Things I am Going to Miss in Spain:
-EVERYONE that I have met here...my host Mom, Isabel, all of her friends that I have met, everyone that worked at the fund, but probably Jose Luis the most!! Yuki, Miguel and all the reception guys! All of my friends that I have met as well from all over the world and sitting in the sala de estar and complaining about our classes in English and Jose Luis (the Spanish police) coming in and yelling at us every time. Also, Doctora Quintas and all my patients (Esperanza, Conchi, Margarita, Mauro, Angel, Ramon, Inma). Each one affected me in a different way, and I loved talking to all of them! I will be thinking about all of them each Monday. :) Also, Nuria and all the kids (Agnes, Agnes' sister--I forget her name!, Sofia, Danny, and Carlota). What a great group of kids! Hopefully we can keep in touch and they can speak fluent English to me in a few years.
-the beautiful scenery...no matter where you went! Also, every day was a new and exciting adventure!!
-the great character and old charm of the city! Even the doors are gorgeous! I am also going to miss the patios/courtyards that are in the center of almost every building here.
-the fresh fruit. I absolutely loved how we would eat fruit after every meal. I am arriving back to the states at a bad time for fresh fruit...
-all of the walking that I did and taking public transportation. Sometimes way more convenient than a car and it is just nice that public transportation is so abundant here and available for everyone to use.
-the laid back lifestyle. Not everyone is running around with their heads cut off hurrying to the next thing on their agenda that day.
-NO CLASS FRIDAYS!! And next semester at SNC I have 4 on Fridays. Uh oh.
-all the traveling I did! I have become good at reading a map..
-the mall, Luz del Tajo. Such a nice mall! I am also going to miss their fashion here A LOT!!
-the food. Although I am making a list of the American foods I am going to scarf down as soon as I arrive in the states. And I am excited for Kraft singles again and deli turkey.
-siestas!! Even though I hardly took advantage of that awesome part of the culture while I was here.
-the library in the Alcazar. I loved studying there...it actually made studying kind of bearable. The views were phenomenal and they had this great room with tons of tables to study and it was always quiet!
-the big blue track and the Park of Tres Culturas. Such an awesome (and flat!) place to run! I will also miss my maintenance friend guy and the people I would see there on a daily basis.
-the cathedral. What an amazing thing to walk by multiple times a day on the way back to my house. Each day I would see something new or look at it through a different perspective. Incredible, just incredible.
-sitting outside at a bar/restaurant under umbrellas and with heat lamps. so cozy!
-tapas and casual drinking. I feel like in the states the mind set is when you go out to drink you either can't drink or you have to get hammered. Here, in Spain, it is very typical to go out with friends and just sit and have a drink or two and eat tapas. A much more different mindset here.
-only being an hour bus ride away from a major city in Spain (Madrid).
-reading "Aqui" each week when my host Mom would bring it home for me. This is the magazine that she writes for!
-the weekly markets with everything you can imagine for sale!
-police directing traffic even when there is hardly any haha!
-la ruta de Don Quijote (the route of Don Quijote). Little did I know but I walked down the same roads Don Quijote did many times a day!! We lived right in the middle (almost) of his route.
-the fact that I have been living in a much "safer" culture for the past three months, with very little violence, etc.
-Spanish dulces (sweets)...they are to die for!!
Things I am NOT Going to Miss:
-the milk. It is much sweeter than ours and doesn't require refrigeration until opening. It is weird.
-Fake chocolate milk. I am sick of the fake stuff, Nesquik and Cola-Coau. This is not the same people!!
-the absence of bagels. No where to be found in Spain. It really is quite a shame!!
-Eating mystery meals quite often. I would ask my Mom what exactly I was eating and she would just reply with "carne" which means meat. But what EXACTLY am I eating...what TYPE of meat? I never knew...
-the cobblestone roads. Why yes they are a great part of history and by the end I did get used to walking on them, but they sure do hurt your shins and tear up the bottoms of your shoes!
-EVERYTHING being a hill. I told my Coach that I am going to be a hill expert when I get back after all the hills (and stairs! they sure do love their stairs too!) I climbed in Europe.
-their eating schedule. Eat a very small breakfast when you wake up, eat a huge lunch at 3 and then eat a small dinner at 9 or 9:30...with no snacking in between. WHAT?! I love my snacks.
-watching TV and not understanding all of it. I can't wait to watch TV in English again.
-trying to figure out the darn bus schedules here. I still don't think I've gotten it right!
-doors that shut really quickly behind you.
-there is only heat in my house for 8 hours a day, from 1pm-9pm. This is kind of dumb, in my opinion, because for a good portion of that 8 hours no one is even in the house. And there was no AC when I first arrived with the 90 degree temps. This one makes me sound like a spoiled brat...
-having to say a little prayer every time I got in the shower that hopefully we would have hot water that day.
-the fact that they don't have grass and when you do finally see some grass it is usually just turf...disappointment.
-not hearing anything about American football!! especially when the Pack attack are doing so great this season.
-the lack of pretzels and real JIF peanut butter
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Make every second count...
Who would have thought I would have fallen so in love with the Spanish culture and the city of Toledo?! I knew I was going to love it, but I didn't realize it was going to be this hard to leave. This past week has been difficult because we all are thinking about going home, trying to do last-minute things here in Toledo as well as study for finals. These three things basically occurred in that order as well...with studying being the last thing on my mind.
This past week Spain had two holidays, one on Tuesday (Constitution Day) and the other on Thursday (the feast of the Immaculate Conception). While everyone else was fiesta-ing it up, us, Americans were stuck studying and taking finals. We all think that if we are living in the Spanish culture, then even we should be able to celebrate their holidays..at least don't make us take final exams!!
On Monday was another day at the hospital all day. It was kind of an "off" day again with a lot of my patients no where to be found. However, I did get to talk to a new patient who is awesome! I was a little nervous at first because before Doctora Quintas introduced me to him she warned me that he cries a lot and is very depressed. The part that makes me nervous is that it is harder than you think to try and help someone in another language...it would be much easier (obviously!!) to understand and talk something through in English. However, this patient was not sad at all and actually enjoyed talking to me too (at least I think and hope...it seemed like it anyway). He is older and a little harder to understand and he warned me that I must speak loudly for him to hear because his "ears aren't too good!" He was coming up with topics to talk about as well which was nice because with a lot of my older patients I have to constantly come up with new things to say.
On Tuesday I just had a review session for a final exam in one of my classes in the morning and had the rest of the day free to study. Yea right! Who studies? Especially when you have a whole day free in Spain and it is 10 days before you head home! I went running with Alison (a girl that goes to Notre Dame and also attends my school)...I showed her the track because we have been meaning to go there/run together all semester and we just found time now. It is so hard with our different schedules and traveling and such. She fell in love with the track and the park, just like I did! There were quite a few people at the track with it being a holiday since no one had to work and were all exercising apparently. Then, Elizabeth and I decided we wanted to go to the Army Museum. We have been meaning to do this since one of the first or second weeks, and I actually tried to go with Laura but we got denied free entry because we don't have a Carnet Joven (we were supposed to get this...it is just like a student discount card...and we all applied but I guess the Spanish government ran out of money so we were not able to get them this semester). However, because Tuesday was a fiesta the Army Museum was free for everyone. Of course I agreed to go with Elizabeth because, like I said earlier, my other option was studying. Yuck!
The museum was very interesting with everything you can imagine in it! We were there until they closed and STILL DID NOT get through everything. It was super cool too because some of the original rock was in the building...I guess I should probably mention that the museum is located in the Alcazar (used to be a castle back in the day). It was also interesting to look at the uniforms and how they have changed and become more complex over the years. I wish I could have taken more photos, but they were prohibited in basically all but one exhibit.
Then, on Wednesday, I went to the track to do my workout and there was not a soul around, just me and my maintenance friend who talked to me again this week and when I was leaving he asked if I was going to be back tomorrow! Of course I am :) The much cooler temps this week have people staying in later I guess because usually on Wednesday mornings when I go it is packed with runners and with kids in gym classes. It was kind of nice to have the whole thing to myself though.
And then I finally decided to start studying! I went to the library (which is also in the Alcazar) and actually was pretty productive. Elizabeth and I had a presentation that night in our Conversation class about Navidad in Spain and she wore a Christmas sweater and my host Mom gave me a "fiesta shirt" because she didn't have anything Navidad for me to wear. It was quite the sweater, let me tell you what. On Wednesday night is when I kind of started freaking out because I realized I knew basically no information for my TWO finals the next day. Don't you just hate that feeling? (Sorry Dad for using the word, "hate.") Luckily, my host Mom gave me well wishes and said good luck before going to bed that night because I definitely needed it.
Turns out I really didn't have anything to worry about, as usual. My exams went fine...at least my Cultural Heritage one did...my Art one I am a little sketch about, but whatever, it is over and I am finally done with that class! My only regret with my classes is that I wish I would have taken a grammar course. It was so hard though because then I would have had 5 classes and an internship, and I also wanted to learn more about the culture and spend time with my host Mom and with taking 5 classes I just would have been working too hard! Although it would have been good practice for next semester; I am going to be in for a rude awakening with 3 Psych classes (one with a lab) and a GS 12 class that hopefully won't be too much busy work.
On Thursday night after taking my two exams I went home and treated myself to some mazapan, a Spanish Christmas candy that is to die for! You are all in luck because my host Mom and I are going shopping this afternoon for some mazapan so I can bring some home and share! I also bought turron and pulvorones yesterday to bring home. I'll be able to share if I don't eat them all within the next few days! ;) They are sooo delicious so it is going to be hard to control myself. I, then, went on an epic run through the streets of Toledo. I went slow because it was just a recovery run, and I just tried to take it all in. I went down one of the main roads and the Christmas lights were on all the trees lining the street. It was absolutely gorgeous! I am going to miss the beautiful scenery, that is for sure!! To top it off I felt good which is always a plus. After that Elizabeth and I went adventuring to look at all the Christmas lights around the city that had just been turned on that Tuesday (their Constitution Day). Although it was very foggy the lights were still very beautiful. All they need is just a light (and I mean LIGHT) dusting of snow to top it all off. They also have put up an ice rink in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento so we watched some people ice skate which was hilarious! I think we are going to try to go sometime next week :) My host Mom says she thinks it costs around 6 euro an hour to do it...a little expensive but who cares!
Yesterday (Friday) Elizabeth and I went to the mall to do some shopping because we are both not ready to say goodbye to that mall yet...WE LOVE IT! We, also, did some shopping for our family and friends at some of the stores in Toledo and the Christmas market in Zocodover. After a long day of walking and shopping we went and saw "El Gato con Botas." Such a cute movie and we understood everything...I understood better than when seeing "Tin Tin." I came home and told my host Mom this and she said it might be because they used more of a Mexican accent than a Spanish one.
Last night at dinner we had steak. Needless to say I was in heaven! And my host Mom gave me a gift...it is a Toledo book with a bunch of pictures in it! She said, along with the photos I have taken, that I can use this book to show my family and friends all around Toledo since none of them were able to make it here. How nice was that? :) It was awesome looking at the book and recognizing the photos in it.
A few additional things:
-It has legit gotten cold here this week. Wearing my winter coat and hat and gloves I am still freezing.
-I have started to pack up some of my things. Sad. I am going to miss so much about Spain and the people that I have met here! It will be weird not seeing the people everyday that you have been seeing for the past 4 months. I am most definitely not ready to say good-bye to my host Mom either...or her cooking!! It is going to be hard to thank her for everything she has done for me these past few months...helped me with homework, cooked all my meals, gave me traveler tips, cleaned the house and my room, did my laundry, introduced me to locals, taught me more about the Spanish culture...just to name a few.
-This week Monday is my last day at the hospital and Tuesday is my last day teaching English. I better prepare myself for all these good-byes.
-This week was the week of tourists in Toledo!! Holy cow! I have never seen so many people with maps and cameras around their necks. With having two fiesta days this week my host Mom told me that a lot of people just take the whole week off and go traveling which brought A LOT of people to Toledo. My host Mom told me a story about how her sister, Pepe, is in Cordoba on vacation and Pepe randomly ran into my host Mom's friend Angel (the same Angel that went to China...he sure is quite the traveler!)
-I was able to sit down and talk with some of my host Mom's friends again this morning and I met a couple new ones, including Bruno who is from France! Him and I talked a lot since we were the only two where Spanish is not our native language and he knew some English! He drank a drink called "optimum bruno" and got a kick out of that. He asked if I wanted to try some but declined because it was a very thick beer. Gross!
-Tonight get ready ladies and gents because IT IS THE GAME WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!! Real Madrid vs. F.C. Barcelona! We just heard on the news that tickets are going for a thousand euros...no big deal. I can't even imagine haha I think Elizabeth and I are going to go watch it in a bar somewhere and I will be sporting my Messi jersey (I still need to go buy that this afternoon!) and my Real Madrid scarf. My host Mom was telling me names of bars that are pro-Real Madrid and pro-Barca so I know what to wear when we walk in one. I don't want to get beat up!
This past week Spain had two holidays, one on Tuesday (Constitution Day) and the other on Thursday (the feast of the Immaculate Conception). While everyone else was fiesta-ing it up, us, Americans were stuck studying and taking finals. We all think that if we are living in the Spanish culture, then even we should be able to celebrate their holidays..at least don't make us take final exams!!
On Monday was another day at the hospital all day. It was kind of an "off" day again with a lot of my patients no where to be found. However, I did get to talk to a new patient who is awesome! I was a little nervous at first because before Doctora Quintas introduced me to him she warned me that he cries a lot and is very depressed. The part that makes me nervous is that it is harder than you think to try and help someone in another language...it would be much easier (obviously!!) to understand and talk something through in English. However, this patient was not sad at all and actually enjoyed talking to me too (at least I think and hope...it seemed like it anyway). He is older and a little harder to understand and he warned me that I must speak loudly for him to hear because his "ears aren't too good!" He was coming up with topics to talk about as well which was nice because with a lot of my older patients I have to constantly come up with new things to say.
On Tuesday I just had a review session for a final exam in one of my classes in the morning and had the rest of the day free to study. Yea right! Who studies? Especially when you have a whole day free in Spain and it is 10 days before you head home! I went running with Alison (a girl that goes to Notre Dame and also attends my school)...I showed her the track because we have been meaning to go there/run together all semester and we just found time now. It is so hard with our different schedules and traveling and such. She fell in love with the track and the park, just like I did! There were quite a few people at the track with it being a holiday since no one had to work and were all exercising apparently. Then, Elizabeth and I decided we wanted to go to the Army Museum. We have been meaning to do this since one of the first or second weeks, and I actually tried to go with Laura but we got denied free entry because we don't have a Carnet Joven (we were supposed to get this...it is just like a student discount card...and we all applied but I guess the Spanish government ran out of money so we were not able to get them this semester). However, because Tuesday was a fiesta the Army Museum was free for everyone. Of course I agreed to go with Elizabeth because, like I said earlier, my other option was studying. Yuck!
The museum was very interesting with everything you can imagine in it! We were there until they closed and STILL DID NOT get through everything. It was super cool too because some of the original rock was in the building...I guess I should probably mention that the museum is located in the Alcazar (used to be a castle back in the day). It was also interesting to look at the uniforms and how they have changed and become more complex over the years. I wish I could have taken more photos, but they were prohibited in basically all but one exhibit.
Then, on Wednesday, I went to the track to do my workout and there was not a soul around, just me and my maintenance friend who talked to me again this week and when I was leaving he asked if I was going to be back tomorrow! Of course I am :) The much cooler temps this week have people staying in later I guess because usually on Wednesday mornings when I go it is packed with runners and with kids in gym classes. It was kind of nice to have the whole thing to myself though.
And then I finally decided to start studying! I went to the library (which is also in the Alcazar) and actually was pretty productive. Elizabeth and I had a presentation that night in our Conversation class about Navidad in Spain and she wore a Christmas sweater and my host Mom gave me a "fiesta shirt" because she didn't have anything Navidad for me to wear. It was quite the sweater, let me tell you what. On Wednesday night is when I kind of started freaking out because I realized I knew basically no information for my TWO finals the next day. Don't you just hate that feeling? (Sorry Dad for using the word, "hate.") Luckily, my host Mom gave me well wishes and said good luck before going to bed that night because I definitely needed it.
Turns out I really didn't have anything to worry about, as usual. My exams went fine...at least my Cultural Heritage one did...my Art one I am a little sketch about, but whatever, it is over and I am finally done with that class! My only regret with my classes is that I wish I would have taken a grammar course. It was so hard though because then I would have had 5 classes and an internship, and I also wanted to learn more about the culture and spend time with my host Mom and with taking 5 classes I just would have been working too hard! Although it would have been good practice for next semester; I am going to be in for a rude awakening with 3 Psych classes (one with a lab) and a GS 12 class that hopefully won't be too much busy work.
On Thursday night after taking my two exams I went home and treated myself to some mazapan, a Spanish Christmas candy that is to die for! You are all in luck because my host Mom and I are going shopping this afternoon for some mazapan so I can bring some home and share! I also bought turron and pulvorones yesterday to bring home. I'll be able to share if I don't eat them all within the next few days! ;) They are sooo delicious so it is going to be hard to control myself. I, then, went on an epic run through the streets of Toledo. I went slow because it was just a recovery run, and I just tried to take it all in. I went down one of the main roads and the Christmas lights were on all the trees lining the street. It was absolutely gorgeous! I am going to miss the beautiful scenery, that is for sure!! To top it off I felt good which is always a plus. After that Elizabeth and I went adventuring to look at all the Christmas lights around the city that had just been turned on that Tuesday (their Constitution Day). Although it was very foggy the lights were still very beautiful. All they need is just a light (and I mean LIGHT) dusting of snow to top it all off. They also have put up an ice rink in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento so we watched some people ice skate which was hilarious! I think we are going to try to go sometime next week :) My host Mom says she thinks it costs around 6 euro an hour to do it...a little expensive but who cares!
Yesterday (Friday) Elizabeth and I went to the mall to do some shopping because we are both not ready to say goodbye to that mall yet...WE LOVE IT! We, also, did some shopping for our family and friends at some of the stores in Toledo and the Christmas market in Zocodover. After a long day of walking and shopping we went and saw "El Gato con Botas." Such a cute movie and we understood everything...I understood better than when seeing "Tin Tin." I came home and told my host Mom this and she said it might be because they used more of a Mexican accent than a Spanish one.
Last night at dinner we had steak. Needless to say I was in heaven! And my host Mom gave me a gift...it is a Toledo book with a bunch of pictures in it! She said, along with the photos I have taken, that I can use this book to show my family and friends all around Toledo since none of them were able to make it here. How nice was that? :) It was awesome looking at the book and recognizing the photos in it.
A few additional things:
-It has legit gotten cold here this week. Wearing my winter coat and hat and gloves I am still freezing.
-I have started to pack up some of my things. Sad. I am going to miss so much about Spain and the people that I have met here! It will be weird not seeing the people everyday that you have been seeing for the past 4 months. I am most definitely not ready to say good-bye to my host Mom either...or her cooking!! It is going to be hard to thank her for everything she has done for me these past few months...helped me with homework, cooked all my meals, gave me traveler tips, cleaned the house and my room, did my laundry, introduced me to locals, taught me more about the Spanish culture...just to name a few.
-This week Monday is my last day at the hospital and Tuesday is my last day teaching English. I better prepare myself for all these good-byes.
-This week was the week of tourists in Toledo!! Holy cow! I have never seen so many people with maps and cameras around their necks. With having two fiesta days this week my host Mom told me that a lot of people just take the whole week off and go traveling which brought A LOT of people to Toledo. My host Mom told me a story about how her sister, Pepe, is in Cordoba on vacation and Pepe randomly ran into my host Mom's friend Angel (the same Angel that went to China...he sure is quite the traveler!)
-I was able to sit down and talk with some of my host Mom's friends again this morning and I met a couple new ones, including Bruno who is from France! Him and I talked a lot since we were the only two where Spanish is not our native language and he knew some English! He drank a drink called "optimum bruno" and got a kick out of that. He asked if I wanted to try some but declined because it was a very thick beer. Gross!
-Tonight get ready ladies and gents because IT IS THE GAME WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!! Real Madrid vs. F.C. Barcelona! We just heard on the news that tickets are going for a thousand euros...no big deal. I can't even imagine haha I think Elizabeth and I are going to go watch it in a bar somewhere and I will be sporting my Messi jersey (I still need to go buy that this afternoon!) and my Real Madrid scarf. My host Mom was telling me names of bars that are pro-Real Madrid and pro-Barca so I know what to wear when we walk in one. I don't want to get beat up!
-My host Mom cleans the house and washes my sheets so often! Spaniards are so clean! Even on her day off on Thursday because of the fiesta she cleaned. I usually make my bed everyday here because it is just what they do so I have become accustomed to doing this too... because let's be honest in the states I never make my bed. Well, the other day I woke up late and didn't have time to make my bed because I had to leave for class and I got back home and my bed was made...my host Mom made it for me. I felt really bad then and thanked her a whole bunch when she got back.
-I think my host Mom and I have found a vacuum for me to use for my vacuum-sealed bags in my suitcase. She called up one of her friends, Pilar, and is going to go over there later today or tomorrow with her car and pick it up. Thank goodness! This way I MIGHT not have to buy another suitcase which would be awesome.
I will see you all next weekend! It will be a bittersweet next few days here in Toledo :) Can't wait to see everyone again.
Much love,
Meg
 |
| part of the outside exhibit at the Army museum |
 |
| precious! |
 |
| some of the Christmas lights up in Toledo :) |
 |
| I'm sporting my Brewer hat, Jen! |
 |
| complete with camels because the three kings (Santa Claus) ride camels, not reindeer |
 |
| en la calle comercial (the shopping street) |
 |
| the ice rink in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento |
 |
| FELIZ NAVIDAD from the Ayuntamiento |
 |
| this is near where I live |
Sunday, December 4, 2011
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Another week has come and gone and we are getting even closer to my return to the states, if you can believe it!! I have mixed emotions about coming home, that's for sure. Obviously I am ecstatic to see all my family and friends again, but I am not ready to leave the Spanish culture or the friends that I have made here (and my host Mom!) I've got to say though it will be nice training with the team again...running alone gets old in a very quick hurry! With that being said, there are obvious reasons for why I am excited to come home, but there's also A LOT I am going to miss here. I better start saving my money now for a return trip back to Spain because I WILL BE BACK :) Someday.
Last Sunday night after getting back from Portugal my host Mom was soooo excited to bake the funfetti cake with me!! I think she had been looking forward to it all weekend long. Well, let me tell you what, that is easier said than done. First off, I had to translate the entire recipe into Spanish and then convert everything, from the temperature of the oven to cups into liters. Also, I don't think my host Mom really does a lot of baking because she had no baking supplies or utensils whatsoever which also complicated the process a bit. Eventually we got everything figured out (after guessing and "eyeballing" the amount of cooking time as well) and were able to enjoy very good cookies and a very good cake. I brought some to the hospital on Monday to share with the doctors, and they all loved them. One of the doctors asked me for the recipe, and I told her I could translate it into Spanish from the box!! haha They were all very CURIOUS (I used it just for you, Jen!) to try an American dessert.
Tuesday was a sad day because we signed a lot of papers and started to think about our departure plans at the fundacion. We, also, began evaluating our professors. I stayed longer to teach English this Tuesday since I didn't have class later than night. It was kind of nice because then Nuria worked one-on-one with one of the students and I helped out the rest. I am definitely going to miss Nuria and the kids when I leave...it is going to be hard to say goodbye in two weeks. One of the little girls, Carlotta, made me a little something...there is a name for it but I forget! I think they are typical for kids to make here. Best souvenir I'll come back with :) Nuria and Carlotta LOVED my cookies as well. Even though Nuria told me she is on a diet, she still took two because after eating one she couldn't resist. Good work Betty Crocker!!
I am, also, all done with the study I was participating in. I did my last tasks on Tuesday, and I actually feel like I maybe improved a bit with some things. We will have to see when the girl in charge of the study sends me the tapes of me speaking Spanish, once at the beginning, the middle and then now at the end.
On Wednesday Elizabeth and I went to a museum very near our school and checked out a temporary exhibit there about Leonardo Da Vinci. It was really interesting, and I learned a lot, actually. It was indeed confirmed that he was an amazing man, such a genious! Literally. The building was really cool too where the exposition was because, like many of the buildings in Toledo, it used to be something else back in the day and now they have restored it. We were able to go down into the basement and see some pretty cool history.
On Thursday I did some shopping...I just love their fashion here and cannot resist!! only 10 euro!! I, also, started to do my shopping for other people. I am still trying to figure out what I am going to bring everyone back so if you have any requests of what you want just let me know, please :) That would help me out a lot!
On Friday I woke up early with every intent of going to the track, but when I woke up it was pouring rain outside and very cold so I decided to just push my workout back until Saturday since I am just getting over a cold. Luckily I just decided not to run because once again there was no hot water in our house so my host Mom told me not to shower and that on Friday night when she got home from work that she would heat water up for me again and I would shower with that. I went to the theatre on Friday night in Madrid so luckily I didn't run otherwise I would have had to go to the theatre all gross and smelly! Elizabeth and I went and saw El Rey Leon (Lion King). I absolutely loved it!! The costumes were incredibly detailed and the actors were phenomenal. Although it was all in Spanish, it was very easy to understand because they spoke clearly and slowly! And obviously it helped to know the story line of Lion King! The songs were even in Spanish, but had the same beat and rhythm which was kind of cool. Before the show we were able to walk around Madrid a bit and look at all their Christmas lights and Christmas decorations. We spotted an "ice rink" with fake ice! haha kind of sad. It was for little kids to practice ice skating..we stood and watch the little kids for a bit and it was super cute. We, also, had some time to just relax in Starbucks, people watch, and sip on some hot chocolate which was nice and cozy. It was legit cold in Toledo and Madrid on Friday!! I wore my winter coat and gloves!
Yesterday (Saturday) I went to the track and got my workout in. There was another lady doing a workout as well so we suffered through ours together! She was very nice and we chatted in between our reps. My Mom and I ate lunch together, I "worked" on some homework, and then I headed to Poligono because we were going to see "El Gato con Botas" at the movie theatre. Well, come to find out, after waiting in line for like 20 minutes that the movie was full. There was another showing later, but we all wanted to be home to eat with our families and going to a later show wouldn't make that possible so we just decided to chill in the mall for a bit. A good study break...even though I really didn't get much studying done prior.
Now today, Sunday, is just a day of homework. Boring!! We have final exams starting this week and Elizabeth and I have a presentation about Navidad tomorrow for our conversation class. Things are starting to wind down here...as crazy as that is to think about. Where did the semester go??
Just a few side notes:
-My Mom has started to buy typical Spanish Christmas candy and oh my goodness I cannot stop eating it!! It is soooo delicious! Hopefully all my clothes still fit once I get back ;)
-It is actually starting to get cold here....FINALLY! I could have used some of these temps when I first arrived! It is a little weird too because the heat doesn't come on in our house until 1 o'clock and then it stays on all day and night.
-Spaniards always have to have some sort of noise on in the background. If the TV isn't on then the radio or a CD has to be playing music. I've noticed this with my host Mom and we learned about it in one of my classes last week. Also, they don't like spicy foods! Random fact, but interesting.
-All of the Christmas lights are up here in Toledo, but no one really knows for sure as to when they are going to be turned on. I asked my host Mom and she said usually they get turned on on December 6th (one of their holidays) but she doesn't know exactly this year with the crisis that they are in.
-This week there are two holidays, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday so I don't get to see my little English students this week :(
-I had to write a paper about the image of Spain for one of my classes and my host Mom and I got to talking about stereotypes of Spain that I had before coming here and her stereotypes of the U.S. She said that when she thinks of the U.S. she thinks of blonde, blue-eyed people who are strong..not fat, but not skinny either...strong. And she thinks everyone is tall. I guess I broke that stereotype for her!! Also, she said that all Americans are obsessed with torros (the bulls) and that Americans never wear the proper shoes...we always wear flats or shoes that are open in the winter.
-My host Mom is ALWAYS on my case about wearing socks around the house. This is different for me because in the states I never wear socks. She always says I'm going to catch another cold if I do not wear them.
-I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music. Always puts me in a good mood :) Not that I'm ever really in a bad mood while I AM IN SPAIN, for goodness sake!
-We had salmon for lunch yesterday and I actually really liked it. When I tried it in the states I didn't seem to like it! I might have to try it again. Mom, you'd be so proud :) I know how much you like salmon.
-I don't remember if I've shared this with you all or not, but instead of saying "cheese" when Spaniards get their picture taken they say "patatas."
-Also, they have different sounds for animals. When I was teaching my English class a few weeks ago about animals they weren't understanding what a dog was so rather than saying the Spanish word for dog I decided to bark like a dog and they all looked at me like I was an alien. And then Nuria, the teacher, informed me that they have different sounds. So, they taught me the sounds they make and I taught them the sounds I make!
-Once I return to the states I am really going to miss all the fresh fruit we eat here. I usually eat at least 3 pieces of fruit each day. And I am coming back to the states at a bad time...when all the fruits are dead and/or expensive.
I will try and maybe get one more blog post in between now and when I leave. For anyone that doesn't know I will be flying into Minneapolis late on Thursday, December 15th (around 10 at night) and then will be getting back to De Pere sometime (probably later) on Friday night. Looking forward to seeing everyone :) Until then, take care and stay warm!! Happy St. Nick's!
Peace and Blessings.
Last Sunday night after getting back from Portugal my host Mom was soooo excited to bake the funfetti cake with me!! I think she had been looking forward to it all weekend long. Well, let me tell you what, that is easier said than done. First off, I had to translate the entire recipe into Spanish and then convert everything, from the temperature of the oven to cups into liters. Also, I don't think my host Mom really does a lot of baking because she had no baking supplies or utensils whatsoever which also complicated the process a bit. Eventually we got everything figured out (after guessing and "eyeballing" the amount of cooking time as well) and were able to enjoy very good cookies and a very good cake. I brought some to the hospital on Monday to share with the doctors, and they all loved them. One of the doctors asked me for the recipe, and I told her I could translate it into Spanish from the box!! haha They were all very CURIOUS (I used it just for you, Jen!) to try an American dessert.
Tuesday was a sad day because we signed a lot of papers and started to think about our departure plans at the fundacion. We, also, began evaluating our professors. I stayed longer to teach English this Tuesday since I didn't have class later than night. It was kind of nice because then Nuria worked one-on-one with one of the students and I helped out the rest. I am definitely going to miss Nuria and the kids when I leave...it is going to be hard to say goodbye in two weeks. One of the little girls, Carlotta, made me a little something...there is a name for it but I forget! I think they are typical for kids to make here. Best souvenir I'll come back with :) Nuria and Carlotta LOVED my cookies as well. Even though Nuria told me she is on a diet, she still took two because after eating one she couldn't resist. Good work Betty Crocker!!
I am, also, all done with the study I was participating in. I did my last tasks on Tuesday, and I actually feel like I maybe improved a bit with some things. We will have to see when the girl in charge of the study sends me the tapes of me speaking Spanish, once at the beginning, the middle and then now at the end.
On Wednesday Elizabeth and I went to a museum very near our school and checked out a temporary exhibit there about Leonardo Da Vinci. It was really interesting, and I learned a lot, actually. It was indeed confirmed that he was an amazing man, such a genious! Literally. The building was really cool too where the exposition was because, like many of the buildings in Toledo, it used to be something else back in the day and now they have restored it. We were able to go down into the basement and see some pretty cool history.
On Thursday I did some shopping...I just love their fashion here and cannot resist!! only 10 euro!! I, also, started to do my shopping for other people. I am still trying to figure out what I am going to bring everyone back so if you have any requests of what you want just let me know, please :) That would help me out a lot!
On Friday I woke up early with every intent of going to the track, but when I woke up it was pouring rain outside and very cold so I decided to just push my workout back until Saturday since I am just getting over a cold. Luckily I just decided not to run because once again there was no hot water in our house so my host Mom told me not to shower and that on Friday night when she got home from work that she would heat water up for me again and I would shower with that. I went to the theatre on Friday night in Madrid so luckily I didn't run otherwise I would have had to go to the theatre all gross and smelly! Elizabeth and I went and saw El Rey Leon (Lion King). I absolutely loved it!! The costumes were incredibly detailed and the actors were phenomenal. Although it was all in Spanish, it was very easy to understand because they spoke clearly and slowly! And obviously it helped to know the story line of Lion King! The songs were even in Spanish, but had the same beat and rhythm which was kind of cool. Before the show we were able to walk around Madrid a bit and look at all their Christmas lights and Christmas decorations. We spotted an "ice rink" with fake ice! haha kind of sad. It was for little kids to practice ice skating..we stood and watch the little kids for a bit and it was super cute. We, also, had some time to just relax in Starbucks, people watch, and sip on some hot chocolate which was nice and cozy. It was legit cold in Toledo and Madrid on Friday!! I wore my winter coat and gloves!
Yesterday (Saturday) I went to the track and got my workout in. There was another lady doing a workout as well so we suffered through ours together! She was very nice and we chatted in between our reps. My Mom and I ate lunch together, I "worked" on some homework, and then I headed to Poligono because we were going to see "El Gato con Botas" at the movie theatre. Well, come to find out, after waiting in line for like 20 minutes that the movie was full. There was another showing later, but we all wanted to be home to eat with our families and going to a later show wouldn't make that possible so we just decided to chill in the mall for a bit. A good study break...even though I really didn't get much studying done prior.
Now today, Sunday, is just a day of homework. Boring!! We have final exams starting this week and Elizabeth and I have a presentation about Navidad tomorrow for our conversation class. Things are starting to wind down here...as crazy as that is to think about. Where did the semester go??
Just a few side notes:
-My Mom has started to buy typical Spanish Christmas candy and oh my goodness I cannot stop eating it!! It is soooo delicious! Hopefully all my clothes still fit once I get back ;)
-It is actually starting to get cold here....FINALLY! I could have used some of these temps when I first arrived! It is a little weird too because the heat doesn't come on in our house until 1 o'clock and then it stays on all day and night.
-Spaniards always have to have some sort of noise on in the background. If the TV isn't on then the radio or a CD has to be playing music. I've noticed this with my host Mom and we learned about it in one of my classes last week. Also, they don't like spicy foods! Random fact, but interesting.
-All of the Christmas lights are up here in Toledo, but no one really knows for sure as to when they are going to be turned on. I asked my host Mom and she said usually they get turned on on December 6th (one of their holidays) but she doesn't know exactly this year with the crisis that they are in.
-This week there are two holidays, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday so I don't get to see my little English students this week :(
-I had to write a paper about the image of Spain for one of my classes and my host Mom and I got to talking about stereotypes of Spain that I had before coming here and her stereotypes of the U.S. She said that when she thinks of the U.S. she thinks of blonde, blue-eyed people who are strong..not fat, but not skinny either...strong. And she thinks everyone is tall. I guess I broke that stereotype for her!! Also, she said that all Americans are obsessed with torros (the bulls) and that Americans never wear the proper shoes...we always wear flats or shoes that are open in the winter.
-My host Mom is ALWAYS on my case about wearing socks around the house. This is different for me because in the states I never wear socks. She always says I'm going to catch another cold if I do not wear them.
-I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music. Always puts me in a good mood :) Not that I'm ever really in a bad mood while I AM IN SPAIN, for goodness sake!
-We had salmon for lunch yesterday and I actually really liked it. When I tried it in the states I didn't seem to like it! I might have to try it again. Mom, you'd be so proud :) I know how much you like salmon.
-I don't remember if I've shared this with you all or not, but instead of saying "cheese" when Spaniards get their picture taken they say "patatas."
-Also, they have different sounds for animals. When I was teaching my English class a few weeks ago about animals they weren't understanding what a dog was so rather than saying the Spanish word for dog I decided to bark like a dog and they all looked at me like I was an alien. And then Nuria, the teacher, informed me that they have different sounds. So, they taught me the sounds they make and I taught them the sounds I make!
-Once I return to the states I am really going to miss all the fresh fruit we eat here. I usually eat at least 3 pieces of fruit each day. And I am coming back to the states at a bad time...when all the fruits are dead and/or expensive.
I will try and maybe get one more blog post in between now and when I leave. For anyone that doesn't know I will be flying into Minneapolis late on Thursday, December 15th (around 10 at night) and then will be getting back to De Pere sometime (probably later) on Friday night. Looking forward to seeing everyone :) Until then, take care and stay warm!! Happy St. Nick's!
Peace and Blessings.
 |
| the very delicious Funfetti cakes and cookies I made with my host Mom! |
 |
| at the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit |
 |
| Feliz Navidad from the supermercado we always go to |
 |
| the "ice" rink in Madrid |
 |
| "Megan" in Spanish apparently ;) |
 |
| El Rey Leon in Madrid |
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Living Thee Dream
I am writing another blog so soon because I want to tell you all about my wonderful adventures to Lisbon, Portugal this past weekend. I need to write while it is all still fresh in my mind as to not forget any of the epic things that happened!!
On Thursday, as I mentioned in my last blog post, we had Thanksgiving dinner at the fundacion. As promised, it did not disappoint. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and something that I think was supposed to be like stuffing but I'm not entirely sure. It was all very good though, and they even had the dining hall decorated with candles and everything. No cornucopias though :( I might have to bust one out for Christmas this year since I was deprived of them on the real holiday! The only disappointing thing was no pie, of any flavor. We did, however, have apple turnovers that were delicious!
After eating Elizabeth, Anny (another girl from the fundacion who was going to sleep in the airport as well before heading to Barcelona) and I caught the bus to Madrid and started what turned out to be quite the night sleeping in the Madrid airport. With being sick pretty much all week I was just exhausted and by the time we got to the airport it was almost midnight. Elizabeth and I didn't go through security right away because Anny was flying out of a different terminal and rather than just abandoning her to sleep alone in the airport we decided to go through security in the morning. Anny is a "pro" at sleeping in the airport as she has done it countless times this semester already so she showed us where she always pitches camp, in one of the cafes near check-in. I was surprised by the amount of people who sleep in the airports, travelers that is. But, I was also surprised at how little homeless people there were around...hardly any...I was expecting many more. Anny showed me how to make a "bed" by pushing 3 chairs together so I did as instructed and ended up sleeping for about an hour and then again for an hour and a half. In order to ensure not getting anything stolen I put my money and my passport in my pants. Elizabeth ended up staying up all night because she couldn't fall asleep and played countless games of solitaire...thanks for the deck of cards, Mama! We, also, ran into Fernando, Tita and Hector (some Puerto Ricans from the fundacion) that were also sleeping in the airport and flying to Rome the next morning. Fernando and I had a rap battle and Tita did her ever popular imitations of people speaking Spanish!! We got a kick out of that, as always. It was an epic night for sure with A LOT of laughs...laughing at things that probably really aren't even funny, but are at 3 in the morning running on a few hours of asleep while in an airport.
Before we knew it, it was morning and time for Elizabeth and I to go through security and for Anny to find her terminal. Airport security in Europe is a joke compared to in the states. You don't have to do hardly anything! With that being said, Elizabeth and I wandered around the airport and got a little snack before heading to go to our gate in order to kill some more time.
After figuring out the signs in the airport we found our terminal in the "retro" part of the aiport haha I took my dramamine and all was good on the flight over...only a 50 minute flight and they are an hour behind us so you gain an hour when going there. We landed in Lisbon at around 9am which felt like noon seeing as how we had been up basically all night. We took a bus from the airport to what they call the City Center and then got off to find our hostal.
First, we did some meandering around the city and fell in love with it instantly! So much beauty everywhere!! I kept saying, "oh my goodness, we are in Portugal!" and "can you believe we are really in Portugal?" We checked into our hostal which was gorgeous and cheap, even better. We ended up sharing a room with 4 other people, but they were all pretty great. After getting settled into our hostal and putting our bags down we decided to go do some more adventuring. We ate waffles (the same kind as we had in Salamanca...yummy!!) at a restaurant for breakfast and ate lunch at a local cafe. I got a ham and cheese sandwich/panini that was similar to something you would order at Panera. It was very tasty and the workers were so kind to us! They even gave us a free dessert that is popular in Portugal when we were done eating! I loved it, but Elizabeth was a little indifferent about it. It looked almost like a fruit cake with fruit and nuts and was very sweet tasting, kind of like a cinnamon roll.
Then, we went and climbed this tower (and by climb I mean we took an elevator!) and witnessed some amazing views of Lisbon!! It was very windy at the top and slightly scary...I failed to mention to Elizabeth before going up that I am afraid of heights. After, we checked out the Rio Tejo (or what the Spanish call the Rio Tajo)...it's the same river that runs through Toledo, basically runs right through my backyard so that's kind of cool. That was gorgeous and we saw an awesome bridge that looked like the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Actually a lot of the time I felt like I was in California, straight out of a scene from Full House!
Our next thought was to go to the torre (tower) of Belem, but in order to do this we needed to take the trolley or the tram or the bus (so many forms of transportation!) because it really wasn't within walking distance. Everything in Lisbon is very spread out. We decided to get on the trolley (from 1955, mind you). I think there were room for like 10 people on that thing. Elizabeth and I ended up getting separated while in line to get on, and I ended up getting on, but Elizabeth did not. However, I did not realize this until about 10 minutes later and immediately (naturally!!) I start freaking out. I try to call her and text her and then remember that our very trusty Movistar phones do not work unless we are in Spain. Well, hello, we are not in Spain anymore...therefore I have no idea how I am going to get a hold of her. I decide that I am going to get off on the next stop and just watch for her to go by in the next trolley. I waited for about 10 minutes and I just happened to turn my head at the right time and see Elizabeth on a bus. I crossed the road without really even looking to try and catch this bus! Well, success! I got on it and Elizabeth and I were reunited again! Now I know how a lost little kid feels.
We ended up getting off the bus, then, a little too early before our desired stop (thanks to me!), but it was all okay in the end because we discovered this great coaches museum. There were so many and this museum was filled with so much history! It was actually really interesting. One coach from one of the Kings (I forget the name. Maybe Philip? or Carlos? they all have the same name.) had 2 bullet holes in it from when he was assassinated. And we could even take pictures in the museum which was awesome because usually that's prohibited. After we were done with the museum it was starting to get dark already, even though it's only like 5 at this point, but on the clocks of Elizabeth and Meg, it is at least midnight haha! We tried to take the bus a little further to see the torre of Belem, got off the bus at a super sketch bus stop and walked on a super sketch road. We couldn't find where to cross the road to get to the torre because there were all these fences since that is also where the train goes. We ended up just seeing the torre from a distance...but it is kind of curious because it is built right into the Rio Tejo...kind of interesting. And it was interesting to see it all lit up for night, as well at the Monestario de Jeronimo. Thankfully, we did not get robbed because I did fear for my life for a bit there while trying to find the darn torre. To celebrate this we stopped at Starbuck's to warm up a bit and sit and reflect on our wonderful day in...where are we again??...OH YEA, PORTUGAL!! It was awesome because they had Christmas songs playing and Christmas decorations up which was perfect for the day after Thanksgiving. It made Elizabeth and I feel very festive. We took the bus back to our neck of the woods and went back to our hostal. Instead of going to a restaurant to eat we decided to participate in the event that our hostal was putting on...and that was a dinner with a type of sausage that is very popular in Portugal (I forget the name of it though.) It was kind of like barbecued/smoked sausage and then there was bread as well as some ham and cheese. It was very tasty...Elizabeth and I had a lot of fun! And Elizabeth liked the wine they offered ;)
After dinner we changed into our pajamas and had a movie night in the awesome tv room at the hostal. We watched Ocean's 11 and just hung out. It was nice to have a relaxing night as well as to watch a movie (an American one, nonetheless!) because I haven't done that since coming here.
The next morning we woke up a little too early. I set an alarm but forgot to change my clock back an hour haha!! So, rather than waking up at 9:30 we actually woke up at 8:30. Either way, that meant we just had more time to adventure! We ate an amazing breakfast at our hostal...scrambled eggs, toast with jam, and also had some granola cereal (but it didn't compare to the SNC caf, kind of disappointing.) After breakfast we took a train to a nearby city, about 40 minutes from Lisbon, to Sintra. It is the land of the palaces...they have a total of 4 palaces there as well as many many other things that we were excited to find out about. The whole time I was there I felt like I was in a fairy tale...a little girl's dream, that's for sure.
We took a bus up to the Palacio de Pena (National Palace). It was an interesting bus ride...a very narrow windy, cobblestone road. I felt like I was on an African Safari tour bus or something. We made it to the top, no problem, bought our tickets and entered the palace. Two words. LOVED IT. No words can describe how awesome it was; you just have to experience it for yourself. Elizabeth and I had a field day here. And obviously the Queen's house has to have good views...we could see the Atlantic Ocean and saw many 'Merica planes!! We could even point out Lisbon from one of the Queen's patios. After touring the inside we walked around the entire thing by walking on the patio...360 degrees of beautiful views! Life was rough in Sintra, let me tell you what.
Elizabeth and I got a little snack and enjoyed it by looking at the breath-taking views of Portugal. And I even got chocolate milk....REAL chocolate milk! None of that Cola-Cau or Nesquik stuff...this was real chocolate milk. I was in heaven! Top that with a muffin and I am one very happy chica :)
After that we took the bus half way down to the bottom...got off half way so we could do some exploring by walking. At this point, it is getting dark so we decided to head back to Lisbon. About an hour later we found ourselves at this random seafood restaurant with 2 other people we were sharing our hostal room with. One girl, Isabel, was from Australia and was super nice! She worked in the hotel management business and didn't like it at all so decided one day that she was going to leave for 5 months and just travel. She has already spent almost 3 months in Italy and time in Madrid and Sevilla before coming to Lisbon. After Lisbon she is going to hit up Northern Portugal and then Northern Spain (Bilbao and San Sebastian) and then she will be going to Switzerland for Christmas and then Germany. She is living the life! I envy her so much! The other guy we were with was Ricardo or Richard. He's actually Brazilian, but it studying in Porto, Portugal. He was very nice as well and it was nice to have a Portuguese translator with us! He was really funny too...he said he doesn't like the word "beach" in English because he always says the "b word" by accident hahaha so we always had to help him. At the restaurant I ordered baked cod. It was good, but I didn't eat much of it because they drowned it in butter....gross!! Everyone else really liked their dishes though so that was good!
After dinner the 4 of us went walking around the city a little more, and it was so strange because it was so quiet, there weren't a lot of people around. Very different from Toledo! Also, another curious thing is the hour at which things close...much earlier than in Spain!
Elizabeth brought up a really good point and that is how much of the Portuguese culture we had observed in just being there for a couple days.
-Portuguese bus drivers are even crazier than Toledo ones--didn't know that was possible!
-A lot of the Portuguese are rude...with some exceptions of course.
-It is kind of a dirty city, and I'm not going to lie, after dark I didn't really feel safe. Not a lot of streets are properly lit.
Later that night we just kind of hung out in our cozy hostal with our new friends. I finally tried tea...because it was free at our hostal and Elizabeth loves it, but come to find out, I'm not really a fan.
We called it a night and headed to bed because we had a 4:30am wake up call. We had to take a taxi to the airport and I feared for my life several times in the 15 minute drive. The taxi driver was crazy and going highway speeds on a residential road. It was nonsense!! We made it in one piece, though and were in for quite the shock when the pilot said, as we were landing in Madrid, that it was 1 degree...just above freezing. What?! Sooo cold!! I know, I know...I am in for a rude awakening once I return to Wisconsin. :)
I was very sad to leave Portugal. 2 days is not enough time to see everything, that's for sure!! But this just means I NEED to return someday, that's all! Easy enough.
As the Portuguese would say...Bom dia (Good day!) I hope you enjoyed reading yet another blog!
Love you all! And see you VERY VERY SOON!
On Thursday, as I mentioned in my last blog post, we had Thanksgiving dinner at the fundacion. As promised, it did not disappoint. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and something that I think was supposed to be like stuffing but I'm not entirely sure. It was all very good though, and they even had the dining hall decorated with candles and everything. No cornucopias though :( I might have to bust one out for Christmas this year since I was deprived of them on the real holiday! The only disappointing thing was no pie, of any flavor. We did, however, have apple turnovers that were delicious!
After eating Elizabeth, Anny (another girl from the fundacion who was going to sleep in the airport as well before heading to Barcelona) and I caught the bus to Madrid and started what turned out to be quite the night sleeping in the Madrid airport. With being sick pretty much all week I was just exhausted and by the time we got to the airport it was almost midnight. Elizabeth and I didn't go through security right away because Anny was flying out of a different terminal and rather than just abandoning her to sleep alone in the airport we decided to go through security in the morning. Anny is a "pro" at sleeping in the airport as she has done it countless times this semester already so she showed us where she always pitches camp, in one of the cafes near check-in. I was surprised by the amount of people who sleep in the airports, travelers that is. But, I was also surprised at how little homeless people there were around...hardly any...I was expecting many more. Anny showed me how to make a "bed" by pushing 3 chairs together so I did as instructed and ended up sleeping for about an hour and then again for an hour and a half. In order to ensure not getting anything stolen I put my money and my passport in my pants. Elizabeth ended up staying up all night because she couldn't fall asleep and played countless games of solitaire...thanks for the deck of cards, Mama! We, also, ran into Fernando, Tita and Hector (some Puerto Ricans from the fundacion) that were also sleeping in the airport and flying to Rome the next morning. Fernando and I had a rap battle and Tita did her ever popular imitations of people speaking Spanish!! We got a kick out of that, as always. It was an epic night for sure with A LOT of laughs...laughing at things that probably really aren't even funny, but are at 3 in the morning running on a few hours of asleep while in an airport.
Before we knew it, it was morning and time for Elizabeth and I to go through security and for Anny to find her terminal. Airport security in Europe is a joke compared to in the states. You don't have to do hardly anything! With that being said, Elizabeth and I wandered around the airport and got a little snack before heading to go to our gate in order to kill some more time.
After figuring out the signs in the airport we found our terminal in the "retro" part of the aiport haha I took my dramamine and all was good on the flight over...only a 50 minute flight and they are an hour behind us so you gain an hour when going there. We landed in Lisbon at around 9am which felt like noon seeing as how we had been up basically all night. We took a bus from the airport to what they call the City Center and then got off to find our hostal.
First, we did some meandering around the city and fell in love with it instantly! So much beauty everywhere!! I kept saying, "oh my goodness, we are in Portugal!" and "can you believe we are really in Portugal?" We checked into our hostal which was gorgeous and cheap, even better. We ended up sharing a room with 4 other people, but they were all pretty great. After getting settled into our hostal and putting our bags down we decided to go do some more adventuring. We ate waffles (the same kind as we had in Salamanca...yummy!!) at a restaurant for breakfast and ate lunch at a local cafe. I got a ham and cheese sandwich/panini that was similar to something you would order at Panera. It was very tasty and the workers were so kind to us! They even gave us a free dessert that is popular in Portugal when we were done eating! I loved it, but Elizabeth was a little indifferent about it. It looked almost like a fruit cake with fruit and nuts and was very sweet tasting, kind of like a cinnamon roll.
Then, we went and climbed this tower (and by climb I mean we took an elevator!) and witnessed some amazing views of Lisbon!! It was very windy at the top and slightly scary...I failed to mention to Elizabeth before going up that I am afraid of heights. After, we checked out the Rio Tejo (or what the Spanish call the Rio Tajo)...it's the same river that runs through Toledo, basically runs right through my backyard so that's kind of cool. That was gorgeous and we saw an awesome bridge that looked like the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Actually a lot of the time I felt like I was in California, straight out of a scene from Full House!
Our next thought was to go to the torre (tower) of Belem, but in order to do this we needed to take the trolley or the tram or the bus (so many forms of transportation!) because it really wasn't within walking distance. Everything in Lisbon is very spread out. We decided to get on the trolley (from 1955, mind you). I think there were room for like 10 people on that thing. Elizabeth and I ended up getting separated while in line to get on, and I ended up getting on, but Elizabeth did not. However, I did not realize this until about 10 minutes later and immediately (naturally!!) I start freaking out. I try to call her and text her and then remember that our very trusty Movistar phones do not work unless we are in Spain. Well, hello, we are not in Spain anymore...therefore I have no idea how I am going to get a hold of her. I decide that I am going to get off on the next stop and just watch for her to go by in the next trolley. I waited for about 10 minutes and I just happened to turn my head at the right time and see Elizabeth on a bus. I crossed the road without really even looking to try and catch this bus! Well, success! I got on it and Elizabeth and I were reunited again! Now I know how a lost little kid feels.
We ended up getting off the bus, then, a little too early before our desired stop (thanks to me!), but it was all okay in the end because we discovered this great coaches museum. There were so many and this museum was filled with so much history! It was actually really interesting. One coach from one of the Kings (I forget the name. Maybe Philip? or Carlos? they all have the same name.) had 2 bullet holes in it from when he was assassinated. And we could even take pictures in the museum which was awesome because usually that's prohibited. After we were done with the museum it was starting to get dark already, even though it's only like 5 at this point, but on the clocks of Elizabeth and Meg, it is at least midnight haha! We tried to take the bus a little further to see the torre of Belem, got off the bus at a super sketch bus stop and walked on a super sketch road. We couldn't find where to cross the road to get to the torre because there were all these fences since that is also where the train goes. We ended up just seeing the torre from a distance...but it is kind of curious because it is built right into the Rio Tejo...kind of interesting. And it was interesting to see it all lit up for night, as well at the Monestario de Jeronimo. Thankfully, we did not get robbed because I did fear for my life for a bit there while trying to find the darn torre. To celebrate this we stopped at Starbuck's to warm up a bit and sit and reflect on our wonderful day in...where are we again??...OH YEA, PORTUGAL!! It was awesome because they had Christmas songs playing and Christmas decorations up which was perfect for the day after Thanksgiving. It made Elizabeth and I feel very festive. We took the bus back to our neck of the woods and went back to our hostal. Instead of going to a restaurant to eat we decided to participate in the event that our hostal was putting on...and that was a dinner with a type of sausage that is very popular in Portugal (I forget the name of it though.) It was kind of like barbecued/smoked sausage and then there was bread as well as some ham and cheese. It was very tasty...Elizabeth and I had a lot of fun! And Elizabeth liked the wine they offered ;)
After dinner we changed into our pajamas and had a movie night in the awesome tv room at the hostal. We watched Ocean's 11 and just hung out. It was nice to have a relaxing night as well as to watch a movie (an American one, nonetheless!) because I haven't done that since coming here.
The next morning we woke up a little too early. I set an alarm but forgot to change my clock back an hour haha!! So, rather than waking up at 9:30 we actually woke up at 8:30. Either way, that meant we just had more time to adventure! We ate an amazing breakfast at our hostal...scrambled eggs, toast with jam, and also had some granola cereal (but it didn't compare to the SNC caf, kind of disappointing.) After breakfast we took a train to a nearby city, about 40 minutes from Lisbon, to Sintra. It is the land of the palaces...they have a total of 4 palaces there as well as many many other things that we were excited to find out about. The whole time I was there I felt like I was in a fairy tale...a little girl's dream, that's for sure.
We took a bus up to the Palacio de Pena (National Palace). It was an interesting bus ride...a very narrow windy, cobblestone road. I felt like I was on an African Safari tour bus or something. We made it to the top, no problem, bought our tickets and entered the palace. Two words. LOVED IT. No words can describe how awesome it was; you just have to experience it for yourself. Elizabeth and I had a field day here. And obviously the Queen's house has to have good views...we could see the Atlantic Ocean and saw many 'Merica planes!! We could even point out Lisbon from one of the Queen's patios. After touring the inside we walked around the entire thing by walking on the patio...360 degrees of beautiful views! Life was rough in Sintra, let me tell you what.
Elizabeth and I got a little snack and enjoyed it by looking at the breath-taking views of Portugal. And I even got chocolate milk....REAL chocolate milk! None of that Cola-Cau or Nesquik stuff...this was real chocolate milk. I was in heaven! Top that with a muffin and I am one very happy chica :)
After that we took the bus half way down to the bottom...got off half way so we could do some exploring by walking. At this point, it is getting dark so we decided to head back to Lisbon. About an hour later we found ourselves at this random seafood restaurant with 2 other people we were sharing our hostal room with. One girl, Isabel, was from Australia and was super nice! She worked in the hotel management business and didn't like it at all so decided one day that she was going to leave for 5 months and just travel. She has already spent almost 3 months in Italy and time in Madrid and Sevilla before coming to Lisbon. After Lisbon she is going to hit up Northern Portugal and then Northern Spain (Bilbao and San Sebastian) and then she will be going to Switzerland for Christmas and then Germany. She is living the life! I envy her so much! The other guy we were with was Ricardo or Richard. He's actually Brazilian, but it studying in Porto, Portugal. He was very nice as well and it was nice to have a Portuguese translator with us! He was really funny too...he said he doesn't like the word "beach" in English because he always says the "b word" by accident hahaha so we always had to help him. At the restaurant I ordered baked cod. It was good, but I didn't eat much of it because they drowned it in butter....gross!! Everyone else really liked their dishes though so that was good!
After dinner the 4 of us went walking around the city a little more, and it was so strange because it was so quiet, there weren't a lot of people around. Very different from Toledo! Also, another curious thing is the hour at which things close...much earlier than in Spain!
Elizabeth brought up a really good point and that is how much of the Portuguese culture we had observed in just being there for a couple days.
-Portuguese bus drivers are even crazier than Toledo ones--didn't know that was possible!
-A lot of the Portuguese are rude...with some exceptions of course.
-It is kind of a dirty city, and I'm not going to lie, after dark I didn't really feel safe. Not a lot of streets are properly lit.
Later that night we just kind of hung out in our cozy hostal with our new friends. I finally tried tea...because it was free at our hostal and Elizabeth loves it, but come to find out, I'm not really a fan.
We called it a night and headed to bed because we had a 4:30am wake up call. We had to take a taxi to the airport and I feared for my life several times in the 15 minute drive. The taxi driver was crazy and going highway speeds on a residential road. It was nonsense!! We made it in one piece, though and were in for quite the shock when the pilot said, as we were landing in Madrid, that it was 1 degree...just above freezing. What?! Sooo cold!! I know, I know...I am in for a rude awakening once I return to Wisconsin. :)
I was very sad to leave Portugal. 2 days is not enough time to see everything, that's for sure!! But this just means I NEED to return someday, that's all! Easy enough.
As the Portuguese would say...Bom dia (Good day!) I hope you enjoyed reading yet another blog!
Love you all! And see you VERY VERY SOON!
 |
| Elizabeth and Anny in the airport! |
 |
| welcome to Lisbon :) |
 |
| the view down the street from our hostal |
 |
| the tower with breath-taking views that we climbed |
 |
| the stairs of the tower |
 |
| I was afraid to get too close to the edge. |
 |
| We spotted an America shirt!! |
 |
| typical Portuguese dessert...looks gross but VERY TASTY! |
 |
| el Rio Tejo |
 |
| one of the coaches in the museum...the wheel was bigger than me! |
 |
| if you look closely you can see the 2 bullet holes |
 |
| el monestario de jeronimo |
 |
| the gorgeous train station |
 |
| worst map ever... |
 |
| Elizabeth and I before entering the palace :) |
 |
| this rock even had an arm rest! |
 |
| the very colorful palace! |
 |
| you can see the sun reflecting off the ocean in the distance |
 |
| I could get used to this view!! |
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
First and foremost, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all :) This day, and even this week, has been harder for me than what I would have imagined. Even though my family is so great and helped me celebrate my favorite holiday in August before I left, I am still missing all my family and friends today. Since I am headed to Lisbon for the holiday weekend, my host Mom reassured me that there is a great mall in Lisbon where I can celebrate Black Friday!! Also, currently I am at my school and a bunch of us are watching the Macy's Day parade online. It is actually streaming online pretty well, and someone even had a tv cord so we hooked the computer up to the TV to make it bigger! And tonight we are having Thanksgiving dinner. I am very excited, but also a little nervous to see how it is...they better not screw anything up haha and I am hoping for some sort of pie, maybe even pumpkin!
Last week was a very busy week for me here in Toledo. On Tuesday I taught my English class, and it was interesting to say the least. I knew that this week I was going to be on my own because the teacher had a conference to attend, but I did not know until about a half hour before I was supposed to teach that I was completely on my own for lesson plans as well. I didn't realize how hard it is to maintain some level of control when I barely know any Spanish and when they barely know any English. They had sooooo much energy, and I had really no control over them. One of the little boys, Daniel, is just too funny...I catch myself laughing at him all the time, when I know I shouldn't be ;) For snack, he wanted a chocolate candy bar type thing so he breaks the chocolate piece and plops it into his milk and tries to eat the chocolate out of the milk like a dog. Hilarious!!
Last Wednesday I helped at the local library here, along with a few others from my school, with a program called "Let's Play in English." It only lasted an hour and was for people of all ages. We had a few different stations...I was in charge of "ropa relay" which is where we said a piece of clothing and then they had to run to the pile of clothes, put the article of clothing on and then run back to the start line. Another game was twister so they could practice their colors, hands/feet and right/left. We had a puppet station for the real little kids, and then also a game of memory going on to practice different vocabulary words. Then at the end we played the "Cupid Shuffle" and danced along with them so they could also practice their directions. It was a lot of fun!!! I am very glad I decided to help out with it. We also sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" as well as "Jingle Bells" before saying good-bye.
Also, on Wednesday night we had a talent show at the fund! It was super fun! I didn't participate because let's be honest I do not have a talent to perform haha but it was a lot of fun to watch! And even though we are already so far into the game, it was interesting because we got to know more about the people here at the fund as they performed their talents.
Last Friday we had an excursion to Segovia, Spain which is about 2 hours away from Toledo. Here we saw the Alcazar and got a guided tour of the palace. I really liked our tour guide (he is a history professor here at the fund)...he spoke slow enough, and I understood everything he was saying! I learned a lot too...it was all very interesting! We also got a guided tour of the city and saw the very famous aqueduct that is still standing after so many years! Finally we ate lunch..we had something that was like a beef stew and of course ate bread. It was delicious, as always. When I got home from the excursion I came home and my host Mom invited me to come with her and one of her friends to a new bar that was just opening that night. I turned down her offer (very dumb idea.) because I wanted to get some homework done because I kind of had a lot going on this week, but of course, I got nothing done Friday night so I should have just went with my Mom and her friend. Her friend came over to our house to meet up with my host Mom...she was very nice! And spoke to me so I could understand...always helpful.
On Saturday I woke up bright and early to take a bus to Madrid and then take another bus from Madrid to Salamanca. I was very excited to go to Salamanca because some of my friends from the fund had gone to Salamanca the weekend before and said how much they loved it. I absolutely loved Salamanca as well!! I have a lot of favorite cities in Spain because they all offer something different and are all very unique, but I think it might be my favorite city in Spain as of yet. When we arrived we checked into our hostal and the man working at the hostal was very nice. He gave us a map of the city and marked some "hot spots" on the map for us to go adventuring to. We went and visited the cathedral (both old and new) and even found the astronaut on the cathedral. We, also, walked by a lot of buildings that Laura and I thought were parts of the University, but not so much! haha All the buildings looked the same...all the same color and everything. After the cathedral we did some more wandering and wondered into the Roman bridge. I, also, found a track (a pretty crappy one, but still...) next to the Roman bridge. I was in heaven! :) Once I found a track I knew I could live in Salamanca!! They had a lot of great running trails too...I wish we would have had more time there. We also walked through a very gorgeous park. I really liked this park because it was the perfect size...a lot of the parks here are almost too big...I get bored. haha Even though it was pretty cool and rainy, Salamanca was still just as beautiful as ever. On Saturday, we also went and visited the church of San Esteban. It was huge and gorgeous! And the nice old man working the ticket booth gave us a discount because we were students...even better!!
Since we really hadn't eaten all day, I am pretty much starving by this point, so we decided to find something to eat. We ate at a restaurant across the street from our awesome hostal called Cuatro Gatos (Four Cats). I got chicken paella...yummy yummy in my tummy. For dessert I also ordered a hot chocolate with strawberries in it! So good. How have I not thought of doing that before? After dinner, we decided to meet up with another group of people from the fund visiting Salamanca as well, to witness the night life of Salamanca. My host Mom filled me in that the night life of Salamanca is great due to the University there and a "younger" atmosphere. We went to a pub/restaurant and had some drinks and then went to another club type bar. It was so packed and so hot in there, it was obnoxious. It was a lot fun though. At the first place we went to we met a guy that was from Brazil, the bartender. He was super nice and once he found out we were American he played "American Woman!" haha Such a classic. He, also, played a lot of other random songs in English for us...well, for everyone I guess, because a lot of the people here (especially the younger ones) listen to music in English.
On Sunday we got up early and went and checked out the Plaza Mayor and then went and visited the University (the oldest in all of Spain). So, now I have seen the oldest and the second oldest Universites in Spain. The University was probably my most favorite of the trip...it was so incredibly interesting! We, then, ate at a little cafe for breakfast before going to the bus station to catch the bus. I ordered waffles and a coffee (not sure why...I don't even like coffee! haha) but it was actually really good! I loved the waffles...I thought they were homemade, but Laura reassured me that she saw them take them out of a package :( boo. haha
This week started out a little rocky for me. It was hard to see everyone's statuses about going home for the holiday and whatnot. But then I remembered that I only have 3 weeks left here and need to take in every second of it! I will have many more holidays at home with those that I love! I need to remember that :) It definitely helped that I was able to skype with my Mom this week, received some awesome Thanksgiving cards and received packages from my Mom and my grandparents.
Teaching English was a lot better this week...there was much more control in the classroom because Nuria (the teacher) was back! It is awesome to see how much the kids have learned, even just since I have started teaching. The kids definitely bring something new each week. They also shared with me these things called pipas. It literally translates to "sunflower seeds," but they are kind of like breadsticks with sunflower seeds in them. So tasty! I know Jen and Dad would like them!!
Also, at the beginning of this week, we had a problem with hot water in our apartment complex. I woke up on Monday morning bright and early and started my week with a freezing cold shower. I didn't know if it was just a fluke that I had cold water so I didn't say anything to my host Mom about it. I got home from working at the hospital and my host Mom asked if my shower was ice cold. I was like, YES!! I'm glad it wasn't just mine haha After talking to some of the other neighbors and after a pretty guapo neighbor came to our door to ask me about our shower, we figured out that no one had hot water. My host Mom told me to not take a shower because it was going to be cold and that the next day they were going to call someone to fix it. I told my host Mom that I really wanted to take a shower because I had ran and had a presentation the next day that I really didn't want to be all gross for. My host Mom is such a sweetheart because she heated water up for me on the stove and I washed my hair in the bathroom sink and washed my body in the shower by using a sauce pan. Genius idea.
Also, I have a bad cold this week and my host Mom is very concerned about me haha even though it is just a little cold. She made me a concoction of hot milk, honey and some sort of alcohol. That did help my sore throat a little bit, and then she made another concoction for me with herbs and honey for my stuffed up nose. With heating water on the stove to take a shower and my host Mom making me concoctions for my sickness, I kind of felt like I was living in the olden days this past week!!
Today, after our Thanksgiving dinner, Elizabeth and I will be taking a bus to Madrid, spending the night in the airport and then taking a very early morning flight tomorrow (Friday) to Lisbon, Portugal! I am very excited :)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone! I hope everyone has a great holiday! And GO PACK GO! I will see everyone very very soon!!
Last week was a very busy week for me here in Toledo. On Tuesday I taught my English class, and it was interesting to say the least. I knew that this week I was going to be on my own because the teacher had a conference to attend, but I did not know until about a half hour before I was supposed to teach that I was completely on my own for lesson plans as well. I didn't realize how hard it is to maintain some level of control when I barely know any Spanish and when they barely know any English. They had sooooo much energy, and I had really no control over them. One of the little boys, Daniel, is just too funny...I catch myself laughing at him all the time, when I know I shouldn't be ;) For snack, he wanted a chocolate candy bar type thing so he breaks the chocolate piece and plops it into his milk and tries to eat the chocolate out of the milk like a dog. Hilarious!!
Last Wednesday I helped at the local library here, along with a few others from my school, with a program called "Let's Play in English." It only lasted an hour and was for people of all ages. We had a few different stations...I was in charge of "ropa relay" which is where we said a piece of clothing and then they had to run to the pile of clothes, put the article of clothing on and then run back to the start line. Another game was twister so they could practice their colors, hands/feet and right/left. We had a puppet station for the real little kids, and then also a game of memory going on to practice different vocabulary words. Then at the end we played the "Cupid Shuffle" and danced along with them so they could also practice their directions. It was a lot of fun!!! I am very glad I decided to help out with it. We also sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" as well as "Jingle Bells" before saying good-bye.
Also, on Wednesday night we had a talent show at the fund! It was super fun! I didn't participate because let's be honest I do not have a talent to perform haha but it was a lot of fun to watch! And even though we are already so far into the game, it was interesting because we got to know more about the people here at the fund as they performed their talents.
Last Friday we had an excursion to Segovia, Spain which is about 2 hours away from Toledo. Here we saw the Alcazar and got a guided tour of the palace. I really liked our tour guide (he is a history professor here at the fund)...he spoke slow enough, and I understood everything he was saying! I learned a lot too...it was all very interesting! We also got a guided tour of the city and saw the very famous aqueduct that is still standing after so many years! Finally we ate lunch..we had something that was like a beef stew and of course ate bread. It was delicious, as always. When I got home from the excursion I came home and my host Mom invited me to come with her and one of her friends to a new bar that was just opening that night. I turned down her offer (very dumb idea.) because I wanted to get some homework done because I kind of had a lot going on this week, but of course, I got nothing done Friday night so I should have just went with my Mom and her friend. Her friend came over to our house to meet up with my host Mom...she was very nice! And spoke to me so I could understand...always helpful.
On Saturday I woke up bright and early to take a bus to Madrid and then take another bus from Madrid to Salamanca. I was very excited to go to Salamanca because some of my friends from the fund had gone to Salamanca the weekend before and said how much they loved it. I absolutely loved Salamanca as well!! I have a lot of favorite cities in Spain because they all offer something different and are all very unique, but I think it might be my favorite city in Spain as of yet. When we arrived we checked into our hostal and the man working at the hostal was very nice. He gave us a map of the city and marked some "hot spots" on the map for us to go adventuring to. We went and visited the cathedral (both old and new) and even found the astronaut on the cathedral. We, also, walked by a lot of buildings that Laura and I thought were parts of the University, but not so much! haha All the buildings looked the same...all the same color and everything. After the cathedral we did some more wandering and wondered into the Roman bridge. I, also, found a track (a pretty crappy one, but still...) next to the Roman bridge. I was in heaven! :) Once I found a track I knew I could live in Salamanca!! They had a lot of great running trails too...I wish we would have had more time there. We also walked through a very gorgeous park. I really liked this park because it was the perfect size...a lot of the parks here are almost too big...I get bored. haha Even though it was pretty cool and rainy, Salamanca was still just as beautiful as ever. On Saturday, we also went and visited the church of San Esteban. It was huge and gorgeous! And the nice old man working the ticket booth gave us a discount because we were students...even better!!
Since we really hadn't eaten all day, I am pretty much starving by this point, so we decided to find something to eat. We ate at a restaurant across the street from our awesome hostal called Cuatro Gatos (Four Cats). I got chicken paella...yummy yummy in my tummy. For dessert I also ordered a hot chocolate with strawberries in it! So good. How have I not thought of doing that before? After dinner, we decided to meet up with another group of people from the fund visiting Salamanca as well, to witness the night life of Salamanca. My host Mom filled me in that the night life of Salamanca is great due to the University there and a "younger" atmosphere. We went to a pub/restaurant and had some drinks and then went to another club type bar. It was so packed and so hot in there, it was obnoxious. It was a lot fun though. At the first place we went to we met a guy that was from Brazil, the bartender. He was super nice and once he found out we were American he played "American Woman!" haha Such a classic. He, also, played a lot of other random songs in English for us...well, for everyone I guess, because a lot of the people here (especially the younger ones) listen to music in English.
On Sunday we got up early and went and checked out the Plaza Mayor and then went and visited the University (the oldest in all of Spain). So, now I have seen the oldest and the second oldest Universites in Spain. The University was probably my most favorite of the trip...it was so incredibly interesting! We, then, ate at a little cafe for breakfast before going to the bus station to catch the bus. I ordered waffles and a coffee (not sure why...I don't even like coffee! haha) but it was actually really good! I loved the waffles...I thought they were homemade, but Laura reassured me that she saw them take them out of a package :( boo. haha
This week started out a little rocky for me. It was hard to see everyone's statuses about going home for the holiday and whatnot. But then I remembered that I only have 3 weeks left here and need to take in every second of it! I will have many more holidays at home with those that I love! I need to remember that :) It definitely helped that I was able to skype with my Mom this week, received some awesome Thanksgiving cards and received packages from my Mom and my grandparents.
Teaching English was a lot better this week...there was much more control in the classroom because Nuria (the teacher) was back! It is awesome to see how much the kids have learned, even just since I have started teaching. The kids definitely bring something new each week. They also shared with me these things called pipas. It literally translates to "sunflower seeds," but they are kind of like breadsticks with sunflower seeds in them. So tasty! I know Jen and Dad would like them!!
Also, at the beginning of this week, we had a problem with hot water in our apartment complex. I woke up on Monday morning bright and early and started my week with a freezing cold shower. I didn't know if it was just a fluke that I had cold water so I didn't say anything to my host Mom about it. I got home from working at the hospital and my host Mom asked if my shower was ice cold. I was like, YES!! I'm glad it wasn't just mine haha After talking to some of the other neighbors and after a pretty guapo neighbor came to our door to ask me about our shower, we figured out that no one had hot water. My host Mom told me to not take a shower because it was going to be cold and that the next day they were going to call someone to fix it. I told my host Mom that I really wanted to take a shower because I had ran and had a presentation the next day that I really didn't want to be all gross for. My host Mom is such a sweetheart because she heated water up for me on the stove and I washed my hair in the bathroom sink and washed my body in the shower by using a sauce pan. Genius idea.
Also, I have a bad cold this week and my host Mom is very concerned about me haha even though it is just a little cold. She made me a concoction of hot milk, honey and some sort of alcohol. That did help my sore throat a little bit, and then she made another concoction for me with herbs and honey for my stuffed up nose. With heating water on the stove to take a shower and my host Mom making me concoctions for my sickness, I kind of felt like I was living in the olden days this past week!!
Today, after our Thanksgiving dinner, Elizabeth and I will be taking a bus to Madrid, spending the night in the airport and then taking a very early morning flight tomorrow (Friday) to Lisbon, Portugal! I am very excited :)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone! I hope everyone has a great holiday! And GO PACK GO! I will see everyone very very soon!!
 |
| a Japanese dance at the talent show |
 |
| the palace (Alcazar) in the distance in Segovia |
 |
| the castle :) |
 |
| the aqueduct |
 |
| it was so amazing! |
 |
| milk truck! haha i don't know, i thought it was funny |
 |
| la casa de las canchas (the house of the seashells) in Salamanca |
 |
| in front of the cathedral doors |
 |
| this car was made for me!! clearly! |
 |
| my delicious paella |
 |
| Plaza Mayor in Salamanca |
 |
| the oldest library in all of Spain (part of the University) |
 |
| on the right is Doctora Quintas (the psychiatrist I work with at the Hospital) and the other two women are like the secretaries or administration for the Psych department of the hospital |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)