tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14506523842858932402023-11-15T07:29:46.548-08:00Sonya en EspañaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15543015017989910019noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-62181108571964205182012-08-13T13:58:00.000-07:002012-08-13T13:58:26.351-07:00Going home! Week 6, Friday and Saturday<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e2Zwz3mjWww/UClpDJRJHCI/AAAAAAAAAUc/6VHc5JF2mTw/s1600/IMG_1194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e2Zwz3mjWww/UClpDJRJHCI/AAAAAAAAAUc/6VHc5JF2mTw/s320/IMG_1194.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our class and teachers after our graduation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Friday: Today we
got to sleep in. We went to the school at 12:30 for our little
graduation. The teachers told us how nice it was having us there,
said their goodbyes, and gave us each a diploma. We then took group
pictures and got free t-shirts. We said goodbye to some of the
students that we wouldn't see later that night, and went home for
lunch.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Eggs on
rice</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After lunch we
got everything packed, which didn't take very long. Since there
wasn't anything else to do (we didn't want to go out because it was
100 degrees out, hottest day of the whole six weeks) we both tried to
take naps but it didn't work. Finally, after pacing around and
telling each other how bored we were, we decided to go out and brave
the heat. We walked to El Corte Inglés (the big department store,
w/ A/C) and browsed around in there until it was time to meet the
other students for ice cream.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We met Alex,
Emily, Jon, Zou, Clémence, and Breanna at Smöoy to have frozen
yogurt and to hang out for the last time. We ate it at Plaza Mayor,
then walked around for awhile until we decided it was time to say
goodbye and head home for supper.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: tortilla
de patatas</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When we got
home, Mercedes told us we should take the last city bus (10:00) from
the nearby Plaza San Pablo to the bus station. Even though the last
city bus was over 2 hours before our bus to Madrid would leave, it
seemed like a way better idea than walking 75 pounds of luggage 1.6
miles in 100 degree weather. Before we left, we took some pictures
with Mercedes and Reyes, and we gave Mercedes a picture of the two of
us. She was so excited to get it; it was very cute and she said now
she could always see us :) She also gave us some of her old jewelry.
She said she does that with all her students. Bailey got a watch
and I got some earrings.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GjQx65tU3TU/UClpSRbJuSI/AAAAAAAAAUk/h4TxyKKXcsg/s1600/IMG_1201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GjQx65tU3TU/UClpSRbJuSI/AAAAAAAAAUk/h4TxyKKXcsg/s320/IMG_1201.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting at the bus station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mercedes and
Reyes walked us to the bus stop and we said our goodbyes. We then
took the bus (the driver said “Did you bring your whole house?”
when she saw my luggage) to the bus station and waited there for two
hours.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Saturday: We
took the 12:30 AM bus from Valladolid to the Madrid airport. We got
there at 3 AM, checked in, and went through security. We waited at
the gate for a couple more hours, then took our first flight from
Madrid to Paris.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D_bXiJJh47I/UCloubN59pI/AAAAAAAAAUM/KV4l4T7VcNY/s1600/430229_3700511074186_1453791082_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D_bXiJJh47I/UCloubN59pI/AAAAAAAAAUM/KV4l4T7VcNY/s320/430229_3700511074186_1453791082_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you find the Eiffel Tower? (click to enlarge)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
All of the
announcements were in French, Spanish, and English. When we were
just about to land, the plane suddenly lurched back up into the air.
They announced that a plane hadn't cleared the runway that we were
about to land on and it would be another 6-8 minutes before we could
land. Although it was inconvenient and a little unsettling,
something cool came out of it: we flew over Paris while we were
killing time, which we wouldn't have done otherwise, and I saw the
Eiffel tower outside of my window and took a picture (although a not
very good one) with my iPod!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We finally
landed, and Bailey and I frantically tried to figure out where to go
next. The Paris airport is incredibly confusing. We had to ask for
help. We went through a passport check, then had to go through
security again. We were really concerned about making the flight,
but we got there as it was boarding. We also were asked a series of
questions about the contents of our luggage before we boarded.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The flight to
Minneapolis was a little over eight hours. It seemed to go by pretty
fast though because I watched three movies (The Adjustment Bureau,
M:I 4, and This Means War). They also handed out customs forms that
we had to turn in when we landed. Our meals were salad, pasta,
crackers, cheese, a roll, and a cookie when we took off and a panini
and ice cream before we landed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-la0iOS97rLM/UClotnoAEXI/AAAAAAAAAUE/8aAIOFXO1n0/s1600/319476_3700517234340_210881794_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-la0iOS97rLM/UClotnoAEXI/AAAAAAAAAUE/8aAIOFXO1n0/s320/319476_3700517234340_210881794_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minneapolis to Omaha (I'm in the back row)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our Minneapolis
layover was three hours, so it was more relaxing because we weren't
worried about time. We turned in our customs forms, did a passport
check, claimed our luggage, answered a couple questions about it,
rechecked our luggage, went through security AGAIN (a receipt in my
pocket set off the scanner), found our gate, and waited there for
awhile. Finally, we took our last flight (in a tiny plane) to Omaha
and we were home!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This was my last
blog post. Spain was an amazing experience; I got to see lots of
awesome places and I learned so much! I would definitely recommend
the program to anyone considering it in the future. To see all my
pictures from my trip, go to
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3553695803896.2132207.1317690207&type=3&l=6a42a74eb4</span> and
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3658125574575.2134912.1317690207&type=3&l=ab1113a4a3</span> (there's two
albums). Thanks for reading!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-85202158788486963082012-08-12T12:55:00.000-07:002012-08-12T12:55:23.134-07:00Studying and tests: Week 6, Wednesday and Thursday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wednesday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today was our
last day of regular classes. Tomorrow we just have tests in
everything, so today was a big study day.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Chicken
and rice</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I studied in the
afternoon, then we went to the school movie, then I Skyped my brother
and sister-in-law for awhile.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Fish
(can't remember what kind she said it was), it was fried, but we
still had to pull the meat off the spine and rib bones.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Later in the
evening, we met José, Brandyn, Blanca, Nathaniel, Alex, and Clémence
at the beach to play sand volleyball for awhile. Then I stayed up
pretty late studying.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Before I post
all this on the blog, I write it in a journal every night. I have
now written 100 pages in it.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bo1-9jPtIIw/UCgI9q7_FcI/AAAAAAAAATk/NNwwjkzngUo/s1600/IMG_1198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bo1-9jPtIIw/UCgI9q7_FcI/AAAAAAAAATk/NNwwjkzngUo/s320/IMG_1198.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With our host mom, Mercedes!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Thursday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today we had our
final tests. For conversation we just had to talk for five minutes
straight about our experience in Valladolid. It was pretty easy.
After that I had my had my history and literature tests and now I'm
done with classes!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the afternoon
we slept awhile and were actually pretty bored because we didn't have
any homework to do. We went over to the school and used the internet
for awhile.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After supper (I
can't remember what we ate, I'm writing this a little late) we met
all the other students at La Negra Flor (a bar) and hung out for
awhile. We didn't stay out very long though because we were all
tired from staying up the night before studying.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-10330142796088542442012-08-09T01:38:00.000-07:002012-08-09T01:38:00.588-07:00Cortés y Franco: Week 6, Monday and Tuesday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Monday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For our history
class today, we had to ask our host families their opinions of
Franco, the dictator that ruled in Spain from 1939-1975. Our host
mom was pretty neutral about him. She said her family never had any
problems, but she knew that people who opposed him were arrested or
killed. She also said he helped the poor and large families,
improved infrastructure, and there was less crime back then because
everyone was too afraid to do anything. She said they couldn't talk
about politics outside of their houses. In class, Alex, whose host
mom is older like ours, said that Franco should return to get Spain
out of its financial crisis! Conversely, Clémence's host parents,
who are younger, only had bad things to say about him. Sergio said
that this is typical of Spaniards. Younger generations, who have
only learned about him and didn't experience it, only view him as
negative for all the terrible things he did. On the other hand,
older people that lived during Franco's regime are more neutral, or
even supported him. Although repressed and censored, as long as
nothing negative happened to their families, they had a sense of
security and believed in his propaganda. There's even an expression,
I can't remember the exact words, but it involves saying that if
Franco were here, he would solve the problem. It's quite surprising
to learn what he got away with during his reign, especially in
regards to the suppression of women.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
By the way, I
don't think I've mentioned it yet, but Mercedes is 63. Last week,
she wanted us to guess how old she was. I refused to say a word.
Bailey politely guessed somewhere in the 50s. She bragged that
people in her shop think her and her daughter are sisters :)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch:
Empanadillas de atún (tuna), pasta, watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I had to finish
my history paper, a biography of Cortés, today, so I worked almost
nonstop (except for supper) from 4-12. Now it's done though and
actually a page longer than it had to be.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: pasta,
sunny side up eggs, sweet croissant type bread that was filled with
ham and cheese, watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It's the last
week already! I feel like six weeks is the perfect length of time.
It was long enough to have sufficient classes and see what we wanted
to see, but I'm also definitely ready to go home this weekend.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday: This
morning on my class break I turned in my history paper. Since I
don't have any more Spanish classes after this program, that was the
last college paper I'll ever have to write in Spanish! After school
we returned our books at the library.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Beef stew
with potatoes, peaches</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This afternoon I
finished a literature assignment and posted my Barcelona pictures and
blog.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Tortilla
de patatas, salad, peaches</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We shot hoops at
the beach for awhile after supper.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tomorrow is
studying, Thursday is our tests then going out that night, Friday we
have a little graduation, and then we go home!</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-49680776596465540822012-08-07T11:13:00.000-07:002012-08-07T11:13:04.817-07:00Barcelona! Week 5: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Friday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8N71tW-3CEk/UCFQ2OytXnI/AAAAAAAAARg/lM2KTFVUj9k/s1600/IMG_1090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8N71tW-3CEk/UCFQ2OytXnI/AAAAAAAAARg/lM2KTFVUj9k/s320/IMG_1090.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa Batlló</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After school
today Bailey and I went to Plaza Poniente to get on the Linecar bus to
go to the airport and then to Barcelona! Two other girls from our school were going too and
had the same flights as us, but were meeting other people there. Our
flight was an hour long and with Ryan Air. Emily, one of the
other girls flying there, said people on Ryan Air flights always
scream on the flight, then clap at the end. Sure enough, whenever we
hit some turbulence or dropped a little, the people in the back
screamed as if we were on a roller coaster and then when we landed
everybody clapped. Also, the entire time, the flight attendants were
trying to sell food, drinks, newspapers, lottery tickets, sunglasses,
perfume, etc.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After we landed,
we took a train and the metro to get to our hostel. Between
switching from the train to the metro, we saw Casa Batlló, some
apartments designed by the famous Antoni Gaudí. They were so
strangely designed that no one wanted to live in them and now it's a
museum and restaurant.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oj4HAhPLbwk/UCFQ5rwZMjI/AAAAAAAAARo/spqb-DM7eZA/s1600/IMG_1093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oj4HAhPLbwk/UCFQ5rwZMjI/AAAAAAAAARo/spqb-DM7eZA/s320/IMG_1093.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Boquería market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our hostel
wasn't quite as nice as our hostel in Madrid, but it was still fine.
There were ten beds (5 bunk beds) to a room and the whole floor
shared a bathroom. After checking in, we got some maps and then
walked to La Rambla, an incredibly busy street that's lined with
stores and restaurants. Barcelona is in Cataluña, which is one of
the autonomous communities of Spain, meaning it's a section kind of
like a state that has its own government, has immense pride in its
own history, and, in the case of many people, wants independence from
the rest of Spain. They speak Catalán, which is very similar to
French. Most of the signs were in Catalán, Spanish, and English.
It's such a major tourist city that everyone seemed to speak English
as well. Other Spaniards that aren't from Cataluña can't understand
Catalán, and when someone from Cataluña is speaking on the news,
they have Spanish subtitles.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
On La Rambla,
there's a market called La Boquería. We went inside, and there were
stalls selling fresh fruit, candy, raw fish (that were still whole
and looking at me), other meat (baby pigs, legs), cheese, and cooked
foods as well. Bailey and I bought calzones there to eat for supper.
At the end of La Rambla is a really tall Christopher Columbus
(Cristobol Colón, in Spanish) statue, and beyond that is the
Mediterranean Sea.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om6BuoXaeWg/UCFQ84Q4DJI/AAAAAAAAARw/pPWVWF9zJdQ/s1600/IMG_1116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om6BuoXaeWg/UCFQ84Q4DJI/AAAAAAAAARw/pPWVWF9zJdQ/s320/IMG_1116.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At fountain show at Montjuïc</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
From there we
went to the Font Mágica (magic fountain) de Montjuïc, where there's
a cool music and light show at the fountain. A lot of people were
there to watch it. In that area, near that fountain were the Olympic
buildings and stadium where they held the '92 summer Olympics, but we
didn't see them.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After the
fountain show, we started walking back to the hostel. Now in
Cataluña bullfighting is illegal, because of animal cruelty and
other political reasons. Barcelona had three plazas de toros
(bullrings). One is being torn down, one is now a museum, and the
other (which we walked by tonight) has been turned into a shopping
mall. They also raised up the entire structure and put another floor
underneath it and a restaurant on top with an elevator going up the
outside.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-skUkNPB8ATY/UCFRB7o_YaI/AAAAAAAAAR8/28DlhWl8FtU/s1600/IMG_1130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-skUkNPB8ATY/UCFRB7o_YaI/AAAAAAAAAR8/28DlhWl8FtU/s320/IMG_1130.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Las arenas, mall that was once a bullring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got back to
our hostel and went to bed. I calculated that we walked 6.8 miles
today.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Saturday:
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The population
of Barcelona is 1.6 million and right now the highs are in the 80s and the
lows are in the 70s. Our hostel didn't provide breakfast but there
was a little grocery store just across the street so we got some
cheap donuts and water there. We walked back down La Rambla, went
back to La Boquería and got fruit, and walked to the beach.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The beach was
really nice, but crowded. It was really fun to feel the waves and
swim in the sea. It wasn't like the beach in Valladolid. We may
have gotten a little sunburned...</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0F0OOmg93Ns/UCFZgFjUn4I/AAAAAAAAASc/b0ApINVE9g4/s1600/IMG_1137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0F0OOmg93Ns/UCFZgFjUn4I/AAAAAAAAASc/b0ApINVE9g4/s320/IMG_1137.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QWCc6PhnrkA/UCFZjciqfsI/AAAAAAAAASk/nf7734NQmJ4/s1600/IMG_1147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QWCc6PhnrkA/UCFZjciqfsI/AAAAAAAAASk/nf7734NQmJ4/s320/IMG_1147.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palau de la Música Catalana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R9ybEr0EwfQ/UCFZmR87EmI/AAAAAAAAASs/DVhCAn_Kldw/s1600/IMG_1157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R9ybEr0EwfQ/UCFZmR87EmI/AAAAAAAAASs/DVhCAn_Kldw/s320/IMG_1157.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Sagrada Familia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Next we went to
Plaza Jaume for a bike tour. It was called Fat Tire Bike Tours (it's also in Paris, Berlin, and London); we were provided bikes, and a guide led us
around the city. Our guide was Australian (the tour was in English)
and he said he came to Barcelona for the world cup and decided to
stay and live there. There were fourteen people in our biking group,
from the U.S., Australia, Scotland, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Barcelona is a really biker friendly city. There's bike lanes
everywhere and lots of bikes in every plaza available to rent.
Still, we all almost got hit by taxis a couple times, but it was
still fun :) We would stop at different places to take pictures and for
the guide to talk about each one. We stopped at the cathedral,
Palau de la Música Catalana (a theater also designed by Gaudí), the Arc de Triomf, a fountain in
the Parc de la Ciutadella, the
bullring that's now a museum, and Sagrada Familia. Sagrada Familia
is a church designed by Gaudí that was unfinished when he died in
1926, and is still unfinished. It is under construction, and
although Gaudí's original designs were destroyed in a fire, they are
trying to build it according to what they think his plans for it
were. When it is finished, which is projected to be in 2026 (the hundredth anniversary of his death), it will
be twice as tall as it is now.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P188-0XIG_Y/UCFZqgMckTI/AAAAAAAAAS0/APR0MiuhJJ0/s1600/IMG_1168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P188-0XIG_Y/UCFZqgMckTI/AAAAAAAAAS0/APR0MiuhJJ0/s320/IMG_1168.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My paella!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our last stop on
the tour was a restaurant on the beach. Bailey and I had nachos and
we sat there for a little bit and watched people play soccer in the
sand. After that, we went back to the bike place and the tour was
over. It was four hours long.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We went back to
the hostel for a little bit, then went out in search of a restaurant
that had paella, a popular Spanish dish. We stopped at the first
restaurant that had it (we didn't want to walk any farther). We were
the only people in the restaurant and we watched handball in the
Olympics on the TV (which actually seems to be a popular sport here).
Paella is a rice dish that is yellow (because of saffron) with some
kind of meat, depending on what kind you order. We got a mixture, so
ours had chicken, spareribs, mussels, prawn, and squid. I had
Bailey's squid and she had my mussels, and she had to rip the head
off my prawn for me because I was too afraid to (it was good though,
it tastes like shrimp). After the paella, we called it an early
night because we weren't feeling great: a mixture of sunburn and
dehydration, I think.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sunday: </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cAuVuitgUek/UCFZ0GQuAXI/AAAAAAAAATI/zQ5AwOOUp-Q/s1600/IMG_1192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cAuVuitgUek/UCFZ0GQuAXI/AAAAAAAAATI/zQ5AwOOUp-Q/s320/IMG_1192.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Park Güell</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After
checking out of the hostel we went to Park Güell, a gigantic park
designed by Gaudí that was originally supposed to be a housing development filled with mansions, but once again no one wanted to live in his
houses, so it was turned into a park instead. It's filled with
strange structures, houses, and mosaics. To see all my pictures from
Barcelona, go to:
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3658125574575.2134912.1317690207&type=1&l=ab1113a4a3</span> . After the park, we took the metro and
the train back to the airport. We were afraid we were going to miss
our flight because of several delays, but we got there as it was
boarding. We then taxied the runways for forty minutes before taking
off and arrived at least twenty minutes late. Ironically, they
didn't play their usual message at the end of the flight talking
about how 90% of Ryan Air flights are on time. After we got back to
Valladolid, I Skyped with my parents, grandma, and sister, but
otherwise didn't do much of anything the rest of the night. </div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-14361449374198883772012-08-06T03:24:00.002-07:002012-08-06T03:24:39.946-07:00Type type type...Week 5: Wednesday and Thursday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wednesday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Soup with
rice, beef, and carrots; pears</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We went to
school at five to work on homework and had our Wednesday night movie
at six. It was Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside), starring Javier Bardem,
a true story about a man in Spain who was a quadriplegic and
campaigning for legal euthanasia. I followed it pretty well even
though I was working on my literature paper at the same time.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Tortilla
de patata, watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tonight on the
Olympics Spain won their first medal of these games when a woman got
a silver in one of the swimming events. Evidently, she's only the
second woman in history to win a medal for Spain.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Thursday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
6:00 run: 2.31
miles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
Last night Mercedes was out really late, later than when we went
to bed. We both woke up hearing her come in at 2:00. Evidently one
of Mercedes' friends, María, came from out of town, they went out,
then she slept over. We met her this morning at breakfast, when we
had just got back from our run and were gross and dripping sweat;
great first impression, I'm sure. She was really nice and has lived
in Barcelona before, and told us places we should see when we go this
weekend.<br />
<br />In both history and literature, we've reached the twentieth
century. I'm very curious to find out more about Franco's
dictatorship because I feel like it's a time in Spain I should know
more about, so I'm glad we're getting there.<br />
<br />Lunch: Soup with veal, potatoes, carrots<br />
<br />
<br />
Worked on our papers at school from 5-8, ugh<br />
<br />
<br />
Supper: Ham and cheese fillets, french fries, watermelon<br />
<br />
<br />
We watched a little bit of the Spain-Great Britain basketball
game. It looked like Spain was going to win.<br />
<br />
<br />
Tomorrow we're going to Barcelona!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-44032689588397435052012-08-01T02:43:00.000-07:002012-08-01T02:43:29.026-07:00Birthdays and Basketball, Week 5: Monday and Tuesday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Monday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Garbanzo
beans with potatoes, salad, watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I got nine hours
of sleep last night so I skipped my siesta and worked on homework and
typing my blog, then we went to school and worked a little more in
the lab.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zxBQAxEH6oo/UBj43IQo2cI/AAAAAAAAARA/_C_NWtm7v-s/s1600/IMG_1080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zxBQAxEH6oo/UBj43IQo2cI/AAAAAAAAARA/_C_NWtm7v-s/s320/IMG_1080.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My classmates, some of the party guests</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After classes
this morning, Blanca (one of our classmates) told us she was having a
birthday party tonight for Nathaniel (her son, who she brought to
Spain with her) in one of the classrooms at the school. Today was
his fifth birthday. She said normally he has parties at home with
his friends and we're his friends here. We all said yes and were
really excited to go. The party was also partly for José, another
one of our classmates, whose birthday was also today. The party was
really nice. They had balloons, noisemakers, two cakes, and ice
cream. There were eleven of us students there, and a couple teachers
made appearances as well. Nathaniel opened presents also. Since the
party was on such short notice, we just got Nathaniel candy from the
grocery store next door, but he did get some cool toys, and he really
seemed to have fun.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper:
“Candied?” apples, roasted chicken, soup</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We watched
Olympic highlights, swimming, and some news. Hopefully Bailey and I
will get up early and run tomorrow.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i6TMsCWA--c/UBj45oxd2XI/AAAAAAAAARI/KY7_fTigQ_I/s1600/IMG_1086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i6TMsCWA--c/UBj45oxd2XI/AAAAAAAAARI/KY7_fTigQ_I/s320/IMG_1086.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday boys</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got up at
6:00 this morning and went for a run. It was a lot easier than all
my other runs, I think because it was so cool outside and I hadn't
just eaten a huge supper. 2.25 miles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Beef stew
with potatoes and carrots</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today we went to
the computer lab from 5-8. I have two papers (history and
literature) due on Friday so this week we'll be mostly at school.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Hard
boiled eggs, pickles, potatoes, watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We shot hoops at
the beach for a half hour tonight.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-22250838559870486242012-07-31T03:29:00.002-07:002012-08-01T02:52:01.799-07:00Salamanca and Iscar: Week 4: Saturday and Sunday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Saturday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWJLlc_QSJQ/UBeyN-XmcYI/AAAAAAAAAPw/OdKEawBvLcc/s1600/IMG_1026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWJLlc_QSJQ/UBeyN-XmcYI/AAAAAAAAAPw/OdKEawBvLcc/s320/IMG_1026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New cathedral of Salamanca</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For our school
trip to Salamanca, our bus left at 8:00 A.M. from the bus station,
which is a half hour walk away from our place, so I got up at 6 A.M.
The bus ride was about an hour and a half. Salamanca is in western
Spain, near Portugal. Ruth, my conversation class teacher, was our
guide this time.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We saw the Plaza
Mayor, lots and lots and lots of souvenir shops, two cathedrals, the
university, and a medieval bridge. Normally Spanish cities only have
one cathedral, but Salamanca has two. We went in the “new”
cathedral, but considering it was built between 1513 and 1733, it feels wrong to
call it new. During restorations on the cathedral in the 90s, an astronaut and a devil with an ice cream cone were added to the facade of the building to represent the 20th century (I have pictures). The inside of the cathedral
was huge and gorgeous. The university of Salamanca is the oldest university in
Spain. In the facade of the main building, there is a small skull
with a frog on its head. Supposedly, if you can find it on the
building you will have good luck. Also, because of this strange
image on an ancient building, the frog is the symbol of Salamanca.
All of the souvenir shops had different kinds of frogs that said
Salamanca on them.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KK7q-jS2sMI/UBeySIkXUhI/AAAAAAAAAP4/IRIj9wUYzOA/s1600/IMG_1033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KK7q-jS2sMI/UBeySIkXUhI/AAAAAAAAAP4/IRIj9wUYzOA/s320/IMG_1033.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The astronaut and the devil on the cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After we
finished our tour, we were given free time. All of us ate our packed
lunches in Plaza Mayor. I think some of the Spaniards were amused at
the large group of Americans (and French) kids sitting on the ground
eating sandwiches. Next we all kind of split up and went souvenir
shopping.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
On our way back
to Valladolid I was actually awake and saw that most of the land
between Salamanca and Valladolid is fields of sunflowers. They were
very pretty and I didn't realize sunflowers were such a big crop
here.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We took a nap
and then went out for tapas with Alberto, his friend Lucía
(practicing her English), Jon, Zou, Clemens, Alex, and Emily. I
didn't try anything new (just had croquetas, which are still
delicious) but it was fun going out with the group.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sunday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MiqHqlDnpzg/UBeyWiYvTYI/AAAAAAAAAQA/_gkTUZGTYRU/s1600/IMG_1043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MiqHqlDnpzg/UBeyWiYvTYI/AAAAAAAAAQA/_gkTUZGTYRU/s320/IMG_1043.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the new cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today Jon,
Bailey, and I went to a little town called Iscar because Mercedes
said they would have a running of the bulls and “mucha fiesta.”
Unfortunately, the only return bus to Valladolid was at 5:00 P.M.,
but we still went anyway thinking there might be something going on
before that. We were very wrong. As seems to be the case in most
small towns, siesta is ghost town time. All the places were closed
and no one was around. We did hike up to the castle above town and
walked around the walls. We also looked at the plaza de toros and
played in a park. Apart from that, we spent the next couple hours
walking around and looking for a bathroom (which we did eventually
find, but it's really difficult when every place is closed). We took
the bus back to Valladolid, which was wild and nauseating; Spain has
some crazy drivers.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mj-mMdRr5Ew/UBeycwTO4gI/AAAAAAAAAQU/Wvr25LmeGSM/s1600/IMG_1052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mj-mMdRr5Ew/UBeycwTO4gI/AAAAAAAAAQU/Wvr25LmeGSM/s320/IMG_1052.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skull (left one, looking down) with the frog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mercedes and
Reyes had gone out but left us supper. We had large salads and what
we thought we some kind of dessert potato until we realized they were
pears (except Monday she told us they were apples, oops). They might have been what you'd call “candied” but I'm
not really sure; they were good though. Bailey and I watched the
Olympics while eating supper. Spain beat China at basketball and we
also watched some gymnastics. We were very tired and went to bed at
9:00.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
To see a lot more pictures of Salamanca, and some of Iscar, maybe not immediately but a couple hours after this post, go to: <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3658125574575.2134912.1317690207&type=1&l=ab1113a4a3</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-53998723944933128202012-07-30T08:36:00.000-07:002012-07-30T08:36:07.129-07:00Rain! and Olympics: Week 4, Thursday and Friday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Thursday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lNxM2-r5we8/UBapIQqPsHI/AAAAAAAAAO8/OWQePkVpk8Q/s1600/IMG_1005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lNxM2-r5we8/UBapIQqPsHI/AAAAAAAAAO8/OWQePkVpk8Q/s320/IMG_1005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral of Valladolid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I had a
literature test this morning. It was fine, pretty similar to the
last one. We're in school every day from 8-2. I haven't had this
kind of a school schedule since high school, and yet it doesn't seem
too difficult. I definitely feel like I'm learning a lot in a short
amount of time though.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Pasta
with tomato sauce, ham and cheese fillet things, ice cream sandwiches
:)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We met Jon, Zou,
and Alex at the cathedral at five and went inside and took pictures.
It was impressive but kind of dark. After the cathedral we went in a
couple stores and then it began to storm, with pouring rain! We
tried to stay on the streets that had the overhangs over the
sidewalks and went in those stores, then waited for the rain to die
down. Then Alex, Bailey, and I went back to school to study for our
history test tomorrow.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HgHIauMEnCs/UBapNCXwr5I/AAAAAAAAAPM/YhbHcavqfLY/s1600/IMG_1012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HgHIauMEnCs/UBapNCXwr5I/AAAAAAAAAPM/YhbHcavqfLY/s320/IMG_1012.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rain!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The last pen I
had left (the fifth one) just ran out of ink. I may have to buy
more; I don't like using pencils.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: More
pasta with tomato sauce, hot dog things, fries, and mini ice cream
sandwiches.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After supper,
Bailey and I studied more together then I studied a lot on my own.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Friday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning in
conversation we played “Tabú” (Taboo). It was a little
difficult because sometimes we'd have to go through several cards
before we found a word we recognized, but it was fun. Our history
test went fine, although we all complained afterward that we didn't
know (or care) how many times King Felipe III was married (it turned out once, which was rare because their wives died so much back then).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Poached
egg on rice with tomato sauce, ice cream sandwiches</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We went to the
computer lab from 5-8 to work on homework.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Tortilla
de patatas, yogurt</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cGkkrIdZ8a4/UBapQFCnVoI/AAAAAAAAAPU/A5Xxn9H3c9o/s1600/IMG_1015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cGkkrIdZ8a4/UBapQFCnVoI/AAAAAAAAAPU/A5Xxn9H3c9o/s320/IMG_1015.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More rain!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The opening
ceremony of the Olympics started at 10 P.M. I always love watching
those. It was especially entertaining watching them with Mercedes
and Reyes (her daughter). When Rowan Atkinson appeared we all said
“Mr. Bean!” at the same time :) Also, when Reyes wasn't in the
room, the scene started with James Bond going to the palace to get
the queen, and we heard Mercedes go in the kitchen and say to Reyes,
“Está James Bond y la reina!” (It's James Bond and the queen).
Bailey and I both giggled at that. We talked with Mercedes a couple
days ago about how much she likes James Bond. We went to bed before
all the countries had finished walking in. We're going to Salamanca
tomorrow!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-90114708870122005592012-07-27T01:30:00.000-07:002012-07-27T01:30:27.002-07:00Simplicity and Mayonnaise: Week 4, Tuesday and Wednesday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Chicken
noodle soup and a separate bowl full of garbanzo beans and potatoes,
watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Beach in the
afternoon.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Homework in the
computer lab.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Early supper:
Red peppers (pimientos), tortilla de patata, watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Every night
during supper we watch a game show called Pasapalabra. I think we've
finally figured out how all the rounds work and we even got a couple
trivia questions right.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Run: 2 miles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wednesday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x693XBaGIZA/UBJRWUwC62I/AAAAAAAAAOg/6E_TST6DCH0/s1600/IMG_1000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x693XBaGIZA/UBJRWUwC62I/AAAAAAAAAOg/6E_TST6DCH0/s320/IMG_1000.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A church in Valladolid (Santa María) at night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I always eat
everything Mercedes puts on the table whether I like it or not.
Today was the most difficult. We had “ensalada rusa,” or Russian
salad, which we had been previously warned about in a conversation
class; it's a popular dish here. It's a large bowl full of
mayonnaise with peppers, pickles, olives, eggs, peas, and potatoes
mixed in. I wouldn't mind it so much if we just had a spoonful, but
this was an entire meal of mayonnaise. I'm sure we each ate a small
jar's worth, no joke. Mercedes always gives herself less food than
us. She also told us today that she's fattening us up (it's a good
thing to her) and that she brags to her friends about how much food
she gives us :) We should run more...</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When I was
taking my nap this afternoon, I thought I heard thunder, but I
couldn't decide if it was trucks or not. When we walked to school
for our Wednesday movie, there was definitely thunder and it was
sprinkling too! This is the first time we've had precipitation since
we got here. We might get some rain this weekend too.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We watched
“Tesis” (Thesis), a thriller from the 90s in which a graduate
student doing a thesis paper on violent films stumbles upon a real
murder mystery involving the people at her university. It was very
interesting.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After the movie
I Skyped with my brother and sister-in-law (hi guys!) and then we
went home for supper. Supper involved, uh oh, more mayonnaise. I
suppose she was trying to run out of her supply. We had hard boiled
eggs on toothpicks that had been dipped in mayonnaise. I tried to
wipe most of it off on my plate. We also had olives, which I passed
to Bailey when Mercedes wasn't in the room :) Also: salad and
watermelon</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-46859122794776795762012-07-25T08:38:00.002-07:002012-07-30T02:04:33.731-07:00Museum and Batman, Week 3 & 4: Sunday and Monday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sunday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This was the
first day that Bailey and I got to sleep in and didn't have to wake
up for anything. We slept until about 11:00. We had something
different for breakfast today: leche frita, or fried milk. It tasted
all right but had a weird texture. We then went to the Museum of
Valladolid. It's free on Sundays and it was really interesting. It
had a bunch of artifacts that had been excavated in this area of
Spain, like pots, tools, and weapons from as early as the 5<sup>th</sup>
century B.C. The most interesting, to me, were the Roman artifacts
like mosaics, sculptures, and coins. There were two floors and we
only saw one before we had to go home for lunch, but we might go back
next Sunday.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Mussels
and empanadillas. Also, I was peeling my peach (which I normally
don't do in the U.S., but it actually seems like a good idea here
because they seem to have an extra layer of fuzz) when it slipped out
of my hand, rolled across the table, and onto the floor. Mercedes
acted like nothing out of the ordinary happened, picked it up, wiped
it off with my napkin, and handed it back to me :)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This was the
first day we've stayed inside all day until supper. I finished
reading the Hunger Games series and did some homework.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper:
Tortillas de atún (tuna), tortillas de patata, pollo, salad, and
another peach</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We went to the
school plaza right after supper and Skyped our families. I talked to
my parents, grandparents, sister, and nephew all at once :) Next was
basketball at the beach for a half hour then back home to bed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Monday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Four of the
students from Texas are no longer in our class because they were only
with us for three weeks. However, we now have a new student with us.
She's from France, and her name is Clemence. I think she's making us
look bad because she's only sixteen and speaks French, English, and
Spanish (and maybe more, I don't know) but it's really great to have
someone from a different culture join us.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Chicken
and rice, a peach</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today Bailey,
Alex, Zou, and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises because the
theaters are cheaper on Mondays. Here they pronounce Batman
“Baht-mahn” and Spiderman “Spee-dair-mahn.” It was strange
seeing the actors mouthing English words but hearing Spanish, but for
the most part we understood what was going on. It was pretty good,
and I'm excited to see it in English when I get back to the U.S. because it'll be like seeing it for the first time. There's
probably a lot I didn't catch. Since the movie was almost three
hours long it took up our whole afternoon.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Pork
chops, french fries, salad, watermelon</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-82306688503245531002012-07-23T02:30:00.001-07:002012-07-23T02:30:43.935-07:00Sushi and Peñafiel, Week 3: Friday and Saturday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Friday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our conversation
“test” went fine this morning. Our topic was food and drink, and
there were a few moments with awkward silence when we were trying to
rapidly think of something to say, but I think it was all right
overall. I went to a bank with Bailey where she had exchanged
dollars into euros before, but this time they told her they couldn't
do it. Fortunately, she asked the professors where to go and found
another bank that did it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Ensalada
con huevos, tomates, atún, y patatas, y mejillones y melocotones al
lado: a salad with eggs, tomatoes, tuna, and potatoes in it, and
mussels and a peach on the side</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After a super
short siesta we laid on the beach for awhile. There's a herd of
ducks that travel around the beach quacking and honking. They're not
afraid of people at all and will gather around people's towels if
they don't shoo them away.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h4SBjxl_NfQ/UA0Y895AK5I/AAAAAAAAAN8/8O0dTKYVyag/s1600/IMG_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h4SBjxl_NfQ/UA0Y895AK5I/AAAAAAAAAN8/8O0dTKYVyag/s320/IMG_0982.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castle in Peñafiel, the hill we climbed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Later, we went
to the school to book a hostel for Barcelona, and also tried to
figure out what would would be the best way to get to Madrid for our
flight home. Since our first flight on our last day leaves at 7 in
the morning, there's no train from Valladolid that morning that would
get us to Madrid early enough to check in at 5. We originally
thought we'd have to take a train to Madrid the day before and spend
a night there ($), but then I thought to look into a bus. So, on our
last day we're taking a bus that will take us straight to the Madrid
airport from 12:30-3:00 AM before taking three flights home. We'll
probably be grumpy and exhausted, but we'll definitely save money
that way.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We met Zou for
supper. We were really hoping to get either pizza or Chinese food,
but although we had a general idea of where the places were, we
couldn't find them, so instead we stopped at a Japanese place called
Nippón that Sergio had recommended. It was right next to the
cathedral and we sat outside. We shared a couple different dishes,
and I tried sushi for the first time ever. I've always been afraid
to eat it because it looks weird, but I liked it a lot. Also, I
think it's really cool I've eaten sushi next to a Spanish cathedral
:)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tomorrow:
Peñafiel!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Saturday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bailey and I
went for a run when we got up: 1.75 miles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We met Jon, Zou,
and Alex at the bus station at 10:15 to catch the 11:00 bus to
Peñafiel, a little town about an hour away from Valladolid. Another
student, José, joined us as well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iHo-oqeUV5A/UA0ZATfr0ZI/AAAAAAAAAOE/CUr2NaFPyKM/s1600/IMG_0994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iHo-oqeUV5A/UA0ZATfr0ZI/AAAAAAAAAOE/CUr2NaFPyKM/s320/IMG_0994.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine tasting in Peñafiel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Peñafiel, we
knew we wanted to go to the castle, and we could see it above the
city so we made our way toward it. Once we got to the bottom of the
hill that the castle was on, we hiked up the steep side instead of
following the long switchback road. It was a little difficult
considering most of us didn't anticipate a hike and weren't wearing
appropriate shoes, but it definitely shortened the walk.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We took a guided
tour of the castle, and then attended a wine tasting, which was free
provided we already bought a tour of the castle. The tasting was
interesting, and the white wine tasted better than the reds, but I
still think wine is gross in general.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELioSEYXyV0/UA0ZEUJUj7I/AAAAAAAAAOM/y8ySqAcvGBg/s1600/IMG_0999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELioSEYXyV0/UA0ZEUJUj7I/AAAAAAAAAOM/y8ySqAcvGBg/s320/IMG_0999.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pizza at La Romana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After the
tasting, we walked down the hill to a park just below the castle and
ate our lunches there. Most of the students from our school went to
Peñafiel today, just on different buses, so we also met up with
Blanca, Nathaniel, Brandon, Dede, and Regina at different
times. We explored a couple shops in town then took the bus back to
Valladolid.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For supper,
Bailey and I went to a pizza place Sergio suggested, La Romana. We
had a lot of trouble finding it. He said it was in front of the
cathedral on a corner, and it really was, but we must have walked
past it four times because it was a small place and its name wasn't
on the building above the door. I even used my maps app on my iPod
and asked a man in a kiosk before we finally found it. It was very
good pizza though. They put it all together in front of us and
cooked it in a brick oven. My pizza had shrimp, tomato sauce,
garlic, and oregano on it. It was definitely worth the delay.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After eating we
just sat on a bench outside the cathedral, surfed the internet, and
people watched before going home to bed.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-6258633433708086512012-07-20T02:43:00.003-07:002012-07-20T02:43:49.695-07:00A long walk, Week 3: Wednesday and Thursday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wednesday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today Bailey and
I went, once again, to the library to get books for our history
papers. My paper is a biography of Hernán Cortés.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Chicken
and rice, it tasted like home :)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jvVZlGh7rgQ/UAknnEAZLfI/AAAAAAAAANs/nNDWNX53F-w/s1600/IMG_0980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jvVZlGh7rgQ/UAknnEAZLfI/AAAAAAAAANs/nNDWNX53F-w/s320/IMG_0980.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The computer lab at school</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Most of the kids
in our class are going to Peñafiel, a little town with a castle,
this weekend. Bailey and I walked to the bus station today to buy
our tickets ahead of time and to find out how much they were for
everyone else. The walk was about 1.7 miles one way, and it was 100
degrees. 100 degrees here is not as bad as home because there's no
humidity (it was 11%) but it was still a long walk for that weather.
When we got there, the ticket seller told us that we can't buy the
tickets ahead of time and we have to get them on Saturday. Although
it was a good walk, it was still frustrating. We didn't even
remember to ask how much they would cost. We went back to the school
for movie night right after our walk.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper:
Tortillas de patatas</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Thursday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Fried ham
and cheese things, pasta, yogurt</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We took a long
siesta today, then went to the school and worked on homework in the
computer lab for a couple hours. For our conversation “test”
tomorrow, we'll be given a topic, and we just have to talk to each
other (in pairs) in front of the professor for ten minutes. Bailey
and I went over the possible topics and practiced conversing for
awhile. We won't find out which topic we'll have until tomorrow.
The possible topics are: my life in Spain, cultural stereotypes of
Spaniards and Americans, food and drink, and cultural differences
between Spain and the U.S.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Salad,
eggs, french fries, and peaches (melocotones). I think they peel
their peaches here too.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Run: 1.5 miles,
then workout stations on beach</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-37220232918856333432012-07-18T03:08:00.000-07:002012-07-18T03:11:59.734-07:00Shopping and Basketball: Week 3, Monday and Tuesday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Monday</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I woke up at
7:40 this morning, so getting ready was a little frantic. I was
actually thankful for having a really small breakfast so I could
consume it in about 30 seconds. I still made it to class on time.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vcTCSp_pdSA/UAaJdRMmHNI/AAAAAAAAANI/qJiGQ8Txb2E/s1600/IMG_0976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vcTCSp_pdSA/UAaJdRMmHNI/AAAAAAAAANI/qJiGQ8Txb2E/s320/IMG_0976.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza de toros in Valladolid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My history
presentation went fine. We got to do them from our seats again, and
for some reason that makes them SO much better. At the start of
every class, Sergio asks us if we have questions about anything. In
literature, evidently a group planned ahead, because they asked
Sergio as many questions as they could about what to see in
Valladolid, castles near here, what to do in Barcelona, methods of
transportation, and good things for kids to do here (because one of
the girls brought her son). Sergio played along and answered all the
questions and gave us lots of information. By the time the class was
half over, he was encouraging us to ask more questions so we didn't
have to start our literature topic. He said we're not allowed to ask
any questions in class tomorrow :) I must be taking a lot of notes
in my classes or all my pens are reaching their end at the same time,
because I've thrown away four already. I think I only have one left.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d__sgtCpvwI/UAaJgrLLpTI/AAAAAAAAANQ/TBu1n6zk8Z4/s1600/IMG_0977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d__sgtCpvwI/UAaJgrLLpTI/AAAAAAAAANQ/TBu1n6zk8Z4/s320/IMG_0977.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza de toros in Valladolid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After school,
Bailey and I went to the library and got library cards. We didn't
have time to check out anything because we had to go home for lunch,
but I might go back tomorrow during my school break.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Garbanzo
beans with potatoes and hot dogs with yogurt on the side</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K1PjWN6Ci1g/UAaJljdO8rI/AAAAAAAAANY/NRA77ge9AjU/s1600/IMG_0978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K1PjWN6Ci1g/UAaJljdO8rI/AAAAAAAAANY/NRA77ge9AjU/s320/IMG_0978.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Corte Inglés</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We had plans to
see Spiderman, but when we got to the theater we found out they were
only playing it in 3D, which we didn't want. Instead, we took a city
bus to the plaza de toros and El Corte Inglés. We've been to the
other El Corte Inglés in Valladolid, but this one is much, much
bigger. It's the biggest department store I've ever been in. I
believe it had six floors, and every floor is massive. All the
products ranged from generic and cheap to name brand and really
expensive. For example, some purses were in separate rooms for
certain designers. We went in the Carolina Herrera section, and
Bailey saw that a tiny wallet was 70 euro. We left the are before I
checked the price of a big purse though because the clerk was giving
us a look that said: “You're not going to buy anything so why are
you in here?” I bought a dress (yes, that's right, I said dress)
and a shirt for 30 euro. No more clothes shopping for me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Ham
omelets and yogurt</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Run: 2.5 miles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today on my
school break I went back to the library, got myself acquainted with
the layout, and checked out a book for my literature paper.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lunch: Stew with
veal and potatoes</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today was a
pretty hot day, in the mid 90s. Tomorrow's supposed to be in the
upper 90s as well, but then I think it's supposed to cool down again
after that. Bailey and I went to the beach for a little while, then
to the school for homework. We also bought tickets to go to
Barcelona August 3-5.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Supper: Hot dog
type sausages, french fries (always homemade!), salad, and watermelon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bailey bought a
basketball last week so tonight we went to the beach and played 2 on
2 with the guys. I was no good but it was still fun.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-73473805384495852452012-07-16T12:56:00.000-07:002012-07-16T12:56:04.253-07:00Segovia and Sculptures: Week 2, Saturday and Sunday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Saturday:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nl9ow0btmpc/UARwn3SItqI/AAAAAAAAAMI/UkGmnZsVvqE/s1600/IMG_0838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nl9ow0btmpc/UARwn3SItqI/AAAAAAAAAMI/UkGmnZsVvqE/s320/IMG_0838.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gardens at La Granja</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This
morning we met the rest of our class at Plaza San Pablo for our trip
to Segovia. We hadn't been to Plaza San Pablo yet even though it's
just down the street from our apartment. It also has an amazing
church, la iglesia de San Pablo, that was built in the 16<sup>th</sup>
century. We took the bus for a little over an hour and first we
stopped at La Granja, which is a little town just outside of Segovia.
There was a palace there and enormous gardens that we explored for a
little while.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4loL2FOhyPQ/UARwqnrb7mI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/9_0wWQaUJtI/s1600/IMG_0861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4loL2FOhyPQ/UARwqnrb7mI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/9_0wWQaUJtI/s320/IMG_0861.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral in Segovia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">When
we got to Segovia, we got off the bus at the aqueducts, a two
thousand year old Roman structure that they used to transport water through the city. What is amazing about them is that the Romans didn't use anything to
bond the stones together. They're just held together by gravity and
the tension in the arches. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Sergio
led us down the main street of Segovia, past shops and restaurants,
and we stopped to look at the the cathedral of Segovia. It was one
of my favorite buildings so far because I love Gothic architecture. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v5czXQCkbiA/UARwtVpMc0I/AAAAAAAAAMY/3t2j7bHmU5c/s1600/IMG_0866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v5czXQCkbiA/UARwtVpMc0I/AAAAAAAAAMY/3t2j7bHmU5c/s320/IMG_0866.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Alcázar in Segovia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
continued walking until we reached El Alcázar, a mix between a
castle and a palace built in the sixteenth century. The tour of
the Alcázar was amazing. It was full of suits of armor, furniture,
tapestries, paintings, murals, stain glass windows, weapons, and had
different ceilings in every room. We could also go outside on the
walls. We climbed up a narrow spiral staircase of 152 steep stairs
to the top of the tower, where we had a great view of Segovia. I
have a lot more photos, mainly of the Alcázar and the aqueducts, on
Facebook. To see them go to: </span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3553695803896.2132207.1317690207&type=3&l=6a42a74eb4</span> <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">. We used the rest of our
free time to go shopping before we got back on the bus.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Back
in Valladolid, Alberto showed us more of his favorite places to go
for tapas. They were delicious and very inexpensive.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Sculptures,
Week 2: Sunday</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UHvX-ZiXs_8/UARww9K_uyI/AAAAAAAAAMg/8J7n1dCiHBU/s1600/IMG_0931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UHvX-ZiXs_8/UARww9K_uyI/AAAAAAAAAMg/8J7n1dCiHBU/s320/IMG_0931.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aqueducts in Segovia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Today
we had a class trip to the sculpture museum in Valladolid. The
pieces were really awesome, but I kind of wish we could have gone
through on our own rather than had a guided tour. The guide talked
for a long time about some pieces then sped us past others.
Otherwise we just did homework for the rest of the day because I have
a presentation about the conquest of the Aztecs tomorrow.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-67081646829532728192012-07-15T07:59:00.000-07:002012-07-15T07:59:33.561-07:00The Food is Looking at Me, Week 2: Wed, Thurs, Fri<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Here
Comes the Sun, Week 2: Wednesday</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RBbBATEE2rw/UALY42x3e8I/AAAAAAAAALc/7UIOlfiw_KY/s1600/IMG_0810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RBbBATEE2rw/UALY42x3e8I/AAAAAAAAALc/7UIOlfiw_KY/s320/IMG_0810.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval bridge in Simancas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Lunch:
Sunny side up egg on rice with bread and a dessert called “natillas,”
which is a kind of eggy pudding with cinnamon on top.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
went to the beach for an hour to lay out and read, then went to
school for movie night, which was “El hijo de la novia,” or The
Son of the Bride.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Supper:
Chicken noodle soup, bread, watermelon, and “empanadillas de jamón
y atún,” or small fried pockets of ham and tuna, which were
amazing.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Mercedes'
daughter is here and she was talking about how picky of an eater she
is (she says she'll only eat four things). She said all the students she has
eat and like everything she makes, but her own daughter barely eats
anything!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Run:
2.25 miles</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The
Food is Looking at Me, Week 2: Thursday</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In
literature I had my first test today. I didn't do perfect, but it
went fine.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Lunch:
Chicken cooked in white wine with french fries</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In
Spain, if you're walking towards someone on the sidewalk or street,
they don't move out of the way. If you play chicken with a Spaniard,
you will always move first or just run into them. I wonder what
happens when two Spaniards are walking towards each other, because I
don't think anyone ever moves.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QkW1itmZzeA/UALY-4In4JI/AAAAAAAAALk/0FBtFMWm_GE/s1600/IMG_0817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QkW1itmZzeA/UALY-4In4JI/AAAAAAAAALk/0FBtFMWm_GE/s320/IMG_0817.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval bridge in Simancas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In
the afternoon, we met the guys at the beach and laid out for a long
time and waded a bit in the river. After, Bailey and I went
shopping. We both bought one shirt each.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The
one fear I had before coming here was eating a fish or some type of
food that was whole on the table in front of me, that still had eyes
and all its parts. Well, tonight we had shrimp, which I LOVE to eat.
However, tonight on the table in front of us were shrimp that still
had their eyes, heads, tails, leg things, and feeler things. Bailey
took the first one, and Mercedes showed us how to eat them: rip off
the head, the tail, the leg things, and peel off the harder skin on
the outside. We took it really well and ate a couple as I tried to
avoid looking at them, but as soon as Mercedes went to the kitchen to
get something, we looked at each other in horror! I was a little
traumatized. They tasted great, but it was difficult for me to take
them apart. I now appreciate what has to be done to shrimp to eat
them, and I still love the taste, but I will never look at them the
same way again.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Simancas,
Week 2: Friday</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This
morning I had a history test and it went really well.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Lunch:
Potatoes, scalloped, and pork chops</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BWrzGDA70s/UALZEkoAYyI/AAAAAAAAALs/gaZMkUGaHWc/s1600/IMG_0821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BWrzGDA70s/UALZEkoAYyI/AAAAAAAAALs/gaZMkUGaHWc/s320/IMG_0821.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castle in Simancas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
met Alex, another girl from the school, at Plaza Zorilla and took a
city bus to Simancas, a little town just outside of Valladolid. To
get into town, we crossed a medieval bridge from the middle ages.
The town is built on the side of a hill and has incredibly steep
streets. We walked up them to the castle, which was impressive on
the outside. The inside was a little disappointing though because it
had been turned into an archive, they made the interior look modern,
and we only got to go in two rooms. We also walked to the cathedral
and took a few pictures, and met an older couple from France there
that took a picture of us. We walked back down to the edge of town
to check out a cemetery that looked impressive from above, but it was
already closed for the day.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_E-MFZeGcUI/UALZJYAxsKI/AAAAAAAAAL0/sCEl3nTA_ZE/s1600/IMG_0828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_E-MFZeGcUI/UALZJYAxsKI/AAAAAAAAAL0/sCEl3nTA_ZE/s320/IMG_0828.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral in Simancas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
took the bus back to Valladolid and got frozen yogurt at Smöoy
again. Just yesterday, we read in the newspaper that Spain is
raising its taxes from 18% to 21%. Mercedes said it has never been
like this before. We saw on the news that there are protests all
over Spain. At a plaza near the frozen yogurt place, a large group
of people was forming, including the police, and people were
protesting over megaphones. We avoided the crowd and went home.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Supper:
salad, eggs, watermelon, bread</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I
can't believe we've already been here two weeks. It has gone so
fast. Tomorrow we're taking a school trip to Segovia!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">To see more pictures, go to: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3553695803896.2132207.1317690207&type=3&l=6a42a74eb4</span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-88963227186032493102012-07-11T02:54:00.000-07:002012-07-11T02:54:40.375-07:00Homework and Jungle Gyms! Week 2, Monday and Tueday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Monday:</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMdx_EQ7z2E/T_1MmnoFvpI/AAAAAAAAAK4/tArFSandOIg/s1600/IMG_0805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMdx_EQ7z2E/T_1MmnoFvpI/AAAAAAAAAK4/tArFSandOIg/s320/IMG_0805.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cúpula del Milenio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Today
Bailey and I were both struggling to stay awake in our classes.
Although we got a decent amount of sleep last night, our lack of
sleep from the night before must have carried over.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">When
we got back for lunch, Mercedes' daughter and son-in-law were eating
lunch before us. They talked to us a little bit and were really
nice. For lunch we had a plate of garbanzo beans, potatoes, carrots,
and hard boiled eggs.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
both have presentations in history tomorrow, so after our siestas we
went back to school and used the internet for four hours. My
presentation is about the wedding of Isabel, the oldest daughter of
the Spanish king and queen Ferdinand and Isabella (back in the
1400s).</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Supper
consisted of sunny-side-up eggs, french fries, and watermelon
(strange combination, right?).</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After
we watched the news, Bailey and I ran for two miles along the river.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KuXKJkekQr4/T_1MrKpv12I/AAAAAAAAALA/M6Sa2BpMPWA/s1600/IMG_0806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KuXKJkekQr4/T_1MrKpv12I/AAAAAAAAALA/M6Sa2BpMPWA/s320/IMG_0806.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome jungle gym!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tuesday:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Today,
for our “presentations” in history, we got to do them from our
seats, so it was laid back and easy.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">It
still hasn't rained once and it doesn't look like it will. The
temperature is perfect, we don't have and don't need air
conditioning.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Lunch:
pasta, bread, watermelon, and what we think was pork chops, but I'm
not sure if she ever said what they were called.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KSTBwf3t8yA/T_1MvpCDE1I/AAAAAAAAALI/HNCo0j_8Y_c/s1600/IMG_0808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KSTBwf3t8yA/T_1MvpCDE1I/AAAAAAAAALI/HNCo0j_8Y_c/s320/IMG_0808.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby peacock!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After
siesta and homework, we met the guys near the beach and walked north
along the river until the trail ended (the north edge of Valladolid),
then crossed the river to the west and checked out the Cúpula del Milenio, a big
building shaped like a soccer ball that lights up at night and hosts concerts and events. Outside was an awesome jungle
gym that didn't have any kids on it, so we climbed on it and hung
out. We also sat by a fountain on the river and went to El Campo
Grande to check out the peacocks again.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Supper:
bread, salad, apple, tortillas patatas</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">To
bed early!</span></span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-8999006075239833782012-07-10T05:03:00.000-07:002012-07-10T05:03:33.290-07:00Madrid! Week 1: Saturday and Sunday<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B9_-BrSa_Os/T_sbkCmg2WI/AAAAAAAAAJU/kSzxDfWt5S4/s1600/IMG_0732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B9_-BrSa_Os/T_sbkCmg2WI/AAAAAAAAAJU/kSzxDfWt5S4/s320/IMG_0732.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hostel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Saturday morning we slept in, then walked to the train station and met Jon and Zou to go to Madrid. It was a high speed train, and got up to 300 km/hr (186 MPH), but when we were looking out the windows it didn't seem like it was going that fast. It took about 50 minutes to get to Madrid. From the train station we took the metro to get to our hostel.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eKq5h4bYe6Y/T_sboN9GS9I/AAAAAAAAAJc/DWU60xjMq4g/s1600/IMG_0742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eKq5h4bYe6Y/T_sboN9GS9I/AAAAAAAAAJc/DWU60xjMq4g/s320/IMG_0742.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banco de Madrid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our hostel was very nice, much better than I imagined a hostel to be. It was just like a hotel except that the rooms had three bunk beds each. There were two other Spanish speakers in the room with us. They seemed nice but didn't say much. The hostel also had a computer lab, a billiards room, and included breakfast in the morning. To see more pictures than I have, go to the website ajmadrid.es. All of the other people staying there seemed to be our age. When we were waiting to check in, another couple there said they were from Vancouver and had been backpacking for the last three months (WOW!) The people working there were all very nice, gave directions and maps, and also spoke English.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-01SEhyavHGo/T_sbuAOj2YI/AAAAAAAAAJw/gF5nZVV-iUo/s1600/IMG_0756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-01SEhyavHGo/T_sbuAOj2YI/AAAAAAAAAJw/gF5nZVV-iUo/s320/IMG_0756.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palacio del Cristal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After checking in at the hostel and leaving some things in the lockers there, we walked down a main street in Madrid that had huge, beautiful buildings until we reached El Parque del Retiro, a massive park that included a lake that people could rent paddle boats on. In the park, we went in el Palacio de Velásquez and el Palacio del Cristal, which both had art inside.<br />
<br />
Next we made our way to El Prado, a world famous art museum that contained the works of Goya, Velásquez, Rembrandt, and many, many more. It was really exciting to see paintings that I had learned about back home at UNK.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UlIJDS7V3Oo/T_sb6WB2JJI/AAAAAAAAAKM/1I-EaqMePzg/s1600/IMG_0777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UlIJDS7V3Oo/T_sb6WB2JJI/AAAAAAAAAKM/1I-EaqMePzg/s320/IMG_0777.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Palacio Real</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next we walked (and walked, and walked, I calculated we walked 7-10 miles in Madrid) to Puerta del Sol, a famous, super crowded plaza that includes kilometer 0, the point from which all the major roads in Spain originate. Nearby was La Plaza Mayor, and we found a couple tapas places for supper.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xYQZ5yqsNZU/T_sb98cahoI/AAAAAAAAAKU/GEQc3UHS_0o/s1600/IMG_0788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xYQZ5yqsNZU/T_sb98cahoI/AAAAAAAAAKU/GEQc3UHS_0o/s320/IMG_0788.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Templo de Debod</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After eating, we went to El Palacio Real (the royal palace), and then a park where an Egyptian temple had been reconstructed, called Templo de Debod. We went back to the hostel to change, and Jon, Bailey, and I went to a nearby club. We wanted to check out the seven story club, but it was a long way from our hostel and we didn't want to walk that far. The one we found was really awesome though. It was kind of small, but the music was good and some people were dancing, so we hung out there.<br />
<br />
Sunday morning, after we checked out of the hostel, we took the metro to la Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, where the bullfights are. We couldn't see a bullfight (and I'm still not sure I'd want to) but we went in the bullfighting museum there. Afterward, we went back to the train station and returned to Valladolid.<br />
<br />
To see more pictures, go to: <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3553695803896.2132207.1317690207&type=1&l=6a42a74eb4</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TQwze0-87Q4/T_scEacxAcI/AAAAAAAAAKk/J4I0XIAG3Po/s1600/IMG_0799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TQwze0-87Q4/T_scEacxAcI/AAAAAAAAAKk/J4I0XIAG3Po/s320/IMG_0799.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-41214063755941456932012-07-09T03:20:00.000-07:002012-07-09T03:20:29.155-07:00Discoveries, Week 1: Friday<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz03wQ-Cvwc/T_qrdKXZkII/AAAAAAAAAIM/ioPDMUjJ50M/s1600/IMG_0707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz03wQ-Cvwc/T_qrdKXZkII/AAAAAAAAAIM/ioPDMUjJ50M/s320/IMG_0707.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa de Cervantes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TLpC8NILb8/T_qrfvywWbI/AAAAAAAAAIU/IVJRU7CGWqM/s1600/IMG_0708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TLpC8NILb8/T_qrfvywWbI/AAAAAAAAAIU/IVJRU7CGWqM/s320/IMG_0708.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Train Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white;">This
morning, my alarm went off at 6:30, but I fell back asleep and woke
up at 7:30. My hair was a mess, but I still had breakfast and made
it to class on time at 8:00. I guess I've reached the point where I
have to set my alarm across the room so I have to go get it. The
classes here normally start about ten minutes late. Being on time
isn't really a big deal here. Most of us students still make a point
to be exactly on time, but the professors will chat with people
outside or work in the computer lab until they feel like going to
class. It's kind of nice :)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4byRc_zZJc/T_qriwZnoJI/AAAAAAAAAIc/uD4BlZPMK4w/s1600/IMG_0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4byRc_zZJc/T_qriwZnoJI/AAAAAAAAAIc/uD4BlZPMK4w/s320/IMG_0711.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Palacio De Santa Cruz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">For
lunch we had “sopa con lentejas, zanahorias, patatas, y chorizo,”
lentil soup with carrots, potatoes, and sausage. We also tried “café
con helado,” coffee with ice cream, which was pretty good until the
ice cream was gone :)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
skipped siesta and met the guys at the tourism office to rent bikes
for free. Bailey and I got bikes, but we found out they only had two
available at the time. As a result, we didn't ride them very much
and returned them, but now we know how to get them in the future.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WYUsSkBBQ7o/T_qrle6CBLI/AAAAAAAAAIk/Bwum-icfSIU/s1600/IMG_0713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WYUsSkBBQ7o/T_qrle6CBLI/AAAAAAAAAIk/Bwum-icfSIU/s320/IMG_0713.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">University of Valladolid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Next
all of us went to the train station to see where we would be leaving
tomorrow, then we rested at a place calle La Plaza Circular and
watched some kids play soccer. We also saw the house of Miguel de
Cervantes, the author of “Don Quixote de la Mancha.” We also
walked inside “El Palacio de Santa Cruz” (see pics for all the
buildings) and the University of Valladolid. We walked around the
cathedral of Valladolid, but it was already closed, so we'll have to
go back another day to see the inside. Next to the cathedral was
another beautiful church called “La iglesia de Santa María de la
Antigua.” It was a day full of seeing many, many impressive
buildings. There were several cafes by the cathedral, and we talked
about how strange it is that, for some people, eating lunch next to a
cathedral is a normal, everyday thing.</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VCEm6wq2jbU/T_qrq8s1k6I/AAAAAAAAAI4/AAUlhy2d13g/s1600/IMG_0721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VCEm6wq2jbU/T_qrq8s1k6I/AAAAAAAAAI4/AAUlhy2d13g/s320/IMG_0721.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La iglesia de Santa María de la Antigua</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZzszKB06iY/T_qrot4MR7I/AAAAAAAAAIw/cLVWh53PDRU/s1600/IMG_0720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZzszKB06iY/T_qrot4MR7I/AAAAAAAAAIw/cLVWh53PDRU/s320/IMG_0720.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral of Valladolid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">On
our way home, Bailey and I walked by “La Real Iglesia de San Miguel
y San Julían,” a church we've been by many times, but tonight the
doors were open. The altar was breathtaking so we stood in the doors
and took a picture.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">For
supper, we had chicken noodle soup again with “salchichas,”
pieces of sausage shaped like hot dogs. Afterward, we watched the
news for a little while. Tomorrow is the running of the bulls in
Pamplona, which is one thing I absolutely don't have any desire to
see in person. From what it looked like on the news, Pamplona is
already full of crazy, drunk people. I will happily go to Madrid
tomorrow instead :)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-gxdyLSBjo/T_qrtS9ynuI/AAAAAAAAAJA/hYY1Slio8dE/s1600/IMG_0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-gxdyLSBjo/T_qrtS9ynuI/AAAAAAAAAJA/hYY1Slio8dE/s320/IMG_0725.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Real Iglesia de San Miguel y San Julían</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Bailey
and I found a bar near our apartment that has Wifi, so we went there
to use the internet. The man that ran the bar was very nice. He
gave us the password to the Wifi and asked if we were Americans. He
pointed to a Green Bay Packers flag on the wall and said some
students from Wisconsin gave it to him when they were here during the
Super Bowl. I tried “calimocho,” which is a common drink here
that is a mixture of red wine and Coke. It was all right, it wasn't
strong. As we have already noticed in other stores and restaurants,
American music is very popular here. The whole time we were at the
bar, I think there were only two songs I didn't recognize. I used
Skype to call my parents, and Bailey called some people too. There
were a few other people there early on, but Bailey and I were the
last ones. When I went up to get water, the bartender told me what
time he would close, but asked me if we needed more time on our
computers and said he could stay open longer. Of course I responded
that no, it was fine and we would go, but I thought it was surprising
of him to offer such a thing.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
get to sleep in tomorrow because we don't leave for Madrid until 1
P.M.!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">To see more pictures, go to: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3553695803896.2132207.1317690207&type=1&l=6a42a74eb4</span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-48207995980470920102012-07-06T14:32:00.001-07:002012-07-06T14:32:49.838-07:00Walking in the Sand, Week 1: Thursday<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5HbDluIo9Qs/T_dR0LqleQI/AAAAAAAAAHE/pAeGnumiFaQ/s1600/IMG_0675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5HbDluIo9Qs/T_dR0LqleQI/AAAAAAAAAHE/pAeGnumiFaQ/s320/IMG_0675.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The living room, where we eat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In conversation this morning, we practiced ordering at a restaurant. In Spain, it's not common to leave a tip because the waiters and waitresses make normal wages and aren't underpaid like those in the U.S. For lunch today, we had a stew with chicken (that still had the bones), potatoes, carrots, and a few other veggies.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uZ6Xx1HCrYI/T_dSr2Jy2JI/AAAAAAAAAHU/O-mi4A3sTmM/s1600/IMG_0690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uZ6Xx1HCrYI/T_dSr2Jy2JI/AAAAAAAAAHU/O-mi4A3sTmM/s320/IMG_0690.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In El Campo Grande</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After siesta and homework, we met the guys at El Campo Grande (the big park). It mostly had lots and lots of trees, but there were also a couple flower gardens, playgrounds, fountains, and a lake. The park also had swans, ducks, turtles, fish, and peacocks, which they call "pavos reales," which literally means real turkeys. The peacocks were the most interesting. There were quite a few, and some were strutting around with their feathers open and honking. Jon said that when one of the males was honking at a female, a little kid said (in Spanish), "What, you don't have her number?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZS9UE-jB53Y/T_dU5F57qrI/AAAAAAAAAH4/Ls6bLxP3AeE/s1600/IMG_0701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZS9UE-jB53Y/T_dU5F57qrI/AAAAAAAAAH4/Ls6bLxP3AeE/s320/IMG_0701.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At La Playa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next we walked along the river again. People were swimming up the river, not just for fun but for long distance. There were also kayaks, which is something I'd really like to try if we can find a place to rent them. Once we got to the beach, we took off our shoes and walked in the sand and in the edge of the water.<br />
<br />
For supper, we had "tortillas patatas" again, salad, and an apple. After we ate our apple, Mercedes commented that Americans don't peel their apples. She peeled hers, so that must be customary here.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">We decided to try to get a normal amount of sleep, so after supper we showered and went to bed.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">To see a lot more pictures, go to Facebook. If you don't have Facebook, you can see them at </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3553695803896.2132207.1317690207&type=1&l=6a42a74eb4</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-19251686982997741472012-07-05T08:27:00.000-07:002012-07-05T08:27:12.279-07:00Relaxation: Week 1, Wednesday<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fAGAAnHg4w/T_WxbWJXAgI/AAAAAAAAAGs/WqJ76SJproA/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fAGAAnHg4w/T_WxbWJXAgI/AAAAAAAAAGs/WqJ76SJproA/s320/IMG_0661.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random street in Valladolid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Today
was a pretty relaxing day (short blog post). Breakfast was normal,
classes were normal. In conversation, we talked about what types of
drinks they have in Spain compared to the U.S. For example, they
commonly drink more types of fruit juice than us, including
pineapple, grape, peach, but have less soda. The only sodas that are
easy to find here are Coke, Fanta, and Sprite (Pepsi is rare). In
history, we're talking about the Romans in Spain and in literature
we're reading songs and poems from the Middle Ages.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After
class we went home and had ice cream, pasta, and “pollo guisado en
vino blanco,” chicken stewed in white wine, which was delicious. I
finally managed to take a nap during siesta. Hopfeully I'm finally
getting over the jet lag. After that, we went back to school for
homework. That seems to be our normal afternoon: lunch, nap, and
homework.</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bJ2iPcUMVpU/T_WxewcH54I/AAAAAAAAAG0/trHn2vos7EI/s1600/IMG_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bJ2iPcUMVpU/T_WxewcH54I/AAAAAAAAAG0/trHn2vos7EI/s320/IMG_0667.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El corte inglés, big store we went to Tuesday</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Every
Wednesday night (or afternoon, here it is afternoon until 8 or 9) at
6:00, we watch a Spanish movie at the school. We watched Volver,
which was interesting, but I think I missed a couple important lines
because I was doing homework while we were watching it. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After
the movie, we booked our train tickets for Madrid this weekend and
went home for supper. Supper was also delicious. We had patties of
ham and cheese, I don't know how to describe how it was encased. The
dish also included homemade french fries.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
went back to the park to run, and went farther. We turned around
after 1.5 miles, but the path along the river goes farther than that.
It is very long. Tomorrow we're going to El Campo Grande (the big
park)!</span></span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-42253813870452889032012-07-05T08:04:00.000-07:002012-07-09T03:23:58.444-07:00Conversation, Week 1: Tuesday<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QXHCnciV5e0/T_WldIatUwI/AAAAAAAAAF8/MAnDlcJfxcI/s1600/IMG_0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QXHCnciV5e0/T_WldIatUwI/AAAAAAAAAF8/MAnDlcJfxcI/s320/IMG_0670.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zou, Jon, & Bailey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">It is
absolutely amazing how much I've already learned. I feel like
my Spanish has improved greatly in just a few days. I can't
imagine what it'll be like in six weeks.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">First,
I'll answer a few questions people have asked and mention a few
things that don't directly relate to what I did today:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The
weather is chilly in the mornings, in the 50s or 60s and the perfect
temperature after classes and for the rest of the day, in the 70s or
80s. It hasn't been humid and it hasn't rained or been cloudy
yet.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BFo1B00-zB8/T_WlSOfA6EI/AAAAAAAAAFY/BxQEgEYTDrI/s1600/IMG_0663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BFo1B00-zB8/T_WlSOfA6EI/AAAAAAAAAFY/BxQEgEYTDrI/s320/IMG_0663.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Cocho</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The
drive from Madrid to Valladolid was a little over two hours, so not
bad at all.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">It is
getting more and more difficult for me to write these posts in my
journal in English. I keep wanting to switch some of the words
over to Spanish.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--nrtl-hcDo0/T_WlNja8yKI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/6pvoYtWSkYE/s1600/IMG_0662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--nrtl-hcDo0/T_WlNja8yKI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/6pvoYtWSkYE/s320/IMG_0662.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Las croquetas (YUM) and something Zou had</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Spaniards
have some local accents...(or changes, I can't think of the word)
that are different from Latin America. For example, sometimes
they say z,c,&s like "th." I won't explain the
rules of when this happens though. "Gracias," instead
of saying "grah-th-ee-ahth." I even caught myself
saying it that way tonight when we got our food. Also, with “j”s,
instead of saying “ha,” they say it with a more throaty sound, as
if they are clearing their throat and saying “ha” at the same
time. I can't see myself doing that anytime soon, it's a bit
difficult. Last one: I've only noticed this with Mercedes so far but
I know other Spaniards do it too. She sometimes omits the “d”s
from words when they end in -ado. For example, “soldado” or
“estado” would be “soldao” or “estao.” When I learned
about these changes in my phoenetics class at UNK, I thought it would
be terrible to adjust to them, but I'm already used to it. The words
still sound similar so I can figure out what's being said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tuesday:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3x40GnqXq-E/T_WlXiDWfsI/AAAAAAAAAFo/8lFElA-Lg4c/s1600/IMG_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3x40GnqXq-E/T_WlXiDWfsI/AAAAAAAAAFo/8lFElA-Lg4c/s320/IMG_0666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Cantina</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This
morning we had peanut butter on toast with “café con leche”
again. It looks like will be our normal breakfast. Then we went to
school at 8:00 for our first conversation class. It is by far my
favorite. A women named Ruth teaches it, and the class is great. We
don't have much homework because the class is mainly about
conversation in class. We just talk about certain topics, but she
said we could go off topic and talk about anything we want as long as
we're still talking. As a way to get to know each other, half of the
class stood up and sat with someone who had remained sitting, and
talked with them for three minutes in Spanish, then rotated around
the room. She said it was like speed dating and we were supposed to
find the person with whom we had the most in common. We would call
that person our “media naranja,” which translates literally to
“half orange” (fruit), but in Spain it is used to mean “soul
mate.” When two people in the class called each other their “media
naranja,” she would draw a whole orange on the board, write their
names in it, and say we had found our “media naranja.” :) It was
very fun.</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AlxMZCBVFn4/T_WlUh-kMMI/AAAAAAAAAFg/uP-LGxuGViA/s1600/IMG_0664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AlxMZCBVFn4/T_WlUh-kMMI/AAAAAAAAAFg/uP-LGxuGViA/s320/IMG_0664.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Langostina en tempura and Bailey's bonito de piparras</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Ruth
also mentioned that there are certain spots in the city that we can
rent bikes for free for four hours as long as we give them our ID
information so they can track us down if we don't return the bike.
Bailey and I agreed we should check that out sometime. There were
ten people in that class. It was the biggest one.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In
history, we got off topic at one point and Sergio talked about all
the crazy things Spaniards will eat. He said they'll eat anything,
but he did mention that in general they don't like shrimp, which I
found surprising. He also drew a pig on the board and labeled what
every part is called in terms of food. They eat EVERY part of the
pig, including drinking bone marrow and putting the blood in soup. I
was a little more hesitant to go home for lunch today :)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fxgurKDtgCQ/T_WlaFTWHjI/AAAAAAAAAF0/-ENWIKAojRc/s1600/IMG_0668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fxgurKDtgCQ/T_WlaFTWHjI/AAAAAAAAAF0/-ENWIKAojRc/s320/IMG_0668.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Manduca</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">B,Z,J,
and I are planning on going to Madrid this weekend and after class we
asked Sergio advice about where to go, what to do, etc. We still
don't have anything concrete planned yet, except that we want to go
to El Prado (famous art museum) and we found out that students get in
free.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Back
at home, we had “sopa,” a soup that tasted like chicken noodle
soup, and a heaping bowl full of garbanzo beans that had “pollo”
(chicken), “chorizo” (sausage), and “ternura” (veal) in it.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I
went back to the school and got caught up on my blog while Bailey
took a nap. Bailey joined me later, then the guys, and we went to
the Plaza Mayor to have “tapas” for supper. Tapas are little
snacks of almost any type of food: fish, burgers, lamb, pig, tuna,
potatoes, etc. The list goes on and on. Tapas cost 1-3 euro
($1.25-$3.75), depending on how fancy the restaurant/bar is, and many
people just stand at tables, have their tapas, pay for them, and go
to the next tapas place.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4TY-G_SJUjs/T_WliipECFI/AAAAAAAAAGM/xjAaA0ruuLA/s1600/IMG_0672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4TY-G_SJUjs/T_WliipECFI/AAAAAAAAAGM/xjAaA0ruuLA/s320/IMG_0672.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Los pinchos de cordero</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We
went to four places, three of which had tapas, so each of us could
pay once. The first place, El Cocho (please see pics for places and
food) was one Mercedes recommended and we had “croquetas,” which
she also recommended. It was one of the best things I've ever
tasted! It looks like a jalapeño popper on the outside, but has a
creamy mix of cheese and ham on the inside. It was amazing. The
second place we went was called “La Cantina,” which was a little
fancier than the others. There I had “langostina (prawn) en
tempura.” That was also very good. At the next place, La Manduca,
I had “pinchos de cordero,” lamb on a stick. It was fine, but it
just tasted like beef to me. The last place we went wasn't for
Tapas. It was a frozen yogurt place called Smöoy, and it was also
very good.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0gLLiQ70HVY/T_WllAZzWeI/AAAAAAAAAGU/0UZxY_FT1Vo/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0gLLiQ70HVY/T_WllAZzWeI/AAAAAAAAAGU/0UZxY_FT1Vo/s320/IMG_0673.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smöoy (frozen yogurt)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">While
we were walking around, two strangers approached us and talked to us.
I was wearing a UNK shirt and one of them asked if we were from
Kentucky, I guess because of the “K” and the colors. We told
them where we were from, they talked to us in English, and asked if
we needed any help finding anything. The people here are really nice
and the girl in the yogurt place told me my total in English.
Shortly after that, we ran into Alberto, the guy that picked us up at
the airport. He also recommended a tapas place to us. Bailey and I
thought it was crazy that we ran into him because it was the third
time we had seen him in the city since Sunday, but Bailey saw his
grocery bag, and we figured out he gets groceries every day at a
place on our street.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After
we went back home, Bailey and I went for a run in the park on the
beach. It was only fifteen minutes and pretty pitiful, but we're
going to try to go more often and improve.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">I hope everyone had a good Fourth of July!</span>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-81903964582895284342012-07-03T10:15:00.000-07:002012-07-06T15:14:29.890-07:00Orientation: Week 1, Monday<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e16yM5hXZbc/T_MdXHCK3jI/AAAAAAAAAEI/vxGAo8hEZGI/s1600/IMG_0644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e16yM5hXZbc/T_MdXHCK3jI/AAAAAAAAAEI/vxGAo8hEZGI/s320/IMG_0644.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the classrooms</td></tr>
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This morning we woke up at 7:00 because our orientation was at 8:30. My bed is extremely comfortable and the temperature is nice with the window open. Mercedes gave us "café con leche" (into which I put a bunch of sugar) and one piece of toast (cooked on the stove) with peanut butter. I got hungry very quickly after that but I'll have to get accustomed to it because Sergio (professor) explained to us in orientation that having any breakfast at all in Spain is rare and lunch is the big meal. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A4rw1sxDPGA/T_MdZpSeZiI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/ZkrqwfM61CI/s1600/IMG_0648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A4rw1sxDPGA/T_MdZpSeZiI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/ZkrqwfM61CI/s320/IMG_0648.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Museo de Valladolid</td></tr>
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In orientation we were given information about where and when the classes were. Also, we got maps of Valladolid (YAY!) with points of interest on them, which will be very useful. Sergio then talked to us individually and gave us our classes. I have conversation, history, and literature. They are from 8:00-11:00 and 12:30-2:00 (2 classes between 8 and 11). During my break between my second and third class, I go to the computer lab to do my homework. I didn't have conversation this morning because of the orientation, but history and literature were very good.<br />
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Sergio teaches both of them. There's also two other women that teach classes. I understood everything Sergio said, and the level of the classes is consistent with my classes at UNK. I have to pay a big compliment to the UNK professors because I feel like I'm very well prepared to be here. Literature is a little more difficult, as is the homework, but it's definitely still manageable. I think there's about twenty total students in our program. Some of them (maybe six) are only staying for three weeks though. I believe they're all from the U.S. There's four of us in history and six in literature.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FR_YXpZ-Qgo/T_Mdb9uJ42I/AAAAAAAAAEY/NsWupVogOC4/s1600/IMG_0650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FR_YXpZ-Qgo/T_Mdb9uJ42I/AAAAAAAAAEY/NsWupVogOC4/s320/IMG_0650.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iglesia San Benito</td></tr>
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When we got out of class at 2:00, we showed Jon and Zou where the beach was. They told us they're sharing a room, and a woman and her two grown sons live there. Their walk to school is about twenty minutes, so we feel even more lucky to be where we are. J&Z (Jon and Zou, from now on) are our new friends. It's nice to explore new places with a group of people.<br />
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We made it home for lunch at 2:30. We had a sunny-side-up egg on top of a mound of rice, on which we put tomato sauce. It was a strange combination but still good. Also, there is bread and bottled water at every lunch and supper, so I won't include them anymore. We also had watermelon. There are foods I've already had that I wouldn't have at home, like coffee and watermelon, but I'll eat anything here because it's part of the experience. Who knows, maybe it'll teach me to be less picky :) <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YN3ETxt0_c8/T_Mde9DrxyI/AAAAAAAAAEg/FgTz_yA7mvA/s1600/IMG_0652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YN3ETxt0_c8/T_Mde9DrxyI/AAAAAAAAAEg/FgTz_yA7mvA/s320/IMG_0652.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random street in Valladolid</td></tr>
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We eat on a small table in the living room in front of the television, which is always on. Today at lunch, a show about touring Spain was on, and Mercedes was pointing out her favorite places like the cathedrals and theaters, and she would tell us things like "It has a beautiful beach but it rains a lot there" (in Spanish of course). She does a good job of rewording things if we don't understand her.<br />
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After lunch I finally unpacked and did more homework while Bailey took a nap. Businesses here are normally open 8-2 and 5-8 or 9. They're closed for "siesta," and all of the stores are dark with gates pulled down over their fronts. You can't even tell what some places are until they open back up and pull up the gate. I will use siesta time to either nap or do homework.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8ZHKmy9RNU/T_MdhvBbx5I/AAAAAAAAAEo/U44jmuhqkgs/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8ZHKmy9RNU/T_MdhvBbx5I/AAAAAAAAAEo/U44jmuhqkgs/s320/IMG_0653.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Plaza Mayor</td></tr>
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At 4, we went to sit outside the school (for the internet) to post blogs and do homework. J&Z joined us at 5 to go exploring. We walked by Mercedes' clothing store and she came out and met the guys and told us how to get to the Plaza Mayor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-24hAj-KygIY/T_Mdjh_RBzI/AAAAAAAAAEw/NGGfVjJA6sA/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-24hAj-KygIY/T_Mdjh_RBzI/AAAAAAAAAEw/NGGfVjJA6sA/s320/IMG_0654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ice cream and Iberra in the background</td></tr>
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The Plaza Mayor is a huge square with shops around the outside and on the streets around it. Mercedes recommended an ice cream place, Iberra, and we all got some. It was yummy. Bailey also bought sunglasses and [a gift] in the plaza. We also found some nice clothing stores with really cheap clothes, and decided we'd have to go back to some of them without the guys; we didn't want to bore them too much. One of the most impressive stores we went to was El Corte Inglés, which is a huge department store. I think it was six stories. Later, Mercedes told us that there is an even bigger one on the other side of "El Campo Grande" (the big park). The boys went home, and Bailey and I got lost, but it wasn't a bad thing; we saw more of the city that way. We couldn't find ourselves on my map by the street names, but we found a map in a plaza with a "you are here" sticker on it. We went back home, our feet hurting really bad.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ocze-OEcHHk/T_MdoQUZS5I/AAAAAAAAAFA/5bJ-vINFtEg/s1600/IMG_0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ocze-OEcHHk/T_MdoQUZS5I/AAAAAAAAAFA/5bJ-vINFtEg/s320/IMG_0656.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the top floor of El Corte Inglés</td></tr>
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For supper we had "tortillas patatas," which Mercedes says is everyone's favorite meal in Spain. It's like an omelet with potatoes in it, and other spices I'm not sure about. It was very good. We also had a salad and more watermelon, and watched the celebration and parade in Madrid welcoming the soccer players back home.<br />
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After supper, at almost 9, Bailey and I went yet again to the school. Mercedes told us we are free to come and go as we please (except for meals, unless we notify her ahead of time) and we have our own keys. We stayed at school until about 9:45 when it was getting dark and a man told us nicely that we had to leave because he was locking the plaza. So we went back home and went to bed. Wow... that all happened in one day? Hopefully these will be shorter in the future.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">P.S. Don't pay attention to the time it says I posted these. I believe it's set on U.S. mountain time for some reason.</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-4760553513032300362012-07-03T08:35:00.000-07:002012-07-06T15:13:22.306-07:00Greetings and Explorations: Sunday, July 1stWe waited in the Madrid airport for three hours for Alberto to pick us up. He found us (because we were standing in the wrong side of the terminal) and he was very nice. He introduced us to Jon and Zou, two students from La Crosse University (Wisconsin) who were also in the program. For the drive from Madrid to Valladolid, I tried to stay awake to see the countryside, but I finally did let myself sleep. The country had small mountains (or big hills) with tunnels at first, then became flat yellow fields and lots of horses. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a1pHcx2fg2Y/T_MLtDF0b5I/AAAAAAAAAC8/8jn_AEvn9_w/s1600/IMG_0643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a1pHcx2fg2Y/T_MLtDF0b5I/AAAAAAAAAC8/8jn_AEvn9_w/s320/IMG_0643.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and Zou's Apartment</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uEGFspTJA04/T_ML5g-fuLI/AAAAAAAAADc/7zoewZD8PFM/s1600/IMG_0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uEGFspTJA04/T_ML5g-fuLI/AAAAAAAAADc/7zoewZD8PFM/s320/IMG_0657.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My room</td></tr>
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We arrived in Valladolid and the boys were dropped off at their host's place first. Valladolid has a lot of tall buildings and narrow, slanted streets. The streets don't go straight north and south or east and west. We were then taken to our apartment. In Spain, the ground floor is floor 0, and we live on floor 5, so the sixth floor in the U.S. Our host's name is Mercedes and she is very nice. She gave us a kiss on both cheeks and sat us down to eat before we even had a chance to introduce ourselves. We had pasta with tomato sauce, which I believe she called "macarones," bread (she says we don't have real bread in America), and "carne con papas fritas," or beef with french fries mixed in a sauce, which was pretty good. We also had ice cream. This meal was at about 5:00 so we figured that was our supper, but no, it was a late lunch, and our supper would be at 9:00.<br />
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It looks like every day we'll have breakfast when we wake up (around 7), lunch at 2:30, and supper at 9:00. Mercedes then walked us to the school to show us how to get there. We are the lucky students. The university is just around two corners and the walk only takes two or three minutes. It sounds like other students have much farther to go.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SekWVk4Wgfc/T_MLx0UiwTI/AAAAAAAAADE/_rl0A8uEg2E/s1600/IMG_0645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SekWVk4Wgfc/T_MLx0UiwTI/AAAAAAAAADE/_rl0A8uEg2E/s320/IMG_0645.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our school, the classrooms are on the ground floor of this plaza</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beach</td></tr>
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She then showed us where the "playa" (beach) is, which really is a sandy beach on the river with a park and a nice walkway. Mercedes spoke only Spanish to us and we can understand her pretty well but occasionally there's some misunderstanding. She asked us if we wanted to go to the beach and we thought she meant in the future, but when we said yes she said we should go put on our suits and get our towels. So we did just that :) Even though the temperature was in the low 70s it was really warm laying out on the sand. We stayed there for about a half hour then took our iPods over to the school to sit outside and use the internet.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sj1f4zbgdIA/T_MMDcYYVUI/AAAAAAAAAD4/VdRv__hw6_s/s1600/IMG_0660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sj1f4zbgdIA/T_MMDcYYVUI/AAAAAAAAAD4/VdRv__hw6_s/s320/IMG_0660.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our apartment building</td></tr>
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I then took a shower and knocked the whole shower curtain and rod off the wall, but I managed to put to back up without asking for help. I also assumed the wrong voltage for my flat iron but unplugged it immediately when I heard a weird sound coming from it, so no harm done.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside my window, where we hang our towels</td></tr>
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Tonight Spain played Italy for the final of the Eurocup, so everyone seemed to be talking about it and dressed for it. Also, many of the buildings have the Spanish flag flying out of the apartment windows. As we were sitting down for supper the game was starting. We had omelets, which she called "tortillas," salad, and banana yogurt. We agreed it would be a good idea to walk the stairs to her apartment instead of taking the elevator :)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">During the game we also learned more about Mercedes. She has a son and a daughter, and a four year old granddaughter. She used to own a restaurant but sold it four years ago and still owns a clothing store just downstairs. We talked about what a shock it was to see topless people at the beach (and she just laughed and said it was normal). Also, she told us about the places we should see in Valladolid and how to get to them. While we were watching the game she told us who her favorite players were and pointed out the prince in the stands. Spain won the game 4-0. This is the first time in history they have consecutively won two Eurocups with a World Cup in between. When I went to bed, I could hear air horns, people cheering out their windows, and fireworks. I fell asleep just fine anyway. </span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-89817139139104497632012-07-02T08:24:00.001-07:002012-07-02T12:14:46.622-07:00Oh, the Jetlag: June 30-July 1, Flights and Airports<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_dw7fP442_s/T_G23bXEObI/AAAAAAAAABQ/4Ac4oVztvoI/s1600/IMG_0630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_dw7fP442_s/T_G23bXEObI/AAAAAAAAABQ/4Ac4oVztvoI/s320/IMG_0630.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madrid</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We are now in Spain! Our first flight was from Omaha to Atlanta. It was a pretty small plane but the flight was uneventful. In Atlanta, we had an hour layover, and by the time we had taken the metro and traveled to the terminal, the flight was boarding.</span><br />
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The Atlanta to Madrid flight was about seven hours. The plane was one row wider and a lot longer than the last one. With the time change, the sun set just after we left the coast of the U.S. and rose just before we saw the coast of Spain. As a silly side note, for the longest time I thought a was seeing an incredibly bright (the brightest I'd ever seen!) north star until I realized it was the light on the end of the plane's wing. I tried to sleep but I wasn't tired and was too uncomfortable. All of the announcements were in Spanish and English, and there seemed to be a pretty even dispersal of Americans and Spaniards. There was a big group of students from Auburn going to Salamanca for a month. Just to the right of us were two parents with their boy who was probably two. He was really cute but we couldn't understand anything he said. I was jealous of him because he slept almost the entire flight.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madrid</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The plane had screens in the backs of the seats. We could see the map of our flight, watch free movies, and listen to music. Shortly after taking off, our meal consisted of pasta, a roll, crackers, cheese, a salad, and a blondie. Our meal before landing was something similar to an egg mcmuffin, a banana, and orange juice. We landed at 7:30 in the morning (12:30 AM at home), and waited at Barajas airport in Madrid for a man named Alberto to pick us up at noon. I still hadn't slept at all. I also heard several people in the airport and plane say that there would be a big soccer game that night because Spain was in the Eurocup finals. I have a stamp in my passport!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I will have the pictures from my blog and more on Facebook. If you don't have me on Facebook, just go to: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3553695803896.2132207.1317690207&type=1&l=6a42a74eb4</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">If you want to see Bailey's blog, it is: </span><a href="http://halburba.tumblr.com/">http://halburba.tumblr.com/</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1450652384285893240.post-25194418865840990472012-06-11T16:34:00.001-07:002012-06-11T16:34:15.424-07:00Getting Ready<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fcRJXiKd2Eo/T9Z7wHhPrQI/AAAAAAAAABE/k_4u156t5G0/s1600/IMG_0605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fcRJXiKd2Eo/T9Z7wHhPrQI/AAAAAAAAABE/k_4u156t5G0/s320/IMG_0605.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Hello everyone! <br />
In a few weeks Bailey (another girl from UNK) and I will be traveling to Valladolid, Spain to study abroad and take classes at the Universitas Castellae for six weeks. This will be the first time I've traveled overseas, and although it's a bit stressful, I'm very excited to go!<br />
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I'm having a very busy summer getting ready to leave. I'm currently moving out of my apartment and moving most of my possessions into a storage unit (except the ones I'm taking with me, of course). I've just signed a contract for a new apartment to move into in August. I'm also working full time, working out, spending time with everyone before I leave, and doing a bit of shopping (hence the shirt and purse in the picture).<br />
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I likely won't post again until I'm in Spain (early July). I'd like your feedback to find out some ideas about what I should write about while I'm there. I'm not sure if you have to have Google Plus to comment on this blog directly, but I'll also link these posts to facebook, and you can comment on them there as well. Have a good June!<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2