Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Halfway Point!

The weeks here are flying by. The passing of time is marked by the changing advertisements at the bus stop around the corner from my apartment.  It's obvious in all the new students I see in San Boal; where I once saw familiar faces and friends between classes is now like a sea of strangers.  I mean, I am SO EXCITED to make new friends, but it's hard to forget those who have departed! I can't help but feel a little bit nostalgic when I walk past the classroom where I made my first friends and learned to love the city of Salamanca.  Finally, that I can understand my Spanish professors much easier in class indicates to me that I've learned a thing or two in the past 4 and a half months.  Four and a half months! I cannot believe that I've been here this long!

But, I think I'm starting to figure this Spanish thing out.

Unlike last semester when I had 2 classes in English and 2 in Spanish, I am taking 5 classes all in Spanish.  I still have Fridays free (yay for Euro-trips!)

My goals for this semester are to:
  • SPEAK MORE SPANISH ON A DAILY BASIS
  • FIGURE OUT THE SPANISH SUBJUNCTIVE!!! 
  • Listen/watch to more Spanish music/podcasts/videos on my ipod and computer
  • Make more Spanish friends than American friends
And to stop living my life like a checklist....to embrace the laid-back Spanish culture and put off the fast-paced American mindset for another few months!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

La Noche Huyendo

My new favorite poem from my new poetry book, "Poesía"

La noche huyendo del día,
la luna guiñando al sol,
la mar quejándose siempre
del mundo murmurador. 

Coloquios de voces mudas,
Suspiros de hondo sentir,
sus ojos buscan miradas
a quienes poder herir.

-¿Las quieres? - Las quiero todas.
-¿Te gustan? - A veces no.
-¿Pues qué persigues entonces
diablillo perturbador?
-Alguna vez divertirme,
mas ostras hay...¡qué sé yo!
Entonces me pongo triste
y enciérrome en mi dolor.

La noche huyendo del día,
la luna guiñando al sol,
la mar quejándose siempre
del mundo murmurador. 

-Angel Negrón Colomer

Salamanca at sunset


Saturday, January 28, 2012

An Afternoon in Ávila

Yesterday, I took an adventure! Bored with doing NOTHING for the past week (literally, I sleep until 2 everyday then go to the park and people watch/read/write), I forced myself to wake up early, walked to the train station, and bought a train ticket to Ávila!  Only an hour by train, it is an old city famous for ancient wall that surrounds it and cathedral in the city center.  With me I brought my camera + tripod (duh), a couple sandwiches for lunch, and a new book to read.

Really, what more could a girl ask for?

The train ride was quite relaxing; gazing out at the endless farm fields, covered with a thin layer of fresh snow, while listening to a podcast on my ipod, I had not a care in the world.  The falling snow was still beautiful when I walked through it to get from the train station to the city ruins...but after an hour of trekking all around the fortress, with soggy socks and wet hair, despite my umbrella, my adventure wasn't as -romantic- as I imagined it to be.  So, to warm up, I spent an hour browsing books in the only bookshop in town before purchasing a small book of poetry that I am going to try to work through this semester.


YUMMMM!
Afterwards I found a cafe and bought a cup of "chocolate caliente" (hot chocolate), which is actually just liquid chocolate: rich and creamy and fatty and DELICIOUS.  That adventure lasted another 45 minutes, until I got the hint that they were trying to set up for lunch and it was time for me to get a move on.   So with camera in hand, I bought my student ticket for 3.75€ and made my way, slowly, around the perimeter of the city from the walkway built up above.  Ideally, there would have been great views of the surrounding countryside, and of the cathedral and plazas within the walls, but I had no such luck.  After it stopped snowing in the morning, it gave way to a thick layer of fog that hung low to the ground all day, preventing me from seeing any further than a mile or so.

It was still beautiful.  Castles and old moats and bridges accompanied by stories about saints and war and kings and queens...the history here, like most of Spain, is rich and unique.  Although probably not worth the 7 hours I spent there all day, but it was a nice break from Salamanca!
One of the entrances to the medieval fortress

burrrrr!
the countryside
Bein' a dork 
Eerie
reallly errie 
Hey, I've BEEN to all those places! Cool.
Dark & gloomy
My next adventure: Classes starting on MONDAY. Seems as though my 6 week vacation is coming to an end. No more sleeping until 2pm, napping by the river, and browsing the shops for sales: I have exactly 110 days left here and I am GOING TO GET THIS LANGUAGE THING DOWN!!!

On a side note, I found out yesterday that Carrefour (the grocery store) carries JAMON and WHOLE GRAIN flavored Pringles. YES PLEASE!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

"Life moves pretty fast..."

This morning I was told that a former student from my high school passed away today. We were only friends my freshman year when we ran track together (or maybe it was middle school)....it seems like so long ago. Nick Booth was funny and very witty, and he always made me laugh.  We were always goofing around, and he didn't take life too seriously.  As a pretty shy, insecure teenager, Nick made me feel included.  Even if our friendship only lasted for a short time, I feel honored to have known him.  Life happens though, and we just grew out of touch.

Honestly, I haven't thought about him in years.  But in learning about his passing, my heart breaks. At 21, he was so young. I am so young.  We all think we have so much time ahead of us, but you never know what life has planned.  I think of the quote from Ferris Bueller: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."


I don't want to take a second of my time spent here in Spain for granted.  It is the opportunity of a lifetime. I spent a lot of time and energy last semester stressing about whether I was making the right decision or not, trying to decide if I was really happy with my new life, and missing all the shenanigans back in Denver.  But at the end of the day, I was still here. So I'm going to make the most of it.  My time here is short.  So I will go forward and stop looking back.

RIP Nick; you will be missed.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I just ate WHAT?!

MORCILLA: it's what was for dinner a couple nights ago. It is a black patty, what I mistook for a Spanish version of a veggie burger, with the texture of paté...but it's not exactly the same. Ingredients include: bread, onions, pork fat, spices, and sangre de cerdo (blood of pig).  The pig blood, of course, is what gives it such rich flavor!  

I tried it, because I'll try anything that Montse cooks for me (she's a great cook), and surprisingly, I really enjoyed it!  Unfortunately, no personal picture, because I didn't really understand what exactly I was eating until it was all gone.

Taken from: http://sobrecanarias.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/morcilladulce_21.jpg
Meanwhile, here's a photo collection of typical meals that I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner:
What I always eat for breakfast
An extra fancy meal, usually served on a Sunday for lunch

Doesn't your mouth just water looking at all that yummy food?!

For most meals, I am served a vegetable, soup or salad, followed by a piece of meat with a piece of white bread (how I miss whole grain!!) Dessert is very healthy: I have the choice of a piece of fruit (orange, banana, or apple) or a small yogurt (there's vanilla, coca, fresa, lemon--yum!).  There's no snacking here between meals, so if I get hungry during the day (which I usually do) I'm on my own.  At first, this really frustrated me, not having access to a kitchen and being dependent on somebody.  But after having been gone for a month, traveling, I have gained a new appreciation for all the work it takes to prepare a good, balanced meal.  It has been SO NICE to come home at the same time everyday and to be served a warm, tasty meal, without having to worry!

First semester, I had to adjust to later meal times and different foods.  I mean, after 20 years of eating at almost the same time everyday, it was hard to switch to late lunches and dinners! Everything I was experiencing in Spain, from the sights to the language, was new and exciting and I was soaking it all in and digesting it all (pun intended :] ) A shift has occurred. Now, I definitely feel more like a local and less like a tourist.  I have my favorite foods, know the best bars, even have made a few Spanish friends, and know where to see the sunset.   

I can't believe that I almost didn't come back for second semester!

Back to food: If you come to Spain, especially Salamanca, I hope you enjoy jamón! This may be my next post...the art of serving ham!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Sounds of Spain

Ai Se Eu Te Pago by Michel Teló: I CANNOT GET THIS SONG OUT OF MY HEAD! Literally, it has been playing non-stop at every restaurant, bar, and club in this city since September.  I had a nice break from it when I left for the holidays. But now I'm back, and so is this song.

It is a Brazilian song, made famous after Real Madrid soccer player Christiano Ronaldo danced in celebration to this song after scoring a goal.  Honestly, I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but it is SO CATCHY.  Confession: I finally caved in and bought it on itunes. UGH!

Check it out if you haven't heard it before!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOI6vQjz5qM

Some of the other music I'm listening to in Spain, in Spanish:
-Mi Tierra by Gloria Estefan
-Te Regalo by Carlos Baute
-Jugar Al Despiste, Cuerpo Triste, and Desempolvando by Estopa
-Muñeca De Trapo by La Oreja De Van Gogh
-Oye Mi Amor, Ana, Desapariciones, Cuando Los Angeles Lloren by Maná
-And much, much more, like Shakira, Juanes, and Pitingo.

The public library has a HUGE collection of music, so I'm slowly but surly building up my Spanish music collection. I love my library card!

Other sounds of Spain:
-Sound of my keys echoing in the marble-floor hallway at 3 am when I come home on the weekends.  My attempts at stifling the clanking as I turn the lock two times are usually pointless.
-The baby in the apartment next door, crying every now and then.
-Montse and Felix speaking in fast Spanish during meals.  Generally I can understand words, but not necessarily context, unless I ask questions.
-My host mom yelling at her daughter in Spanish about Lord-knows-what, and the daughter yelling back. (I hate being home on the weekends!)
-The infamous Salamanca violin player who plays anything from Mama Mia to Beethoven. His yellow, curly-haired dog is always curled up in a ball on a round mat right next to him, and, I'd like to think, enjoying the music.
-The street cleaners' bus scrubbing the stone streets in the wee hours of the morning as they spray and scrub the sidewalks from their mini busses.
-Children playing and laughing in the Plaza Mayor on warmer evenings, especially on weekends.
-My ringtone, which everybody and their brother has. It's the standard, most-annoying-song-you'll-ever-hear, so that when a phone rings in a store or in a restaurant, everybody reaches for their bag to see if it's them...and thinking about it now, it's stuck in my head!
-Rita yipping her head off in the afternoon, echoing in the courtyard of our apartment complex.
-Church bells!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Nerd: Empollón

Confession: I am a nerd. My desire to improve in Spanish and meet Spaniards has led me to organizing intercambios almost everyday. Through the University of Salamanca website, I have had the opportunity to meet so many people who want to learn English and help me improve my Spanish.

Here is how a typical intercambio works:  I receive an email, usually in Spanish, but sometimes English, from somebody who found my name on the USAL website.  If they don't sound too creepy, I reply (I've received a couple emails from people who just seem weird, so I don't reply). But I generally respond because hey, if it's horrible, I could just walk up and leave!  Over the course of a few emails, we set up a time to meet later in the week and agree on a meeting place.  The standard is to meet in the Plaza Mayor, under the clock.  I always tell people to look for me in my dark blue jacket with big gold buttons.

Usually, I have no idea who to expect, unless they have told me a little bit about who they are/what they look like. So standing under the clock, waiting, is a bit nerve-wracking.  As I wait, I look around, kind of making eye contact with people waiting around, wondering who will come up to me and greet me.  When we meet, it's two kisses on the cheek, a general "como estas," and then we head off to a cafe to drink coffees or get wine and tapas.  Ideally, we will converse half the time only in English, the other half only in Spanish, so that we can each hear the other language being spoken.

And then the nerdiness can get a bit out of control.  After we sit, I'll pull out of my purse my beloved green and blue Spanish-English dictionary, along with my the small notebook I carry around to write down new words and phrases.  So if there was any doubt in my intercambio's partner mind about my intentions, it becomes pretty clear that I mean business! But if we end up being friends, that's cool too.






Some intercambio's are GREAT: I met a guy who took me on a bike ride all over Salamanca and showed me a bunch of new parks; a couple who are moving to Ohio in May (and therefore want to learn English) showed me a funky place to get tapa's by the plaza; yesterday a guy showed me a cafe where I can buy bagels (!!!!!) in Salamanca (an unknown food here!). But then there's the person who never corrects my Spanish, the guy who asks for my phone number (I hate giving it out to strangers), or the person who doesn't understand that I want to hear them speak Spanish (they'll only speak in English) and insists that I only speak in Spanish (they'll never learn English).  Oh well; ya win some, ya lose some.

After each intercambio, I write a little summary about what we did, where we went, and what the person was like. Because when I have 6 different language exchanges a week, it's hard to remember who each person was!  

I have realized that afterwards, when I speak in English, or write in English, I am much more aware of my word choice.  For example: when conversing with Jose Antionio, in Spanish, about my opinions on America's involvement in Iraq, my vocabulary was limited, and I had to pause to consider how to construct my argument and structure my sentence so that my point was logical.  It was so frustrating, because he insisted that I only spean in Spanish!  In English, I could have articulated my thoughts so much more smoothly, but instead, I probably sounded like a second grader...but I guess that's the point! That's how I'll learn.

In conclusion: I have so much more appreciation for the beauty of the English language and the variety of words I can use!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

In search of the perfect beach

When planning our week-long vacation together, Melissa and I considered many places: Athens (no, too far and not warm in winter); we considered the north of Spain (too complicated/expensive to get to); finally, we agreed on the Canary Islands: it would be warm and cheap! Just off the coast of north Africa, they are like the Bahamas of Europe.


Our only goal for the week was to be on the beach everyday by noon.  Melissa's sunburnt hands and red chest, in addition to my new freckles on my face are evidence of our success.

After saying adios to Dad the night of Friday, January 6 (the Day of the Stolen Bike incident), Melissa and I woke up the next morning, took and train to Madrid then a flight to the island of Tenerife.  We landed late Saturday night in the south, in the city of Los Christianos, and woke up the next morning in our apartment-style hostel to views of the ocean to our right and volcanoes to our left.  It was unreal.

When Melissa and I told our hostel owner that we were leaving later that afternoon to go up north to the city of La Orotava, he was shocked.  Why would we possibly want to leave the warm beaches of the south and go up to the cooler, isolated and boring beaches of the north?!  Surprised, Melissa and I realized we hadn't done our homework; we had decided to go to La Orotava because the pictures on Wikipedia were beautiful.  What if we got there and it was cold and horrible, like this guy was suggesting?!  We probably spent 45 minutes conversing with him about what to do.  We compromised; we would spend the day in Los Cristianos, but would head up to La Orotava that evening.  The hostel was already booked, and it was half the cost of our hostel in the south.

But our initial excitement about Los Christianos wore off as we spent the day on the beach and exploring the city; turns out, Los Christianos, while it is warm and beautiful, is also full of retired couples, vacationing families, and strip malls.  It was a city built for the tourist.  Lacking any sort of culture, we crossed our fingers that La Orotava would be better.
Beachin' it: day 1
The hordes of tourists 
During our 45 minutes, 12 euro bus ride up north, I met a couple vacationing from Finland.  The woman actually knew where Vermont was, because she had studied abroad in 1999, and had attended Mt.  Mansfield Union HS and had lived in Richmond; literally a couple towns over from Essex! What a small world.  She was a writer, and her boyfriend/husband, who was a student, couldn't tell me enough about how great Finalnd was. Ugh.  Finalllllly, we arrived, in the dark, in the city of Puerta de la Cruz.   From there, Melissa and I caught a bus up the hill to the small town of La Orotava.  Was it cold and freezing like we had been informed? NO! Ok, maybe it was a couple degrees cooler, but certainly not as bad as we had anticipated.

Our hostel was owned by a friendly, middle aged Austrian man who had converted a house into a hostel, furnished with a small kitchen, living room, four bathrooms and 5 bedrooms.  Right away, we met our fellow guests.  Most notably, we had Moira, whom I referred to as Queen Elizabeth (Lizzie for short), about 70 and from England; there was Richard, the middle aged Polish man who, at first glance, appeared to be in his mid-twenties, but as you got closer you realized his hair wasn't actually blonde, it was gray (he was the social-coordinator, always trying to get people to go do things with him); there was the guy from New Zealand, who didn't like La Orotava becasue there weren't enough "wild parties" (he was Party Animal); Star Gazer was the girl from Denmark who slept on the roof, because she was "connecting with the stars;" the Professional Speed Walker, whom we never actually met, but only heard about, was know to take epic walks around the island; and finally, there was the smily roommate from Poland who was going to hike the volcano. 

Melissa and I got a few laughs about the whole group.  I wonder what they thought about us? The two, young American sisters, in search of the perfect beach.

Perfect beaches we did find.  Known for its black sand beaches, the coastline of Puerta de la Cruz was absolutely gorgeous, and it was everything that Los Christianos was not.  Sure, there were plenty of tourists...but not the loud, annoying British families that we had encountered the day before.  They were replaced by more adventure type people, looking to hike the volcano close by and enjoy the nature that surrounded us.  Unfortunately, Melissa and I couldn't hike the volcano since passes were required in advance...but oh well. Instead, we stuck to the beach!

This is a picture of us exploring the rock formations around the black sand beach

About to enjoy a delicious and cheap dinner of pasta and vegetables at the hostel

For my surprise 21st birthday present, all Melissa told me was that I had to be ready to go at 10 am on Tuesday morning.  My guesses were anywhere from a mani/pedi to a surprise visit from Mom.  Instead, we went paragliding! Tuesday, actually, we drove around the island ALL DAY trying to find the best spot to jump.  The winds weren't right, so we couldn't go...but instead we basically got a free tour of the island! We saw the beach by the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where the white sand was imported from the deserts of the Sahara:
Some more gorgeous views we encountered: 
The inactive volcano of Mt. Teide; this is the highest mountain in all of Spain!
Staying warm while we watch others make the jump into the valley below: 

The next morning, we were picked up again at the same time and headed back up the mountain to La Coruña, a small village that sits on the cliffs above.  The wind was just right, so after strapping on a backpack and kite, we make the jump into the valley below! And IT WAS AWESOME! We had spectacular views of the ocean and the valley.  THANKS MELISSA FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE & INCREDIBLE BIRTHDAY!  


Here's a video of Melissa taking the jump off the cliff into the valley:  

View of the ground below; I'm FLYING!
Beach by day, exploring by night.  We saw some awesome sunsets and fell in love with this small town.

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Wednesday afternoon we strapped on our backpacks and hopped on the bus to the airport, where we caught a flight to the island of Lanzarote.  This was the island we were most excited for. Whenever we told people back in Spain that we were visiting the Canary Islands, they always asked if we were going to Lanzarote. "Of course!" we replied; according to all the people we talked to, Lanzarote was the BEST island, the most beautiful and with the most gorgeous beaches.  The anticipation made saying goodbye to Tenerife not as bad.

Like Tenerife, we landed in Arrecife, Lanzarote in the dark, so it was hard to get our bearings.  After a short taxi ride to the town of Puerto del Carmen, we met Miguel, a chubby, dark haired, middle aged Spaniard who was incredibly friendly and funny to talk to: he took us to our room in his apartment complex, which, much to our surprise, ended up being a two bedroom condo equipped with a small kitchen, bathroom, and living room.  Quite spacious and quite clean. Quite opposite the bunk beds and group bathrooms of our hostel in La Orotava.  Though it was relaxing to have our own space and freedom to spread out, in a way, it was lonely.  As annoying as Richard could be with his pestering question, and as weird as Star Gazer was, those people made our experience that much more interesting!

But no worries.  We woke up the next morning and made fried eggs and ate giant oranges for breakfast, having gone grocery shopping the night before. Grand total: 10 euros, which provided us with various staples, and, more or less, was able to feed us the rest of our trip.  Nothing like spaghetti with pan!  Unfortunately....the town of Puerto del Carmen ended up being quite similar to Los Christianos of Tenerife.  It was a city essentially built for the tourist, full of cheap restaurants and gift shops, lacking any sort of culture or real community.

And quite unlike the lush valley of La Orotava, Lanzarote is a desert.  There is absolutely NO natural vegetation, and, being 140 km (~86 miles) off the coast of Africa, a lot of sand from the desert gets blown over, making the air appear foggy at times and also preventing anything from growing.  To keep the island looking different from the rest of the islands, all the buildings no higher than 5 stories and are white with green trim.  This was due to the efforts of native Cesar Marique, who designed many other eco-friendly, tourist attractions on the island.

This also means it is incredibly easy to get lost, since all the buildings look the same!!!!!  (And  yes, we did get lost. I am terrible with directions and maps and frankly, I don't understand why! You would think that it would get easier in time...but no. Also, it might have helped if we had remembered to write down the name of the street we were staying on before we left our first morning...)
 Our little stone enclave to protect us from the wind on the large beach of Puerto del Carmen.  Did I mention that it was a bit cooler on Lanzarote? It's because it was so WINDY durning the day, so even though it was sunny, it was harder to feel the warmth of the sun. Very misleading tanning weather!
Melissa, trying to stay covered from the sun...
In search of the perfect beach, our second day in Lanzarote, we woke up early and took a bus south to the town of Playa Blanca, and then another bus to Playa Papagayo.  Forget the crowds and strip malls of Puerto del Carmen; we figured anything had to be better than the endless rows of folding beach chairs and umbrellas (which you have to pay to use!).  Instead, Papagayo was like a nature reserve on the tip of the island; there were no paved roads to the beaches, which meant no restaurants, no stores, and no annoying tourists!  We had to walk about 20 minute to get there across the dry, dead landscape. It was eerie yet strangely beautiful, like walking on the moon
Here's the little beach we found!  PERFECT! Took some work go finally make it there, but in the end, it was all worth it.  The only other people we shared it with was a naked gay couple and a semi-clothed couple.  It's worth mentioning that pretty much everyone here laid out topless. Totally normal for old ladies to walk around the beach with only their bottoms on. Eeek!  That took some getting used to.  Here, though--we saw it all! QUITE a shoker!

Our last day, trying to soak up the sun before we headed back to the cold of Madrid.  I got hand-stand lessons from a Spaniard who was working at the beach! Can you tell which one's me?

We were both very sad to say goodbye to the Canary Islands, but also very excited to be heading back to 2nd semester.  In conclusion, I would say our search for The Perfect Beach was a success; they were all perfect, in their own way.  For our farewell dinner, we splurged on a meal of Paella for Melissa, and a burrito for me. And, of course, a pitcher of Sangria!  By that point I think we were both getting sick of spaghetti...then the next night, in Madrid, we splurged again, this time on Ethiopian food, since I had just finished reading "Cutting for Stone."  An excellent choice; both the food and the book!  Sunday morning we left our hostel at the crack of dawn and parted ways on the metro.  See ya in May, Melissa! 


~So even though I still have two more weeks of vacation until my classes start...that's plenty of time for me to organize a couple intercambio's and meet the new ISA students!  Salamanca round two, here I come!


PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my hermanito Caleb y mi prima Carrie! See you both VERY SOON!!!