Faro? Lisboa? Faro? Lisboa.

I'm going to start off this post with all six of us girls saying, "Why didn't we study here all semester??" Because that's how great Lisboa, Portugal was. Here's a quick photo to prove it:

But now I've got to do a little backtracking to tell you how we got here. Our zero hour flight (thanks to a one hour flight and a one hour time difference) turned into a four hour flight when our plane landed in Faro, which upon further investigation we realized wasn't Lisboa. There had been a problem with fog, so we had to land on the other side of the country, wait a while, and take back off into the air. We were a bit nervous at first because we only have a few precious days in each country, but it was an adventure. We had to change what transportation to use once we landed, and wait for my luggage (sorry guys) so it took a lot longer than anticipated.

However, we got to navigating right away (sort of):

First stop, Castelo de São Jorge. We had to wind ourselves up the side of a mountain but the walk there was great...I think Lisboa is more how I thought Spain would be: very small, privately owned shops that you have to duck to get in to, a ton of artist street vendors, peeling paint and vines on buildings, and streets so small we didn't want to walk 4 across.

When we got to the Castle, it was definitely worth the hike. The view was gorgeous and the remains were so old.



After the hike up to the castle, we decided to split up. Maggy, Danielle, and I figured out public transportation so we could go see the aquarium. The coast was beautiful.



You could actually TOUCH the animals!

That night, we cooked a great meal in our hostel...four of us had two giant bowls of pasta, bread, and cheese for 7E total. It was a college kid's dream!   

Day two was a trip to Sintra, a town about 40 minutes away by train. It's known for its views and castles--it was definitely worth the trip! I felt like I was in a fairytale.

 

This was the Parque y Palacio de la Pena



The second site was a castle with Moorish influences. The view was great, and the hiking was fun--but there wasn't one iron rail to save me if I fell... It was kind of scary!

It was great just exploring the city and walking around for two days. If I had know how amazing it was going to be, I would've stayed an extra day. Maybe next time...

Our 7am flight left on time and got in on time, without any pit stops in Barcelona or Bilbao. It was a fun weekend with a small group of girls and it's making me even more excited for Paris! It's noon now and I leave in three hours...what a nice celebration at the end of midterms week :)

M

Some of that bittersweet stuff

Well, my mom left me the other day, but I think she had to—My dad and brother are at home and I think you can live on chocolate and Gatorade for about 9 days before you need actual nutrition. I was sad to see her go, and so happy she came. Professor Willem warned us about “hitting the wall,” or the point you get to when you just want to go home, and I was lucky to have my mom here when I was starting to feel a little homesick. But now I’m recharged and ready to face the second half of the semester!

Otoño is here, but Madrid isn’t like Chicago or Indianapolis—there’s no orange or red or yellow. It’s just green outside and one day you look out and the world is brown and leaf-less. But no worries, the last thing I need is another distraction from school! I have three midterms next week (thank you Prof Willem for not assigning one) and I’m not sure what to expect…classes are a lot harder here than I anticipated. But I’m being a good student and taking this whole week to review, review, review and I’m treating myself to *batidos to justify the 6 hour study dates with Claire.

Quiz question: Who knows what Carlos’ final is on? Because I don’t…

I really have to share part of my life here that I know my roommate from Butler, Hayleigh, will appreciate. But I want everyone else to understand too, so here’s a quick pre-story to my story:

This past year at Butler, Hayleigh and I lived in a dorm room and had a Jack-and-Jill style bathroom with our suitemate. Over time things would get broken and out of laziness/resourcefulness we just never got anything fixed. Here’s a summary of what our room was like by April:

• 1 main light doesn’t work (we were using baby lamps then finally sucked it up and put in ALL our maintenance requests at once)
• 1 closet door doesn’t shut
• 1 bathroom outlet doesn’t function (unless you plug something in and slowly pull it out until it hits one nerve toward the very end of the plug and DOES work)
• 1 bed missing several screws and didn’t sit straight
• 1 TV channel (Disney) didn’t have sound
• 4+ clocks on different times/settings/alarms
• 1 fridge that didn’t work (so it just became a cabinet)

So, Hayleigh, I’m about halfway through the semester and this is what I’ve got:

• Heat that’s finally turned on, but it sounds like someone’s peeing in here for some reason
• 1 desk chair that’s about to break (it’s probably all the carbs I’m eating)
• 1 plastic bottom-of-the-bed thing that slipped off and I can’t get back on without messing up the other three
• 1 shower drain that is very clogged (but I don’t have hair so I don’t know WHAT’S in it)
• 1 closet door that doesn’t shut (but how cute, it’s twins with my old closet door!)
• 3 lightbulbs that don’t work (but there’s 5 so I’m okay)

Whew.

I know when I get home everyone’s going to ask me “So how was it?” And I know all they want to hear is “good” or “so fun” or something quick and easy like that. But for those who are studying abroad/wanting to study abroad/living vicariously through me, here’s a bit of what I’ve learned from this trip.

1. Communicate. Talk to your professors, your host family, your friends. People at home miss you (thanks guys for keeping in touch, I really need it!) and the people here will get to know you if you want. Don’t be afraid to sound stupid, because even if you do, at least you’re learning. I have been going to the same café for two months and the regulars know me and are interested in me which is a great feeling. It took TWO MONTHS for us to finally connect (it’s hard when you don’t know enough of the language to really express your personality) but keep at it because it’s very worth it.
2. Guess! Some of my funniest/grossest/most exciting experiences have come from this. We all went to a restaurant one of our first days here and someone ordered gulas just to see (see previous entries for photo) and it was DISGUSTING. But we have great photos and we’ll never order it again! Recently Claire and I hopped a random bus that we thought went to the Alcala mall, and we were right, but we were laughing trying to communicate with a 12 year old who was riding the bus alone and clearly thought we were morons for not knowing something so obvious. The other day I went to the department store to get face cream, and I stood in front of about 40 boxes. I was reading every one to find what I needed and after about 10 minutes I said “F it” and just grabbed one. It’s not night cream, it’s actually perfumed anti-aging day cream, but I smile every morning when I put it on.
3. Relax. Honestly. And you may laugh and say, “that’s why you study abroad!” but it’s hard out here. You’re adjusting to culture and sometimes different languages and you do have to study. It can be really overwhelming when you are receiving new information every day and you have to study the language before you can even attempt the class materials or a café menu. Just take a deep breath and suck it up and you’ll realize you don’t have time to sweat the small stuff.
4. Be brave. It kind of embodies all of the above, but I want to elaborate: I didn’t come here with close friends or sorority sisters, and it’s different not having your girlfriends or family to confide in when you need it. I do love the people I’m with, but it’s not like being at home. And my host mother and I just kind of coexist—it’s getting better, but it’s hard getting used to sleeping under someone else’s roof. If I’ve learned anything here that I’m going to take home with me, it’s feeling comfortable in your own skin and within your four walls. I am here for me and whatever I put in is exactly what I’ll get out, and I’m glad I figured that out earlier instead of later!

That was a ton of writing, so I hope you’re not too bored! I have Lisbon this weekend, so expect a post after that ;)

****Batidos are translated as "milkshakes," but don't be fooled. They are chocolate milk mixed with yogurt and not cold. But I order them wherever I go anyway because I'm determined to find a good one.

M

PS, sorry for no photos in this one: "Image uploads will be disabled for two hours due to maintenance..." figures.

Ten reasons why I love my mom

She wants you to practice your Spanish. From the first moment my mama arrived in Spain, she and my host mother have been using me as a google translator, but she's seeing that $40,000 a year tuition hard at work! My host mother loves my ma and has talked to her more in one day than I have in 6 weeks, and it's great practice for me! I don't get any slack--even if the comment is something small, they are curious as to what the other has said.



She wants to go to Barcelona with you. This weekend Kyle, Claire, my mama, and I went to Barcelona for a long weekend. Another fun fact about Spain--weather reporters are wrong here too! We had one slightly rainy day, but the rest of the weekend was mild and beautiful. I was so excited to see the city I've heard so many great things about.



She doesn't mind college life. Not only did we stay in Barcelona, but we had our first hostel experience together! It was clean, but no 5star hotel: first, there was no shower curtain in the bathroom, so even though you stood in the corner of this huge tile room (that also had the sink with no mirror and the toilet) you managed to spray down the entire bathroom so it felt like a cave and you had no idea how it even happened; second, one of our four other rando roommates introduced himself as "the Asian Chocolate."



Park Guell



She appreciates great tours in great cities. Our first day in Barcelona began with an amazing tour by a woman named Sonia who was fluent in English but didn't mind challenging us with her native Spanish slang which was really fun! She was brilliant; she knew everything about the city from what stones were used in the Sagrada Familia to which women were common pick-pocketers on certain streets. Through a mixture of driving and walking, we saw Park Guell (one of the most amazing locations I've ever visited in my life), the outside of the Sagrada Familia, Castell de Montjuïc (great views of the city), and some of Gaudi's famous works, to name a few.

She wants you to try new things. One of the great things about having your mom travel with you is that you can eat more than what's off the Euro menu at a cheap restaurant--And did I take advantage of the good food! This passage is directed especially toward Cory, who has asked me repeatedly to blog about the new foods I've tried in Europe...I'm finally caving: I ate tapas like it was my job this weekend, including a Spanish tortilla, salad with tuna and cod, weird breaded meatballs with white/red sauce, fried mushrooms, and goat cheese and tomato salad. Seems like typical stuff, but add Spanish seasonings and some olive oil and you've got a great meal!

She'll walk to the ends of the earth to get you what you need. Unfortunately, on our second day in Barcelona I started to feel really feverish. By the time we got out of the Picasso Museum (which was a hidden gem in the middle of the Gothic part of town that housed his works throughout his entire life; you could see his transition from works when he was 15 to cubism) I was ready to go home. So that's what my mama did--she put me in a cab so I could go back to the hostel to die for the rest of the day. However, she wasn't done there: she went to the pharmacy to get me medicine, to the store to get me ice cream AND something sour that I was craving, and to get a bottle of water so I could take my pills. Reminder, she doesn't speak any spanish. There is no doubt in my mind that she loves me!

And when you realize you have the flu, she'll lay with you on a twin bed and keep you warm while you sweat out your fever. Gross. Glad I didn't have to ask Asian Chocolate to do it for me.

On top of all that, she'll buy you a book on the Sagrada Familia when can't walk up to the top by yourself. The next morning, Claire and Kyle got up early to do the Sagrada Familia. I had seen the outside on the first day, but even though I was sick there was nothing that was going to keep me from seeing the inside! Our tour guide suggested we go on that day (Monday) because the construction was going on, which is all part of the Sagrada Familia experience (well, it has been for about the last 130 years). At about noon I crawled out of bed and my mama and I cabbed it to the church. So very worth it. It was beautiful on the inside. The ceilings were taller than I would have imagined and the stained glass windows were so bright I felt like I was inside a Christmas ornament from certain angles. After touring the inside, we met up with Kyle and Claire when they were done waiting in line and hiking to the top of the building. My mama bought me a book instead.

She enjoys just being by you. Barcelona was beautiful, and I felt horrible about being sick, but I think everything went well. I'm so glad I was able to travel somewhere so gorgeous with her. Today was our first day back in Alcala, and my mama spent it with me doing crosswords while I counted rhythm/rhyme patterns for my poetry homework.

She tucks you in when you're 20 years old. It's nice having her around.

More later!

Moo

I'm back!

Dear Everyone,

My sincerest apologies for being MIA the past few weeks-- I've been really distracted with homework and travel and I keep forgetting I even have a blog to post in!

Instead of going into a ton of detail about everything I've done (because you'd be reading a novel), here are some highlights:

Extremadura: The weekend of September 24, Linda (my professor), her psycho husband, two Universidad de Alcala professors and all 17 Butler guys and gals hopped on a bus to visit four cities in Spain: Caceres, Trujillo, Merida, and Guadalupe. I admit that when I go on all these school related field trips and excursions I'm usually the first one standing next to the tour guide, but there's so much history everywhere it's neat to hear everything.

Caceres was our first stop. We had beautiful weather and spent the first few hours eating the lunches our "mamas" pack for us (which usually consist of about 3 bocadillos (sandwiches), 2 pieces of fruit, a liter of water, and something chocolate...I don't know why they think we need so much!) and then we walked through a Medieval market in one of the plazas. It was great--I bought really neat handmade jewelry and tried some amazing desserts. The tour for that day was through Casco Antiguo, whose architecture was from the 15th century and had strong Roman influences. It was beautiful, especially at night!

The next day we got up bright and early to go to Trujillo. I think this stop was my favorite. Even though we didn't spend a lot of time there (it's a small city), it was absolutely gorgeous. We had great weather and we hiked up narrow roads to get to the top of some ruins that overlooked the whole city.

Stop no.3 was Merida. The city wasn't as old, but you'd be walking down the streets where people live/work/eat, and all of a sudden you're standing in front of an ancient Roman theater or something. It was kind of surreal because it definitely didn't look like it belonged there! After our tour Maggy, Claire, and I sat at an outdoor cafe and had a great lunch. I love that atmosphere-- no one seems to really be in a rush, and lots of meals are meant to be shared. I think it's a nice way of eating because you feel like everyone is comfortable and connected and it's not rude to just reach for what you want. And, finally, city number four...

Guadalupe houses a famous monastery that we stopped off to see. It was very pretty, and the tour of the monestary was interesting, but it was probably my least favorite just because I don't know a lot about Gothic architecture or the Catholic religion. After Guadalupe, we headed back home.

La Huelga: On Wednesday, Sept 29 there was a general strike in Madrid and the surrounding cities. The last general strike of this size was held about 20 years ago. I didn't go into the city that day (they estimated about 20% of public transportation was operational) but some of my friend's host families said that those who were going to work that day were being harassed, there were picket lines everywhere, and strikers were throwing stones at buses and public transportation. The only huelga experience I had was the night before (or, I guess, early that morning) because I was out at a bar with my friend Lauren. Around 2:30a they started to shut the bar down and people were singing huelga songs. When we stepped outside, picketers clapped and the bar closed for the day. I went home right after though--there was a huge crowd of people and police were on their way over.

El Monasterio de Piedra: Another one of our excursions with the Butler group was to a monestary and a national park. There were waterfalls, caves, and hiking--it was great to see nature beyond the big city. We were only there for a few hours, but definitely worth the 2 hour bus ride!

I'm almost done--hope you're still reading!

Uncle Mike: My uncle flies out to Madrid on business sometimes, and it just so happened that he was available for a few days while I'm studying here! For two days, I had a Madrid vacation in a great hotel, with fabulous food, and good company. I don't see my uncle that much while I'm in the states, so it was great catching up in the Plaza Mayor with tinto de verano and fried anchovies (which I highly recommend, believe it or not. AMAZING.)

And, finally... Mom is here! Today my mama en verdad (my 'real mom') arrived from Chicago to visit me for 10 days. She's taking a siesta right now, but when she wakes up we're going to eat a great meal cooked by my host mother (best cook in the world, by the way) and then spend some time walking through the streets of Alcala. This week is the Semana Cervantina, which is a week-long Medieval festival that celebrates the birth of Cervantes, author of Don Quijote. It's going to be a ton of fun, and tomorrow morning Claire, Kyle, my mama and I are flying to Barcelona for a few days. I'm soooooooo excited-- I've heard great things about Barca!

Thanks for bearing with me for that huge long catch-up. I promise to write more often! Now, time for homework...

M

Hola, Bilbao!

This past weekend was my first travel weekend outside of Alcala. We went to Bilbao, Spain, which is a city in the north that's part of the Pais Vasco. Here people speak Spanish and Basque, which can be really confusing when you're standing at a kiosk looking for the Basque-translated to Spanish-translated to English version of some pamphlet. However, it was beautiful. We took a 5 hour train up right into the city, and (thanks to me) turned in the opposite direction of our hotel. After cursing my internal compass, we turned back around, crossed the river, and found our hotel.

One of our first stops was the famous Guggenheim with a special exhibit by Anish Kapoor (think "The Bean" in Chicago). I had never even seen pictures of the building and that was incredible, and I was even more amazed to see some of the installations inside. I'm glad they gave out audio tours, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to appreciate those artworks contain one dot on a blank canvas! Here's a photo I took of the building:

Thanks to my very organized friend Claire, we then proceeded to do a self-guided walking tour of the whole city. We went to the Fine Arts museum, which I loved-- once I trekked through the 1500s to the 1900s, I was pleased to see an amazing collection of contemporary art. I was overwhelmed by the huge canvases, bright colors, political/social/artistic statements literally written on pieces, and mixed media. We also walked through small streets with pastelerias, stores, parks, plazas, statues--you name it, we saw it!

That night we tried Basque. Though it didn't seem worth the 20E a person, I was glad to try something different. Here is my duck with apples, peppers, and mushrooms.

Another great thing about Bilbao was it's proximity to Guernica, a city that was completely bombed druing the Guerra Civil de Espana by the Germans. The deaths were especially tragic because it was the first time that the tactic of bombing civilian locations versus military ones was used. Needless to day, almost every building was ruined, except for a few and the exception of one tree. This tree is guarded by large columns, and one of its seeds was planted and its hijo now grows beside it. After a great day in Guernica, we headed back for ice cream, siesta, more walking, dinner (I had a crab/pickle/tomato sandwich thing) and a hookah bar where we met some locals who were teaching us slang and how to say things in Basque.

That evening, we traveled up one of the higest points along the city's edge on the funacular. The trolley took us high above all the buildings and onto the side of a mountain (I forgot to mention that--the city sits between gorgeous mountains and is a short ride away from the coast!) where we could get off and take pictures.

Finally, the next morning before we took the train back to Alcala, we stopped by the coast to see the Bay of Biscay. It was surrounded by cliffs and green hills which we hiked up a bit to get some photos in. It was an amazing day so people were out and about with surfboards and picnics, and it was definitely worth the half hour train ride!

Well, that about sums it up. I have a meeting in about four minutes to practice my spanish with a local. Another great thing about Espana--being late is okay ;)

More later. Bye!

Another reason why I love this place...

*Good evening! I should really be in bed right now, but I made the mistake of drinking a cup of coffee about an hour ago. The coffee isn't anything really special compared to American coffee, but one thing that's noticeably different is the sugar packets. Imagine a dinky, tiny, American sugar packet. Double the size (no exaggeration) and fill the entire thing up with sugar. The US is definitely holding out on us when it comes to condiments; all the stuff here is stuffed to the brim. I guess it's one thing I should've realized before pouring in the whole sugar packet.


*This is not the reason why I love this place. Keep reading.


*Secondly, I'm going on my first weekend getaway tomorrow! Kyle, Claire and I are going to Bilbao, a city in the north of Spain known for the Guggenheim. For more information, click here. Also, our professor from Butler (aka the woman that I want to grow up to be) is from there and she gave us a whole list of things to do. I'm excited, but it doesn't feel like I'm going on vacation since this whole semester feels like vacation.


*Also not the reason why I love this place. Keep reading.


Finally, another reason why I love, love, love Spain is going to be told to you in story-form:
One day (ie, today) a really smart, creative girl (ie, me) limped to class to learn about the history of Madrid from the 1700s to about the 1800s. She wasn't overly-enthusiastic, but she was sure she was going to learn something interesting.


She was listening to a lecture about "El dos de mayo de 1808" (the one-day battle where Napoleon took over the whole of Madrid in a suprise attack) when all of a sudden, the powerpoint referenced The Plaza del Dos de Mayo (I know you're not excited yet, but trust me). Now, in 1808 this was called the Parque de Artillería de Monteleón. It was here where about 70 Spanish soldiers bravely stood up to the French in a brutal battle before being conquered. These men were heroes.


As she listened to this lecture, her mind began to wander. Where do I know this Plaza? And then it occurred to her (with a little guidance from her professor): During La Noche en Blanco, when the Butler group was all jumping around hitting hundreds of beach balls in this gigantic game of childish craziness, they were standing on the one and only Plaza del Dos de Mayo. TELL ME WHERE THIS WOULD HAPPEN IN THE STATES.


Moral of the story: I'm not a huge history buff, and I'm pretty awful at chronology and dates, but it's unreal to be standing on a huge piece of history almost everywhere you go. I love it.


Well, I should get some sleep--I have a 5am wakeup tomorrow (I'll be ready Claire, I promise!) but when I'm home from the weekend I'll have plenty of great pictures to share.


Adi :)

Las Fotos!

Here's a few pictures from around Alcala:

These HUGE nests belong to ciguenas (storks) and I think they're so beautiful!

A lot of the puertas (doors) around Alcala look like this

My madre's great-nephew...i think!

Mural, painted on the Calle (street) Mayor

Just a building--with a lot of nests on it :)

This was taken at the Plaza de Cervantes (Cervantes wrote Don Quijote)

Sorry it's so small, but this is the seal for my university!

The vista (view) from my window

Ventana (window) #2