1. A few of their favorite things
2. Granada
3. Alicante/Alcoi
4. Classes
5. Reassessment of Goals for Study Abroad
6. What is it with the dudes here?
7. Realization that this is a 4 month vacation
8. America in a buffet restuarant
1. So I have been in Spain for about 2 months now, and I have learned a few things about contemporary Spanish society. Among these things, I have learned the most popular topics of conversation. They are "la crisis" and the weather. It's actually kinda funny. Every ad mentions the crisis. How can you avoid the crisis? Buy this car. Or for example, I passed a cafe yesterday and they had written on the chalkboard outside " crisis coffee" for 1 Euro. Yeah, like buying a car and buying 1 euro coffee will help.
And the cold. I honestly haven't heard people complain so much about the cold. Lets just say if cold weather actually made people sick as it does here, there would be no human population left in Wisconsin.
2. Last weekend I went to Granada in the south of Spain. What a beautiful city! The two highlights were going to a "Baño Arabe" (Arab Bath) and Alhambra (http://www.alhambradegranada.org/historia/alhambrahistoria_en.asp). At the Baño Arabe, there is one big room with about 7 different pools with different temperatures of water. It’s a low-lit environment with typical "Arabic" music playing in the background. The package we bought included 1.5 hours use of the pools area and then a 20 minute massage by a good looking Spanish man. I've never had a massage before so I'm not sure how valid my opinion is, but that massage could probably be considered one of the most pleasurable things I've ever experienced. Imagine it yourself: You're relaxing in a hot tub and a hot Andalucía man calls you over for your turn. You lay down and he pours hot aromatic oils on your back.... Actually I just realized this is not appropriate for a public blog that my family reads. You go ahead and make up the rest.
As I said, I also visited the Alhambra. When we first walked up to the castle (which is obviously on top of a hill) the view of the city was absolutely breathtaking. And the castle itself is so meticulously detailed that you wonder how it was ever built and you question the meaning of dedication and perseverance. It's like, if some people in the 12th century were not only able to build this palace/fortress/community/castle but also able to decorate it with the utmost detail, how could you ever give up on something as simple as, I don't know, learning a language, a homework assignment, a diet plan. There are some points in your life where you just have to stop for a second and be like, "WOW... I can't believe I am here seeing this right now. How the heck did I get here and why am I here?"
This has happened to me twice before: once when I went skiing in the Austrian Alps (thanks Gisela and Martin!) and I got off the bubble that takes you to the top and as I was looking out onto the snowcapped peaks and feeling a combination of the suns rays and brisk mountain air, I realized that some people wish for their whole lives that they could go skiing in the Alps. But here I was an 18 year old from Waukesha, Wisconsin who considered Alpine Valley real skiing.
Another time in Egypt in the White Desert (pics: http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Egypt/Farafra/WhiteDesert.htm). I wandered off a little so that the group I was with was not in sight. I had to alternate drinking sips of water and taking breaths because the air was so dry. There was this odd orange haze in the air that made you feel like you were on another planet. I thought about the camel that I just saw run by and the fact that the trucks that we came in took the strength of 4 men's pushes to get them started. That was another moment when I just sat down in the sand and thought "How in the world did I get here?"
Basically my point is that I'm only 1/4 of the way through my life (an estimate...knock on wood), and I've already seen some of the most breathtaking sights in the world. Have you ever read The Giver by Lois Lowry? Well remember the part when Jonah is escaping his utopian community and he's cold and weak? In order to get by he thinks of some of the memory of sunshine that The Giver gave him so he can feel better and carry on with his journey. These experiences--in Granada, in Badgastein, in the White Desert--are my "sunshine" that I use to get by. When its -13 and cloudy in Madison and I have class and work and studying and I know I won't get to sleep until 3 AM the next day, these are the memories that I use to keep me going.
Alright, enough of that cheesy-metaphor stuff.
3. Two weekends ago, I went to Alcoi, a city in the east of Spain. My friend Georgia (another American student on the same program) has a Spanish friend from the US whose family lives in Alcoi. So they invited Georgia for the weekend, and Georgia invited me! It was really nice to stay with a Spanish family for the weekend since I do live in the Residencias here in Alcalá and I don't get to experience family life/Spanish culture too much. On Saturday, we went to a few historical places in Alcoi (a underground bomb shelter built during the Spanish civil war and a museum explaining a cultural festival which takes place every year) and went to a great tapas place for dinner. The museum we went to that day commemorates a festival that takes place every year in which hundreds of people dress up and basically reenact the history of Spain. First the Christians come out in a parade, dressed up in pre-medieval clothes. Then the Muslims parade their way through the streets and finally make it to the main plaza and conquer the Christians. Then the next day of the festival, the Christians do their parade and conquer the Muslims in the Plaza. Then everyone parties. Imagine Bristol Renaissance fair to the max. But honestly, Spanish people are serious about thier history.
On Sunday, we went to Alicante--a city on southeast coast of Spain. Another gorgeous view. For me, a regular old joe-ette from Wisconsin, there are so many sights in Spain that just make me gasp and open my eyes wide when I see them. This happened a lot in Alicante and Alcoi. On either side of the highway there would be acres and acres of olive trees and then a random castle on top of a hill. For me--gorgeous. For them--normal.
4. CLASSES. Let me just say that classes here are extremely dumbed down. Part of me is happy because I’ve had to read about 50 pages of reading in 6 weeks of class (what I usually read in one night at Madison). But on the other hand, I’m a little frustrated because we get WORKSHEETS for homework which brings me back to the good ‘ol days of Butler Middle School. And while it’s all very nostalgic, they’re not helpful. I’m here in Spain to learn about the world from the viewpoint of Spaniards and my Spanish professors. But if my studies consist of reading guidebooks and filling out corresponding worksheets, that’s kind of difficult. Additionally, I’ve realized why Madison is such a good university. Its because we do learn facts and dates and peoples names, the exams are not written so that we spit back this information. They are written so that we synthesize information and are able to think critically about the information that we have learned.** Luckily I’m not afraid to speak up and ask questions about the material. I may be the most annoying student in class, but at least I’m getting my $12,000 worth!
**This statement excludes a geography class I took where all we had to do was memorize the names of different winds, rocks and land formations.
5. REASSESSMENT OF GOALS: When I came here, I was all about Spanish, Spanish, and Spanish. I wanted to speak Spanish 100% of the time and I got so annoyed when Americans would not even try to speak Spanish. I have since done some reassessing. I realized that #1) if the other people don’t want to speak Spanish, that’s their deal. And #2) the most important part of my experience here is not the Spanish. While it is important that I improve my Spanish, my experience is made up of a combination of all the things I do: meeting new people, traveling, learning about different cultures, improving my Spanish, etc. I never thought I would be one of those Americans who have no problem speaking English in public in a foreign country, but here I am doing just that. The only thing that does bother me, is taking LOUD in English in public… which I still refuse to do.
6. DUDES: I don’t know if I give off a certain scent or some type of signal which I’m not aware of, but the guys that I’ve met here are absolutely crazy! I’ve been told by a guy that I knew for about an 2 hours that he would fall in love with me if he had more time with me. I’ve been asked if I was a dance teacher because I was “such a good dancer.” Someone else told me that all he wasn’t looking for anything else but for me to “regalarse mi sonrisa” or like, give him my smile. I’ve even been given a poem. Whereas these guys probably think they’re being super romantic and using great pickup lines, all I do is laugh in their faces when I hear these things. I won’t lie, they are super flattering and every night that I go out, my self-esteem is boosted more and more, but seriously, where do these guys get this stuff!!! I was so surprised by the non-stop lines that I asked one guy “How did you learn to be so romantic?” And ready for his response…its GREAT. He goes “de tu mirada” (from your look). Gentlemen, take note on that.
7. So, I have come to the realization that these four months of my life are more less a non-stop vacation. I get 8 hours of sleep almost every night. I sleep in every Saturday and Sunday. I have time to run. I watch at least one movie every week. I go out 2-4 times a week. I drink wine and eat cheese. I take naps. I spend afternoons at the shopping center which includes clothing stores, cafes, restaurants, shoe stores, a movie theater and is a 10 minute walk from my Resedencia.
I almost feel like I’m living the life of someone else. It’s weird to go from a life where I have a meeting every night, study about 2-4 hours a day, have two jobs, and have to plan a week in advance to get coffee with someone to a life where I stop at the mall on the way home from class, go out for wine and tapas on a regular basis and then do my homework/studying on the side. It’s just strange.
8. Speaking of that shopping center, there is a restaurant there called “Salad & Co” which is a 9 Euro buffet. It’s basically like a all you can eat Pop’s Clubs/ Ed’s Express in the dorms. But for some reason it tastes 10 times better. In addition to the salad and pizza bars, there are FREE REFILLS (a rare commodity here in Europe) and a SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM machine.
9. PEANUT BUTTER: While we’re on the topic of food (I know, this blog installation is going downhill fast) I just want to say… SEND PEANUT BUTTER IF YOU LOVE ME. I’m going through withdrawal. Apples and bananas just aren’t the same anymore ☹
I was talking to my roommates about my peanut butter cravings and telling them I could really just go for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And they look at me and go “ Peanut butter and JELLY? Are you serious? What a WEIRD combination!” Oh, if they only knew…
Again, thanks for tuning in. Much love to all yall across the pond.
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