Quotes from our Spain trip

So while going through some notebooks and such I came across my school notes from the classes I took in Spain, and in the back of the notebook I found our quote list! ;) It's too bad we started the list somewhere in the middle of the trip, because there was some funny stuff!!

1. POR CASUALIDAD (Por Cathualidad)
2. I need ice cubes on my eyeballs! - Rachel
3. God I hate Buff State with my whole being. - Melissa
4. Lady, get OFF ME!! ... Her armpit was on my FACE!
5. My eyelids are peeling!! - Rachel
6. How long is a gestation for a goldfish? - Melissa
7. NO JÁMON! - Mary (And everyone else)
8. Adrienne: I wanna go out.
   Mary: I want a yogurt.
   Adrienne: How are we friends?!
9. I think I have the flu... - Mary
10. I'm eating flowers right now. There are LILLIES in my mouth. - Mary

More accent phrases:
- influencia francesca = influenthia franthethca
- entonces = entontheth


And some quotes from the rest of Melissa and I's adventure:
- You're drowning in a sheet of weirdness!
- I have so many croissants in here I can't even close my purse. - Melissa
- You know you're in Paris when you have a cheese sandwich, 2 croissants, and 3 packets of nutella in your purse.
- I'm sick of being thirsty! I've been thirsty for six weeks!!! - Melissa
- Are you guys Canadian? (girl in hostel in Venice)
- WAIT! I'M NOT DONE BEING UN-AWKWARD YET!!!


(I'm laughing out loud right now. Such good memories!!!)

RIP Andy Griffith

I just found out that Andy Griffith died today (well, yesterday). I loved that show. What I find kind of neat is that I have seen where some of Matlock was filmed and I sat on those actual courthouse steps. Then I have also been to Mt. Airy, the town where he was born, raised, and where filming for the Andy Griffith Show took place (known as "Mayberry"). We went in the replica buildings and we even met Floyd the Barber in the old barbershop! This was maybe five years ago, but just last week we drove by Mt. Airy once more while we were on our way to Myrtle Beach. We didn't stop this time but it brought back memories and I had to listen to Rascal Flatts' "Mayberry" on my iPod just for kicks. Maybe some people have forgotten this show, or have never heard of it, but I sure haven't. It's kind of a part of me now. Needless to say I am saddened at his death.

Of course I just googled him for more info, and according to Wikipedia, he was a singer (a gospel singer!) and he played the trombone... he even went to school for music and has his bachelor's degree in music. Yeah!! One more reason why he was awesome. RIP Andy Griffith.

Via Andy Griffith's Wikipedia page: 

He began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the school's Carolina Play Makers. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and graduated with a bachelor of music degree in 1949. At UNC he was president of the UNC chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, which claims to be America's oldest fraternity for men in music.^[6] He also played roles in several student operettas, including The Chimes of Normandy (1946), and Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers (1945), The Mikado (1948) and H.M.S. Pinafore (1949).^[7]

My Sisters

 Well as I lay here being sick, my sisters are doing some pretty exciting things! [Yes, everything caught up to me and I have some upper respiratory/cold thing. :( It could partly be allergies but I think it's mostly my crazy busy life - I just go and go and go, not getting enough sleep, not taking time to rest when I need it. And now it's turning into a cough. meh. One thing's for sure, I'm resting now, hopefully catching up on some reading and some more re-runs of Fresh Prince. woot.]

On Thursday I mustered up strength enough to make it to New Life Christian school's spring musical, Aristocat Kids. And guess who had one of the lead roles? Hope! She was Duchess! I am so glad I was able to go. She, along with everyone else, did such a fantastic job!! Way to go, everyone!!

Duchess and Marie

Duchess and Thomas O'Malley

Photo-op after the show :)

Hope and I after the show!

My big sis, on the other hand, is not even in this country anymore! Yesterday we took her to the Toronto airport and I am happy to say that she is safe and sound in Istanbul. She will be spending the summer in Turkey and hopefully doing a little bit of traveling around the Middle East. Yeah Ang!! This is just the break you deserved! :) I just spoke with her on the phone although she's pretty exhausted, she's excited and it's all finally starting to sink in that she's there. Ps, did you know that Istanbul is two times the size of NYC with 15 million people? That's insane!! I guess the traffic there is ridiculous, too.
She's gonna have such an amazing time.
God bless and protect her every day. Please, if you can, remember her in your prayers this summer!

yay Turkish money!

Ang at the airport in front of the cool floating cube thing :)

Istanbul is known as the crossroads of Europe and Asia, as it is actually located on both continents! The Bosporus Strait runs between them and the city is on either side.

Other cool pics:

7-STORY UNDERWATER HOTEL!!!

I can't wait to see all of her amazing pics! :)

Ciao for now~

Paris dreaming

Doesn't this just make your heart melt? Or is it just me?

As I just showed this picture to my friend Becky, sitting next to me, I think my exact words were: "I feel like I'm just melting into a big blob of mush!" (?! Who says that?)

While Paris seems so far away and my heart longs to be there, I know I must look on the bright side and be grateful that I had the opportunity to actually be there. Sometimes I still can't believe it. When I look at this picture it just takes my breath away and it all seems like a dream.

Mixed emotions

Things Melissa & Rachel will miss about Europe:

1.     Eating gelato every day

2.     Being able to talk about people when they’re right there…

3.     Italian food

4.     Eating whole pizzas

5.     Cannoli

6.     Speaking Spanish

7.     Doing what we want- when we want

8.     Seeing cool things!!!!

9. No homework or chores (except for the massive amounts of homework in Spain)

10. Our friends!!!

11. Eating the bigger meal in the afternoon

12. NUTELLA

13. Being tan

14. Well-behaved dogs

15. No rain or clouds

16. Gorgeous sunsets

17. Paris (Rachel)

18. Not having to tip or figure it out

19. Rebajas & Saldi (Sales!)

20. Dry heat in Spain

21. Not being distracted by texting/phones

22. Hot Madrid police officers

23. The little green men

24. Orange juice

25. FRESHLY SQUEEZED orange juice

26. Not being hungry (Melissa)

Things Melissa & Rachel will NOT miss about Europe:

1.     Pigeons everywhere

2.     The SMELL (“Madrid”)

3.     Hostel awkwardness

4.     Being hot and sweaty all the time

5.     Being sticky STILL at 12am

6.     Creepy men

7.     Spanish pigs (men and ham… lol)

8.     HAM (“NO Jamón!!")

9.     Spain- everything closing down for siesta

10. Italy- restaurants closed between meals (3 and 8ish!)

11. Paying for bathrooms

12. Not having soap/hand dryers/toilet paper/toilet seats!!

13. No separate checks

14. People treating you dumb because you speak English

15. Gypsies!

16. Beggars

17. Walking EVERYWHERE/public transportation

18. Italians being slow (and slower clocks)

19. Being thirsty all the time/no cold drinks (Melissa)

20. Paying for water in restaurants

21. Wearing wrinkled clothes EVERYDAY

22. Living out of our suitcases

23. Loud streets at night – ex: garbage collection at 1am in Spain

24. Spanish food

25. No air conditioning anywhere! Even train stations.

26. Not having phones

27. The ambulance siren

28. Cars hating on pedestrians

29. RAIL EUROPE

30. Not having seats on trains

31. Bad pillows

32. Not being able to sing

33. Waking up for breakfast

34. PDA everywhere

35. Immodesty

36. Treatment of women (esp. Spain)

Venice = A Giant Maze

Ciao!

Another week gone! We’ve spent this week in Venice and Loreto. Last Saturday night Melissa and I took an overnight train from Paris to Venice. (Let me just say quickly how fun it was to lug all of our bags and heavy suitcases through the Paris metro, transferring 3 times and lugging up and down stairways, walking the mile to the train station, lifting on and off trains, and our escapade in Bologna… thankfully there were some gentlemen in Venice…) The train cabin was very small and there was another girl with us. Ironically she was Spanish and studying in Paris – going to Italy for holiday – so we could practice a little Spanish with her and she could practice her English. Although my space was only about 1 ½ feet high, I didn’t really mind. I just laid there writing and listening to my music. It was so nice to just relax. Once we arrived in Venice we found our hostel and dropped our bags off. Our hostel was right on the grand canal! The first night they put us in this private apartment (moldy bathroom… not cool) but the second night (Monday night) our room was overlooking the canal. When I woke up Tuesday morning I literally thought it was pouring outside all morning because of the water sloshing around from all the boats. Haha! 

View outside our window

Sunday morning after dropping our bags off we found this great café for breakfast with amazing fresh-squeezed orange juice. Soo good and refreshing!! In Europe they drink a lot of juice. A lot more juice and water than pop. Fresh orange juice is the best. We found some steps on a canal and ate, watching the gondolas go by. It was so different than Madrid or Paris – much quieter and peaceful. We made our way through the winding streets to our tour starting point and took a gondola ride and a walking tour of the city. No, our gondoleer didn’t sing. I wish! It was very surreal. Very peaceful. (My camera was dead this whole day so no pictures of the ride…) The two main ‘attractions’ in Venice are the Rialto Bridge and San Marco square, where there is a huge cathedral. There are also pigeons EVERYWHERE in Venice. Pretty much everywhere in Europe. In the train station even, you name it. I am allergic to something in Italy. I thought maybe it had something to do with the pigeons but someone suggested it might have been from all the mold in Venice, which is much more likely! It seems to be getting a bit better so we’ll see.

Part of St. Marco's Square

Sunday night we ate dinner at this little café and had our first Italian pizza! It was good (although not as good as I expected). The Italians also don’t believe in butter. On your bread you just put oil. On your toast you just put nutella (YESS) or jam. Although the toast is really an American thing. Also on your salad you just put oil and vinegar, or oil and salt. Which I’m totally fine with. We managed to make it back successfully to our hostel in the dark. Yay! Don’t worry, Venice is actually a very safe city, or so our tour guide said. It’s SO EASY to get lost in Venice. The walkways are sometimes very narrow and sometimes just lead to a dead end. The city is like a huge maze. Venice is virtually made up of 118 islands, and it’s these little walkways and bridges that connect them. There are literally no cars in Venice. They have police boats, ambulance boats, bus boats, and we even saw luggage boats and a hearse boat!! Boating is obviously the easiest way to get around, and if you don’t have a boat you have to make your way through the giant maze to get anywhere. I thought it was kinda fun. We had a map but it didn’t really help because not all the streets and walkways were on it. Luckily there were signs everywhere pointing to the main bridge and square.

Cafe where we ate dinner

On Monday we took a boat tour of three islands surrounding Venice. Oh also – it was SO hot there – Madrid was hot but it was a dry heat, and Paris was pretty cool, highs in the low-mid 70’s maybe. Italy is very humid. Anyway, the islands were all so cool and each so different from the others. The first island, Murano, was where one of the main glass factories is and we saw a short glass-blowing demonstration. If you ask me, the Corning glass museum demo in Corning, NY was way cooler (not to mention way longer). I still enjoyed this one and the little museum they had. Beautiful chandeliers!

The second island, Burano, was so quaint and picturesque. It had tons of little fishermen’s houses painted in brightly different colors. I loved it! Lace originated here and there was a lace shop where we could see a lace making demonstration.

Burano

 

The third island, Torcello, was definitely the most different. It was very naturey and we did not feel like we were in Italy anymore! We walked by this canal to get to the ruins of an old church. It smelled like the outdoors and was very countryish and felt like a nature preserve or something. I don’t think I’m very good at describing it lol. Hopefully the pictures help a bit.

Torcello

We were so glad we did this boat tour. I don’t think many of the tourists get to see these islands, and they were all so unique! The boat ride was fun too (minus the sweltering heat) because there was a family from Puerto Rico on there who were singing (In Spanish ;) and joking with everyone and they had the whole boat smiling and laughing. I think it’s really fun meeting people from other countries. One of the girls in our hostel thought Melissa and I were Canadian because of our accents. Haha! We might as well be Canadian. Our friends in Spain from NY made fun of us saying we were from Canada too. My favorite is meeting other people from the states. It’s like you’re instantly connected.

Monday night we took a ghost tour of Venice. It was fun but not exactly what we were expecting. It was similar to the original walking tour we took, and was even by the same tour guide, Francesco. We did get to see Marco Polo's house, and that was cool. We ate gelato after and we found a music group on top of the Rialto Bridge, so we just sat eating our gelato listening to them. Pizza and gelato pretty much sums up our food experience in Venice. Fine by me! On Tuesday morning we made our way to the train station to head here to Loreto. We met a Robert from Dallas on the way to the station who actually carried both of our bags (at the SAME time) up the huge bridge for us. We were so thankful! We took two hot trains to Ancona, where Cristiano Giuseppetti picked us up and took us to his home in Loreto. More on that to come in my next post…

The Grand Canal

Where have you been?

Dear Dutch subway slide,

Where have you been? Where were you when I had to lug my 50+ lb suitcase and bags all over the Madrid metro? Or the Paris metro? Or how about on the Italian trains? Hm??? I wish there were more of you. Please get back to me.

Sincerely,
Worn out

Si. I mean Oui.

At the moment I'm actually in Italy but I wanted to catch up a little bit with Paris first. I've found that it's very hard to keep up with this blog, but now that I have a few days to relax, I may have a chance to upload a few things. Paris was great. It reminded us of home instantly because it was overcast and cooler. Go figure. We found Paris to be much better than Madrid. The food was great and we were just able to function better. Probably because it's the #1 tourist city in the world so most people spoke English, and by this time we were used to using a metro system and navigating on our own. The people were actually pretty friendly and a few times we were saved by the kindness of strangers. It was pretty hard in the beginning to get out of Spanish mode! I found myself saying "si" many times instead of "oui" and it was hard for my brain to stop thinking in Spanish. We were able to cram a lot into 2 1/2 days! I got to do so many wonderful things. My favorites would probably have to be climbing up inside the Eiffel Tower at night when it was all lit up, and seeing the Paris Opera House. I also really enjoyed my banana and nutella crepe =)
Here are some highlights of Paris in pictures:

The Palace of Versailles!

Versailles Gardens

Marie Antoinette's House

(Room inside the house)

The Seine River (and Notre Dame)

The Louvre

The Mona Lisa!

Notre Dame at sunset

Climbing inside the Eiffel Tower!!

Inside the (gorgeous) Paris Opera House

It was also here in Paris that Melissa and I had to say goodbye to our wonderful friends we made on our trip. We all became family for 4 weeks, and we've seen each other at our worst and our best lol! It was such a pleasure spending time with you girls and I can't wait until our reunion! I am going to miss you girls! Love you!!

Running of the Bulls

(I wrote this 3 days ago)

Today we woke up at the crack of dawn to go to Chinchón to see a mini running of the bulls. It was awesome!!! The big running of the bulls takes place in Pamplona and is a huge deal. People party beforehand and party for like 10 days straight afterwards. And when I say straight I literally mean 24/7. They do NOT sleep. The Spanish take their festivals and traditions very seriously. And they LOVE to party. On the first day of the festival (July 6) there is a huge celebration in Pamplona and during my morning class on that day we actually took a break and all went downstairs to watch the opening ceremony on the tv. There was literally a SEA of people. They have a bull run (encierro) every morning from July 7 to July 14. It attracts one million people each year!

The running in Chinchón isn’t as big of a deal as the one in Pamplona but it’s the same thing. Today was a holiday and everyone was off from work/school so it was still crazy. Chinchón is a cute little town, pretty much what you might think of as the stereotypical Spanish town. You know, white buildings with the red and brown roofs, Spanish flags everywhere, built on a hill, etc. The bus ride was beautiful to get there, right through the Spanish hills and countryside. I’m assuming they had partied all night (or at least from 6am, which is the tradition in Pamplona) because the town bars were all overflowing when we got there (around 8:45am). We got a decent spot to see the running, and it ended up being a point where the men would run into for safety just in case. We were near the end of the run where it meets the plaza. A rocket goes off to mark the beginning of the festival and another goes off to mark the release of the bulls. They were pretty loud and I always jumped when they went off!

The runners wear all white and wear red handkerchiefs around their necks. The runners today weren’t wearing that though. Each run took maybe 5 minutes each, since this town is fairly small. We were surprised that the street for the run was uphill and made of old cobblestone. It seemed really hard to get good traction! The main plaza of the town was transformed into the bull ring. After the bulls do the run through the town, they run into the ring where a mini bull fight takes place. I guess it’s not really a bull fight, it’s more like a ‘training session’ for the young men of the town. Well it’s more like a taunting session. A taunting of the bull. They just make them run around and get really tired. You almost feel bad for them. Someone told us that they kill them later in the afternoon. The run took maybe 10 minutes and the taunting was about an hour. We explored the town a little bit afterwards. Although everything seems dangerous to us, and yes the running is, the Spanish are raised with this. When we were walking through the streets after it ended, there was a group of little boys playing in the street running past us. It was like a game of tag, but the boy who was “it” had a pair of bull horns in his hands and was chasing the other little boys with them. The boys who were running even ran into the safety of the bars like the real men did in the actual running. These kids were so cute! The boys here are trained to do all these dangerous things with bulls right from the start. It’s natural to them even though it may seem so foreign to us.

My teacher ran today and guided the students in my class that wanted to run too. She’s so cute, her name is Elsa (Elsita). The whole thing was very exciting. Even though it wasn’t the main one in Pamplona, it was still so worth it. I think it was even better because Pamplona is so crowded that it gets out of control. Overall this was one of my favorite experiences here! Cross this off my life list!! :D

(PS- No one was hurt that I know of. There was one close call when one of the guys couldn’t jump over the wall quick enough and the bull was getting at his feet, but he was fine.)

This is the video I made of it!! 

Okay, I don't know how to make it bigger, so if you want to see it larger just click HERE

Spanish Cuisine

So let’s talk about food.

Spanish food: Ham, tapas, and wine. Seriously, everything they eat is some form of pork or ham. The pig is like a god here. They even have ham museums!! They drink wine (sangria or tinto de verano usually) with every meal. One night when Melissa, Sasshine, and myself went to the café near our campus and all ordered cokes, we were made fun of by the waiter. All in good fun, I guess. When we were there for ice cream the next day a different waiter jokingly said, “Quieres sangria?” (Do you want sangria?) as he passed by us. They must have been talking about us! We must be known as the lame American girls. Tapas are appetizers. They're pretty decent (although, they usually revolve around ham or potatoes). The only real Spanish dish seems to be paella, and there’s not much variety in it. Paella is basically rice, sometimes made with seafood or vegetables, or chicken. Usually seafood here. Anything else they eat is some form of potato or egg. They also eat ice cream here a lot, which is fine by me! The flan (Spanish custard dessert) that I tried at the dorms was disgusting. While we’re on that subject…

Dorm food: Salad and bread. That’s pretty much all we eat here. There is literally bread for every meal, and salad at every lunch and dinner. No, not salad. I meant lettuce. There’s a difference. At breakfast there is cereal and gross slabs of lunchmeat and cheese (which no one eats). Lunch and dinner usually have some kind of meat… wait, let me re-phrase that—some kind of pork. Lately we have been getting chicken more often because word has gotten out that everyone is sick of pork. The salad is usually plain, sometimes with olives, or mixed with tuna and random veggies. The good part is that…. searching for a good part….... hmmm….... ice cream on Sunday afternoons! Yay!

Needless to say, we like getting out into the city. We especially like finding places with great (American) burgers. Ham and paella are just a little bit old. Can’t wait for Italy!

(Side note about burgers: The McDonalds here is awesome. Legit.)

Week at a Glance

Let me give you a quick update. I've been so busy that I barely have time to post. Last Saturday a bunch of us girls went out to the city, shopping in the Plaza del Sol and eating at a sidewalk cafe (finally some real food). Sunday was church, dinner (again, REAL food) and the bullfight, which was incredible. One of the most thrilling experiences of my life. Monday through Wednesday were classes. Tuesday was fun because for my morning culture class we went to the Prado Museum (huge art museum) and for my afternoon class we did a walking tour of the city. Each person was assigned a place and had to do a little report on it when we got to it. It was a lot of walking (and so hot) but it was worth it. Some of us got ice cream after - AMAZING. Best and creamiest ice cream ever. Can't wait for gelato in Italy!

Thursday through Sunday we have had off for midterm break. After much planning and un-planning we decided to stay here in Madrid and do some day trips and see things here. Thursday we went to Segovia and saw the aqueduct, cathedral, and castle there. Loved the castle!! It was like a dream come true. Corny maybe but true nonetheless. When we got back we went swimming and hung out here in the dorms. On Friday five of us went to Valencia, a city on the coast. We saw the cathedral, ate paella (traditional Spanish dish that originated in Valencia), saw Berklee Valencia, and went to the beach. Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea!! It was great but it was so windy on the beach that we were covered in sand from head to toe. There were were tons of vendors from Africa/Morocco (and Spain) on the boardwalk and we did some shopping. It was very neat. The sea, palm trees, pink flowers, African music... a very fun time. It didn't really feel like Spain though, it felt like we were somewhere else entirely. They even speak a different language there (Catalán). You don't have to travel far to get somewhere that feels so different. My friends that went to Barcelona said the same thing.

Saturday we slept in because we got home around 4am (4 hour bus ride) and spent the day outside swimming and laying out, and later after dinner stayed in and watched Cars. We needed a day just to chill. Today (Sunday) I went with some girls to El Rastro, which is like a huge flea market. It goes on for many blocks. Lots of vendors selling things from clothes to antiques to artwork. I ended up buying a scarf for only 2 euro. We came back and had lunch, took a short siesta, and now are trying to do homework and study for midterms (UGH!!). Tonight at 9 for my culture class we are meeting for tapas (appetizers) and then going out to some festival at 10. Every night here is a late night, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. It just doesn't happen! It's the culture of Spain.

Recap: I love Spain.

(Okay, minus: Always feeling tired, eating the gross food that is served here in the dorms, having homework and classes, and having sunburn on my eyelids - who gets that?)

Let's have church!

 Last Sunday I went to the UPC church here in Madrid. I took a taxi there (my first time in a taxi) by myself. I went to the 10am service and then stayed for the 12:30 service as well. They have a 10, 12:30, 5, and 6pm English service. It was so much fun!! I loved the music and there was a great move of God. The AYC choir sang "Our God" - one of my favorite songs at the moment. The AYC was a group of about 50 young people from around the US, here on a missions trip for about 10 days. The Next Steps group is a different group that my friend Kyla is in, and they are here for two months, living at the Bible school here. They have about 12 people. It was nice that there were other young people from the states here! Both services on Sunday had an English translator.

Let me just say that it's a good thing that I bought a fan the day before, because I sure needed it! It was SO HOT in there. It reminded me of camp meetings at Watson Homestead (can I get an amen?!). AC or no AC, God was still there! The 12:30 service especially was really lively and I felt like I was at camp. It was great! The pastor - who reminded me a lot of my pastor - introduced me to one of the Next Steps girls, Natalie, who showed me around the Bible school and took me around the area. I got to practice my Spanish a lot at church with a bunch of the women there, everyone was so nice. They also cook for everyone after each service, and I got a 'helado,' which was more like a fruit icee thing than ice cream. Very tasty! Natalie took me down in the metro and showed me how to get home. I took the metro home and actually met a lady from the church on the metro going the same way as me, so I wasn't alone for long :) She practiced her English with me, and made sure to tell me about her son who is a doctor in Argentina...

Tuesday and Wednesday the church was having special services with the Hernandez family from San Diego. Yes, the same Kathy Hernandez that just spoke at our NY Ladies Conference in Buffalo! I was able to make it on Wednesday night and got to talk with her afterward (love her). She played a song on her sax, her daughter sang a song (so cute) and her husband preached. The service was great. He talked about the fear of the Lord. Even though there wasn't an English translator near me, I could understand most of what he was saying (yay!). Afterwards I was finally able to meet up with Kyla, and her, Natalie, and myself grabbed some food nearby and then took it up to their Bible school dorms and hung out with the rest of the group. I really enjoyed spending time with them. (Side note: I was the 4th Rachel in a group of 12...) When it came time for me to leave, some of the girls went with me to the metro and rode with me until I had to switch trains since it was about 12am. Ironically we ran into two boys from the church who were headed to the same stop I was, so again I didn't have to be alone at all. Isn't it amazing how God protects his children? :)

La Tuna y El Palacio

So I'm enrolled in two classes. One is called Art, Music, Folklore, and Traditions of Spain and the other is History of Spain. The latter is taught entirely in Spanish. This one is more difficult, seeing as I've never taken a lecture class completely in Spanish before. So far I've gotten the worst of my presentations over with - my coloquial presentation, which is where I teach my class for 10-15 mins on the new material for the day, and my informal presentation, where I get to pick any topic relating to Spain and report on it for 10 mins. For my coloquial luckily I got to teach about Christopher Columbus and the cultural Renaissance in Spain, and for my informal I picked La Tuna. What is La Tuna, you ask? Let me back up a little. 

For my first class (Art, music, folklore yadda yadda... I'll probably just refer to it as my culture class) we get to go out and do things in the city to help us better understand the Spanish culture. Thank the LORD, because sitting for three hours in that room is not cool. Literally. lol. The first 'activity' was actually held at our school in the teátro. La Tuna is a musical group usually made up of university students, performing traditional Spanish music, singing and playing instruments like the guitar, tambourine, mandolin, sometimes the lute, bandurria -- you get the picture. The tradition goes back to the 11th century I believe. The purpose of a Tuna was to win over the ladies that they had been courting. Needless to say the tunos (members of a Tuna) are very romantic. Or at least they try to be romantic. This particular Tuna had only 4 members in it and were a bit older, but they were still really fun. It was a great way to be introduced to the Spanish culture! I'll try to post a video below so you can get a taste of it. 

The next morning we had another activity: an outing to the Royal Palace! It was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside :( but take my word for it, every room was ornate and gorgeous. There was not even one little hallway that was ugly. The throne room was my favorite, with red velvet walls, huge chandeliers, and silver embroidery on the walls. Every room had a fresco, a painting on the ceiling. Fact: The Royal family never sits on their thrones because they think it is rude if they are sitting while their guests are standing. (How nice!!) Fact #2: There are 2800 rooms in the Palace! We only saw maybe 15. Fact #3: The Royal family does not actually live in the palace (darn) because they think it is too big. But all the important meetings and such still take place there. Needless to say our visit to the Palace was incredible. It makes me wonder what Heaven is going to be like, where we will get beautiful mansions of our own!! :) I can't imagine walking on streets literally made of gold. What was cool about this trip was that I ran into a group of young Apostolics out in the courtyard! They were a part of AYC (Apostolic Youth Corps) and were here for about 10 days. It was pretty cool. More on that and my church outings later... For now, a picture:

Room Number, Please!

Okay first off, I forgot to mention yesterday (or whenever I last posted, all the days here blend together) about my little mishap at breakfast. I was cutting a roll, in my hand – I know, stupid of me – and I cut MY HAND! It was bleeding a lot so I went back to my room and fixed it up * Thanks Mom for the first aid kit * And now it’s fine. I’m just glad it wasn’t any deeper.

I feel like I have so much to write about and don’t know where to begin. Yesterday we went on the Madrid city tour, which was mostly by bus. We only got off twice to take some pictures, at the Plaza de España and the Plaza de Toros (where the bull fights are).  The internet here in my room isn’t that good; it’s better in the morning and then it comes in and out throughout the day. It’s very temperamental. Aka annoying.

Today was the first full day of classes and I can definitely see a daily routine forming. We go to breakfast at 8, morning class at 9:45, lunch at 1:30, afternoon class at 2:45 and dinner at 8:30. From 6 to 8:30 I have time to do homework, read, go outside, or sleep (yes, sleep – still adjusting). Also after breakfast there is some time to read or catch up with things online. I think I actually like how the meals are spaced out. Yes, I’m pretty hungry by dinnertime but it gives us time to digest and it fits with the feel of the day. What I mean by that is this: Tonight I went to dinner around 9:30 after I took a nap and it didn’t feel weird because the sun was still out. It doesn’t go down until maybe 10. And the whole place (the whole country, really) is so alive still. Last night was hard to sleep because it was SO LOUD. Outside, I mean. I was woken up around 2:45am because a group of young Spaniards were being obnoxious outside our building, shouting for us to come down (literally “PLEASE COME DOWN!!!”) and shouting “ROOM NUMBER PLEASE!!!” at the top of their lungs. Trying to get in. This went on for a good 20 minutes. No one, police or any security person, said anything to them. Being loud in the middle of the night is normal here. I was woken up several more times by different things and people. I hope I sleep better tonight! The weekdays are most likely going to be filled with classes and homework so we’ll hopefully be going to the city a lot on the weekends when we’re not doing other tours.

I hope I don’t sound like I hate it here or like a big complainer. I like it a lot, it’s just a lot to adjust to. I’m sad I missed the 4^th of July and I think I am a bit homesick. I am realizing what a great opportunity this is and that not many people get to see other parts of the world. Ever. I am very lucky and don’t ever want to take it for granted. Or take things for granted like my health. I am very blessed.

Pictures from the tour:

La Plaza de Toros

(More to come... and many to come on Facebook)

Movin' In

28.9 at the moment. That's 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Nice! It's pretty comfortable today. I'm just sittin' here at my desk feelin' the nice breeze on my face. My room is pretty breezy with the window and the window out in the hallway open. Yesterday it was hotter when we arrived. Around 90 at about 6pm. Although here on the 8th floor it felt a bit hotter than 90. It definitely reminds me of being in the dorms at camp. Hello anyone?! Arriving on Tuesday and unpacking in those hot dorms... the ratio of girls to boys is about the same here, too: floors 1-2 are the for the boys and floors 3-8 are for the girls. Go figure! Last night by the time we got settled in we were famished and very dehydrated so we decided to go out in search of food and water. After a few unsuccessful tries to find places we finally found the Burger King a couple blocks down the road. More like a couple blocks up the HILL. Water never tasted so good! By the time we were done eating it was after 11pm. But that's completely normal here. They have breakfast, dinner (lunch), and supper. Dinner is later than we're used to and supper is ridiculous - for us I believe it starts at 8:45pm. In Spain and I think most of Europe they eat dinner around 9:30. It is normal for people to eat dinner and then go to a bar and not come home til the middle of the night (or what would be the middle of the night to us Americans). Sometimes on the weekends they go out dancing or something and then stay up until breakfast and then go to bed. Completely normal! The sun didn't go down until almost 10pm either. So that was weird, because it felt much earlier than it was, especially because our internal clocks are still 6 hours behind. I kinda like it though. When we got back to the dorms we got acquainted with more of the girls on our floor. I've met some really nice girls already. :) I went to bed later than I wanted seeing as I didn't nap like others did, but I slept comfortably and thankfully woke up at 7am even though my alarm didn't go off! (If you know me, you know I got very lucky that I woke up on my own). Today we went to our orientation and then to our classes. Classes were short today because it's the first day. In about a half hour we'll be leaving for our Madrid city tour. Our college isn't really in the heart of Madrid so you have to take the metro to get downtown. I'm so excited!

The 'virtual tour' of my room:

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