Saturday, May 15, 2010

I wanna soak up the sun

So I should probably avoid Segovia and Ávila in mid-May. Honestly, there was snow on the ground. I thought I left all that in Provo but uh apparently we did not. It was FREEZING yesterday! Did we still have fun? Ohh-ho yeah. We started in this random little church in Segovia that screamed "Indiana Jones", a little Templar church from 11th or 12th century. Then we went to a sweet castle in Segovia and an even sa-WEETer cathedral. In Ávila we went to a cathedral and then walked around the top of the wall that surrounds the original city. Oh! Also in Segovia: Roman. Aqueduct. 1st century. Seriously, I was nerdily excited about that.

But! The best part about yesterday: the food. Okay, ultimate best parts: Ávila wall and the aqueduct. But! Each little town has it's own particular treat, like a dessert-type, right? Well. I have found my favorite so far: Yema of Ávila. It's is sooo rich but sooo deliciously creamy and smooth and delicious. Deliciously delicious. I can't even describe it, I've never eaten anything like it before. Then in Segovia the treat was Ponche. I didn't even know about it until we were leaving, but it's like a cinnamon roll-ish treat. Back in Toledo it's mazipan. That's right, mazipan. It's like not-nasty marzipan. I'm excited to try more indigenous treats!

This week, Jenessa and I have invaded a gummy candy store almost daily. It is so cheap here! We usually get it on the way home from the train to accompany our end-of-the-day gossip but once we got it to eat in the movie theatre in Madrid when we saw ROBIN HOOD. Holy crap, I love that movie. We were originally gonna see Iron Man 2 but when we realized that Robin Hood was playing (the day before it was released in America...?) we saw that instead. Iron Man can wait;) It was so cool seeing it in a Spanish theatre. We saw it in English but there were a few things that only our row and a few other English-speakers would laugh at because the subtitles didn't truly capture the joke or whatnot. It was awesome:) Also that movie is awesome.

Another dulce indulgence: pastries. When I leave Spain, I will simultaneously always want a pastry and never want a pastry again because the postres here are SO PHENOMENAL but when I go back to America I know they will no longer satisfy my craving. Sigh. Again, I wish I could explain. I've never been a huge pastry fan but here? You can't not be. I'm turning into a pastry elitist.

Finally: Magnum. I have never been a crazy ice cream fan, and especially not ice cream bars (unless it's a fudgsicle. I love me some fudgsicle. Fudgsicle is officially the weirdest word to type) but here? Yeah. The Magnum Temptation Chocolate...yikes. Imagine the best chocolate ice cream loaded with pieces of white chocolate and some other bits of sweet goodness I can't yet identify and then cover it in really rich, creamy, just quality milk chocolate. Hooo mama, so great.

Okay. I just got a ton of pictures from Jenessa that I need to sort through and then I may FINALLY post some pictures this weekend:)

Feliz día de San Isidro!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

El Escorial

So to preface: I was totally sick this weekend. How lame is that?! Sick! In Spain! I know, totally dumb. But on Saturday we went to El Escorial! It’s this sweet monastery/palace concoction about an hour from Madrid built for Phillip II. I bet it was more than an hour from the heart of metropolitan Madrid for him, eh? Anyway, this place is AAAAmazing. So beautiful! Every Spanish king and their significant others have been buried there for centuries. Honestly, I was a leeetle disappointed until we got to the burial chamber. It was like descending into the Phantom’s lair, I tell ya. We went from a cool stone building with some bedroom and nice paintings down this gorgeous staircase with marble-lined walls to this PHENOMENAL, deliciously-Baroque tomb. Seriously. Tomb. I had to keep reminding myself we were surrounded by corpses, tho, because the room really was breathtaking. Gold, rich mahogany, marble. Such luxury for such very dead people. There’s actually a rotting room were the corpses have to decompose before they can be entombed properly, how sweet is that? They’ve got two or three bodies in there, waiting to be placed in their now blank coffins. Each coffin has the name on it when the skeleton is placed inside. From the main burial chamber we went thru at least half a dozen more, almost entirely of marble. SO MUCH MARBLE. After El Escorial, I basically wanted to die of sickness so I don’t really remember much, and life has been pretty calm since…but I bought a saWEET pair of India pants! Pictures to come, they’re amazing.

Friday, May 7, 2010

And so it begins...

Okay, before I begin: since last I blogged, I've been to the Prado TWICE. I. Love. Spain.

Classes started this week! For some they are four days a week for 2 hours and for others they are 2 days a week for 4. I have class twice a week, so on the other two days I went into Madrid:) It is so fun getting to know the city and really get familiar with it.

On Tuesday my friend Casey and I went in at probably ten in the morning and stayed literally allllll day. We started with churros con chocolate (finally! something I've wanted to try since at least tenth grade, maybe eighth...can't remember which teacher told me about it first) then did some MAJOR shopping. I heard shopping in Europe was great...I had no idea. Seriously, it was so fun! I swear, everything they produce or sell in this country is super cute AND good quality and can be found very easily at a reasonable price. I bought 3 pairs of shoes, one pair was 8 euros and the other two 3 euros each. And they're not cheap quality! This all sounds so frivolous, I know, but I was floored. Also, I bought THE greatest jacket in the entire world. One of my shopping goals was a sick European jacket...yeah, that's off the checklist:) But enough about shopping.

That evening we went to the museo del Prado!!!!! Finally:) It's free weeknights between 6 and 8 so we went on Tuesday and Thursday night. I have no words adequate for what it was like to stand in front of Las Meninas, The Second and Third of May, being surrounded by Goya's Black Paintings and works by Velázquez, Rubens, Bosch, Claude Lorraine, Caravaggio, a Dürer self-portrait...I love art. The Prado has really phenomenal art. That's really all it comes down to. I wrote a research paper on a painting by John Singer Sargent, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, specifically because I knew it would be an invited work at the Prado while I was there. Normally it's in Boston. It was hanging near Las Meninas because there are a lot of similarities between the two, Sargent adored Velázquez. Anyway, the Prado is phenomenal and I can't wait to go back and keep exploring! I've yet to see every room. Someday:)

We've been getting to know Alcalá a lot better as well. It's so great having a home-base. Getting off the train after a long day in Madrid and coming home to Alcalá is sooo nice:) But the best is just hanging out with the group, eating ice cream or tapas, and chatting til we have to go home for dinner. One afternoon we went to the church to play fútbol and ended up playing for probably 3 hours. I busted my toe by kicking a girl instead of the ball, so now I can only wear open-toe shoes. Luckily it doesn't hurt too bad, and I have a sick battle wound from the day.

Cultural observation: When they answer the phone here, they say "Dime" (dee-meh) which just means "Tell me". Also, I have heard SO much English here. In the music, on the streets in Madrid...it's awesome. Also also, dinner is at 9 or 9:30 pm. It's so weird.

Time to take full advantage of the wonder that is the siesta! My first one since last Friday...yikes. Always. Tired. In a good way.

And just as an end note: I love my group:) I can't wait til we're all friends this fall back at school!

Monday, May 3, 2010

I've died and gone to Toledo...

I honestly had no idea what I was getting into when we left for Toledo. Through the hour and a half bus ride, we played MAChaCa, our own Spanish version of MASH. Anyone that has been on a public school filed trip should know what I mean;) MASH is Mansion, Apartment, Shack, and House. MAChaCa is mansión, apartamento, chabola, and casa. That was definitely entertaining:) We only played with group members...and once included the bus driver, but there are 22 girls and 7 boys so...it gets interesting:)

Finally we got to Toledo!!! We were honestly all in shock when we saw it; cameras everywhere, exclamations. It is BEAUTIFUL. Beautiful! Super narrow, windy, cobblestone streets with the buildings of stone and the balconies workin that whole wrought-iron thing...literally breathtaking.

When we got to Toledo, we picked up our tour guide literally on some random street corner, then went to a scenic overlook to take pictures of the city. My camera batteries died that very first stop! Man. It wasn't so bad bumming photos of of the group, but I didn't want to be annoying, ya know? It worked out pretty well tho:) What a view! It is suuuuper hilly and the cathedral!!! Oh man, that cathedral es fenomenal. There were paintings from El Greco, Titian, Rubens, Velazquez...names I've known and come to love but only from the classroom. My heart rate literally increased a little seeing them in real life. But I think I'm getting ahead of myself. We toured the city with the guide for a couple of hours, so I don't remember the order in which all of this took place. Also, without pictures of my own, I'm sure I'll leave some things out. As far as the cathedral goes, it is so hard to put into words how incredible it was to be there. The artwork, whether I knew the artist or not, all of it was just gorgeous. I could go on and on, but I won't ;) It was just fenomenal. Pictures will help when I steal those from the others.

After the cathedral and probably some other stuff, we went to see the Burial of Count Orgaz, which is only THE coolest El Greco painting. Jacob, weep with jealousy. It was AMAZING. There is so much art here. So much! There's this little enclosed garden area we peeked into just before we all had to meet up to drive home and shoved away in the corner was this tiny, free "museum", like a little gallery and there were El Greco works just chillin there. One lady sitting there for protection. Free entry. I love Spain!

When we had free time after the tour, a group of us went to see this bridge we drove past. It was so fun navigating our way through the city!! But those hills...my calves are gonna look goooo-ood. It was kinda tricky getting to the bridge and then figuring out how to cross it, but once we did it was so worth it! It's from the fourteenth century. Yeah. Everything is sooo dang old here! After we crossed it, some of us went down to the water and took more more more pictures.

Por fin, we returned to the meeting spot and got some more GELLLLLLato while we waited. Caramelo. The strawberry cheesecake was really good too. The bus ride home was pretty sad...it was such a quick day! Luckily, some of us only have class twice a week, so on one of our off days we're going to go back:) Cannot wait!

Tomorrow...El Museo del Prado!!!! Olé!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Madrid!

To pick from where I left off, Jenessa and I went off through Alcalá to get passport-type pictures for our student ID cards and some ice cream...and got super lost. Luckily, we had a map and allll the time in the world to explore. It was a fun day!!! We made friends with the lady selling ice cream. Hopefully she's there a lot! Also we did some shopping just around the neighborhood, and the first full song we heard in the store: Just Dance, Lady Gaga. Subsequent songs proved to be various remixes thereof.

By the way...

Dear Nestle,

I love you, but why are you SO MUCH BETTER at being awesome in not America?

Thanks,

Kelly

Seriously. Their ice cream is phenomenal. I had the Praliné....yummmmy. Jenessa's eating a double chocolate Magnum...qué rico! Now to today's post...



Just as a head’s up, it is probable that this will be a long post…I’m not connected to the internet but I am plugged into the wall (until I find a chufe near the computer, those things are mutually exclusive). With a connection to power and a lack of schedule today, I’m free to write as much as I want. So buckle up:)

De verdad, I don’t even know where to begin. I feel like I’ve been here a month and it’s only been three days! Empiezo con Madrid.

Saturday was literally the BEST way I could ever IMAGINE to turn 21! We spent the day in Madrid:) We were all together through the morning to learn how to use the Metro and familiarize ourselves with landmarks and things we should see, and we all got gelato. Amamaaaazing gelato. Seriously. From Italy. Not in Italy, but wayyyy closer than I’ve ever been while eating gelato:) Madrid is SUCH a beautiful city. Beautiful! Beeeaaautiful and alive and full of energy and history. It was Labor Day yesterday so there were dance troops from various regions around Spain performing en la Plaza Mayor.

Regional pride is huuuge here in Spain. For lunch, a lot of us went back to our homes in Alcalá. The train ride is less than 30 minutes and we have an unlimited travel pass in and around Alcalá and Madrid, and we really love our families here, so we didn’t mind going home. For lunch…I honestly can’t remember what we had. But it was delicious! And Pepita made a cake!!! Bizcocho con chocolate. Aaaabsolutely delicious. Pepita took Jenessa and left the kitchen for about 2 minutes. I asked Miguel if he knew what was going on and he kept saying “No sé, no sé, I don’t know” but I knew he knew:) They came back into the kitchen singing Happy Birthday in English! Pepita was saying “happy baby” en vez de “happy birthday” and it was sooooo cute. It’s amazing how difficult it is to pronounce some English words, I always took it for granted. Upon returning to Madrid, we did some touristy shopping and mostly followed the path we had taken earlier that day. Oh, side note: pollen in Madrid=JUST as annoying as American pollen.

We took the bus for the first time this morning. The streets here are TINY and narrow and crooked…these busses are huge. Super huge. And there ain’t nothin’ that scares them. They come sooooo close to other cars, people…also, there is a tonnn of double parking here. And cool tiny hatchbacks everywhere. Basically, it’s amazing.

Cultural Observation: This is one I keep forgetting to include. Our host parents talked about la Guerra Civil, the Spanish Civil War, during dinner the very first night we were here. I knew the war was still …uhm… important? Relevant? De verdad, no puedo pensar en ingles. Quiero escribir en español, sería mejor, pero necesito escribir en inglés. Forgive my rant about not being able to think (or type) in English. That’s not to say my Spanish is getting any better, but my English is definitely slipping. I knew the war still had a presence here in Spain, but the fact that it came up in casual conversation with strangers was very telling I think. As much as I love Spain, everything I know about la Guerra civil I learned from watching Pan’s Labyrinth or study Guernica, Picasso’s masterpiece (which incidentally is in la Reina Sofia-one of many museums I can’t wait to go to!!!!) Also, Sandra Bullock is not as funny when dubbed, oddly enough. And Alejandro Sanz is touring again!

Church today was an amazing experience! For all but maybe 20 minutes of the three hours, I knew what was going on. Es un milagro!

Language skills: It’s getting so much easier to understand, but speaking is still difficult. I focus so much on what is being said to me that I don’t have time to think of what to say in response, let alone how to say that in Spanish. So I mostly listen. When my dad was a kid, he didn’t talk til he was like three or something but then it came out in full sentences (according to my mom=]). I think that’s what will happen with me. I hope so, anyway:)

New foods: Tortilla espinaca! My dad would love this, it’s literally a big ol’ spinach pancake. We ate it with breaded ham and the usual salad. The usual aMAzing salad. Everything we’ve eaten is amaing. Today for lunch I’m pretty sure Jenessa and I each ate half a chicken. With rice. And fruit.

I’m sure there’s so much more…but I think I’m done for now:) Hasta luego!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Siesta

Lemme begin by saying that Siesta and I...we're good friends. Yesterday, Jenessa and I were so adamant that we wouldn't sleep bc we wanted to get on a sleep schedule...yeah we slept for 3 hours yesterday afternoon, woke up to eat (THE most delicious Spanish tortilla...everything Pepita makes is heaven. Olive oil allll over the place. Mmmm) and shower before going back to bed for the night.

This morning we toured Alcalá, a university town about 30 minutes west of Madrid. If I understood the tour guide correctly this morning (which is doubtful, considering her rapid theta'd Spanish and the ever-present feeling of exhaustion), Alcalá is the oldest university in Spain that's still standing. I think it replaced something else...but! It even had it's own laws and a prison and everything, it's own little city like the Vatican on a smaller scale. This city is SO OLD, the cathedral is from 1497 and it's in the Gothic style but certainly different than any Gothic architecture in England or France. I haven't taken any pictures yet...but I'll steal Jenessa's or take my own later. I haven't seen anything yet I won't be seeing every day for the next seven weeks:)

Our host parents are so great! They're both retired, so the students the host are their life. Another girl lives here right now, on a study abroad from Loyola in Maryland. She's been here all by herself since January and she'll leave in May. They travel ALLLL over the place so I've only seen her once. As was mentioned before, Pepita's cooking is fenomenal but she'd be the last to say it. Yesterday for lunch we had espagetis (spaghetti) and for dinner that amazing tortilla!! Here in Spain the tortilla is the basis of the meal and it is VERY different than a Mexican tortilla. It's made of eggs, potato, onions, and olive oil. Maybe a few other ingredients, but that's basically it. And it is DIVINE. Then breakfast today was bread with this amazing mermelada de melocotón (peach jam) and leche con Colacao (hot chocolate...Coloacao is a brand of chocolate powder). Lunch was sopa con lentejas y chorizo (lentil soup with sausage)...again, amazing. Lunch and dinner are usually followed with fruit and cheese. Today after lunch we had Valencia oranges! Honest to goodness Valencia oranges. Oh man. So sweet and delicious.

Right now, Janessa and I are going to explore Alcalá and take lots of pictures, vale? They say that like we say okay? or understand? It's all over the place. Love it. Love Spain! Love Alcalá.

Hasta mañana!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

el primer día



At EWR, waiting to get through Security:)

Welp, here I am! Here I am in Alcalá, sitting near an open window and hearing the sounds of the street floating up through the open window beside me. As far as Spain goes, I really don't have much to share...I've seen the Madrid Barajas airport (for a long time), la Plaza de Cervantes here in Alcalá, and a few side streets. No one ask me how to get from Madrid to Alcalá because I definitely slept on the 30 minute bus ride over here. What I've seen of Alcalá de Henares, however, is gorgeous! We'll be touring it tomorrow so I'll have more to share on that then. The flight over was very uneventful apart from watching Ghost. I've been on a Quantum Leap kick, so that was fitting.

Favorite moment:
-Hearing the guy that stamped my passport say "Welcome to Spain". The sad thing about that is I don't remember if he said welcome to Madrid or welcome to Spain...I think it was Spain. I'll stick with that one.

Second favorite moment:
-Getting a stamp in my passport:)

Cultural observations:
-No screens in the windows. Those seem pretty prevalent in the States...
-The news was on during lunch (don't know what they call that here, maybe just comida? I'll keep ya posted) and I realized that the news here was a LOT more graphic than it is in the US. I can't think of any examples right now bc I am so tired I could fall over right here, but American news is GENTLE in comparison. Granted, I've seen about 20 minutes of Spanish news and about that much news in America over the course of my life, but it didn't take long to realize the different levels in standards.

Language progress:
-Jenessa and I have been able to communicate fairly well with Pepita and Miguel, our host parents. They have three kids, all with kids of their own (almost) and they have had students in their home for the past ten years! Over 50, they said. So they are pro at this. They don't speak a lick of English, which is great bc Jenessa and I will be able to practice alllll the time with them!

Alright. I'm almost out of battery and things to say. Hasta luego!