After a whirlwind six weeks, I'm back in the United States! We left the hotel at 10:30 a.m. Paris time, were delayed for an hour before taking off, spent over 9 hours on the plane (we had to circle around the Atlanta airport several times due to weather), spent another 2 hours going through customs and immigration, and then it took another 1.5 hours to drive back to Athens. By the time I got home at 10:15 at night last night, it was 4:15 a.m. Paris time. Andy said a surprise was waiting for me at home, and I got really excited that it somehow was my 77 pound bundle of joy. Unfortunately, Sammy's still in Cincinnati with my parents and in-laws, but Andy did buy me gorgeous roses. I supose that's a nice surprise too! Because I only slept about 6 hours last night and woke up at 5:15 a.m this morning, I'm a bit tired today. I'm trying to keep myself awake today so that I can get back on my normal schedule as soon as possible. Andy was so proud of me this morning because I started my 5 loads of laundry (no I'm not exaggerating!), uploading pictures and music, and putting away all of my crap.
I had such a wonderful time in Spain (and France) this summer. This trip was everything and more that I expected when I signed up several months ago. I found a renewed love of Spanish, and of course my level is much better now than it was before I left. I also relearned to appreciate being an American and all the things that we take for granted, such as ice, free refills, free water at restaraunts, our education system, TiVo, air conditioning, etc. I also appreciate understanding the language of where I am, whether that be in the USA or in a Spanish-speaking country, because it's really scary being in a foreign country on your own and not understanding anything!
I hope you all enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also hope you enjoyed looking at my pictures too. I have the daunting task of going through all 500+ of them (they're being uploaded onto Snapfish) and choosing which ones I want to purchase.
My summer is almost over, and I'm going to try to enjoy my next week off (and catch up on my sleep). On Thursday, I'm going to Cincinnati to pick up Sampras (I'm SOOOOOOOOOO excited to see him!!!), and then I'm driving back either Sunday or Monday. I will return to work at The Office of Information Technology next week a few days before classes start (next Thursday), and I certainly hope to that I will enjoy my 2 classes this fall, at least better than I have liked my previous courses.
I'd love to hear/talk to everyone soon. I'd also love to receive emails to hear about your summers!
'Ta Luego!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Paris (August 3 - August 5)
After a full day of traveling, we arrived in Paris around 8:00 on Friday night. This just happened to be Kindall's 21st Birthday, so we wanted to take her out to celebrate. We sort of lost our way and ended up in the Latin Quarter, but then we found a delicious restaraunt and split several different types of fondue and wine. Then, we ventured towards the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral and met some very "interesting" men from Turkey and Egypt.
Saturday was our only real day in Paris, and like Clark W. Griswold, I wanted to see it all. Therefore, I went to The Palace of Versailles in the morning and really enjoyed seeing all of the rooms and the beautiful gardens. (For Mel Brooks fans, this was the setting for his take on The French Revolution in his movie History of the World: Part I.) After Versailles, I went to The Museu de Orssey (spelling?) which is famous for its impecable collection of impressionalist art (Monet, Van Gogh, etc.). I really wanted to spend several hours there, but by the time I arrived from Versailles, which is located on the very outskirts of Paris, I only had about 90 minutes go visit the museum. I then went back to Notre Dame and got to hear mass in French, which I really enjoyed. I also liked seeing the Romanisque/Gothic structures that I learned about from my art history class.
If my day wasn't busy enough, I then went to the Eiffel Tower with some friends around 9:30 at night (it closes at 11:00). It took FOREVER to buy our tickets and get up to the very top, but it was really worth it. It was fun and a little scary seeing how high up we were and feeling the wind blow against us. We also decided to walk down the stairs from the second level because it was going on 12:30 and the lines for the elevator were super long. By the time we got a cab and made it back to the hotel, it was nearly 1:30 in the morning. We were all exhausted and hungry.
Paris made me realize how scary it is not to speak the language of the country, and I was quite happy everytime I heard English or Spanish spoken around me. It's too bad that we only had 1 day to spend there, because there certainly is more that I would have liked to do. Oh well, I'm sure Andy and I will make it back someday.
Saturday was our only real day in Paris, and like Clark W. Griswold, I wanted to see it all. Therefore, I went to The Palace of Versailles in the morning and really enjoyed seeing all of the rooms and the beautiful gardens. (For Mel Brooks fans, this was the setting for his take on The French Revolution in his movie History of the World: Part I.) After Versailles, I went to The Museu de Orssey (spelling?) which is famous for its impecable collection of impressionalist art (Monet, Van Gogh, etc.). I really wanted to spend several hours there, but by the time I arrived from Versailles, which is located on the very outskirts of Paris, I only had about 90 minutes go visit the museum. I then went back to Notre Dame and got to hear mass in French, which I really enjoyed. I also liked seeing the Romanisque/Gothic structures that I learned about from my art history class.
If my day wasn't busy enough, I then went to the Eiffel Tower with some friends around 9:30 at night (it closes at 11:00). It took FOREVER to buy our tickets and get up to the very top, but it was really worth it. It was fun and a little scary seeing how high up we were and feeling the wind blow against us. We also decided to walk down the stairs from the second level because it was going on 12:30 and the lines for the elevator were super long. By the time we got a cab and made it back to the hotel, it was nearly 1:30 in the morning. We were all exhausted and hungry.
Paris made me realize how scary it is not to speak the language of the country, and I was quite happy everytime I heard English or Spanish spoken around me. It's too bad that we only had 1 day to spend there, because there certainly is more that I would have liked to do. Oh well, I'm sure Andy and I will make it back someday.
Barcelona Pictures (July 27 - July 31)
Please enjoy these pictures of Barcelona. We had a wonderful time!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Mallorca
So I´m at the beach right now updating my blog. The weather is beautiful here, and I have quite a nice tan, although I´ve been super anal and have been reapplying the sunblock several times a day to make sure I don´t burn.
We arrived in Mallorca on Tuesday morning, and I had to spend the rest of the day grading journals for the undergraduate students while they got to lay out at the pool. Yuck! However, I did officially find out that my grades for all three of my classes (four if you count my ¨teachers class¨) were A´s, so that made me very happy!
Wednesday, we spent over an hour getting to a beach since our hotel isn´t located by one (we´re in the harbor were there are LOTS of good-looking sailors from all over the world for some big tournament...the royal family is even here!). Once we finally found the beach, the water felt SOOOOOOO nice and relaxing. I certainly enjoyed myself, especially because I only make it to the beach about once a year. A lot of the guys I was with enjoyed looking at all of the topless European women too (haha)! When we got back to the hotel, some of us decided to spend some time at the pool, which was relaxing and fun too. Then, last night, we went karioking at some bar. Everyone was super lucky to hear my lovely renditions of Abba´s ¨Waterloo¨ (Amanda G, you would have been so proud!) and my even lovelier duet of Grease´s ¨You´re the One that I Want¨ with my friend Kristen.
Today, most of the group and I took a boat tour of the entire island which started at 9:00 and ended around 4:30. As I´m writing this blog, I still feel like I´m moving with the waves. It was so bumpy/rocky that several people were throwing up off the side of the boat. Luckily, I brought some Dramamine, so I was okay for the most part, but some others looked green the entire trip. The boat docked once in the Med. Sea, and we got to jump off and swim in some of the clearest and bluest water I´ve ever been in. Then, we went to another beach for a good 1 1/2 hours before returning to the boat for a yummy lunch of paella and sangria.
Tomorrow, we´re leaving Spain (sob, sob) and we´re heading off to Paris. I´m so excited to spend all day Saturday there, and I think that I´m going to hit up the art museums like The Louve, The Museu de Orsey, The Picasso Museum, etc. I don´t think anyone else wants to do art museums, but I don´t mind going by myself. A lot of people want to just walk around and go shopping, but I can´t go shopping again. I´ve already spent too much money (Andy, I hope you´re reading this!), and I don´t have any room left in my suitcase.
I will be back in the USA on Sunday around 5:30 at night. I don´t have to go back to work at UGA until the following Monday, but I will be going to Cincy to pick up Sampras next Thursday. And yes, I might be more excited to see him than Andy, but Andy feels the same way too!
We arrived in Mallorca on Tuesday morning, and I had to spend the rest of the day grading journals for the undergraduate students while they got to lay out at the pool. Yuck! However, I did officially find out that my grades for all three of my classes (four if you count my ¨teachers class¨) were A´s, so that made me very happy!
Wednesday, we spent over an hour getting to a beach since our hotel isn´t located by one (we´re in the harbor were there are LOTS of good-looking sailors from all over the world for some big tournament...the royal family is even here!). Once we finally found the beach, the water felt SOOOOOOO nice and relaxing. I certainly enjoyed myself, especially because I only make it to the beach about once a year. A lot of the guys I was with enjoyed looking at all of the topless European women too (haha)! When we got back to the hotel, some of us decided to spend some time at the pool, which was relaxing and fun too. Then, last night, we went karioking at some bar. Everyone was super lucky to hear my lovely renditions of Abba´s ¨Waterloo¨ (Amanda G, you would have been so proud!) and my even lovelier duet of Grease´s ¨You´re the One that I Want¨ with my friend Kristen.
Today, most of the group and I took a boat tour of the entire island which started at 9:00 and ended around 4:30. As I´m writing this blog, I still feel like I´m moving with the waves. It was so bumpy/rocky that several people were throwing up off the side of the boat. Luckily, I brought some Dramamine, so I was okay for the most part, but some others looked green the entire trip. The boat docked once in the Med. Sea, and we got to jump off and swim in some of the clearest and bluest water I´ve ever been in. Then, we went to another beach for a good 1 1/2 hours before returning to the boat for a yummy lunch of paella and sangria.
Tomorrow, we´re leaving Spain (sob, sob) and we´re heading off to Paris. I´m so excited to spend all day Saturday there, and I think that I´m going to hit up the art museums like The Louve, The Museu de Orsey, The Picasso Museum, etc. I don´t think anyone else wants to do art museums, but I don´t mind going by myself. A lot of people want to just walk around and go shopping, but I can´t go shopping again. I´ve already spent too much money (Andy, I hope you´re reading this!), and I don´t have any room left in my suitcase.
I will be back in the USA on Sunday around 5:30 at night. I don´t have to go back to work at UGA until the following Monday, but I will be going to Cincy to pick up Sampras next Thursday. And yes, I might be more excited to see him than Andy, but Andy feels the same way too!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Barcelona
Hi all,
I only have a few minutes, but I´m here in Barcelona which is still one of my favorite cities in the world.
On Friday, we took a 12 hour plus bus trip here from Salamanca. Yeah, that sucked, especially because there was no bathroom and it was either too hot or too cold.
On Saturday, we spent the whole morning doing Gaudí stuff (he´s the crazy architect who designed La Sagrada Familia, some famous park, and some nutty houses. Just imagine yourself high and/or drunk and Smurfs on acid, and that´s what his buildings look like. We ate hamburgers at the Hard Rock Café (sooooooo delicious!), and then I got lost going to the Olympic Museum and the Miró Museum (I was by myself in the afternoon). So, I found a really good art museum featuring Cataluñan artists, such as Picasso, et al. that I enjoyed instead. Getting back to the hotel was quite an adventure, esepcially because I couldn´t remember its name, street, or location. Luckily, Andy was home and was able to get into my email to find out this information. However, the subway stop that I was suppose to get off on was closed due to construction, and I took some bus that was suppose to take me close to the hotel. 30 minutes later, I still had no idea where I was at! Luckily, a very nice old man finally directed me to the hotel, and all in all, it took me over 1 hour to find the hotel when it should have taken about 20 minutes. Haha.
Today, we went to Figueres to the Salvador Dalí Museum, and then we spen the afternoon at the Picasso Museum. Both were amazing! Tonight, 5 friends and I went to see ¨The Simpsons¨ at the local theater. To our wonderful surprise, it was in English!!! The movie was really funny, and I´m glad that we went.
Tomorrow is our free day, but all the museums are closed on Mondays, so my friends and I are going to hit the shops and have fun.
Tuesday, we´re off to Mallorca (the beach). We can´t wait!!!
I´ll try to post up some pictures later.
I only have a few minutes, but I´m here in Barcelona which is still one of my favorite cities in the world.
On Friday, we took a 12 hour plus bus trip here from Salamanca. Yeah, that sucked, especially because there was no bathroom and it was either too hot or too cold.
On Saturday, we spent the whole morning doing Gaudí stuff (he´s the crazy architect who designed La Sagrada Familia, some famous park, and some nutty houses. Just imagine yourself high and/or drunk and Smurfs on acid, and that´s what his buildings look like. We ate hamburgers at the Hard Rock Café (sooooooo delicious!), and then I got lost going to the Olympic Museum and the Miró Museum (I was by myself in the afternoon). So, I found a really good art museum featuring Cataluñan artists, such as Picasso, et al. that I enjoyed instead. Getting back to the hotel was quite an adventure, esepcially because I couldn´t remember its name, street, or location. Luckily, Andy was home and was able to get into my email to find out this information. However, the subway stop that I was suppose to get off on was closed due to construction, and I took some bus that was suppose to take me close to the hotel. 30 minutes later, I still had no idea where I was at! Luckily, a very nice old man finally directed me to the hotel, and all in all, it took me over 1 hour to find the hotel when it should have taken about 20 minutes. Haha.
Today, we went to Figueres to the Salvador Dalí Museum, and then we spen the afternoon at the Picasso Museum. Both were amazing! Tonight, 5 friends and I went to see ¨The Simpsons¨ at the local theater. To our wonderful surprise, it was in English!!! The movie was really funny, and I´m glad that we went.
Tomorrow is our free day, but all the museums are closed on Mondays, so my friends and I are going to hit the shops and have fun.
Tuesday, we´re off to Mallorca (the beach). We can´t wait!!!
I´ll try to post up some pictures later.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Last Days in Salamanca
Today was my last day in Salamanca, and I´m so sad to be leaving tomorrow morning. I truly had an amazing month here, and the time just flew by so quickly. I did very well in all of my classes (which were awesome!), learned some yummy Spanish recipes, and did a bit more shopping than I probably should have! I was also sad to say goodbye to my professors today, because they all were super nice and fantastic.
Tomorrow we leave for Barcelona, which should be about a 10 hour bus ride. Yuck!!! However, Barcelona was my favorite European city from 7 years ago, and I´m SOOOOO excited to visit it again. We´re going to be there for 3 days, and then we´re off to Mallorca (the beach) for three days. We end our trip in Paris, but that´s only 1.5 days. Oh well, it´s better than nothing!
I´ll try to post some pictures later on, but unfortunately, this computer won´t let me do it.
Tomorrow we leave for Barcelona, which should be about a 10 hour bus ride. Yuck!!! However, Barcelona was my favorite European city from 7 years ago, and I´m SOOOOO excited to visit it again. We´re going to be there for 3 days, and then we´re off to Mallorca (the beach) for three days. We end our trip in Paris, but that´s only 1.5 days. Oh well, it´s better than nothing!
I´ll try to post some pictures later on, but unfortunately, this computer won´t let me do it.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Last Week with Andy / Salamanca
I know it´s been awhile since I´ve updated the blog with what I´ve actually been doing here in Salamanca, so here goes it:
After Andy and I returned from Andalucia (Sevilla and Granada), my week in Salamanca was CRAZYBUSY. In addition to my 3 classes with the Universidad, I also have to take a ¨teacher¨ education class in order to get Master´s credits for my Spanish classes. Unfortunately, I really didn´t care for the lady who was running the teacher class, and I literally had 2 days to complete my final project (luckily in English). Once again, I truly feel that teachers methods classes are a waste of my time, especially because I am here in Spain for my Spanish, not for doing something that I could do in the US. Whatever. So poor Andy was left on his own when I was in classes for four hours in the morning and then for 2 hours in the night. Then, I also had to grade journals and work on my project, so that did not leave too much time for us. He did enjoy walking around on the streets, went on 2 tours of the Cathedral and Monestaries (I went with him for this one), and slept.
On Thursday night, our last night in Salamanca, we went to one of Spain´s top rated restaraunts which ironically is here in tiny Salamanca. YUUUUMMMMM, was it good! We also heard the tunas play in La Plaza Mayor. Tunas are bands of about 8 men who dress up in medieval costumes and play fun songs for crowds for money. They sounded great!
Friday, Andy went to Madrid early in the morning while I had to stay and go to class. Andy explored Madrid on his own, went to the March 11 train bombing memorials, etc. I met up with him at night, and we had a nice dinner in Madrid´s Plaza Mayor (with a whole jarra of Sangria) and ate churros con chocolates with Delta employees at una chocolateria.
Sadly, Andy left Saturday morning, but I still had the whole day in Madrid before returning to Salamanca. So, I spent over four hours at an art museum called the Carmen Thyssemen-Byzantine (I know I just butchered that spelling!). It was fabulous, especially because there was a Van Gogh exhibit.
I took my culture and art finals this morning. Despite everything going on with Keith´s death, I still knew my stuff and feel very confident that I earned A´s on both the tests. Tomorrow´s final is grammar, and I´m not as confident in that class because I haven´t even begun to study.
So, on that note... hasta luego!
P.S. Mary Beth and I signed up for a cooking class during the night this week. So far, we´ve learned how to make paella, gazpacho, tortilla española, and some type of cold salad. YUUUUMMMMM!!!!
After Andy and I returned from Andalucia (Sevilla and Granada), my week in Salamanca was CRAZYBUSY. In addition to my 3 classes with the Universidad, I also have to take a ¨teacher¨ education class in order to get Master´s credits for my Spanish classes. Unfortunately, I really didn´t care for the lady who was running the teacher class, and I literally had 2 days to complete my final project (luckily in English). Once again, I truly feel that teachers methods classes are a waste of my time, especially because I am here in Spain for my Spanish, not for doing something that I could do in the US. Whatever. So poor Andy was left on his own when I was in classes for four hours in the morning and then for 2 hours in the night. Then, I also had to grade journals and work on my project, so that did not leave too much time for us. He did enjoy walking around on the streets, went on 2 tours of the Cathedral and Monestaries (I went with him for this one), and slept.
On Thursday night, our last night in Salamanca, we went to one of Spain´s top rated restaraunts which ironically is here in tiny Salamanca. YUUUUMMMMM, was it good! We also heard the tunas play in La Plaza Mayor. Tunas are bands of about 8 men who dress up in medieval costumes and play fun songs for crowds for money. They sounded great!
Friday, Andy went to Madrid early in the morning while I had to stay and go to class. Andy explored Madrid on his own, went to the March 11 train bombing memorials, etc. I met up with him at night, and we had a nice dinner in Madrid´s Plaza Mayor (with a whole jarra of Sangria) and ate churros con chocolates with Delta employees at una chocolateria.
Sadly, Andy left Saturday morning, but I still had the whole day in Madrid before returning to Salamanca. So, I spent over four hours at an art museum called the Carmen Thyssemen-Byzantine (I know I just butchered that spelling!). It was fabulous, especially because there was a Van Gogh exhibit.
I took my culture and art finals this morning. Despite everything going on with Keith´s death, I still knew my stuff and feel very confident that I earned A´s on both the tests. Tomorrow´s final is grammar, and I´m not as confident in that class because I haven´t even begun to study.
So, on that note... hasta luego!
P.S. Mary Beth and I signed up for a cooking class during the night this week. So far, we´ve learned how to make paella, gazpacho, tortilla española, and some type of cold salad. YUUUUMMMMM!!!!
My friend, Keith
As most of you know, my friend Keith died very unexpectantly on Sunday, July 22. He was only 33 years old, and he was studying to be a Spanish teacher here with me in Salamanca. The unoficial cause of death is flooding of the lungs caused by acute bronchitis and asthma, but I think the coroner hasn´t completed his full analysis yet. At least nobody thinks that he suffered.
Keith was such a sweet guy, and he didn´t have a mean bone in his body. We had a lovely memorial service for him last night, and it was a true testament to him that everyone in our group was there (despite having finals today and tomorrow) along with his professors, classmates, and other friends. Everyone had such kind words to say about him, and he certainly will be missed.
Today, we´re meeting at 5:00 to climb the Cathedral´s bell tower in his honor. Keith had gone on a tour of the Cathedral last week, and he wanted to climb the bell tower, but he couldn´t because he didn´t have enough money to do it (I think he only had like 1 euro on him). This was something he really wanted to do before leaving Salamanca, but because he got sick, he unfortunately never had the chance to return. Our director thought it´d be nice if we climbed it in his honor.
Here´s a fun picture that I took of Keith and some of the other guys on our trip. Keith is the one on the far left, wearing the striped t-shirt and sun glasses. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Keith was such a sweet guy, and he didn´t have a mean bone in his body. We had a lovely memorial service for him last night, and it was a true testament to him that everyone in our group was there (despite having finals today and tomorrow) along with his professors, classmates, and other friends. Everyone had such kind words to say about him, and he certainly will be missed.
Today, we´re meeting at 5:00 to climb the Cathedral´s bell tower in his honor. Keith had gone on a tour of the Cathedral last week, and he wanted to climb the bell tower, but he couldn´t because he didn´t have enough money to do it (I think he only had like 1 euro on him). This was something he really wanted to do before leaving Salamanca, but because he got sick, he unfortunately never had the chance to return. Our director thought it´d be nice if we climbed it in his honor.
Here´s a fun picture that I took of Keith and some of the other guys on our trip. Keith is the one on the far left, wearing the striped t-shirt and sun glasses. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Granada / La Alhambra (July 15)
The only reason why I remember so much is because I´ve been studying for my art history final. El arte hispano-musulman is on it, and we have to know about La Alhambra. It truly is a fascinating place!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Super Fun Last Few Days!!!
So, the last time I posted, it was Thursday evening. That started off a barage of events that are still going on as I speak:
Thursday night: MIGUEL BOSÉ CONCERT!!! This was so fabulous, and he´s still so hot at 51. He sang his Morenamía song (which many of you should know from my wedding), and he also encored with my personal favorite song Amante bandido. Did you know that his latest CD is full of duets with famous Hispanic singers such as Ricky Martin, Juanes, Shakira, and (of all people) Michael Stipe? Go to ITunes to listen to him, or you can just wait until I come home and I can burn you some of his music.
Friday: So I didn´t get home from the concert until 1:30 (I heard my good friend, the garbage man, picking up the dumpsters right on schedule). I probably didn´t go to bed until around 2:30, and lucky me, I got to get up at 4:45 to catch an early train to Madrid to pick up Andy. Yeah, he´s here with me!!! We did so much in the afternoon, including visiting the Royal Palace, El Prado, and La Reina Sofia museums. Andy´s going back to Madrid on Friday morning so he can do more, and I´ll meet him Friday early evening since I can´t miss anymore class. Then, he leaves Saturday morning, but I´ll stay in Madrid and do whatever I want for the afternoon.
Saturday: We took the bullet train (aka: high speed) to Seville, the city I used to live in. I was SO excited to be back there, and it was just as beautiful (and a heck of a lot more modern) than I remember it. Yes, it was HOT (about 100ºF), but I was so happy to be back. Once again, we did as much as possible: La Torre de Oro (the old Muslim fortress on the river), La Catedral (the largest Gothic cathedral in the world; the third largest Catholic cathedral in Europe) the Giralda bell tower (one of the oldest and tallest standing Moorish towers in the world, built in the 1200s), El Real Alcazar (the Moorish built, Catholic occupied royal residence that the King and Queen of Spain still use today, built in the 1200s), La Plaza de Toros (the bullring, one of the oldest and most famous rings in Spain), and we ate dinner at my favorite old Italain restaraunt, San Marcos. We just walked around everywhere, and it was just so wonderful to be back. I tried visiting my old family, but unfortunately they weren´t home. I did leave them a note, and my Spanish brother just emailed me saying that they remembered me and were sorry that they all missed me. (Oh yeah, Andy and I got locked into their apartment building for about 5 minutes. That was interesting...) Seville, as I stated earlier, has gotten so much more modern. In fact, they´re building 3 metro lines and an electric trolley car system, and they´ve really cleaned up the city a lot. I wish we had more than 1 day to spend there, but it was just so fabulous to be back. Oh, and Andy was impressed that I remembered exactly where the Pizza Hut, Hagan Daas, McDonalds, and Pans & Company were all located!
Sunday: Okay, this started off a bit on the "adventurous" side because due to a silly mistake on my part, we missed our 7:00 am train to Granada. Oops. Well, the next train didn´t leave until 11:45 am, but we had to be at La Alhambra (one of the world´s most AMAZING attractions) at 3:00 because that´s when our tickets were for. If we tok the 11:45 train, we wouldn´t have made it. Luckily, I thought of taking the bus, and the bus station wasn´t too far. We were able to catch the 9:00 am bus that got us iinto Granada by noon. It is just as hot in Granda as it is in Seville, but there were water fountains everywhere. Unlike in Mexico, the water is perfectly safe to drink here. Anyway, we did get to La Alhambra; which was built in the twelth century as a Moorish city and palace. Oh wow, it is SUPER impressive and gorgeous and full of history. We took so many pictures and spent over four hours there The last time I was there, seven years ago, I was so hung over and didn´t enjoy or appreciate it at all. This time, however, I LOVED it! Andy did too. There are so many different parts to it, from the gardens to the palaces to the old baths to the soldiers quarters to the military fortress. It was up for consideration as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Afterwards, we had time to briefly visit the remains of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of the Spanish Inquisition (and the ones who gave permission to Columbus to go to America), and we got to see their crowns, septors, tapestries, etc. This was from 1492!!! Lastly, we visited the Cathedral which was beautiful and impressive. Andy is upset, however, that he can´t find the Patron Saint of Cleaning (yes, there really is one), like he found in Peru.
Today: We got up early and took a 4.5 hour train to Madrid, switched stations and ate lunch at Pans & Company (Spain´s answer to Subway), and then took another 2.5 hour train ride to Salamanca. We´re now here, and Andy enjoyed his very first chocolate with churros. Yummmm! Our hotel is very nice, and it´s about a 3 minute walk to my classes. That´s awesome!!!
We´ll be posting pictures from our weekend soon!
Thursday night: MIGUEL BOSÉ CONCERT!!! This was so fabulous, and he´s still so hot at 51. He sang his Morenamía song (which many of you should know from my wedding), and he also encored with my personal favorite song Amante bandido. Did you know that his latest CD is full of duets with famous Hispanic singers such as Ricky Martin, Juanes, Shakira, and (of all people) Michael Stipe? Go to ITunes to listen to him, or you can just wait until I come home and I can burn you some of his music.
Friday: So I didn´t get home from the concert until 1:30 (I heard my good friend, the garbage man, picking up the dumpsters right on schedule). I probably didn´t go to bed until around 2:30, and lucky me, I got to get up at 4:45 to catch an early train to Madrid to pick up Andy. Yeah, he´s here with me!!! We did so much in the afternoon, including visiting the Royal Palace, El Prado, and La Reina Sofia museums. Andy´s going back to Madrid on Friday morning so he can do more, and I´ll meet him Friday early evening since I can´t miss anymore class. Then, he leaves Saturday morning, but I´ll stay in Madrid and do whatever I want for the afternoon.
Saturday: We took the bullet train (aka: high speed) to Seville, the city I used to live in. I was SO excited to be back there, and it was just as beautiful (and a heck of a lot more modern) than I remember it. Yes, it was HOT (about 100ºF), but I was so happy to be back. Once again, we did as much as possible: La Torre de Oro (the old Muslim fortress on the river), La Catedral (the largest Gothic cathedral in the world; the third largest Catholic cathedral in Europe) the Giralda bell tower (one of the oldest and tallest standing Moorish towers in the world, built in the 1200s), El Real Alcazar (the Moorish built, Catholic occupied royal residence that the King and Queen of Spain still use today, built in the 1200s), La Plaza de Toros (the bullring, one of the oldest and most famous rings in Spain), and we ate dinner at my favorite old Italain restaraunt, San Marcos. We just walked around everywhere, and it was just so wonderful to be back. I tried visiting my old family, but unfortunately they weren´t home. I did leave them a note, and my Spanish brother just emailed me saying that they remembered me and were sorry that they all missed me. (Oh yeah, Andy and I got locked into their apartment building for about 5 minutes. That was interesting...) Seville, as I stated earlier, has gotten so much more modern. In fact, they´re building 3 metro lines and an electric trolley car system, and they´ve really cleaned up the city a lot. I wish we had more than 1 day to spend there, but it was just so fabulous to be back. Oh, and Andy was impressed that I remembered exactly where the Pizza Hut, Hagan Daas, McDonalds, and Pans & Company were all located!
Sunday: Okay, this started off a bit on the "adventurous" side because due to a silly mistake on my part, we missed our 7:00 am train to Granada. Oops. Well, the next train didn´t leave until 11:45 am, but we had to be at La Alhambra (one of the world´s most AMAZING attractions) at 3:00 because that´s when our tickets were for. If we tok the 11:45 train, we wouldn´t have made it. Luckily, I thought of taking the bus, and the bus station wasn´t too far. We were able to catch the 9:00 am bus that got us iinto Granada by noon. It is just as hot in Granda as it is in Seville, but there were water fountains everywhere. Unlike in Mexico, the water is perfectly safe to drink here. Anyway, we did get to La Alhambra; which was built in the twelth century as a Moorish city and palace. Oh wow, it is SUPER impressive and gorgeous and full of history. We took so many pictures and spent over four hours there The last time I was there, seven years ago, I was so hung over and didn´t enjoy or appreciate it at all. This time, however, I LOVED it! Andy did too. There are so many different parts to it, from the gardens to the palaces to the old baths to the soldiers quarters to the military fortress. It was up for consideration as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Afterwards, we had time to briefly visit the remains of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of the Spanish Inquisition (and the ones who gave permission to Columbus to go to America), and we got to see their crowns, septors, tapestries, etc. This was from 1492!!! Lastly, we visited the Cathedral which was beautiful and impressive. Andy is upset, however, that he can´t find the Patron Saint of Cleaning (yes, there really is one), like he found in Peru.
Today: We got up early and took a 4.5 hour train to Madrid, switched stations and ate lunch at Pans & Company (Spain´s answer to Subway), and then took another 2.5 hour train ride to Salamanca. We´re now here, and Andy enjoyed his very first chocolate with churros. Yummmm! Our hotel is very nice, and it´s about a 3 minute walk to my classes. That´s awesome!!!
We´ll be posting pictures from our weekend soon!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Exciting things are coming my way!!!
I am SOOOOO excited for tonight and this weekend. Why? Because tonight I´m lucky enough to see Miguel Bosé in concert here in Salamanca. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "Who is Miguel Bosé?" Well, if you went to my rehersal dinner and wedding last year, he´s the one who sings the song "Morenamía" which was in our video and is also on the CD that everyone received. I saw him in Mexico City three years ago, and he has just released a new album which is his greatest hits as duets with famous Spanish singers such as Shakira, Juanes, etc. I´m SUPER excited to see him again!!!
Tomorrow morning at 6:00, I´m going to Madrid to pick up Andy from the airport! He´ll be here in Spain for 8 days, and we´re definetely making the most of our time together. Friday, we´re spending the whole day in Madrid, Saturday we´re taking the bullet train to Seville (where I studied 7 years ago), Sunday we´re going to Granada (where La Alahambra is), and then Monday we´re traveling back to Salamanca. Then, we´ll spend the rest of the week here in Salamanca, because I can´t miss any more classes. Friday afternoon, we´ll go back to Madrid, because Andy leaves early Saturday morning. I´m sure we´ll have an awesome time!!! Only two things could make his visit better: 1. The weather in Seville and Granada is seriously 115 degrees (it´s right above Africa) 2. I wish Sampras could come visit too! (According to my mother, he´s having a great summer in Cincinnati, and he´s even made some new friends!)
My classes here in Salamanca are awesome! I wish UGA would offer classes like these, because I´m learning so much, and it´s not literature or linguistics (what they offer at UGA). I´m taking the most advanced grammar class there is, and I know this makes me sound like a huge dork, but I totally get off on doing all the ser/estar, preterite/imperfect, etc. grammar exercises. I also am finding my Spanish culture and art history classes fascinating. It´s a whole lot to take in in only a few weeks, but it´s totally worth it.
Lastly, I´m publishing a few pictures for you all to enjoy. The University offers free tours of the the cathedrals and the Universidad, so here are some pictures of them. Enjoy!
P.S. If you have a minute and want to either leave me a comment or send me an email, I´d love to hear from you!
Tomorrow morning at 6:00, I´m going to Madrid to pick up Andy from the airport! He´ll be here in Spain for 8 days, and we´re definetely making the most of our time together. Friday, we´re spending the whole day in Madrid, Saturday we´re taking the bullet train to Seville (where I studied 7 years ago), Sunday we´re going to Granada (where La Alahambra is), and then Monday we´re traveling back to Salamanca. Then, we´ll spend the rest of the week here in Salamanca, because I can´t miss any more classes. Friday afternoon, we´ll go back to Madrid, because Andy leaves early Saturday morning. I´m sure we´ll have an awesome time!!! Only two things could make his visit better: 1. The weather in Seville and Granada is seriously 115 degrees (it´s right above Africa) 2. I wish Sampras could come visit too! (According to my mother, he´s having a great summer in Cincinnati, and he´s even made some new friends!)
My classes here in Salamanca are awesome! I wish UGA would offer classes like these, because I´m learning so much, and it´s not literature or linguistics (what they offer at UGA). I´m taking the most advanced grammar class there is, and I know this makes me sound like a huge dork, but I totally get off on doing all the ser/estar, preterite/imperfect, etc. grammar exercises. I also am finding my Spanish culture and art history classes fascinating. It´s a whole lot to take in in only a few weeks, but it´s totally worth it.
Lastly, I´m publishing a few pictures for you all to enjoy. The University offers free tours of the the cathedrals and the Universidad, so here are some pictures of them. Enjoy!
P.S. If you have a minute and want to either leave me a comment or send me an email, I´d love to hear from you!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Pamplona / The Festival of San Fermin
As I wrote earlier, I just returned from Pamplona where the Running of the Bulls / The Festival of San Fermin takes place. As I also stated earlier, WOW, was it CRAZY!!! I´ve never seen so many drunk people in my entire life. Additionally, everyone looked the same in their white shirts and pants with their red sashes and red scarves.
On Friday, after a 6 hour bus ride from Salamanca to Pamplona, we witnessed the awesome fireworks that began the first night of the festival at 11:00 pm. Then, we literally partied with the Spanairds and the rest of the world, and the party doesn´t stop until July 14. There was drinking on streets, peeing on the trees (I´m not joking), bands, dancing, singing, eating, more drinking, and just partying in general. Holy cow, I´ve never witnessed anything like it before in my life, and despite the fact that it was super crowded and uncomfortable being pushed and shoved, it was FABULOUS!
I got about 3 hours of sleep on Friday night, because Saturday morning was the first of the seven "Running of the Bulls". It takes place at exactly 8:00 in the morning, and so we had to leave at 6:30 to get into the Plaza de Toros to see all the action (please see the earlier blog for more info and pictures).
We then went on a city tour of Pamplona, which probably wouldn´t have been so nuts if there weren´t one million people on these streets. They´re very narrow, and everyone was out still drinking and celebrating this occasion. We also got to see the parade that kicks everything off. Once again, I probably would have enjoyed myself more if there weren´t so many people in the streets pushing and shoving one another.
After sleeping for about 4 hours after a delicious lunch of authentic paella, we went out again to buy shirts, eat Pizza Hut and churros (fantastic!), and watch the fireworks again. We wwere so exhausted at this point that even though I wanted to go out dancing, my feet just couldn´t take another night of punishment. (On a side note, this is great practice for my 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk!) I don´t know of anyone in my group of 38 who went out last night because it was so nuts and we were so tired. I slept soooooo well despite the noises on the street of drunks, horns, songs, etc.
All in all, it was a great weekend that I will remember always. I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to witness such an amazing event.
On Friday, after a 6 hour bus ride from Salamanca to Pamplona, we witnessed the awesome fireworks that began the first night of the festival at 11:00 pm. Then, we literally partied with the Spanairds and the rest of the world, and the party doesn´t stop until July 14. There was drinking on streets, peeing on the trees (I´m not joking), bands, dancing, singing, eating, more drinking, and just partying in general. Holy cow, I´ve never witnessed anything like it before in my life, and despite the fact that it was super crowded and uncomfortable being pushed and shoved, it was FABULOUS!
I got about 3 hours of sleep on Friday night, because Saturday morning was the first of the seven "Running of the Bulls". It takes place at exactly 8:00 in the morning, and so we had to leave at 6:30 to get into the Plaza de Toros to see all the action (please see the earlier blog for more info and pictures).
We then went on a city tour of Pamplona, which probably wouldn´t have been so nuts if there weren´t one million people on these streets. They´re very narrow, and everyone was out still drinking and celebrating this occasion. We also got to see the parade that kicks everything off. Once again, I probably would have enjoyed myself more if there weren´t so many people in the streets pushing and shoving one another.
After sleeping for about 4 hours after a delicious lunch of authentic paella, we went out again to buy shirts, eat Pizza Hut and churros (fantastic!), and watch the fireworks again. We wwere so exhausted at this point that even though I wanted to go out dancing, my feet just couldn´t take another night of punishment. (On a side note, this is great practice for my 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk!) I don´t know of anyone in my group of 38 who went out last night because it was so nuts and we were so tired. I slept soooooo well despite the noises on the street of drunks, horns, songs, etc.
All in all, it was a great weekend that I will remember always. I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to witness such an amazing event.
Pamplona / The Running of the Bulls
We just returned from a CRAZY weekend in Pamplona from The Running of the Bulls. This festival is also known as San Fermin, because Saint Fermin is the Patron Saint of Pamplona. Therefore, for 7 straight days and nights, the Pamplonans dance, drink, party, drink, wear white with red sashes and scarfs, drink, celebrate, and drink more.
Yesterday morning, we arrived at the bull ring around 7:10. There were so many people there pushing and shoving to buy tickets to what´s called "El Enciero", or when the bulls enter the bull ring (Plaza de Toros) after running through the streets. (This totally reminded me of being pushed and shoved in Mexico City on the metro.) It was complete chaos, and we finally got tickets and were able to sit down in the nosebleed seats about 15 minutes before the bulls entered the ring. People had been drinking and partying the whole night, so the atmosphere was nuts! There were people doing the wave, throwing bottles and jackets into the bull ring, singing, cursing ("hijo de puta..."), etc.
Around 8:03, finally we saw the first people run into the ring. The crowd errupted into cheers as more and more men (and a few women) made their way into The Plaza de Toros. A few moments later, the bulls entered and rang straight through to the other side. Then, more men and more bulls entered the ring as the crowd cheered louder and sang some song about a bull. (They also sang the famous soccer song "Olé, olé, olé...") By this time, there were several hundred people in the ring, and they were celebrating and cheering loudly.
The next thing we knew, the officials opened the gate to allow one of the bulls to return into the ring. The people inside the ring lined up by the gate, and several of them got down on their hands and knees right by the gate so that the bull would jump over them. The crowd went nuts again, and the bull started charging the people inside the ring right away. I have to admit that it was really scary and exciting to see the bull hit/gore the people inside the ring, and luckily, no one was seriously injured inside of the ring. However, Mary Beth has just told me that an Austrailain died from his injuries yesterday. If the bull knocked someone down, most of the time, that person laid in the fetal position with his/her hands protecting his/her head. Also, it´s considered in bad taste if the people taunt the bull by pulling on his tail, hitting him, grabbing his horns, etc. The crowd jeered these people with whistles and chants of "hijo de puta" (son of a bitch). In fact, this morning, someone was arrested for being too tough on the bull! (I didn´t get up to go this morning, but that´s what other people in my group said.) After a few minutes, there is a herding bull that rounds up the charging bull, and they leave the ring.
The whole spectacle is repeated 4 or 5 times, and the whole experience inside the bull ring lasts about 1 hour. However, the actual running of the bulls on the streets last a mere 3 minutes. We walked the route that the bulls take later on in the day, and I´ll post pictures of that too.
Yesterday morning, we arrived at the bull ring around 7:10. There were so many people there pushing and shoving to buy tickets to what´s called "El Enciero", or when the bulls enter the bull ring (Plaza de Toros) after running through the streets. (This totally reminded me of being pushed and shoved in Mexico City on the metro.) It was complete chaos, and we finally got tickets and were able to sit down in the nosebleed seats about 15 minutes before the bulls entered the ring. People had been drinking and partying the whole night, so the atmosphere was nuts! There were people doing the wave, throwing bottles and jackets into the bull ring, singing, cursing ("hijo de puta..."), etc.
Around 8:03, finally we saw the first people run into the ring. The crowd errupted into cheers as more and more men (and a few women) made their way into The Plaza de Toros. A few moments later, the bulls entered and rang straight through to the other side. Then, more men and more bulls entered the ring as the crowd cheered louder and sang some song about a bull. (They also sang the famous soccer song "Olé, olé, olé...") By this time, there were several hundred people in the ring, and they were celebrating and cheering loudly.
The next thing we knew, the officials opened the gate to allow one of the bulls to return into the ring. The people inside the ring lined up by the gate, and several of them got down on their hands and knees right by the gate so that the bull would jump over them. The crowd went nuts again, and the bull started charging the people inside the ring right away. I have to admit that it was really scary and exciting to see the bull hit/gore the people inside the ring, and luckily, no one was seriously injured inside of the ring. However, Mary Beth has just told me that an Austrailain died from his injuries yesterday. If the bull knocked someone down, most of the time, that person laid in the fetal position with his/her hands protecting his/her head. Also, it´s considered in bad taste if the people taunt the bull by pulling on his tail, hitting him, grabbing his horns, etc. The crowd jeered these people with whistles and chants of "hijo de puta" (son of a bitch). In fact, this morning, someone was arrested for being too tough on the bull! (I didn´t get up to go this morning, but that´s what other people in my group said.) After a few minutes, there is a herding bull that rounds up the charging bull, and they leave the ring.
The whole spectacle is repeated 4 or 5 times, and the whole experience inside the bull ring lasts about 1 hour. However, the actual running of the bulls on the streets last a mere 3 minutes. We walked the route that the bulls take later on in the day, and I´ll post pictures of that too.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
July 4 Party / Flamenco Show
I hope everyone had a nice July 4. Here are pictures from our evening at Jana´s (the director of the trip) and the flamenco show we went to afterwards. Jana had pizza and other food for us, and then we went to a nice flamenco show which started at 11:00 pm. We enjoyed the show, even though it was REALLY cool outside and we were tired (we didn´t get home until 1:30 and had to get up to go to class this morning).
Tomorrow, we´re off to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls. No, I´m not running, but it still should be quite interesting. I´ll post picutures and commentary on Monday.
Tomorrow, we´re off to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls. No, I´m not running, but it still should be quite interesting. I´ll post picutures and commentary on Monday.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Daily Life in Salamanca
Today was my first day of classes, and it went really well. I´m taking three classes for six hours of Master´s credit. My first class is 2 hours of very advanced grammar, my third hour is Spanish culture, and my fourth hour is the history of Spanish art. We are attending the international section of the Universidad de Salamanca, so I am in classes with people from all over the world. For example, in my advanced grammar class, there are 4 Americans, 1 Austrian, 2 Italians, 1 person from Taiwan, 1 person from Thailand, 1 person from Switzerland, 2 Brazilians, and 1 person from France. Therefore, our only means of communicating is in Spanish! The culture class probably will be fairly easy because I already know most of the information, but it will still be fun. I don´t know anything about the art class because our professor didn´t show up today. However, I´m sure it will be wonderful.
I didn´t sleep much better last night, and I found out that the garbage truck goes down our street every morning at 1:30. Lucky us!!! I plan to take a Dramamine tonight because it makes me so tired that I hopefully can sleep through the noise.
Life in Spain is good, but it´s MUCH more expensive now than it was before. This is because of the euro, which is something like $1.33. I used to be able to eat a big lunch for around $6, and now the price has jumped to 12 euros, or $16! Also, there are so many differences between Spain and Mexico. I guess I´m still used to my Mexican lifestyle, such as everyone walking into me, their style of talking, and how dirty it was over there. Spain is so much cleaner and nicer than Mexico. Additionally, most of the people are actually nice to Americans, and they don’t try to talk smack about our government, especially Bush. Everyone I´ve encountered has been friendly and more than helpful when I´ve been lost.
My typical day consists of getting up at 7:30, eating a small breakfast of toast (I have been putting peanut butter or nutella on the toast for some protein), and leaving our apartment at 8:20. We then spend about 20-25 minutes walking to the university (the weather is wonderful right now, so the walk is a pleasure). I´m in class from 9:00 – 1:20, and then I return to the apartment to eat lunch, the big meal of the day, around 2:00. So far, our señora has been a very good cook, but we are always hungry for the next meal. Anyway, after lunch, the three of us have been taking our siestas for about 1 hour, and then we´ll go to the Internet café or sit around and talk. We eat a small dinner between 9:00 – 10:00, and then many people go out around 11:00 to the Plaza Mayor to drink, eat tapas, or just hang out with friends.
Tomorrow is July 4, so our director is having us over for a pizza party before seeing a flamenco show at the Universidad. It should be fun. Happy 4th!
P.S. My friends and family who know me well will be happy to know that I have been keeping our bedroom very clean and tidy. I make my bed, put away my dirty clothes, etc. I wouldn´t want to subject Mary Beth or my señora to what I put Andy through!!! (Andy informed me that he found where I hid all the pictures that were out on the counter that he asked me to put away before I left. Well, I technically put them away, just not where he asked…)
I didn´t sleep much better last night, and I found out that the garbage truck goes down our street every morning at 1:30. Lucky us!!! I plan to take a Dramamine tonight because it makes me so tired that I hopefully can sleep through the noise.
Life in Spain is good, but it´s MUCH more expensive now than it was before. This is because of the euro, which is something like $1.33. I used to be able to eat a big lunch for around $6, and now the price has jumped to 12 euros, or $16! Also, there are so many differences between Spain and Mexico. I guess I´m still used to my Mexican lifestyle, such as everyone walking into me, their style of talking, and how dirty it was over there. Spain is so much cleaner and nicer than Mexico. Additionally, most of the people are actually nice to Americans, and they don’t try to talk smack about our government, especially Bush. Everyone I´ve encountered has been friendly and more than helpful when I´ve been lost.
My typical day consists of getting up at 7:30, eating a small breakfast of toast (I have been putting peanut butter or nutella on the toast for some protein), and leaving our apartment at 8:20. We then spend about 20-25 minutes walking to the university (the weather is wonderful right now, so the walk is a pleasure). I´m in class from 9:00 – 1:20, and then I return to the apartment to eat lunch, the big meal of the day, around 2:00. So far, our señora has been a very good cook, but we are always hungry for the next meal. Anyway, after lunch, the three of us have been taking our siestas for about 1 hour, and then we´ll go to the Internet café or sit around and talk. We eat a small dinner between 9:00 – 10:00, and then many people go out around 11:00 to the Plaza Mayor to drink, eat tapas, or just hang out with friends.
Tomorrow is July 4, so our director is having us over for a pizza party before seeing a flamenco show at the Universidad. It should be fun. Happy 4th!
P.S. My friends and family who know me well will be happy to know that I have been keeping our bedroom very clean and tidy. I make my bed, put away my dirty clothes, etc. I wouldn´t want to subject Mary Beth or my señora to what I put Andy through!!! (Andy informed me that he found where I hid all the pictures that were out on the counter that he asked me to put away before I left. Well, I technically put them away, just not where he asked…)
Monday, July 2, 2007
Madrid / Segovia / Salamanca
After spending 2.5 days in Madrid, I´m now in Salamanca. My second full day in Madrid was very busy, with visits to the Royal Palace (which isn´t used anymore), many plazas, and two of the best art museums in the world: El Prado (Goya, El Greco, and Velasquez) and La Reina Sofia (Picasso, Dalí, and Miró). It´s so fantastic to see in person paintings that I used to teach my students about and that I´ve studied in the past.
Saturday night was certainly interesting because of the Gay Pride parade in Madrid. Wow, was that crazy!!! Unlike the US, Spain is very progressive with gay rights (legalizing marriage, benefits, adoptions, etc.), and so thousands of people from all over Europe and South America were there to march. I took some FABULOUS and INTERESTING pictures which I´ll upload later since I can´t seem to figure out how this computer works in regards to uploading photos. Oh yeah, and Mary Beth and I went to a performance of the National Ballet. It was mostly flamenco dance, and it was great! Our only complaint was that there was no air conditioning in the theater. Wow, were we HOT!
Yesterday, we took a bus to Segovia which is about 1 hour from Madrid. Segovia is a little city that is known for its Roman aquaduct and castle where Queen Isabel (infamous from the Spanish Inquisition) was crowned. It amazed me that the aquaduct was still standing and functional after over 2000 years!
Last night, we made it into Salamanca. My señora is very nice with a big "house" (really an apartment). I´m sharing a room with Mary Beth, and then Vanessa has her own room. There are 2 other American girls from a different program who are also staying with us. I just met them this afternoon, and they seem nice enough. The only complaint I have about the house is that we´re on a busy street, and it´s VERY noisy, even at night. I had a hard time falling asleep last night because the windows have to be open in order for it to be cool, yet I heard the cars, garbage truck, horns, people, etc. down below. This morning, I woke up very early because of the noises too. I don´t have too many options: sleep with the window closed (and be hot), wear ear plugs (luckily, Mary Beth has an extra pair), sleep with my IPod on (which sometimes hurts my ears), or just deal with it and get used to it.
Classes start tomorrow, and I´m excited. I´m taking Spanish grammar, Spanish culture, and Spanish art. No offense to UGA, but they offer nothing like this.
More later, and hopefully I can figure out what´s up with the USB port here so I can upload some pictures (especially of the Gay Pride parade!).
Saturday night was certainly interesting because of the Gay Pride parade in Madrid. Wow, was that crazy!!! Unlike the US, Spain is very progressive with gay rights (legalizing marriage, benefits, adoptions, etc.), and so thousands of people from all over Europe and South America were there to march. I took some FABULOUS and INTERESTING pictures which I´ll upload later since I can´t seem to figure out how this computer works in regards to uploading photos. Oh yeah, and Mary Beth and I went to a performance of the National Ballet. It was mostly flamenco dance, and it was great! Our only complaint was that there was no air conditioning in the theater. Wow, were we HOT!
Yesterday, we took a bus to Segovia which is about 1 hour from Madrid. Segovia is a little city that is known for its Roman aquaduct and castle where Queen Isabel (infamous from the Spanish Inquisition) was crowned. It amazed me that the aquaduct was still standing and functional after over 2000 years!
Last night, we made it into Salamanca. My señora is very nice with a big "house" (really an apartment). I´m sharing a room with Mary Beth, and then Vanessa has her own room. There are 2 other American girls from a different program who are also staying with us. I just met them this afternoon, and they seem nice enough. The only complaint I have about the house is that we´re on a busy street, and it´s VERY noisy, even at night. I had a hard time falling asleep last night because the windows have to be open in order for it to be cool, yet I heard the cars, garbage truck, horns, people, etc. down below. This morning, I woke up very early because of the noises too. I don´t have too many options: sleep with the window closed (and be hot), wear ear plugs (luckily, Mary Beth has an extra pair), sleep with my IPod on (which sometimes hurts my ears), or just deal with it and get used to it.
Classes start tomorrow, and I´m excited. I´m taking Spanish grammar, Spanish culture, and Spanish art. No offense to UGA, but they offer nothing like this.
More later, and hopefully I can figure out what´s up with the USB port here so I can upload some pictures (especially of the Gay Pride parade!).
Friday, June 29, 2007
Hola from Madrid,
After traveling nearly 18 hours, we arrived in Madrid without any problems. Luckily, I was able to sleep on the red eye from Atlanta thanks to a Dramamine and a really boring movie. We spent almost 5 hours in the Paris airport until our connecting flight, and wow, were we tired. Needless to say, I slept very well last night!
Today, we spent the morning in Toledo, which is about 70 minutes from Madrid. Toledo is a beautiful old city that is very hilly with very narrow streets. It´s known for being the workplace of one of Spain´s most famous artists, El Greco. It also has the second largest cathedral in Spain (it´s BEAUTIFUL!). Toledo also used to be the home of many Jews, Christains, and Muslims who lived peacefully until the Spanish Inquisition forced the Jews and Muslims out of Spain or made them convert to Christanity. So, we also visited the oldest synogogue in all of Spain, even though there is only one Jewish family left in Toledo.
We returned to Madrid for a free afternoon and evening. So, my new friends and I ate a yummy lunch before braving the metro. We took a tour of the Real Madrid soccer stadium, and wow, was it a tour! We saw everything from the stadium to the dressing rooms! It was awesome. Then, we went to the Parque Retiro which is just like Central Park in New York. We ate some tortilla espanola and walked around for awhile.
It´s now 11:03 in the evening, so I´m going to go out for sangria and retire for the evening. Tomorrow we´re going to all the art museums, and then I found the theater for the Spanish National Ballet. The tickets cost 20 euros ($28), so we think it´s worth it to see the show.
Un beso a todos!
After traveling nearly 18 hours, we arrived in Madrid without any problems. Luckily, I was able to sleep on the red eye from Atlanta thanks to a Dramamine and a really boring movie. We spent almost 5 hours in the Paris airport until our connecting flight, and wow, were we tired. Needless to say, I slept very well last night!
Today, we spent the morning in Toledo, which is about 70 minutes from Madrid. Toledo is a beautiful old city that is very hilly with very narrow streets. It´s known for being the workplace of one of Spain´s most famous artists, El Greco. It also has the second largest cathedral in Spain (it´s BEAUTIFUL!). Toledo also used to be the home of many Jews, Christains, and Muslims who lived peacefully until the Spanish Inquisition forced the Jews and Muslims out of Spain or made them convert to Christanity. So, we also visited the oldest synogogue in all of Spain, even though there is only one Jewish family left in Toledo.
We returned to Madrid for a free afternoon and evening. So, my new friends and I ate a yummy lunch before braving the metro. We took a tour of the Real Madrid soccer stadium, and wow, was it a tour! We saw everything from the stadium to the dressing rooms! It was awesome. Then, we went to the Parque Retiro which is just like Central Park in New York. We ate some tortilla espanola and walked around for awhile.
It´s now 11:03 in the evening, so I´m going to go out for sangria and retire for the evening. Tomorrow we´re going to all the art museums, and then I found the theater for the Spanish National Ballet. The tickets cost 20 euros ($28), so we think it´s worth it to see the show.
Un beso a todos!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
BBQ / Last Weekend
This was my last weekend here in Athens before departing to Spain in three days! I spent Friday working on my first assignment for a class I didn't even know I was taking (Methods in Teaching Spanish...boring!). I was suppose to write a self-assessment of myself in Spanish and then read a chapter in a book that I used when I was a senior in college. I then made Andy's favorite meal of crab cakes, onion potatoes, and then chocolate chip pecan pie. Yum!
Saturday, Sampras got a deshedding bath, and we bought a VERY expensive deshedding brush. This gets rid of his undercoat which makes him extremely hot in the summer. Also, when we would run our fingers on his back, we'd always end up with handfuls of black fur. Therefore, we felt as though this was a good investment, especially since Sammy's spending the rest of the summer with both sets of his grandparents who might not appreciate black fur balls everywhere!
Today, we hosted our Summer BBQ / Farewell to Betsy & Sampras (see the pictures below). There were probably 15 - 20 people here, including some of our friends from Atlanta and the dog park. In fact, we invited our dog park friends' dogs to come over as well, so we had a total of 7 dogs here in our little tiny duplex. We grilled out hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers along with chips, fruit, cookies, and sodas (we are too poor to provide sodas). The doggies all behaved very well, swam in the baby pool in the backyard, and played with Sampras' toys. It was great seeing everyone before I leave! Also, it forced me to clean the apartment which made Andy VERY happy!!!
My mom's down here now (she came towards the end of the BBQ), and she's going to help me pack tomorrow and hopefully buy me some last minute essentials. She was more excited to see Sampras than Andy and me!
Saturday, Sampras got a deshedding bath, and we bought a VERY expensive deshedding brush. This gets rid of his undercoat which makes him extremely hot in the summer. Also, when we would run our fingers on his back, we'd always end up with handfuls of black fur. Therefore, we felt as though this was a good investment, especially since Sammy's spending the rest of the summer with both sets of his grandparents who might not appreciate black fur balls everywhere!
Today, we hosted our Summer BBQ / Farewell to Betsy & Sampras (see the pictures below). There were probably 15 - 20 people here, including some of our friends from Atlanta and the dog park. In fact, we invited our dog park friends' dogs to come over as well, so we had a total of 7 dogs here in our little tiny duplex. We grilled out hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers along with chips, fruit, cookies, and sodas (we are too poor to provide sodas). The doggies all behaved very well, swam in the baby pool in the backyard, and played with Sampras' toys. It was great seeing everyone before I leave! Also, it forced me to clean the apartment which made Andy VERY happy!!!
My mom's down here now (she came towards the end of the BBQ), and she's going to help me pack tomorrow and hopefully buy me some last minute essentials. She was more excited to see Sampras than Andy and me!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
New Pictures of Sampras
Andy and I just spent a really nice weekend together. Saturday, we went to Atlanta and saw a fabulous new singer named Mika at Center Stage. If you've never heard of Mika's music, go to http://www.myspace.com/mikamyspace. He was full of energy, put on a great show, and has an incredible falsetto. This was only his second concert ever in the US (he's only playing three dates in the US), and we were so lucky to see him cheaply and at a small venue before he gets huge, which I know he will!
Today, we slept in and took Sampras swimming in the afternoon. We think that's his favorite summer activity since it's so hot outside. We loves playing fetch, eating the grass, and chasing after the birdies. You can view the latest pictures of Sampras at home, at the dog park, and swimming.
Lastly, I went shopping and bought some new cool clothes for Spain. I am worried that I'm going to be VERY hot in Salamanca this summer. Last summer, there was a fluke African heat wave that made everyone miserable. Most places don't have air conditioning like we are used to here. Hopefully, with my new clothes, I'll stay comfortable!
Today, we slept in and took Sampras swimming in the afternoon. We think that's his favorite summer activity since it's so hot outside. We loves playing fetch, eating the grass, and chasing after the birdies. You can view the latest pictures of Sampras at home, at the dog park, and swimming.
Lastly, I went shopping and bought some new cool clothes for Spain. I am worried that I'm going to be VERY hot in Salamanca this summer. Last summer, there was a fluke African heat wave that made everyone miserable. Most places don't have air conditioning like we are used to here. Hopefully, with my new clothes, I'll stay comfortable!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
2 Weeks and Counting!!!
T-minus 2 weeks and counting before I board my plane to Spain. Actually, I'm boarding my plane to Paris because the geniuses that be decided we should take the red-eye to Paris (leaving Atlanta at 9:00 pm and arriving at something like 8:00 am), spend 4 hours in the Paris airport before flying to Madrid. This means that we'll arrive to Madrid at 5:30 pm the next day. This sucks!!! There are direct flights to Madrid from Atlanta, so I don't quite get our little detour. I can't imagine how tired I'm going to be when I arrive in Madrid because I don't sleep very easily on planes. I suppose I'll have to double-up on sleeping pills or something like that.
I've bought some new clothes for Spain that don't require a lot of care (meaning no ironing, easy to pack, etc.) Thanks to my friend Lisa Fox who designs fabulous jewelry (www.lisafoxdesigns.com), I have fun new necklaces too. Finally, and most importantly, I have some new shoes that will support my various walking endeavors throughout the country. I have to admit that my new Borne flip-flops (or are they sandals?) are probably the most comfortable and supportive open-toe shoes that I've ever worn. I also invested in some new (expensive!) walking shoes that I will be wearing in Spain as I continue my training for the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk (http://www.the3day.org/atlanta07/betsyalpert). By the way, props to Dick's Sporting Goods for giving me a 20% off discount on these shoes in support of The 3-Day (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/home/index.jsp).
Lastly, I hope you enjoy the mini-slideshow that I put up a few minutes ago. It was a test for me to be able to publish my pictures in Spain without having to spend too much time figuring it out.
I've bought some new clothes for Spain that don't require a lot of care (meaning no ironing, easy to pack, etc.) Thanks to my friend Lisa Fox who designs fabulous jewelry (www.lisafoxdesigns.com), I have fun new necklaces too. Finally, and most importantly, I have some new shoes that will support my various walking endeavors throughout the country. I have to admit that my new Borne flip-flops (or are they sandals?) are probably the most comfortable and supportive open-toe shoes that I've ever worn. I also invested in some new (expensive!) walking shoes that I will be wearing in Spain as I continue my training for the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk (http://www.the3day.org/atlanta07/betsyalpert). By the way, props to Dick's Sporting Goods for giving me a 20% off discount on these shoes in support of The 3-Day (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/home/index.jsp).
Lastly, I hope you enjoy the mini-slideshow that I put up a few minutes ago. It was a test for me to be able to publish my pictures in Spain without having to spend too much time figuring it out.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Exactly 3 weeks from today, I will be leaving for Salamanca, Spain!!! I can’t believe that the time is almost here for me to begin my summer abroad adventure, and I am very excited about this.
How did I get here? I remember sitting in my office in October, and Greg Barfield, my former department head at Kennesaw Mountain High School called to say hi to me. When he asked about how my classes were going, I complained that my two Spanish literature classes were very challenging, and I didn’t like them very much. He told me to look into a Spanish study abroad program for graduate students, and I was unaware that those even existed. After much searching, I found my program through Augusta State University. Seriously, they are one of the only universities that have a master’s program specifically for Spanish teachers. The best part is that they actually offer classes that Spanish teachers are interested in taking, like how to teach Spanish culture and a complete overview of Spanish grammar and problems that foreigners have with Spanish grammar (those classes might not sound too exciting for most people, but they do for me!). Since UGA only offers Master’s Spanish classes in either literature or linguistics, this is why I am so grateful that there are other programs out there that offer what I want.
Most people want to know how I can leave Andy and Sampras for the summer. Andy has an internship in Norcross, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) for the summer. I think he’s doing data analysis in the finance department for a company called Rock-Tenn. Because we live over 50 miles from Norcross and the traffic sucks, Andy’s been spending the week with our friend Kirk in Stone Mountain (only 14 miles away). Therefore, because I don’t see him during the week anyway, I don’t feel guilty about leaving him. He’s busy with his own work, plus we’ll be able to talk and email each other. Additionally, he’s coming to visit me for a week, and this will be his first time in Europe! Sampras is another story. I feel so guilty and sad about leaving my baby for six weeks. Sampras is going to spend the rest of the summer at my parents’ and in-laws’ houses in Cincinnati. I know that my family loves and adores Sammy, but he’s still MY baby, and he won’t understand why his mommy and daddy have abandoned him. (BTW, my 12 pound baby has morphed into a full-grown 77 pound big boy!)
As I stated earlier, I only have 3 weeks to get all my stuff together. I haven’t even begun to do this yet, and I probably won’t until a few days beforehand. Luckily my mom is coming down on Sunday, June 24 to help me pack and hopefully buy me the little things that I am lacking. Unfortunately, I am just allowed to take one suitcase that can only weigh 50 pounds (along with one carry-on and a purse). Perhaps this will be good so that I don’t overpack (like I did when I went to Mexico!). Also, since it’s the summer, my clothes won’t weigh as much as winter clothes.
Lastly, if you want to learn more about Salamanca (the city where I will be studying), check out some of the websites that are on my blog.
Until then, Happy June! (And Happy Birthday Jen G!)
How did I get here? I remember sitting in my office in October, and Greg Barfield, my former department head at Kennesaw Mountain High School called to say hi to me. When he asked about how my classes were going, I complained that my two Spanish literature classes were very challenging, and I didn’t like them very much. He told me to look into a Spanish study abroad program for graduate students, and I was unaware that those even existed. After much searching, I found my program through Augusta State University. Seriously, they are one of the only universities that have a master’s program specifically for Spanish teachers. The best part is that they actually offer classes that Spanish teachers are interested in taking, like how to teach Spanish culture and a complete overview of Spanish grammar and problems that foreigners have with Spanish grammar (those classes might not sound too exciting for most people, but they do for me!). Since UGA only offers Master’s Spanish classes in either literature or linguistics, this is why I am so grateful that there are other programs out there that offer what I want.
Most people want to know how I can leave Andy and Sampras for the summer. Andy has an internship in Norcross, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) for the summer. I think he’s doing data analysis in the finance department for a company called Rock-Tenn. Because we live over 50 miles from Norcross and the traffic sucks, Andy’s been spending the week with our friend Kirk in Stone Mountain (only 14 miles away). Therefore, because I don’t see him during the week anyway, I don’t feel guilty about leaving him. He’s busy with his own work, plus we’ll be able to talk and email each other. Additionally, he’s coming to visit me for a week, and this will be his first time in Europe! Sampras is another story. I feel so guilty and sad about leaving my baby for six weeks. Sampras is going to spend the rest of the summer at my parents’ and in-laws’ houses in Cincinnati. I know that my family loves and adores Sammy, but he’s still MY baby, and he won’t understand why his mommy and daddy have abandoned him. (BTW, my 12 pound baby has morphed into a full-grown 77 pound big boy!)
As I stated earlier, I only have 3 weeks to get all my stuff together. I haven’t even begun to do this yet, and I probably won’t until a few days beforehand. Luckily my mom is coming down on Sunday, June 24 to help me pack and hopefully buy me the little things that I am lacking. Unfortunately, I am just allowed to take one suitcase that can only weigh 50 pounds (along with one carry-on and a purse). Perhaps this will be good so that I don’t overpack (like I did when I went to Mexico!). Also, since it’s the summer, my clothes won’t weigh as much as winter clothes.
Lastly, if you want to learn more about Salamanca (the city where I will be studying), check out some of the websites that are on my blog.
Until then, Happy June! (And Happy Birthday Jen G!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
