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.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
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!).
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