had me low, had me down-a! Just kidding, that was a feeble attempt at jazz. I do believe Frankie is rolling in his grave.
Greetings fellow earthlings! Last night the group decided to head out to some of the local discotecas...okay, before you get worried...no, I didn’t go; yes, I am, in fact, a huge party pooper; and no, I didn’t miss out on anything. According to my friends here, it was, at best, slightly awkward...
So, having said that, today I headed off solo early this afternoon to the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona in search of a section of the town my heart would throb over. I’m pretty sure I found it. Orgionally, I had intended to hunt down the illusive “la Sagrada Familia” by Gaudi, and Santa Maria del Mar, but instead I stumbled on two older and absolutely gorgeous Cathedrals built who knows when (no seriously, who knows? I want to...) and with free enterance and pictures allowed inside. Though I took an obnoxious amount of photos, like three turned out good, and the rest were super blurry. It was raining today, and the light was being testy. Meehhh.... However, I got to sit back and enjoy the somber poetry of an elderly spanish man pleading for the heath of his wife in front of Santa Maria, and feed some huge patos (quack) who were running around an inclosure inside one of the church courtyards. Its been a beautiful day so far, quite rainy but beautiful. Right now I’m just sinning in bed, snuggled up for a siesta, before I head out looking for more historic parts of the city. Hope you all have an excellent day! I think the sun is just starting to peak over the horizon on your end of the ocean (if my math is correct). I would say I send my love with it, but the sun and I didn’t meet up today, so this post will just have to do.
Love you!
here be the photos...the few that turned out well.
Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=253241&l=46924&id=1323450019
oh! while I was getting some coffee at a shop today, I met a woman who need an english tutor, and she was willing to speak to me in Castillian. So, today I made a teacher, a student, and a friend. =)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Homestay
I have posted a series of poorly executed photos for your viewing pleasure. Its of the sights and sounds around my house. Unfortunately, the camera didn't quite get the sounds, so the sights will just have to suffice. Anyhoo...I put some captions on the photos to try and orient you guy around the house a bit better. Oh! non of the pictures I took of the bedroom really came out that great Sooo... two twins are side by side in the middle of the room. Its shaped a bit like a house the way a 4 year old would draw it...minus the chimney. If thats confusing-think pentagon without equal sides. Umm...there is a HUGE cabnet storage area thing on one wall that looks like it could be related to the wardrobe in Narnia, a huge squishy chair, a picture of Jesus in pain, and a desk...OH and two large bay windows. Its nice n cosy. Me gusta!
alright,
ciao
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15539&l=c667c&id=1323450019
alright,
ciao
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15539&l=c667c&id=1323450019
I have internet!
HORRAY! I found two internet service providers at the house that are unsecured, and therefore...FREE! Hit me up if any of you want to arrange times to get onto skype. Its an eight hour time difference SOO!
9 at night here is 12 noon your time
hope to hear from you soon!
9 at night here is 12 noon your time
hope to hear from you soon!
Moving day.
Alrighty folks! Two days of online silence are all I can handle. Update time! Huzzah!
Okay, yesterday we hopped on the ISA bus bound for Cataluña from Toledo. It took a whopping 8 hours, or was it 9?, point being...twas a long journey. I'm pretty sure everyone was more than ready to be done with traveling and settle down for a while. I know I was! During the drive we saw the many landscapes that Spain has to offer. Think the drive from Oregon to Nevada to Sac. and then to San Diego only condensed, and you've pretty much got it. Actually, at one point I decided to nod off for a while, and when I awoke, I saw a sign for Santa Cruz sitting in a desert that looked exactly like Yerington, and got really disoriented. For a second, I thought I was on a band trip...but luckily (sorry Bum!) that was not the case!
Observations form the trip: Spanish Truckers are some of the funniest people to watch. Oh! and not one of them is fat with a huge handlebar mustache. That stereotype aparently only resides in the states. I wonder how they stay so fot while driving...actually, most of them had another person in the front with them. They must switch off quite a bit...that and they have less of a journey to make...hmm still pondering...
Okay, next: Spanish countryside functions very differently than its US counterpart. Instead of a single home living on its own land (placing it miles from other houses) They're clumped together in a small villege and surrounded by properties. We passed through one valley where there were about three villages in tight little clumps surrounded by miles of open space. The farmers had each driven out to their respective fields in white truck for the day surrounding little villages, each incased in a thick wall, and each with an ancient church steeple peeking out from the middle. Adorable! I wish we could have just gotten off there, but alas, we continued, and for that I am now very grateful.
Barcelona is amazing! Once we stepped off, each of our house parents were waiting to take us to our respective homes. My Señora's name is Rafaela. She is around 70 years old and lives in a quite but crazy ancient part of town. When she mentioned that she had set some house keys aside for us, I was thinking normal keys you get in the US. Nope! I am now the proud owner of a set of Skeleton keys...on a ring. Adorable!
For those of you that were wondering, the test went fine, I passed the most important part (over elementary level) and am waiting to see which inter. or adv. level they will place me in.
The school itself is really cool. Its the oldest university in Barcelona, and looks a bit like Hogwarts. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about... it looks like...um...that univeristy in Pride and Prejudice. The BBC version. Huzzah! Anyways, I'm really excited to get even more settled in. Hope you all had an excellent day. Pictures to some, hopefully sooner rather than later. Love you all, bye!
Okay, yesterday we hopped on the ISA bus bound for Cataluña from Toledo. It took a whopping 8 hours, or was it 9?, point being...twas a long journey. I'm pretty sure everyone was more than ready to be done with traveling and settle down for a while. I know I was! During the drive we saw the many landscapes that Spain has to offer. Think the drive from Oregon to Nevada to Sac. and then to San Diego only condensed, and you've pretty much got it. Actually, at one point I decided to nod off for a while, and when I awoke, I saw a sign for Santa Cruz sitting in a desert that looked exactly like Yerington, and got really disoriented. For a second, I thought I was on a band trip...but luckily (sorry Bum!) that was not the case!
Observations form the trip: Spanish Truckers are some of the funniest people to watch. Oh! and not one of them is fat with a huge handlebar mustache. That stereotype aparently only resides in the states. I wonder how they stay so fot while driving...actually, most of them had another person in the front with them. They must switch off quite a bit...that and they have less of a journey to make...hmm still pondering...
Okay, next: Spanish countryside functions very differently than its US counterpart. Instead of a single home living on its own land (placing it miles from other houses) They're clumped together in a small villege and surrounded by properties. We passed through one valley where there were about three villages in tight little clumps surrounded by miles of open space. The farmers had each driven out to their respective fields in white truck for the day surrounding little villages, each incased in a thick wall, and each with an ancient church steeple peeking out from the middle. Adorable! I wish we could have just gotten off there, but alas, we continued, and for that I am now very grateful.
Barcelona is amazing! Once we stepped off, each of our house parents were waiting to take us to our respective homes. My Señora's name is Rafaela. She is around 70 years old and lives in a quite but crazy ancient part of town. When she mentioned that she had set some house keys aside for us, I was thinking normal keys you get in the US. Nope! I am now the proud owner of a set of Skeleton keys...on a ring. Adorable!
For those of you that were wondering, the test went fine, I passed the most important part (over elementary level) and am waiting to see which inter. or adv. level they will place me in.
The school itself is really cool. Its the oldest university in Barcelona, and looks a bit like Hogwarts. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about... it looks like...um...that univeristy in Pride and Prejudice. The BBC version. Huzzah! Anyways, I'm really excited to get even more settled in. Hope you all had an excellent day. Pictures to some, hopefully sooner rather than later. Love you all, bye!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Toh-leh-doh
Greetings from Toledo (toh-leh-doh, I know, Jamie Farr messed me up too, anyways...)
Today I’m feeling much much better. I went to sleep in a warm bed around eight last night, and woke up around seven this morning, so! I’m feeling well rested. Oh! Speaking of rest, I must be part Spaniard...I normally get drowsy around 2 and feel much better by 5 in the afternoon; coincidentally, the Spanish close down shop at around 2 and re-open at 5 so that they can take a leisurely lunch and nap. Because of this practice, our directors have asked us to talk softly on the bus whenever we travel during that time. It’s perfect! Right, moving on...
Toledo is absolutely beautiful. It is thought to be well over 2000 years old, and is as rich in architecture as it is in history. It is referred to as the city of three religions, and expresses all at the exact same time; for example: in the ninth century, the Muslims built a synagogue (no mistake) for the Jewish population of the city. Later, the Christians converted it to a church. So! you can see Muslim architecture, the intricate geometric carvings by the Jews, and the gaudy gold-leaf alter by the Christians occupying the same 50 square foot building. Amazing! Unfortunately, pictures weren’t allowed to be taken inside any of the churches. I did, however, take some stealth shots inside of another cathedral built in the 1300’s...enjoy! I wasn’t brave enough to get the sanctuary, but the halls are amazing as well, and will just have to suffice.
The people here are incredibly warm and friendly. Our tour guide was hilarious! He literally new everyone he passed! When he kissed the fifth woman he passed on the street, he turned to us, blushing, and said “when its sa smull town, you ghet to knooo eh-veh-ery one, emmm, bery well! ¡sí!
I wish we could stay here a little longer, but we pack up for Barcelona tomorrow. I can’t wait to finally get settle in and start classes. Its been a long time coming, but totally worth it! Hope you are all doing well and to hear from you soon! Love you lots, Michelle.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15361&l=b14ac&id=1323450019
Today I’m feeling much much better. I went to sleep in a warm bed around eight last night, and woke up around seven this morning, so! I’m feeling well rested. Oh! Speaking of rest, I must be part Spaniard...I normally get drowsy around 2 and feel much better by 5 in the afternoon; coincidentally, the Spanish close down shop at around 2 and re-open at 5 so that they can take a leisurely lunch and nap. Because of this practice, our directors have asked us to talk softly on the bus whenever we travel during that time. It’s perfect! Right, moving on...
Toledo is absolutely beautiful. It is thought to be well over 2000 years old, and is as rich in architecture as it is in history. It is referred to as the city of three religions, and expresses all at the exact same time; for example: in the ninth century, the Muslims built a synagogue (no mistake) for the Jewish population of the city. Later, the Christians converted it to a church. So! you can see Muslim architecture, the intricate geometric carvings by the Jews, and the gaudy gold-leaf alter by the Christians occupying the same 50 square foot building. Amazing! Unfortunately, pictures weren’t allowed to be taken inside any of the churches. I did, however, take some stealth shots inside of another cathedral built in the 1300’s...enjoy! I wasn’t brave enough to get the sanctuary, but the halls are amazing as well, and will just have to suffice.
The people here are incredibly warm and friendly. Our tour guide was hilarious! He literally new everyone he passed! When he kissed the fifth woman he passed on the street, he turned to us, blushing, and said “when its sa smull town, you ghet to knooo eh-veh-ery one, emmm, bery well! ¡sí!
I wish we could stay here a little longer, but we pack up for Barcelona tomorrow. I can’t wait to finally get settle in and start classes. Its been a long time coming, but totally worth it! Hope you are all doing well and to hear from you soon! Love you lots, Michelle.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15361&l=b14ac&id=1323450019
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Today's trips...but no falls.
Buenas Noches everyone!
Today was a busy day of travel after a long night (well, for me) of exploring Madrid. We packed up early this morning and headed off the La Valle de Los Callidos (a cathedral/tomb/something indescribable) and then stopped by Esquitorial (a lovely little town in the mountains (freezing and covered in snow, but nice) that houses a royal monestairy/university/royal hunting lodge all rolled into one. Though the scenery was breath taking, it was freakishly cold (I think I saw a negative degrees sign somewhere) and we arrived during the middle of the day (which meant that all the smoke free shops were closed and it was either sit in a smoky cafe (like, thick smoke!) or freeze outside. Even when I walked out to get some air, people would be smoking! (feeble attempt to keep warm?) Now, I know, I know, I shouldn’t be such a whiner, and normally I really don’t have a problem with it, but there was literally no escaping it! After a while, a headache, sore throat, and stuff nose took up residence in my body...SO! I’ll make this quick. I’m going to hit the sheets (that smell like smoke, kid you not!) early tonight to try to sleep some of this off. Oh! I think I’m dehydrate too, water is not freely available in public fountains, and every time I ask for it in restaurants, they bring me bottles...I just want icy tap water! A jumbo glass of icy tap water! I’m sure its fine! I drank out of the tap in my hotel room without a problem...
okay, focus on the positive Michelle! (its the cold speaking) umm... . Thank you Mom for convincing me to bring so much cold medicine. okay, right! Today:
La Valle de los Callidos is a Cathedral carved into a mountain near Madrid. It was commissioned by Franco (“please turn to pg. 539 in your history books. General Francisco Franco was a member of the Spanish Republican party when he assumed control of Spain during the Spanish Civil war. Due to the periodical proximity of the war to WW2 and remaining resistance by Democratic party members and tribal warfare in the Basque country, Spain was unable to participate in Hitler’s Axis (of evil), as the country’s fighting age men were part of the resistance, attempting to control the resistance, wounded, sick (with Spanish influenza) or dead. Times were, as some scholars would deem it “hard and/or messed up”. (oh! side note, Spain’s Republicans are the progressive party much like USA’s Democrats, and the Democrats are like Republicans...)) Okay, where was I? Right! So, due to the Civil War, Franco had a lot of POWs and corpses on his hands, So! he built the cathedral at La Valle de Los Callidos (the valley of the fallen) to house the thousands of caskets, and put his POWs to use. Now, when you look (please!) at the pictures, its hard to get a good idea of just how huge this place is. On one of them, you can actually get some perspective because some visitors happened to be standing in the “entrada” when I snapped the photo. Now, the reason why I mention the size has to do with the fact that it is a Catholic Cathedral. According to belief, no cathedral is allowed to be bigger than the Vatican in Rome; however, Franco’s complex was considerably larger (hehe, double meaning! anyone? okay...) By the time the Church announce that it would not recognize the church, the inside had already been completed (carved into a mountain). At that point, it was a bit convenient to change the inside, so he halved the size of the courtyard making the ...massive...thing just under the size of the Vatican while keeping his enemies busy for just a little while longer. Now, no pictures were allowed inside, so I’ll attempt to describe it to you: it was a cave, so there was no natural light and little of any other form. Several dark themes played into the construction and style of the building. If you’ve ever seem the Sound of Music and they run through the dark convent at night with the Nazis chasing them? Oh! and they sang at the concert hall? Yep, exactly like that. Angles took overly-masculine stances and held incredibly large swords. The crowning piece of art work was the “ Angel of Death” Due to the amount of light in the cave, you couldn’t see his face at all, just a dark hooded figure. I went into one of the chapels, lit a prayer candle and hummed “this little light of mine” just to make for a slightly more positive atmosphere. The walk through ended and several members of the group ran for the exit (myself included).
After that, we headed for the picturesque mountain town of El Esquitorial, which houses a huge Monestairy/University/Cathedral/Mausoleum for the Royal Family/ and Hunting lodge for the kings. The place is literally 9 acres of hallways, staircases, perfectly manicured gardens, fountains, and everything a gouty king (hehehe) could wish for. It was AMAZING! To boot, we had one of the funniest guides I’ve every encountered (Like the Spanish version of Cowboy Mike). Anyways, the place was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed to preserve the artifacts and the privacy of the monks and students.
Whelp, you’ve heard about the rest of my day, so I’m headed out! I love you all! Have a great rest o the week! bye!
here's the link for the photos
enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15279&l=1740d&id=1323450019
Today was a busy day of travel after a long night (well, for me) of exploring Madrid. We packed up early this morning and headed off the La Valle de Los Callidos (a cathedral/tomb/something indescribable) and then stopped by Esquitorial (a lovely little town in the mountains (freezing and covered in snow, but nice) that houses a royal monestairy/university/royal hunting lodge all rolled into one. Though the scenery was breath taking, it was freakishly cold (I think I saw a negative degrees sign somewhere) and we arrived during the middle of the day (which meant that all the smoke free shops were closed and it was either sit in a smoky cafe (like, thick smoke!) or freeze outside. Even when I walked out to get some air, people would be smoking! (feeble attempt to keep warm?) Now, I know, I know, I shouldn’t be such a whiner, and normally I really don’t have a problem with it, but there was literally no escaping it! After a while, a headache, sore throat, and stuff nose took up residence in my body...SO! I’ll make this quick. I’m going to hit the sheets (that smell like smoke, kid you not!) early tonight to try to sleep some of this off. Oh! I think I’m dehydrate too, water is not freely available in public fountains, and every time I ask for it in restaurants, they bring me bottles...I just want icy tap water! A jumbo glass of icy tap water! I’m sure its fine! I drank out of the tap in my hotel room without a problem...
okay, focus on the positive Michelle! (its the cold speaking) umm... . Thank you Mom for convincing me to bring so much cold medicine. okay, right! Today:
La Valle de los Callidos is a Cathedral carved into a mountain near Madrid. It was commissioned by Franco (“please turn to pg. 539 in your history books. General Francisco Franco was a member of the Spanish Republican party when he assumed control of Spain during the Spanish Civil war. Due to the periodical proximity of the war to WW2 and remaining resistance by Democratic party members and tribal warfare in the Basque country, Spain was unable to participate in Hitler’s Axis (of evil), as the country’s fighting age men were part of the resistance, attempting to control the resistance, wounded, sick (with Spanish influenza) or dead. Times were, as some scholars would deem it “hard and/or messed up”. (oh! side note, Spain’s Republicans are the progressive party much like USA’s Democrats, and the Democrats are like Republicans...)) Okay, where was I? Right! So, due to the Civil War, Franco had a lot of POWs and corpses on his hands, So! he built the cathedral at La Valle de Los Callidos (the valley of the fallen) to house the thousands of caskets, and put his POWs to use. Now, when you look (please!) at the pictures, its hard to get a good idea of just how huge this place is. On one of them, you can actually get some perspective because some visitors happened to be standing in the “entrada” when I snapped the photo. Now, the reason why I mention the size has to do with the fact that it is a Catholic Cathedral. According to belief, no cathedral is allowed to be bigger than the Vatican in Rome; however, Franco’s complex was considerably larger (hehe, double meaning! anyone? okay...) By the time the Church announce that it would not recognize the church, the inside had already been completed (carved into a mountain). At that point, it was a bit convenient to change the inside, so he halved the size of the courtyard making the ...massive...thing just under the size of the Vatican while keeping his enemies busy for just a little while longer. Now, no pictures were allowed inside, so I’ll attempt to describe it to you: it was a cave, so there was no natural light and little of any other form. Several dark themes played into the construction and style of the building. If you’ve ever seem the Sound of Music and they run through the dark convent at night with the Nazis chasing them? Oh! and they sang at the concert hall? Yep, exactly like that. Angles took overly-masculine stances and held incredibly large swords. The crowning piece of art work was the “ Angel of Death” Due to the amount of light in the cave, you couldn’t see his face at all, just a dark hooded figure. I went into one of the chapels, lit a prayer candle and hummed “this little light of mine” just to make for a slightly more positive atmosphere. The walk through ended and several members of the group ran for the exit (myself included).
After that, we headed for the picturesque mountain town of El Esquitorial, which houses a huge Monestairy/University/Cathedral/Mausoleum for the Royal Family/ and Hunting lodge for the kings. The place is literally 9 acres of hallways, staircases, perfectly manicured gardens, fountains, and everything a gouty king (hehehe) could wish for. It was AMAZING! To boot, we had one of the funniest guides I’ve every encountered (Like the Spanish version of Cowboy Mike). Anyways, the place was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed to preserve the artifacts and the privacy of the monks and students.
Whelp, you’ve heard about the rest of my day, so I’m headed out! I love you all! Have a great rest o the week! bye!
here's the link for the photos
enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15279&l=1740d&id=1323450019
Monday, January 26, 2009
pictures, part 2
Some pictures of my explorations today in Madrid. I'm really sorry I'm leaving it, actually. Hope to be back soon and love Barcelona as much, if not more. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15215&l=9ee96&id=1323450019
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15215&l=9ee96&id=1323450019
Tapas...
Quite fun!
Getting to know the group was SO much fun today. I have a traveling buddy for Spring Break! Don't worry! I'm making loads of friends!!
wish I could talk more, but I NEED to get some sleep. Toledo tomorrow. Bye!
Getting to know the group was SO much fun today. I have a traveling buddy for Spring Break! Don't worry! I'm making loads of friends!!
wish I could talk more, but I NEED to get some sleep. Toledo tomorrow. Bye!
Salutations!
Hello everyone! I’ve just met up with my roommate for the semester and am waiting to go and find something to eat. It’s about three o’clock here, so I trust you’re all sleeping? maybe? I don’t know. The time difference is so confusing! However, my body clock has finally started to adjust to the change and life is looking bright and exciting. I went to church today with Paul, Elly, the boys and Bethany. The congregation was warm and friendly and willing to let me butcher their beautiful language in a feeble attempt at a Castilian accent. *ahem*...its a work in progress. Yes, peoples, the rules of the lisp (or as it is more politely referred to here, the “th” sound) are a bit more complicated than I thought. The language is becoming more clear to me and communicating yesterday in Madrid was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
Just finished the first two activities set up by ISA. The Bus tour was a very interesting way to tour the city. Though incredibly fast, and towards the end slightly dark, the guide showed us some of the more interesting buildings in parts of the town that Bethany and myself couldn’t walk to yesterday (we pooped out after a few hours!). I’m starting to feel acclimated to the country. I know its only been a few days, but I’m starting to really feel like Spain has become a place where I can really get used to the way of life in a short period of time. I am a bit concerned about a few things, though. I’m worried that I won’t learn as much Spanish as I was hoping for, and that Barcelona will not have been a wise choice for studying, but at the same time, I know that if I wasn’t supposed to be here, I would have gotten lost at Heathrow and never made it...right? I’m so grateful for the through orientations I’ve been given in the last few days by both my friends in Madrid, and the program directors.
Just finished the first two activities set up by ISA. The Bus tour was a very interesting way to tour the city. Though incredibly fast, and towards the end slightly dark, the guide showed us some of the more interesting buildings in parts of the town that Bethany and myself couldn’t walk to yesterday (we pooped out after a few hours!). I’m starting to feel acclimated to the country. I know its only been a few days, but I’m starting to really feel like Spain has become a place where I can really get used to the way of life in a short period of time. I am a bit concerned about a few things, though. I’m worried that I won’t learn as much Spanish as I was hoping for, and that Barcelona will not have been a wise choice for studying, but at the same time, I know that if I wasn’t supposed to be here, I would have gotten lost at Heathrow and never made it...right? I’m so grateful for the through orientations I’ve been given in the last few days by both my friends in Madrid, and the program directors.
the trip over
so many details, so little time to write!
The flight:
Okayokayokay...I know! I’ve been a total stinker. I managed to alert the press of my arrival (family, friends, and facebook...fff? no, that sounds bad...) anyways, and then crashed like a rocket shi...um...that expression is a bit tasteless...crashed like a test model car thing (see? so much better now). Anyhoo, I was done for, and without internet to boot. So! now, and without further ado I give you...the journey!
Hmm...let’s see...Okay!
After Daddy dropped me off at airport security, I passed through (with only one dirty look from the security guards, I might add!) and then proceeded to find my flight. Holy cow! LAX has got to be the biggest airport I have ever seen!..ever! After walking for what felt like...20 minutes, I arrived at the gate and watched a bit of Stardust as I couldn’t connect to the internet without paying an arm and a leg (though loosing those might have made the ride over the atlantic a bit more comfy as I would have had more space to wiggle around in...hehe). And after screaming at the suspense of Triston running to the Wall to save his ONE TRUE LOVE...*ahem* the attendants opened the gates and boarding began. Mercy of all mercies! Once I got on board and situated, the plane took off and I realized that the seat next to me would remain empty for the duration of the flight! Huzzah! Extra leg space! (one of like three in my section of the plane. Oh! did I mention the guy in the aisle seat was handsome? he was.) Anyways, the flight was ten hours long, during which I ate a lovely dinner and breakfast, and got absolutely zero sleep (must have been excitement plus highly caffeinated tea). Oh! Elisa mentioned, before I left, that British Airways is true to its name, and she was correct! They served us tea in cute little cups and saucers, and all the flight attendants spoke in proper British accents. I was even doted on by an English granny while I was boarding. ‘Twas legit! As an added bonus of the glorious window seat, I got to see the sun rise over the Atlantic ocean and Ireland. It was absolutely gorgeous! The pink sky contrasted with the pale blue waters and highlighted the chunks of drifting ice along the shores of the isles near the mainland (is that what they call it?). Anyways, Ireland in winter (and from the air) isn’t quite what I was expecting. For some strange reason, I was thinking I would be able to see little rainbows and magical people running around in a field of shamrocks, but it looked quite asleep. The earth was brown, and the shores were coated in thick layers of ice giving the isles an illusion of a distinct outline. ...all that from a plane. I wish I could have gotten off to visit, (both for the chance to see it up close, rather than out of a window, and for my legs! (Don’t worry, Grandma! I got up every hours or so to get the blood pumping, just like you said.)) but alas, there was only thirty minutes left in the fight, so I had to stay put...I made good use of the time, don’t worry. The man in the aisle seat was awake at that point, so we talked for a bit. =D
After we touched down in England, I disembarked (yay! big word!... actually cognate...whatever) from the plane at Heathrow Airport in London...and promptly had an anxiety attack. Totally kidding! No, but the place is HUGE! and by “huge” I actually mean “GINORMOUS!”...It had its own Metro and Bus system. Not Metro/Bus, or Metrobus, but two totally different forms of getting around the place. That...and there were people with shuttles taking the elderly to the Metro so that they could get onto the busses. Yikes!
By some miracle, I managed to maneuver through the endless glass staircases (I could have sworn that I went down one simply to go up another perpendicular to it...) I found the correct bus to the terminal that my plane was supposed to leave from. While waiting in line for the bus, I noticed that the man standing in front of me was wearing a Cuyamaca Firefighter’s t-shirt. ‘Surely that name isn’t very common,’ I thought to myself. I got his attention and then asked him if he was from the San Diego area. Now, I know he said something in English because I caught the words “brother” and “visit”, but beyond that...I have no idea what he said. Based on the accent impressions Juli entertained me with during the road trip up to the Vail wedding, I’m going to assume he was speaking with a Cockney accent...but I really didn’t catch enough to be sure. After he responded, I formulated some kind of response (in my sleepless stupor, non-the-less) and boarded the bus.
Now, as a highly emotional being, I’ve watched my fair share of British romantic-comedies...enough, at least, that I thought I would be prepared for the whole “wrong” side of the road thing. Nope. Holy cow! I giggled to myself when we first left the terminal, but once another bus passed us all bets were off and I suddenly became the silly american braced up against the window in an attempt to shield myself form impending doom...The...the bus driver knew what he was doing, I was fine. eventually. I arrived at the correct terminal, and then promptly got lost. Luckily, the man wearing the t-shirt had navigated his was around Heathrow in the past, and after asking him for help, he pointed me in the right direction...literally...but it was also the correct direction. hehehe. *ahem*
I had to go through security, again. But thankfully, security in the UK is quite different than its US counterpart. As I stood in line, it became very clear who the locals were...and who the Americans were. Several times, the guards told those passing through that it wasn’t necessary to strip down to the essentials merely to go through a door frame with a magnet in it. No wonder Americans have such a bad reputation! a product of amped up scanning, I say!
I passed through quickly, and then turned down the wrong terminal, again. Okay, this was the point that I got lost-er for two hours, so I’ll summarize: I asked eight people for help, and each gave me enough directions to find someone else to ask for more help. The last pointed me towards the Iberia desk, and I checked in. After that, I got lost again, asked more people for help, watched a tired teenager from Germany throw a temper tantrum (and could totally relate) and tell his mom to bleepity bleep bleep bleep bleep (and could totally Not relate). Found a screen, semi-blocked a hallway in front of said screen, drew a crowd of other travelers who couldn’t find another screen, totally blocked the hallway, talked with a sweet Canadian girl (my age), was asked to unblock said hallway by security, found the “central area of terminal 2” and then boarded the plane. Phew! Luckily, I had plenty of time, and a sandwich.
Once on the plane, I finally passed out. It wasn’t a very long ride, but I desperately needed the sleep.
We landed in Madrid around 3:30 in the afternoon (15:30, as they say here). I got off of the plane and handed my passport over to be stamped (Yay! I have a stamp in my passport!) and then headed over to baggage claim. I think all of the cross-country driving marathons my family and I have done in the past must have been in preparation for this trip because it really wasn’t that bad. Some of the other travelers got crazy antsy by the end of the journey (two girls were studying abroad in Madrid and came over on the exact same flight as me, including the British Airways flight from LAX) but I was either too tired of just plain used to it.
I found the belt my baggage was supposed to come off of...and waited. After an hour of waiting and two flight changes on the screen, I went to the customer service desk and insisted that my baggage wasn’t coming anytime soon. At that point, I was feeling a bit crunched for time, as I had arrived over an hour ago, and knew a family was waiting for me. I didn’t want them to worry, and I really didn’t want to get left at the airport by myself.
I collected the forms and headed out the door towards the people pick-up area. I hadn’t paid very close attention to the picture of the family, so several unsuspecting Spaniard received some very warm greetings followed by pure disappointment. Needless to say, after about ten minutes of looking for my friends, I realized that they were no longer waiting at the airport. I got change and headed to a pay-phone. It was at that point that it suddenly hit me: I had no phone number, no address, no access to the internet, and no way of contacting my parents in the states (my phone card didn’t work. Jerks!). How the heck did that happen?! Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. I walked back to the meeting area hoping that I had missed them the first time. Thank God! At that moment, Bethany walked through the doors. Turns out they had been tied up at school for an hour longer than they thought they would be. At that point, I felt like I was supposed to be in Spain. If I could mess up that badly and still be taken care of, then it would all be okay. Thanks for tuning in to the crazy long post. Love you all! More to come!
The flight:
Okayokayokay...I know! I’ve been a total stinker. I managed to alert the press of my arrival (family, friends, and facebook...fff? no, that sounds bad...) anyways, and then crashed like a rocket shi...um...that expression is a bit tasteless...crashed like a test model car thing (see? so much better now). Anyhoo, I was done for, and without internet to boot. So! now, and without further ado I give you...the journey!
Hmm...let’s see...Okay!
After Daddy dropped me off at airport security, I passed through (with only one dirty look from the security guards, I might add!) and then proceeded to find my flight. Holy cow! LAX has got to be the biggest airport I have ever seen!..ever! After walking for what felt like...20 minutes, I arrived at the gate and watched a bit of Stardust as I couldn’t connect to the internet without paying an arm and a leg (though loosing those might have made the ride over the atlantic a bit more comfy as I would have had more space to wiggle around in...hehe). And after screaming at the suspense of Triston running to the Wall to save his ONE TRUE LOVE...*ahem* the attendants opened the gates and boarding began. Mercy of all mercies! Once I got on board and situated, the plane took off and I realized that the seat next to me would remain empty for the duration of the flight! Huzzah! Extra leg space! (one of like three in my section of the plane. Oh! did I mention the guy in the aisle seat was handsome? he was.) Anyways, the flight was ten hours long, during which I ate a lovely dinner and breakfast, and got absolutely zero sleep (must have been excitement plus highly caffeinated tea). Oh! Elisa mentioned, before I left, that British Airways is true to its name, and she was correct! They served us tea in cute little cups and saucers, and all the flight attendants spoke in proper British accents. I was even doted on by an English granny while I was boarding. ‘Twas legit! As an added bonus of the glorious window seat, I got to see the sun rise over the Atlantic ocean and Ireland. It was absolutely gorgeous! The pink sky contrasted with the pale blue waters and highlighted the chunks of drifting ice along the shores of the isles near the mainland (is that what they call it?). Anyways, Ireland in winter (and from the air) isn’t quite what I was expecting. For some strange reason, I was thinking I would be able to see little rainbows and magical people running around in a field of shamrocks, but it looked quite asleep. The earth was brown, and the shores were coated in thick layers of ice giving the isles an illusion of a distinct outline. ...all that from a plane. I wish I could have gotten off to visit, (both for the chance to see it up close, rather than out of a window, and for my legs! (Don’t worry, Grandma! I got up every hours or so to get the blood pumping, just like you said.)) but alas, there was only thirty minutes left in the fight, so I had to stay put...I made good use of the time, don’t worry. The man in the aisle seat was awake at that point, so we talked for a bit. =D
After we touched down in England, I disembarked (yay! big word!... actually cognate...whatever) from the plane at Heathrow Airport in London...and promptly had an anxiety attack. Totally kidding! No, but the place is HUGE! and by “huge” I actually mean “GINORMOUS!”...It had its own Metro and Bus system. Not Metro/Bus, or Metrobus, but two totally different forms of getting around the place. That...and there were people with shuttles taking the elderly to the Metro so that they could get onto the busses. Yikes!
By some miracle, I managed to maneuver through the endless glass staircases (I could have sworn that I went down one simply to go up another perpendicular to it...) I found the correct bus to the terminal that my plane was supposed to leave from. While waiting in line for the bus, I noticed that the man standing in front of me was wearing a Cuyamaca Firefighter’s t-shirt. ‘Surely that name isn’t very common,’ I thought to myself. I got his attention and then asked him if he was from the San Diego area. Now, I know he said something in English because I caught the words “brother” and “visit”, but beyond that...I have no idea what he said. Based on the accent impressions Juli entertained me with during the road trip up to the Vail wedding, I’m going to assume he was speaking with a Cockney accent...but I really didn’t catch enough to be sure. After he responded, I formulated some kind of response (in my sleepless stupor, non-the-less) and boarded the bus.
Now, as a highly emotional being, I’ve watched my fair share of British romantic-comedies...enough, at least, that I thought I would be prepared for the whole “wrong” side of the road thing. Nope. Holy cow! I giggled to myself when we first left the terminal, but once another bus passed us all bets were off and I suddenly became the silly american braced up against the window in an attempt to shield myself form impending doom...The...the bus driver knew what he was doing, I was fine. eventually. I arrived at the correct terminal, and then promptly got lost. Luckily, the man wearing the t-shirt had navigated his was around Heathrow in the past, and after asking him for help, he pointed me in the right direction...literally...but it was also the correct direction. hehehe. *ahem*
I had to go through security, again. But thankfully, security in the UK is quite different than its US counterpart. As I stood in line, it became very clear who the locals were...and who the Americans were. Several times, the guards told those passing through that it wasn’t necessary to strip down to the essentials merely to go through a door frame with a magnet in it. No wonder Americans have such a bad reputation! a product of amped up scanning, I say!
I passed through quickly, and then turned down the wrong terminal, again. Okay, this was the point that I got lost-er for two hours, so I’ll summarize: I asked eight people for help, and each gave me enough directions to find someone else to ask for more help. The last pointed me towards the Iberia desk, and I checked in. After that, I got lost again, asked more people for help, watched a tired teenager from Germany throw a temper tantrum (and could totally relate) and tell his mom to bleepity bleep bleep bleep bleep (and could totally Not relate). Found a screen, semi-blocked a hallway in front of said screen, drew a crowd of other travelers who couldn’t find another screen, totally blocked the hallway, talked with a sweet Canadian girl (my age), was asked to unblock said hallway by security, found the “central area of terminal 2” and then boarded the plane. Phew! Luckily, I had plenty of time, and a sandwich.
Once on the plane, I finally passed out. It wasn’t a very long ride, but I desperately needed the sleep.
We landed in Madrid around 3:30 in the afternoon (15:30, as they say here). I got off of the plane and handed my passport over to be stamped (Yay! I have a stamp in my passport!) and then headed over to baggage claim. I think all of the cross-country driving marathons my family and I have done in the past must have been in preparation for this trip because it really wasn’t that bad. Some of the other travelers got crazy antsy by the end of the journey (two girls were studying abroad in Madrid and came over on the exact same flight as me, including the British Airways flight from LAX) but I was either too tired of just plain used to it.
I found the belt my baggage was supposed to come off of...and waited. After an hour of waiting and two flight changes on the screen, I went to the customer service desk and insisted that my baggage wasn’t coming anytime soon. At that point, I was feeling a bit crunched for time, as I had arrived over an hour ago, and knew a family was waiting for me. I didn’t want them to worry, and I really didn’t want to get left at the airport by myself.
I collected the forms and headed out the door towards the people pick-up area. I hadn’t paid very close attention to the picture of the family, so several unsuspecting Spaniard received some very warm greetings followed by pure disappointment. Needless to say, after about ten minutes of looking for my friends, I realized that they were no longer waiting at the airport. I got change and headed to a pay-phone. It was at that point that it suddenly hit me: I had no phone number, no address, no access to the internet, and no way of contacting my parents in the states (my phone card didn’t work. Jerks!). How the heck did that happen?! Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. I walked back to the meeting area hoping that I had missed them the first time. Thank God! At that moment, Bethany walked through the doors. Turns out they had been tied up at school for an hour longer than they thought they would be. At that point, I felt like I was supposed to be in Spain. If I could mess up that badly and still be taken care of, then it would all be okay. Thanks for tuning in to the crazy long post. Love you all! More to come!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Madrid
Hung out with Bethany in Madrid today. Check out the pictures and captions here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14970&l=b3a4b&id=1323450019
Stories about today's adventures, and more pictures to come when I locate a more stable connection.
As far as the luggage goes, it arrived today (yay!) and nothing was broken and, or mangled, HUZZAH!
Hope you're all doing well. Oh! Mom...we found and took a picture of a sweet graffiti sign of your name. Unfortunately, it was also a gang marking its territory, but it was pretty rad non-the-less! I'll post it when I get it from Bethany!
Ciao!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14970&l=b3a4b&id=1323450019
Stories about today's adventures, and more pictures to come when I locate a more stable connection.
As far as the luggage goes, it arrived today (yay!) and nothing was broken and, or mangled, HUZZAH!
Hope you're all doing well. Oh! Mom...we found and took a picture of a sweet graffiti sign of your name. Unfortunately, it was also a gang marking its territory, but it was pretty rad non-the-less! I'll post it when I get it from Bethany!
Ciao!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Like a mouse in a cheese maze...
Well, greetings everyone. I arrived safely yesterday afternoon...or morning...or hmmm I'm not really sure. Anyways, I'm hanging out today at the all english school that employs the folks I'm staying with for a few days. The students are incredibly friendly-as are the neighbors, and I have had a blast getting used to the new scenery. *sigh* yes, peoples, I am on honeymoon with Spain. The landscape is amazing, the food is...different, and the people are very warm and friendly. I wasn't expecting that at all in Madrid...actually, I'm not really quite sure what I was expecting. But, this is better than anything i could have dreamed up. Now...I haven't taken very any pictures, as I am attempting to not look uber (yes, uber) touristy, but I can describe the landscape...okay, think washoe valley in the spring right after the snow melts off...and then add little pockets of duplexes and five-story apartment buildings, and you've pretty much got the idea. All the beauty of the countryside, with all the convenience of a large city.
Anyways, I'm very excited to be here right now. I was a little worried last night because I wasn't really looking forward to much except for a bed, but now that I've slept and the room has stopped spinning (Okay, its not what you're probably thinking. I couldn't really sleep the night before I left because I was antsy about the trip, and then I couldn't sleep on the plane, and then I couldn't sleep on the other plane...so I got about 4ish hours of sleep in a 48 hour period of time. Yikes!) *ahem* okay, anyways, now that the room has stopped spinning, I'm delighted to be here and explore this section of the globe. Oh, by the way, Spanish in Spain is (sing-song voice) crazy! I've been able to effectively communicate and haven't been asked to repeat myself, but I've definately had to think and rethink about what has just been said, and then it all makes sense and I can answer back. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon...Darn! my battery is on its deathbed. Talk to you soon, Bye!
Anyways, I'm very excited to be here right now. I was a little worried last night because I wasn't really looking forward to much except for a bed, but now that I've slept and the room has stopped spinning (Okay, its not what you're probably thinking. I couldn't really sleep the night before I left because I was antsy about the trip, and then I couldn't sleep on the plane, and then I couldn't sleep on the other plane...so I got about 4ish hours of sleep in a 48 hour period of time. Yikes!) *ahem* okay, anyways, now that the room has stopped spinning, I'm delighted to be here and explore this section of the globe. Oh, by the way, Spanish in Spain is (sing-song voice) crazy! I've been able to effectively communicate and haven't been asked to repeat myself, but I've definately had to think and rethink about what has just been said, and then it all makes sense and I can answer back. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon...Darn! my battery is on its deathbed. Talk to you soon, Bye!
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