Here I am at the internet cafe again!
Today we went out to explore the city. It´s one of the girls in the program´s birthday on Monday and she wanted to get together today to celebrate by just wandering around and shopping. It was fun, but a very long day. I´ve been out for almost 7 hours! Tomorrow I have no plans, so I think I´ll just relax and maybe watch a movie. I´ve been thinking about buying a computer game that I can play that doesn´t use the internet. I don´t know how much free time I´m going to have once I start school, though.
We start our university orientation on Monday with a placement exam. Welcome back to school! After that the professors are all going to talk about their classes so we can get an idea of what we want to take. They gave us a list already and I´m thinking about taking a Spanish art history class, a Spanish movie class, a history class, and maybe colloquial Spanish. There´s also a regular Spanish class with grammar and all that stuff that everyone has to take. We´re required to have 5 classes so we will be considered full-time students. So we´ll see how that goes.
I don´t really have much to talk about today, so I´ll keep it short.
Missing everyone!
Bethany
Saturday, January 31, 2009
January 30
1-30
Hi all! We just got back from Toledo. It is a beautiful city! It’s quite a bit smaller than Madrid, so it had more of that small town feel, and the streets were tiny. I swear some of them were less than 10 feet wide! It looked like a wide sidewalk, but there were cars and all the pedestrians had to plaster themselves to the wall in order to avoid getting hit. In the morning we went to La Catedral de Toledo, which is the Cathedral of Toledo. It was the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen! They wouldn’t allow any photos, which really is a shame, but in a way it was good because then I could concentrate on just drinking it all in instead of taking pictures. They gave us a brochure that has some pictures on it, so I took pictures of the pictures so you can see it. They’re not very good quality, but at least it’s something. It was huge, and almost every inch of the walls was carved or painted or gilded. There was a tour in English that we heard a little bit of and I think he said the main sanctuary area was five stories tall. On the sides were those little hollows with the statues and paintings, and there were effigies of cardinals and archbishops. They had a display of a bunch of the ornate golden jewelry that the bishops wore, and gilded crosses, and those things that swing the incense around (you can tell I’m not Catholic). They even had General Franco’s sword. I’m not sure how that got to be in a church, but it was there. The pillars inside the church were huge, and all made from stone. The floors were all marble. All of the ceilings were gilded or painted too. In the sacristy were a bunch of original paintings by El Greco and other famous painters I can’t remember right now. It was amazing to see them in person. There were also portraits of all the archbishops since medieval times. My absolute favorite part of the cathedral was the display of the archbishops’ vestments. The oldest one I saw was from the 14th century!! They were all elaborately embroidered, and I was trying to see on each one how the designs were sewn. Some of them even had pictures of biblical scenes, like a panel of tapestry in the front of the robe or, in one case, the entirety of the cape. They were fantastic to look at. I don’t know if everyone knows this, but medieval and Renaissance clothing is a huge interest of mine. To see garments from that era in person was surreal. I spent so long in that room that everyone else was done with the cathedral and waiting for me. Oh well, that’s just too bad; I wasn’t going to rush my chance for such an incredible experience.
After that we went to a little store where they made all sorts of things with this special technique; I don’t know what it’s called. I think it’s made on iron with 24 carat gold and silver thread pounded into an intricate design. Then it’s burned and the iron turns black and the gold and silver stay their same color, so the result is a dramatic contrast between background and pattern. Apparently there are only 12 people that make these things by hand, I think in the world. They do this on earrings, pins, plates, pictures, anything that can be decorative. There was even a picture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza made from this in the store. It’s really beautiful. The man that makes it for the store was there working, so we could see how he did it. He had a piece of gold thread that he pushed into the iron with an awl-type thing. He worked really fast and it looked easy, but it isn’t. The store owner said it takes two days of 9 solid hours of work each just to make one 1-inch necklace pendant. I can’t even imagine how long it takes to make some of those plates or pictures! It was very cool.
We also went to the Museo Sefardi, which is a museum of all things Sefardic (the Jews that lived in Spain before they were kicked out). I can’t remember if this was just the first time in 711 or if there was also stuff from the Reconquista in 1492 under los Reyes Católicos Isabel and Fernando. It was in a synagogue, which was beautiful. There were artifacts like bits of pottery and tablets with Hebrew writing. There was a lot of gold jewelry and ancient books with beautifully painted pictures. There were some clothes there too, women’s and men’s formal religious garments, I think. Gorgeous! It was a small but interesting museum.
Toledo is where they make a lot of swords and things like that. Toledo means rapier in Spanish. So all of the little shops sold swords. There full size ones and daggers, and little letter-opener sized swords. I actually saw one of the daggers that I have hanging in my room at home at one of the stores. It was really cool, because at one store in the middle of the sword rack was a replica of King Theoden’s sword from Lord of the Rings! There was another store with a whole window display of LOTR stuff, like Sauron’s helmet, his gauntlet with the One Ring, a foot high statue of Legolas, the Evenstar, and little metal figurines of all the characters. It made me happy! J
Toledo only about a 50 minute bus ride from Madrid, so I think some of my friends and I are going to go back some weekend. It really was a fantastic trip! Now I’m really tired and I think I’m going to go to bed early.
G’night!
Bethany
Hi all! We just got back from Toledo. It is a beautiful city! It’s quite a bit smaller than Madrid, so it had more of that small town feel, and the streets were tiny. I swear some of them were less than 10 feet wide! It looked like a wide sidewalk, but there were cars and all the pedestrians had to plaster themselves to the wall in order to avoid getting hit. In the morning we went to La Catedral de Toledo, which is the Cathedral of Toledo. It was the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen! They wouldn’t allow any photos, which really is a shame, but in a way it was good because then I could concentrate on just drinking it all in instead of taking pictures. They gave us a brochure that has some pictures on it, so I took pictures of the pictures so you can see it. They’re not very good quality, but at least it’s something. It was huge, and almost every inch of the walls was carved or painted or gilded. There was a tour in English that we heard a little bit of and I think he said the main sanctuary area was five stories tall. On the sides were those little hollows with the statues and paintings, and there were effigies of cardinals and archbishops. They had a display of a bunch of the ornate golden jewelry that the bishops wore, and gilded crosses, and those things that swing the incense around (you can tell I’m not Catholic). They even had General Franco’s sword. I’m not sure how that got to be in a church, but it was there. The pillars inside the church were huge, and all made from stone. The floors were all marble. All of the ceilings were gilded or painted too. In the sacristy were a bunch of original paintings by El Greco and other famous painters I can’t remember right now. It was amazing to see them in person. There were also portraits of all the archbishops since medieval times. My absolute favorite part of the cathedral was the display of the archbishops’ vestments. The oldest one I saw was from the 14th century!! They were all elaborately embroidered, and I was trying to see on each one how the designs were sewn. Some of them even had pictures of biblical scenes, like a panel of tapestry in the front of the robe or, in one case, the entirety of the cape. They were fantastic to look at. I don’t know if everyone knows this, but medieval and Renaissance clothing is a huge interest of mine. To see garments from that era in person was surreal. I spent so long in that room that everyone else was done with the cathedral and waiting for me. Oh well, that’s just too bad; I wasn’t going to rush my chance for such an incredible experience.
After that we went to a little store where they made all sorts of things with this special technique; I don’t know what it’s called. I think it’s made on iron with 24 carat gold and silver thread pounded into an intricate design. Then it’s burned and the iron turns black and the gold and silver stay their same color, so the result is a dramatic contrast between background and pattern. Apparently there are only 12 people that make these things by hand, I think in the world. They do this on earrings, pins, plates, pictures, anything that can be decorative. There was even a picture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza made from this in the store. It’s really beautiful. The man that makes it for the store was there working, so we could see how he did it. He had a piece of gold thread that he pushed into the iron with an awl-type thing. He worked really fast and it looked easy, but it isn’t. The store owner said it takes two days of 9 solid hours of work each just to make one 1-inch necklace pendant. I can’t even imagine how long it takes to make some of those plates or pictures! It was very cool.
We also went to the Museo Sefardi, which is a museum of all things Sefardic (the Jews that lived in Spain before they were kicked out). I can’t remember if this was just the first time in 711 or if there was also stuff from the Reconquista in 1492 under los Reyes Católicos Isabel and Fernando. It was in a synagogue, which was beautiful. There were artifacts like bits of pottery and tablets with Hebrew writing. There was a lot of gold jewelry and ancient books with beautifully painted pictures. There were some clothes there too, women’s and men’s formal religious garments, I think. Gorgeous! It was a small but interesting museum.
Toledo is where they make a lot of swords and things like that. Toledo means rapier in Spanish. So all of the little shops sold swords. There full size ones and daggers, and little letter-opener sized swords. I actually saw one of the daggers that I have hanging in my room at home at one of the stores. It was really cool, because at one store in the middle of the sword rack was a replica of King Theoden’s sword from Lord of the Rings! There was another store with a whole window display of LOTR stuff, like Sauron’s helmet, his gauntlet with the One Ring, a foot high statue of Legolas, the Evenstar, and little metal figurines of all the characters. It made me happy! J
Toledo only about a 50 minute bus ride from Madrid, so I think some of my friends and I are going to go back some weekend. It really was a fantastic trip! Now I’m really tired and I think I’m going to go to bed early.
G’night!
Bethany
January 29 again
1-29 #2
I asked my señora if it would be ok if I read in the living room. She said that the living room isn’t for reading, only for TV, because the light is really bad. I know it’s ok because there’s a lamp in there that I was reading by the other day. But she said the light is better in my room and this is where they always go to read when I’m not here. That didn’t exactly answer the matter of whether or not I was allowed in the living room, but she didn’t say specifically that I shouldn’t be in there at all. So maybe I misunderstood about the living room being just for them. I wish I knew more Spanish so this wouldn’t involve so much guesswork. If they’re watching TV tonight I’ll probably ask if I can watch with them and that should hopefully answer it once and for all. The only other circumstance I can think of is that I would be watching it without them, and I don’t think that’ll ever happen. Rosaura has made it very clear that she hates TV unless it’s the news or debates or stuff like that. I think if I watched something else in her house she might flip. Maybe I should put on the most ridiculous, offensive show I can find the next time she comes home. Just kidding; I’m not that mean. I had another longish talk about her sewing and TV, and then they told me that the metro stop where we’re supposed to meet tomorrow to go to Toledo no longer has a bus stop. I called Patricia and she’s checking online and is going to call me back. That would have sucked if we all got there and then had to go somewhere else instead. But anyway, I’m feeling like things are pretty good with the family right now. We’ll see what happens.
I can’t believe I haven’t even been here a week. Four months seems endless. School needs to start soon. I can’t believe I’m saying that.
Bethany
PS. I have re-come to the conclusion that Brahms is amazing. Whoever said that German was ugly clearly never heard the German Requiem. Incredible!
I asked my señora if it would be ok if I read in the living room. She said that the living room isn’t for reading, only for TV, because the light is really bad. I know it’s ok because there’s a lamp in there that I was reading by the other day. But she said the light is better in my room and this is where they always go to read when I’m not here. That didn’t exactly answer the matter of whether or not I was allowed in the living room, but she didn’t say specifically that I shouldn’t be in there at all. So maybe I misunderstood about the living room being just for them. I wish I knew more Spanish so this wouldn’t involve so much guesswork. If they’re watching TV tonight I’ll probably ask if I can watch with them and that should hopefully answer it once and for all. The only other circumstance I can think of is that I would be watching it without them, and I don’t think that’ll ever happen. Rosaura has made it very clear that she hates TV unless it’s the news or debates or stuff like that. I think if I watched something else in her house she might flip. Maybe I should put on the most ridiculous, offensive show I can find the next time she comes home. Just kidding; I’m not that mean. I had another longish talk about her sewing and TV, and then they told me that the metro stop where we’re supposed to meet tomorrow to go to Toledo no longer has a bus stop. I called Patricia and she’s checking online and is going to call me back. That would have sucked if we all got there and then had to go somewhere else instead. But anyway, I’m feeling like things are pretty good with the family right now. We’ll see what happens.
I can’t believe I haven’t even been here a week. Four months seems endless. School needs to start soon. I can’t believe I’m saying that.
Bethany
PS. I have re-come to the conclusion that Brahms is amazing. Whoever said that German was ugly clearly never heard the German Requiem. Incredible!
January 29
1-29
I just played a Solitaire game on my computer with a store of 725! That’s the highest score I’ve had in a long time! Mom and I used to have competitions with who could get the highest score. I got 735 once which was like 20 points higher than either of us before, and then mom got 740 within a week or two. I was so upset! But I’m rather proud of my little 725. J
Anyway.
I talked to Patricia yesterday about the living room thing with my señora. She didn’t look happy, and said it was unusual. I said I might have misunderstood some of it, and she encouraged me to ask outright if it was ok if I sat in the living room and read or something. I’m not going out tonight, so I think I’ll try it then. I’m so nervous to ask her anything like that now. But I’m just going to suck it up and do it. Maybe if they’re watching the news or something it’d be ok.
Last night some of the girls and I were going to go to a Flamenco bar that Hannah’s tour book said was free. I thought that would be fun so I agreed to go. It didn’t start until 10:30 so I knew it would probably be a late night. We found out soon before then that you need reservations and it’s not free to see the show. So they said they were going to go somewhere else. I thought they meant another flamenco, so I still went. But no. They wanted to go to bars and clubs. We first went to a really cute restaurant for sangria, but we were required to order two things of raciones with drinks, so it ended up being a lot more expensive than any of us expected, And the sangria was really strong and not very good. After that we went to a club. Actually it was the same club we went to the other day, but it was almost deserted last time and it was Ladies’ Night last night so it was busy. I have come to the conclusion that if I never go to another club in my life, it would be totally fine. There’s loud music, flashing lights, big crowds, lots of smoke, and drunken people. The music is so loud that you can’t hear the people you’re talking to, and the people are so loud that you can’t understand the music. The only things to do are drink and dance, and I don’t like to do either. So I’m not going to go out again.
I talked with my señora this morning about my diet and what I can and can’t eat. I told her that I had been losing weight for a year and a half by not eating carbs and I had taken it easy for the first week to experience Spanish food, but now I needed to crack down. She asked some questions, and then started talking about how this complicates her cooking and how if she’d know about it she would have given me to another señora who was more used to cooking for diets. I was like: oh thanks a lot. I don’t feel unwelcome enough here, so just tell me that you don’t want to have to deal with my diet and you’d prefer I lived somewhere else! I wrote on the housing sheet that I didn’t eat carbs, but I also said I didn’t think it would be a problem because I can usually find something to eat in every meal. So I guess they didn’t tell her at all. That was my mistake. I should have been more insistent with it. I think it probably would have been ok, because she does serve some things I can eat, but she pushes the food on me so much that it’s more difficult. I’m used to where the food is in the middle and you can just take what you want, but she serves only one course at a time, so if it’s spaghetti or something that I can’t eat at all, it’s already on my plate and probably considered tainted, instead of being in the communal bowl. She understood that I can’t eat macaroni, but she was going on about spaghetti and how that would be ok because the noodles are so thin and the sauce is all natural tomatoes and stuff. I told her I can’t eat spaghetti and she went back into the thing about complicating her life. She also talked about how I can just eat the regular stuff but smaller portions. Which is partially true, but even a half a piece of bread has as many carbs as I can have in probably two meals. It was a very awkward conversation. I think that she’ll comply up to a certain point, and the rest of it I’ll just have to not eat it. If I leave it enough maybe she’ll finally get the idea that I won’t eat it. She said her daughter was on a diet once, but it was so long ago that she doesn’t remember what she ate, but it was a lot of natural stuff. Natural is all well and good if it’s the right things. I did tell her not to buy any more yogurt, and then she was like, well what about the natural stuff which doesn’t have any sugar or fruit in it, and I wasn’t really sure about that because I’d never had it. So I said I would try and see if I like it. I’ll probably just tell her I don’t like it. I have my doubts about even natural yogurt. Anyway, I hope it turns out ok. I feel like everything I do pushes her buttons in some way, and I’m not even hard to live with. Except for the food thing, I guess. This morning she told me to be careful not to bump my purse on the doorframe. My cloth purse. What’s it going to do, leave a dent? Scratch the wood? I don’t understand. Oh, and she also asked me to turn off my computer when I leave, which I understand because it saves energy and they’re really energy conscious here. But that wasn’t even the reason she gave. She wanted me to turn it off because it gets hot when it’s on. Because the heat from my computer is going to scorch the table or burn down the apartment. I don’t have a problem doing it, it was just a weird reason.
I feel like I’ve done nothing but complain on these blogs; I’m sorry for that. I really am enjoying the city. Today we didn’t have any activities with AYA. We were going to go to a real flamenco tonight but she found a different one that was either better or cheaper (I’m not sure which one) for next Friday. So today was all free time. I got to sleep in until 10! That was exciting for me. Then Katie and I went shopping around Sol. There are a lot of really quaint shops. We went in one that was selling all the decorations for churches like statues of Mary and Jesus, and bibles and ornate pedestals and stuff like that. It was a lot of really beautiful stuff, but I felt like I shouldn’t touch anything. Katie’s mom wanted her to get her a rosary, so she found one for 9 euros, which was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be considering the nature of the store. There were lots of touristy shops that were fun. I bought a little spoon with a picture of the royal palace for my collection. We also found a party/costume shop which was really fun. They have so many American cartoons and shows on their balloons and plates and stuff. There were Pirates of the Caribbean, the Disney princesses, Winnie the Pooh (which I think is actually originally English) and a lot of other things like that. They also had sets of plastic breasts with elastic to strap to your body. It was so weird. They’re a lot freer with that kind of stuff here. We ate at a cute little deli that had really good salad. It’s called Rodillas, which means ‘knees.’ I don’t know what that’s about. We also went to Fnac, which is a huge store that’s like a Best Buy and a bookstore all in one. I think it had 5 floors. We had fun looking at the Spanish translations of all the American movies. Some of them were exact translations, but a lot were completely different. For example, there are posters everywhere for Role Models, but they call it “Mal ejemplo” which means Bad Example, and takes all the irony out of the title. It seemed like most of the movies there were American. It really tampers with the concept of being in a foreign country when there’s so much that’s familiar.
Tomorrow we’re going to Toledo! I’m so excited. It’s supposed to be one of the more historic, beautiful cities. It’s smaller than Madrid and I think it’s about an hour away by bus. I can’t wait.
I’ll let you know how the confrontation with Rosaura goes. Bethany
I just played a Solitaire game on my computer with a store of 725! That’s the highest score I’ve had in a long time! Mom and I used to have competitions with who could get the highest score. I got 735 once which was like 20 points higher than either of us before, and then mom got 740 within a week or two. I was so upset! But I’m rather proud of my little 725. J
Anyway.
I talked to Patricia yesterday about the living room thing with my señora. She didn’t look happy, and said it was unusual. I said I might have misunderstood some of it, and she encouraged me to ask outright if it was ok if I sat in the living room and read or something. I’m not going out tonight, so I think I’ll try it then. I’m so nervous to ask her anything like that now. But I’m just going to suck it up and do it. Maybe if they’re watching the news or something it’d be ok.
Last night some of the girls and I were going to go to a Flamenco bar that Hannah’s tour book said was free. I thought that would be fun so I agreed to go. It didn’t start until 10:30 so I knew it would probably be a late night. We found out soon before then that you need reservations and it’s not free to see the show. So they said they were going to go somewhere else. I thought they meant another flamenco, so I still went. But no. They wanted to go to bars and clubs. We first went to a really cute restaurant for sangria, but we were required to order two things of raciones with drinks, so it ended up being a lot more expensive than any of us expected, And the sangria was really strong and not very good. After that we went to a club. Actually it was the same club we went to the other day, but it was almost deserted last time and it was Ladies’ Night last night so it was busy. I have come to the conclusion that if I never go to another club in my life, it would be totally fine. There’s loud music, flashing lights, big crowds, lots of smoke, and drunken people. The music is so loud that you can’t hear the people you’re talking to, and the people are so loud that you can’t understand the music. The only things to do are drink and dance, and I don’t like to do either. So I’m not going to go out again.
I talked with my señora this morning about my diet and what I can and can’t eat. I told her that I had been losing weight for a year and a half by not eating carbs and I had taken it easy for the first week to experience Spanish food, but now I needed to crack down. She asked some questions, and then started talking about how this complicates her cooking and how if she’d know about it she would have given me to another señora who was more used to cooking for diets. I was like: oh thanks a lot. I don’t feel unwelcome enough here, so just tell me that you don’t want to have to deal with my diet and you’d prefer I lived somewhere else! I wrote on the housing sheet that I didn’t eat carbs, but I also said I didn’t think it would be a problem because I can usually find something to eat in every meal. So I guess they didn’t tell her at all. That was my mistake. I should have been more insistent with it. I think it probably would have been ok, because she does serve some things I can eat, but she pushes the food on me so much that it’s more difficult. I’m used to where the food is in the middle and you can just take what you want, but she serves only one course at a time, so if it’s spaghetti or something that I can’t eat at all, it’s already on my plate and probably considered tainted, instead of being in the communal bowl. She understood that I can’t eat macaroni, but she was going on about spaghetti and how that would be ok because the noodles are so thin and the sauce is all natural tomatoes and stuff. I told her I can’t eat spaghetti and she went back into the thing about complicating her life. She also talked about how I can just eat the regular stuff but smaller portions. Which is partially true, but even a half a piece of bread has as many carbs as I can have in probably two meals. It was a very awkward conversation. I think that she’ll comply up to a certain point, and the rest of it I’ll just have to not eat it. If I leave it enough maybe she’ll finally get the idea that I won’t eat it. She said her daughter was on a diet once, but it was so long ago that she doesn’t remember what she ate, but it was a lot of natural stuff. Natural is all well and good if it’s the right things. I did tell her not to buy any more yogurt, and then she was like, well what about the natural stuff which doesn’t have any sugar or fruit in it, and I wasn’t really sure about that because I’d never had it. So I said I would try and see if I like it. I’ll probably just tell her I don’t like it. I have my doubts about even natural yogurt. Anyway, I hope it turns out ok. I feel like everything I do pushes her buttons in some way, and I’m not even hard to live with. Except for the food thing, I guess. This morning she told me to be careful not to bump my purse on the doorframe. My cloth purse. What’s it going to do, leave a dent? Scratch the wood? I don’t understand. Oh, and she also asked me to turn off my computer when I leave, which I understand because it saves energy and they’re really energy conscious here. But that wasn’t even the reason she gave. She wanted me to turn it off because it gets hot when it’s on. Because the heat from my computer is going to scorch the table or burn down the apartment. I don’t have a problem doing it, it was just a weird reason.
I feel like I’ve done nothing but complain on these blogs; I’m sorry for that. I really am enjoying the city. Today we didn’t have any activities with AYA. We were going to go to a real flamenco tonight but she found a different one that was either better or cheaper (I’m not sure which one) for next Friday. So today was all free time. I got to sleep in until 10! That was exciting for me. Then Katie and I went shopping around Sol. There are a lot of really quaint shops. We went in one that was selling all the decorations for churches like statues of Mary and Jesus, and bibles and ornate pedestals and stuff like that. It was a lot of really beautiful stuff, but I felt like I shouldn’t touch anything. Katie’s mom wanted her to get her a rosary, so she found one for 9 euros, which was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be considering the nature of the store. There were lots of touristy shops that were fun. I bought a little spoon with a picture of the royal palace for my collection. We also found a party/costume shop which was really fun. They have so many American cartoons and shows on their balloons and plates and stuff. There were Pirates of the Caribbean, the Disney princesses, Winnie the Pooh (which I think is actually originally English) and a lot of other things like that. They also had sets of plastic breasts with elastic to strap to your body. It was so weird. They’re a lot freer with that kind of stuff here. We ate at a cute little deli that had really good salad. It’s called Rodillas, which means ‘knees.’ I don’t know what that’s about. We also went to Fnac, which is a huge store that’s like a Best Buy and a bookstore all in one. I think it had 5 floors. We had fun looking at the Spanish translations of all the American movies. Some of them were exact translations, but a lot were completely different. For example, there are posters everywhere for Role Models, but they call it “Mal ejemplo” which means Bad Example, and takes all the irony out of the title. It seemed like most of the movies there were American. It really tampers with the concept of being in a foreign country when there’s so much that’s familiar.
Tomorrow we’re going to Toledo! I’m so excited. It’s supposed to be one of the more historic, beautiful cities. It’s smaller than Madrid and I think it’s about an hour away by bus. I can’t wait.
I’ll let you know how the confrontation with Rosaura goes. Bethany
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
January 28 again
I´m finally on the internet! There´s an internet place two blocks from my house where you can use it for €1 an hour. I´ve already written blogs up till this afternoon, so I don´t really have much to write now. I´m going to see about posting some pictures here or on facebook, but the computer´s kind of slow, so I don´t know if I´ll end up doing it or not. If not now, I´ll wait until I´m at the university where the internet is free.
You have no idea how good it is to be able to be on here. I can´t do skype here I don´t think, because it´s just a row of computers with tiny dividers, and I don´t want to carry on a conversation here. But hopefully I´ll be able to find a place at the university where I´ll be able to. Oh, except I won´t be there at night when people are available. Hmm. I´ll have to see.
Anyway, enjoy reading about my first few days in Madrid, crazy as they were. Are.
Bethany
You have no idea how good it is to be able to be on here. I can´t do skype here I don´t think, because it´s just a row of computers with tiny dividers, and I don´t want to carry on a conversation here. But hopefully I´ll be able to find a place at the university where I´ll be able to. Oh, except I won´t be there at night when people are available. Hmm. I´ll have to see.
Anyway, enjoy reading about my first few days in Madrid, crazy as they were. Are.
Bethany
January 28
We went to the Museo Sorolla today, which is the house where the impressionistic artist Sorolla lived, turned into a museum. It was amazing. They had a lot of his original furnishings, although they had removed some of them so people could walk around, and the walls were covered with his paintings. You could even see his studio where there were still his paintbrushes sitting on the table. I liked the art. It was something I could identify without a lot of interpretation and personal inflection and all that crap that modern art is supposed to be. He painted a lot of really wonderful water and beach scenes. One of my favorites was a group of people playing instruments out in the garden. The house is huge, and there’s a really exquisite garden outside with statues and a water fountain and everything. The stairs and a lot of the walls surrounding the yard have little mosaic-like tiles, and there are iron coats of arms on one of the walls above a bench. It was hard to believe someone actually lived there, and not very long ago. It was very cool.
After that we went back to the Parque del Retiro. It was so warm today, I took my coat off for a little bit. Then the wind picked back up again. But it doesn’t feel like January at all!
I’m going to go mosey over to the internet café now. I hope it’s not closed for siesta. It is so weird to me that stores are closed for the afternoon. Oh well, it’s not very far away; if it’s closed I’ll just walk back.
I think we’re going to go to a flamenco show tonight around 10:3. That should be fun. I hope it doesn’t go too late. I want to catch up a little on my sleep.
Hopefully I can post these today!
Bye,
Bethany
After that we went back to the Parque del Retiro. It was so warm today, I took my coat off for a little bit. Then the wind picked back up again. But it doesn’t feel like January at all!
I’m going to go mosey over to the internet café now. I hope it’s not closed for siesta. It is so weird to me that stores are closed for the afternoon. Oh well, it’s not very far away; if it’s closed I’ll just walk back.
I think we’re going to go to a flamenco show tonight around 10:3. That should be fun. I hope it doesn’t go too late. I want to catch up a little on my sleep.
Hopefully I can post these today!
Bye,
Bethany
January 27 again
I just had an intelligent conversation over dinner with Manuel and Rosaura about what I did today, and the metro system, and gas vs. electric cars, and the weather, and various other topics. I didn’t make a fool of myself today! I understood almost all of what he said and I could answer well. I feel like I participated in the conversation, too, instead of just listening, although I did that, too. When he said that it was going to rain Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I made a face and said ew, and he got a big kick out of that, but I’m not really sure why. I guess they probably don’t say ew here. Oh well. It’s a noise that expresses my feeling, not a word, so I’m not going to stop using it. J Rosaura told me for about the fourth time that this winter was the first time in 30 years that it snowed. I wonder if she doesn’t remember she already told me or if she assumes I didn’t understand, or if she just wanted to restate her point. Again. I really don’t mind, it just seems like she repeats herself a lot. I feel like Manuel is more willing to just talk about random stuff, whereas Rosaura mostly asks questions about what my plans are and when I’m going to leave and eat at home. And makes me feel guilty about not eating everything she makes, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, I’m feeling pretty good about myself right now! J Even if we don’t really mingle or communicate much outside of mealtimes, maybe we can still connect over supper.
I’ve got nothing more to say. I just wanted to share my happiness!
Bethany
I’ve got nothing more to say. I just wanted to share my happiness!
Bethany
January 27
Today was a cool day! We went to Mejorada del Campo, which is the city where the Patricia, the Directora of AYA lives. We took the bus, which was an interesting experience. The driver was smoking as she drove. I hate how everyone here smokes! Patricia said that they were going to pass a law prohibiting smoking in public buildings, and at the last moment they added on “unless the owner chooses otherwise.” For the first week they tried without and of course lost their customers so they chose to allow smoking inside. She said they are talking of changing it again to enforce the no smoking, but that won’t happen while I’m here.
Anyway, in the city we got our month-long passes for the bus/train/metro, instead of the week visitor passes we had. Then we went over to this cathedral that is being built. The man (Justo) building it used to be a monk who got TB and left the order. He decided to build a cathedral, and has been working on it mostly by himself with a few volunteers for about 40 years! He uses slightly deformed bricks that have been donated by construction companies that rejected them, and uses coffee tins and paint cans and stuff for the molds for columns and other things. Some people have come and painted frescoes in the sanctuary and there are some stained glass windows. It’s still a work very much in progress, but all the walls are up and the ceilings and domes have the framework up. It’s huge, too, not just a little chapel. There are cloisters and a crypt (I think), and towers, and a whole bunch of stuff. It was really cool to see. Apparently Coca Cola used his story as a commercial about dedication for an energy drink. It brought a whole bunch of tourists. We saw him down there working away at mortaring one of the walls. Patricia said he’s about 80 now, but he still works on it every day. One time there was a service in it and he said it was the most important thing for him. It was an amazing thing to see.
We were going to meet some of Patricia’s English students for lunch, but we were a half hour so they had already gone. I got some kind of French omelet with ham and cheese, which was really good at first, and then just go really salty. I feel like they use a lot of salt here, which I’m not used to at all. They played Piano Man at the cafetería, and I thought of Dad. J Also of Tracey’s wedding when they played it at the end and I was the only one who knew the words. Seriously, who doesn’t know the words to Piano Man? Anyway, I digress.
After that we went back to Madrid and four others and I went to the Parque del Retiro, which is a huge park in the middle of Madrid. It has a whole bunch of ancient royal buildings and a couple lakes. We didn’t see all of it, because it’s so big. But we saw some amazing stuff. There were two fountains (only one was on) and a monument/tomb of one of the kings, maybe Alfonso XII? I can’t remember. That was very Romanesque, with columns and a huge monument with lots of statues on it and topped with an equestrian statue of Alfonso XII. It was right against the lake, so it was hard to take pictures from close up from the front. There were four lions facing the water with different statues beneath either two or all four of them. The two rows of columns were curved into a circle and the monument was in the middle. It was beautiful. We also saw the Palicio de Cristal, which is a giant building made entirely of windows that houses art exhibits. It was also by a lake; more like a large pond this time, complete with a waterfall! It was breathtaking. We wanted to go inside but it was closed.
I took tons of pictures today. For some reason a lot of them look very blue, and I don’t know why that is. Try to imagine them without the blue tint and it’ll be more accurate.
I found an internet café a couple blocks from my house that’s one euro for an hour. I guess maybe I’ve never seen an internet café, but it was completely different than I expected, with everyone getting their own little cubicle. I might try that out. It looks a little intimidating. I want to see also what the internet situation is at Carlos III (the university). It would be easier and probably free to use that, but we’re not going to get a tour until next week I think.
I bought a Spanish phone today for 19 euros. It’s one of those rechargeable prepaid phones, and it comes with 12 euros worth of use. I didn’t add more on yet, although I should have done that then. I think I’m just going to use this one for Spain and still have people call me from the States on my old phone. Calls received are free on both phones I’m pretty sure, but then I won’t have to give out another cell phone number. I’m not sure how much it is to text to the US from this one, but I’ll probably just avoid it and use the other phone if I absolutely need to text someone from home.
I need to buy a map of Madrid. Some of the girls bought one today and I was going to but I was afraid to spend the money. I think it’s a necessary expense, though. All I have is a metro map and that’s useless for streets. There are maps at all the bus stations and a lot of the metros, too, but it would be much easier just to have my own.
I was gone until about 5 or 6 today, which was nice. I feel awkward being around my host parents. Since we ate while we were out, I haven’t had to sit and eat with them except for breakfast (which consisted of tea, since she only has these little donut things). I don’t have the energy right now to brave going out of my room. I’m afraid she’ll eat me if I go sit in the living room or kitchen. Dinner conversation will be painful enough; I don’t want to add to it.
My friends and I are still speaking in English with each other. I know, I know, don’t scold. It’s a relief not to have to concentrate so hard, at least for the first week. I think next week we’ll switch to Spanish--at least mostly. Patricia is speaking English too, which is nice, especially when she’s giving us important information. She said she’d give us a break the first week. But I think we’ve been gradually adding Spanish phrases in here and there, and of course we have to speak in Spanish when we talk to anyone else.
Oh, last night we went out late. There were five of us girls wandering around Sol. We got offered a free shot at an Irish pub (which I didn’t take), a free beer, which turned into two (which I also didn’t drink) another shot which we all turned down, and free I can’t remember what they were called, but they were like shots of this cherry-ish drink that was kind of good and kind of tasted like cough syrup or very concentrated kiddie cocktail. I did drink that one, though not like a shot, because I figure I should participate a little, and since it was fruity there was a chance I would like it. I don’t think I would do it again. Even with that one I could feel it sitting in my stomach and although it didn’t affect me like getting me drunk or anything, it made me feel a little sick. I think I’ll stick to water, or maybe sangria every once in a while. I was glad the other girls didn’t pressure me to drink when I told them I didn’t want to. There was just no way I was going to take a vodka shot! It’s not that I’m chicken, it’s just that . . . wait, yes I am. I don’t want to experiment with alcohol when I’m in a foreign country in a big city alone or with few others and need my wits about me. So in those pictures that might show up of me holding a shot, it was just for the picture. I swear. Go ahead and be proud of me, mom. I had fun hanging out with the girls, but I didn’t like all the loud music (almost all American music) and smoke. At least one of the bars had hookah! I don’t know if that was the weird smell I noticed or if it was something else. Either way, it was gross. We were out until about 12:30 and took the metro home, which was a little weird cuz there weren’t a lot of people. Sondi and I went together (I am eternally grateful that we live so close!) so I felt better about it, but when I left her to go to my house it was a little creepy. It’s only like a block and a half, but there was no one on my street, which made me edgy. Fortunately nothing happened. I’d been having key problems earlier in the day, and I’m not sure if I actually opened the door by myself or if my señora opened it (btw I did open it by myself today, so it works at least part of the time). I had expected her to be in bed. I think she thought I was going to stay out later than I did. We actually came back early by Madrid standards. I wasn’t really even tired. I don’t think I’m fully adjusted to Spain time yet. I had a really hard time falling asleep, and I don’t feel like I slept much at all, so I’m going to try to go to bed early tonight. I didn’t nap today, even though I’m feeling the need to now, so I hope I’ll be able to sleep.
Well, I don’t really have anything to do between now and supper in 50 minutes, but this blog is already plenty long. I’m writing way more than I ever thought I would! Probably way more than anyone really wants to know, but whatever. It’s good to have an outlet.
I’ll write again soon. I hope to try out that café tomorrow, so hopefully you all will be able to read these!
¡Chao!
Bethany
Anyway, in the city we got our month-long passes for the bus/train/metro, instead of the week visitor passes we had. Then we went over to this cathedral that is being built. The man (Justo) building it used to be a monk who got TB and left the order. He decided to build a cathedral, and has been working on it mostly by himself with a few volunteers for about 40 years! He uses slightly deformed bricks that have been donated by construction companies that rejected them, and uses coffee tins and paint cans and stuff for the molds for columns and other things. Some people have come and painted frescoes in the sanctuary and there are some stained glass windows. It’s still a work very much in progress, but all the walls are up and the ceilings and domes have the framework up. It’s huge, too, not just a little chapel. There are cloisters and a crypt (I think), and towers, and a whole bunch of stuff. It was really cool to see. Apparently Coca Cola used his story as a commercial about dedication for an energy drink. It brought a whole bunch of tourists. We saw him down there working away at mortaring one of the walls. Patricia said he’s about 80 now, but he still works on it every day. One time there was a service in it and he said it was the most important thing for him. It was an amazing thing to see.
We were going to meet some of Patricia’s English students for lunch, but we were a half hour so they had already gone. I got some kind of French omelet with ham and cheese, which was really good at first, and then just go really salty. I feel like they use a lot of salt here, which I’m not used to at all. They played Piano Man at the cafetería, and I thought of Dad. J Also of Tracey’s wedding when they played it at the end and I was the only one who knew the words. Seriously, who doesn’t know the words to Piano Man? Anyway, I digress.
After that we went back to Madrid and four others and I went to the Parque del Retiro, which is a huge park in the middle of Madrid. It has a whole bunch of ancient royal buildings and a couple lakes. We didn’t see all of it, because it’s so big. But we saw some amazing stuff. There were two fountains (only one was on) and a monument/tomb of one of the kings, maybe Alfonso XII? I can’t remember. That was very Romanesque, with columns and a huge monument with lots of statues on it and topped with an equestrian statue of Alfonso XII. It was right against the lake, so it was hard to take pictures from close up from the front. There were four lions facing the water with different statues beneath either two or all four of them. The two rows of columns were curved into a circle and the monument was in the middle. It was beautiful. We also saw the Palicio de Cristal, which is a giant building made entirely of windows that houses art exhibits. It was also by a lake; more like a large pond this time, complete with a waterfall! It was breathtaking. We wanted to go inside but it was closed.
I took tons of pictures today. For some reason a lot of them look very blue, and I don’t know why that is. Try to imagine them without the blue tint and it’ll be more accurate.
I found an internet café a couple blocks from my house that’s one euro for an hour. I guess maybe I’ve never seen an internet café, but it was completely different than I expected, with everyone getting their own little cubicle. I might try that out. It looks a little intimidating. I want to see also what the internet situation is at Carlos III (the university). It would be easier and probably free to use that, but we’re not going to get a tour until next week I think.
I bought a Spanish phone today for 19 euros. It’s one of those rechargeable prepaid phones, and it comes with 12 euros worth of use. I didn’t add more on yet, although I should have done that then. I think I’m just going to use this one for Spain and still have people call me from the States on my old phone. Calls received are free on both phones I’m pretty sure, but then I won’t have to give out another cell phone number. I’m not sure how much it is to text to the US from this one, but I’ll probably just avoid it and use the other phone if I absolutely need to text someone from home.
I need to buy a map of Madrid. Some of the girls bought one today and I was going to but I was afraid to spend the money. I think it’s a necessary expense, though. All I have is a metro map and that’s useless for streets. There are maps at all the bus stations and a lot of the metros, too, but it would be much easier just to have my own.
I was gone until about 5 or 6 today, which was nice. I feel awkward being around my host parents. Since we ate while we were out, I haven’t had to sit and eat with them except for breakfast (which consisted of tea, since she only has these little donut things). I don’t have the energy right now to brave going out of my room. I’m afraid she’ll eat me if I go sit in the living room or kitchen. Dinner conversation will be painful enough; I don’t want to add to it.
My friends and I are still speaking in English with each other. I know, I know, don’t scold. It’s a relief not to have to concentrate so hard, at least for the first week. I think next week we’ll switch to Spanish--at least mostly. Patricia is speaking English too, which is nice, especially when she’s giving us important information. She said she’d give us a break the first week. But I think we’ve been gradually adding Spanish phrases in here and there, and of course we have to speak in Spanish when we talk to anyone else.
Oh, last night we went out late. There were five of us girls wandering around Sol. We got offered a free shot at an Irish pub (which I didn’t take), a free beer, which turned into two (which I also didn’t drink) another shot which we all turned down, and free I can’t remember what they were called, but they were like shots of this cherry-ish drink that was kind of good and kind of tasted like cough syrup or very concentrated kiddie cocktail. I did drink that one, though not like a shot, because I figure I should participate a little, and since it was fruity there was a chance I would like it. I don’t think I would do it again. Even with that one I could feel it sitting in my stomach and although it didn’t affect me like getting me drunk or anything, it made me feel a little sick. I think I’ll stick to water, or maybe sangria every once in a while. I was glad the other girls didn’t pressure me to drink when I told them I didn’t want to. There was just no way I was going to take a vodka shot! It’s not that I’m chicken, it’s just that . . . wait, yes I am. I don’t want to experiment with alcohol when I’m in a foreign country in a big city alone or with few others and need my wits about me. So in those pictures that might show up of me holding a shot, it was just for the picture. I swear. Go ahead and be proud of me, mom. I had fun hanging out with the girls, but I didn’t like all the loud music (almost all American music) and smoke. At least one of the bars had hookah! I don’t know if that was the weird smell I noticed or if it was something else. Either way, it was gross. We were out until about 12:30 and took the metro home, which was a little weird cuz there weren’t a lot of people. Sondi and I went together (I am eternally grateful that we live so close!) so I felt better about it, but when I left her to go to my house it was a little creepy. It’s only like a block and a half, but there was no one on my street, which made me edgy. Fortunately nothing happened. I’d been having key problems earlier in the day, and I’m not sure if I actually opened the door by myself or if my señora opened it (btw I did open it by myself today, so it works at least part of the time). I had expected her to be in bed. I think she thought I was going to stay out later than I did. We actually came back early by Madrid standards. I wasn’t really even tired. I don’t think I’m fully adjusted to Spain time yet. I had a really hard time falling asleep, and I don’t feel like I slept much at all, so I’m going to try to go to bed early tonight. I didn’t nap today, even though I’m feeling the need to now, so I hope I’ll be able to sleep.
Well, I don’t really have anything to do between now and supper in 50 minutes, but this blog is already plenty long. I’m writing way more than I ever thought I would! Probably way more than anyone really wants to know, but whatever. It’s good to have an outlet.
I’ll write again soon. I hope to try out that café tomorrow, so hopefully you all will be able to read these!
¡Chao!
Bethany
January 26 again
I’m sort of feeling like I’m not welcome here. I’m sure that’s not true, since they volunteered to host a student. But I feel more like I’m intruding on their lives rather than becoming a part of it. Being assigned my own things is fine; I understand why she wants to keep stuff separate. But I just went out into the living room to force myself to be sociable, and no one was there; the señora was out and Manuel was in his study. So I sat on the couch to read. I was looking for how to turn the light on and Manuel was coming out and he showed me (it’s on the cord, not on the lamp itself, in case anyone wants to know) and he didn’t say anything about me being there. But then the senora came home (by the way, I asked the Directora and her name is Rosauria or Rosaulia or something like that, but I think I’ll just call her señora) and asked me why I wasn’t in my room. I got sort of flustered and said I didn’t know, and I was about to say to be social, and she said the room is for her and her husband, and if they’re out I can watch TV. At least I think that’s what she said. I apologized and she said it was ok, but I didn’t know if it was ok this time or if it would continue to be ok in the future. I watched TV for a little bit with Manuel earlier this afternoon and he didn’t seem to have a problem with it. But apparently she does. At least, if I understood correctly. Manuel keeps encouraging me to ask questions and talk, but she doesn’t seem to want me underfoot. This isn’t what I expected from a host family! Am I supposed to see them only at mealtimes? (Which have to be exactly at the specified time every day.) Here I was trying to be social and I feel like I got rejected and sent to my room. I hope this changes soon! Maybe I’ll spend all day at the University whether or not I have classes. Everyone else has stories about their host families and how great they are and how they’re letting them cook their own meals and watching TV together. I wish mine was like that! This doesn’t make adapting to a foreign country any easier! Don’t get me wrong, they’re very nice and pleasant when we do talk. It’s just that I don’t feel like I connect with them on any level. And I wonder if I’m going to spend all my time cloistered in my room. I can’t wait till classes start so I’ll have something else to do and somewhere to go.
Sorry, I just had to vent.
Bethany
Sorry, I just had to vent.
Bethany
January 26
Today all the AYA kids met for breakfast at Puerta del Sol. I thought I remembered how to get to the Metro from my house, but I obviously didn’t, because I got very lost. I wandered around for a while and then when I asked directions they sent me to a different station. I was supposed to meet Sondi but that didn’t happen. Fortunately, I got there on time-ish, but it was a little scary. Then we went on a walking tour of Madrid. I took lots of pictures. J We saw the Palace, the Royal Cathedral, the Plaza Mayor, and a lot of cool buildings on the streets. The architecture here is fantastic! She showed us the oldest restaurant in the world, and the restaurant where the conspirators of the Spanish revolution (I think) met in secret to plan. There are so many different kinds of paving in Madrid, but none of them are just plain concrete; it’s always some kind of paving stone or cobblestone or something cool. I took pictures of the streets too. When we were done touring, we went inside El Corte Ingles to buy shampoo and stuff like that. That store is ridiculous! There are like 4 or 5 different buildings, all with different things. There’s one for books and one for electronics, and one that’s like a department store, and I don’t even know what all else. It was very confusing to find everything we needed. There was a phone there that a lot of the kids are going to get that was 19 euros and comes with a plan where it’s 5 cents to call the others on the plan. I think you buy a certain amount of minutes and when they’re used up you can recharge it. I was debating getting that for here and then still using my cell to call home.
I told my señora I wasn’t sure if I would be home for lunch because I didn’t know when the tour would end. She didn’t like not knowing, I think. I totally would have been home on time, except Sondi and I got lost on the way out of the Metro. We were going to find her house and mine, since we live near each other. We got so turned around; it was bad. So I ended up getting home about a half hour late, and of course I couldn’t get the stupid doors open (the downstairs one pushes, not pulls) and I had to ring the bell at the apartment because I couldn’t get that one to open either. It shouldn’t be that hard; you turn the key twice and the door pushes in. I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. Then I got a talking to about how meal times are sacred here. She said it was ok because the first couple days are crazy, and I apologized profusely, but now I’m afraid to ever be late again! She sort of told me how to get to the Metro, and I’m slightly more familiar with the area now that we walked around it a lot unintentionally, so I think I can find it now. Sondi and I are going to meet some of the other girls tonight after dinner (which I made sure I would be there for!) and I think I remember how to get to her house. I hope!
I confirmed with my señora that there is no internet here, so I’m going to have to find an internet café. We saw one on our wanderings, but I can’t remember now where it was.
Not much more to talk about. I think I’ll try to be social with my family now (cross fingers).
Later,
Bethany
I told my señora I wasn’t sure if I would be home for lunch because I didn’t know when the tour would end. She didn’t like not knowing, I think. I totally would have been home on time, except Sondi and I got lost on the way out of the Metro. We were going to find her house and mine, since we live near each other. We got so turned around; it was bad. So I ended up getting home about a half hour late, and of course I couldn’t get the stupid doors open (the downstairs one pushes, not pulls) and I had to ring the bell at the apartment because I couldn’t get that one to open either. It shouldn’t be that hard; you turn the key twice and the door pushes in. I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. Then I got a talking to about how meal times are sacred here. She said it was ok because the first couple days are crazy, and I apologized profusely, but now I’m afraid to ever be late again! She sort of told me how to get to the Metro, and I’m slightly more familiar with the area now that we walked around it a lot unintentionally, so I think I can find it now. Sondi and I are going to meet some of the other girls tonight after dinner (which I made sure I would be there for!) and I think I remember how to get to her house. I hope!
I confirmed with my señora that there is no internet here, so I’m going to have to find an internet café. We saw one on our wanderings, but I can’t remember now where it was.
Not much more to talk about. I think I’ll try to be social with my family now (cross fingers).
Later,
Bethany
January 25 again
I went walking through the city with my señora tonight. We went to get churros and chocolate, which was good but the churros were huge and the chocolate was really rich. I was still full from lunch, but I felt bad not eating it since she treated, and the she guilted me into eating it all. Hrmm. Now it sounds like she’s cooking again. I feel like I haven’t done anything but eat since I got here!
We took the metro down to the Plaza del Sol (which is just called Sol) so that I would know how to get there on my own tomorrow. It’s really easy, as long as I go the right way! I know I’m gonna end up on the opposite side of town someday. AYA gave us week-long visitor passes for the Metro to use until we get more permanent ones. When we got off the Metro there was a mariachi band playing outside of the station! We didn’t stop and watch, which I kind of wish we had, but we had places to go. There were other people playing on the streets, too, like a string trio that played Pachelbel’s Canon at least twice (once when we were walking by each way) and another piece I know but can’t remember the name of. Yesterday, we heard people playing guitars and pan flutes, which was cool. There was one guy playing “If I Had a Hammer” on the pan flute while accompanying himself on the guitar. It was kinda weird.
My señora and I walked to the Teatro Real, which is a theatre, and the Palacio Real, which obviously is the palace. There were cool gardens in front that still had flowers! They were faded and wilted, but I was shocked to see neat little rows of pansies. There are also lots of cow statues in front painted in crazy designs. I think it’s one of those weird environmental art things. It kind of took away from the cool antique architecture to have them in front of the palace, but whatever. There were lots of people taking pictures of them. We also went into the cathedral of San Gines, which was my first European cathedral experience! It was beautiful! It was smaller than I expected, but with gorgeous statues and paintings and such. There was an organ concert going on when we got there, so there were lots of people and we got to hear a bit of music. I can’t deny I got a little choked up seeing it. It was very cool.
On the way home we stopped so she could buy carrots and meat, and we went into this department store called El Corte Inglés (The English Court) so she could look at sunglasses. I swear there are more Corte Ingléses in Madrid than there are Walgreens at home! There are two of them right across the street from each other! Actually, I’m not sure if they are separate or just one business spread into two buildings. But there are still a lot.
I really wish I had internet here. It feels pointless to write these blogs and not be able to share them. I feel so cut off from everyone. I wish there was a cheaper way to communicate than phone that didn’t require the internet. It’s so frustrating because the computer says there’s a free wifi access in range with good signal, but it won’t connect for some reason, I have no idea why. I’m angry. I feel bad leaving everyone without updates, and I haven’t talked to my friends since I got here! This is very frustrating. I feel like everything will be old news by the time I get it up, but I guess it won’t be for you. Then you’ll have a whole bunch to read!
Haha, someone’s playing the “Summer of ’69” next door (I don’t know if that’s the actual name of the song, but whatever). That makes me think of Dad. J One of the taperías we went to last night was playing the English version of 99 Red Balloons when we came in, and then played American music the rest of the time. It was weird to hear that in Spain. It almost felt like I wasn’t actually in Spain, but just on vacation somewhere in the US. It’s starting to feel more real now that I’ve been around the city and today was all in Spanish. I can’t believe I’m going to be here for a whole 4 months! It still doesn’t seem possible. I’m not getting homesick yet, I just wish I could communicate!
Tomorrow I’ll see the students from AYA again. It’ll be good to see some familiar faces, even if we’ll probably still speak in Spanish. Today has been kind of overwhelming. It didn’t seem so at the time, but it’s catching up to me a little now. I think I’ll go comfort myself with a little English reading. J
Bethany
We took the metro down to the Plaza del Sol (which is just called Sol) so that I would know how to get there on my own tomorrow. It’s really easy, as long as I go the right way! I know I’m gonna end up on the opposite side of town someday. AYA gave us week-long visitor passes for the Metro to use until we get more permanent ones. When we got off the Metro there was a mariachi band playing outside of the station! We didn’t stop and watch, which I kind of wish we had, but we had places to go. There were other people playing on the streets, too, like a string trio that played Pachelbel’s Canon at least twice (once when we were walking by each way) and another piece I know but can’t remember the name of. Yesterday, we heard people playing guitars and pan flutes, which was cool. There was one guy playing “If I Had a Hammer” on the pan flute while accompanying himself on the guitar. It was kinda weird.
My señora and I walked to the Teatro Real, which is a theatre, and the Palacio Real, which obviously is the palace. There were cool gardens in front that still had flowers! They were faded and wilted, but I was shocked to see neat little rows of pansies. There are also lots of cow statues in front painted in crazy designs. I think it’s one of those weird environmental art things. It kind of took away from the cool antique architecture to have them in front of the palace, but whatever. There were lots of people taking pictures of them. We also went into the cathedral of San Gines, which was my first European cathedral experience! It was beautiful! It was smaller than I expected, but with gorgeous statues and paintings and such. There was an organ concert going on when we got there, so there were lots of people and we got to hear a bit of music. I can’t deny I got a little choked up seeing it. It was very cool.
On the way home we stopped so she could buy carrots and meat, and we went into this department store called El Corte Inglés (The English Court) so she could look at sunglasses. I swear there are more Corte Ingléses in Madrid than there are Walgreens at home! There are two of them right across the street from each other! Actually, I’m not sure if they are separate or just one business spread into two buildings. But there are still a lot.
I really wish I had internet here. It feels pointless to write these blogs and not be able to share them. I feel so cut off from everyone. I wish there was a cheaper way to communicate than phone that didn’t require the internet. It’s so frustrating because the computer says there’s a free wifi access in range with good signal, but it won’t connect for some reason, I have no idea why. I’m angry. I feel bad leaving everyone without updates, and I haven’t talked to my friends since I got here! This is very frustrating. I feel like everything will be old news by the time I get it up, but I guess it won’t be for you. Then you’ll have a whole bunch to read!
Haha, someone’s playing the “Summer of ’69” next door (I don’t know if that’s the actual name of the song, but whatever). That makes me think of Dad. J One of the taperías we went to last night was playing the English version of 99 Red Balloons when we came in, and then played American music the rest of the time. It was weird to hear that in Spain. It almost felt like I wasn’t actually in Spain, but just on vacation somewhere in the US. It’s starting to feel more real now that I’ve been around the city and today was all in Spanish. I can’t believe I’m going to be here for a whole 4 months! It still doesn’t seem possible. I’m not getting homesick yet, I just wish I could communicate!
Tomorrow I’ll see the students from AYA again. It’ll be good to see some familiar faces, even if we’ll probably still speak in Spanish. Today has been kind of overwhelming. It didn’t seem so at the time, but it’s catching up to me a little now. I think I’ll go comfort myself with a little English reading. J
Bethany
January 25
I got my housing assignment today! I’m living in southern Madrid in an apartment with an elderly couple. The husband is Manuel, and I can’t for the life of me remember the señora’s name. I’m actually not sure if I was ever told. They seem very nice, but they’re very clean, ‘wipe your feet on the doormat, wear slippers in the house’ type of people. I’m afraid they will be stricter than I’m used to. I have a designated towel, fork, spoon, napkin, and bathroom. I got the feeling that I might be in trouble if I used someone else’s things. I have my own room, which is nice, and there aren’t any other students living here. My room is quite cozy, with a futon and a table and a bed that folds up into the wall during the day. It’s really hot in my room, too, which is completely the opposite of what I expected. I heard that the heat isn’t very good in most buildings, but I’ve had to keep the window open. Hopefully that doesn’t mean it will be even hotter in the summer. My señora will provide two meals a day and I’ll eat lunch at the university or out somewhere. On weekends I can pick whether I want lunch or dinner at home. We had spaghetti for lunch today, which had a weird flavor. We also had meatballs which were really good. My family berated me for not eating enough, but I wasn’t very hungry. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, and my body’s still thinking it’s 7:30 in the morning. Breakfast is usually coffee, tea, or cocao (sp?), which is a very thick hot chocolate type drink, plus a roll or sweet bun. I’m really worried about the carb thing, but I don’t want to be a nuisance, especially since it’s just her and her husband normally. I hope I can balance it out.
It was hard getting through lunch concentrating on the language that much. I guess in English I take for granted the ability to half pay attention to a conversation and still understand. It was difficult, but my family was very nice about it. I can understand almost everything, or use my super-duper deductive reasoning, but sometimes I get lost or miss something. I’m working on not feeling like a fool for only being able to speak at a grade school level.
One of the girls from Ripon, Cassondra Meyer, is living across the street, so we’re going to meet at the Metro station tomorrow morning to travel to Sol where the AYA group is gathering. Most of the other people from AYA are living just a few Metro stops away, so hopefully we’ll be able to get together easily.
I can’t get my computer to connect to the internet here, even though there are a few public access networks listed. Hopefully I will be able to finagle it, otherwise I’ll have to find an internet café or go to the university. Dangit, I would have loved to have internet here. L So I’m still writing on Word and waiting to post until I have somewhere to do it.
I have an hour and a half until we’re going out to explore the city, so I think I’m going to rest. I’m still pretty tired.
Miss you all,
Bethany
It was hard getting through lunch concentrating on the language that much. I guess in English I take for granted the ability to half pay attention to a conversation and still understand. It was difficult, but my family was very nice about it. I can understand almost everything, or use my super-duper deductive reasoning, but sometimes I get lost or miss something. I’m working on not feeling like a fool for only being able to speak at a grade school level.
One of the girls from Ripon, Cassondra Meyer, is living across the street, so we’re going to meet at the Metro station tomorrow morning to travel to Sol where the AYA group is gathering. Most of the other people from AYA are living just a few Metro stops away, so hopefully we’ll be able to get together easily.
I can’t get my computer to connect to the internet here, even though there are a few public access networks listed. Hopefully I will be able to finagle it, otherwise I’ll have to find an internet café or go to the university. Dangit, I would have loved to have internet here. L So I’m still writing on Word and waiting to post until I have somewhere to do it.
I have an hour and a half until we’re going out to explore the city, so I think I’m going to rest. I’m still pretty tired.
Miss you all,
Bethany
January 24
Hi from Madrid!
My flight was yesterday. I got to Chicago around 10:30 and found the terminal with only a little difficulty. We checked in and got my baggage checked and then hung out in the attached hotel’s restaurant until time to go through security. I said my goodbyes to mom and dad with only a few tears (although they’re slightly resurfacing now for no good reason) and met my friend Katie at the gate. The first flight was only an hour and fifteen minutes, which hardly seems worth it after how many hours of waiting beforehand! I saw one of those jets that leaves the white streaks behind it from above, which I thought was pretty cool. We had a five hour layover in Philadelphia during which I sat at the gate and read. It is very difficult to concentrate on a book in a busy airport, let me tell you! Our flight to Madrid actually left about 15 minutes early. They served dinner, this “chicken” entrée that was like four tiny chunks of chicken amidst rice and beans and corn. Real healthy low carb there. . . . There was also a side salad that was more carrots than lettuce, I think. Anyway, I actually fell asleep for a while, a couple of times. About an hour and a half before we landed, when I was asleep, they turned all the lights on and came around asking “Do you want a pastry?” No, I do not want a pastry!! I want to sleep! It’s like 2 in the morning! Shut off the lights! Grr. . . .
Anyway, we arrived in Madrid about 30 minutes early and got our luggage with no problem. We were supposed to meet the directora of the program by the American Express office, so we waited there for like an hour and a half, getting more and more anxious. Finally, Katie called her; apparently there was an American Express office outside the gate and customs where they were all waiting. It makes total sense that that’s where they would be since they couldn’t come in that far, but we were at the American Express office, and we didn’t want to go leave and look, because we thought that would be when she would come looking for us. So we got in this huge van to go to the hotel around 12:30. Oh my gosh! I couldn’t pay attention to what the driver was doing or I would have freaked out. The streets are so narrow and cars were passing just inches away! Our driver stopped and changed lanes in the middle of a roundabout, two things which I know are illegal, at least in the US, and then he stopped in the middle of the street to greet a friend he hadn’t seen in six years and exchange phone numbers. He also went down this tiny alley where cars were parked along one side. I swear we were going to hit the cars or the wall, but we didn’t. We got honked at a lot.
What I could see of the city was cool. Of course we could only see like the bottom two or three floors because of the van windows, but there were a lot of buildings with cool balconies and facades, and we passed a statue of someone I can’t remember anymore. There’s a lot, too, that just looks like any bit city. There’s graffiti everywhere, on signs, on cement road barriers, on buildings, much more than I’ve ever seen in the US. It’s really a shame. We got to the hotel and I crashed for about 3 hours. I’m still pretty tired, but I can stay awake until time to go to bed, I think. Then I woke up and took a shower. The shower’s weird! It’s one of those that stand up on its own, and it has a curtain that turns the corner to meet the wall on 2 sides. The showerhead is on the sideways wall, spraying the short way instead of the long way! There’s also one of those extra toilet things that spray water on your butt and always make me think of Crocodile Dundee. At least, I assume that’s what it’s for. I didn’t try it out.
It’s 4:45 now. We’re meeting the whole group at 7:30 for tapas. I’m kind of nervous for the food. I don’t know what kind of stuff they eat here. I just realized I haven’t eaten all day, but I’m not hungry. One of the girls in my room is feeling sick and she thinks it’s because of something she ate. Oh well, I’m sure it will be fine.
I’m looking forward to getting to my house tomorrow so I can unpack and get all settled in. I still don’t know where or with whom I will be staying. I emailed them a few days ago asking about it and they told me that we didn’t get assigned until we got to Madrid. But Katie got hers and her host mother was told to email her before she left. I don’t know what’s up with that. I just wish I knew what I was getting into.
I’m feeling a little lost right now. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still tired. I think it’ll get better once I have something specific to do and a set schedule. Right now we’ve had the whole afternoon off, which just feels weird to be left on our own the first day in a foreign country. I’m not so sure about the whole big city thing. I hope my house is a bit outside the city. It’s a little daunting with all the big buildings and crazy traffic. I like my small towns where I’m not afraid of getting mugged at every minute. But I suppose I’ll find that out tonight or tomorrow.
I’m writing this at the hotel on Microsoft Word, but it’s not letting me connect to the hotel’s wireless internet without a username and password and I don’t want to have to figure it out right now. I’ll post this as soon as I can. (I really hope my house has internet.)
Love to all,
Bethany
My flight was yesterday. I got to Chicago around 10:30 and found the terminal with only a little difficulty. We checked in and got my baggage checked and then hung out in the attached hotel’s restaurant until time to go through security. I said my goodbyes to mom and dad with only a few tears (although they’re slightly resurfacing now for no good reason) and met my friend Katie at the gate. The first flight was only an hour and fifteen minutes, which hardly seems worth it after how many hours of waiting beforehand! I saw one of those jets that leaves the white streaks behind it from above, which I thought was pretty cool. We had a five hour layover in Philadelphia during which I sat at the gate and read. It is very difficult to concentrate on a book in a busy airport, let me tell you! Our flight to Madrid actually left about 15 minutes early. They served dinner, this “chicken” entrée that was like four tiny chunks of chicken amidst rice and beans and corn. Real healthy low carb there. . . . There was also a side salad that was more carrots than lettuce, I think. Anyway, I actually fell asleep for a while, a couple of times. About an hour and a half before we landed, when I was asleep, they turned all the lights on and came around asking “Do you want a pastry?” No, I do not want a pastry!! I want to sleep! It’s like 2 in the morning! Shut off the lights! Grr. . . .
Anyway, we arrived in Madrid about 30 minutes early and got our luggage with no problem. We were supposed to meet the directora of the program by the American Express office, so we waited there for like an hour and a half, getting more and more anxious. Finally, Katie called her; apparently there was an American Express office outside the gate and customs where they were all waiting. It makes total sense that that’s where they would be since they couldn’t come in that far, but we were at the American Express office, and we didn’t want to go leave and look, because we thought that would be when she would come looking for us. So we got in this huge van to go to the hotel around 12:30. Oh my gosh! I couldn’t pay attention to what the driver was doing or I would have freaked out. The streets are so narrow and cars were passing just inches away! Our driver stopped and changed lanes in the middle of a roundabout, two things which I know are illegal, at least in the US, and then he stopped in the middle of the street to greet a friend he hadn’t seen in six years and exchange phone numbers. He also went down this tiny alley where cars were parked along one side. I swear we were going to hit the cars or the wall, but we didn’t. We got honked at a lot.
What I could see of the city was cool. Of course we could only see like the bottom two or three floors because of the van windows, but there were a lot of buildings with cool balconies and facades, and we passed a statue of someone I can’t remember anymore. There’s a lot, too, that just looks like any bit city. There’s graffiti everywhere, on signs, on cement road barriers, on buildings, much more than I’ve ever seen in the US. It’s really a shame. We got to the hotel and I crashed for about 3 hours. I’m still pretty tired, but I can stay awake until time to go to bed, I think. Then I woke up and took a shower. The shower’s weird! It’s one of those that stand up on its own, and it has a curtain that turns the corner to meet the wall on 2 sides. The showerhead is on the sideways wall, spraying the short way instead of the long way! There’s also one of those extra toilet things that spray water on your butt and always make me think of Crocodile Dundee. At least, I assume that’s what it’s for. I didn’t try it out.
It’s 4:45 now. We’re meeting the whole group at 7:30 for tapas. I’m kind of nervous for the food. I don’t know what kind of stuff they eat here. I just realized I haven’t eaten all day, but I’m not hungry. One of the girls in my room is feeling sick and she thinks it’s because of something she ate. Oh well, I’m sure it will be fine.
I’m looking forward to getting to my house tomorrow so I can unpack and get all settled in. I still don’t know where or with whom I will be staying. I emailed them a few days ago asking about it and they told me that we didn’t get assigned until we got to Madrid. But Katie got hers and her host mother was told to email her before she left. I don’t know what’s up with that. I just wish I knew what I was getting into.
I’m feeling a little lost right now. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still tired. I think it’ll get better once I have something specific to do and a set schedule. Right now we’ve had the whole afternoon off, which just feels weird to be left on our own the first day in a foreign country. I’m not so sure about the whole big city thing. I hope my house is a bit outside the city. It’s a little daunting with all the big buildings and crazy traffic. I like my small towns where I’m not afraid of getting mugged at every minute. But I suppose I’ll find that out tonight or tomorrow.
I’m writing this at the hotel on Microsoft Word, but it’s not letting me connect to the hotel’s wireless internet without a username and password and I don’t want to have to figure it out right now. I’ll post this as soon as I can. (I really hope my house has internet.)
Love to all,
Bethany
Saturday, January 17, 2009
My first blog!
Hi everyone!
I thought I'd start a blog of what I'm doing in Spain for anyone who wants to know. I've never really been good at this whole diary thing, but I'll try to keep it updated.
I'm leaving on Friday (the 23rd) and I'll be flying from Chicago to Philadelphia to Madrid. I'm flying with a friend who's also going to Madrid, and we figured we'd rather face the airports together than alone. :) Then after school is over in May, Brent and our friend Danny will be flying over and we're going to tour Europe for a month. Exciting!
I don't really have a whole lot to tell yet. I don't know who my host family will be or where I'll be living, other than somewhere around Madrid. I found out that my church friend Yvonne is going to be studying in Madrid this semester too, at a different university, so I'm hoping we can get together there. There will be about five or six other people from my school there, but I don't know them very well.
As for me, I've just been packing and hanging out at home. Really exciting, I know. I'm watching Saved right now. Great movie. Anyway, I don't think I really have anything more to say right now, so I'm gonna go and play hammered dulcimer!
I'll write again soon,
Bethany
I thought I'd start a blog of what I'm doing in Spain for anyone who wants to know. I've never really been good at this whole diary thing, but I'll try to keep it updated.
I'm leaving on Friday (the 23rd) and I'll be flying from Chicago to Philadelphia to Madrid. I'm flying with a friend who's also going to Madrid, and we figured we'd rather face the airports together than alone. :) Then after school is over in May, Brent and our friend Danny will be flying over and we're going to tour Europe for a month. Exciting!
I don't really have a whole lot to tell yet. I don't know who my host family will be or where I'll be living, other than somewhere around Madrid. I found out that my church friend Yvonne is going to be studying in Madrid this semester too, at a different university, so I'm hoping we can get together there. There will be about five or six other people from my school there, but I don't know them very well.
As for me, I've just been packing and hanging out at home. Really exciting, I know. I'm watching Saved right now. Great movie. Anyway, I don't think I really have anything more to say right now, so I'm gonna go and play hammered dulcimer!
I'll write again soon,
Bethany
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