To tell the truth, I forgot about blogging for a while and just didn't feel like it other times. So it kind of ended early, but now it is going to end for real. I just wanted to give you my overall thoughts on the stay.
I was able to improve my language abilities, saw Europe for the first time, and enjoyed the culture of Spain. But what I found to be the best and most memorable part of my trip was meeting and becoming friends with the people there. To some extent I got caught up in the "exchange student trap," as the majority of my friends were other exchange students. But fortunately, very few of them were Americans and I still did make Spanish friends. Living, traveling, and hanging out with them all the time is what made my trip as great as it was. It truely did make me sad to leave these friends on the other side of the world, not knowing when or if I will see them again.
On the plane I thought about how sad I was to leave these people, but how excited I was to see my friends back home. Through this I think I stumbled on an important life lesson. It doesn't matter how beautiful a city is, how much I call a place home, or even how good the food is, but what really makes a place great are the people you care about. It wasn't the great city of Madrid that defined my trip, it was my friends that helped make it great. I wasn't looking forward to return to Fayetteville to be see my home city once again, but rather to see my friends and family. I am so grateful to have such great people in my life, people are what made my trip and they are what makes me happy to be home. Well if I didn't learn anything else in Spain, and hope that I did, at least I learned the importance of people. Even if I didn't invest my time into classes all the time, I feel certain that I invested it correctly.
It looks like this blog is now over. There are no more updates from me in Spain and I don't really have anything important to say most of the time. Maybe I could start another, but I don't know what it would be about, so this maybe the end of my Internet writing days. It has been fun and hopefully my writing here hasn't done anything to destroy modern literature as I was afraid. Thanks for sharing in my journey.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Free Gum
I have not made a post in the while, because usually I feel like I should post when I go on a trip or do something incredible here, but for the most part I have been living my everyday life here in Madrid. But everyone of those days has had something special and this is the point when I'm wishing I had kept some sort of journal. But I didn't and I'm afraid I've already lost some of those little memories. There is no changing that now, but I'll try to share a couple of those things.
Although the stereotype of a Spaniard may not be the nicest person in the world, my experience has been quite positive. As a side note we've actually been going over stereotypes of Spaniards in my Spanish class to practice certain grammatical forms, but I think it is secretly an information gathering tool to improve the outlook of Spain in the world. Anyway, the old people have been my favorite. I know I imagined that everyone of the older generation would be hardened and closed after years of living under the Franco fascist government. This is not the case at all, as they are almost always overly helpful, friendly, and enjoyable to talk to. I've had to ask directions many times, while finding parks, rock chairs, and even the way home. They are always more than happy to help, give directions, and in one case even draw a map. There is one elderly man in his 60's or so that lives in my building who I see occasionally and enjoys correcting my Spanish. He is a professor at a university close by. Today when there wasn't enough room on our tiny elevator for everyone, I got off as an old lady got on and told him to get in since I could walk. He then said "No," and that I was going to walk up with him. So we walked up together as he kept asking me what we were doing and I would have to respond in Spanish, but with the proper pronunciation of course. When we were at his floor, he told me to come in to show him where Arkansas was on a map. I had told I was from here before and every time he sees me he asks where I'm from, so he can here me pronounce it the Spanish way, "Ar-Kansas." After showing him where it was and showing where all I've traveled in the Sates I was headed out as he stopped me and as he opened a new case of Mentos gum. I'm not a big gum chewer, but I accepted and after taking the pieces he handed me the pack and told me to take it all. He once again reminded me to come by his flat if I need anything and he demonstrated how to use the doorbell as he walked out behind me.
Strangly enough this isn't the only pack of free gum I've recieved here. I've become friends with the owner of a small convience store half a block up my street. The convience store business within Madrid is dominated by the Chinese sub-population. I'm pretty sure this one is run by him and his wife, both of Chinese decent, but were born in Spain. Well wanting to practice my Spanish more, one day I struck up a conversation and ever since then we talk whenever I go in. He too gave me a free pack of gum, Trident I believe. Because of these two incidents, the amount of free packages of gum I've recieved in the past few months greatly outnumbers the amount of gum I have purchased in the past few years. And even though I don't really like gum that much, I will chew these with joy thanks to the gratious people of Spain.
I also went to a bull fight a couple weeks ago here in Madrid. The Plaza de Toros here is the second largest in the world and I'm sure one of the most beautiful. I know many people disagree with bull fights, but I went to less to see a bull die, but to experience a cultural tradition. And it was definitely full of tradition and I felt even more like I really was in Spain (after 3+ months of already being here). I'm not going to argue for or against them, but I will say that I did enjoy the fight and would go back if I get a chance. Another amazing thing about it was that the ticket was only 2.20 euros! The snack I then bought from a vendor outside (peanuts and a drink) cost 4 times the price of admisions. Sports food vendors seem to be the same wethere it is at a Razorback Football game or a Spanish Bull Fight.
(I'll give a warning that I'm going to post a picture from the fight, so if you have objections don't continue below. )
Right now I should be doing my Macroeconomics II homework, but honestly it is too dificult and I get frustrated looking at it. I also have a final coming on Tuesday that I may or may not be ready for. Tomorrow after class I'm going down to Seville for the weekend. It is a 6 hour bus ride, so there is 12 hours worth of studying, right? We'll see and I'll let you know how it goes.
Although the stereotype of a Spaniard may not be the nicest person in the world, my experience has been quite positive. As a side note we've actually been going over stereotypes of Spaniards in my Spanish class to practice certain grammatical forms, but I think it is secretly an information gathering tool to improve the outlook of Spain in the world. Anyway, the old people have been my favorite. I know I imagined that everyone of the older generation would be hardened and closed after years of living under the Franco fascist government. This is not the case at all, as they are almost always overly helpful, friendly, and enjoyable to talk to. I've had to ask directions many times, while finding parks, rock chairs, and even the way home. They are always more than happy to help, give directions, and in one case even draw a map. There is one elderly man in his 60's or so that lives in my building who I see occasionally and enjoys correcting my Spanish. He is a professor at a university close by. Today when there wasn't enough room on our tiny elevator for everyone, I got off as an old lady got on and told him to get in since I could walk. He then said "No," and that I was going to walk up with him. So we walked up together as he kept asking me what we were doing and I would have to respond in Spanish, but with the proper pronunciation of course. When we were at his floor, he told me to come in to show him where Arkansas was on a map. I had told I was from here before and every time he sees me he asks where I'm from, so he can here me pronounce it the Spanish way, "Ar-Kansas." After showing him where it was and showing where all I've traveled in the Sates I was headed out as he stopped me and as he opened a new case of Mentos gum. I'm not a big gum chewer, but I accepted and after taking the pieces he handed me the pack and told me to take it all. He once again reminded me to come by his flat if I need anything and he demonstrated how to use the doorbell as he walked out behind me.
Strangly enough this isn't the only pack of free gum I've recieved here. I've become friends with the owner of a small convience store half a block up my street. The convience store business within Madrid is dominated by the Chinese sub-population. I'm pretty sure this one is run by him and his wife, both of Chinese decent, but were born in Spain. Well wanting to practice my Spanish more, one day I struck up a conversation and ever since then we talk whenever I go in. He too gave me a free pack of gum, Trident I believe. Because of these two incidents, the amount of free packages of gum I've recieved in the past few months greatly outnumbers the amount of gum I have purchased in the past few years. And even though I don't really like gum that much, I will chew these with joy thanks to the gratious people of Spain.
I also went to a bull fight a couple weeks ago here in Madrid. The Plaza de Toros here is the second largest in the world and I'm sure one of the most beautiful. I know many people disagree with bull fights, but I went to less to see a bull die, but to experience a cultural tradition. And it was definitely full of tradition and I felt even more like I really was in Spain (after 3+ months of already being here). I'm not going to argue for or against them, but I will say that I did enjoy the fight and would go back if I get a chance. Another amazing thing about it was that the ticket was only 2.20 euros! The snack I then bought from a vendor outside (peanuts and a drink) cost 4 times the price of admisions. Sports food vendors seem to be the same wethere it is at a Razorback Football game or a Spanish Bull Fight.
(I'll give a warning that I'm going to post a picture from the fight, so if you have objections don't continue below. )
Right now I should be doing my Macroeconomics II homework, but honestly it is too dificult and I get frustrated looking at it. I also have a final coming on Tuesday that I may or may not be ready for. Tomorrow after class I'm going down to Seville for the weekend. It is a 6 hour bus ride, so there is 12 hours worth of studying, right? We'll see and I'll let you know how it goes.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Inbetween the Ruins
One of my early posts said that life is made up in the details, and I'm going to have to say that is what made the past few days for me really great. Sure the epic sights of Rome were incredible, but the small details, the people I met, and the little things that happened are what made the trip for me. Wanting to remember better I wrote down notes after each day. Failing to bring a journal or even a pen, I had to borrow a pen from the Hostel and take notes on the back of my flight information. The folded back of my flight sheets hold why I loved Rome better than my imperfect memory can. Obviously you know that I saw all the famous tourist sights of the city, so I am going to recount the little stories that made Rome unique for me.
On Friday after walking around for most of the day I went to the Colosseum to see the Pope's procession at the time recommended to me by the person behind the desk at my hostel. He was a little off, I was 3 hours too early, so I decided to continue walk around. I hadn't gone into anything that day because I didn't feel like waiting in lines, but one of the things I walked by earlier with a large line was now vacant, and still open. Paul's prison, from where he wrote a significant part of the New Testament. I went down there with no one else around. Being down there alone was quite an experience that I won't try to explain here. After walking around some more I found myself resting in a park above the Colosseum watching the sunset above it. When I finally returned to get a place for the Colosseum but was unable to meet my friends because of how fast it filled up. But I did find myself to this elderly American/British couple. The British man was one of the most interesting people I've met in a long time, and I couldn't have been happier to share my first Pope experience with them. He had gone to Cambridge in the 1950's, he had been to Arkansas once, and drove highway AR 1 and said some of the small towns reminded him of Western movies. This was about 40 years ago. He had also lived in Madrid for a while, working during the Franco era doing something with manuscripts, he was a professor of Latin and Greek. He told me lots of stories of Spain during this time period, being the first person I've talked to about this time period I was very willing to listen. I could tell that this couple has lived quite a life, with more experiences than I could imagine or begin to understand. They were incredibly friendly to me and he even translated some of the Pope's speech for me.
I feel very fortunate for meetings such as this one. There was no reason that we should have met, as I was looking for my friends, but we did and this is something that really improved my trip to Rome. I am also starting to realize that if I record every event such as this one that I won't sleep tonight, so I am only going to mention a few more things. I would go on to see the Pope once more for Sunday Mass in the Vatican, which was something very unique. At times I felt like I was at a fair, while others I was at a religious ceremony I did not know the rules to. But all in all that was another great Pope meeting.
On Monday I had another little adventure. Most of my Rome trip and visits were planned on the spot. After visiting the Capitol Museum, I sat down, read my guide book, and decided I would go to the Roman Catacombs. According to my map they didn't seem too far away, about the same distance from where I was as the Hostel is to the Colosseum, about a 20/25 minute walk. This is when I discovered that my map had several imperfections, one of which being that it wasn't drawn to scale. After an hour's worth of walking through streets not on the map I was about to give up at turn around. Suddenly I saw a sign saying Catacombs this way! Only 1500 more meters! A little while later I found the catacombs, which were certainly worth the trip. It was a great tour, but of course only consisted of more walking.
When it was over I started the hike back. In a short hour and a half I was back to the Circus Maximus, the closest metro. I decided I would spend the euro and take it back to the hostel. After I bought the ticket and went to the platform I realized I was on the wrong side. I searched my side for stairs to the next and found that it was one of those one entrance ones with no way to the other side. I would have to pay another euro to get to the side I needed. Being in a very one track state of mind, I decided that the metro of Rome did not deserve another euro for having poor service and not being well labeled for the common tourist. I continued the walk on foot. I made it back to my hostel after a 2 hour walk, sore and tired. I had a nap before exploring that night and meeting my Italian friend Alessandro later.
The great memories didn't even stop at the airport, where I was to meet a Chinese business man that has been traveling all over Europe and parts of Africa for his Telecomunications business in China. He had never been out of China before working for this company, but is now very well traveled, with many experiences. He along with the people from my first night are examples of how easy it is to meet people from all over the world, in places that aren't there own. All of this had me thinking somehow, but I don't really know exactly how. I know that doesn't make much since, but to me it does somehow. But for now I'm finished with thinking, I haven't slept much this week and tonight won't be too different. I am afraid this is going to be a difficult school week, although it is only two days long for me. These will be an intense couple of days.
On Friday after walking around for most of the day I went to the Colosseum to see the Pope's procession at the time recommended to me by the person behind the desk at my hostel. He was a little off, I was 3 hours too early, so I decided to continue walk around. I hadn't gone into anything that day because I didn't feel like waiting in lines, but one of the things I walked by earlier with a large line was now vacant, and still open. Paul's prison, from where he wrote a significant part of the New Testament. I went down there with no one else around. Being down there alone was quite an experience that I won't try to explain here. After walking around some more I found myself resting in a park above the Colosseum watching the sunset above it. When I finally returned to get a place for the Colosseum but was unable to meet my friends because of how fast it filled up. But I did find myself to this elderly American/British couple. The British man was one of the most interesting people I've met in a long time, and I couldn't have been happier to share my first Pope experience with them. He had gone to Cambridge in the 1950's, he had been to Arkansas once, and drove highway AR 1 and said some of the small towns reminded him of Western movies. This was about 40 years ago. He had also lived in Madrid for a while, working during the Franco era doing something with manuscripts, he was a professor of Latin and Greek. He told me lots of stories of Spain during this time period, being the first person I've talked to about this time period I was very willing to listen. I could tell that this couple has lived quite a life, with more experiences than I could imagine or begin to understand. They were incredibly friendly to me and he even translated some of the Pope's speech for me.
I feel very fortunate for meetings such as this one. There was no reason that we should have met, as I was looking for my friends, but we did and this is something that really improved my trip to Rome. I am also starting to realize that if I record every event such as this one that I won't sleep tonight, so I am only going to mention a few more things. I would go on to see the Pope once more for Sunday Mass in the Vatican, which was something very unique. At times I felt like I was at a fair, while others I was at a religious ceremony I did not know the rules to. But all in all that was another great Pope meeting.
On Monday I had another little adventure. Most of my Rome trip and visits were planned on the spot. After visiting the Capitol Museum, I sat down, read my guide book, and decided I would go to the Roman Catacombs. According to my map they didn't seem too far away, about the same distance from where I was as the Hostel is to the Colosseum, about a 20/25 minute walk. This is when I discovered that my map had several imperfections, one of which being that it wasn't drawn to scale. After an hour's worth of walking through streets not on the map I was about to give up at turn around. Suddenly I saw a sign saying Catacombs this way! Only 1500 more meters! A little while later I found the catacombs, which were certainly worth the trip. It was a great tour, but of course only consisted of more walking.
When it was over I started the hike back. In a short hour and a half I was back to the Circus Maximus, the closest metro. I decided I would spend the euro and take it back to the hostel. After I bought the ticket and went to the platform I realized I was on the wrong side. I searched my side for stairs to the next and found that it was one of those one entrance ones with no way to the other side. I would have to pay another euro to get to the side I needed. Being in a very one track state of mind, I decided that the metro of Rome did not deserve another euro for having poor service and not being well labeled for the common tourist. I continued the walk on foot. I made it back to my hostel after a 2 hour walk, sore and tired. I had a nap before exploring that night and meeting my Italian friend Alessandro later.
The great memories didn't even stop at the airport, where I was to meet a Chinese business man that has been traveling all over Europe and parts of Africa for his Telecomunications business in China. He had never been out of China before working for this company, but is now very well traveled, with many experiences. He along with the people from my first night are examples of how easy it is to meet people from all over the world, in places that aren't there own. All of this had me thinking somehow, but I don't really know exactly how. I know that doesn't make much since, but to me it does somehow. But for now I'm finished with thinking, I haven't slept much this week and tonight won't be too different. I am afraid this is going to be a difficult school week, although it is only two days long for me. These will be an intense couple of days.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
What's Going On!
I apologize for not updating in a while. I have been kind of busy lately and when I haven't been busy I've been tired. Therefore blogging has not been a top priority, but now I am so this is what has been happening the past couple of weeks.
Two weekends ago I went up to San Sebastian in Northern Spain, very close to the French border. On the way up we stopped at Burgos for lunch. Burgos was a city I have never heard of before, but there was a large wall around the city, impressive bridges, and an incredible Cathedral. This made me realize something: I'm definitely in Europe. I can go somewhere I never knew existed and find history as old as my country. Plus I really know I'm in Spain, because every town/city is famous for it's cathedral. They are all very important and impressive... and everywhere. But nonetheless each one has something special that makes you appreciate it.
Well San Sebastian, one of the "most beautiful beaches" of Spain was a little under the weather. It was too cold to go out on the beach and one night it was raining so much it felt like a hurricane. But one night we did discover a large sail boat that had washed up on shore. From the distance it appeared like a haunted ship. When we left on Sunday we made a stop at Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim. The building was art itself, as all Guggenheims are and the exhibits actually did a pretty good job matching it. There was a large exhibit from the artist responsible for the Beijing Olympics firework show, Cai Guo-Qiang. Also another Japanese artist, who's name has escaped me, who had an animation style of art, and some more very strange things. I also walked into a video room and found
the music video to Kanye West's Good Morning playing. I think this video is somehow connected to the Japanese artist, but I don't quite know...
Haunted Beach?
Well after that trip I had one week of school before Semana Santa. I surived that and on Thursday I traveled to El Escorial, about an hour an a half outside of the city. This monastery, circa 1570, served as a place for many kings of Spain. It now is used as a tomb for many of them. This day I saw the most kings and royalty of my life, unfortunately all of them dead. After paying way too much for some bad nachoes and reading my guidebook, we decided to take what was said to be a 3 km hike to La Silla de Fillipe II, where he had a seat carved into the mountain watched the construction of El Escorial. After getting lost due to the poor direction in the book we decided to ask an old lady on the street the best way there. It was from her that we learned it was about 4 km. But she did give us some better directions. After walking about 1/2 km we found a sign knocked over hidden in the grass. Thank you Spanish signs. We then decided it would be a good idea to ask someone which way this was really pointing. We asked this old man who was the gate man at a golf course nearby. He gave us directions and told us it was about 4 or 5 km from here. Apparently the closer we got, the futher away we really were. After hiking quite a while we finnaly made it to our destination. For a king, it was a pretty lackluster seat, but after worring that it maybe impossible to find due to infinitely growing distances, it was a much welcome chair.
The Royal Seat
The next night I went to see Franz Ferdinand, which was amazing. And Troy and Eric visited from Bristol, which was very fun as well, making for a very enjoyable start to the weekend.
Ahh Franz Ferdinand!
The next few days were spent relaxing for the most part. Then on Tuesday a few of us went for a long planned hike in the Sierras de Madrid, about two hours from the city by train. But in this distance which was probably only about 50 km, the temperature went from warm spring weather, to the middle of winter. As the train to Coros scaled the mountain we got a little excited when we saw a bit of snow, but then after going through a short tunnel we realized that we were going to be dealing with quite a bit. We were in the snow covered mountains and hiked through snow for most of the way. At times it became a foot or more deep, but most of the time it was pretty manageable. Until the end when it started to snow a little bit, which eventually turned to hail and made it difficult to see. And to think, I was afraid of dressing too warm for this trip. It was one of the most unique hikes I've been on. Sometimes it seemed as if the trail markers were playing hide and go seek with us, others it seemed like mother nature just wanted us to be cold, but all the time it was in the presence of beautiful snow covered mountains all around. It was certainly a great hike.
And today I made another day trip from Madrid and traveled over to Segovia to view the Roman aqueducts and the Castle. It is rumored that this is the castle of which Disney Castle is modeled afterward. The aquaducts were amazing and the castle was everything I imagined. I would tell you more but I've become very tired and need sleep.
I leave Friday morning for Rome. I'll be spending Easter with the Pope, so I hope that it all goes well, I know he is expecting me. I'll update you more when I have some good Roman stories!
Two weekends ago I went up to San Sebastian in Northern Spain, very close to the French border. On the way up we stopped at Burgos for lunch. Burgos was a city I have never heard of before, but there was a large wall around the city, impressive bridges, and an incredible Cathedral. This made me realize something: I'm definitely in Europe. I can go somewhere I never knew existed and find history as old as my country. Plus I really know I'm in Spain, because every town/city is famous for it's cathedral. They are all very important and impressive... and everywhere. But nonetheless each one has something special that makes you appreciate it.
Well San Sebastian, one of the "most beautiful beaches" of Spain was a little under the weather. It was too cold to go out on the beach and one night it was raining so much it felt like a hurricane. But one night we did discover a large sail boat that had washed up on shore. From the distance it appeared like a haunted ship. When we left on Sunday we made a stop at Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim. The building was art itself, as all Guggenheims are and the exhibits actually did a pretty good job matching it. There was a large exhibit from the artist responsible for the Beijing Olympics firework show, Cai Guo-Qiang. Also another Japanese artist, who's name has escaped me, who had an animation style of art, and some more very strange things. I also walked into a video room and found
the music video to Kanye West's Good Morning playing. I think this video is somehow connected to the Japanese artist, but I don't quite know...
Haunted Beach?
Well after that trip I had one week of school before Semana Santa. I surived that and on Thursday I traveled to El Escorial, about an hour an a half outside of the city. This monastery, circa 1570, served as a place for many kings of Spain. It now is used as a tomb for many of them. This day I saw the most kings and royalty of my life, unfortunately all of them dead. After paying way too much for some bad nachoes and reading my guidebook, we decided to take what was said to be a 3 km hike to La Silla de Fillipe II, where he had a seat carved into the mountain watched the construction of El Escorial. After getting lost due to the poor direction in the book we decided to ask an old lady on the street the best way there. It was from her that we learned it was about 4 km. But she did give us some better directions. After walking about 1/2 km we found a sign knocked over hidden in the grass. Thank you Spanish signs. We then decided it would be a good idea to ask someone which way this was really pointing. We asked this old man who was the gate man at a golf course nearby. He gave us directions and told us it was about 4 or 5 km from here. Apparently the closer we got, the futher away we really were. After hiking quite a while we finnaly made it to our destination. For a king, it was a pretty lackluster seat, but after worring that it maybe impossible to find due to infinitely growing distances, it was a much welcome chair.
The Royal Seat
The next night I went to see Franz Ferdinand, which was amazing. And Troy and Eric visited from Bristol, which was very fun as well, making for a very enjoyable start to the weekend.
Ahh Franz Ferdinand!The next few days were spent relaxing for the most part. Then on Tuesday a few of us went for a long planned hike in the Sierras de Madrid, about two hours from the city by train. But in this distance which was probably only about 50 km, the temperature went from warm spring weather, to the middle of winter. As the train to Coros scaled the mountain we got a little excited when we saw a bit of snow, but then after going through a short tunnel we realized that we were going to be dealing with quite a bit. We were in the snow covered mountains and hiked through snow for most of the way. At times it became a foot or more deep, but most of the time it was pretty manageable. Until the end when it started to snow a little bit, which eventually turned to hail and made it difficult to see. And to think, I was afraid of dressing too warm for this trip. It was one of the most unique hikes I've been on. Sometimes it seemed as if the trail markers were playing hide and go seek with us, others it seemed like mother nature just wanted us to be cold, but all the time it was in the presence of beautiful snow covered mountains all around. It was certainly a great hike.
And today I made another day trip from Madrid and traveled over to Segovia to view the Roman aqueducts and the Castle. It is rumored that this is the castle of which Disney Castle is modeled afterward. The aquaducts were amazing and the castle was everything I imagined. I would tell you more but I've become very tired and need sleep.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Dedicated to Awesomeness
This blog is as the title reads, it is dedicated to awesomeness. And quite namely Laser Tag.
But first I will mention what went on this week: very little, then Hillary came and it was a lot of fun. We went to a pirate club, another awesome thing.
The rest of this will be dedicated to laser tag, it has a very high position on the list of awesomeness. It ranks up there with cheeseburgers and the internet. I discovered this website, which can be found here. Not only does it have facts, records, computer back grounds, and a list major laser tag events. It includes a comprehensive list of all the laser tag arenas in Europe. From this I found one very close to my university, and I'm ready to compare my skills to the best in Madrid. Or quite possibly the best children in Madrid. Now I only have to find a time to go. This week I have to somehow get a team preparation ready for Tuesday, turn in an assignment, and study for a test in my hardest class. So probably no laser tag this week, but at least I now have the knowledge needed for some Spanish laser tag. It is also important to note that the only two languages available on this site are English and Russian.
In my excitement I found this epic commercial for a home laser tag system. Imagine a future not so distant, when the world has destroyed all of its weapons, the major sporting games have collapsed, all that remains for entertainment is... laser tag. After watching it I realized I owned this same laser tag system as a child. I love it.
Stadium not included.
But first I will mention what went on this week: very little, then Hillary came and it was a lot of fun. We went to a pirate club, another awesome thing.
The rest of this will be dedicated to laser tag, it has a very high position on the list of awesomeness. It ranks up there with cheeseburgers and the internet. I discovered this website, which can be found here. Not only does it have facts, records, computer back grounds, and a list major laser tag events. It includes a comprehensive list of all the laser tag arenas in Europe. From this I found one very close to my university, and I'm ready to compare my skills to the best in Madrid. Or quite possibly the best children in Madrid. Now I only have to find a time to go. This week I have to somehow get a team preparation ready for Tuesday, turn in an assignment, and study for a test in my hardest class. So probably no laser tag this week, but at least I now have the knowledge needed for some Spanish laser tag. It is also important to note that the only two languages available on this site are English and Russian.
In my excitement I found this epic commercial for a home laser tag system. Imagine a future not so distant, when the world has destroyed all of its weapons, the major sporting games have collapsed, all that remains for entertainment is... laser tag. After watching it I realized I owned this same laser tag system as a child. I love it.
Stadium not included.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Barc-adventure
At 12:30 a.m. Thursday morning, my friend Esmier and I ordered tickets for an 8:30 a.m. flight of the same day for Barcelona, Spain. I had found a concert of a band I really enjoy, The Sounds, for later that night a while back, but we didn't make the decision to actually go until the day before. It seemed like a good enough reason to go. We couldn't pre-order tickets, so if we got in great, if not we were sure we could find something to do. I mean it is Barcelona right? Well so the adventure began.
Soon after the purchase, a short flight, and long bus ride we finally made it to Barcelona. We found that our hostel seemed to be right in the middle of everything, so that was quite convienent. That day we meet up with a friend of Esmier and explored the Parque Guell (my first experience to the architect Guadi) before heading over to the place the concert was at. We had asked our hostel people for directions, so we were pretty sure we knew where it was, but unfortunatelly I couln't remember the name. Razz-a-something... That didn't help, but we did manage to find it. It was a club, Razzmatazz, located in a wearhouse district, the perfect place for a rock concert. After almost getting scammed with overpriced tickets, we managed to purchase tickets for the correct price and make our way in. We ended up on the 4th row of people and had a pretty darn good time. The crowd was having fun and because of the catchy lyrics of all of their songs, I knew most of the words to all the songs, so it made it even better.
Before the start of the concert I told Esmier the two laws of concerts. 1. You always end up behind the tallest person there and 2. A sweaty, tipsy person will break their way up to the front of the line and push their sweaty body past you to get a better seat for a group they may or may not know. Both happened within the first 10 minutes of the show. The theory even applies to European shows I guess.
Well the next day we visited the Gothic Neiborhood and walked through the old Barcelona, streets filled with history. In this neigboorhood I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that most of them were wet and smelled a little funny and that they probably have been like that for a very, very long time. But they were very interesting nontheless and made me full of of those feelings like I'm only a speck in history. But even if I'm just a speck, I'm a speck that is happy I don't have to live in wet, smelly streets. There were also several protests going on throughout the city, I wonder if it had something to do with the streets.
We ended up on the beach and took a little sun. It was obvious too cold to swim and unfortunately I failed to touch the water. I still have never been in the Medetarianian Sea. I managed to touch hundreds of year old walls, the Sangrada Familia, an Olympic Stadium, but I falied to set even one toe in the Medetranian. I'm dissapointed in myself, I'm usually big on touching important historical objects. Well I don't think the sea is going anywhere, so I'll be back for you Medetranian, don't worry.
That night we went in search for el Bosc de las Fades, a forest themed bar that was rumored to be incredible. We didn't make it there very fast. Starting about 100 feet from the actual place, we managed to look around the Gothic Neighboorhood for about 30 minutes. We started asking many people for directions and it was here that I learned a lesson that every small town kid must learn their first time in a big city. You can't really ask everyone on the street for directions. I managed to ask some of those wrong people. While searching there was a man standing on the corner who asked me if I wanted something I certainly did not want. I answered no gracias, but then asked if he knew where this place was. I mean if he was going to ask me a question, I could certainly do the same. He seemed to get a little nervous and not really know where it was. A firend of his, obviously in the same profession, came up and started to "show us the way." As he lead us he started to ask what kind of things we wanted, more stuff I definitely did not want. I realized it was a very bad idea to be following him and was very thankful we were still on a busy street, so we kind of snuck away and asked another person. But it just seems to me that men in their profession should know the back allies of the city the best. The supply chain of illegal substances must require a substantial amount of knowledge of the layout of the city. I just don't understand why they couldn't give a straight answer. We did eventually find the place, and were thankful we lived to tell the tale. And yes it was worth the search. Imagine Lord of the Rings, but instead of Frodo, there is a friendly Spanish bartender. And instead of being located in the Shire it was located in a wax musem.
Most of the next day was spent at Mountjuic, another park with the Castle of Barcelona, and at night... the Majic Fountain Show. And it is about a million times better than it sounds. For 2 hours we we enjoyed the music and visual stimulations of the MFS. The words I can type can not explain how amazing this was. That is why I made this video. Water has never been so cool.
The rest of the trip was swell and now it is back to the real world. But I did find out that Thursday is some sort of holiday, so tomorrow is pretty much Friday. And Hillary comes soon! Fun things are ahead, but I do have a midterm in a week which really could do some damage, so I'll do my best, I just hope the test writers don't do their best as well.
And I just finished the new CD by the Decemberists, those hazards of love make for good songs.
Soon after the purchase, a short flight, and long bus ride we finally made it to Barcelona. We found that our hostel seemed to be right in the middle of everything, so that was quite convienent. That day we meet up with a friend of Esmier and explored the Parque Guell (my first experience to the architect Guadi) before heading over to the place the concert was at. We had asked our hostel people for directions, so we were pretty sure we knew where it was, but unfortunatelly I couln't remember the name. Razz-a-something... That didn't help, but we did manage to find it. It was a club, Razzmatazz, located in a wearhouse district, the perfect place for a rock concert. After almost getting scammed with overpriced tickets, we managed to purchase tickets for the correct price and make our way in. We ended up on the 4th row of people and had a pretty darn good time. The crowd was having fun and because of the catchy lyrics of all of their songs, I knew most of the words to all the songs, so it made it even better.
Before the start of the concert I told Esmier the two laws of concerts. 1. You always end up behind the tallest person there and 2. A sweaty, tipsy person will break their way up to the front of the line and push their sweaty body past you to get a better seat for a group they may or may not know. Both happened within the first 10 minutes of the show. The theory even applies to European shows I guess.
Well the next day we visited the Gothic Neiborhood and walked through the old Barcelona, streets filled with history. In this neigboorhood I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that most of them were wet and smelled a little funny and that they probably have been like that for a very, very long time. But they were very interesting nontheless and made me full of of those feelings like I'm only a speck in history. But even if I'm just a speck, I'm a speck that is happy I don't have to live in wet, smelly streets. There were also several protests going on throughout the city, I wonder if it had something to do with the streets.
We ended up on the beach and took a little sun. It was obvious too cold to swim and unfortunately I failed to touch the water. I still have never been in the Medetarianian Sea. I managed to touch hundreds of year old walls, the Sangrada Familia, an Olympic Stadium, but I falied to set even one toe in the Medetranian. I'm dissapointed in myself, I'm usually big on touching important historical objects. Well I don't think the sea is going anywhere, so I'll be back for you Medetranian, don't worry.
That night we went in search for el Bosc de las Fades, a forest themed bar that was rumored to be incredible. We didn't make it there very fast. Starting about 100 feet from the actual place, we managed to look around the Gothic Neighboorhood for about 30 minutes. We started asking many people for directions and it was here that I learned a lesson that every small town kid must learn their first time in a big city. You can't really ask everyone on the street for directions. I managed to ask some of those wrong people. While searching there was a man standing on the corner who asked me if I wanted something I certainly did not want. I answered no gracias, but then asked if he knew where this place was. I mean if he was going to ask me a question, I could certainly do the same. He seemed to get a little nervous and not really know where it was. A firend of his, obviously in the same profession, came up and started to "show us the way." As he lead us he started to ask what kind of things we wanted, more stuff I definitely did not want. I realized it was a very bad idea to be following him and was very thankful we were still on a busy street, so we kind of snuck away and asked another person. But it just seems to me that men in their profession should know the back allies of the city the best. The supply chain of illegal substances must require a substantial amount of knowledge of the layout of the city. I just don't understand why they couldn't give a straight answer. We did eventually find the place, and were thankful we lived to tell the tale. And yes it was worth the search. Imagine Lord of the Rings, but instead of Frodo, there is a friendly Spanish bartender. And instead of being located in the Shire it was located in a wax musem.
Most of the next day was spent at Mountjuic, another park with the Castle of Barcelona, and at night... the Majic Fountain Show. And it is about a million times better than it sounds. For 2 hours we we enjoyed the music and visual stimulations of the MFS. The words I can type can not explain how amazing this was. That is why I made this video. Water has never been so cool.
The rest of the trip was swell and now it is back to the real world. But I did find out that Thursday is some sort of holiday, so tomorrow is pretty much Friday. And Hillary comes soon! Fun things are ahead, but I do have a midterm in a week which really could do some damage, so I'll do my best, I just hope the test writers don't do their best as well.
And I just finished the new CD by the Decemberists, those hazards of love make for good songs.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Misplaced Eyes
So doing this blog has been a lot of fun, but there are a lot of fun things to do in Spain and sleep is fun as well. These factors make it difficult to do the blog everyday, or consistently every week. From the observations I've made, the equation looks like this:
F(blog) < F(Spain) + F(Sleep)
*F being the function of fun
But I'll do my best to catch you up.
I spent the greater part of last week getting over my cold, but luckily the cough/all around sick feelings went away by the end of the week. But during my week of sickness, something very, very strange came to pass. I was riding the metro home from school one day and I looked at the row in front of me and noticed that a man had gotten out a certain amount of an illegal substance and was proceeding it roll it into a form that could be smoked. It was something very funny to see on the metro, as there are no-smoking signs everywhere and there is just no need for "no smoking illegal things signs," but some people may need them. I began to laugh to myself, needing affirmation that this was actually funny I started to look around to see if anyone else noticed. I made eye contact with the guy right in front of me and we both laughed, but that turned out to be a mistake. After one laugh I assumed it would go back to the status quo avoiding eye contact game known as riding the metro, but he persisted. Not knowing what to do I dodged my eyes around, but he was sitting right in front of me and there was no avoiding it. I didn't quite understand and just thought that he must have thought the weed smoking man was much funnier than I did, but I turned out to be very wrong.
I got off at my stop and began to walk the wrong direction, so I turned around and noticed the eye guy was right behind me. I walked past him, but he changed directions too. He hung up his phone and began to talk to me. Thinking he wanted to laugh more about the weed man, I went along with the conversation. To my surprise he never mentioned the man and started asking me where I'm from, how long I'm in town, if I want to hang out, etc... After declining several times, because of having plans with friends, and after a few choice words of his I realized he had very, very different intentions that I originally believed. The adrenaline must have rushed to my brain, because in some of the best Spanish I think I've ever used I began to explain how I never meant to give him the wrong impression, I was making eye contact about the weed man, I didn't intend to imply certain things by laughing, and so on. He applogized for the confusion and I quickly left. I spent the next few times on the metro looking at either the ground or my feet.
Lesson learned: never make eye contact with another male on the metro. Even if there is a fire look down and run.
Well even after that strange encounter I still had a very fun weekend. Friday night I went with my Finnish friends, and Sandro (Swiss) to a salsa club. Although we weren't the only ones our age there, we were at least 10 years younger than the average age. Not knowing more than the basic step, I was determined to try. That night I danced with more women closer to the age of my mother than me, but it was okay because they were the best dancers. But it was a little embarrasing when they would say "listen to the music" and I would have to respond, "I'm trying!" For me the dancefloor was a dangerfield of misplaced toes, knees, and elbows. But I tried, I had fun, and I'm pretty sure I made the night of several ladies who danced with someone close to the age of their sons.
Well this week has been cold, rainy, and dark. I need some sun again. Watchmen comes tomorrow and I'm very excited about that. But I can't get into that now, because I need to do some homework, so adios until next time.
F(blog) < F(Spain) + F(Sleep)
*F being the function of fun
But I'll do my best to catch you up.
I spent the greater part of last week getting over my cold, but luckily the cough/all around sick feelings went away by the end of the week. But during my week of sickness, something very, very strange came to pass. I was riding the metro home from school one day and I looked at the row in front of me and noticed that a man had gotten out a certain amount of an illegal substance and was proceeding it roll it into a form that could be smoked. It was something very funny to see on the metro, as there are no-smoking signs everywhere and there is just no need for "no smoking illegal things signs," but some people may need them. I began to laugh to myself, needing affirmation that this was actually funny I started to look around to see if anyone else noticed. I made eye contact with the guy right in front of me and we both laughed, but that turned out to be a mistake. After one laugh I assumed it would go back to the status quo avoiding eye contact game known as riding the metro, but he persisted. Not knowing what to do I dodged my eyes around, but he was sitting right in front of me and there was no avoiding it. I didn't quite understand and just thought that he must have thought the weed smoking man was much funnier than I did, but I turned out to be very wrong.
I got off at my stop and began to walk the wrong direction, so I turned around and noticed the eye guy was right behind me. I walked past him, but he changed directions too. He hung up his phone and began to talk to me. Thinking he wanted to laugh more about the weed man, I went along with the conversation. To my surprise he never mentioned the man and started asking me where I'm from, how long I'm in town, if I want to hang out, etc... After declining several times, because of having plans with friends, and after a few choice words of his I realized he had very, very different intentions that I originally believed. The adrenaline must have rushed to my brain, because in some of the best Spanish I think I've ever used I began to explain how I never meant to give him the wrong impression, I was making eye contact about the weed man, I didn't intend to imply certain things by laughing, and so on. He applogized for the confusion and I quickly left. I spent the next few times on the metro looking at either the ground or my feet.
Lesson learned: never make eye contact with another male on the metro. Even if there is a fire look down and run.
Well even after that strange encounter I still had a very fun weekend. Friday night I went with my Finnish friends, and Sandro (Swiss) to a salsa club. Although we weren't the only ones our age there, we were at least 10 years younger than the average age. Not knowing more than the basic step, I was determined to try. That night I danced with more women closer to the age of my mother than me, but it was okay because they were the best dancers. But it was a little embarrasing when they would say "listen to the music" and I would have to respond, "I'm trying!" For me the dancefloor was a dangerfield of misplaced toes, knees, and elbows. But I tried, I had fun, and I'm pretty sure I made the night of several ladies who danced with someone close to the age of their sons.
Well this week has been cold, rainy, and dark. I need some sun again. Watchmen comes tomorrow and I'm very excited about that. But I can't get into that now, because I need to do some homework, so adios until next time.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Details
So life is in the details or something like that right? I'm going on a month now and I thought I would share a few of life's little details that are everyday things, but make a significant (or at least seemingly significant) part of my life over here. There is no order to the these and some may not even be interesting, like this first one:
The dirt on the floor. The floor of my room seems to be always dirty. It is a wood floor that always looks pretty nice, until you put a bare foot on it. While walking either bare foot or in socks I seem to collect a nice little layer of dust and dirt on my feet. I can't seem to do anything about it. Even one minute after sweeping, it all comes back. I have no idea where it comes from, because I consider myself a clean person for the most part, but the dirt here just seems to reproduce out of nothing. I have given up and am trying to live with it. Maybe in the future I can come up with a method to dust proof my room, but that day has not come. For now the dust wins.
A thought on school. My classes here are actually very difficult. I haven't actually worried so much about a class in a very long time, even when I've been in difficult classes, I knew that if I studied enough then I could still do well. Here I just don't know. The economics classes I am taking are all using a lot of calculus that I haven't used in about 2 years... and not being able to do that puts a big hindrance on my ability to do the homework, exercises, etc... and eventually the tests. Fortunately I know people in all my classes who can help me out, but I really don't think I did a good job of picking classes that are on my level. I'm considering going to a class tomorrow for the first time (classes have been going for 3 weeks) because I think it will be easier than my others, and it might be nice to have a back up class.
Homework. Another thing that makes it almost impossible to do my homework is that I feel that I am still on vacation mode. I'm in a foreign country having fun, so homework? It is not a high priority and even when that is all I have to do, I still find ways not to. My previous experiences abroad have all ended at about this time, one month. And even in my study abroad in Japan we didn't really do much work while over there, it was all before or after. Unfortunately I don't have that luxury over here, all the work must be done here, for better or for worse. I'm afraid it is going to be all for the worse for me. Hopefully I can start to buckle down, but so far it has been very difficult to convince myself that is really necessary. What is more important my Macro II homework or an afternoon at the Retiro park? Retiro will win almost every time.
People. For those of you back home, I have made new friends, but don't worry, they will never replace the friendship we have together. Yes I am talking to you. Ok well now that we have that settled, the people over here are great, and it is very easy to meet new people all of the time. I have ended up spending most of my time with other exchange students, and unfortately most of them speak English better than Spanish, so I feel like my language ability hasn't progressed as fast as it should have. But on the bright side, almost none of them are American. So if I have to talk in Enlgish, it is better to do so with non-Americans. I need to spend time with more Spaniards, but the other exchange students are so darn cool and so much fun to hang out with. Making a transition will be a hard one, and maybe not even possilbe. I think I am just going to try and speak more Spanish with them, because most of them feel the same way I do about the whole situation. So let's hope for the best when it comes to my Spanish speaking ability!
Cold. I've been stuggling with a cold since about Thursday, so about 4 days now. I'm still not sure if it is getting much better. Even a little cold makes it very difficult to enjoy things. It is hard to enjoy dinner with friends when you are holding back coughs, struggling to breathe, and can't even taste the food. I've been pumping myself full of Musinex and Dayquill, but those only help so much, and my supply is limited. I hope I get better soon so I can enjoy more of these little details.
And I just got back from an Islands concert tonight (former band members of the Unicorns). It was a very good show and I'm enjoying finding all of the cool, little concert venues in Madrid. Maybe I can even become a regular at one? We shall see.
Oh and another great detail I forgot to include in my last post was that after spliting up from my group after the Star Wars Exhibiton, I had to go across a very large metro station. As I was going up a long escalator I thought I heard a familiar sound. And yes I did! It was the famous chords from the Final Countdown. Already on my Star Wars high, I became even more excitied when I saw the street performer playing the final countdown on his electric guitar at the top of the escalator. It made the day perfect. And I gave him a Euro for the joy he gave me. One Euro is a small price to pay for the perfect ending to a great day. Well it is late and I need a little sleep, so goodbye for now.
Monday, February 16, 2009
A New Hope
The Force in Madrid? Yes... today I let my full nerd come out and went to the Star Wars Exhibition in Madrid. It has been traveling to major cities around the world, and it just happened to be in the same city I am at this very moment. For this reason I had to go. That and many others I would say, like the fact I grew up on Star Wars. I felt like I had prepared my whole life for this one museum visit. It was full with over 240 original props that I had seen many many times before, so seeing in them in person really made me feel just a little more complete. The fact that we spent over 2 hours there, when I only spent about 2.5 hours in el Museo Prado did worry me a bit. Especially since it was only about a quarter of the size. And although most of it was in English as well in Spanish, there were some great translations, such as La Estrella de la Muerta
Experiencing that was a great way to start my week, coming off a great weekend. Friday-Sunday were spent in Granada, about a 4.5 hour bus ride to the south of Madrid. This trip really highlighted several cultural facts about Spain to me. I always knew that Spain was kind of the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and some degree the Middle East. As we got closer to Granada, many of the signs began to have Arabic on them in addition to Spanish.
Throughout the city the architecture was heavily Middle Eastern influenced, and several streets were inhabited my Moroccan markets. I tried my first Moroccan food in a restaurant where most of the people were smoking hookah instead of eating. Nothing too exciting happened there. One of the craziest things I saw was two piegons killing another one. I couldn't decided if it was a public excution or simply a mob hit. I'm pretty sure if any type of bird has a Mafia it is the piegons. It was both frightful and nerveracking as the murder took place as an oncoming street cleaner came onto the scene. We simply watched it happen and didn't step in to help. But could we do anything against the piegon hitman? My inaction is something I will always have to live with, but the fear of being next was too great.
Other than that visiting the Alhambra was pretty memorable. The tours were all in Spanish, so it was hard to understand a lot about the architecture, but I was able to understand a good part of it. Also, we got to watch a flamenco dance one night. Expecting to go into a theater, I was very happily surprised by the authentically of it when instead we walked into this long, small room, with all the chairs against the wall, while the dancers performed right in front of us.
And did I mention that this is a very special episode? Because I failed to take any good flamenco pictures I'm going to post my video! It is the only way to get the experience, even if it is just a taste. Unfortunately I had a little trouble in the middle, so a few seconds is spent looking at my lap. Also it is sideways. I know these should be easy fixes, but I'm no video editor, so this will be shown in it's raw, unedited form. So tilt your head and enjoy.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Explorations
So it is about the end of week two here in Madrid. It has continued to be both fun and busy, so I'll just hit the highlights. Seeing an alternative to staying out 'till morning I decided to go to a concert Friday night. After searching for about an hour for the sold out Dragonforce show, I found a band called Paramount Styles playing. The singer is the former singer of the 90s rock group Girls Against Boys.
This is what his new band looks like:
Anyway, my friend and I found ourselves a bit lost on the way to the show and no one seemed to know the street we were looking for. So we decided to hop in a taxi, the one sure way to get somewhere. She tells him where we need to go and he says we are already there and just need to walk a few blocks up. So we make it over to the street we need, but then we couldn't find the place we were searching for. I saw a few guys with guitar cases standing in the street and Joked around with Dina, saying that they were probably in the band. So we asked them where the place was and they pointed us down the street. A little later they walked in and started playing... it was the band. It was a very small, local music joint. I loved it the band, atmosphere, everything about it was awesome. Taking pictures was difficlut because of the very low concert lighting and what not, but you can see by my We even got to talk to the band for quite a while after the show. You know when you ask the band for directions to their own show they must think that is quite comical, but they all thought it was quite funny. Well that was it for that day and Saturday I did a little tour of the city with the exchange program, And now a note on today:
Well you know that thing about Spanish time being really relaxed? I must be getting too used to this Spanish time because today when I needed to be on time I wasn't. I was planning to leave for Toledo, the old Spanish capital, at 12:30 this morning. The Exchange Student office ran out of tickets early so I was in the group that was going on our own. We were to meet at a bus station about 30 minutes from my flat. Well I woke up with plenty of time, at about 9:30, but decided I didn't have anything to do so I went back to sleep. Unfortunately, the next time I woke up was 12:35. I had missed it.
My first attempt to call my friends to apologize failed. A few minutes later I received a call from my friend saying she couldn't find anyone there and hadn't left yet. I was still good to go. After meeting her there we got our bus tickets and made out way to Toledo. The Spanish highway system reminded me a lot of the highways back home, with gas stations available at every exit. But seeing everything in metric system confused me a little. Because I'm pretty sure we weren't going 120 mph the whole way there.
When we got to Toledo we actually found some other exchange students in the station and followed them up to the oldest cathedral in Spain, cerca 1227. We couldn't take pictures inside, but it was nothing like any church in America. The details put into every part of it were incredible. I don't think anybody today would take the time to sculpt figurines into the wall like this, but let me tell you: if they did, I would go and see it.
Well in the Cathedral we saw most of the other exchange students but we decided to still do our own thing and explore by ourselves or at least in other small groups. We eventually meet up with some of my Italian friends and met their roommates, 2 Americans and explored with them for a bit. No crazy stories about that, but it was a fun time.
This is what Connor in Toledo looks like:
This is what the end of my post looks like:
This is what his new band looks like:
Anyway, my friend and I found ourselves a bit lost on the way to the show and no one seemed to know the street we were looking for. So we decided to hop in a taxi, the one sure way to get somewhere. She tells him where we need to go and he says we are already there and just need to walk a few blocks up. So we make it over to the street we need, but then we couldn't find the place we were searching for. I saw a few guys with guitar cases standing in the street and Joked around with Dina, saying that they were probably in the band. So we asked them where the place was and they pointed us down the street. A little later they walked in and started playing... it was the band. It was a very small, local music joint. I loved it the band, atmosphere, everything about it was awesome. Taking pictures was difficlut because of the very low concert lighting and what not, but you can see by my We even got to talk to the band for quite a while after the show. You know when you ask the band for directions to their own show they must think that is quite comical, but they all thought it was quite funny. Well that was it for that day and Saturday I did a little tour of the city with the exchange program, And now a note on today:
Well you know that thing about Spanish time being really relaxed? I must be getting too used to this Spanish time because today when I needed to be on time I wasn't. I was planning to leave for Toledo, the old Spanish capital, at 12:30 this morning. The Exchange Student office ran out of tickets early so I was in the group that was going on our own. We were to meet at a bus station about 30 minutes from my flat. Well I woke up with plenty of time, at about 9:30, but decided I didn't have anything to do so I went back to sleep. Unfortunately, the next time I woke up was 12:35. I had missed it.
My first attempt to call my friends to apologize failed. A few minutes later I received a call from my friend saying she couldn't find anyone there and hadn't left yet. I was still good to go. After meeting her there we got our bus tickets and made out way to Toledo. The Spanish highway system reminded me a lot of the highways back home, with gas stations available at every exit. But seeing everything in metric system confused me a little. Because I'm pretty sure we weren't going 120 mph the whole way there.
When we got to Toledo we actually found some other exchange students in the station and followed them up to the oldest cathedral in Spain, cerca 1227. We couldn't take pictures inside, but it was nothing like any church in America. The details put into every part of it were incredible. I don't think anybody today would take the time to sculpt figurines into the wall like this, but let me tell you: if they did, I would go and see it.
Well in the Cathedral we saw most of the other exchange students but we decided to still do our own thing and explore by ourselves or at least in other small groups. We eventually meet up with some of my Italian friends and met their roommates, 2 Americans and explored with them for a bit. No crazy stories about that, but it was a fun time.
This is what Connor in Toledo looks like:
This is what the end of my post looks like:
Monday, February 2, 2009
FOREIGNER is written on my forehead...
I didn't plan on writing on this blog so much, but a few things have happened recently that just need to be shared. Today was the first day of classes and although it went well, I pointed myself out as someone that isn't from around here all day long.
The day started when I met a friend at the Atocha station to buy a month long metro pass. These are not sold in the staion itslef, but they sell these in tobacco stores. Even after getting one I still don't understand the conncetion between cigarrets and metro passes. Then after I had finished filling it out the vendor keep telling me something that I didn't understand. I stood there for about a minute doing nothing, looking at the card I had completly filled out while he repeatedly told me the same thing until a Spanish lady in line kindly told me in English that he wanted my signature.
It was quite a way to start a rainy day. After eating some breakfast I parted ways with my amiga and ran into an Italian friend I had met at orientation waiting for the same train. He introduced me to his other friend and we discovered that we were going to the same class, but apparently we were both a little missinformed. When we got to the class it was almost full, and I noticed that there were quite a few Spanierds in the class. The teacher then started teaching, but in Spanish of course. We looked at eachother and decided that she was just speaking Spanish because she was easing the other stuents in or something. I couldn't understand everything, but she was talking about the Internet and other methods of communcations. Finally we asked a girl in front of us and we discovered that it wasn't the right class at all. So then we got to take the walk of shame out of class as the lost exchange students. Our class had been moved across the hall without us knowing, so then we attended the right class.
After class I then went to the exchange office to try and get my campus e-mail working. And it seemed like every exchange student was there trying to solve some problem. It seemed like I fixed my problem there... but I didn't. Tomorrow I'll have to check out the line again.
One more thing happened today which pointed me out as a stranger in these parts. I went to the local supermarket and bought myself a few different foods and after checking out they have a bag it yourself system. I've done this before at home and even last week at this store, but for some reason I couldn't get the plastic bag to open, like all plastic bags do it was just sticking together. So I tried the next one and couldn't open it either. I was there for about a minute trying to open my bags and one of the guys behind me in line who had just checked out helped me out and of course opened it no problem. I'm as American as can be apparantly.
Also I thought that you might want to see a few pictures so here are a few. And probably the mere fact that I took all these photos reminded people I'm not from around here.
We had to get some American food back in our system.
Crazy cow art.
Really cool building, so many buildings have amazing statues on top.
Visiting El Museo del Prado
Yesterday's Snow
The day started when I met a friend at the Atocha station to buy a month long metro pass. These are not sold in the staion itslef, but they sell these in tobacco stores. Even after getting one I still don't understand the conncetion between cigarrets and metro passes. Then after I had finished filling it out the vendor keep telling me something that I didn't understand. I stood there for about a minute doing nothing, looking at the card I had completly filled out while he repeatedly told me the same thing until a Spanish lady in line kindly told me in English that he wanted my signature.
It was quite a way to start a rainy day. After eating some breakfast I parted ways with my amiga and ran into an Italian friend I had met at orientation waiting for the same train. He introduced me to his other friend and we discovered that we were going to the same class, but apparently we were both a little missinformed. When we got to the class it was almost full, and I noticed that there were quite a few Spanierds in the class. The teacher then started teaching, but in Spanish of course. We looked at eachother and decided that she was just speaking Spanish because she was easing the other stuents in or something. I couldn't understand everything, but she was talking about the Internet and other methods of communcations. Finally we asked a girl in front of us and we discovered that it wasn't the right class at all. So then we got to take the walk of shame out of class as the lost exchange students. Our class had been moved across the hall without us knowing, so then we attended the right class.
After class I then went to the exchange office to try and get my campus e-mail working. And it seemed like every exchange student was there trying to solve some problem. It seemed like I fixed my problem there... but I didn't. Tomorrow I'll have to check out the line again.
One more thing happened today which pointed me out as a stranger in these parts. I went to the local supermarket and bought myself a few different foods and after checking out they have a bag it yourself system. I've done this before at home and even last week at this store, but for some reason I couldn't get the plastic bag to open, like all plastic bags do it was just sticking together. So I tried the next one and couldn't open it either. I was there for about a minute trying to open my bags and one of the guys behind me in line who had just checked out helped me out and of course opened it no problem. I'm as American as can be apparantly.
Also I thought that you might want to see a few pictures so here are a few. And probably the mere fact that I took all these photos reminded people I'm not from around here.
We had to get some American food back in our system.
Crazy cow art.
Really cool building, so many buildings have amazing statues on top.
Visiting El Museo del Prado
Yesterday's Snow
Friday, January 30, 2009
I think Madrid needs some sleep.
Today was my fifth day in Spain and for the most part I really am enjoying it. The city is beautiful. Unlike most European cities, Madrid doesn't have that one monument that you think of. But the city's beauty is far from hidden. Every street is filled with buildings that are hundreds of years old, built right next to new buildings. Every plaza has monuments or fountains which would put most of the best squares in American cities to shame.
.
This is a picture of La Plaza Mayor. I'm a little saddened by the fact that people know this as the place from Vantage Point instead of the long history it has had in Spain, being the place of executions during the Spanish Inquisition, where bullfights occurred, and where kings have been sworn in. But despite the general lack of knowledge of the sites of Madrid (most of which I'm guilty of) it is a beautiful city.
I've been doing a lot of hanging out with our neighbors, most of which are from Spain or South America. Today was my orientation at the University I'll be attending here. I met lots people, but many seemed to come from Germany and France. Luckily for me most of them know Spanish better than I do, so it will still be good for me to hang out with them and practice my Spanish. I do need to admit that I have been pretty timid about speaking. Too many times when I'm with my friend who speaks almost fluently I've heard the phrase, no hablas espanol? Already I'm able to understand a lot more than I could, but I don't feel prepared to respond, so I've been quiet. I feel like even if I do respond I will probably do so incorrectly. I have come to the conclusion that it just doesn't matter. Even if I do make several gramatical errors, it is okay. Hopefully people will correct me and they will understand that I'm trying to learn. I would say that I gain confidence with every conversation, but that is not true at all. After one great conversation, I can go into another and feel horrible about it. I think more confidence to speak Spanish is the best thing that could help me right now.
P.S. All Spanierds do is party all night. It is 3:45 am and I still hear lots of people in the streets from my balcony. They really don't sleep. That is why siestas are necessary.
.This is a picture of La Plaza Mayor. I'm a little saddened by the fact that people know this as the place from Vantage Point instead of the long history it has had in Spain, being the place of executions during the Spanish Inquisition, where bullfights occurred, and where kings have been sworn in. But despite the general lack of knowledge of the sites of Madrid (most of which I'm guilty of) it is a beautiful city.
I've been doing a lot of hanging out with our neighbors, most of which are from Spain or South America. Today was my orientation at the University I'll be attending here. I met lots people, but many seemed to come from Germany and France. Luckily for me most of them know Spanish better than I do, so it will still be good for me to hang out with them and practice my Spanish. I do need to admit that I have been pretty timid about speaking. Too many times when I'm with my friend who speaks almost fluently I've heard the phrase, no hablas espanol? Already I'm able to understand a lot more than I could, but I don't feel prepared to respond, so I've been quiet. I feel like even if I do respond I will probably do so incorrectly. I have come to the conclusion that it just doesn't matter. Even if I do make several gramatical errors, it is okay. Hopefully people will correct me and they will understand that I'm trying to learn. I would say that I gain confidence with every conversation, but that is not true at all. After one great conversation, I can go into another and feel horrible about it. I think more confidence to speak Spanish is the best thing that could help me right now.
P.S. All Spanierds do is party all night. It is 3:45 am and I still hear lots of people in the streets from my balcony. They really don't sleep. That is why siestas are necessary.
Monday, January 26, 2009
I Made It!
I was just going to let you know that I made it safely! After visiting Chicago and London for a short time and getting to know C.S. Lewis and Kurt Vonnegut a little better I arrived safely in Madrid. When I arrived I suddenly became incredibly nervous about speaking Spanish. The first part of my cab ride was spent in silence. When I finally worked up the nerve to ask a few questions he would give incredibly long responses. He was from Madrid and loved talking about his city. I didn't catch a lot of what he said, but I was able to communicate and he even ended up giving me his own map and helping me quite a bit. It was a great first impression.
I then made it to the agency to get my apartment, which were luckily only a couple blocks apart. The flat is incredibly European in style; very small, has a small elevator, and I have a balcony, so it will surely do. The picture is the view from my room's balcony and the great thing is that I'm just a few minutes walk from the center of Madrid.
We also met our neighbors tonight and got to know them. They are all about our age and only one, from France, speaks English, so hanging out with them is going to be great practice. I'm already feeling more comfortable than when I arrived. I now need to finish unpacking so I can rest up for a day of exploration tomorrow. So all in all it has been a great start, I can only hope these things will continue.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Final Countdown
It's the night before I leave. America is about to be behind me, but always with me (on my shoelaces mainly). After being tired the whole day, I have found myself not even drowsy now. I think it is a mix of the excitement, nervousness, and videogames I have been playing the last few hours. Hopefully I'll get some rest and then be able to sleep on the plane tomorrow, but that is always difficult, so we'll see.
I do think I'm ready to go. I'm packed, I have my flight itineraries, and my apartment in Madrid settled. Trying to pack for 4 months was one the most difficult tasks I have embarked on... at least this week. Packing for me may be one of the things I hate most in the world and in fact I have come up with a list of the things I hate most:
1. Packing/Unpacking
2. Injustice
3. Goodbyes
Packing/Unpacking because they always come together, the duo of danger if you will. Injustices such as murder, pointless war, theft, etc are always bad and make me upset for obvious reasons. And the new one I've found recently is goodbyes. I've had to say goodbye to a lot of people lately and I really don't enjoy it at all. Although I'm going away for a longer period of time, there is really no need for any extra time spent in saying the goodbye. It doesn't seem like a slightly longer salutation is going to change anything.
But I will now give you a short goodbye for now, I will be in Spain the next time I post and hopefully I will make it safely. I think that the fewer stories I have from travel the better.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Something New
Connor writing a travel blog? Yes it is! Being as original as I can be I am starting a travel blog. I have never been a fan of the blog, thinking that most of the ideas that people put on them would be better off kept to themselves. And when people travel they want to share they journey with everyone else, but of course not everyone wants to see. I do believe that I once read that the blog was killing modern literature. If that is true, then may mine be another kick to the sore spot.
So if you feel inclined to share this journey with me, or simply want to make sure I'm alive feel free to tune in. This will be my new place to post updates, fun stories, things I've learned, things I've wished I learned, and best of all pictures. I was going to do something like a journal for myself so I'd have something to look at as my memory fades, but why not share it with friends? I don't know how often I will post, but I will try to do one a week.
And if you didn't know I was going to Spain for the semester then yes! I'm going to Spain! I leave in two weeks and will return in June. Why you may ask? Because I want to feel all cultured and suave? Yes. That is the only reason.
So if you feel inclined to share this journey with me, or simply want to make sure I'm alive feel free to tune in. This will be my new place to post updates, fun stories, things I've learned, things I've wished I learned, and best of all pictures. I was going to do something like a journal for myself so I'd have something to look at as my memory fades, but why not share it with friends? I don't know how often I will post, but I will try to do one a week.
And if you didn't know I was going to Spain for the semester then yes! I'm going to Spain! I leave in two weeks and will return in June. Why you may ask? Because I want to feel all cultured and suave? Yes. That is the only reason.
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