Spring Break in Italy, 2 weeks left in Spain

And the countdown begins; just two weeks until I leave Spain.  On one hand, I am happy to end these classes which I haven’t exactly enjoyed and to leave behind my crazy obsessed roommate who thinks he’s in love with me.  Also, I feel like I’m just getting started making Spanish friends and just reaching the point where I have the Spanish language basics down so that I can start catching onto slang and “modismos.”  But on the other hand, I have a lot to look forward to.

            When my program here in Spain ends, I will not be heading back to the US of A (glory be to God for that).  Rather, I’m headed to  Greece where I will stay with a friend of mine who I met who is studying here in Spain with me.  She is Greek-American, so she lives in the US, but spends each summer in Greece in her family’s apartment in Athens.  And I was lucky enough to be invited to spend the summer with her there!  The plan is to be based out of Athens, but travel around the country to visit her family members in different parts of the country (Sparta, to name one) and also head to some of the islands (Mykonos).  Needless to say I am VERY excited to have this opportunity to experience a culture that comes out of one of the world’s oldest and most sophisticated civilizations, hopefully learn some of the language as well as be able to see all the historic monuments and sights.  Not to mention spend two months with a good friend in a beautiful country!

            Let me say, these Greece plans were totally unplanned. I was initially planning to travel to Sudan to attend the wedding of one of my best friend’s sister and also just see his country after hearing so much about it.  However, due to the nutjob Sudanese president, a decision taken by the International Criminal Court and a suspension of US Embassy services for all Americans traveling to Sudan, I decided that I would be better not to go.  While my friend Khalid assured me that I would have no problems, I didn’t want to put myself (nor him or his family) in any unnecessary danger or through any unnecessary trouble.  Its really unfortunate because it would have been a wonderful experience and a great time, but I suppose there could be more opportunities in the future…Insha’Allah. 

            So basically, my original plans (a summer in the Middle East) have totally fallen apart, but I am not complaining.  While Greece (and maybe Turkey, Egypt and Ireland) are not exactly what I planned, I will be learning about a whole new part of the world of which I really know nothing about.  And as a wise man once told me, "life is the greatest school, struggle is the best teacher, and traveling is the most useful textbook".  J

            After looking at my plans for two weeks down the road, I’d like to share the events of the last two weeks of my life.  Last week was la Semana Santa (Holy Week), so being the Catholic country that it is, Spain’s universities have vacation the week before (April 3-13).  After taking so many weekend trips in the last few months, I was just going to take this 10 day break to stay around Alcalá, rest, and get all my work done for the rest of the school year.  But lo and behold, I was talked into going to Italy for a week (April 7-14) by some friends who are studying on the same program but also are from UW-Madison.  It was a very disorganized decision, as we bought the tickets one at a time, from different airlines, in and out of different cities, with no plans of how to get from one city to another.  But it ended up working out swimmingly, and I ended up falling liking Italy more than I had ever imagined.

            We began the trip in Milan in the north.  After buying our ticket into Milan,  I called Enrico, the exchange student who lived with my family in Waukesha for one year about two years ago.  I was really only expecting to meet up with him since I called on short notice.  BUT, it turns out that he let us stay at his family’s extra apartment in Milan, and that his and his family’s efforts really made our stay in Milan.  We had a two bedroom apartment to ourselves (me and my two girl friends), we had an Italian guide, and we made instant friends when Enrico introduced us to all his cool 17-19 year old buddies.  When Enrico was in the United States (to be honest), I didn’t find him to be to coolest person in the world. But when we arrived in Cadorna Square in Milan where Enrico picked us up, what a man he had become! He was very enthusiastic, his English was great, and he took us all around the city to eat, drink and see the sights.  He introduced us to all his friends, and they all spoke English with us which was really nice.  They even took us to the VIP section of a high schoolers club.  While the crowd was a little younger than I was used to, it was still a great time.  What I’m still baffled by is how this group of teenagers was able to buy 6 liter bottles of Belvedere and Grey Goose vodka in addition to a few bottles of champagne for the night.  But again, I’m not complaining.

            Furthermore, Enrico’s dad took us out to a wonderfully delicious dinner of lobster, spaghetti, prosecco and some equally delicious Italian deserts.  We were worried that because we had had such a great first day, the rest of our trip would not be able to compare.  But not to fear, the trip maintained its amazing-ness for the next 7 days.

            On our second day in Milan, we met up with an acquaintance I had met at the World Affairs Seminar in Whitewater, WI in 2005.  Paolo and I had briefly met, and had only kept in touch a little on Facebook throughout the last 4 years.  Still, I contacted him on a whim to see if he lived anywhere near Milan, Florence or Rome (the three cities that we would hit within the week), and it turned out that he lived just an hour train ride from Milan.  He even offered to be our guide in Milan for the day, and let’s admit it, you can’t having an local Italian take you around the city.  And just being able to reconnect with him was great.  Because not only does he know a lot about his country, he knows a lot about Wisconsin so we already have a point of connection.  So needless to say, our second day as well turned out to be a success.

            The third day we headed on to Florence on our own (just us three girls).  We didn’t make hostel reservations until a few days before, so we were pretty limited in our options.  Instead of spending 50 Euros to stay in a hotel, we decided to take a chance and stay in a place called “Camping Michaelangelo:” a campground situated on a hillside and in which your room is a metal-frame tent with bunkbeds inside.  For only 15 Euros a night, we got a beautiful view of Florence from the campground’s terrace which served 7 Euro carafes of vino roso.  Not bad at all. 

            Because we only had one day in Florence, we skipped entering all the famous art museums and sights and just walked for hours around the city.  The best part about the girls that I was traveling with was that they (like me) like to experience a culture by eating their way through it.  Instead of eating a hearty meal at any one place, we hopped from café to café, trying different Italian cuisine, wines and desserts. 

Before coming to Italy, I didn’t understand all the hype around Italian food. But now I do.  The ingredients are so simple, but the resulting dish is so rich and flavorful.  In the United States, we are used to putting the most we can on a sandwich, making a pizza with 7 different toppings, preparing a hamburger with “everything.”  In Italy the food is much simpler but even more delicious.  For example, the Caprese pizza was a piece of fresh, crispy bread drizzled with olive oil, topped with fresh tomato and mozzarella slices and then sprinkled with fresh herbs. Very few ingredients, but very savory and still very filling. 

After Florence, we headed on to Siena for a day trip: a very small, but also a very beautiful, city.  To arrive to the main square, you have to weave through a bunch of narrow streets lined with small shops and restaurants.  But walking down these enclosed alleys makes the square all the better. That is, the main piazza in Siena is a huge clearing with a beautiful brick building at the focal point.  Tourists sprawl out on all parts of the piazza, sitting, snapping pictures, eating gelato.  We were lucky enough to be there on a beautifully sunny day, and for that reason, we really enjoyed the city. 

Siena was also fun because we could try the Italian that we learned in the last few days.  Upon making plans to go to Italy, I tried to learn a few key phrases from a pimsleur language podcast, but that failed.  But when I arrived in Italy and became absolutely enchanted by the Italian language and accent, I started trying hard to pick up at least some phrases.  Though Siena is a very touristic city, Jan, Lauren and I decided to weave around in the streets further away from the main piazza to find a place to eat.  When we did, we realized that the place had nothing translated to English and that the waiters did not speak English.  Whereas some Americans may have been disappointed or frustrated, this is just the kind of thing that gets me going. I put on my best mock-Italian accent and ordered “canollini” and “vino roso!,” “per favóre!” Rather fun, if I can say so myself. 

After just 4 or 5 hours in Siena, we headed back to Florence where we then hopped a train to Rome.  This is where it gets interesting. 

The day before, we had bought tickets to Rome on the 4:49 train.  We look at the message board at about 4:30 and see a train heading to Naples, but stopping in Rome, leaving at 4:49 from Florence.  That must be our train, we thought.  So we got on.

            We were expecting to arrive in Rome at 9:30pm because we had paid for the normal velocity train.  But at about 6:00 PM, just before I was about to call Costa (my would-be host in Rome), I asked the man across from me what time we would arrive in Rome.  He answered that we would arrive in about 30 minutes, since this was the high-velocity train.  My eyes opened wide, as I was rather confused.  We had purchased cheap tickets for the slow train, and we thought we had got on the slow train.  But no, we were actually on the fast train.  Oops. 

            I told Jan and Lauren who were sitting in some seats down the aisle.  While they proceeded to crack up, my palms began to sweat as I nervously looked to the next car to see if the ticket-checker-man was coming.  I only had about 3 Euros and some change in my purse and the Italian man who I talked with told me that they could fine us up to 100 Euros…per person.  So for the next 25 minutes, I waited impatiently for the train to reach the Rome Termini station so we could hop off and run for our lives. 

            Turns out the ticket man never came to check our tickets, and we got off paying less than 20 Euros for a 50 Euro ticket.  And we got to Rome in 1.5 hours rather than 4.5.  We got pretttty lucky.  (But I would like to mention how nice the  two Italian men were in helping us stupid Americans realize what was going on)

            The next leg of our journey, Rome, was no less amazing than the last.  In fact, the sights in Rome are some of the most breathtaking sights I’ve seen in my life.  I would say even better than the Pyramids.  Again in Rome, I was lucky due to an AFS connection from the past.  In 1996-97, Costa lived in Waukesha.  While he didn’t live with our family, he spent a good amount of time at our 2733 Oakcrest Dr. home.  I was only 9 years old when he was in the US, but when I called him from Spain to see what he would be doing during the time I was in Rome, it was like not a day had gone by since we had seen each other last.

            He offered to pick us up from the train station, take us to dinner, and then be our tour guide in the city for the weekend.  Jan and Lauren ended up staying with one of their good friends from Madison who they had come to visit.  But since I had never met their friends, I opted to spend the weekend with Costa.  I had my very own room and bathroom in Costa’s new apartment which was located about 30 minutes outside the city.  He took me to dinner at a great restaurant down the street form the coliseum on Friday, dinner at his parents’ house on Saturday, and Easter lunch at his aunt and uncles house on Friday.  So not even including the historic monuments and sights we saw, I had a great cultural experience.  I met his friends and family, ate fresh, homemade Italian food, and was totally immersed in an all Italian environment. I forgot how tiring it is to be in another, unfamiliar culture 27-4, but it also reminded me how much I love it and how lucky I am to experience that kind of thing in so many different places around the world.   

            In addition to experiencing Italian culture, Costa took me around all of Rome on an extensive two-day tour.  Its amazing to think how old some of the buildings are.  In the us we call a historical building something form the 1920s, but in Rome, the historical buildings come from 2000 years ago.  How are these things still standing?! To stand in the Middle of the Coliseum, Foro Romano or Palatine and look around is absolutely mind-blowing/ breathtaking/ stupefying.  Its like you’re on another planet or like you time traveled 2000 years back.  Its like something out of the movie Dune. Its not just pillars and broken walls that remain, its whole buildings and doors and houses and ponds and marble floors.  The building where Julius Cesar’s body was burned still stands and people still come to place flowers and letters and pictures upon it. 

Another great part of being in Rome during the Holy Week (something which we didn’t even realize until Saturday) is that the Vatican City is right in the middle of the city.  So on Sunday morning we trekked a whole 4 blocks to St. Peter’s square two hours before mass and got a spot to sit for Easter Sunday mass at the Vatican.  It was the most excited I’ve ever been to go to church.  I am not religious at all (ask anyone who knows me), but when I entered the square, I my eyes started tearing. It was the weirdest thing (and also rather embarrassing, because I hadn’t the slightest idea why I was crying.)  I think what got to me was just the view of thousands of people from all over the world in St. Peter’s square, the basilica ahead, and some buildings with columnar structures surrounding the square.  It was a beautiful sight.  Then when the pope walked in and some man with a really good voice (unlike the woman with no neck who sings opera at St. Joe’s Church in Waukesha) began to sing,  I was just like “Wow… this is kind of cool.”  Some people probably dream of attending a mass given by the pope in St Peter’s square for their whole lives, and here I am, at mass with the pope, just because I happened to end up in Rome for Easter.

At the end of the week, I was absolutely pooped.  This was the longest trip that I have taken all semester and really the longest trip that I have been on where I have had to plan everything on my own.  I knew it was time to go home when I went out on the last night, and literally fell asleep at a bar.  Traveling is great, but it is also exhausting.  

I  bought tickets to Italy thinking that it would be somewhere fun to go during spring break, thinking that it would be something to fill my time. But the trip itself turned out to be a very enriching experience and the country turned out to be a country that I really fell in love with.  (In fact, I even enrolled in Italian 201 (Beginning Italian for Speakers of Romance Languages) next fall in Madison.) Beautiful sights, nice people, great fashion and delicious food.  What more can you ask for? 

¡Joder, tío!

LONDON

‘ello love! I’m back in Alcala from London. What (another) great trip! London is a really beautiful, historic city with a LOT to see. There are all buildings (Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc) but then all the museums are free too! For being there just three days, I think I was able to fit a good amount of sightseeing in. It was another one of those trips where every few minutes I had to pinch myself to see if this was real life or not.

London was of course expensive (my most expensive trip yet), but it was totally worth it. It was crazy to see all the fancy cars and luxurious houses and to know (from reading Hello! magazine) that Prince Harry parties in the same neighborhood where we went out on Friday night (Notting Hill). Since I had been so busy planning other trips and trying to write my essays for class, I had no time to plan for London. So when I got there, I had no idea of what to see other than the well known sights. I found that buying a map and hopping on a bus which we THINK will take us in the general direction of where we want to go is the best way to explore the city. I also realized how much better it is to take the bus than the underground metro. Busses are like free tours around the city!

But anyhoo, besides the sightseeing and great shopping, there are a lot of things that I have been thinking about after touring around London. That brings us to the agenda for today:
1. London
2. Austira
3. Barcelona
4. Culture
5. Bus Drivers
6. Podcasts and Cultural Comfort


London is a lot more of an ethnically diverse place than is Madrid. Whereas in Madrid you see a lot of one ethnic group or another, in London its an total mix. Additionally, it doesn’t seem like all the “Western” ethnicities are necessarily the most wealthy. Whereas in Spain I can tell that the South American is a worker and the Spanish is a businessperson, I had no perception of this in London. (I do understand I am making some pretty big assumptions granted I was only there for 3 full days, but I’m just sharing my observations. Let me know if you know differently!)

I also realized how much I like seeing this diversity and how much Madrid is missing it. May God forgive me for staring at people so much, but the people-watching is GREAT in London. The fashion is very diverse but also “advanced” (in relation to the US) and since there is such a mix of people, there are so many unique and beautiful faces.

It also seems that these diverse groups are more integrated into society. I was thinking as to why this might be. Here’s my theory: In Spain, Franco’s dictatorship lasted until 1977 meaning that it basically was closed off the to world, and when people did move around, they were moving OUT of (not into) Spain. Thus, Spain was a pretty homogenous country even up until the year 2000. So here, there’s no second generation yet. Everyone is relatively fresh off the boat so there’s no mixing going on. Its pretty sad actually. Groups are so separated. Like the other day I got excited because I saw a black girl and Asian looking guy walking arm-in-arm and I was like, hey! There is cultural harmony here. But then I got closer and realized that they were Americans. Wah-wahhhhh.
I talked about this with my program director and she said that she realized that this “segregation” was apparent in Spain but “ojala” (hopefully) it will change in ten years.

----→ one quick side note. There is a word in Spanish called “Ojala” which means hopefully. When learning about it in class, the professor told us that it came from the Arabic phrase “Oh Allah” which is a call of desperation to God. Well, that’s really funny because I thought it came from the phrase “Insha’allah” which means “if god wills” or broken down insha=wills and allah=god. But whatever, I must not know what I’m talking about.

Another thing about London that I noticed in comparison to Madrid is that it is much more cosmopolitan. Sure Madrid has a lot of international brands, people and a stores, but it is a lot more apparent in London. For example, at the grocery store in London the bread section includes bread loafs (wonder bread type), baguettes, naan and pita. In Madrid/Alcala de Henares, not so much. Also, in London, there are TONS of Arabic and Indian restaurants. In Spain, you may run into a Chinese restaurant or Arabic restaurant here or there but its very uncommon. I would attribute this to the whole Franco issue as well. Way to close off your country Franco and condemn it to a future of close-mindedness and racism!

AUSTRIA
A few weeks ago, as I previously mentioned, I went to Austria. What a beautiful place. Man oh man. But anyway, let me tell you a little story and then wrap it up with a realization about the difference between the concept of the human body in the US and in Austria.

So my friend Georgia and I went to Austria together. Giesela was busy for a few hours, so we headed to the Alpentherme (thermal bathhouse/pool). We chilled in the family pool, went to the outdoor pool, etc. Then we decided to go to the spa room with all the steam rooms and saunas. When we walked in, everyone was naked, naturally. That didn’t surprise me. When I was in Austria two years ago I was at another spa where everyone was naked. However, Georgia and I decided not to go nude. There were some other people in the sauna area with swimsuits on, so we didn’t think we were in the wrong. But, then some old European man yelled at us and motioned with his hands. We thought he meant that it was required that we use towels in that specific steam room.
So we left, got towels and came back in.
Then the man who yelled at us previously left.
Turns out that old man went and got one of the people who worked at the spa to come and yell at us in another Germanic language. This time we were pretty sure that he meant “ You have to take your swimming suit off.”
Georgia and I weren’t really into that bring-naked-in-a-room-full-of-other-naked-people thing so we got up and left.
When we left, we did see the sign at the door that said “nude zone” in about 10 different languages and a sign of a bikini with a red “X” through it. Don’t know how we missed that.

While this is a rather funny anecdote, it does bring me to an interesting cultural point: the hypersexualization of the human body in American society. I don’t know if that’s actually a word, but you can probably guess what I mean. If not, let me tell you:

Think of where, in the United States, you see the naked human adult body. Pornos. Maybe a health class. … … … and I’m spent; I cant really think of anywhere else. And maybe this is just a generalization, but in Europe it seems that the body is something very natural. Which I think it should be. Especially after being in a room full of naked people though, you really think twice about all the hype around nakedness. It’s so overrated!

It’s also really interesting to think about two dichotomies that I have experienced while traveling.: the difference between Austria and Egypt. In Egypt, my host family always wanted to make sure that my clothes weren’t too tight, that my back or belly didn’t show when I bent over and they didn’t want me hanging out with guys they didn’t know. Then in Austria, I entered a room full of naked men and women of all ages, not to mention all strangers and furthermore, it was required to be totally naked.

That’s the moment when you have to take a step back and think about the human race. Yes, we’re all human, we all have the same basic needs and wants (food, shelter, clothing, relaxation, community, fun, etc.) but the way that we go about obtaining these wants and needs them are so very different. I also think that this concept would make for a good definition of culture: the way in which a society seeks to maintain the basic human wants and needs.


BARCELONA AND THOUGHTS ON NORTH AFRICA

Now on to Barcelona and some random thoughts about my experience there.

Barcelona is a beautiful city on the Mediterranean with a lot to see and do. Plenty of plazas, restaurants, bars, clubs, a beach, parks…and the list goes on. If you’re ever in Barcelona, here are some of the places that you have to see/pass by:
1. Park Güell
2. Las Ramblas
3. Barrio Gotico
4. Sagrada Familia
5. Plaza Catalunya
6. Plaza Espanyola- fountain/light show every Friday and Saturday night
7. Catedral in the Barrio Gotico
8. The Beach/Port of Barcelona
9. Gaudí Houses

While all these places were great, my favorite experience in Barcelona was not a sight that I saw or a park that I visited. Instead it was the people that I met. Both Friday and Saturday night that we were there we went to the beach to do a “botellón.” (For all of you who don’t know what that is, let me explain. One of the greatest Spanish phenomenon, a botellón is just where you buy alcohol in a corner store—popularly called “Chinos” or “Pakis” because they are run by Asians or Pakistanis---take it to the outdoor location of your choice---beach, particular street, plaza---- and you guessed it, drink. Its technically illegal, but the police are usually very lax about it and don’t arrest or fine people.)
During our botellón on the beach, first of all we met a street performer in his twenties from Transylvania. He had a guitar and harmonica so he sang us some songs and then we started to chime in too. Sitting on the beach under a full moon, drinking Spanish wine and listening to a free show by a Transylvanian man….Life doesn’t get any better than this.
After a while when the whole scat singing and guitar playing died down, I heard a drum beating in the distance. The music was Arab sounding. I turn around and there was a band of young guys walking down the beach playing Moroccan beats and singing.
At hearing this music, I of course jumped up and ran over to them, said hello and told them that I loved their music. They invited me to sit with them on the beach. We sat and chatted for a while, I whipped out the little Arabic that I know, and of course then I joined them in dancing. When I told the guys that I was from the US, the face this one guy gave me made me think that he didn’t really believe me.
This is the kind of stuff I LOVE; I spent about an hour on the beach in Barcelona, chillin with some Moroccan teenagers who were playing a drum and chanting/singing music in Arabic. Everyone says that Barcelona’s night clubs are crazy fun, but am I definitely glad I spend the night on the beach. Not only did I met people from around the world, but I also got to experience the best of Moroccan culture and hopefully show these guys that not all Americans are do-dos.
This experience makes me reflect on the things I’ve heard about Arab and Moroccan culture here in Spain. North Africa is so close, but there is such misunderstanding by the Spanish about this part of the world. I have heard so many times that I shouldn’t go to Morocco because its so dangerous, there is a strong hate towards Americans and that the men there are ravenous. I must be naïve, biased or just not seeing the whole picture because all the Moroccans I have met have been nothing but nice. Sure, some of the guys have been a creepy, but lets be honest, creepy dudes exist in ALL cultures.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have really felt there is a lot of ignorance and stereotypes by the Spanish towards the Moroccan population in Morocco and in Spain, and it really bothers me. Let me share two other related stories:
STORY ONE
In the classes that I’m, taking we learn a lot about Spanish history. All the stories about the incest and scandals within the royal families and who killed who to get which piece of land doesn’t really interest me. However, when we came to the year 711, I though I would finally be interested in something. This year was the year that the Moorish kingdom began in Spain. Much to my surprise though, we spend ONE CLASS PERIOD (90 minutes) talking about more than 700 years of history: 711 until 1492 when the Reconquista of Spain was consolidated. No gossip about which Muslim king married who and how many lovers he had on the side? No talk about which royal family was the worst in all 700 years? Nope. Instead we covered the “Invasion” of the Muslims in one class period; the “invasion” that came right after the invasion of the Visigoths. But, oh wait, when the Visigoths ruled Spain for 500 years, that was called a Kingdom. Nevermind.

STORY TWO
This last weekend my study abroad group was in Seville, a city in the south of Spain. We were at a palace/cathedral-type building that had a lot of art in the mudejar style (the style from Moorish Spain). At seeing these designs, the director of our study abroad program goes “Who wants to be Muslim?!” and when two girls volunteered, she took their scarves and wrapped them around the girls head like a hijab. She then took out her camera and started taking pictures. The girls in the pictures were very serious looking, so I told them, “You can be happy!” Then the director turned to me and said, “No they can’t; they’re subdued to men!” (“son sometidos al hombre”).

Excuse me? First she dresses up two girls as Muslims like it’s a Halloween costume, then asserts that they need to look sad in the picture because they are Muslim women, and therefore, suppressed by men and therefore, depressed. Okaaaaaay… and this woman is employed by an international study abroad business? There must not be too rigorous of an interview process…

I previously thought ignorance and stereotypes towards the Muslim world was just an American phenomenon due to 9/11 and the subsequent war in Iraq, but I have unfortunately learned that this attitude exists in other parts of the world, too. Here in Spain I imagine it at least partially comes from their “9/11” which was March 11, 2004: the terrorist bombing which killed hundreds in the Madrid train station Atocha and for which Al Qaeda claimed responsibility. Sad to think that one nut-job (Osama bin Ladin) and his whack ideas (that the south of Spain which used to be ruled by Muslims should be returned to the Muslim world) ruin the reputation of millions of people. Way to go Osama! (Thank the Lord that most people don’t pin the ideas of George Bush and actions of the US military onto every single American.)

CULTURE

Last night, as I was walking back to the hotel from “Blues Bar” in Seville my friend Federico and I stopped for a few minutes to watch un espectaculo going on in the street. Some guys with guitars were playing and singing some Spanish tunes. Then some ladies from the bar came out and started dancing Flamenco with the guys who didn’t have guitars. This was going on since before we got there and until after we left. This is a very lame description, but how cool.

On Friday when we were in Cordoba, we sat down at a outdoor café and just as we were ordering our pizza, some guys sitting at a table near us starting playing the guitar and singing.

In Barcelona, I was invited to dance and enjoy a “free concert” just by saying hello.

In my Resedencia, on of my roommate will sometimes whip out his guitar and play some tunes. Or on Sunday when we are all eating lunch together Luis plays music from his cell phone and I’m pulled away from my lunch, fork still in hand, to dance.


I have realized that in the US, we are many times so aloof, for lack of a better word. Distanced from one another, detached from our own sense of humanity. Sorry for being so cheesy, but its true! We are so personal and individualized. Everyone walks around their ears plugged with his or her ipod, coffee in hand, on the way to somewhere important. And what do we do for fun? We get drunk on the weekend, we go out, we think we have fun but are not quite sure because we don’t really remember, we meet hundreds of new people who we, if it weren’t for Facebook, would forget about, we wake up the next day, pop an ibuprofen and then return to being serious Monday morning. I will admit that that I have been in this exact situation many-a-time, and I will admit that I think they were fun.
But being here in Spain and being able to travel around and meet so many different people and have so may different experiences makes me realize that there are so many “kinds” of fun to be had, and furthermore, it is so much more fun when you have someone to share the fun with.
There are so many things to appreciate in the world but I think that because of our fast-paced lifestyle, we don’t take the time to appreciate them. A nice view, an intrestestingly shaped tree, a coffee, the clouds, a bottle of wine, a car ride, a good song, a sunny afternoon, silence. To me it seems that we as Americans are so focused on heading to our next appointment that we don’t enjoy those things. In fact, sitting to drink your morning coffee or taking a lunch break is considered a waste of time. Or, if you went to go sit on a bench downtown on a sunny afternoon, people would probably think that you were homeless.
I’m not saying that we don’t have a “culture” in the US, I’m just saying that we don’t have one fixed culture that is accepted by everyone. What is “America” for me is “Maria’s a weirdo” for someone else. A few weeks ago, my roommates asked me,
“What is the typical dish of Wisconsin?” and I didn’t exactly know how to answer them. I thought about what I eat at home in Waukesha and then realized that shrimp creole and fresh mozzarella and tomato salads probably aren’t the most typical Wisconsin foods. So I answered them with “Brats, burgers and beer,” but then added that “Mexican food is pretty popular too.”
Each time that someone has asked me a question about the typical this or that in my country or state, I always have a different answer. Because the truth is there is no typical in the US. There are some traits that characterize Americans in general, like wearing sweatpants in public and smiling in pictures and there are plenty of traits that describe WASP America (which some people would equate with America as a whole). But overall, considering all the people in the US, its really hard to say exactly “This is what we do/eat/wear/watch/say in the United States.” And I really like that.


BUS DRIVERS
Now onto a lighter topic: Bus Drivers in Spain. Bus drivers are some of the happiest people I see around. For example:
1. When they are ahead of schedule, they’ll stop at a main bus station, get out, have a smoke and chat with all their other bus driver friends.
2. When they pass by another bus on the city streets, they’ll roll down the driver winder and slow down so they can shout something to the driver passing by.
3. They play the radio or whatever music they want so that the whole bus can hear it.
4. If they see a friend walking down the road, they’ll stop the bus, and let the friend on and keep on keepin’ on while the friend stands by the drivers side chatting. Then when they’re done chatting, they’ll stop to let the friend off.
5. When I get on the bus every morning, I am greeted by the bus driver with a “Good Morning” or “Hello” and frequently with “How are you today?” If I get one specific driver (who has a mullet and loves classic American rock music) he greets me with “Hola guapa! Guapísima! Que tal estás?” (Hello beautiful! Very beautiful! How are you?)
6. When taking long bus rides, its mandated by Spanish law that the driver has to stop every 2 or 3 hours. On our trip to Sevilla we stopped and waited 30 minutes while our driver ordered a sandwich and (non-alcoholic) beer.

And with all this friendliness and stopping, people still get to where they want to be. And you know what, I bet they’re happier when they get there.

INTELLIGENCE OF STREET VENDORS

When you do a lot of traveling, you get accosted by many a street vendor. They’re annoying. They try to sell you the most worthless crap ever. Sometimes they smell like B.O. But all that aside, a lot of them, especially in the bigger cities (Barcelona is where I experienced this the most), speak numerous languages. Some people (like yours truly) study years and years to be able to speak other languages while these uneducated and impoverished guys pick up three or four languages selling beers and trinkets on the street.
This reminds me of a man who I heard speak at a Distinguished Lecture Series in Madison. His name was Ishmael Beah and he was a child soldier in Sierra Leone. He was lucky enough to be nursed back to health and sanity by a organization who helps child soldiers re-enter society. He was able to leave Sierra Leone and later write a beautifully written book about his experiences. Think about it: a young boy is brainwashed into killing his own country men and women, but later, because of the good will of others who never gave up on helping him, he was able to overcome his situation create a safe and comfortable life for himself and help others with his words and actions. Of course it takes the concerted effort of both parties, but its not impossible.
Now back to the street sellers. Just think if someone were to invest in one of these young men street vendors like the NGO did for Ishmael Beah. Or only if they had the opportunity to invest in themselves. Most people don’t choose to be poor. They are poor because they don’t have the opportunities they need to advance themselves. If these street vendors have already picked up 3 or 4 languages in the time they have spent bothering tourists, think how they would succeed in other topics or what they could do if they went to business school.


PODCASTS and COMFORT

Just until last week, I was not able to connect to the internet as I can in the US, and until last week I didn’t realize how much of an integral part of my life the internet is. Every day in the US, I listen to BBC World News when I get ready in the morning and I listen to various podcasts on the way to class. When I found out that I couldn’t get them here in Spain due to the pinche internet, I decided it was a good thing because then I could take in more of the Spanish culture rather than staying in my own little bubble. I would watch the Spanish news and listen to people’s conversations on the bus to try to improve my Spanish.
And I tried that. But when you don’t have a radio or TV its kinda hard. Or when the bus is packed and all the conversations just meld together. So this last week when I got access to world news and TED talks, I felt reconnected with the world.
I realized that there’s a certain point where I just need to let go of the whole “cultural immersion” idea and do what’s best for me. It’s like playing the Sims if you can imagine that. The people have little bars that you have try to keep at 100% by doing various tasks. When they talk with friends, the “social” bar is filled, when they sit down, the “comfort” bar goes up and when they go to bed the “sleep” bar increases. Everyday when I speak Spanish with my roommates, my “language” bar goes up, when I go to a barbeque with Spanish friends, my “cultural immersion” bar increases. Then when I listed to the BBC or listen to music in English, my “language” or “cultural immersion” bar may not be going up at all, but my “international connectedness” and “happiness” bars sure does.

Ahh…this is what happens when you devote hours of your life to a computer game.

If you, too, would like your happiness and international connectedness bar to be at 100%, google TED Talks. They will rock your socks off.

Well peeps thanks for tuning in once again.

just touched down in london town

Hey all--

this is going to be a be short entry, but I have a little time while I wait for my slow friends to get ready to go out today.

I'm in London! I'm visiting a friend Madison who's studying here and another friend who is here visiting on Spring Break. You know what I was thinking though... I really can't believe my month. Austria, Barcelona, London, and next week Cordoba and Seville. Next year when I am feeling overloaded and stressed and depressed by the sucky Wisconsin weather, I'll just have to think back and remember that just in this one month, I've had enough vacation to last me at LEAST a whole year. (But let's be real, its probably going to have to last me about 30 years until I can afford and have time for another trip like this).

London is another very cool place. I am staying at a great hostel (for 15 pounds a night) in the "Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea." I've seen some numerous Bentley's and Rolls Royces and we're amongst numerous embassies. (The Embassy of the Netherlands WOULD have a huge bike rack out front). There are shops ranging from H & M to Mossimo Dutti to Herrods department store to Gucci and Burberry.

Another thing about London and Europe in general-- the architecture and just the spacial construction. I'm not sure if that's the right word to use, but what I mean is that everything here makes you want to stroll down the street or sit down on a bench or eat at an outdoor cafe. Let's think about the US for a minute. You drive to Target (no offense Alicia). You park your car among 100s of others, walk over the cement to the enterence. The layout of the store is expansive and spacious. Next door is a Sentry Foods and some other retail stores. On your way home you notice some stop lights, fields, highways, house or two in the distance.

What happened to city centers? Square blocks? Sure, we have more space in the US, but why does that mean that we have to spread everything out more? Did planners ever realize that making buildings look like huge warehouses might be ugly and boring? Just a thought... Just think about how much more asthetically pleasing it would be to go grocery shopping or to target or wal-mart if all our buildings didn't look like brick cubes surrounded by an endless sea of asphalt.

Well I'm off to see the sights today!

Hasta LUEGOO!

maria FELICIA ramirez

HEY YALL

The title of this blog is obviously my name. In case you didn't know, my middle name is Felicia. While I was traveling this weekend, Gisela helped me realize something about myself that I never really thought about. It's that, my parents must have known how I would turn out and for that reason, they gave me the name they gave me.

What do I mean? Well in case you ain't know, "feliz" in Spanish means happy, "felicidad" means happiness, and that's where my name comes from. And if you know me, I'm generally a happy person. I'm usually laughing (even if I shouldn't be) and I'm usually not making a big deal out of stuff (even if I should be). Kinda cool that I have an actual connection to my name (other than the fact that it's my name), eh?

While I'm talking about names, let me share something else with yall. I learned in my Spanish Civilization and Culture class that all last names with an "-ez" suffix that they are 1) Spanish and 2) the son of someone. They say that you go abroad to learn about yourself and explore your identity, and gosh darn it, that's what I'm doing here. I learned that someone in my family at one time came from Spain and that this person was the decendant of Ramiro.

Mr. Stein of Waukesha West High School would love me right now because I'm going to make a SEGUE using that last topic of identity exploration. I explored my identity in further detail by traveling to Austria this last weekend. Let me just say: Man, do I love my heritage. I've actually decided that since it is not known exactly where my Austrian family came from within Austria-Hungary, I shall hereby adopt the city of Badgastien. So naturally, it will be important to make future trips to be able to learn and strenghten the cultural traditions of my ancestors.

A little about the trip: I invited my friend Georgia (who is also studying here in Spain) to come with to visit our family friend's the Mayerhofers in Badgastein, Austria. It was no doubt the best weekend we've had thus far in Europe and also a great breath of fresh air both literally and figuratively.

That is...

We were in the Austrian Alps. I never thought I would enjoy a vacation which takes me out of a warmer climate and puts me into freezing weather, but when you're in the Gastienertal valley in the Alps, it's a different story. The air is fresh, the water is deliciously clean, and the scenery is breathtaking. This is my fourth time in the same city, and I never cease to be awestruck every morning when I wake up, pull aside the shades and see the other side of the valley and the snow capped peaks in the background.

Figuratively speaking, it was a breath of fresh air from Spain.

I’ve realized that though I see the Gisela, Martin and the girls only a few times in my life, they are closer to me than some of my real family. For this reason, going to Badgastien was something like going home for the weekend. I’ll admit it was nice to have the material things (a nice shower, feather beds, a coffee maker, ample silverware, working and reliable internet, etc) but even better is being with people that you’ve known your whole life and who know everyone who is important to you.

Also, it was nice to be in straight up "Western European" culture. I realize this might sound racist or "culturist," but I have also come to terms with the face that the world is made up of different people who follow are part of different cultures. I’m not a follower of Samuel Huntington who says that a “Clash of Civilizations” will create the majority of problems that we will face in our time; in fact I am a fan of our multicultural world. What a boring place it would be without them! I am simply saying that while people are people are people and while we all share the basic wants and needs, it become very clear that we all go about getting them in different ways.

Being the foreigner definitely gives you a new point of view. When I meet in the United States, I normally will note where they are from and carry on as normal. In the US, everyone is taught that equality should be held in high regard and that everyone should be treated the same. I am not questioning this assertion. However, I am realizing that someone’s background really should be given more consideration in how you treat a person. Call it stereotyping, call it what you will, but depending on where someone comes from and depending on the cultural background of a person, his or her world view (Weltanschauung—how you like THAT Jeremi Suri) will be so different to the point that you treat them differently. This may sound negative, but I don’t mean it that way. People from different backgrounds have different motives for doing different things and each of these motives should be comprehensively considered and most of the time, respected. I wish I could give a specific example, but that would take at least a 500 page novel to explain the situations I’ve encountered.

I have had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world here in Spain just like I have in the US. The thing is that here, I am “one of them;” I’m also an outsider.

In the US, I think “Man, how come those Asian people always grouped together ?” or “Why do those Mexican people always speak Spanish together?” Well guess what, take out the words Asian and Mexican in those sentences and replace it with Americans. Because that’s what’s happening here. While I go to Spanish or Latin American parties, I start off the night with American friends. When I am with a group of Americans, even if we are in the middle of Madrid, we speak English. Really makes you think twice about what you think about others when all of a sudden you are the other.



Well, I meant to write just about Austria but I got a little of track. More to come about the wonderland that is Austria.

a bit of a low point...

In our endless hours of culture preparation, we learned about culture shock and the ups and downs of study abroad. Annnnd…I for sure am hitting a down point right now. The things that I realized before and told myself “Eh, I won’t let these things get to me” are really getting to me. So I’m going to warn you that the rest of this blog update is basically complaints. Read on at your own risk.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still having a great time over all, but some things are REALLY bothering me. I said before this is basically a 4 month vacation—which is BASICALLY is—but now I’m starting to realize that I do have work to do. In fact, one of our professors just reprimanded us today for not putting any effort into the class. Furthermore, I have two ten page research papers due at the end of March and I am traveling every single weekend this month. So in the last week or so, I figured I better start getting down to business. However a series of events and realizations made that extremely hard to do.

There are three things that bother me the most and which prevent me from getting the aforementioned work done: the internet, the library system and the lack of study places.

1) Internet: As I have said numerous times, the internet here sucks. But before I only needed it for fun stuff—chatting, uploading pictures, emails, etc. So when it conked out, it wasn’t the end of the world. But now that I have papers to write, words to look up, flights to book, emails to send to professors, research to do and online sources to read, it becomes somewhat problematic. At home, the internet works so-so and in university buildings, it normally works, though I can’t connect using my laptop. But most recently, the internet has been down in the whole university. This means I can’t even sign on using my user name and password to print or do word processing. Are you kidding me? What kind of university is this that you cant sign onto the internet NOR onto the computers in general? How much am I paying for this semester again?

Additionally, the machines that are used to refill the print cards that we use have been down for the last few weeks and/or the print cards don’t work correctly. Just to be able to print off a paper, I had to go to three different buildings and talk with about 5 different people until I was able to get a new print card, fill it with money, then find a computer that would let me sign in.

Let me just say that it makes me REALLY appreciate the library system that we have in Madison. I think if I went to study in a country like Uganda or Nicaragua (a country that is considered “developing”) I might have been expecting a run around like this. But here I am in Spain, Western Europe, part of the European Union, and I spend half my time just trying to find a darn working computer or a place with internet access.

2) So speaking of libraries. I have had some issues with them. The libraries here open at 8:30 am and close at 8 pm ONLY Monday-Friday. I found this out the hard way when I was planning to work all day Saturday and Sunday on a paper that was due the next week Wednesday. I start researching sources Friday night only to find out that I couldn’t go get them until Monday when the library opens again. So I basically screwed myself over by waiting til the weekend when I THOUGHT I was going to be able to get started. Instead, I had to wait until Monday and cram for two days to get this thing done.


Library complaint #2: You can only check out three books from a library at a time. I currently have two papers with the same due date both of which require books from the same library (library of philosophy and letters) but I will have to go back and forth to get the sources.

Library complaint #3: There are no e-resources like we have at Madison. For this reason, I thank the lord/UW Board of Regents that we have remote access to UW e-resources.

Library complaint #4: On the topic of resources… I am doing a paper on relations between Spain and North Africa. The resources that I came up with for this topic had publish dates from between 1915 and 1994. Is this a joke? I understand history doesn’t really change, but do they really expect me to do a comprehensive report on this topic with those kind of sources? Again, good thing that I have UW e-resources.

3) Study places: There are none. Like I said, the libraries and other university buildings are not open after 8pm nor on the weekends. In the resedencias, there is a “Sala de Estudio” (Study Room) which is a room with three tables in it and about 15 or so chairs. There is no bathroom connected so if you gotta go, you gotta walk back home, and the heat is not so hot. This means that before going I have to remember to not drink liquids for a few hours and wear various layers of clothes. I never realized how fortunate I was in Madison to have 40 different libraries to choose from, all with internet access, all with heat, all with bathrooms connected. I really didn’t think it was a big deal, but now I realize how lucky we are to have all those resources. Both the academic resources (up-to-date materials) and also comfortable places to study.

I’ve also started questioning the quality of University of Alcalá as an academic institution. I have no complaints about my professors; they are nice, helpful, and knowledgeable. However, how great can a university really be when there’s a three book limit at the library and when there’s really no where to do serious studying? Or when my master-student roommates watch movies all Sunday afternoon? I’m a little reluctant to think that it can be too challenging?
So basically I end up studying at home. I have mentioned before that I have 7 roommates. But now, curiously, I have 8. Hopefully no one from the residence administration is reading this, because I would imagine squatting is highly illegal, but I really don’t know what the deal is. To be honest I don’t care because she’s super nice and is learning English so she understands that there’s actually a person behind my broken Spanish. All in all we get along really well and its fun to have her around. HOWEVER… I was never informed of this house guest’s arrival. Its true that she’s not staying in my room or really invading my personal privacy, but im just wondering what would happen in any one of my living situations in the US if something like this happened (an unannounced house guest for an unknown period of time). Its almost like here, we’re 8 people, so what’s one more!


So whereas I’m still very happy with my living situation, its extremely hard to live in it.

Speaking of living situation, yesterday (Sunday), I made an “American breakfast” for my roommates. I made pancakes (from scratch!), bacon, eggs with cheddar cheese, toast and a yogurt-banana-peanut butter smoothie. Everyone loved everything, but were REALLY confused by the yogurt-banana-peanut butter smoothie. (YES, I caved and bought peanut butter for 4 Euros per jar) Each person who tried it was like, “Wait, WHAT’S in here again?” and I do believe that they were pretty surprised that I could put something like that together. Its just that here in Spain, I am just getting used to brand names and different types of food to buy at the grocery store. I never thought about that before coming, but it really does make a difference in what you can and can’t cook. One of the first days I tried to make a cous-cous salad with cucumber, tomatoes and feta cheese. I didn’t have any measuring utensils so the cous cous turned out too soggy. The cucumber was really expensive, so I didn’t buy it, and the feta turned out REALLY salty so the salad was not how I usually make it. Another thing I never thought about is all the convenient kitchen appliances that I use on a daily basis in the US. Since all my roommates (including myself) are international students we have no George Forman (I miss you George!!), no toaster, no blender, food processor, sharp knives, spatulas, serving spoons, etc. Its just another thing I have to adapt to.

Another note: I never realized the variety of food that I ate until my roommates started staring at me and asking me so many questions. I also had forgotten how much I preferred eating in peace.

-What is this Maria?
-Cous-cous.
-Kooz-kooz? Is it like rice? Is it a grain?
-I don’t know.
-Is it like oatmeal?
-I don’t know, read the dang box!
-And felafel? Is that also a grain?
-no. Its made from garbanzos.
-Oh! And you’re going to fry it with hardly any oil in that pan?

NO, DON’T KNOW WHAT COUS COUS IS, AND YES IM GOING TO FRY MY FELAFEL WITH JUST A LITTLE OIL IN THE PAN.

Anyhoo…after making the breakfast, it made me realize that we do have a culture in the United States. Funny what how a small act can change my attitude so much, but when I saw my roommates pile their plates high with eggs, bacon and pancakes and then pour way too much syrup on it, it made me think of Paul Bunyan’s up north! I made a comment like “Aww it makes me so happy to see you guys eating that stuff because it reminds me of my country!” And then I laughed because that’s the kind of thing I would say in a George Bush accent normally, but it was true that it made me happy to share “my culture” with my roommates. The thing about the United States that everyone can share American culture, but in each case it will be different. To me, American culture is Paul Bunyan’s buffet food and the John Legend and Jack Johnson music that I put on while eating, but to the next American I can imagine it would something totally different.


Ah… thanks for listening. Hope you’ll still tune next time in after this rant.

peanut butter withdrawl begins

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.

I only have three months left WHATTTT

3.Obama party
4. Luis' birthday party/ parties in general
5. Music
6. advice to the US government
7. I joined a choir and a book club
8. observation about age
9. I'm not retarted, I just don't speak Spanish




1. I hope you are all surviving the frigid temperatures over there while I am basking in the 50 degree weather over here (although today it is raining). It honestly doesn't feel like winter. But now I can understand why people were freaking out when it hit the negatives (Celsius). When it was about 53 the other day, I went outside without a jacket and I was getting stares from all around. That's when I took the clue to put my jacket on. (when in rome... )

2. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like Spanish food. Lucky for my I'm not living with a Spanish host family so I don't really have to eat it ever. There seems to be ham in everything and fries come on the side of every dish. Nooo thank you. Luckily the Turks have infiltrated Spain and implanted various Doner Kepab restaurants on various street corners. Alhamdulillah for that. I have eaten way too many Doner Kepabs in the last month and I just can't stop because they are sooo delicious. CALLING ALL ENTREPRENEURIAL TURKS: please come to Madison, WI and open some Doner Kebap restaurants. Thank you.

I will add two things that I DO like though. 1- the "menu," or the set options that you can order at a restaurant. for 8 euros (or more depending on where you go of course) you can get two courses, wine/beer/beverage, and a dessert. not bad. 2-one type of tapa--smoked salmon and cream cheese on top of a baguette. delish.


3. As we all know, Obama was sworn in about two weeks ago. I had a little gathering at my house for all the Americans in the CIEE program. It was interesting to watch from abroad because they dubbed everyone (excluding Aretha Franklin) in Spanish. It was hard to choose if I wanted to try to focus on Obama's speech in English which was covered by the Spanish, or listen to the Spanish which was almost equally as difficult because they were speaking fast to try to keep up with Obama. It was also interesting that all my roommates wanted to watch. Can you imagine a group of Americans being so interested in the swearing of another country's president? The picture above is of the "toma de posicion de Obama" party.

4. Last weekend, it was my housemate's birthday (Luis). All I have to say is FUN. Tapas were made, drinks were served, music was played and the dancing began. I admit that I'm not the best dancer in the world, but if I have a good dancing partner then I'm all set. And there were plenty of quality dancing partners at this party. The music was a mix of bachata, merengue, salsa, Spanish/flamenco pop, reggaeton and even House of Pain's Jump Around. Oh and my friend Sam Sandifer from Madison (who is currently studying in Madrid) joined us for the party! If you know Sam, you know that he was in his element at this party. In fact, he was the one who supplied the music for the night from his IPOD. And he was probably the one who danced the most. And every time someone mistook him for a authentic Latino his face would just glow. oh, sam. how great you are.

In addition to being in Latin culture up to my ears that night, I also met two Palestinians who live in the Resedencias. So of course I whipped out my Arabic and you can only imagine I was in heaven. Going from speaking Spanish to dancing merengue to speaking Arabic to eating salmon tapas to saying Alhamdulillah and Inshallah to drinking 1 Euro bottles of Tinto de Verano to Jumping Around....WHAT MORE CAN A GIRL ASK FOR. i personally can't think of anything.

Another thing that's great about living in the Resedencias is that you don't have to leave to find a party. I thought it would be really annoying to go out on weekends because we do live a 15-20 minute bus ride from the Centro. However, we have a cerveceria (restuarant/bar) and a bar right inside the residential community. And for example this last Friday night, I went to two different parties that were right next to each other. The music at one was more Techno and House (because it was run by our friend Manuel Miguel, or as he likes us to call him "Manny Mike") and the other one was pure Bachata, Merengue and Reggaeton due to the high number of Dominicans there. You would honestly think that you are in Santo Domingo here in the Resedencias because there are so many Dominicans! Dont worry though, I'm not complaining.

5. Music. In the last 3 weeks, I've uploaded about 600 new songs onto my itunes just from music that people have given me. Mom, Dad: just let me know when the next international party will be because I am READY.

6. Dear US Government: I understand you are not a fan of Fidel Castro, but why must you limit who I can and can't be friends with. When I started meeting Cubans here, I realized I've never met anyone from Cuba before!! I was having a conversation with this one guy at a party and in the middle of the conversation I asked where he was from (he knew I was from the US) and he said, "don't be scared...but I'm from Cuba." Oh how politics can get in the way of world peace.

Speaking of politics...
Warning--if you are sensitive about the Israel/Palestine issue, please do not read on.

I recently got together with one of the Palestinian students that I met to practice my Arabic and help him with English. I asked him to tell me a little about his life in Palestine just because what we see on the news is limited and most likely skewed. He was talking about how when he was in college in Palestine, he had to live on campus and stay there for one year at a time. Even though he only lived 30 minutes away from his university, he couldn't go home because there were Israeli checkpoints that stopped him from crossing over into his hometown. Can you imagine that!! And then I asked him "Well, why wouldn't they just let you across, seeing at how you were just a student?" He said that if he tried to pass through the checkpoint they could stop him for whatever reason they wanted. One time, a man in front of him in line was stopped and told to wait for an 5 hours until he could leave. This man started getting angry because he had to go to work and started yelling at the Israeli guards saying that why wouldn't they just let him through because he was going to be late for work (which was on the other side of the checkpoint). So what did the guards do? They shot him dead, then took a knife, put it in the dead man's hand and took pictures to make it look like he was threatening the guards with a weapon.

first of all, CAN YOU IMAGINE SEEING THIS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!? and then not even being able to do anything about it? second of all, can you imagine going to school in Milwaukee and not being able to come home to Waukesha for a YEAR??

And we, the United States, are supporting the country that is doing this? I really don't understand.

7. On a lighter note, I joined a choir and book club here. The choir meets twice a week and so far so good. It's harder than I expected just because I have to learn the music (tone-wise) and then also the words (some of which are in Castellano--the spanish that we learn and speak normally, some of which are in Catalán--another more regional language spoken in northeastern Spain). I might end up just doing the whole green ap-ple, wa-ter-mel-on, moving-your-mouth trick.

The book club also seems like it will be fun. It will be a great way to practice both my written and spoken Spanish.

The good thing about these activities is that they are with only Spaniards. At home and on the weekends I spend my time with Latin Americans (which im not complaining about) so its nice to be able to learn about Spain and Castellano Spanish during the week.

8. One thing that I've noticed is that Spain seems to have a much more intergenerational social life. For example, although its a University choir that I joined, there are 20 years olds to grey haired men and women. Same with the book club; students and professors alike are part of it. Also, at the parties that I've been to, there have been just as many 30 and even 40 year olds as there were 20 year olds. I danced salsa with this guy at a party the other night and then when talking to him after, found out he was 33 years old! Whereas I would be extremely creeped out in the US to be at the same party as a 30-something year old, I wasn't so much here. Everyone was having a good time and enjoying themselves all the same--no matter what age they were. I suppose it is a unique situation because I live in the Resedencias where a lot of people live while doing their Masters or Ph. D's. In fact I have yet to meet anyone in the Resedencias (other than the other Americans) who are doing undergraduate studies. Furthermore they're all doing their Masters in computer science or some type of engineering. I'll admit that it does make me feel a little dumb, but I suppose I'd rather be the dumbest among all smart ppl than be the smartest among all dumb people.

However-- there is this one 40 year old who is definitely a creeper. In fact he is the Van Wilder of the University of Alcalá. He has been here for 14 years (or so the story is told) all the while working on various undergraduate majors. A bad ass living the dream or a wierd old man who needs to get his life together? you decide.


10. So the other day, my Cuban professor roommate had another Cuban professor friend over to eat. And being 3 in the afternoon, everyone (including me)was in the kitchen cooking lunch. I was introduced to the friend, but then something interesting transpired. It is obvious that I'm not a native Spanish speaker, but I thought it was also obvious that I can at least understand Spanish. However, this woman kept asking questions ABOUT me TO others in the room. "Where is she from?" "Does the girl cook?" "How long is she here?" Hey lady! I'm not retarded... I just don't speak Spanish fluently!!

Well guys, thanks for tuning in. Much love to all of yall.