¡Hola a todos!
I thought I would write a little blog entry of a typical week day for me here.
I usually wake up around 7:00am to get ready for school. My host mom wakes up around 7:30 to make me desayuno (breakfast). I always get a bowl of hot milk (yes, I said a bowl) with Cola Cao (cocoa) mixed in it. So it´s basically like hot chocolate, but not as good. I get cookies and jam to eat with the Cola Cao and a glass of juice. I leave the house around 8:00 and walk 10 minutes to the metro station. I get off the metro a couple stops later and take a 15 minute walk to school. I love the walk to school because I get to see some really nice shops, the Guggenheim museum and the ría (river). It's gorgeous.
My culture and politics class starts at 8:40 and goes till 9:55. After that I have a 3 hour break before my Literatura Española del Siglo XX class. I usually go to the computer lab at that time to check my email and such. My second class is only an hour, but then on Mondays and Wednesdays I have seminar that goes from 4:45 until 7:30 (yuck!). So on the days that I get done with class at 2:00 I usually go home to have almuerzo (lunch) and the days I have seminar I prefer to pack a lunch (well, my host mom packs it). Almuerzo is the biggest meal of the day which is usually a soup and then a second course. Since I don't like fish, I usually have some kind of meat for the second course.
I eat Cena (dinner) around 8:00 at night and that's a little smaller than almuerzo. Some of the dishes I've had for dinner include patatas fritas (french fries) con un huevo (egg), chicken sausages, or meatballs.
My host mom takes her dog Luna out for a walk from 8:00 until 10:00 at night so I get to have some time to myself which I enjoy. I try to go to bed at a decent hour so I can get up early for school!
And that's a typical day!
¡Hasta luego!
P.S. I have a ton of pictures from Pamplona but for some reason they aren't showing up on Picasa. I will try and work on that today, and hopefully they will be up soon, because they are really cool!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Los fínes de semanas
This past weekend was crazy! It was so busy and I didn't get much sleep.
During the previous week I signed up for an optional "excursion" where we meet with native Spanish speakers to practice our speaking skills. On Friday we met up with our group and I was so disappointed. My group consisted of 7 people from our program one student "leader" (who was not a native Spanish speaker) and a leader from our program. We barely spoke any Spanish. We made our way to a tram that took us up to the top of the mountain. From there we could see all of Bilbao and it was gorgeous. The Guggenheim museum looked so small from where we were. After that we went to a bar to have Sangria. I was taking my time drinking my Sangria because I'm not a huge fan of wine, and everyone else was finished with their first glass and apparently it's customary for people to wait until everyone is finished before they pour their second glass (I really don't know if that's true). So I tried to finish my first glass as fast as possible so that I wouldn't hold them up.
After that we walked to the bus stop and the bus was going to take a long time to get there so John Franco the program leader in our group decided to order more Sangria at a bar next to the bus stop. We all had a another glass there and then got on the bus to Casco Viejo. Once we were there we went to yet another bar and had more Sangria. By this time I was so sick of it! That was my last drink for the night. Our program leader had to leave so we were left with the student leader for the rest of the excursion. This should have been my cue to leave too, but I stuck around with the group. We walked around Casco Viejo and then went to a restaurant that had the best burgers I've had here.
Later that night we went to Santurtxi for a huge festival. There were so many people! We hung out by the stage and enjoyed the concert for awhile. A few of us left around 1:00am to head back home.
Saturday we went to Gernika a famous city that had been destroyed during WWII. We went to a museum there that explained life in Gernika during WWII and it had a lot of exhibits about peace too. It was such a cool museum! We also got to see a copy of the famous Picasso painting "Gernika". After that we saw the government house and learned more about how the government runs in Spain. Gernika has a famous "promise" tree that is used to make promises to the town.
After that we went to a small town harbor town called Mundaka that had a gorgeous beach. It was so beautiful!! Unfortunately we didn't have time to stick around and enjoy the beach so we basically just looked at it--what a tease!
Saturday night we went back to the festival in Santurtxi. If I thought it was crazy Friday night, I was totally wrong. It was insane. It was literally shoulder to shoulder everywhere we walked. There was trash everywhere and it smelled! People here definitely like to party. They stay out all night long. I made it home around 4:30 am and was exhausted! I don't know how they do it.
Finally, Sunday was beach day. My friends and I took a trip to Sopelana to enjoy the weather. It was a perfect day for the beach. One thing I realized though is that I definitely prefer fresh water and lakes over the ocean. I swallowed so much salt water and the waves were pretty big. Every time I would jump for a wave I would land on a rock too. So I didn't stay in the ocean for too long. About 20 minutes after I got out they changed the green flag to yellow so that's probably why the waves were bigger than I thought they should be for green. That night I caught up on my sleep and went to bed at 10:00 so I would be well rested for class.
And now I'm just continuing my week of classes. I have two papers due tomorrow and an exam on Thursday.
Sorry for such a long post and good job to those who read the whole thing!
¡Hasta!
During the previous week I signed up for an optional "excursion" where we meet with native Spanish speakers to practice our speaking skills. On Friday we met up with our group and I was so disappointed. My group consisted of 7 people from our program one student "leader" (who was not a native Spanish speaker) and a leader from our program. We barely spoke any Spanish. We made our way to a tram that took us up to the top of the mountain. From there we could see all of Bilbao and it was gorgeous. The Guggenheim museum looked so small from where we were. After that we went to a bar to have Sangria. I was taking my time drinking my Sangria because I'm not a huge fan of wine, and everyone else was finished with their first glass and apparently it's customary for people to wait until everyone is finished before they pour their second glass (I really don't know if that's true). So I tried to finish my first glass as fast as possible so that I wouldn't hold them up.
After that we walked to the bus stop and the bus was going to take a long time to get there so John Franco the program leader in our group decided to order more Sangria at a bar next to the bus stop. We all had a another glass there and then got on the bus to Casco Viejo. Once we were there we went to yet another bar and had more Sangria. By this time I was so sick of it! That was my last drink for the night. Our program leader had to leave so we were left with the student leader for the rest of the excursion. This should have been my cue to leave too, but I stuck around with the group. We walked around Casco Viejo and then went to a restaurant that had the best burgers I've had here.
Later that night we went to Santurtxi for a huge festival. There were so many people! We hung out by the stage and enjoyed the concert for awhile. A few of us left around 1:00am to head back home.
Saturday we went to Gernika a famous city that had been destroyed during WWII. We went to a museum there that explained life in Gernika during WWII and it had a lot of exhibits about peace too. It was such a cool museum! We also got to see a copy of the famous Picasso painting "Gernika". After that we saw the government house and learned more about how the government runs in Spain. Gernika has a famous "promise" tree that is used to make promises to the town.
After that we went to a small town harbor town called Mundaka that had a gorgeous beach. It was so beautiful!! Unfortunately we didn't have time to stick around and enjoy the beach so we basically just looked at it--what a tease!
Saturday night we went back to the festival in Santurtxi. If I thought it was crazy Friday night, I was totally wrong. It was insane. It was literally shoulder to shoulder everywhere we walked. There was trash everywhere and it smelled! People here definitely like to party. They stay out all night long. I made it home around 4:30 am and was exhausted! I don't know how they do it.
Finally, Sunday was beach day. My friends and I took a trip to Sopelana to enjoy the weather. It was a perfect day for the beach. One thing I realized though is that I definitely prefer fresh water and lakes over the ocean. I swallowed so much salt water and the waves were pretty big. Every time I would jump for a wave I would land on a rock too. So I didn't stay in the ocean for too long. About 20 minutes after I got out they changed the green flag to yellow so that's probably why the waves were bigger than I thought they should be for green. That night I caught up on my sleep and went to bed at 10:00 so I would be well rested for class.
And now I'm just continuing my week of classes. I have two papers due tomorrow and an exam on Thursday.
Sorry for such a long post and good job to those who read the whole thing!
¡Hasta!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
¡Viva Pamplona!
1 de enero, 2 de febrero, 3 de marzo, 4 de abril, 5 de mayo, 6 de junio, 7 de julio San Fermín!
A Pamplona hemos de ir por la fiesta, por la fiesta
A Pamplona hemos de ir y un buen botín!
The night before Pamplona my host mom sang me that song and again in the morning before I left. It's a famous San Fermín song to celebrate the festival. Yesterday we left for Pamplona at 5:00am (I got up at 3:45) and got there around 7:15. Right when we got there we headed straight for the stadium where we would wait to see the entrance of the bulls (el encierro). It was nice to not have to worry about being in any danger. We watched the actual running of the bulls on a big screen in the stadium, then got to see them come in a long with all of the runners. I couldn't believe how many people participated. Once the bulls entered the stadium they were all taken somewhere else except for one. The last bull stayed in the ring and all of the participants had to dodge the running bull. It's kind of hard to explain. Definitely an experience I will never forget. It's tradition to get chocolate con churros after el encierro so of course we did that. The churros were unbelievebly delicious. The chocolate was good too, but it was pretty much like a melted candy bar. A little bit too sweet.
It was so neat seeing so many people wearing all white with red belts and scarves (traditional San Fermín costume). Lucky for me we were there when everyone was passed out or in their hotels sleeping so there weren't too many people in the streets. When the festival starts on July 7th it's pretty much non stop drinking for the entire week (I tasted the traditional kalimotxo beverage which is wine mixed with coca-cola) The streets were filled with trash and it didn't smell too good either. It's still cool to say I've been to Pamplona/San Fermín festival though.
After that we got to spend a couple hours in San Sebastian which is a beautiful port city with a gorgeous beach. We didn't get a chance to spend time on the beach because it was cloudy and breezy. We walked around and got to see all of the old buildings and stores. It's such a beautiful city I really want to go back and spend some more time there.
Everyone will be happy to know that I have tried fish here! It was kind of unavoidable, so I expected it. My host mother made me eat fish the other night even though she knows I don't like it. She told me I have to eat fish at least once a week (yuck!). The next day we had fish for lunch in San Sebastian. That fish wasn't as bad, so I ate half of it. Hopefully I won't have to eat it for awhile though!
Tomorrow I'm going on an optional "excursion" (I don't think we're going far) with native Spanish speaking students so I can practice my Spanish speaking skills. Saturday is another excursion so I'll let you know how that goes!
¡Hasta Luego!
A Pamplona hemos de ir por la fiesta, por la fiesta
A Pamplona hemos de ir y un buen botín!
The night before Pamplona my host mom sang me that song and again in the morning before I left. It's a famous San Fermín song to celebrate the festival. Yesterday we left for Pamplona at 5:00am (I got up at 3:45) and got there around 7:15. Right when we got there we headed straight for the stadium where we would wait to see the entrance of the bulls (el encierro). It was nice to not have to worry about being in any danger. We watched the actual running of the bulls on a big screen in the stadium, then got to see them come in a long with all of the runners. I couldn't believe how many people participated. Once the bulls entered the stadium they were all taken somewhere else except for one. The last bull stayed in the ring and all of the participants had to dodge the running bull. It's kind of hard to explain. Definitely an experience I will never forget. It's tradition to get chocolate con churros after el encierro so of course we did that. The churros were unbelievebly delicious. The chocolate was good too, but it was pretty much like a melted candy bar. A little bit too sweet.
It was so neat seeing so many people wearing all white with red belts and scarves (traditional San Fermín costume). Lucky for me we were there when everyone was passed out or in their hotels sleeping so there weren't too many people in the streets. When the festival starts on July 7th it's pretty much non stop drinking for the entire week (I tasted the traditional kalimotxo beverage which is wine mixed with coca-cola) The streets were filled with trash and it didn't smell too good either. It's still cool to say I've been to Pamplona/San Fermín festival though.
After that we got to spend a couple hours in San Sebastian which is a beautiful port city with a gorgeous beach. We didn't get a chance to spend time on the beach because it was cloudy and breezy. We walked around and got to see all of the old buildings and stores. It's such a beautiful city I really want to go back and spend some more time there.
Everyone will be happy to know that I have tried fish here! It was kind of unavoidable, so I expected it. My host mother made me eat fish the other night even though she knows I don't like it. She told me I have to eat fish at least once a week (yuck!). The next day we had fish for lunch in San Sebastian. That fish wasn't as bad, so I ate half of it. Hopefully I won't have to eat it for awhile though!
Tomorrow I'm going on an optional "excursion" (I don't think we're going far) with native Spanish speaking students so I can practice my Spanish speaking skills. Saturday is another excursion so I'll let you know how that goes!
¡Hasta Luego!
Monday, July 6, 2009
¡Mucho Mejor!
Since my last post I have been having so much fun here! I've finally adjusted to the culture here and the meal times. People here are much more relaxed and take their time with everything. It's definitely something I appreciate. Family seems to be really important too. I walked around my neighborhood yesterday with my host mom and her friends and saw lots of families with little children playing in the parks or eating at tapas bars.
Last week Friday afternoon we were welcomed by a blues/jazz concert performed by a women acapela group from Yale University. They were amazing! I loved it so much! Grandma Jolman and Mom would have enjoyed it too! I'm going to try and find their website so we can order a CD later.
After that we went to the Guggenheim museum. Shout out to Uncle Jim-you would love it! There was a ton of abstract and contemporary art to enjoy. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures so I only have a few of the outside. But everything was really cool. I think my favorite part of the whole thing is the building itself. It's situated right across from my school so I get to see it everyday.
Later that night we went to a concert at a bar with almost everyone from our program. It was so awesome! The first band was Midnight Road and they were so good! They don't have a CD or record label yet, but hopefully they will soon and I can get their CD too.
On Saturday we didn't really do much but we went out to dinner at an "American" restaurant. The portions were GINORMOUS! I will post pictures on picassa of the food. It was a great way to celebrate the fourth of July away from home. I spent the day with my host mom on Sunday and we walked around my neighborhood and then later that night we walked her dog Luna around the gorgeous park right across from our apartment.
Right now I'm at school waiting for my class to start at 1:10. Wednesday we are going to Pamplona for the San Fermin festival. I CANNOT wait! I'll probably update again after that.
¡Hasta!
Last week Friday afternoon we were welcomed by a blues/jazz concert performed by a women acapela group from Yale University. They were amazing! I loved it so much! Grandma Jolman and Mom would have enjoyed it too! I'm going to try and find their website so we can order a CD later.
After that we went to the Guggenheim museum. Shout out to Uncle Jim-you would love it! There was a ton of abstract and contemporary art to enjoy. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures so I only have a few of the outside. But everything was really cool. I think my favorite part of the whole thing is the building itself. It's situated right across from my school so I get to see it everyday.
Later that night we went to a concert at a bar with almost everyone from our program. It was so awesome! The first band was Midnight Road and they were so good! They don't have a CD or record label yet, but hopefully they will soon and I can get their CD too.
On Saturday we didn't really do much but we went out to dinner at an "American" restaurant. The portions were GINORMOUS! I will post pictures on picassa of the food. It was a great way to celebrate the fourth of July away from home. I spent the day with my host mom on Sunday and we walked around my neighborhood and then later that night we walked her dog Luna around the gorgeous park right across from our apartment.
Right now I'm at school waiting for my class to start at 1:10. Wednesday we are going to Pamplona for the San Fermin festival. I CANNOT wait! I'll probably update again after that.
¡Hasta!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Pictures!!!
Here's the link to my online photo album. Check it out!
http://picasaweb.google.com/alissa.toni.rodriguez/Espana?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/alissa.toni.rodriguez/Espana?feat=directlink
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Estoy en Bilbao!
¡Hola a todos!
I´m currently in Bilbao and today will be my second full day here. So much has happened already since Madrid and Segovia. Madrid is a beautiful city but it reminds me a lot of New York. Segovia is also really beautiful but it´s more like old Spain. We got to see the famous aqueduct and a huge palace (Alcatráz). We got to climb up the tower and from there you can see all of Segovia. I really wish I could put up pictures but I won´t be able to until I can bring my computer to campus because my homestay doesn´t have internet.
Bilbao is also a beautiful city. It still has an old part but within the past few years it has become very contemporary with the Guggenheim museum and Museo de los obres bellas (I think). The shopping here is going to be awesome! There are so many stores it´s crazy. I can´t wait to take the time to go!
Today we are going to Plentzia which is a beach nearby. The weather isn´t really that great today, but hopefully it will get better by the time we leave. Tomorrow we start classes and I hope I tested into the ones I want!
As far as my homestay, Amelia is a very sweet older lady who loves to talk. She is constantly talking to me and telling me the most random stories. So far it´s been interesting living with her but hopefully it will improve. So far I´ve really enjoyed the food here except that I have yet to adjust to the schedule of meals. We usually have a medium sized breakfast early in the morning and then we don´t eat lunch until 2. Then dinner isn´t until 8 or 9 so by then I´m usually pretty hungry.
Well I think that´s all I´ll write for now so I don´t overwhelm you all!
¡Hasta Luego!
I´m currently in Bilbao and today will be my second full day here. So much has happened already since Madrid and Segovia. Madrid is a beautiful city but it reminds me a lot of New York. Segovia is also really beautiful but it´s more like old Spain. We got to see the famous aqueduct and a huge palace (Alcatráz). We got to climb up the tower and from there you can see all of Segovia. I really wish I could put up pictures but I won´t be able to until I can bring my computer to campus because my homestay doesn´t have internet.
Bilbao is also a beautiful city. It still has an old part but within the past few years it has become very contemporary with the Guggenheim museum and Museo de los obres bellas (I think). The shopping here is going to be awesome! There are so many stores it´s crazy. I can´t wait to take the time to go!
Today we are going to Plentzia which is a beach nearby. The weather isn´t really that great today, but hopefully it will get better by the time we leave. Tomorrow we start classes and I hope I tested into the ones I want!
As far as my homestay, Amelia is a very sweet older lady who loves to talk. She is constantly talking to me and telling me the most random stories. So far it´s been interesting living with her but hopefully it will improve. So far I´ve really enjoyed the food here except that I have yet to adjust to the schedule of meals. We usually have a medium sized breakfast early in the morning and then we don´t eat lunch until 2. Then dinner isn´t until 8 or 9 so by then I´m usually pretty hungry.
Well I think that´s all I´ll write for now so I don´t overwhelm you all!
¡Hasta Luego!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
I made it!
Hey everyone! Just want to let you know I made it here safe and sound. I'm currently in Madrid and I just finished eating lunch. Our hotel is so beautiful and the pool is huge. I hope I'll have time to hang out by it. In a few hours I'll be leaving for a Madrid bus tour. I'll let you know how it goes!
¡Hasta Luego!
¡Hasta Luego!
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