Day 16: Settling In

Well, my promise of more frequent blogs has not come true...but I will continue to work on it! Since the last time I wrote I have begun classes and now I am almost through my second week. I am taking 12 hours of Spanish a week along with a four hour elective course taught in English. My elective covers the (overwhelming) history of the religions in this area-- it is quite intense but absolutely fascinating. We quickly went through the pre-history and have now worked our way into the 6th century A.C. I have realized my love for history and hope to learn as much as possible! My Spanish classes are also wonderful. I have two great teachers and each of my classes have only around 10 students. The students are a mix from the United States, as well as China. It is a really cool cultural experience to learn about China from these students (who are all incredibly kind) while learning (and speaking) a different language with them. It's fun to all be at approximately the same level and I feel more comfortable speaking every day.

I have gotten completely settled in my new home and have really started to enjoy life here. There is an indescribable energy about this city and when mixed with my excitement it's really awesome. I love how laid back the lifestyle is and last weekend I enjoyed wandering about in different parts of the city. I have felt safe 100% of the time. People are very welcoming and seem to enjoy having visitors from other countries (tourism is one of the largest revenues for Spain so they don't have much of a choice!)

This week it was my goal to schedule all of my trips outside of Spain. My itinerary is as follows: February: Spain March: Paris, Portugal April: Morocco, Germany, Czech. Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia (we get a lot of time off in April!) May: Italy. I have purchased all of my transportation and so now I will be busy with securing my plans-- I am very excited! Carlos is visiting one week from today and we are also busy planning what we are going to do with our time in Southern Spain! It is hard to choose with the abundance of beauty and history but I know we will enjoy our time together and I can't wait!

I have been jotting down observations to share-- some more entertaining than others. All are being shared with an utmost respect and love for this culture!

1. Couples hold hands always, even if one of the couple is riding a bike.

2. (Another one about a bike) With enough love and sacrifice it is possible to have two grown adults ride the same one-person bike.

3. People hum and sing to themselves while walking. I LOVE IT!!

4. People typically do not move to make room for you on the 10 in. sidewalk. Rather, one of you must step down to the street (it is a game of chicken to determine which of you will.)

5. People really appreciate the attempt of foreigners to speak Spanish-- sometimes there is a small smile but never laughing like I've experienced in Central America. I assume it's due to the greater exposure Spaniards have had to foreign-language speakers. This tolerance is greatly appreciated though, and is very encouraging.

6. Last week I got asked for directions while wearing tennis shoes, apparently tennis shoes don't automatically make you look like a tourist.

7. (Another one about tennis shoes) Americans are really onto something with tennis shoes. Being here has made me appreciate a good sole.

8. People WALK, ride bikes, or take public transportation everywhere. It seems everyone is in such healthy shape-- I wonder if they are experiencing a problem with obesity at all? ...I'll find out.

Well, that's about all I have for today. I am looking forward to my planned trip to Ronda, Spain this weekend. Until next time, Adios!

Day 6: What a Whirlwind it has been!

It is surreal to think of all that has happened in the last few days!

After landing in Madrid, we spent two days there-- we went to the Royal Palace and El Museo de Prado. I fell in love with history, specifically through the artwork. It was absolutely fascinating to learn about. It's incredible how the worlds of Religion, Art, and Politics were so intertwined in years past. I continue to learn more everyday and it is wonderful.

After our days in Madrid, we boarded a bus heading South for Toledo. It was only one hour South of Madrid and I had heard it was beautiful but otherwise had no expectations. Driving up to the ancient walls around the city was like pulling up to a fairy tale. The lay out of the city, the bridges, and the buildings were all literally out of this world. Toledo was always thought to be a very safe city, the wall protected one city and the river the other.

Toledo has been constantly inhabited by all three religions typical of this area: Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Supposedly this city was a place where they could all live in harmony (until eventually the Muslims and Jews were expelled.) We spent the day in Toledo with a private tour guide. From him we learned about how the three religions all had their own styles of architecture and together they combined them to create buildings as a beautiful blend of their unique traits. Ruins in Toledo are thought to date back to 1800 BC.

The next day, we boarded our buses again and headed south 6 hours to Sevilla. Once in Sevilla, I met my host mom Maria Luisa. She was so excited to have us and is very nice! We took a driving tour of our new home and then went to El Corte Ingles for the groceries for dinner. Sevilla is absolutely gorgeous. The streets are lined with orange trees and palm trees. The skyline is heavily speckled with steeples, the greatest being that of the Cathedral which is the third largest in the world.

The streets are said to be like cooked spaghetti noodles, picked up and dropped. Small and windy, it's near impossible to get where you want to go on the first try! We spent yesterday taking our Spanish placement exam, seeing our school, touring the Cathedral, and exploring the streets of Sevilla. Every where I look is more beautiful than the place before. I don't want to even try to capture it in photos because I know that they will not do it justice! --I will eventually but right now I'm just going to take it all in!

Last night we had our welcome dinner of tapas at a four star hotel. Then we recieved our Spanish placement and got our class schedule. I placed as an Intermediate 2 in Spanish. I was shocked! I cannot believe that I performed that well without Spanish in four years! I know it will be challenging but I am excited to learn as much as possible!

So, now that this blog post is everything that I didn't want it to be: long, detailed, and narrative-like, I'm going to retreat to my lessons learned thus far:

1. Don't use an ATM at 3:00 pm in Madrid. It's likely that it will not work.

2. Specify you want tap water, otherwise a bottle is $4.

3. Don't ask what the white sauce is on your tapas, it might be mayonnaise.

4. Don't pet dogs on the street, even if the owner encourages you. This may result in an enormous dog being held an inch away from your face.

5. Don't ask people for directions on a deserted street.

6. Don't carry a big bag with you for 6 hours, it gets heavy.

7. Switch shoes everyday to avoid blisters.

8. Don't come to Spain during one of their two times of sales each year. Although window shopping is fun.

9. Don't take a shower in the morning, it is too FREEZING.

10. Don't get hot chocolate, it's more like melted frosting without sugar. Weird.

Well, that's all for today! I'm going to try to keep up with this so my posts can be shorter! Thanks for reading and love to you all!