

So now that I have picked up 5 private lessons (I wouldn’t suggest any more than 5 for other auxilliaries) I am working about the same amount as I would be in the states. So when the weekend comes around I just want to sleep and relax. Lazy-yes, boring-yes, necessary-yes. But this weekend I thought I would make a real attempt at going out despite an overwhelming desire to just sleep and watch movies. So Thursday me and Alissa met up with Jasmine and Bethany and we were SUPPOSED to meet up with Megan, Rocio, Tom, and Lonely Boy at El Tigre. So we go to El Tigre and the line is ridiculous. People are eating their tapas over trashcans out in the street. Even if we wanted to join in on this, it was impossible to even get to the door, and don’t even attempt to get inside. We tried to get in touch with the rest of the group but that was met with extreme difficulty So we switched to Plan B…but we didn’t have a Plan B. So we walked around for what felt like an eternity but was really only about an hour. This is one of the problems of not being a “local”. We really only know the “touristy” areas but unfortunately everyone else knows those same areas, so they are impossible to go into. And then when we try just a random place the people look at us like “why are you here? We ensured this wasn’t in a travel book”. So after an hour of wandering, no food, no drinks, nada, Alissa starts talking about a kebab. BRILLIANT. What other way to drown your sorrows on a failed night than a kebab. So then we at least had a mission in meandering. So we saw this little sign that said Kebab, we went in, it was AMAZING, and my night was complete J

On Saturday, Alissa, Natalie, and I met up with two of the girls that they work with at a private academy, I can only remember one of their names-Carmen. So we went to this place that Alissa had gone to with a random person and she couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it was. (WARNING—WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ MAY MAKE YOU QUESTION MY JUDGEMENT AND HOW SAFE IT WAS, BUT I FELT SAFE THE ENTIRE TIME AND HAD A REALLY GOOD TIME, SO NO HEART ATTACKS PLEASE.) So this “place” was in Malesana, which is a neighborhood in Madrid. The actual place is called the Patio of Malesana, or something to that effect, and it is an abandoned building that a bunch of hippies have kind of taken over and have made it in to a type of community center, but its not technically their building. It’s controlled anarchy at its best. It is a community center in all aspects of the word because they give classes, have computers, entertainment, BUT they also serve drinks and allow massive amounts of pot smoking. So at first we just took it all in (I’m not even going to attempt to describe the really cool “graffiti” that was on the walls but know that they were all making a statement…my favorite one was a cow that had a world map on his side and he was drinking from a canister than had TOXIC posted on the side and all of his utters but one were being pumped into containers that had LETHAL written on this side, and then just one utter was going into “organic” bottles. Take what you want from it, but I loved it) So we got a drink, were chatting, and then I start hearing music. Reggae music, reggaeton music, hip hop music. I just couldn’t control my hips, I had to dance! So we go out of the room where they served alcohol and its like an open air concert. I’m going to try to describe this building, so bare with me.

So imagine apartment buildings that open up only to each other with a courtyard in the middle. That is what this place was like. So of course, it was open air. We were like on the 2^nd floor, so we looked down and it’s packed with people just dancing, a Jamaiacan guy rapping, people are just loving everything! I wish I could have just bottled up that feeling. Think Woodstock and that is how I felt. While I couldn’t tolerate the massive amounts of marijuana smoke on a weekly basis, I would definitely go back.

Either we had the munchies from all the pot or we were just hungry, but we starting having a craving for a Kebab again! So we left the Patio, found a really cheap Kebab place, and then me and Alissa had plans to stay out, but decided to just go ahead and head home. So we get off the metro at our neighborhood and we hear laughing coming from this pastry place. We had just talked about how we had been eating massive amounts of crap. So we just look at each other, and start laughing. Why not?!?! So we go inside and its like heaven! They are all handmade pastries and 50% off after midnight!! We couldn’t possibly resist…it would have been a crime! So I ended the night with a full tummy and a fulfilled desire to hear some reggae music…only to be awaken at 4 AM by my roommate bringing home drunk Spanish guys practically yelling in my front room acting like the only English they know is “foreplay”, but that blog will be fore another day.

On Sunday Gonzalo borrowed a bike from his uncle and took me biking!! I don’t know if because it offered a sense of “normalcy” to my life in Madrid or because it reminded me of home, or because it was just the feeling of being outside—but I loved it! Pretty sweet guy, huh! To top it off, he made me a Gonzalo special sandwich after...what more could a girl ask for?

Cultural Note 1: Window shopping is an actual event here. I love going past stores and women are just staring at the window displays.

Possible Cultural Note 2: Either I have just been around some dirty people, or picking your nose isn’t as bad here. I don’t know how many times I have seen people knuckle deep in their nose and show no concern about the appearance of having half their finger in their nose.

School note: We were learning clothes in school the other day and we taught the kids underwear. So we were saying “stand up if you’re wearing a sweater.” “Stand up if you’re wearing a t-shirt.” Then the teacher said “Stand up if you are wearing underwear…..everybody should be standing up!” All the kids started laughing and stood up and the girl that knows the most English in the class shouts “profe, profe…no tengo!” We just looked at eachother and moved on to the next topic hahahaa

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Gonzalo is picking me up from school and we are going to Valle do los Caidos—its where Franco is buried as well as the soldiers from both sides of the Spanish Civil War…the history and political science major inside of me is pretty excited about it to say the least!

Thursday-Barcelona!!

"i don't think you understand, I speak english..."

Sorry about the abandonment! I don’t even have a good excuse, I just haven’t really felt like writing. I’ve had two good weekends, I really like my job, I have no complaints, and I would just rather live it than write about it, but I know that I will want to read about my memories in the future, so I still need to blog, even if its not necessarily the thing I want to be doing at the moment. So I have neglected my blog for the past 2 weekends, which seem like a whirl at this moment but I will try to break it down. Last weekend me and Alissa went out with Ana and her boyfriend Antonio and we had a great time. We first went to this restaurant and had tapas (one of which octopus and I actually tried it!), but the main reason we went there was because of these drinks/shots you can get. So imagine a small ice cream cone the size of a shot glass, covered with chocolate on the inside. Then they pour this alcohol into it and you take it like a shot, but it seems really sweet because you start drinking the chocolate. And then, you eat the shot glass! It was just really something different. The restaurant was called Madrono I believe. Antonio also tried to convince me there use to be bears in Madrid. While I believe him, that’s like telling someone that bears use to live in New York City. It makes sense, but seems completely illogical given the condition of it now.

Also, being the history and political science geek that I am, I really enjoy talking to people about Spanish history and politics and such. It has really shocked me the frequency of conversations about the dictatorship, and for the record, I don’t bring it up!! Anyway, somehow we started talking about being left-handed. Well, Antonio is 28 and is left-handed and he was telling me that his generation was the first generation to go to school post-dictatorship and that it was difficult for the teachers to teach him how to write because under Franco everyone had to write with their right hand, and that it was believed if you couldn’t write with your right-hand you were believed to be “slow”. He didn’t have much more information on the topic, but I thought it was definitely blog worthy given that I am left handed.

So afterwards they gave us a brief tour around the area which I liked because it was all places I have been several times to go out at night, but for example the area that I go to for my intercambio night was formerly known to be the writer’s neighborhood.

So after that we went to this Polynesian-themed cocktail bar and had drinks out of these really cool cups. I don’t even think they can be called cups. They were like hollowed-out statues. There are pictures on facebook J So thankfully, this all happened on the night of daylight savings time, because afterwards me and Alissa met up with Gonzalo and some of his friends (around 3 a.m.) It was really sweet because Gonzalo had told me that only one of them spoke English so I was expecting to not be able to communicate with them at all, but to my surprise Gonzalo had taught them all the phrase “nice to meet you” so when we were doing the besos-greeting thing they all said “nice to meet you”. It’s the little things that get me, obviously.

So this past weekend was Halloween weekend. It was my second Halloween abroad and I definitely see the tradition has caught on abroad. Obviously not to the same extent as it is in the states, but I was really surprised the amount of people that were dressed up and had their faces painted. Anyways, I didn’t do any of that business, LOL. On Friday night, Jasmine and Megan had a get together at their house and it went great. Gonzalo and Jesus made some Sangria for us, random internationals showed up, I think you get the picture. I think the funniest thing was that a group of Erasmus students buzzed up to the apartment and said Julio told them there was an American Halloween party there, which was true, but we had no clue who Julio was, but the more the merrier right? So up came a big group of people we had no clue who they were or who told them about the party, but they were great. One of the guys invited even invited us to a botellon the following night. (Botellon is pretty much just drinking in the plazas/parks/streets/etc.) Great times, great times. So after getting home at 6 a.m. and sleeping ALL DAY Saturday, me and Alissa met up with two of the girls she works with and just had a girls night and I really liked it. It’s nights like Saturday that make Madrid feel like home, yet still being able to enjoy things in Madrid. So here we were, dishing about stuff, just having a great girls-night, but at the same time eating tapas and drinking Spanish wine. I was telling them that I am going to be so spoiled by my working situation here, that it will be impossible for me to find a job that I believe to be "worthy". I was telling them I'm going to go into an interview and tell them "I can only work 5 hours a day, I need a 2-hr lunch break, 30-minute coffee break, all Friday's off, and I expect to be paid $20/hr plus insurance and all paid holidays" and when everyone laughs in my face I am going to see "I don't think you understand, I speak english..." LMAO Maybe it was a had to be there moment, but I had the entire table laughing at the ridiculousness that we live. Oh the life I lead. I think that about sums up my past two weekends……

This past week at work me and the other three auxiliaries put on “a play” for each of the classes. Paula thought it would be a good idea that once a month we organize “a 15 minute play” to act out a fairytale, and then we go around to all of the classrooms (infantile-6^th grade) and act out the play. So this month we did the three little pigs and the kids loved it!! Thankfully the dialogue is really repetitive so some of the kids understood a majority of it, but we were so over the top in our actions they all at least had a sense about what was going on. In case you’re curious, I was the pig that built my house out of brick J

Cultural note: So last Friday I was talking with Ana and she was telling me about all of the Christmas stuff that goes on in Madrid and how I should make sure to go, and then she mentions the Three Kings. I’m like Three Kings? So after probably 15 minutes of talking about it, Santa Claus doesn’t bring the kids presents here, the Three Kings do, and they bring the presents on the night of January 6^th. Ana was also telling me that the three kings leave presents for you at your families house so kids go to their family members house all day on the 7^th to see what the Three Kings left for them. AAANNNDDDD, instead of leaving cookies and milk for Santa Claus, the kids leave water for the camels. True story. So then I was talking to Marina’s mom and she told me when she was little she would leave brandy out for the Kings because of all the work they had to do hahaha. I guess this just took me by so much surprise because I thought everyone did Santa Claus, and the Three Kings bringing presents is something I had never even heard of before.

Random observation: It is possibly just my school, but I am really shocked by the amount of fathers that bring their kids to school. I’m not talking about 4 or 5 dads, over 60% of the parents that bring their kids to school are dads. Talk about a cultural difference that needs to catch on in the states.

The joys and pains of working in a bilingual school

Despite the fact that teaching english is the reason I am in Madrid, I have yet to really blog about my school, the students, what its like, etc. It is nearly impossible to describe everything, but something that is unique at the school i work at is that it is a bilingual school (hence the reason I am here) where I work solely with teachers that speak english. While its not their first language, they all have a good enough command of it that we are able to communicate (most of the times). What I find so novel about this is that things can be said in the classroom that couldn´t normally be said because it would be considered inappropriate for the kids to hear teachers say such things, but since the kids don´t really know english, anything can be said and the kids are completely oblivious. So for example, there is a kid in my 1st grade class that is constantly misbehaving and the teacher was completely fed up with his antics so he says to me ¨you see that kid right there, sometimes I just want to cut his ears off!¨That is just one example, but similar things have been said numerous times. It´s like we have a secret language and there is no rules about what can be said!

So that introduces the topic of discipline. First, discipline is not as strict here as in the states and classrooms easily get out of control. They warned us about it in orientation, but it is something you really can't be prepared for. I really am tempted to introduce the idea of "class bathroom breaks" instead of letting kids go just as they feel the urge or as boredom sets in. They move around the classroom with the luxury that wasn't granted to me until I was in college. No joke.

Anyways, I digress. Because I am with 1st and 2nd graders, there is a lot of telling on people. I am starting to understand some phrases, but sometimes kids will come up to me "Profe! Profe!" and tell me something that their infliction makes me assume is a matter of life and death, and I can't understand A THING! Sometimes I feel really bad because they tell me something that is apparently something SOO important I must be told with extreme urgency, and I couldn't repeat it if they begged me because I didn't hear a single word of what they said just "khdskfhasdkljhavkjnadkljahsf". Other times, its kind of a relief because I don't have to deal with discipline issues. I just tell them "repeat" and point to the main teacher.

While there is a team of about 6 english speaking teachers, nobody else in my school speaks english. Rumor is some know a little bit, but will not speak it with a native speaker. While this may not seem like a real problem, it really is. Particularly because i'm not always with english speaking teachers. So for example, today one of my teachers asked me to go make copies. Easy enough right? Well I go to the copy machine and start copying and see that it doesn't have paper, and next to the copier is a sign in spanish that says I need to go ask Rosa for paper. WTF. So I go ask Rosa for paper in my best attempt in spanish, but she starts ranting in really fast spanish and stomps up to the copy room. I tell her I need 39 copies of each. Easy enough. Of course not! She starts trying to resize the copies for some reason and I tell her no, I want it all. Well once again, she starts ranting and raising her voice at me, and the other teachers look at me like I am a complete idiot so I can only assume that was the gist of her rant. Imagine putting an infant that has an extremely limited vocabulary in that situation, and that is how I felt.

In other news, I was walking from the metro to my school last Thursday and two girls come up to me and ask me if i'm an auxillary (keep in mind I wasn't speaking/reading english but they still knew I was an American-- I guess the hair really gives it away that I am from America for some reason). They were both from the States as well and had renewed so it was their second year. They tell me that they both work at the elementary school next door, and i'm like "there is a school next door?" and they proceed to tell me that the school i work at is for all the social-rejects and "socially undesirables" and all the other "good" kids go to the school next door. Pretty messed up, huh?

True Story: I am having a hard time telling the difference between boys and girls in my school. Seriously. Last week I referred to this boy that had a ponytail and gold earrings as "she/her" all day until I heard someone call him Juan...oops!

Non School Related news: I went to see my first movie in Spain. Don't be too impressed because it was "original version" which means it was in english with Spanish subtitles :)

Wow, i really live in Europe

So as life in Spain begins to really set in and be in full force, I am already finding it harder to make myself sit down and blog, and when I do, I think back over the week and decide it is not possibly let my family/friends know everything that is going on with my life. So for those that I don’t talk with on a regular basis, and the primary way of following me is through this blog, just rest assured that life in Madrid is amazing, I feel truly fortunate to have such great friends here, and to just be in an amazing country immersed in a one-of-a-kind culture.

Proceeding past my love affair with Spain, my week started off not so good. When I was at work on Monday I started feeling light-headed, hot, and just overall not well. So I came home, slept 10 hours, got up, got on the metro, and half-way there I started feeling light-headed and just overall dizzy like I was going to faint. So I get to the school and walk up to my director (she is a smoker, as well as almost every other teacher, and they stand outside the gates and chain smoke while the kids and family members walk up to them and say good-morning) and tell her that I am very sick and I need to go to the doctor. So she feels my forehead and says I am burning up. So long story short, she got one of the bilingual teachers that I work with (Julia) to take me the hospital. I don’t know what I have done without her because she did all the speaking and interpreting, I was just overall really thankful. So I stayed home from work for 2 days because I had a fever and was therefore contagious. It is no fun whatsoever to be sick abroad in a country where you don’t speak the language. It is definitely an incentive to use a lot of hand sanitizer and to take my vitamins.

So that brings us to Thursday. Thursday (which is our Friday because we don’t work on Friday’s) I met up with my expat-fam in Sol and we went to a bar and just hung out and then went to this horrible imitation of an “American club” with “American music” where all the expats hang out because they feel more comfortable with it, Joy Eslava. So being the expats that we are, we felt we had to experience it at least once. All I have to say is that I felt like I was at a high-school dance surrounded by 18-year olds that were out for the first time. It was just overall, not an enjoyable experience nor one that I would suggest for others. After that followed a series of unfortunate events that I will not go into detail here to save my mom from a heart-attacks, but I at least once to mention them for my own memories. Friday, me and the rest of my expat-family had taco night and it was great! There is just something so nice about having an “American” family-unit while abroad. Its not like we sit and sing the star-spangled banner, but there is something much more unifying about being an American when you are outside of America.

Now we arrive at my best weekend in Spain thus far. On Saturday me and Alissa went out on the town with Gonzalo and his friend Carlos and really had a great time. We went around to a couple bars in La Latina and just had drinks, conversations, jokes, and of course talked about cultural norms that me and Alissa aren’t use to. It was my first night out until the metro reopened! Yay for leaving the club at 5:45 a.m. ! Sunday, Gonzalo invited us out with some of his friends from school and such. They seemed to be really nice people, despite my self-inflicted inability to understand a word they said. However, because of my inability to communicate with them, I did a lot of observing. The one thing I have to say is that it is almost an out-of-body experience to see other cultural norms, and then reflect on how that would be viewed back home. As I am around more and more Spanish people, I think in general, we (Americans) just take some stuff too seriously. We are so caught up in political-correctness and how we are going to be viewed, that we confine ourselves to boxes of decorum and just become overall boring.

New Insights:

The more I am around non-native English speakers and attempting to absorb Spanish in various forms, my English is changing. I have noticed I have begun using inflictions of words that is perfectly understood in a monotone voice, I’m leaving out key words that don’t really exist in Spanish, and my sentence structure is getting all messed up because I am attempting to imitate Spanish. By the time I leave Spain, I am going to have a horrendous mixture of Spanglish and will be rendered incomprehensible by all.

I am also having to think more about English and why we say things the way we do. For example, Thursday at work the auxillaries had a meeting with the bilingual teachers and they were asking us questions about phrases we use to control the classroom. They were confident that we say “sit on your seat”, but I said no, its “sit in your seat”. They had a strong case because they were saying that we sit ON a couch, not in a couch, so why do we sit IN a seat. The truth is, I have no clue why we say the phrases we do, but we do. But when you hear their justifications for a wrong phrase, you start thinking, maybe I am mistaken. So in short, I spend all day in self-doubt on a topic that I am considered an “expert” on. EXHUASTING!

Quote of the week: “In the winter, I am yellow like a Simpson”- Carlos

*The quote of the week is becoming more and more competitive because I am around so many people that say hilarious things, especially when in a room of about 10 Americans that have been drinking a lot and are able to say anything they want and know they will be understood, for better or worse. However, most are extremely inappropriate so why these may not be the “funniest”, they definitely hit near the top.

some insights/revelations, etc.

Things that aggravate Americans about Spain, but at the same time, makes Spain Spain:

1. The lack of one stop shops: In the states we are bombarded with one-stop-shops and come to expect the convenience. For example, in the states you can buy a notebook at the grocery store, pharmacy, Wal-Mart, etc. But not in Spain. You have to go to a paper store if you want a notebook, true story. The one chain that is somewhat similar to a one-stop-shop in Spain is Corte Ingles, but it is so overpriced, it makes going to the papelaria just a necessity of life.

2. The inability to get coffee “para llevar”- to go: Here if you get coffee, you are expected to sit and enjoy it. Not take it with you. So coming from a culture where I could find a drive-up coffee shop almost every mile along the streets, not being able to find places that have to-go cups is aggravating in all senses.

3. Breaks in the middle in the day, that inevitably make the work day longer: So I started work this past week and was given my schedule. For some reason, schools take a ½ hour break from 11:30-12:00 for a snack, and then take a 2 hour lunch from 1-3. My question is, why not just wait that extra half hour for lunch, and why do we need 2 hours for lunch when we JUST had snack?!? As an American, I don’t like “wasting” time taking unnecessary breaks. I want to go work, with coffee in hand, get it all over with, and go home. But not here. I appreciate the slow pace, but it feels extremely abnormal and unnecessary.

4. Of course, laundry: no explanation needed.

5. Lack of acceptance of debit/credit cards: While you can use debit cards at larger department stores, going to the stores that are conveniently located require you to always carry cash. I am one that ALWAYS used my debit card at home and got annoyed when places would say I couldn’t use my card for my $1 purchase. Therefore, not being able to swipe and go is……aggravating to say the lease.

6. Everybody communicates via phone, and emails go unanswered: Ok this is a really hard one given it is 2009. Back home, I used email to communicate with EVERYONE. It didn’t matter if they were near or far, I would email them, and it wasn’t even expensive to call people, I just didn’t really do it. But not here. People still call, even when it costs a ton of money to place and receive calls. For example, I am trying to set up private lessons to make some extra cash, but everybody wants to call me instead of just emailing me. I was talking about this with a girl at work and I was telling her I don’t know why I find it so aggravating but I do, and she explained its because we are so use to being able to do things on our own time-schedule. If I see an email, and know that I need to answer it but what to think on it for awhile, that’s okay. But when people call (and they never leave voicemails) the only way to know what they want is to answer and be put on the spot.

I think that’s my list for now, but I am confident it will grow. In other news, I had my first private English lesson and it was a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be. It is a pretty sweet deal to get paid good money to just sit and talk with someone, but I’m constantly trying to think of new vocabulary words, but words that aren’t impossible to understand if you don’t understand the cultural context. It really makes me reflect on how I use words.

The woman I talked to yesterday was 24 and recently graduated from pharmacy school (I just can’t get away from pharm-tards can I?) Anyways, she was saying that a lot of the pharmacies want their pharmacists to know English because many immigrants and expats go into pharmacies needing help, and often times we/they don’t speak Spanish. She was also saying that she eventually wants to work for a pharmaceutical company, which if she does, she will be interviewed in English, all of her work will need to be done English, everything in English. It’s mostly because many of the pharmaceutical companies that operate in Spain are based out of the states or UK, and the tops of the companies only know English. We sure are a cocky language! Learn our language or don’t have a job. Cocky.

I am finding that giving private lessons to Spaniards is a great way to learn about Spain. Ana was telling us about the justice system here and we were baffled by the leniency. First, if you are under 18 you cannot be charged with anything, period. A couple years ago a 17 year old killed a girl, and nothing happened because he was under 18. Also, you can’t be in jail for longer than 30 years. So if you commit murder when are 20 and are convicted, then when you turn 50 you are released from jail despite still having 25+ years to commit more crimes. And lastly, you can’t be imprisoned past the age of 55. So if you are 40 and you kill someone, the most you will serve is 15 years because you age out of the system. So Ana’s tip was, watch out for the old people and the young people because you just never know about them.

And yes, I get paid to talk about stuff like this in English…it’s a sweet deal if you ask me!

NEWS FLASH: I walked around my neighborhood last night and I fell in love with Madrid. Despite my complaints in regards to culture shock, it is a place that cannot be given justice through explanation, it just has to be experienced. Last night as I walked through the streets with thousands of Spaniards, watching people eat at the sidewalk cafes, walking through the hustle and bustle in a t-shirt and flip-flops in October, I finally understood how lucky I am, and subsequently fell in love with the City.

Be prepared this is going to be a REALLY long one....

So I haven’t updated in awhile just because I started work this week. I had Orientation Monday and Tuesday and then today, Wednesday, I went to visit my school to meet everyone. Orientation was ummm….orientation. The first day Magdelena, the woman in charge of this entire program, spent the morning telling us about everything…..in Spanish! So I spent the entire morning trying to decipher how I was going to be paid, how I got my insurance, what I would be doing for the next year, all in Spanish. That was a mental workout to say the least. The only real comment I have about orientation is that either I am easily aggravated or Americans are just aggravating. All the other Americans were just asking useless questions. I am extremely happy I have already found my friends and surrogate family (Alissa, Erica, Jasmine, Tom, and Meagan). The funny thing is that my family here is just like family in general. Family is never chosen, it just happens…

Besides my aggravation with Americans, the orientation was overall really informative and made me excited about teaching this next year. The program I am doing is in its 6^th year. About 8 years ago the EU wanted each country to design a program in their schools that would make learning at least 2, preferably 3 languages mandatory. So now the way it works is that ½ of the curriculum in all schools is in English. One of which is science. So all their education in science is in English and never learn any science words in Spanish. They do this because it is one thing to have a foreign language class, but another to make English a necessity to learn science, which is a part of the standard curriculum. The other classes taught only in English are art, music, and PE. Something like teaching science in a foreign language would never happen in the states…..

So today I went to my school to meet the director and the other teachers in my school. Paula took us through the school to meet some of the other English teachers and they all gave us dos besos but what was funny is that one teacher said she is afraid that the fear of swine flu is going to force them to stop kissing as a greeting. She seemed really upset about the prospect of not greeting people with besos…….I digress, back to topic!

Let me first give some visuals about my school. It is in a not-so-good part of town with graffiti all over the building (there is a lot of graffiti in Madrid for some reason, but not artsy-graffiti, just pure vandalism). Just imagine Brooklyn. So after being buzzed through this huge gate, I go in and meet Paula, the bilingual coordinator at the school. Her English is decent, very broken, but considered great for Spain. So we sat down with her and she explains that the children in the school really need any assistance that is available to them because a lot of them are immigrants, of lower social economic class, have lots of family problems, etc. She said it is not rare for our equivalent of social services to have to become involved in many of the children’s lives because of things teachers report.

Now Paula is extremely laid back and would probably be considered borderline hippie in the States. She is a great person, kind of crazy, loves to laugh, and just really enjoys life. She then lets us know that we get to make our own schedule (crazy right!) as long as we get our hours in, she has no problem with it. So after talking with me and one of the other new assistants, (the other assistant is 27 and spent the past 5 years being a sign-language interpreter in New Mexico) Paula took us over to the school buildings. The way the school is set up it is an open campus situated in a compound, so the buildings aren’t all connected. So we walk in the buildings and the first thing I see is the teachers standing outside a bathroom handing the kids toilet paper before they go into the bathroom. Then there is another teaching standing outside the door so as the kids come out of the bathroom and she puts anti-bacterial on their hands. So I am assuming that A) there is not toilet paper in the stalls and B) there is not soap in the bathrooms…..

So after meeting all the teachers we went into Paula’s classroom and they were about to change classes. So as the kids rush in she points kids out as the gypsy kids, or the slow ones, or the ones that are lazy. But it was just something so different for a teacher to point to some to kids and say “they are gypsies!”

The kids were sooo cute though and soo excited to ask us questions in English. It made me smile. The kids I talked to today were between age 7-9 and went around saying “hello my name is ___. I’m ____ years old. I’m from_____.” Every kid was able to do it too! They definitely have limited exposure to English so its great to say stuff all the time. So when the kids were leaving I said to each one “I will see you tomorrow” and the first few had no clue what I was saying, but by the end of the line the kids were saying “I will see you tomorrow Daniela”. I am overall really excited about starting work J J

Quote of the day: “if you’re walking down the street and tomatoes starting falling out of the trees, hold on to your belongings and don’t look up” US Consular General (as part of our orientation that Americans that work at the US Consulate in Madrid came and gave a speech about staying safe in Madrid. For those that might not be aware, petty theft and pick-pocketing is a really big problem in Madrid. So the consular general was telling us about an experience she had in Greece when some kids hung out in the trees and threw tomatoes from the trees while having some buddies on the ground to grab the purses and valuables while the tourist were looking to find where the tomatoes were coming from. True story.....

fin de semana en Madrid (weekends in Madrid)

So I was in Spain last weekend, but I feel like this weekend was my first REAL weekend here. Last weekend I felt I was so hung up on the bad differences (such as no stores being open), but this weekend I took note of some of the good differences. For example, yesterday I went to the park and it was full of families. Not just 2 parents and a kid, but even grandparents, aunts, uncles, truly the entire family just spending time together. It made me think about how people in the states use their weekends compared to here. Maybe it is just me, but I always feel like we are doing stuff and running around on weekends, but here it is truly a day off. I think the cutest thing was that I saw a grandpa (probably in his 60’s) playing soccer with his grandson. You could tell it was definitely a natural occurrence here, just hanging out in the parks with family. I definitely have a greater understanding of the emphasis on family in Spanish culture now.

Today (Sunday) we went to Rastro flea market which is really just a huge street market where you can buy ANYTHING for real cheap. I was actually surprised of the amount of Spaniards that go because it is labeled as a tourist attraction. There was all the typical stuff there, but then there was truly just junk. We saw one guy selling light posts….really?? I didn’t buy anything but there was a poster that I wanted but I didn’t get. It was a painting of the statue of liberty with Barack Obama’s face. I loved it of course!!

In other news, I have been noticing that whenever I got out to a club or go shopping at a clothing store, they are always playing American music; however, so few people know English so they have no clue what the song is even about. Friday night I was in the bathroom in a club and there was some Spanish girls singing a Beyonce song and when I asked if they spoke English they didn’t understand a word I said. I just find it funny J

Random note: there is a bingo-rama right down the street from us and the old ladies line up to go inside in their “Sunday’s best”. Therefore, I think its safe to say that Bingo is an international old-lady pastime……..

Quote of the Day: “you never date a guy that has been to prison, not even federal” (Jasmine)