Sun in the City, Paris
16 years ago
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Holiday in Spain
All weekend has been somewhat of a celebration in Granada. I’ve asked around and I’ve gotten several different answers. Some say that there is a pueblo near Granada and it’s a festival for their patron saint. Others say that it’s the patron saint of Granada and that’s why there are celebrations. All I know is there is a mini carnival across the river and one of the main routes through town has lots of tents set up with people selling chestnuts and fruits. I guess that’s why they are a healthier nation than us. Instead of funnel cake, beer, ice cream and fried Oreos they are selling fruits and nuts. America, take note.
Needless to say, I found online that the Procesión Nuestra Señora de Las Angustias was going to start at 18h00. I decided to head into town just after 6 and catch a glimpse of the parade. After about 30 minutes a band marched past so I figured that the main event would soon follow. Another 30-45 minutes later another band passed. 15 minutes after the second band a procession of women wearing black suits, white shirts and purple cords filled the streets, after them a group of men wearing the same. Finally at about 7:30, an hour and a half later, I saw what everyone was waiting around for.
A large representation of the Virgin Mother and Jesus that is glided in gold was carried though the streets by about 20-30 men. They stopped every 30 ft to rest and allow the public to snap photos. I got a few, as well as some video. I hope it works.
Needless to say, I found online that the Procesión Nuestra Señora de Las Angustias was going to start at 18h00. I decided to head into town just after 6 and catch a glimpse of the parade. After about 30 minutes a band marched past so I figured that the main event would soon follow. Another 30-45 minutes later another band passed. 15 minutes after the second band a procession of women wearing black suits, white shirts and purple cords filled the streets, after them a group of men wearing the same. Finally at about 7:30, an hour and a half later, I saw what everyone was waiting around for.
A large representation of the Virgin Mother and Jesus that is glided in gold was carried though the streets by about 20-30 men. They stopped every 30 ft to rest and allow the public to snap photos. I got a few, as well as some video. I hope it works.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Say WHAT??
The latest happenings regarding English misunderstandings have recently taken place within the Sociedad Hispano Mundial itself. Felicity, another Rotary scholar, also from California, came into our class to tell Rebecca and myself that they were planning to go to the Albaycín to view the Alhambra. We chatted briefly then Rebecca told her to ‘peace out’ as she was leaving. The look on our teachers face when she said that was of absolute horror. “How can you say something like that?” she asked us. Rebecca and I looked at each other and tried to figure out what we had done wrong. After a moment of silence I figured out the misunderstanding, explained it, and we all had a good laugh.
English is the only language I have studied that pronounces the letter ‘I’ with a short vowel sound, like in the word ‘if” the rest of the world pronounces it with a long vowel sound “eye”, like in the word “fight”. So, phonetically, the word ‘Peace’ for a non native English speaker, especially a Spanish one would be spelled “Piss”. Having lived in London for a year, our professor, Ana, has become quite accustomed to hearing angry English people yell at other people to “piss off” and consequently assumed that is what we were telling Felicity to do whilst actually telling her to ‘peace out’.
We explained that we meant ‘paz’ (peace in Spanish) and then had a quick lesson in English phonetics and she decided that we really do have a difficult language to learn!
English is the only language I have studied that pronounces the letter ‘I’ with a short vowel sound, like in the word ‘if” the rest of the world pronounces it with a long vowel sound “eye”, like in the word “fight”. So, phonetically, the word ‘Peace’ for a non native English speaker, especially a Spanish one would be spelled “Piss”. Having lived in London for a year, our professor, Ana, has become quite accustomed to hearing angry English people yell at other people to “piss off” and consequently assumed that is what we were telling Felicity to do whilst actually telling her to ‘peace out’.
We explained that we meant ‘paz’ (peace in Spanish) and then had a quick lesson in English phonetics and she decided that we really do have a difficult language to learn!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Is it English??
English is very popular here in Spain. You can find it on shirts, signs and bumper stickers. The only problem is that sometimes it doesn't really make sense. My Señora's grandson was sporting a shirt last week that said "It's time of yoga" and it pretty much drove me crazy. I wanted to get out a needle and thread, fashion a 'r' and rearrange the offending letters.
The most recent offense was spotted in a Tapas bar last night. I guess if you translate it directly it makes grammatical sense to the untrained Spanish eye, but in English it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I didnt notice a sign, but an adament Englishman from Manchester pointed it out to me and made sure we all realized how much it irritated him. Last night was the 'despedida' of one of the girls who has been studying here since february. It's like a going away party, but its not a party, we just went out for tapas because, here in Granada, tapas are 'gratis'. You buy a drink, wine, beer, juice, coke; and they bring you tapas. Sometimes there is a choice, sometimes you get what they feel like giving you. But hey, its free food.
The most recent offense was spotted in a Tapas bar last night. I guess if you translate it directly it makes grammatical sense to the untrained Spanish eye, but in English it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I didnt notice a sign, but an adament Englishman from Manchester pointed it out to me and made sure we all realized how much it irritated him. Last night was the 'despedida' of one of the girls who has been studying here since february. It's like a going away party, but its not a party, we just went out for tapas because, here in Granada, tapas are 'gratis'. You buy a drink, wine, beer, juice, coke; and they bring you tapas. Sometimes there is a choice, sometimes you get what they feel like giving you. But hey, its free food.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Mi Apartamento
a quick look at my apartment here in granada. A word of caution to the motion sick...
Friday, September 21, 2007
Esta Lloviendo
For the first time since ive been here, its raining :( It's quite depressing actually. Unlike London, which is accustomed to rain and bad weather, Granada is a city that prides itself on its beautiful weather and almost shuts down during a storm, which i discovered today.
I have class from 9:30-2:30 at the Sociedad Hispano Mundial and we get a quick break at about 11:50 for 15-20 minutes. Usually this means a quick run to the grocery store for a pastry and a bottle of water. Water is not a small fortune here like in the US, a 1.5 liter bottle costs about 0,21 cents. Take THAT Aquafina! Today it was a bit dreary, but we made the 2 block trip nonetheless. when we got there it was packed! I have never seen that many people in line, and by that many i mean about 7, but only one register. So we got our sweets and as we were waiting it started to pour. After our 5 min in line we ran back to school and showed up soaking wet. the teachers, natually, thought it was hilarous and took the opportunity to teach us the word for wet/damp, which i have already forgotten.
It is Friday, which means i dont have to get up for anything the next 2 days and that in itself is comforting. With all this rain all i want to do is curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and watch a good movie...
I have class from 9:30-2:30 at the Sociedad Hispano Mundial and we get a quick break at about 11:50 for 15-20 minutes. Usually this means a quick run to the grocery store for a pastry and a bottle of water. Water is not a small fortune here like in the US, a 1.5 liter bottle costs about 0,21 cents. Take THAT Aquafina! Today it was a bit dreary, but we made the 2 block trip nonetheless. when we got there it was packed! I have never seen that many people in line, and by that many i mean about 7, but only one register. So we got our sweets and as we were waiting it started to pour. After our 5 min in line we ran back to school and showed up soaking wet. the teachers, natually, thought it was hilarous and took the opportunity to teach us the word for wet/damp, which i have already forgotten.
It is Friday, which means i dont have to get up for anything the next 2 days and that in itself is comforting. With all this rain all i want to do is curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and watch a good movie...
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Tuesday September 18th
I went to the Rotary meeting here in Granada last night and, much like last time, it is conducted in a much different manner than in the US. From what I understood, we rose and the president spoke briefly, everyone sat down and then they went over the minutes from the week before. After that they talked about creating committees and what their project would be. They argued about kinds of projects and whether they could do one that they would be able to maintain or if they should just do something more on a one time basis.
After this they talked about the ’beca’ [scholarship]. They talked about how many students have come to Granada on scholarships and yet they have not been able to send any student here to the US or somewhere else in Europe. They also talked about how it was not a well known scholarship in Spain and what they could do to find applicants. They cited that last week I mentioned I found out about the program from the scholarship office at my school and that they really pushed students to apply for Rotary scholarships. They then discussed the reality of having a scholar in Granada, if they would be able to afford it or not. I’m not sure if they know exactly where the money comes from but since there are only about 16 of them it would be quite expensive.
Then they talked about something else and closed with arguing about the schedule. Some wanted to move the meeting from 9pm to 8:30pm and others argued that 8:30 was too early. I chuckled and thought of my club that meets at 7:15…in the morning! The meeting was over at about 10:30 then they all went to the bar downstairs to socialize after the meeting.
Needless to say its much more informal than in the US; cell phones rang and people answered them during the meeting, the 9pm start time was quite flexible, and talking to one another didn’t seem to be a problem, nor is smoking.
The Rotary meeting is just another example of the laid back lifestyle enjoyed in this country. I know that I enjoy my siesta as much as any person but it frustrates me to know end that the stores and everything else are closed from 1:30 to about 6pm.
After this they talked about the ’beca’ [scholarship]. They talked about how many students have come to Granada on scholarships and yet they have not been able to send any student here to the US or somewhere else in Europe. They also talked about how it was not a well known scholarship in Spain and what they could do to find applicants. They cited that last week I mentioned I found out about the program from the scholarship office at my school and that they really pushed students to apply for Rotary scholarships. They then discussed the reality of having a scholar in Granada, if they would be able to afford it or not. I’m not sure if they know exactly where the money comes from but since there are only about 16 of them it would be quite expensive.
Then they talked about something else and closed with arguing about the schedule. Some wanted to move the meeting from 9pm to 8:30pm and others argued that 8:30 was too early. I chuckled and thought of my club that meets at 7:15…in the morning! The meeting was over at about 10:30 then they all went to the bar downstairs to socialize after the meeting.
Needless to say its much more informal than in the US; cell phones rang and people answered them during the meeting, the 9pm start time was quite flexible, and talking to one another didn’t seem to be a problem, nor is smoking.
The Rotary meeting is just another example of the laid back lifestyle enjoyed in this country. I know that I enjoy my siesta as much as any person but it frustrates me to know end that the stores and everything else are closed from 1:30 to about 6pm.
Friday, September 14, 2007
El Albaycín
So the last two posts are out of order, whoops.I had forgotten that I had typed something up on Wednesday and never got around to posting it. whoops.After school on Wednesday i went to the Albaycín with my 'class'. It was an educational walking tour of the oldest and Moorish part of Granada. we climbed a mountain and from there we had an amazing view of the Alhambra, which is the former Nasrid Palace of Andalucia
here is a link, you have to cut and paste though :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
also a bit about paella, for those of you, cough DIANE cough, who have no idea what it is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella
The Burro Taxi is for you James. Notice how there aren't actually any burros, just the sign...
here is a link, you have to cut and paste though :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
also a bit about paella, for those of you, cough DIANE cough, who have no idea what it is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella
The Burro Taxi is for you James. Notice how there aren't actually any burros, just the sign...
Wednesday 9.12.07
Today was my third day of class and I have to say, so far so good. Since there are only two of us its much more informal than if it were a proper class with homework and grades. We go over grammar which usually leads to a discussion about something which then leads to something else and before I know it we’ve gone from talking about food items to passport control and customs in the US and Spain. At any rate, I like the laid back nature of it all.
Today I opened my bank account at Caja Granada so before long I should have a nice Spanish bank account and debit card and Bank of American can stop charging me for withdrawls.
Last night I was asked by the Germans “If you are wanting to come with us to have a drink or eat some food if you want.” So I decided to go out with them and meet their ‘colleagues’. The other students were, naturally, German so I got to hang out with a bunch of Germans in a bar in Spain. It reminded me of when I was in Grenoble and I was hanging out with a bunch of Latin Americans in France…I suppose if I go to Germany I will find a bunch of Russians to hang out with or something.
The weather here has been pretty darn good, I can’t complain. It’s a bit cloudy today, but I’ll take cloudy over scorching heat any time!
Im really getting used to this siesta thing. If you stay up late you really do need a nap come 2 or 3pm. I can see this being a habit that is difficult to break…
Today I opened my bank account at Caja Granada so before long I should have a nice Spanish bank account and debit card and Bank of American can stop charging me for withdrawls.
Last night I was asked by the Germans “If you are wanting to come with us to have a drink or eat some food if you want.” So I decided to go out with them and meet their ‘colleagues’. The other students were, naturally, German so I got to hang out with a bunch of Germans in a bar in Spain. It reminded me of when I was in Grenoble and I was hanging out with a bunch of Latin Americans in France…I suppose if I go to Germany I will find a bunch of Russians to hang out with or something.
The weather here has been pretty darn good, I can’t complain. It’s a bit cloudy today, but I’ll take cloudy over scorching heat any time!
Im really getting used to this siesta thing. If you stay up late you really do need a nap come 2 or 3pm. I can see this being a habit that is difficult to break…
End of my first week in Granada
My first week in Granada has been interesting. The siesta is the greatest invention of all time. I love coming home from school and taking a nap until about 4 or 5pm. The only thing is, if you don’t feel like taking a nap there isn’t much else to do since most of the stores and supermarkets are closed. Most cafes are open but that’s about it.
Most things here are relatively inexpensive. I got 2 pairs of shoes for about 6 euro each, not bad at all. Clothes are about the same price as in the US, but shoes are all on sale, some as cheap as 3 euro.
The culinary experience has been mostly positive, besides the tuna incidents I have only had one other unfortunate experience with seafood. My Señora made paella for lunch and I get home after everyone else has left for school, so it’s just the two of us. Paella is a typical Spanish dish consisting of rice, some veggies, meat and usually some sort of seafood. I scanned the dish and it was mostly carne, or meat. Then I saw these things that looked like onion rings that had been stripped of their breading so I assumed that they were onions. As I was serving myself she said there were a few ‘gambas’ and some ‘calamar’. I then proceeded too discover not only the shrimp but those innocent looking onion rings weren’t veggies at all, rather SQUID !! So, trying not to gag I served myself the meat and proceed to eat. The meat was alright, but with the first bite of rice I was overwhelmed with the taste of seafood. I almost gagged at the table. I quickly ate some bread and drank some water. I know I should be open to trying new things and all, but I just cant stomach seafood! I picked out the rest of the meat and left the rice, it had absorbed too much squid juice for me to handle for one day.
Last night I went out with Di Deustchen that I live with and we met up with some more Germans and an Austrian and a Pollock. Basically Andrew, one of the Americans I live with, and I were minorities in that we do not speak German. We went to a cafeteria for some tapas and then headed to an Arabic tea bar where we spent most of the night. I didn’t know there were that many kinds of tea. The English would not be able to handle it, is all I can say. Plain black tea is NOT an option!
My Spanish is coming along relatively well, it’s starting to slow down a little bit, but its still quite fast. When we listen to recordings in class I am usually completely lost! But its getting better.
The last Rotary meeting on Monday was interesting and I would like to go this coming week if I can. I’m not sure what they talk about, but it was interesting because it was conducted in such a different manner than ours in Oak Ridge. All of the men at the meeting were genuinely interested in having us there and wanted to know about where we came from and how we liked Spain and Granada. Hopefully within the next two weeks my Spanish will be good enough to speak for a while at the meeting. Vamos a ver!
Most things here are relatively inexpensive. I got 2 pairs of shoes for about 6 euro each, not bad at all. Clothes are about the same price as in the US, but shoes are all on sale, some as cheap as 3 euro.
The culinary experience has been mostly positive, besides the tuna incidents I have only had one other unfortunate experience with seafood. My Señora made paella for lunch and I get home after everyone else has left for school, so it’s just the two of us. Paella is a typical Spanish dish consisting of rice, some veggies, meat and usually some sort of seafood. I scanned the dish and it was mostly carne, or meat. Then I saw these things that looked like onion rings that had been stripped of their breading so I assumed that they were onions. As I was serving myself she said there were a few ‘gambas’ and some ‘calamar’. I then proceeded too discover not only the shrimp but those innocent looking onion rings weren’t veggies at all, rather SQUID !! So, trying not to gag I served myself the meat and proceed to eat. The meat was alright, but with the first bite of rice I was overwhelmed with the taste of seafood. I almost gagged at the table. I quickly ate some bread and drank some water. I know I should be open to trying new things and all, but I just cant stomach seafood! I picked out the rest of the meat and left the rice, it had absorbed too much squid juice for me to handle for one day.
Last night I went out with Di Deustchen that I live with and we met up with some more Germans and an Austrian and a Pollock. Basically Andrew, one of the Americans I live with, and I were minorities in that we do not speak German. We went to a cafeteria for some tapas and then headed to an Arabic tea bar where we spent most of the night. I didn’t know there were that many kinds of tea. The English would not be able to handle it, is all I can say. Plain black tea is NOT an option!
My Spanish is coming along relatively well, it’s starting to slow down a little bit, but its still quite fast. When we listen to recordings in class I am usually completely lost! But its getting better.
The last Rotary meeting on Monday was interesting and I would like to go this coming week if I can. I’m not sure what they talk about, but it was interesting because it was conducted in such a different manner than ours in Oak Ridge. All of the men at the meeting were genuinely interested in having us there and wanted to know about where we came from and how we liked Spain and Granada. Hopefully within the next two weeks my Spanish will be good enough to speak for a while at the meeting. Vamos a ver!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Pizza con atún
9.10.07
Yesterday was my first day of school. I met with Pilár, with whom I had been in contact via email, at about 9:30 in the morning and I took my placement test. It consisted of two parts, the first was correctly identifying articles and the second was 2 paragraphs of fill in the blank with the correct past tense. HA! Like I remember the past tense, I can’t even think in the present most days. Oh well. They placed me in the ‘group’ with the other girl who is here on a Rotary Scholarship. Her name is Rebecca and she’s from Cali. I use the term ‘group’ loosely, it’s the two of us and our teacher. Cozy. Class went from 9:30 in the morning until about 2:30 in the afternoon.
After class I thought I would get a jump on things and go shopping for a SIM card. Wrong. Nothing was open so basically I wandered around aimlessly for a few hours instead of sleeping. How stupid of me. At about 6pm I went back to school to use the Internet. Rebecca was there and we decided to go for tapas before the Rotary meeting at 8:30. I went home to tell Sra. Ruiz that I wasn’t going to be home for dinner then I went to the Mirabra to meet Rebecca. Tapas are a very traditional dish in Spain, its basically finger food. A slice of bread with some meat and potato chips or maybe some bread and potato salad. In Granada, however, tapas are gratis, or FREE! You buy a drink and you get the tapas at no additional cost. I ordered ‘una copa de vino tinto’ and I got a slice of bread with a savory piece of turkey and some potato chips and olives and carrots. Rebecca got cerveza, but I was content with my red wine.
A few minutes later Pilár joined us at the bar to wait with us until 8:30 when we would meet José, one José of about 4 in the Granada Rotary Club. José showed up, had a drink and we piled into his car and headed for the meeting. We arrived in good Spanish time, that is to say a bit late due to traffic. When we got there there were about 5 men sitting around a table. José introduced us and we gave a quick schpiel about ourselves and our host club. 30 minutes into the ‘meeting’ another Rotarian arrived, and in 15 minutes another arrived, and not to be outdone a final member arrived an additional 15 minutes later. Time seems to be much more flexible here than at my lovely breakfast club where they sound the gong at 7:15 and everyone is at attention. The meeting consisted of, what seemed to be, a bit of arguing over location as well as how they were going to delegate work and which projects they wanted to pursue. Don’t quote me on it though, it was basically just a low whirr that moved at a million miles an hour.
I did meet my host Rotarian, he was tardy member #2 but was quite enthusiastic about meeting us and said that his kids couldn’t wait to meet me. Aww. So I have to set up a date to meet with him in the near future. After the meeting we all met downstairs for finger food and cerveza y vino. I think I could get used to this.
I came home about 10:45 and Sra. Ruiz had saved some dinner for me. One dish looked like a sort of potato salad, which I wasn’t crazy about, but decided to try because ‘that’s the polite thing to do’ and the second dish looked like pizza with ham and some other sort of meat. All I have to say is WHO PUTS TUNA ON A PIZZA?! SERIOUSLY!? And if that wasn’t bad enough there was also tuna in the mayonnaise-based potato, pea, onion and carrot mix that I had already helped myself to. Needless to say I persevered and managed to get most of the tuna off the pizza and just left the potato salad alone. And I KNOW we talked about this yesterday, how I don’t like fish, because the Swiss girl, Ines doesn’t like any kind of seafood either. Neither does Rebecca. So you can all leave me alone and stop picking on me because I wont eat fish!
una caña de chocolate. these are AMAZING
this is my street
All in all it was an interesting day. I need to figure out some sort of routine other wise I am going to bore myself to death. Class from 930-230 then no other obligations for the rest of the day… I cant even shop…I just have to go to sleep, wake up and pretend to be productive then eat dinner at about 9 and find something to entertain myself with in the evenings. Anyone want to come visit?
Yesterday was my first day of school. I met with Pilár, with whom I had been in contact via email, at about 9:30 in the morning and I took my placement test. It consisted of two parts, the first was correctly identifying articles and the second was 2 paragraphs of fill in the blank with the correct past tense. HA! Like I remember the past tense, I can’t even think in the present most days. Oh well. They placed me in the ‘group’ with the other girl who is here on a Rotary Scholarship. Her name is Rebecca and she’s from Cali. I use the term ‘group’ loosely, it’s the two of us and our teacher. Cozy. Class went from 9:30 in the morning until about 2:30 in the afternoon.
After class I thought I would get a jump on things and go shopping for a SIM card. Wrong. Nothing was open so basically I wandered around aimlessly for a few hours instead of sleeping. How stupid of me. At about 6pm I went back to school to use the Internet. Rebecca was there and we decided to go for tapas before the Rotary meeting at 8:30. I went home to tell Sra. Ruiz that I wasn’t going to be home for dinner then I went to the Mirabra to meet Rebecca. Tapas are a very traditional dish in Spain, its basically finger food. A slice of bread with some meat and potato chips or maybe some bread and potato salad. In Granada, however, tapas are gratis, or FREE! You buy a drink and you get the tapas at no additional cost. I ordered ‘una copa de vino tinto’ and I got a slice of bread with a savory piece of turkey and some potato chips and olives and carrots. Rebecca got cerveza, but I was content with my red wine.
A few minutes later Pilár joined us at the bar to wait with us until 8:30 when we would meet José, one José of about 4 in the Granada Rotary Club. José showed up, had a drink and we piled into his car and headed for the meeting. We arrived in good Spanish time, that is to say a bit late due to traffic. When we got there there were about 5 men sitting around a table. José introduced us and we gave a quick schpiel about ourselves and our host club. 30 minutes into the ‘meeting’ another Rotarian arrived, and in 15 minutes another arrived, and not to be outdone a final member arrived an additional 15 minutes later. Time seems to be much more flexible here than at my lovely breakfast club where they sound the gong at 7:15 and everyone is at attention. The meeting consisted of, what seemed to be, a bit of arguing over location as well as how they were going to delegate work and which projects they wanted to pursue. Don’t quote me on it though, it was basically just a low whirr that moved at a million miles an hour.
I did meet my host Rotarian, he was tardy member #2 but was quite enthusiastic about meeting us and said that his kids couldn’t wait to meet me. Aww. So I have to set up a date to meet with him in the near future. After the meeting we all met downstairs for finger food and cerveza y vino. I think I could get used to this.
I came home about 10:45 and Sra. Ruiz had saved some dinner for me. One dish looked like a sort of potato salad, which I wasn’t crazy about, but decided to try because ‘that’s the polite thing to do’ and the second dish looked like pizza with ham and some other sort of meat. All I have to say is WHO PUTS TUNA ON A PIZZA?! SERIOUSLY!? And if that wasn’t bad enough there was also tuna in the mayonnaise-based potato, pea, onion and carrot mix that I had already helped myself to. Needless to say I persevered and managed to get most of the tuna off the pizza and just left the potato salad alone. And I KNOW we talked about this yesterday, how I don’t like fish, because the Swiss girl, Ines doesn’t like any kind of seafood either. Neither does Rebecca. So you can all leave me alone and stop picking on me because I wont eat fish!
una caña de chocolate. these are AMAZING
this is my street
All in all it was an interesting day. I need to figure out some sort of routine other wise I am going to bore myself to death. Class from 930-230 then no other obligations for the rest of the day… I cant even shop…I just have to go to sleep, wake up and pretend to be productive then eat dinner at about 9 and find something to entertain myself with in the evenings. Anyone want to come visit?
Monday, September 10, 2007
my first day of school
so today was my first day of school. i have class from 9:30-2:30 with another girl from california who is also here on a Rotary scholarship. it was basically grammar and a bit about life in spain and how its different than life in the US. other than thati dont really have any exciting news or photos unfortunately. i think im going to the Rotary meeting tonight at 9pm, but im not sure. still have to work that out. one thing i love about spain: the siesta!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Mi vida en Espana!
9.9.07
Sunday, my first full day in Spain. I got up at about 9:30 for breakfast. I heard voices and figured I had better get up and eat rather than miss out on the first meal of the day. If not, I would have to wait until about 2:30/3 for lunch. After breakfast I headed into the city in search of the office of Tourism in hopes of finding a nice little map of the city. Sebastian, one of the German guys went with me because he wanted to see the Cathedral in the city and it’s on the way to the office of Tourism. We got to the cathedral and he handed me his map and we went our separate ways. I found the office and got a few maps as well as the name and location of an Internet café. Unfortunately I didn’t have my laptop so I didn’t have enough time or energy to write a complete post, but hopefully this will do.
After the café I went to the cathedral and ran into Sebastian. We walked around the city a bit and decided to get some cañas de chocolate and sit in the park. The cañas are basically a chocolate filled pastry that’s much crisper, flakier, longer and sweeter than a pain au chocolat. They were messy but delicious. Since Sebastian is from just outside Berlin and has never been to America he was full of questions about Americans and the US and what we think about Europeans and Europe in general. After a few minutes he decided that Americans were much like Europeans in that there is really no generalization. As a country we possess a spectrum of opinions and ideals and there is really no generalization at the moment because we are quite a polarized nation.
In between the cultural lessons I also provided grammar lessons. He’s not too confident with his English and had a lot of questions about tenses and how we say things. I know I shouldn’t be speaking English, but he really doesn’t speak or understand Spanish so for the sake of conversation I lapsed into English.
Now, after having a late lunch I am about to partake in a Spanish ritual that I am very excited about; the siesta. What could be better than a mid-day nap? I think I could get used to this…
Hasta Mañana
Mi vida en España 9.8.07
Today I arrived in Spain. I got off the plane in Granada and I was on a tarmac surrounded by dusty hills and towering mountains. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas Granada is strategically 30 minutes from surf or ski. The weather was quite hot, not at all like the chilly mornings and evenings in London. Quite the opposite, it reminded me of South Carolina; nothing but sunshine and smiling people.
I was greeted at the airport by José, who works at the school and is also a Rotarian. He invited me to the Rotary meeting on Monday to meet everyone. I asked him what time it was going to be at and he told me 9, so I clarified if that meant am or pm and he laughed. Why would anyone meet at 9am? I then told him that my host club met at 7:15am and he laughed and said “Not in Spain, we meet later”. Good news, I don’t have to wake up early!
José showed me my school building and how close it is to where I am living. We brought my things to my apartment and I met Sra. Ana Ruiz with whom I am going to be living these next few months. I am not alone in the house, there are 2 American boys who go to UMass Amherst, 2 German guys from Berlin and a girl from Switzerland who arrived shortly after I did. The Germans and the Swiss girl are going to be staying until the end of the week, but the Americans, like myself, will be here until December.
I talked with Sra. Ruiz then came back to my room to unpack. After that I took a shower and by about that time Ines, the Swiss girl, had shown up. We chatted for a while then I wandered back to my room and fell asleep. Dinner was ready at about 9pm and the American boys; Adam and Andrew came in. Adam left as quickly as he had come and Andrew joined us at the dinner table. He left and as we were finishing our meal Christophe came in have spent the entire day at the beach, then later Sebastian, the other German came in. The four of us talked for a bit, the boys left to go out and Ines and I decided we needed to get some sleep.
So my first day in Spain was not too entirely overwhelming. I was up at about 6:15am London time and I’m completely exhausted. Part of that is probably due to the events of last night…
9.7.07
As a going-away present James’ mom and dad treated us to a night of theater. Not just any theater; Shakespearian Theater. We had ground level tickets for the presentation of The Merchant of Venice at the Globe. I say ground level tickets and not seats because we did not sit, we stood, like the commoners did in Shakespeare’s day…for almost 3 hours. After an exhausting, but highly entertaining performance we headed to London Bridge and got on the underground and headed home. I cannot imagine a more perfect, or more fitting way to end a trip in London. The weather was wonderful for the 10 days that I was there and last night was no exception. The open-air venue that is the Globe was perfect. It was definitely ‘going out with a bang’. A fitting end to a lovely two weeks and a great way to start the next chapter in this adventure.
Sunday, my first full day in Spain. I got up at about 9:30 for breakfast. I heard voices and figured I had better get up and eat rather than miss out on the first meal of the day. If not, I would have to wait until about 2:30/3 for lunch. After breakfast I headed into the city in search of the office of Tourism in hopes of finding a nice little map of the city. Sebastian, one of the German guys went with me because he wanted to see the Cathedral in the city and it’s on the way to the office of Tourism. We got to the cathedral and he handed me his map and we went our separate ways. I found the office and got a few maps as well as the name and location of an Internet café. Unfortunately I didn’t have my laptop so I didn’t have enough time or energy to write a complete post, but hopefully this will do.
After the café I went to the cathedral and ran into Sebastian. We walked around the city a bit and decided to get some cañas de chocolate and sit in the park. The cañas are basically a chocolate filled pastry that’s much crisper, flakier, longer and sweeter than a pain au chocolat. They were messy but delicious. Since Sebastian is from just outside Berlin and has never been to America he was full of questions about Americans and the US and what we think about Europeans and Europe in general. After a few minutes he decided that Americans were much like Europeans in that there is really no generalization. As a country we possess a spectrum of opinions and ideals and there is really no generalization at the moment because we are quite a polarized nation.
In between the cultural lessons I also provided grammar lessons. He’s not too confident with his English and had a lot of questions about tenses and how we say things. I know I shouldn’t be speaking English, but he really doesn’t speak or understand Spanish so for the sake of conversation I lapsed into English.
Now, after having a late lunch I am about to partake in a Spanish ritual that I am very excited about; the siesta. What could be better than a mid-day nap? I think I could get used to this…
Hasta Mañana
Mi vida en España 9.8.07
Today I arrived in Spain. I got off the plane in Granada and I was on a tarmac surrounded by dusty hills and towering mountains. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas Granada is strategically 30 minutes from surf or ski. The weather was quite hot, not at all like the chilly mornings and evenings in London. Quite the opposite, it reminded me of South Carolina; nothing but sunshine and smiling people.
I was greeted at the airport by José, who works at the school and is also a Rotarian. He invited me to the Rotary meeting on Monday to meet everyone. I asked him what time it was going to be at and he told me 9, so I clarified if that meant am or pm and he laughed. Why would anyone meet at 9am? I then told him that my host club met at 7:15am and he laughed and said “Not in Spain, we meet later”. Good news, I don’t have to wake up early!
José showed me my school building and how close it is to where I am living. We brought my things to my apartment and I met Sra. Ana Ruiz with whom I am going to be living these next few months. I am not alone in the house, there are 2 American boys who go to UMass Amherst, 2 German guys from Berlin and a girl from Switzerland who arrived shortly after I did. The Germans and the Swiss girl are going to be staying until the end of the week, but the Americans, like myself, will be here until December.
I talked with Sra. Ruiz then came back to my room to unpack. After that I took a shower and by about that time Ines, the Swiss girl, had shown up. We chatted for a while then I wandered back to my room and fell asleep. Dinner was ready at about 9pm and the American boys; Adam and Andrew came in. Adam left as quickly as he had come and Andrew joined us at the dinner table. He left and as we were finishing our meal Christophe came in have spent the entire day at the beach, then later Sebastian, the other German came in. The four of us talked for a bit, the boys left to go out and Ines and I decided we needed to get some sleep.
So my first day in Spain was not too entirely overwhelming. I was up at about 6:15am London time and I’m completely exhausted. Part of that is probably due to the events of last night…
9.7.07
As a going-away present James’ mom and dad treated us to a night of theater. Not just any theater; Shakespearian Theater. We had ground level tickets for the presentation of The Merchant of Venice at the Globe. I say ground level tickets and not seats because we did not sit, we stood, like the commoners did in Shakespeare’s day…for almost 3 hours. After an exhausting, but highly entertaining performance we headed to London Bridge and got on the underground and headed home. I cannot imagine a more perfect, or more fitting way to end a trip in London. The weather was wonderful for the 10 days that I was there and last night was no exception. The open-air venue that is the Globe was perfect. It was definitely ‘going out with a bang’. A fitting end to a lovely two weeks and a great way to start the next chapter in this adventure.
espana!
im here in spain, finally. i dont have internet at my house and i´m at a cafe at the moment. i will post tomorrow about what i have done since ive been here. i think i will have internet at school so i´ll bring my laptop and post from there. so i´ll leave you knowing that im safe and sound in southern spain...la buena vida.
Friday, September 7, 2007
House of Wax
After a marathon session of Prison Break we all slept in a bit longer than we expected on Thursday morning. We left the house, since it was a beautiful day, and headed to Regent’s Park. Took a stroll and tried to see what was playing at the outdoor theater in the park. Unfortunately, we missed Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox by a week and opted not to spend 35 pounds on some show we had never heard of called The Boyfriend. We got ice cream instead and sat by the pond with the Canadian geese.
After our stroll in the park we decided to visit Madame Tussard’s Wax Museum. I have to say, it was pretty amazing. I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
After the museum we walked to SoHo and Greek Street and had dinner at a lovely little Italian Restaurant.
After our stroll in the park we decided to visit Madame Tussard’s Wax Museum. I have to say, it was pretty amazing. I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
After the museum we walked to SoHo and Greek Street and had dinner at a lovely little Italian Restaurant.
Catch Up
Monday September 3
I wrote the post for Monday but never got around to saving and posting it, so it has since been lost. Oh well. I’ll try my best to remember what went down, but I didn’t do anything especially spectacular.
James and I went to Brick lane in the late afternoon to have a look around. Brick Lane is a very Indian part of East London so he was determined that we come back that evening for a ‘proper curry’, one of his favorite dishes. After walking up and down Brick Lane we wandered around London a bit more and made our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral. After a bit more wandering we headed to see the Muffin Man. I don’t know if you know him or not, but he definitely does not live on Drury Lane. Hungry and muffinless we went back to Brick Lane for our curry.
A delicious meal later we decided to brave the crowds and head home. Did I mention that the London Underground workers decided to go on strike? Yes, the unhappy metronet workers decided to make life just a little more difficult for the 11 million or so people who live in the greater London area. We headed to the station and watched as train after train passed by and 2-3 people crammed themselves onto the already overcrowded trains. Talk about miserable.
After a sweaty and uncomfortable ride we finally made it home and popped in our trusty Prison Break DVD and watched an episode or four.
Tuesday September 4th
Due to the underground strike we decided that it would be unwise to venture into London. Instead we decided to watch about 7 episodes of Prison Break and make and make a fruitless journey to the mall to get the rest of season 1. What a lovely lazy day.
Wednesday September 5th
With the strike over, but nothing resolved, we headed back to London in an attempt to see Temple church. For those of you that have read the DaVinci code you are well aware of the importance of Temple church. For those of you have not, or simply don’t remember, it’s a quick read. Have a go.
After Temple church we walked to Westminster to see Parliament and Buckingham Palace. That’s pretty much all we did. Walked around, saw the sights and took a million pictures because it was a sunny day in Londontown.
I wrote the post for Monday but never got around to saving and posting it, so it has since been lost. Oh well. I’ll try my best to remember what went down, but I didn’t do anything especially spectacular.
James and I went to Brick lane in the late afternoon to have a look around. Brick Lane is a very Indian part of East London so he was determined that we come back that evening for a ‘proper curry’, one of his favorite dishes. After walking up and down Brick Lane we wandered around London a bit more and made our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral. After a bit more wandering we headed to see the Muffin Man. I don’t know if you know him or not, but he definitely does not live on Drury Lane. Hungry and muffinless we went back to Brick Lane for our curry.
A delicious meal later we decided to brave the crowds and head home. Did I mention that the London Underground workers decided to go on strike? Yes, the unhappy metronet workers decided to make life just a little more difficult for the 11 million or so people who live in the greater London area. We headed to the station and watched as train after train passed by and 2-3 people crammed themselves onto the already overcrowded trains. Talk about miserable.
After a sweaty and uncomfortable ride we finally made it home and popped in our trusty Prison Break DVD and watched an episode or four.
Tuesday September 4th
Due to the underground strike we decided that it would be unwise to venture into London. Instead we decided to watch about 7 episodes of Prison Break and make and make a fruitless journey to the mall to get the rest of season 1. What a lovely lazy day.
Wednesday September 5th
With the strike over, but nothing resolved, we headed back to London in an attempt to see Temple church. For those of you that have read the DaVinci code you are well aware of the importance of Temple church. For those of you have not, or simply don’t remember, it’s a quick read. Have a go.
After Temple church we walked to Westminster to see Parliament and Buckingham Palace. That’s pretty much all we did. Walked around, saw the sights and took a million pictures because it was a sunny day in Londontown.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Ticket to Ride
After two jam packed days of touring London we decided to have a quiet day on Friday. The weather was a bit cloudy Thursday, so we didn’t go to the London Eye as James had planned, so we decided to go on Friday evening. The day started out cloudy [typical London] but by about 3pm the clouds broke up and the sun started shining through. Deciding it was a good sign, we got ready and headed out to the Eye.
Arriving at a station downtown James’ dad called so we left the station and we sat with him over a cup of coffee. Then we headed back to the Underground and made our way to the Eye. When we exited at Embankment [the station] James decided to show me the South Bank, a neat little strip along the river with galleries, restaurants and a nifty skate park.
Just after 6pm we went finally went to the Eye. Me, being paranoid about lines, thought we would have to wait in line [queue up] for hours, but it was about a 3-minute wait and we walked right on. Now, I know at least one of you out there doesn’t know what the London Eye is, cough, mom, cough. It’s a huge observation wheel that was opened in 2000. Basically a revolving Ferris wheel with pods that overlooks the city of London. Supposedly 3.5 million people ride on it a year. It’s a calm ride that takes about 30-40 minutes for one rotation. Since it was a great view of London, we took quite a lot of pictures, so enjoy!
and here is one of the little Italian trattoria we went to Thursday night:
Arriving at a station downtown James’ dad called so we left the station and we sat with him over a cup of coffee. Then we headed back to the Underground and made our way to the Eye. When we exited at Embankment [the station] James decided to show me the South Bank, a neat little strip along the river with galleries, restaurants and a nifty skate park.
Just after 6pm we went finally went to the Eye. Me, being paranoid about lines, thought we would have to wait in line [queue up] for hours, but it was about a 3-minute wait and we walked right on. Now, I know at least one of you out there doesn’t know what the London Eye is, cough, mom, cough. It’s a huge observation wheel that was opened in 2000. Basically a revolving Ferris wheel with pods that overlooks the city of London. Supposedly 3.5 million people ride on it a year. It’s a calm ride that takes about 30-40 minutes for one rotation. Since it was a great view of London, we took quite a lot of pictures, so enjoy!
and here is one of the little Italian trattoria we went to Thursday night:
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