Ok guys... I know I've been really awful at staying updated lately :( I have had a lot of stuff this week and next week is midterms, so please expect things to be a bit delayed for the next week or so. Fair warning. I am currently on a study break (for those of you who are wondering, and I have decided to update my blog instead of sitting on Facebook, Stumbling or something else... Lucky you! :P
As I just mentioned, this week has been rather hectic. I get caught up in the usual school stuff and I had an essay due on Wednesday in my literature class, so I've sort of lost track of time. And here I am... at Friday again. Let me see how much of the past week I remember. Most of it really isn't that exciting because I was either writing an essay, editing the essay or relaxing after my essay. But the week did have its moments.
Monday
Monday morning was spent in class and at the Residencia talking to my "abuela". Class was actually pretty good because we were talking about Don Quijote. I actually know what I'm talking about, so an class pertaining to Don Quijote is a good day! (Thank you Benda and AP Spanish Lit...) After class I headed with Jordan to the bus to make it to the Residencia on time. I enjoy going, but sometimes there are days where I would much rather just head straight home. This week we were asked to read a chapter (of our choosing) with our "abuelos". I read the chapter about the windmills (like most people). But it was easiest and something I could talk about. Among reading the chapter we also talked about my weekend (mostly... but I also just like to talk and she likes to listen) and then I asked her about hers. I learned that her son owns a bar that is right next door to my house. She keeps telling me to go in and tell him to give me a drink on her. ... I haven't quite yet made it. I'm not going to lie... I'm a bit embarrassed. 1:00pm finally rolled around and I got to go home and eat lunch. My stomach was growling quite loudly by the time I got there. Haha... After lunch I worked for hours on my Literature essay that was due on Wednesday. I worked until 10:30pm (counting a few breaks) and then watched Águila Roja with my "family" and then fell asleep on the couch. My "mom" woke me up about 1:30am and we went to sleep.
Tuesday
Tuesdays are proving to be very interesting days. This was my second week going to the elementary school out in Polígono and my chance to get a second impression. Most of what I said about last week was right. The 3rd graders are so sweet. I walked into the classroom this week to the whole class going, "Sarah!!!!! You're here!!!!!" I love that feeling :) This week the 3rd graders were learning classroom vocabulary (desk, pen, ruler, chair, etc.). The teacher had flashcards with a picture of each object that she put on the board. She'd point to each one in turn and ask the students what it's called. She ended up playing a number of games with the flashcards and also introduced a song to help them learn the words. The way she structured her class was very similar to how I would have done it. My second impression of her was just as good (if not better!) as the first one. The 5th grade teacher, however... That was a different story. For both of his classes, they only got through (barely) one lesson. I couldn't believe it. During the first of the two classes, the teacher kept shouting "SILENCE!" I had to work hard not to laugh out loud because all I could think was, "SILENCE! I kill you!" (For those of you who don't know, that is a direct quote from Achmed the dead terrorist... a.k.a. Jeff Dunham) Somehow I managed tot keep it together. What I realized this week was that for as much as the students don't respect the teacher, he doesn't respect them either. At one point he was so frustrated with them that he called them poorly educated ("mal educados"). I feel like that is something that would never happen in the U.S. no matter how frustrated a teacher is. The worst part is that after something like that, he looks at me expecting me to laugh or something, but I can't. It's just not funny to me. I was also shocked at the lack of curriculum they have. They follow a book, but it doesn't really teach English very well. Those kids can't even have a very basic conversation. I think they can read basic English, but that's about it. I've been given the two books they use in hopes that I'll come up with a better, more fun way to teach them. ... No pressure or anything. The rest of my Tuesday was pretty boring... I had class at 6:20pm (I came home, at lunch, worked on my essay, took a nap and then went to class) which was alright. I came home after class (the best part of the day... I'm on the bus between 7:45pm and 8:00pm and it's getting darker earlier this time of year, so I get this BEAUTIFUL view of Toledo all lit up on the way back home) and polished off my essay. My "dad" looked at it (for grammar) and told me that it was very well written with almost no errors. He also told me that the ones I'm making are the same ones that native Spanish speakers make, too. I was really happy to hear that!! :D After I finished my essay, I watched "Homicidios" with my "mom" and then went to bed because Wednesday is my longest day of the week.
Wednesday
Oh Wednesdays... You are just as long as ever, but are getting to be a bit more tolerable. This week wasn't so bad because we spent part of all my classes talking about our midterms next week. Talking about them makes me a bit nervous, but also feel a bit better because they don't sound like they should be too hard. After that, classes went pretty quickly. I'm definitely loving my Literature class right now... I forgot how much I love Don Quijote! Even my professor noticed how involved I am in class lately! Hopefully that will be reflected in my grade... I don't particularly remember what I did Wednesday night, but I'm pretty sure it just involved the usual relaxing and watching TV until my "mom" woke me up to go to sleep.
Thursday
So far Thursdays have been pretty good days. I only have one class twice a day, but this week (and last week) was different: I had the same class... THREE times. Yes, three. One at 11:30am, and then another two from 2:40pm-4:45pm (with only a 2 minute break this week, too!). The morning part was fine, but the two hour sessions of sitting in the classroom suck. Especially when she only gives us a 2 minute break. Between 12:30pm (ish) and 2:40pm is lunch. At lunch, a friend of mine was telling us how she is having problems with her host mom. Listening to her stories made me realize how truly lucky I am to be living with my host family. I got home and ate lunch. After lunch, I said to my "mom", "I have a question. It's going to seem like there isn't a reason, but I promise there is." She answered, "Anything!" I asked, "Can I give you a hug?" She got really excited and said, "Of course!!! Any time you want!! I know you are hug deprived..." (Obviously I have made that clear... Lol...) I laughed and told her that that was part of it, but also that I have a friend who is having issues with her host family. I told her, "I just wanted to say that I am soooo lucky to be living with you all. And I want to say thank you. For everything." She seemed really happy to hear all of that. Let's just say that I got lots of hugs that day. :) Thursdays also mean "El Barco"! I love that show! I'm going to have to find it online when I go home because I want to know what happens. Another show I can add to my list of shows I watch :) I watched the new episode and then headed to bed (voluntarily!) because I was exhausted.
Friday
Friday was really a rather uneventful day. I quite literally spent the entire day on the couch, but for good reason! Midterms being next week, I needed to get studying. I spent all morning working on my philosophy stuff so I can study it later. I took a short break to eat lunch and then kept working. At some point I stopped and just watched TV for a bit because my hand was killing me from writing so much. A little bit after lunch, my "grandparents" came over to drop some stuff off. Before they left, my "grandma" came over and chatted with me. She said to me, "It's such a shame that you have to leave in December. You should stay with us longer!" I was sooooooo honored to have her say that! It really meant a lot to me that they don't want me to leave. I am still very touched. On top of that, my "parents" went out Friday night and came back briefly to grab jackets (it's cold for them now...). They walked in the door, I sat up (I had been dozing on the couch) and my mom walks over to me with a big grin on her face. "I have a little present for you!" she told me. What? A present? For me? Out of the blue? That's really sweet!!! She totally didn't have to do that. She handed me a small gift bag. I was afraid to open it at first in case I heard wrong and it was for someone else. That would have been embarrassing... But eventually I decided that I was right and opened it. It turned out to be a pair of earrings! They are really really pretty, too! She came back in and asked if I liked them. Rather than saying anything, I stood up and gave her a big hug and said, "Thank you!" They turned around again and left to go somewhere, leaving me alone again. It turned out to not be a bad thing because I was exhausted. I had woken up that morning at 7:00am with a bad stomach ache (for no apparent reason) and had a hard time going back to sleep after that. I was sound asleep when they got back. In fact, I didn't even hear them get back. I woke up around 2:00am on my own and sat up. I went to look at my phone and was given quite a shock when my "mom" was laying on the couch, looking at me. She waved and I sleepily waved back. I laid there for a few more minutes, but then decided that I was too tired and I should probably go to sleep in my bed rather than on the couch. So off to bed I went.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Most Amazing Weekend Thus Far
I feel like the title sums it up. It was easily my favorite weekend so far. It was a nice combination of relaxing and going out.
Friday during the day was literally my "I'm going to sit on the couch and do nothing day". I was desperately in need of one after the week. So my daytime stuff wasn't eventful (as it was meant to be), but that night was a blast. I met up with Kami and Moriko around 11pm (after their dinners... I keep forgetting that my "family" eats really early apparently) and we headed to the bar that's right next to the Fundación. We shared a pitcher of sangria and sat there talking for a long while. We then went into the Fundación to find everyone else and go out. I was expecting to go out for drinks or something, but we ended up at two different "discotecas" (a.k.a. clubs). It was fun! Though the music at both places kind of sucked. It was that awkward tempo where it's not really a "fast" dance nor is it a "slow" dance... So we did the best we could. We left the last discoteca at 3:30am to catch the last Búho bus at 4:00am. Yes... you read that right. 4am. I got home about 4:15am (my "mom" was still up, too!) and was asleep by 4:30am. It was a really long (but super fun) night.
Saturday was easily my favorite day. Even after going to bed so late, my body still woke up at 9:00am. And for a stupid reason... because I had to pee. Seriously body?? You couldn't wait until, sayyyy.... 11:00am at least?? So I got up and went to the bathroom and then got back in bed. I dozed until 11:00am, but I didn't really sleep. People started moving around 11:00am and I felt bad still laying in bed. I got up, said good morning to my "parents", ate breakfast, got dressed and plopped down in the living room waiting to leave for Paraíso (my "grandparents'" house). We left around 1:00pm and got there just in time for lunch. My "sister" had had a sleepover that night, so her friend was still there and ate lunch with us. I love the time we all spend together. It's really interesting just listening to the conversations. My Spanish has definitely improved; I can understand most of what they are saying now, even when they speak at their (almost) fastest.
After lunch, my "dad" and I went to play...... *drum roll* GUITAR HERO! :D Apparently he had come down to ask me on Wednesday if I wanted to play with him, but I was asleep. So I challenged him over the weekend. It was a lot of fun, but I'm definitely out of practice. I can still get around a 90% on songs though! It was so funny... my "dad" was making fun of me because I don't dance while I play like he does. I told him it's because I can't dance and hit the notes at the same time and that only made him laugh harder. Why does everyone laugh at me?! :P
We finished playing Guitar Hero because I had a Skype date... with Brian and Emily (the kids I nanny during the summer) and their mom!! We were all so excited! Brian and Emily got a chance to practice their Spanish with my host parents (who said that they speak very well!) and I got a chance to catch up with them. It was sooooooooo good to see them! They are so silly and I didn't realize how much I miss them. I told them about how my body woke up at 9:00am and made them guess what the reason was. When they didn't get it, I said, "Because I had to PEE!" and they just cracked up. I love making them laugh! I hope I have time to go visit them when I get home in December.
They had a soccer game to get to, so I let them go to get ready for their games. After the Skype session it was movie time. This week the movie was called "Priest". I hadn't heard of it before, and I honestly don't remember much... because I fell asleep. In my defense, I was exhausted! I'm surprised I made it that long! :P I woke up in time to see the end though! Not that I knew what was going on... I opened my eyes and sat up and my "dad" was like, "Well hello there." Apparently my "mom" hadn't realized I was asleep and said, "You were sleeping??" My "dad" just looked at her like, "Yeahh... her eyes were closed." My constant falling asleep has been a joke with my "family" for awhile now... Oh well.
We left Paraíso in time to come back home for dinner. My "mom" made me dinner and then she and my "dad" went out. I'm not exactly sure where this time, but they weren't here. Which was fine, because I knew I was going to have plans, I just wasn't sure what time. My plans turned out to be at 11:30pm, so I texted Kami and Moriko and we agreed to meet and hour earlier, grab drinks and then head to the Fundación to watch Paranormal Activity with everyone else. Yes, you read that right. I have finally seen Paranormal Activity 1. The movie really wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Sure, there were moments, but nothing I couldn't handle. I caught the Búho bus home at 3:00am and was home by 3:15am. Amazingly, everyone was asleep this time. Normally my "mom" is on the couch watching TV, but not this time! In some ways I'm relieved because it means she's not waiting for me, but it also was kind of nice to walk in the door and have someone to chat with before going to bed.
Sunday was pretty fun, too! I was the first to get up (that never happens!!), so I read for little bit until people started moving. As people got up, I ate breakfast with my "brother" and "sister" and then everyone got dressed and we headed over to Paraíso. We got there and I helped set the table (I was finally allowed to help!) and we all ate lunch together. After lunch, my "mom", "grandma" and I sat in the kitchen and talked while my "grandma" put the dishes in the dishwasher. We sat and watched TV (and a movie... but I can't remember which right now) and then at 5pm we all got into my "family's" van and headed into Madrid. With my "brother" with us, we are 7 people and there are only 7 seats in the van. I was in the back with my "siblings" and it was definitely a bit... crammed. But we survived.
Our first stop was at a little shopping mall (the "cheap" mall, my "mom" calls it). It was very small and most of the shops were closed. We did a quick walk through and then we moved on to the next one. The second one was a lot nicer. It was an outdoor mall and was sort of like Cherry Creek mall in Denver (all the name brand stores, and super expensive). We didn't buy anything, but we wandered through some of the stores. It was just me, my "mom", "grandma" and "sister" walking around and the guys (my "dad", "brother", and "grandpa") sat at Starbucks. Typical. :P They even let me into a store with lotions! AND I didn't buy anything! :D Aren't you proud of me??
After a couple of hours of walking around, we headed back to Starbucks and picked up the three men. From there we all piled back in the car and went to drop my "brother" off at school. On the way to his university, he and my "sister" (who was in the middle of the three of us in the back) kept giggling at things. At one point, my "mom" said, "Tell Sarah so she can laugh too!" It was a nice thought, but for some reason it made me really sad. I think I realized that I might be part of the family for my "parents", but when it comes to my "siblings" I'm still the American girl. In that moment (and I can't believe I'm saying this...), I actually missed my brother (my biological brother). I can't explain what exactly I missed about him, but it was something.
We dropped off my "brother" at school and then headed back towards Toledo. My "sister" and I fell asleep on the way back and my "mom" had to wake us up when we stopped. I opened my eyes and realized that we weren't home yet... We were at a shopping mall. My "mom" woke us up saying, "It's time to eat!" Ohhhh. We were eating out tonight! I was really curious where my family eats when they don't eat at home. We walked into the mall and immediately sat down at... Ready? Burger King. Of all places, they chose Burger King. Before coming here, I was determined to avoid American food (or at least restaurants I can eat at at home), but in this case, I couldn't exactly be like, "Sorry, I don't want to eat there." Especially when the rest of my family was. So I did... I hate to say it, but I did, I ate Burger King. :\ It tasted the same, but to me there was just something wrong about eating Burger King while I'm in Spain... Oh well. It's over and done now!
We got home and my "mom" and I watched "Si Tu Que Vales", a Spanish talent show, until it was over and then we both headed to bed. It was a long, but completely amazing weekend! I finally figured out how to balance "family" time with friend time and still feel like I'm spending enough time with both groups!
Friday during the day was literally my "I'm going to sit on the couch and do nothing day". I was desperately in need of one after the week. So my daytime stuff wasn't eventful (as it was meant to be), but that night was a blast. I met up with Kami and Moriko around 11pm (after their dinners... I keep forgetting that my "family" eats really early apparently) and we headed to the bar that's right next to the Fundación. We shared a pitcher of sangria and sat there talking for a long while. We then went into the Fundación to find everyone else and go out. I was expecting to go out for drinks or something, but we ended up at two different "discotecas" (a.k.a. clubs). It was fun! Though the music at both places kind of sucked. It was that awkward tempo where it's not really a "fast" dance nor is it a "slow" dance... So we did the best we could. We left the last discoteca at 3:30am to catch the last Búho bus at 4:00am. Yes... you read that right. 4am. I got home about 4:15am (my "mom" was still up, too!) and was asleep by 4:30am. It was a really long (but super fun) night.
Saturday was easily my favorite day. Even after going to bed so late, my body still woke up at 9:00am. And for a stupid reason... because I had to pee. Seriously body?? You couldn't wait until, sayyyy.... 11:00am at least?? So I got up and went to the bathroom and then got back in bed. I dozed until 11:00am, but I didn't really sleep. People started moving around 11:00am and I felt bad still laying in bed. I got up, said good morning to my "parents", ate breakfast, got dressed and plopped down in the living room waiting to leave for Paraíso (my "grandparents'" house). We left around 1:00pm and got there just in time for lunch. My "sister" had had a sleepover that night, so her friend was still there and ate lunch with us. I love the time we all spend together. It's really interesting just listening to the conversations. My Spanish has definitely improved; I can understand most of what they are saying now, even when they speak at their (almost) fastest.
After lunch, my "dad" and I went to play...... *drum roll* GUITAR HERO! :D Apparently he had come down to ask me on Wednesday if I wanted to play with him, but I was asleep. So I challenged him over the weekend. It was a lot of fun, but I'm definitely out of practice. I can still get around a 90% on songs though! It was so funny... my "dad" was making fun of me because I don't dance while I play like he does. I told him it's because I can't dance and hit the notes at the same time and that only made him laugh harder. Why does everyone laugh at me?! :P
We finished playing Guitar Hero because I had a Skype date... with Brian and Emily (the kids I nanny during the summer) and their mom!! We were all so excited! Brian and Emily got a chance to practice their Spanish with my host parents (who said that they speak very well!) and I got a chance to catch up with them. It was sooooooooo good to see them! They are so silly and I didn't realize how much I miss them. I told them about how my body woke up at 9:00am and made them guess what the reason was. When they didn't get it, I said, "Because I had to PEE!" and they just cracked up. I love making them laugh! I hope I have time to go visit them when I get home in December.
They had a soccer game to get to, so I let them go to get ready for their games. After the Skype session it was movie time. This week the movie was called "Priest". I hadn't heard of it before, and I honestly don't remember much... because I fell asleep. In my defense, I was exhausted! I'm surprised I made it that long! :P I woke up in time to see the end though! Not that I knew what was going on... I opened my eyes and sat up and my "dad" was like, "Well hello there." Apparently my "mom" hadn't realized I was asleep and said, "You were sleeping??" My "dad" just looked at her like, "Yeahh... her eyes were closed." My constant falling asleep has been a joke with my "family" for awhile now... Oh well.
We left Paraíso in time to come back home for dinner. My "mom" made me dinner and then she and my "dad" went out. I'm not exactly sure where this time, but they weren't here. Which was fine, because I knew I was going to have plans, I just wasn't sure what time. My plans turned out to be at 11:30pm, so I texted Kami and Moriko and we agreed to meet and hour earlier, grab drinks and then head to the Fundación to watch Paranormal Activity with everyone else. Yes, you read that right. I have finally seen Paranormal Activity 1. The movie really wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Sure, there were moments, but nothing I couldn't handle. I caught the Búho bus home at 3:00am and was home by 3:15am. Amazingly, everyone was asleep this time. Normally my "mom" is on the couch watching TV, but not this time! In some ways I'm relieved because it means she's not waiting for me, but it also was kind of nice to walk in the door and have someone to chat with before going to bed.
Sunday was pretty fun, too! I was the first to get up (that never happens!!), so I read for little bit until people started moving. As people got up, I ate breakfast with my "brother" and "sister" and then everyone got dressed and we headed over to Paraíso. We got there and I helped set the table (I was finally allowed to help!) and we all ate lunch together. After lunch, my "mom", "grandma" and I sat in the kitchen and talked while my "grandma" put the dishes in the dishwasher. We sat and watched TV (and a movie... but I can't remember which right now) and then at 5pm we all got into my "family's" van and headed into Madrid. With my "brother" with us, we are 7 people and there are only 7 seats in the van. I was in the back with my "siblings" and it was definitely a bit... crammed. But we survived.
Our first stop was at a little shopping mall (the "cheap" mall, my "mom" calls it). It was very small and most of the shops were closed. We did a quick walk through and then we moved on to the next one. The second one was a lot nicer. It was an outdoor mall and was sort of like Cherry Creek mall in Denver (all the name brand stores, and super expensive). We didn't buy anything, but we wandered through some of the stores. It was just me, my "mom", "grandma" and "sister" walking around and the guys (my "dad", "brother", and "grandpa") sat at Starbucks. Typical. :P They even let me into a store with lotions! AND I didn't buy anything! :D Aren't you proud of me??
After a couple of hours of walking around, we headed back to Starbucks and picked up the three men. From there we all piled back in the car and went to drop my "brother" off at school. On the way to his university, he and my "sister" (who was in the middle of the three of us in the back) kept giggling at things. At one point, my "mom" said, "Tell Sarah so she can laugh too!" It was a nice thought, but for some reason it made me really sad. I think I realized that I might be part of the family for my "parents", but when it comes to my "siblings" I'm still the American girl. In that moment (and I can't believe I'm saying this...), I actually missed my brother (my biological brother). I can't explain what exactly I missed about him, but it was something.
We dropped off my "brother" at school and then headed back towards Toledo. My "sister" and I fell asleep on the way back and my "mom" had to wake us up when we stopped. I opened my eyes and realized that we weren't home yet... We were at a shopping mall. My "mom" woke us up saying, "It's time to eat!" Ohhhh. We were eating out tonight! I was really curious where my family eats when they don't eat at home. We walked into the mall and immediately sat down at... Ready? Burger King. Of all places, they chose Burger King. Before coming here, I was determined to avoid American food (or at least restaurants I can eat at at home), but in this case, I couldn't exactly be like, "Sorry, I don't want to eat there." Especially when the rest of my family was. So I did... I hate to say it, but I did, I ate Burger King. :\ It tasted the same, but to me there was just something wrong about eating Burger King while I'm in Spain... Oh well. It's over and done now!
We got home and my "mom" and I watched "Si Tu Que Vales", a Spanish talent show, until it was over and then we both headed to bed. It was a long, but completely amazing weekend! I finally figured out how to balance "family" time with friend time and still feel like I'm spending enough time with both groups!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, October 13th
"One. More. Day. One. More. Class. Then: WEEKENDDDDD!!!!!!!" Those were my thoughts Thursday morning. Good thing I actually like this class (mostly). I got up at 10:00am to get ready. Fortunately my "sister" had class, so my "mom" put out my cereal bowl! :P At 11:00am I caught the bus to school.
Thursdays are my Art History class. The way it usually works is we meet in the lobby in the morning and go on "field trips" to the buildings we are going to talk about in our afternoon session. But this week things worked differently. Our morning session went the same as always, but instead of having our afternoon session in the classroom, we spent 2 hours at the cathedral. Which means that instead of having class from 3:30pm-4:45pm, we had class from 2:40pm-4:45pm. It was a LONG time. At least we kept moving and didn't have to sit still for that long, like our class 2 weeks ago.
I don't go home for lunch on Thursdays since there really is no time (especially when my teacher randomly throws in a class at 2:40pm!). I have gotten closer to new people and have started eating lunch with them. They are really really funny. I feel like we are constantly laughing about one thing or another. After lunch that day, I knew that I wanted to spend time over the weekend with them and get to know them better.
Lunch ended and class begun again. Two whole hours in the cathedral. I'd been there with friends within the first couple of weeks I was here, so I was kind of bored. I'm thinking, "Ugh, I've seen this already." But I guess it was good to get an explanation of what everything was from the teacher... Still, it took a LONG time for her to say, "See you next week!" Part of that might have been because it was Thursday... a.k.a. the weekend.
I know this is boring, but I literally did nothing Thursday night (intentionally). The whole week had been really stressful (for a number of different reasons) and I needed a night to just sit on the couch and watch mindless TV. Thursday nights mean "El Barco" too!!! So I watched that with my whole "family" and then headed to bed because I was exhausted.
Thursdays are my Art History class. The way it usually works is we meet in the lobby in the morning and go on "field trips" to the buildings we are going to talk about in our afternoon session. But this week things worked differently. Our morning session went the same as always, but instead of having our afternoon session in the classroom, we spent 2 hours at the cathedral. Which means that instead of having class from 3:30pm-4:45pm, we had class from 2:40pm-4:45pm. It was a LONG time. At least we kept moving and didn't have to sit still for that long, like our class 2 weeks ago.
I don't go home for lunch on Thursdays since there really is no time (especially when my teacher randomly throws in a class at 2:40pm!). I have gotten closer to new people and have started eating lunch with them. They are really really funny. I feel like we are constantly laughing about one thing or another. After lunch that day, I knew that I wanted to spend time over the weekend with them and get to know them better.
Lunch ended and class begun again. Two whole hours in the cathedral. I'd been there with friends within the first couple of weeks I was here, so I was kind of bored. I'm thinking, "Ugh, I've seen this already." But I guess it was good to get an explanation of what everything was from the teacher... Still, it took a LONG time for her to say, "See you next week!" Part of that might have been because it was Thursday... a.k.a. the weekend.
I know this is boring, but I literally did nothing Thursday night (intentionally). The whole week had been really stressful (for a number of different reasons) and I needed a night to just sit on the couch and watch mindless TV. Thursday nights mean "El Barco" too!!! So I watched that with my whole "family" and then headed to bed because I was exhausted.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
What Should Have Been A Day Off
What kind of school has classes on a national holiday? I can answer that one: mine. Every local school (public or private) had the day off... except for mine. Go figure. And on my long day! Ugh.
As always, I had class at 10:05am so I got up at 8:30am. My "parents" and my "sister" were still sleeping, a not-so-funny reminder of the fact that I was the only one with somewhere to be. My "mom" hadn't gotten up to get my "sister" off to school, meaning she hadn't put out my cereal bowl. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I know where the spoon, milk and cereal are, but I have no idea where to find the bowl. It's sort of hard to eat cereal (normally) without a bowl... So I grabbed an apple instead and headed out the door.
I was actually relieved to have my philosophy class this week; I got to turn my paper in!! Yaaaaaaaaaay!!! No more philosophy paper!!! :D And class wasn't actually that bad for once. I don't remember what we talked about, but that could be because I'm writing this 4 days after it happened... Though I suppose what we talked about doesn't really matter. There are more exciting things! ;) After class got out at 11:20am, I left my stuff in the classroom (I had class again in the same room) and went out to talk to my friends in the hallway for a few minutes. 11:28am rolled around and it was time to go back to class. I actually had fun in that class! I doodled with Jordan and was still able to participate in class since we are talking about Don Quijote. It was a good class :) After class I headed to the bus stop to go home since there is no point in staying at school until 6:20pm for my next class.
I got home and everyone (my "parents", "sister" and I) headed over to Paraíso to go to my "grandparents'" house. It's a holiday after all. We hung out there for a few hours and ate lunch there, too. You are all going to be so proud of me! I ate a small fish, but I had to the skeleton out of it. Granted it didn't have a head, but it's still more work than I normally do to eat fish! I must have been exhausted because I fell asleep watching TV. I felt bad because when I woke up my "dad" told me he came down to see if I wanted to play Guitar Hero, but I was asleep. :( But I'm not going to lie... my nap felt REALLY good. Anyway, my "dad" woke me up at 5:50pm so we could head over to Zocodover (they were dropping me off so I wouldn't have to take the bus to get to school).
My 6:20pm class (the 2nd half of my philosophy) class really wasn't terrible either. I think since I feel like I understood what I was writing about in my paper, I'm a bit more motivated to pay attention in class. That, and I've found a few friends. Somehow the combination of things has made class a bit more enjoyable. :) I like it when class goes quickly. After class I headed home again.
I got home, ate dinner, helped my "sister" with her English homework and watched TV with my "mom" until early in the morning (because, of course, we both fell asleep on the couch again). Wednesday nights tend to not be very exciting. Exciting not really, but they are definitely relaxing!
As always, I had class at 10:05am so I got up at 8:30am. My "parents" and my "sister" were still sleeping, a not-so-funny reminder of the fact that I was the only one with somewhere to be. My "mom" hadn't gotten up to get my "sister" off to school, meaning she hadn't put out my cereal bowl. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I know where the spoon, milk and cereal are, but I have no idea where to find the bowl. It's sort of hard to eat cereal (normally) without a bowl... So I grabbed an apple instead and headed out the door.
I was actually relieved to have my philosophy class this week; I got to turn my paper in!! Yaaaaaaaaaay!!! No more philosophy paper!!! :D And class wasn't actually that bad for once. I don't remember what we talked about, but that could be because I'm writing this 4 days after it happened... Though I suppose what we talked about doesn't really matter. There are more exciting things! ;) After class got out at 11:20am, I left my stuff in the classroom (I had class again in the same room) and went out to talk to my friends in the hallway for a few minutes. 11:28am rolled around and it was time to go back to class. I actually had fun in that class! I doodled with Jordan and was still able to participate in class since we are talking about Don Quijote. It was a good class :) After class I headed to the bus stop to go home since there is no point in staying at school until 6:20pm for my next class.
I got home and everyone (my "parents", "sister" and I) headed over to Paraíso to go to my "grandparents'" house. It's a holiday after all. We hung out there for a few hours and ate lunch there, too. You are all going to be so proud of me! I ate a small fish, but I had to the skeleton out of it. Granted it didn't have a head, but it's still more work than I normally do to eat fish! I must have been exhausted because I fell asleep watching TV. I felt bad because when I woke up my "dad" told me he came down to see if I wanted to play Guitar Hero, but I was asleep. :( But I'm not going to lie... my nap felt REALLY good. Anyway, my "dad" woke me up at 5:50pm so we could head over to Zocodover (they were dropping me off so I wouldn't have to take the bus to get to school).
My 6:20pm class (the 2nd half of my philosophy) class really wasn't terrible either. I think since I feel like I understood what I was writing about in my paper, I'm a bit more motivated to pay attention in class. That, and I've found a few friends. Somehow the combination of things has made class a bit more enjoyable. :) I like it when class goes quickly. After class I headed home again.
I got home, ate dinner, helped my "sister" with her English homework and watched TV with my "mom" until early in the morning (because, of course, we both fell asleep on the couch again). Wednesday nights tend to not be very exciting. Exciting not really, but they are definitely relaxing!
Friday, October 14, 2011
"La Americana" - My New Nickname
I know I'm very far behind in my updates... I'm sorry! This week has just been kind of crazy. I'm hoping to catch up on all of the days I've missed today. Here we go!
Tuesday was an interesting and educational day for me. Not that every day isn't educational, mind you, but this was more hands on learning as opposed to sitting in a classroom learning. I finally got to start my Service Learning internship out in a neighborhood called Polígono. It's about a 20 minute bus ride from my house, but it literally drops me off right outside the school. Since it was the first day, Yuki (my professor) went with me to make sure that I would know how to get there and to make sure everything went smoothly. She showed me where to get off and how to get into the building. She introduced me to the principal and then headed on her way. The principal is SUPER nice. He introduced me to the first teacher I'll be working with (I can't remember her name right now...) and pointed out the immigrant kids to me. In her class (a "3rd grade" class according to the Spain system, so they are 8 to 9 years old) there are 2 students whose parents are from the Middle East and at least 2 students who's parents are gypsies (out of 15 students in the class). On top of that, there are a couple students who have learning disabilities. I've always known that going to school in the Bellevue School District spoiled me, but I am realizing how spoiled I've been. Overall, the class is actually very well behaved. Most of them had their homework done, they listened to the teacher, and were actually paying attention. The teacher is super nice and let them ask me questions at the beginning of class. They asked a lot about my family in the United States (not my host family), they asked if I like Michael Jackson (I thought that was really funny...), and they asked about where I'm living here, etc. I was really surprised, but none of them asked if I had a boyfriend. Usually when I meet little kids that is one of their first questions. Once introductions were out of the way, the teacher let me run the first lesson! It was really easy because all I had to do was say a number (1-10) and one of the primary colors. Their job was to color the right number the right color. It was a lot of fun. They really are very sweet.
If the 3rd graders were sweet, the two 5th grade classes I'm working with later in the day are... not. Well, let me modify that: they are sweet individually, but all together they are rather scary. In every way that the 3rd graders were good, the 5th graders were the opposite. Few had their homework done before class and even fewer listened to the teacher or paid attention. I was shocked at how little (or no) respect the students have for the teacher. That is something you would never see in the United States (at least not with the whole class). Each student just sort of did what he/she wanted. In order to get the attention of the class, the teacher (different teacher than the 3rd grade one, his name is Manuel) had to yell at least 3 or 4 times and/or bang on the desk. If a teacher did that in the U.S., it would only have to happen once, but here, it happened every time he wanted the attention of the class. It was scary. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about working with the whole class... I guess I'll have to toughen up! (Scared? You should be! :P )
Again, in ways that I really liked the first teacher, I haven't quite decided how I feel about the second one. He is really nice, but in some regards I can understand why the students don't respect him. He just expects respect and doesn't do much to earn it. I know with some students it's hard to "earn" their respect, but it doesn't seem like he even tries. There are a number of "trouble" kids in the first of the two 5th grade classes and I feel like he could be doing more to figure out how to reach them. I'm making it my goal to figure out how to get their attention. I don't intend to focus solely on them, but the other students seem to at least do their work before disrespecting the teacher.
The other thing I noticed was the way they teach English here. I'm not sure I completely understand how it works. In the 3rd grade class it made sense to me (colors, numbers, etc.), but in the 5th grade class... I just don't get it. Maybe it just seems like they should be at a higher level by the time they are 10 or 11, or maybe it's just because I never learned English as a second language and I learned Spanish very differently than most. It just seemed odd to me. I would be interested in talking to someone who is in charge of curriculum and find out how they are planning the curriculum. Granted it's only been one day, but I don't understand what the overall objectives are for the year. What are they supposed to have learned by the time the year is over?
I work from 11am-2pm every Tuesday (I'm required to work 3 hour each week for my class and I only have time on Tuesday mornings) and by the time 2pm came around, I was ready for a nap! I totally would have napped on my 20 minute bus ride home, except there was a bee on the bus. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but I was terrified! And the stupid thing wouldn't fly out the door! It just keep buzzing around my window! It was awful! Finally my bus stop came up and I all but ran off the bus. I didn't have my "parents" there to protect me with the flyswatters from the scary bees!
I got home, ate lunch, worked on my Philosophy paper (that was due the next day) and rested a bit before it was time to go back to the Fundación for class. My lazy Tuesdays are officially not lazy anymore! I'm going to get home and be in desperate need of rest before class! At 5:30pm I headed off to class. I was there rather early (which I prefer) so I brought my book and read until it was time for class. Class went by fairly quickly and before I knew it, it was time to head home again. Tuesday night really wasn't that eventful because I literally just worked on my essay and then once I finished it, watched "Homicidios" with my "mom". And then went to bed. See? Not very eventful. But I feel like my day activities make up for the boring-ness, yes? :P
Tuesday was an interesting and educational day for me. Not that every day isn't educational, mind you, but this was more hands on learning as opposed to sitting in a classroom learning. I finally got to start my Service Learning internship out in a neighborhood called Polígono. It's about a 20 minute bus ride from my house, but it literally drops me off right outside the school. Since it was the first day, Yuki (my professor) went with me to make sure that I would know how to get there and to make sure everything went smoothly. She showed me where to get off and how to get into the building. She introduced me to the principal and then headed on her way. The principal is SUPER nice. He introduced me to the first teacher I'll be working with (I can't remember her name right now...) and pointed out the immigrant kids to me. In her class (a "3rd grade" class according to the Spain system, so they are 8 to 9 years old) there are 2 students whose parents are from the Middle East and at least 2 students who's parents are gypsies (out of 15 students in the class). On top of that, there are a couple students who have learning disabilities. I've always known that going to school in the Bellevue School District spoiled me, but I am realizing how spoiled I've been. Overall, the class is actually very well behaved. Most of them had their homework done, they listened to the teacher, and were actually paying attention. The teacher is super nice and let them ask me questions at the beginning of class. They asked a lot about my family in the United States (not my host family), they asked if I like Michael Jackson (I thought that was really funny...), and they asked about where I'm living here, etc. I was really surprised, but none of them asked if I had a boyfriend. Usually when I meet little kids that is one of their first questions. Once introductions were out of the way, the teacher let me run the first lesson! It was really easy because all I had to do was say a number (1-10) and one of the primary colors. Their job was to color the right number the right color. It was a lot of fun. They really are very sweet.
If the 3rd graders were sweet, the two 5th grade classes I'm working with later in the day are... not. Well, let me modify that: they are sweet individually, but all together they are rather scary. In every way that the 3rd graders were good, the 5th graders were the opposite. Few had their homework done before class and even fewer listened to the teacher or paid attention. I was shocked at how little (or no) respect the students have for the teacher. That is something you would never see in the United States (at least not with the whole class). Each student just sort of did what he/she wanted. In order to get the attention of the class, the teacher (different teacher than the 3rd grade one, his name is Manuel) had to yell at least 3 or 4 times and/or bang on the desk. If a teacher did that in the U.S., it would only have to happen once, but here, it happened every time he wanted the attention of the class. It was scary. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about working with the whole class... I guess I'll have to toughen up! (Scared? You should be! :P )
Again, in ways that I really liked the first teacher, I haven't quite decided how I feel about the second one. He is really nice, but in some regards I can understand why the students don't respect him. He just expects respect and doesn't do much to earn it. I know with some students it's hard to "earn" their respect, but it doesn't seem like he even tries. There are a number of "trouble" kids in the first of the two 5th grade classes and I feel like he could be doing more to figure out how to reach them. I'm making it my goal to figure out how to get their attention. I don't intend to focus solely on them, but the other students seem to at least do their work before disrespecting the teacher.
The other thing I noticed was the way they teach English here. I'm not sure I completely understand how it works. In the 3rd grade class it made sense to me (colors, numbers, etc.), but in the 5th grade class... I just don't get it. Maybe it just seems like they should be at a higher level by the time they are 10 or 11, or maybe it's just because I never learned English as a second language and I learned Spanish very differently than most. It just seemed odd to me. I would be interested in talking to someone who is in charge of curriculum and find out how they are planning the curriculum. Granted it's only been one day, but I don't understand what the overall objectives are for the year. What are they supposed to have learned by the time the year is over?
I work from 11am-2pm every Tuesday (I'm required to work 3 hour each week for my class and I only have time on Tuesday mornings) and by the time 2pm came around, I was ready for a nap! I totally would have napped on my 20 minute bus ride home, except there was a bee on the bus. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but I was terrified! And the stupid thing wouldn't fly out the door! It just keep buzzing around my window! It was awful! Finally my bus stop came up and I all but ran off the bus. I didn't have my "parents" there to protect me with the flyswatters from the scary bees!
I got home, ate lunch, worked on my Philosophy paper (that was due the next day) and rested a bit before it was time to go back to the Fundación for class. My lazy Tuesdays are officially not lazy anymore! I'm going to get home and be in desperate need of rest before class! At 5:30pm I headed off to class. I was there rather early (which I prefer) so I brought my book and read until it was time for class. Class went by fairly quickly and before I knew it, it was time to head home again. Tuesday night really wasn't that eventful because I literally just worked on my essay and then once I finished it, watched "Homicidios" with my "mom". And then went to bed. See? Not very eventful. But I feel like my day activities make up for the boring-ness, yes? :P
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Day After Barcelona Trip
My title is as creative as I felt. Though getting 10 hours of solid sleep felt really really really good. It's finally cold here at night and my "mom" put a down comforter on my bed when she washed my sheets last week, so I slept like a baby. I was still dead sleep when my alarm went off for class.
Ugh. Class. My friend Rebecca really hit the nail on the head when she said, "It feels like we are on vacation and classes are just a mild annoyance." Monday's mean my Literature class. Which normally I like, but after getting my essay back... I just don't feel the same about it. I feel like my professor looks at me differently because I didn't do very well. That, I'm sure, is in my imagination, but I can't help it. Anyhow, it turned out that class wasn't that bad. I mean, we got to talk about Don Quijote!! I love Don Quijote :) We talked about the first chapter, which was the chapter my AP Spanish Literature class really focused on my senior year of high school, so even though I hadn't finished the whole chapter, I knew what I was talking about.
After class, I headed out to the Residencia to talk to my "abuela". I go with two other people (Jordan and Tyler) and their "abuelas" are SO funny. All of them just love Tyler. Every time we go, they make him flush red. It's hilarious (sorry Tyler...)! Eventually we all made our way to the library to talk for an hour. My "abuela" and I talked about our weekends at first. I told her about Barcelona and everything we did. She told me that she didn't have a very good weekend. I guess she wasn't feeling well and is scared of something, but she can't quite say what. We moved on to talking a little bit about Don Quijote after we finished talking about our weekends. Apparently she grew up right around the area they think Don Quijote is from. How cool is that?? She knew almost everything I was trying to explain to her from what we'd discussed in class. Fortunately she loves Don Quijote, so I don't think she minded. :)
1:00pm hit and I had to get home for lunch. I took the bus home with Jordan and ate lunch with my "sister". I feel like we always end up giggling about something when we are together, whether it be something on TV, something about her English homework or my hiccup. That's how it's being referred to here now, by the way: "the hiccup" or "el hipo". They really get a kick out it. I guess I'm glad someone does... I certainly don't! After lunch, I started working on my philosophy paper that is due on Wednesday. I am to answer 9 questions and I answered 5 of them. Granted they weren't in essay format, but I knew (generally) what I was going to write for them. I spent the majority of the evening working on that and then at 10:15pm, "Águila Roja" was on, so my family all watched it together.
After the show ended, my "dad" and "sister" went to sleep, but my "mom" and I stayed watching whatever was on TV. Like usual, we both fell asleep. She woke me up at 2:30am, saying it was time to go to bed. I needed to be up early the next day, so I agreed and headed to bed.
Ugh. Class. My friend Rebecca really hit the nail on the head when she said, "It feels like we are on vacation and classes are just a mild annoyance." Monday's mean my Literature class. Which normally I like, but after getting my essay back... I just don't feel the same about it. I feel like my professor looks at me differently because I didn't do very well. That, I'm sure, is in my imagination, but I can't help it. Anyhow, it turned out that class wasn't that bad. I mean, we got to talk about Don Quijote!! I love Don Quijote :) We talked about the first chapter, which was the chapter my AP Spanish Literature class really focused on my senior year of high school, so even though I hadn't finished the whole chapter, I knew what I was talking about.
After class, I headed out to the Residencia to talk to my "abuela". I go with two other people (Jordan and Tyler) and their "abuelas" are SO funny. All of them just love Tyler. Every time we go, they make him flush red. It's hilarious (sorry Tyler...)! Eventually we all made our way to the library to talk for an hour. My "abuela" and I talked about our weekends at first. I told her about Barcelona and everything we did. She told me that she didn't have a very good weekend. I guess she wasn't feeling well and is scared of something, but she can't quite say what. We moved on to talking a little bit about Don Quijote after we finished talking about our weekends. Apparently she grew up right around the area they think Don Quijote is from. How cool is that?? She knew almost everything I was trying to explain to her from what we'd discussed in class. Fortunately she loves Don Quijote, so I don't think she minded. :)
1:00pm hit and I had to get home for lunch. I took the bus home with Jordan and ate lunch with my "sister". I feel like we always end up giggling about something when we are together, whether it be something on TV, something about her English homework or my hiccup. That's how it's being referred to here now, by the way: "the hiccup" or "el hipo". They really get a kick out it. I guess I'm glad someone does... I certainly don't! After lunch, I started working on my philosophy paper that is due on Wednesday. I am to answer 9 questions and I answered 5 of them. Granted they weren't in essay format, but I knew (generally) what I was going to write for them. I spent the majority of the evening working on that and then at 10:15pm, "Águila Roja" was on, so my family all watched it together.
After the show ended, my "dad" and "sister" went to sleep, but my "mom" and I stayed watching whatever was on TV. Like usual, we both fell asleep. She woke me up at 2:30am, saying it was time to go to bed. I needed to be up early the next day, so I agreed and headed to bed.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Trains, Busses, Metro and Taxis... Oh my? [Barcelona Trip]
Oh boy. Where to start this second crazy travel adventure... Well, you all know what happened with the tickets, so I can skip that part. I guess the easiest thing to do is start at the beginning.
Elle and I had decided that we would meet at Zocodover (the big plaza by the Fundación) at 7:15pm and then take the bus down to the bus station. I left my house at 6:30pm, but forgot that it really doesn't take that long when I'm just going to Zocodover and not walking all the way to the Fundación, so I was there really early. Like 30 minutes early. I sat down on a bench near where we'd planned to meet and ate one of the two "bocadillos" my "mom" had made for me. I finished my sandwich about the time we were supposed to be leaving and I still hadn't seen her. So I walked all the way to the Fundación assuming I'd run into her as she was walking towards Zocodover. But I got all the way there and she wasn't there. According to Laura (her roommate), she had already left to find me. Uh oh. I walked (really fast) all the way back to Zocodover and finally found her... standing behind where I just sat for 30 minutes. I didn't know she was already there and she didn't recognize the back of my head. We both felt really silly... We then caught the bus and made our way towards the bus station.
You'd think after the trouble in the first part of this story, we wouldn't have more for awhile... You're wrong. We got off the bus too early and had to walk the rest of the way to bus station. I was alright with walking because I knew we were going to be sitting for a long time on the bus and train, but Elle's backpack was heavy, so she wasn't terribly happy. It wasn't that far (and it was all downhill) and we made an 8:30pm bus to Madrid. From Madrid, we had to take the Metro to the right station to catch the train. We were there at least 30 minutes early (which made me happy!) and got on and settled in for the upcoming 9 hour ride to Barcelona.
Oh. My. God. The train was definitely more comfortable than taking the bus, but it was like a freaking jigsaw puzzle! The way the cabins were arranged was three sets of two seats facing each other. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be a problem, but when everyone wants to extend their seats as far as they go, you end up bumping legs, knees, etc. Therefore, the majority of the ride (that wasn't spent sleeping) was spent thinking, "Ok, if I curl my legs just so and put my feet here, I can get comfortable while not bumping into the lady in front of me." And it wasn't just me thinking that... it was everyone. It there had been a video camera, I'm sure we would have looked ridiculous.
7:30am and we arrived in Barcelona. The adventure of finding our way to the hostel is a long one. To keep it short, we took the Metro and some buses and asked LOTS of people how to get there. We finally arrived... at 10:30am. Three. Hours. Later. I was so happy to see a bed. We had agreed that we would nap for a little bit (or shower) and then go back into Barcelona to walk around. We walked into our little log cabin (yes, it was a log cabin) and I quickly realized that I should have brought a towel... because they only provided bed sheets and that was it. No bath towels, no kitchen towels (we had a kitchen)... nothing. I looked at Elle and she (very nicely) told me I could share hers. I owe her for that. So she took a shower while I napped and then we hopped back on the bus and went back to downtown Barcelona.
We got there and just walked up and down the big, famous street called "Las Ramblas". It's basically a big pedestrian street with lots of little stores and kiosks and stuff. And a big market. My mom likes to say it's like Pike Place Market (in Seattle) on steroids. It really is, too. It's amazing. So many different colors with the fruit, vegetables, ice cream, candies... I wish my camera had been working so I could take lots of pictures of it all. But it wasn't, so I relied on Elle to take some of the pictures I wanted. After walking the whole street, we made it to the other end where there is a statue of Christopher Columbus ("Cristóbal Colón") and the waterfront. We hung out there for a little bit and then made our way back towards the bus stop. On our way back, we stopped at the Güell Palace (but didn't go in), the cathedral (which was free to go in, so we did) and the old government buildings. We covered a lot that first day! And we were exhausted!! We got back to the hostel about 9:30pm and I took my shower. After that we just relaxed and then went to sleep around 12:00am.
Saturday we got up around 8:30am. We intended to catch the bus around 10:something, but we didn't think to check the bus schedule. Turns out, the last direct bus left around 9:15am. We then proceeded to spend the entire morning either on buses or waiting for buses. We finally got to Barcelona between 12:30pm and 1:00pm. We got off the bus and immediately went running for the Metro so we could get to the Sagrada Familia. When we got there, the line was huge, but fortunately moved fairly quickly. We went in (for 12.50€...) and looked around. It was beautiful! I'd seen it from the outside, but never from inside. It was huge and pretty and amazing! As with any cathedral, the stained glass was outstanding! Plus all the detail everywhere... I could have sat there and just watched and looked around for awhile. But that's not the way we'd planned on spending the day, so off we went from there to the Parc Güell.
The park was, hands down, my favorite part of the whole trip. My mom calls it the "Dr. Seuss park" and she's right! If one didn't know any better, he/she would think they'd stepped right into one of his books. Everything is just kind of... odd. And very green. Lots of plant life. And lots of street musicians. There is a famous statue of an iguana and we both went and took pictures with it. We could have spent the entire day just wandering around the park. Not only is it really cool, it's also really huge. I think we literally had to force ourselves to leave the park because we had one more thing we wanted to go see, "Casa Mila" (a.k.a. "La Pedrera").
We left the park and walked our way toward the house. We got close, but then we couldn't find it. We wandered around in circles trying to find it, but each time we thought we were close, we realized we'd just got in another circle. I was happy to wander around and try to find it, but Elle was determined to just get there, so we stopped and asked multiple people until someone pointed us in the right direction. For all the effort it took to find it, we didn't spend much time there. We each took our pictures and then headed back to "Las Ramblas" to wander around a bit more and then catch the bus at 8:10pm. We wound up sitting by the waterfront for a bit and then walked our way back to the bus stop. We sat at the bus stop for about 10-15 minutes and then the bus came. We both fell asleep on the bus because we were exhausted from all the walking we'd done.
We got back to the hostel between 10:00pm and 10:30pm. We got off the bus and on the way back to our cabin we discussed how we should get to the airport the next morning to catch our flight back to Madrid. We knew taking a taxi was going to expensive (55-60€), but I also knew it was going to be the fastest way to get there. Elle agreed it'd be fastest, but didn't like how expensive it was. We stayed up until at least 12:00am discussing it and we finally decided on finding a different way to get there (that didn't involve spending 55€). The final result? (Are you ready for this?? I don't think you are....):
- Taxi from hostel to local train station
- Train from Villanova (where we were staying) to a different station
- A 2nd train from that station to a 3rd station
- A bus from that station to the airport.
The taxi picked us up from the hostel at 3:45am. Yes... THREE. FORTY. FIVE. AM. Waaaaaaaaay too early. And we got to the airport around 6am. It took a little over 2 hours just to get to the airport. But we got there early like I wanted, but I was running on something like 2 hours of sleep. I didn't sleep any on the trains or anything, so when we finally landed back in Madrid (around 8:15am), I was exhausted. We managed to catch a 10:30am bus from Madrid to Toledo, where my "dad" met us at the bus station and dropped Elle off at the Fundación. She got out of the car and we headed to my "grandparents'" house (because it's Sunday, remember... "Family" Day). I walked in and everyone immediately started asking questions. I explained the best I could (what with being tired and all) and then went to change my clothes. I came back down, watched TV for a bit and then my "mom" all but ordered me to take a nap until lunch time. I knew she was right, so I decided to not argue. I slept for a little over an hour when my "sister" came and got me for lunch. It helped, but I was still exhausted.
Lunch was hilarious. We ate outside (like usual), but for some reason bees were everywhere! My "brother", "sister" and "uncle" all went running into the house. I was shocked I didn't go with them! But I stayed outside and watched my "mom" and "grandma" make fools of themselves trying to kill them with fly swatters. They kept missing and so it just looked like they were swatting at thin air. At one point they looked at me and said, "You are going to miss us aren't you?" I just laughed and said, "Yes... yes I am." I am going to be a pro bee/fly killer by the end of my study abroad experience! ... Well maybe just flies. Bees still scare me.
After lunch we all relaxed for a bit and then my "dad" dropped my "brother" off at the bus station so he could head back to school and then, when he got back, we all headed back home. I walked in, put my stuff down, showered, ate dinner and then was told to lay in bed with my computer (I was uploading pictures) so if I fell asleep, I'd already be in bed. My "parents" went out to buy something for my "dad" and pick up my sister, so I was alone for a little bit. I was so tired that I didn't really care. I climbed in bed and talked with people on Facebook so I'd stay awake until they got back. I managed and my "mom" came in and was surprised I was still awake. She made me a glass of warm chocolate milk (see??? Maybe it's not just a grandma thing!!) and a few minutes after that, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I said goodnight and went to sleep around 10:00pm. BEST. SLEEP. EVER.
Elle and I had decided that we would meet at Zocodover (the big plaza by the Fundación) at 7:15pm and then take the bus down to the bus station. I left my house at 6:30pm, but forgot that it really doesn't take that long when I'm just going to Zocodover and not walking all the way to the Fundación, so I was there really early. Like 30 minutes early. I sat down on a bench near where we'd planned to meet and ate one of the two "bocadillos" my "mom" had made for me. I finished my sandwich about the time we were supposed to be leaving and I still hadn't seen her. So I walked all the way to the Fundación assuming I'd run into her as she was walking towards Zocodover. But I got all the way there and she wasn't there. According to Laura (her roommate), she had already left to find me. Uh oh. I walked (really fast) all the way back to Zocodover and finally found her... standing behind where I just sat for 30 minutes. I didn't know she was already there and she didn't recognize the back of my head. We both felt really silly... We then caught the bus and made our way towards the bus station.
You'd think after the trouble in the first part of this story, we wouldn't have more for awhile... You're wrong. We got off the bus too early and had to walk the rest of the way to bus station. I was alright with walking because I knew we were going to be sitting for a long time on the bus and train, but Elle's backpack was heavy, so she wasn't terribly happy. It wasn't that far (and it was all downhill) and we made an 8:30pm bus to Madrid. From Madrid, we had to take the Metro to the right station to catch the train. We were there at least 30 minutes early (which made me happy!) and got on and settled in for the upcoming 9 hour ride to Barcelona.
Oh. My. God. The train was definitely more comfortable than taking the bus, but it was like a freaking jigsaw puzzle! The way the cabins were arranged was three sets of two seats facing each other. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be a problem, but when everyone wants to extend their seats as far as they go, you end up bumping legs, knees, etc. Therefore, the majority of the ride (that wasn't spent sleeping) was spent thinking, "Ok, if I curl my legs just so and put my feet here, I can get comfortable while not bumping into the lady in front of me." And it wasn't just me thinking that... it was everyone. It there had been a video camera, I'm sure we would have looked ridiculous.
7:30am and we arrived in Barcelona. The adventure of finding our way to the hostel is a long one. To keep it short, we took the Metro and some buses and asked LOTS of people how to get there. We finally arrived... at 10:30am. Three. Hours. Later. I was so happy to see a bed. We had agreed that we would nap for a little bit (or shower) and then go back into Barcelona to walk around. We walked into our little log cabin (yes, it was a log cabin) and I quickly realized that I should have brought a towel... because they only provided bed sheets and that was it. No bath towels, no kitchen towels (we had a kitchen)... nothing. I looked at Elle and she (very nicely) told me I could share hers. I owe her for that. So she took a shower while I napped and then we hopped back on the bus and went back to downtown Barcelona.
We got there and just walked up and down the big, famous street called "Las Ramblas". It's basically a big pedestrian street with lots of little stores and kiosks and stuff. And a big market. My mom likes to say it's like Pike Place Market (in Seattle) on steroids. It really is, too. It's amazing. So many different colors with the fruit, vegetables, ice cream, candies... I wish my camera had been working so I could take lots of pictures of it all. But it wasn't, so I relied on Elle to take some of the pictures I wanted. After walking the whole street, we made it to the other end where there is a statue of Christopher Columbus ("Cristóbal Colón") and the waterfront. We hung out there for a little bit and then made our way back towards the bus stop. On our way back, we stopped at the Güell Palace (but didn't go in), the cathedral (which was free to go in, so we did) and the old government buildings. We covered a lot that first day! And we were exhausted!! We got back to the hostel about 9:30pm and I took my shower. After that we just relaxed and then went to sleep around 12:00am.
Saturday we got up around 8:30am. We intended to catch the bus around 10:something, but we didn't think to check the bus schedule. Turns out, the last direct bus left around 9:15am. We then proceeded to spend the entire morning either on buses or waiting for buses. We finally got to Barcelona between 12:30pm and 1:00pm. We got off the bus and immediately went running for the Metro so we could get to the Sagrada Familia. When we got there, the line was huge, but fortunately moved fairly quickly. We went in (for 12.50€...) and looked around. It was beautiful! I'd seen it from the outside, but never from inside. It was huge and pretty and amazing! As with any cathedral, the stained glass was outstanding! Plus all the detail everywhere... I could have sat there and just watched and looked around for awhile. But that's not the way we'd planned on spending the day, so off we went from there to the Parc Güell.
The park was, hands down, my favorite part of the whole trip. My mom calls it the "Dr. Seuss park" and she's right! If one didn't know any better, he/she would think they'd stepped right into one of his books. Everything is just kind of... odd. And very green. Lots of plant life. And lots of street musicians. There is a famous statue of an iguana and we both went and took pictures with it. We could have spent the entire day just wandering around the park. Not only is it really cool, it's also really huge. I think we literally had to force ourselves to leave the park because we had one more thing we wanted to go see, "Casa Mila" (a.k.a. "La Pedrera").
We left the park and walked our way toward the house. We got close, but then we couldn't find it. We wandered around in circles trying to find it, but each time we thought we were close, we realized we'd just got in another circle. I was happy to wander around and try to find it, but Elle was determined to just get there, so we stopped and asked multiple people until someone pointed us in the right direction. For all the effort it took to find it, we didn't spend much time there. We each took our pictures and then headed back to "Las Ramblas" to wander around a bit more and then catch the bus at 8:10pm. We wound up sitting by the waterfront for a bit and then walked our way back to the bus stop. We sat at the bus stop for about 10-15 minutes and then the bus came. We both fell asleep on the bus because we were exhausted from all the walking we'd done.
We got back to the hostel between 10:00pm and 10:30pm. We got off the bus and on the way back to our cabin we discussed how we should get to the airport the next morning to catch our flight back to Madrid. We knew taking a taxi was going to expensive (55-60€), but I also knew it was going to be the fastest way to get there. Elle agreed it'd be fastest, but didn't like how expensive it was. We stayed up until at least 12:00am discussing it and we finally decided on finding a different way to get there (that didn't involve spending 55€). The final result? (Are you ready for this?? I don't think you are....):
- Taxi from hostel to local train station
- Train from Villanova (where we were staying) to a different station
- A 2nd train from that station to a 3rd station
- A bus from that station to the airport.
The taxi picked us up from the hostel at 3:45am. Yes... THREE. FORTY. FIVE. AM. Waaaaaaaaay too early. And we got to the airport around 6am. It took a little over 2 hours just to get to the airport. But we got there early like I wanted, but I was running on something like 2 hours of sleep. I didn't sleep any on the trains or anything, so when we finally landed back in Madrid (around 8:15am), I was exhausted. We managed to catch a 10:30am bus from Madrid to Toledo, where my "dad" met us at the bus station and dropped Elle off at the Fundación. She got out of the car and we headed to my "grandparents'" house (because it's Sunday, remember... "Family" Day). I walked in and everyone immediately started asking questions. I explained the best I could (what with being tired and all) and then went to change my clothes. I came back down, watched TV for a bit and then my "mom" all but ordered me to take a nap until lunch time. I knew she was right, so I decided to not argue. I slept for a little over an hour when my "sister" came and got me for lunch. It helped, but I was still exhausted.
Lunch was hilarious. We ate outside (like usual), but for some reason bees were everywhere! My "brother", "sister" and "uncle" all went running into the house. I was shocked I didn't go with them! But I stayed outside and watched my "mom" and "grandma" make fools of themselves trying to kill them with fly swatters. They kept missing and so it just looked like they were swatting at thin air. At one point they looked at me and said, "You are going to miss us aren't you?" I just laughed and said, "Yes... yes I am." I am going to be a pro bee/fly killer by the end of my study abroad experience! ... Well maybe just flies. Bees still scare me.
After lunch we all relaxed for a bit and then my "dad" dropped my "brother" off at the bus station so he could head back to school and then, when he got back, we all headed back home. I walked in, put my stuff down, showered, ate dinner and then was told to lay in bed with my computer (I was uploading pictures) so if I fell asleep, I'd already be in bed. My "parents" went out to buy something for my "dad" and pick up my sister, so I was alone for a little bit. I was so tired that I didn't really care. I climbed in bed and talked with people on Facebook so I'd stay awake until they got back. I managed and my "mom" came in and was surprised I was still awake. She made me a glass of warm chocolate milk (see??? Maybe it's not just a grandma thing!!) and a few minutes after that, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I said goodnight and went to sleep around 10:00pm. BEST. SLEEP. EVER.
Monday, October 10, 2011
"¡Que elephante más marvilloso!"
I'll admit... I like taking random quotes from my philosophy class and using them as my title. I feel like it mixes things up with the "[Day], [Month]" format. :) I'll explain what the quote means and where it fits in soon.
Wednesdays suck. No matter how you look at it, they suck. I have class at 10:05am, 11:30am and 6:20pm all in the same classroom. In the mornings, I spend 2hrs and 30mins in the same chair. I hate doing that. Anyhow, my philosophy this week talked about souls. I always struggle to keep my eyes open. He just talks for so long and about things that never seem to feel particularly related to each other... I have to doodle to stay awake. But this time we got a story! About the Roman gods and how they were amazed with souls. Or something like that. The general story had something to do with Zeus (or Jupiter, I think) creating all these different animals and all the gods would be like, "Ooooh what an amazing [insert animal here]!!" But then he created the human, who could look like any animal. The gods were amazed, but didn't know what to say. I'm not entirely sure how all this fits into our conversation about souls, but it was nice to have story time. If anything, my professor is a very good story teller.
After my philosophy class was my literature class. Normally I look forward to this class, but I had a feeling we were going to get back our essays, so I was wasn't terribly excited. And I was right. We did get them back. And I did worse than I thought I would. The depressing part was it wasn't due to grammar. It was because of content. Grammar I can understand, I can fix. Content... is harder. I have to find a time to go talk to her within the next week. Ugh. I was very discouraged by my grade. I had to work very hard to hold it together in class. Somehow I managed and eventually made it home.
I walked in the door and my "mom" asked how I was. I said alright, but kind of sad. She asked why and I told her what happened with my essay. She immediately stopped what she was doing in the kitchen to come over and give me a hug and to tell me that I will talk to the professor, learn what she wants in an essay and that I'll do amazing next time (just like my mom would do at home!). I think we've officially broken the "awkward" barrier and now hugs are given freely! Yaaaaaay!! Only positive thing from all the drama with the Barcelona tickets.
Before I left, my "grandparents" came over to visit for a bit. I was exhausted, so I just sat on the couch and listen to everyone talk about a friend of my "sister". (Wow... I just realized that I wrote that in Spanish format but in English. It should be "my sister's friend". Hahaha...) Apparently she is allowed to run around and do whatever she wants. I dozed off at some point, so I don't remember exactly what was going on, but the part I remember hearing was my "grandma" say, "She'll open her legs for anyone...". I'm sure it was a very lovely conversation.
At 5:00pm I had to get ready to head back to class. I did so unwillingly because I had to go back for my second philosophy class. I struggled through that one (as always), but mostly because it is so late. I don't remember what we talked about... but I guess that's why I take notes, right? My professor finally said the words "next week" around 7:30pm and by 7:35pm we were done and free to go. Yesssss.... Finallyyyy!!!! I ran to the bus stop (well, not literally) and headed straight home.
When I got home, my "grandparents" were just getting ready to leave. I walked in and my "grandma" said, "One in, one out!" It was funny :) We stood in the doorway and chatted for a minute. In that conversation, my "grandma" looks at me and says, "¡Te queremos!" Which translates to, "We love you!" I was so flattered!! I love them too :) I am going to miss them a lot in December. *Warning: You will be hearing A LOT about Spain once I get home. Please expect it and just wait it out... It will pass... eventually.* They left soon after that and I just relaxed on the couch and worked on some homework, since I won't be here this weekend. I fell asleep on the couch again and my mom woke me up about 2:30am and told me (nicely) to go to bed.
Wednesdays suck. No matter how you look at it, they suck. I have class at 10:05am, 11:30am and 6:20pm all in the same classroom. In the mornings, I spend 2hrs and 30mins in the same chair. I hate doing that. Anyhow, my philosophy this week talked about souls. I always struggle to keep my eyes open. He just talks for so long and about things that never seem to feel particularly related to each other... I have to doodle to stay awake. But this time we got a story! About the Roman gods and how they were amazed with souls. Or something like that. The general story had something to do with Zeus (or Jupiter, I think) creating all these different animals and all the gods would be like, "Ooooh what an amazing [insert animal here]!!" But then he created the human, who could look like any animal. The gods were amazed, but didn't know what to say. I'm not entirely sure how all this fits into our conversation about souls, but it was nice to have story time. If anything, my professor is a very good story teller.
After my philosophy class was my literature class. Normally I look forward to this class, but I had a feeling we were going to get back our essays, so I was wasn't terribly excited. And I was right. We did get them back. And I did worse than I thought I would. The depressing part was it wasn't due to grammar. It was because of content. Grammar I can understand, I can fix. Content... is harder. I have to find a time to go talk to her within the next week. Ugh. I was very discouraged by my grade. I had to work very hard to hold it together in class. Somehow I managed and eventually made it home.
I walked in the door and my "mom" asked how I was. I said alright, but kind of sad. She asked why and I told her what happened with my essay. She immediately stopped what she was doing in the kitchen to come over and give me a hug and to tell me that I will talk to the professor, learn what she wants in an essay and that I'll do amazing next time (just like my mom would do at home!). I think we've officially broken the "awkward" barrier and now hugs are given freely! Yaaaaaay!! Only positive thing from all the drama with the Barcelona tickets.
Before I left, my "grandparents" came over to visit for a bit. I was exhausted, so I just sat on the couch and listen to everyone talk about a friend of my "sister". (Wow... I just realized that I wrote that in Spanish format but in English. It should be "my sister's friend". Hahaha...) Apparently she is allowed to run around and do whatever she wants. I dozed off at some point, so I don't remember exactly what was going on, but the part I remember hearing was my "grandma" say, "She'll open her legs for anyone...". I'm sure it was a very lovely conversation.
At 5:00pm I had to get ready to head back to class. I did so unwillingly because I had to go back for my second philosophy class. I struggled through that one (as always), but mostly because it is so late. I don't remember what we talked about... but I guess that's why I take notes, right? My professor finally said the words "next week" around 7:30pm and by 7:35pm we were done and free to go. Yesssss.... Finallyyyy!!!! I ran to the bus stop (well, not literally) and headed straight home.
When I got home, my "grandparents" were just getting ready to leave. I walked in and my "grandma" said, "One in, one out!" It was funny :) We stood in the doorway and chatted for a minute. In that conversation, my "grandma" looks at me and says, "¡Te queremos!" Which translates to, "We love you!" I was so flattered!! I love them too :) I am going to miss them a lot in December. *Warning: You will be hearing A LOT about Spain once I get home. Please expect it and just wait it out... It will pass... eventually.* They left soon after that and I just relaxed on the couch and worked on some homework, since I won't be here this weekend. I fell asleep on the couch again and my mom woke me up about 2:30am and told me (nicely) to go to bed.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Monday, October 3rd and Tuesday, October 4th
These two days may as well be lumped together.... Even if I wasn't late in updating my blog. So much crap has happened and I am just exhausted.
I should start off by saying that I am fine, and please don't worry. I am healthy and not injured or anything. But I have officially realized how difficult planning a trip is. Or maybe it really isn't that hard and I just screwed up in terms of what websites I used. One way or another, the past few days have gone like this:
Monday. Normally I enjoy Monday's, but this week I struggled. I saw Elle in my one class and we realized that there had been a miscommunication regarding the purchasing of our tickets. She thought I was going to do it since I was the one sending her the information and I thought she was going to do it since she had said she'd buy all the Barcelona stuff. It was no one's fault, it just happened. So I told her that I'd buy them that night. Class ended, and I headed with Jordan and Tyler to the Residencia to talk to my "abuela". We had a good conversation, but with everything else going on, it felt like it took forever to leave this week. At last 1:00pm rolled around and off I headed with Jordan to the bus. I got home and ate lunch with my "sister". Eventually Elle got on the computer and we worked on buying our tickets. The first website I used told me that something didn't work right, so I tried it a second time. When it still didn't work, I tried a website that my "mom" had told me about that had the same package we were trying to buy. It took FOUR more tries for me to get a reservation code from them. Yeah so that was fun.
Anyway, I finally got the email with the reservation codes, but in the same email it told me that I hadn't paid because I had exceeded my "daily spending limit". Maybe I'm stupid, but I didn't realize my card had one of those. I don't normally spend that much all at once, so I've never had any need to know about it. Either way, it screwed me over. The email said that if I replied to it with the card information for a different card, the chargers could be transferred over to that one. So I talked to my dad on Skype and tried putting the charges to his. With that email sent, I figured it was safe to shut down my computer and go to sleep. It turns out I was very wrong.
Tuesday. Tuesdays are normally good days, too, because I don't have class until 6:20pm. But this week... not so much. I got to sleep in which was nice. And everything was just fine until 7:30pm. After my class, Yuki (my professor) needed to talk to the three of us who were supposed to be working at the Red Cross for the Service Learning class. She regretted to inform us that we aren't able to work there anymore. She was unclear as to why. So now I have to figure out where I'm going to volunteer instead, because that is basically the entire class. And it can't just be anywhere... It needs to have something to do with immigrants. Well that makes things more difficult, doesn't it? So now on top of dealing with ticket issues, I have to deal with this too. Wonderful.
After class I was supposed to go talk to Elle and figure out what was going on, but when I went to her room, she was sleeping. Instead, I headed home and figured we'd work it all out over Facebook. I got home, walked in the door (and closed it), and just stood there for a minute, trying to pull it together. My "mom" was in the living room (right by the door) and heard me come in. She sat up and asked how I was. To my credit, I didn't cry. She already knew what was going on with the tickets, so I only explained the other stuff that was going on. She also knew that I was frustrated and angry with everything and told me to go eat dinner, that I'll feel better afterward. I ate with my "sister", who finished before I did. She got up to keep working on her homework and my "mom" sat down to talk with me. When I finished eating, I took a deep breath and said, "I really need a shower... And a hug." She answered, "Oh well I can give you a hug after dinner!" My personal reaction? "Finally!!! A hug!! I'm so hug deprived!" I went to take a shower first (I was sweaty and stinky from walking to the bus stop and then home) and then grabbed my computer and sat in the living room. I was logging on to Facebook to connect with Elle when my "mom" walked into the room and asked, "Do you still need that hug?" I looked at her and said, "... Yeahhh." (*Meant to be read in a sad tone like I'm definitely in need of a hug*) I am happy to say that her hug was the best hug I've gotten since I left Denver. I don't know what I was expecting (probably one of those awkward hugs... You know, where one person is a big hug kind of person and the other person, well, isn't...), but I was very pleasantly surprised! I even got two of them! She let go, put her hands on my shoulders and told me that everything was going to be ok. I don't know how she knew, but that was exactly what I needed to hear right then. Maybe it's a mom thing. It is amazing how much a hug can make one feel better. Unfortunately my bettered mood didn't last long.
I don't think I can even explain everything that happened. Talking to my (biological) dad, apparently the first website I'd used (the one where I attempted twice and it didn't work) had charged my card 600 USD (~300 USD for each time) even though I never got a confirmation email or anything. Then on top of that, I'd found out a little earlier that our reservations for the way there had been canceled by the company. GRRRRRRR!!!!! I was SO frustrated. Long story longer, my "dad" ended up paying for our train tickets with HIS card and I'm paying him back. And in regards to the 600 USD, I'm told that it should be reimbursed for that soon. Really soon, hopefully. End of story being we ARE going to Barcelona this weekend! And before anyone asks... no I have not got a charger for my camera yet. Hopefully Elle will remember to bring hers this time, so her camera doesn't die like it did in Granada.
I started figuring all of this out at 8:45pm and I shut my computer (having figured it all out) at 11:00pm. That is how long this all took. Needless to say, I was exhausted. I closed my computer and watched the last half of "Homicidios" with my "mom", fell sleep until 1:30am when she woke up and we both headed to bed.
I should start off by saying that I am fine, and please don't worry. I am healthy and not injured or anything. But I have officially realized how difficult planning a trip is. Or maybe it really isn't that hard and I just screwed up in terms of what websites I used. One way or another, the past few days have gone like this:
Monday. Normally I enjoy Monday's, but this week I struggled. I saw Elle in my one class and we realized that there had been a miscommunication regarding the purchasing of our tickets. She thought I was going to do it since I was the one sending her the information and I thought she was going to do it since she had said she'd buy all the Barcelona stuff. It was no one's fault, it just happened. So I told her that I'd buy them that night. Class ended, and I headed with Jordan and Tyler to the Residencia to talk to my "abuela". We had a good conversation, but with everything else going on, it felt like it took forever to leave this week. At last 1:00pm rolled around and off I headed with Jordan to the bus. I got home and ate lunch with my "sister". Eventually Elle got on the computer and we worked on buying our tickets. The first website I used told me that something didn't work right, so I tried it a second time. When it still didn't work, I tried a website that my "mom" had told me about that had the same package we were trying to buy. It took FOUR more tries for me to get a reservation code from them. Yeah so that was fun.
Anyway, I finally got the email with the reservation codes, but in the same email it told me that I hadn't paid because I had exceeded my "daily spending limit". Maybe I'm stupid, but I didn't realize my card had one of those. I don't normally spend that much all at once, so I've never had any need to know about it. Either way, it screwed me over. The email said that if I replied to it with the card information for a different card, the chargers could be transferred over to that one. So I talked to my dad on Skype and tried putting the charges to his. With that email sent, I figured it was safe to shut down my computer and go to sleep. It turns out I was very wrong.
Tuesday. Tuesdays are normally good days, too, because I don't have class until 6:20pm. But this week... not so much. I got to sleep in which was nice. And everything was just fine until 7:30pm. After my class, Yuki (my professor) needed to talk to the three of us who were supposed to be working at the Red Cross for the Service Learning class. She regretted to inform us that we aren't able to work there anymore. She was unclear as to why. So now I have to figure out where I'm going to volunteer instead, because that is basically the entire class. And it can't just be anywhere... It needs to have something to do with immigrants. Well that makes things more difficult, doesn't it? So now on top of dealing with ticket issues, I have to deal with this too. Wonderful.
After class I was supposed to go talk to Elle and figure out what was going on, but when I went to her room, she was sleeping. Instead, I headed home and figured we'd work it all out over Facebook. I got home, walked in the door (and closed it), and just stood there for a minute, trying to pull it together. My "mom" was in the living room (right by the door) and heard me come in. She sat up and asked how I was. To my credit, I didn't cry. She already knew what was going on with the tickets, so I only explained the other stuff that was going on. She also knew that I was frustrated and angry with everything and told me to go eat dinner, that I'll feel better afterward. I ate with my "sister", who finished before I did. She got up to keep working on her homework and my "mom" sat down to talk with me. When I finished eating, I took a deep breath and said, "I really need a shower... And a hug." She answered, "Oh well I can give you a hug after dinner!" My personal reaction? "Finally!!! A hug!! I'm so hug deprived!" I went to take a shower first (I was sweaty and stinky from walking to the bus stop and then home) and then grabbed my computer and sat in the living room. I was logging on to Facebook to connect with Elle when my "mom" walked into the room and asked, "Do you still need that hug?" I looked at her and said, "... Yeahhh." (*Meant to be read in a sad tone like I'm definitely in need of a hug*) I am happy to say that her hug was the best hug I've gotten since I left Denver. I don't know what I was expecting (probably one of those awkward hugs... You know, where one person is a big hug kind of person and the other person, well, isn't...), but I was very pleasantly surprised! I even got two of them! She let go, put her hands on my shoulders and told me that everything was going to be ok. I don't know how she knew, but that was exactly what I needed to hear right then. Maybe it's a mom thing. It is amazing how much a hug can make one feel better. Unfortunately my bettered mood didn't last long.
I don't think I can even explain everything that happened. Talking to my (biological) dad, apparently the first website I'd used (the one where I attempted twice and it didn't work) had charged my card 600 USD (~300 USD for each time) even though I never got a confirmation email or anything. Then on top of that, I'd found out a little earlier that our reservations for the way there had been canceled by the company. GRRRRRRR!!!!! I was SO frustrated. Long story longer, my "dad" ended up paying for our train tickets with HIS card and I'm paying him back. And in regards to the 600 USD, I'm told that it should be reimbursed for that soon. Really soon, hopefully. End of story being we ARE going to Barcelona this weekend! And before anyone asks... no I have not got a charger for my camera yet. Hopefully Elle will remember to bring hers this time, so her camera doesn't die like it did in Granada.
I started figuring all of this out at 8:45pm and I shut my computer (having figured it all out) at 11:00pm. That is how long this all took. Needless to say, I was exhausted. I closed my computer and watched the last half of "Homicidios" with my "mom", fell sleep until 1:30am when she woke up and we both headed to bed.
I Heart Sundays
I don't care if I've said it before, I'll say it again (and again and again...): I love Sundays! I love spending time with everyone and sitting in the backyard in the sun talking and trying new foods and getting grammar lessons from my "dad" and... the list goes on. Those are just a few things that I love, too.
As soon as we got there, my "mom", "grandma" and I went to sit outside in the backyard. The men were helping to put the cover on the pool for the winter. My "dad" was unscrewing the screws that hold the cover down, and he kept making jokes the whole time. He stop and stand up, look at me and be like "Whew!" and then keep working. Eventually my "mom" got up to help. She showed them! Together (and after a fair amount of time, too) they finally got the pool covered. It is always really fun to watch them all interact!
After the pool was covered, my "grandma" brought out shrimp to snack on. But not shrimp like we are used to. Noooo... this was a deja vu moment back to my "shrimp salad" incident many years ago. To those of you who don't know what that means: I ordered a shrimp salad at a restaurant the last time I was here with my family 10 years ago and rather than a plate with lettuce, tomato, some shrimp and dressing... I got a plate of shrimp with heads, eyes, feet... Everything. That is exactly what this plate looked like. She brought it out and asked me if I like shrimp. I said yes, but not like that! She laughed and between her and my "mom", I was taught how to eat them properly. I know there is a picture somewhere... Now I just have to find it. I think it's on my "sister's" phone. I explained to them how my dad likes to make food talk when they are served with heads and eyes. They thought this was both a little odd and quite funny. So do I. Haha...
Eventually we sat down for lunch. I really do love family time. I think I am rediscovering my priorities... Dear biological family: Watch out... I might be a family time addict by the time I get home! Lunch was amazing (as usual) and afterwards my "mom", "grandma" and I sat outside for a bit longer and talked. Not too long after lunch, my "dad" took my "brother" to the bus station so he could head back to Madrid and my "sister" to hang out with some of her friends. When he got back, we all watched TV for a bit (and dozed, in my case) and then went home.
I ate dinner and then started trying to figure out Barcelona plans with Elle on Facebook while watching TV out of the corner of my eye. We'd agreed that she'd buy all the Barcelona stuff. So we found a hostel to stay in and I had sent her the information for the train/plane tickets we wanted. Apparently there was a miscommunication, but you will all learn about that in my next post.
After she'd booked the hostel, I got off my computer and watched TV. My "mom" and I fell asleep on the couch until 2:15am when she woke up and then woke me up and we both headed to bed.
As soon as we got there, my "mom", "grandma" and I went to sit outside in the backyard. The men were helping to put the cover on the pool for the winter. My "dad" was unscrewing the screws that hold the cover down, and he kept making jokes the whole time. He stop and stand up, look at me and be like "Whew!" and then keep working. Eventually my "mom" got up to help. She showed them! Together (and after a fair amount of time, too) they finally got the pool covered. It is always really fun to watch them all interact!
After the pool was covered, my "grandma" brought out shrimp to snack on. But not shrimp like we are used to. Noooo... this was a deja vu moment back to my "shrimp salad" incident many years ago. To those of you who don't know what that means: I ordered a shrimp salad at a restaurant the last time I was here with my family 10 years ago and rather than a plate with lettuce, tomato, some shrimp and dressing... I got a plate of shrimp with heads, eyes, feet... Everything. That is exactly what this plate looked like. She brought it out and asked me if I like shrimp. I said yes, but not like that! She laughed and between her and my "mom", I was taught how to eat them properly. I know there is a picture somewhere... Now I just have to find it. I think it's on my "sister's" phone. I explained to them how my dad likes to make food talk when they are served with heads and eyes. They thought this was both a little odd and quite funny. So do I. Haha...
Eventually we sat down for lunch. I really do love family time. I think I am rediscovering my priorities... Dear biological family: Watch out... I might be a family time addict by the time I get home! Lunch was amazing (as usual) and afterwards my "mom", "grandma" and I sat outside for a bit longer and talked. Not too long after lunch, my "dad" took my "brother" to the bus station so he could head back to Madrid and my "sister" to hang out with some of her friends. When he got back, we all watched TV for a bit (and dozed, in my case) and then went home.
I ate dinner and then started trying to figure out Barcelona plans with Elle on Facebook while watching TV out of the corner of my eye. We'd agreed that she'd buy all the Barcelona stuff. So we found a hostel to stay in and I had sent her the information for the train/plane tickets we wanted. Apparently there was a miscommunication, but you will all learn about that in my next post.
After she'd booked the hostel, I got off my computer and watched TV. My "mom" and I fell asleep on the couch until 2:15am when she woke up and then woke me up and we both headed to bed.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Friday, September 30th and Saturday, October 1st
So I decided to combine these two days together because I didn't do very much on Friday. I quite literally sat on the couch all day and worked on homework (most of the time), read, watched TV... the usual. There really isn't much to tell about Friday.
But Saturday morning was a blast! I went "hiking" with four other girls. I knew two of them (Kami and Grace), but the other two I'd seen because they are in some of my classes, but I'd not met. They were really nice! The plan was to meet in Zocodover at 9:00am, but I was there at 8:30am. I kind of forgot that my bus gets to Zocodover in about 5 minutes in the morning when there's no traffic and it's not making constant stops. So I sat there for 15 minutes before Kami got there at 8:45am. We sat there (shivering... it was cold!) until 9:00am and when no one was there, Kami called Grace. It turned out that Grace had missed her bus and so apparently has Alyssa. They weren't going to be there until close to 9:30am. By now Allison had joined us, so the three of us went into a little cafe and got coffee and tea. I got mate... sooooo good! And I was well caffeinated! Perfect for hiking :)
Eventually Grace and Alyssa got there and we talked about where we should go. We decided we'd head towards the Jewish neighborhood and cross the Tajo River and go from there. And off we went! We ended up crossing the bridge and generally walked along the road that follows the river (on the opposite side from Toledo). As it turns out, we unintentionally stumbled across the path that they think Don Quijote took! *sigh* Hahaha... I think I am officially in love with Don Quijote. It was a great surprise to come across that! Along the way, we found a path that lead up this huge hill. We decided we wanted to see what was up there, so up we hiked. Boy was it worth it!! It was this amazing view of Toledo. There were giant boulders up there, too, and Kami, Grace and I sat on them for awhile. We would have stayed longer, but it was time to keep moving. We followed the road around to the next pedestrian bridge and cross back across the lake. Oh my god. The walk back to Zocodover SUCKED. It was all uphill. And stairs. LOTS of stairs. But we were all relieved to be back at the plaza. Alyssa and Allison headed back home while Grace, Kami and I headed back to the Fundación to see Elle and Laura.
We got back and hung out for a little bit. Kami and Grace fell asleep on Laura's bed while Elle and I went downstairs for lunch (well, she did... I just sat there and listened to her stories). When we got back upstairs, she realized she needed another post card and a stamp. So she walked with me towards the bus stop until she reached her store. Then I headed home.
I got back between 3:30pm and 4:00pm. No one was home when I got back, so I took a shower (I was all sweaty and icky from our walk) and settled down on my computer while I waited for someone to come back. I talked to my friend Lindsay (who is in England) for 1 1/2 hours, my grandma in Los Angeles for 1 hour, my parents for 45 minutes... I was on Skype for A LONG time. Then I shut down my computer and read. At some point I fell asleep and woke up at 1:30am. Still no one was home, so I decided I was going to go to sleep. I laid in bed for an hour and couldn't sleep. I was worried that no one was back yet. I am a worry wart with an overactive imagination. So I laid there wondering what had happened. I tried telling myself that I was being silly, but it didn't help. Finally, at 2:30am, I gave up and went back to the living room and sat on my computer. A few minutes after I sat down, everyone walked in. I was so relieved I was shaking. I stayed up for another hour after that because I still couldn't sleep. Finally at 3:45am I headed to bed. I was really glad that I didn't have anything to do the next day!
But Saturday morning was a blast! I went "hiking" with four other girls. I knew two of them (Kami and Grace), but the other two I'd seen because they are in some of my classes, but I'd not met. They were really nice! The plan was to meet in Zocodover at 9:00am, but I was there at 8:30am. I kind of forgot that my bus gets to Zocodover in about 5 minutes in the morning when there's no traffic and it's not making constant stops. So I sat there for 15 minutes before Kami got there at 8:45am. We sat there (shivering... it was cold!) until 9:00am and when no one was there, Kami called Grace. It turned out that Grace had missed her bus and so apparently has Alyssa. They weren't going to be there until close to 9:30am. By now Allison had joined us, so the three of us went into a little cafe and got coffee and tea. I got mate... sooooo good! And I was well caffeinated! Perfect for hiking :)
Eventually Grace and Alyssa got there and we talked about where we should go. We decided we'd head towards the Jewish neighborhood and cross the Tajo River and go from there. And off we went! We ended up crossing the bridge and generally walked along the road that follows the river (on the opposite side from Toledo). As it turns out, we unintentionally stumbled across the path that they think Don Quijote took! *sigh* Hahaha... I think I am officially in love with Don Quijote. It was a great surprise to come across that! Along the way, we found a path that lead up this huge hill. We decided we wanted to see what was up there, so up we hiked. Boy was it worth it!! It was this amazing view of Toledo. There were giant boulders up there, too, and Kami, Grace and I sat on them for awhile. We would have stayed longer, but it was time to keep moving. We followed the road around to the next pedestrian bridge and cross back across the lake. Oh my god. The walk back to Zocodover SUCKED. It was all uphill. And stairs. LOTS of stairs. But we were all relieved to be back at the plaza. Alyssa and Allison headed back home while Grace, Kami and I headed back to the Fundación to see Elle and Laura.
We got back and hung out for a little bit. Kami and Grace fell asleep on Laura's bed while Elle and I went downstairs for lunch (well, she did... I just sat there and listened to her stories). When we got back upstairs, she realized she needed another post card and a stamp. So she walked with me towards the bus stop until she reached her store. Then I headed home.
I got back between 3:30pm and 4:00pm. No one was home when I got back, so I took a shower (I was all sweaty and icky from our walk) and settled down on my computer while I waited for someone to come back. I talked to my friend Lindsay (who is in England) for 1 1/2 hours, my grandma in Los Angeles for 1 hour, my parents for 45 minutes... I was on Skype for A LONG time. Then I shut down my computer and read. At some point I fell asleep and woke up at 1:30am. Still no one was home, so I decided I was going to go to sleep. I laid in bed for an hour and couldn't sleep. I was worried that no one was back yet. I am a worry wart with an overactive imagination. So I laid there wondering what had happened. I tried telling myself that I was being silly, but it didn't help. Finally, at 2:30am, I gave up and went back to the living room and sat on my computer. A few minutes after I sat down, everyone walked in. I was so relieved I was shaking. I stayed up for another hour after that because I still couldn't sleep. Finally at 3:45am I headed to bed. I was really glad that I didn't have anything to do the next day!
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