On Saturday I went to a Real Madrid game - BEST WEEKEND EVER (aside from all the work I had to once I got back on Sunday night...). What an amazing experience! I went with three other students from IES, Allie, Gavin, and Alejandro. Allie and I weren't willing to pay as much as the boys were, so the two of us were at the very top of the stadium - yay cheap seats!! (Well, actually, those seats were also really expensive, just cheap in comparison to everything else in the stadium.) It was kind of like watching ants or something, but we still got the crowd experience, with everyone singing, chanting, pounding drums, blowing horns - insanity!!! Listen to the Real Madrid "Hymn" in this Youtube video:
There's a saying in Madrid that says, roughly translated "Real Madrid is my religion, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is my church, Iker Casillas (insert favorite player's name here) is my god." LOL!!!
Alejandro and Gavin's expensive seats - halftime visit!
Our cheap seats - check out the size of that stadium!!!
The Stadium
I was going to buy a jersey, but they cost like 60 euro,
so I got a scarf instead
Madrid was playing Levante, a really bad team (that's why we were able to get tickets), so they completely controlled the game. Although the final score was only 2-0 (last time they played Levante they won 8-0). I found a youtube video (with English commentary) of the first goal scored - this play is AMAZING! We were going crazy!!!!!
Since the last bus back to Salamanca left before the game ended, we stayed in a hostel Saturday night and explored the city center on Sunday morning. First stop: the Plaza Mayor. Very cool, but not nearly as pretty as Salamanca's. I think it was Alejandro who said "Our plaza can beat up your plaza."
The plaza was packed - we had to watch for pickpockets!
The gang with a statue of someone probably
very important....
Aside from being prettier than the Madrid plaza, Salamanca's plaza is also way less touristy - it's a place to meet friends, get coffee or ice cream, hang out... In Madrid, however, the plaza is like Disneyland and is full of characters like Mickey Mouse, Chewbacca, Spongebob (by far the most popular with all the little kids) that people pay to take pictures with. By far, the best character was Spiderman - check this guy out:
hehehe
When I posted that photo on Facebook, all my friends who have been to Madrid commented on it, "Oh, you saw chunky Spiderman, too!" This guy is famous...
We also went to the Puerta del Sol and saw many more characters, a spontaneous skating competition, and a political protest.
with Allie
In the Puerta del Sol I met up with RACHEL, a friend from high school whom I lhaven't seen for at least two years! She's an au pair in a town right outside of Madrid.
Oly High reunion in Madrid!!
Ridiculously enough, I'm going to Madrid again this coming weekend. IES has a day trip planned with a visit to the royal palace and the Reina Sofía museum on Saturday (when am I going to get all my work done????), so I'll be posting more Madrid photos soon. ¡Chao!
This week I started my teaching internship. I thought I was going to be working at an elementary school, but apparently when they told me grades 1-5, they meant the first four grades of "upper school," so I'm working with 11-16 year olds. That definitely had the potential to be disastrous, considering that I have way more experience working with younger kids and that middle school aged kids can be AWFUL, but I'm really enjoying it so far. Sure, some of the kids have a bit too much attitude, but the majority of them are really nice. I volunteer six hours a week, each hour with a different class. This week I was mostly observing Gonzalo, the supervising teacher, but he also had the classes ask me questions to practice their English. There were a few questions that were asked in every single class this week, such as:
"Do you like Justin Beiber?" (Yes, at least one student from each of the six classes asked me that. One boy sang part of "Baby" for the class - at least Beiber Fever is good for something - helping them learn English, lol)
"What do people do in the United States?" (So open-ended! I had no idea how to respond to that one... I was really tempted to just say, "Eat!")
"Do you like Real Madrid or Barcelona?" (I've learned that this is the great divider of Spanish society - when I respond that I'm a fan of Real Madrid, half the class cheers and the other half groans.)
Last weekend some friends and I went to Ávila, a small town about an hour away from Salamanca. It's famous in Spain for still having its complete medieval city walls. It was a really fun and low-key day trip. We got to climb up the walls for some great views! Photos:
Also, while we were shopping for postcards, we found this one which just says "Ávila por noche" or "Ávila at night." It's kind of hard to tell in this photo, but it's literally just a black postcard. I was so tempted to buy it, but I figured my sister would rather have something a bit more legit...
Other random notes:
I love how international Salamanca is. In my two university classes, there are students from China, Germany, Sweden, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Canada, France, Russia, the Netherlands, and Portugal (and, of course, lots of Spanish students). It's funny because the Spaniards always sit in the back of the class and all the international students sit in the front. The other Americans in my program joked that foreign students from Latin America are only "pseudo-foreign" because they (obviously) don't have all the language difficulties. The rest of us who only know Spanish as a second language (or third or fourth language, in some insane cases) all kind of cling to each other to try to figure out what is going on. I had to read a 30 page article on the International Monetary Fund for my econ class the other day, and it was such a comfort to find out that no one else understood a word of it either. Andre, from Portugal, was telling me that he fakes his way through class with "Portuñol," the Portuguese equivalent of Spanglish.
I just finished up my second week of classes (hooray for no Friday classes in Spain!!!).
I have the same Spanish professor as last semester, which is great because he's awesome! I've gotten emails from pretty much everybody from the program last semester asking how Emilio is and saying how much they miss him. I can't even count the number of times he's ranted about how much he hates Julio Iglesias and FC Barcelona. I'm also taking a gender class. It's been kind of boring so far, but it looks like we're going to get into more interesting topics in the coming weeks (I just don't care about Ancient Greek goddesses that much...). The biggest project we have is a big research paper, which has to include at least 10 interviews with Spaniards of various ages. I know lots of 20 something Spaniards, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to suddenly make friends with the Salamanca elders... awkward!
I'm taking two classes at the University of Salamanca, Economic Development in Latin America and Contemporary Social Structure. Both of them will be very difficult - I have a 20 minute presentation at the end of the semester for Economics and lots of writing assignments for soc. It's really embarrassing participating in class discussions because I either say something relevant but grammatically incorrect, or I focus on grammar and say something really stupid. At least there are other foreigners in the class - I hang out mostly with two
I start my teaching internship next week! I'll be helping teach English at a local elementary school 6 hours a week. We'll see how this goes... I guess it all depends on whether or not the kids are well behaved or not. Also, I'm really not looking forward to waking up for 8:30 classes. I've literally slept in until 10 every day since I've been here. If you want to look at the cute pictures of the kids, go to http://www.sagradafamiliasiervas.es/galeria.asp
Other than classes, nothing too terribly exciting has happened - just lots of coffee and tapas with friends. This weekend I'm hoping to go to Ávila, a town relatively close to Salamanca. I don't know if we have the motivation to figure it all out, though. It might get put off a few weeks...
We've been eating midday meal a little earlier this semester, so instead watching the news, the Spanish equivalent of Entertainment Tonight. I'm all up to date on Spanish celebrity gossip. Shakira is dating Spanish soccer player Gerald Pique, causing much excitement. Also, Eva Longoria is dating Penelope Cruz's brother. I don't think anyone actually knows what his name is - he's literally referred to as "el hermano de Penelope Cruz." And, of course, everyone is still madly in love with Spanish power couple Penelope and Javier Bardem. However, lots of people are offended that they had their baby in the United States so that it would have American rather than Spanish citizenship.
Also, someone pointed out to me how much Prime Minister Zapatero reminded them of Mr. Bean. Apparently lots of people think so, but I found so many pictures like this when I did a Google Image search. The picture doesn't quite capture it - you need to see Zapatero's awkward mannerisms to really get it...
Well, back "home." It's been a relatively easy transition back to Spanish life. I'm meeting up with some of my Spanish friends this weekend, and I'm getting to know the other Americans in the program.
The biggest change in Salamanca, aside from the absence of all my IES friends from last semester, is that it's now illegal to smoke in the bars. This is a HUGE deal for a European country - I'm still shocked that it actually passed. Anyway, since the bars are kind of the heart of the social scene in Spain, this improves my quality of life immeasurably. No more secondhand smoke for me!
At the end of my England trip, I took a day trip to Bath. It's the site of the Roman baths and has been a popular tourist attraction and spa resort since the 1700s. I visited the Roman Baths Museum, the Fashion Museum, and went on a FREE tour. The mayor's office hires volunteer tour guides to show tourists all the sights - I was very impressed with the program. They had two guides so that the groups wouldn't be larger than 15 people (I can't imagine how many guides they must need in the summer!) and the tour lasted a good two hours. Our guide was hilarious
This was my first experience traveling alone. I met lots of American guys last semester that were traveling around Europe alone but, since I don't have the luxury of being a guy, I figured a day trip to a relatively small city would be the safest way to go. It was very liberating to travel alone, and very satisfying to successfully navigate a new city and public transportation without anyone's help. However, I definitely prefer traveling with companions. I really wanted to talk with someone about all the things I was seeing - I'm so glad I went on the tour because I was really craving some human interaction! Also, it's difficult to take photos without a travel companion - always a little awkward asking a stranger to take a photo of you... That said, I'm glad I experienced traveling solo - I just don't plan to do it again while I'm here.
"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life!" So true! I spent two weeks in the city and never ran out of things to do, and there was still so much I didn't have a chance to see. Although London is a relatively expensive city, almost all their museums have free admission (YAY!!!) and Meredith and I were able to get into Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral for free by attending evensong services (and thus avoiding the steep 15 pound admission fees). The best things in life really are free - it was fun walking through the parks (despite the cold) and exploring Harrods, which is more like a museum than a store (I saw a vase being sold for 12,000 pounds, a table for 40,000 pounds, and a rocking horse for 15,000 pounds - but it was completely free to wander through and gawk at teh prices!!!).
Westminster Abbey
St Paul's Cathedral
A highlight was definitely seeing shows in the West End. I went to The Mousetrap, an Agatha Christie murder mystery that has been running in London for 59 years!
Meredith and I saw Les Miserables, the greatest musical EVER! It was SO incredible - words can't describe it! We were pretty much singing Les Mis songs nonstop the rest of the time I was in London.
We were in the very top row in the upper balcony (hooray for cheap tickets), but once the show started I didn't even notice the height. All the actors were fabulous, particularly Jean Valjean and Javert - OMG their voices were AMAZING! All the effects were amazing - the lighting, the rotating stage, the giant barricade set, the cannon shots! What an emotional show. During a particularly moving death scene, a woman in the audience was absolutely sobbing! Meredith pointed out how funny it was that they portrayed the French working class with Cockney accents...
Weird cultural difference - in London people eat and drink in the theater! The theater has a bar and people bring in full meals or munch on snacks like we would at a movie theater. I couldn't quite get used to it.
I went to lots of museums, taking advantage of the free admission. I loved the Tate Modern, National Gallery, Imperial War Museum, British Library, and the British Museum.
National Gallery
British Museum
Egyptian friend at the British Museum
The British Museum was awesome, but the name is rather inappropriate considering the treasures of the museum are from Egypt, Greece, and other ancient civilizations - Ah, the controversy! I love John Oliver's comments on the museum: "Make sure you fill your museums before your empire falls. We did, and now they’re magnificent—the British museum is basically an active crime scene. Believe me, losing an empire stings a lot less when you have some free shiny trinkets to look at."
I went to the Houses of Parliament to watch a debate in the House of Commons. It was about a one hour wait, but so worth it! They weren't actually getting anything done while I was there, just asking questions of several government ministers (while viciously insulting them). It was a very rowdy crowd - they'd shout "Hear, hear!" whenever they agreed with what someone was saying, and just shouted incomprehensible noises of anger whenever they disagreed. It's funny how a society generally considered so polite and reserved has such an anything goes approach to government protocol. If someone had shouted out "YOU LIE" in that room, I don't think anyone would have been terribly surprised or upset. I guess they save all the politeness for the House of Lords. I loved how everyone addressed each other in the third person and used flowery language to cover up their blatant insults and attacks -everyone was referred to as "the honorable lady/gentleman" or "my honorable friend," and then trashed by the speaker. We weren't allowed to make any noise in the observation balcony, but people weren't able to hold in their laughter at certain points. Oh, and the clerks wore those little white wigs!
Houses of Parliament
Big Ben
Other photos:
The Tower Bridge
The London Eye
Royal Horse Guard - not looking too happy
Trafalgar Square
Kings Cross Station - yay Harry Potter!
The Millennium Bridge
Telephone booths
Buckingham Palace
Palace guard looking ridiculous
Another view of St Paul - remind you of anything,
Olympia residents?
This weekend, Meredith and I took a trip to the English countryside to take a break from the city. Our first stop - the university town of Oxford to visit Katherine, my friend from Kenyon. She showed us around the city and got us into her college for free. Apparently at Oxford you have to pay to enter any of the college campuses unless you're a student. Since we're cheap, we didn't go into any of the other ones...
Katherine only has "class" once a week where she meets one-on-one for an hour with her professor. Crazy!
I loved being in Oxford because it reminded me of my two homes away from home - Kenyon (for the architecture) and Salamanca (for the university atmosphere).
Then we went to Stow-on-the-Wold, an adorable little village in the Cotswolds.
The town center had some medieval stocks - photo op!
We went for a long walk through the fields to a nearby village. We got directions at the tourist information booth since they said there was a "footpath" between the villages, but apparently footpath doesn't mean an actual path... The directions were like a treasure hunt - "walk through the woods until you reach a mill, then cross the bridge and several fields until you see the cricket field..." There were little markers on the fences that separated the fields to point us in the right direction.
And, to fully appreciate the conditions we faced, here's a photo of the mud covered in ice - so cold and so messy!
We finally arrived in a village called Upper Slaughter, which is much more charming than the name would suggest.
We also went to Bourton-on-the-Water, which calls itself "The Venice of the Cotswolds."
I'm in LONDON!!!! I'm visiting my friend, Meredith, who is studying at the University College of London. We've talked for years about traveling around Europe together, and now we're finally here! It's been great exploring the city with her, but, since she has classes, I also get to explore a bit on my own. I think it's really a good challenge for me to have such independence to navigate the city by myself. Only a few days since I arrived and I already feel like I've mastered the metro system - everything makes so much more sense underground! Literally, I only get lost once I emerge from below and try to follow street signs (I think I'm part-male - I don't like to look at my map or ask for directions... although I end up consulting the map quite a bit).
I didn't expect to feel so out of place in England - everything seems so much more familiar back in Spain! Also, it feels weird speaking English here - whenever I go to a checkout stand or the equivalent, I have to fight the urge to speak Spanish. I'm just so used to speaking a different language when doing anything touristy or involving public transportation!
Today I went to the Imperial War Museum, which had amazing exhibits on the two World Wars - very interesting to get a British perspective. I also joined Meredith's London architecture class, which is basically a weekly walk through the city. Today they were touring several churches designed by Wren - the guy who designed St Paul's Cathedral. I've also explored Bloomsbury and visited the Courtald Art Gallery - lots more to see! Luckily, we're going to have a few days without rain coming up, so Meredith and I will be taking advantage of that! Also, we got tickets to see Les Miserables on Thursday!!!! This weekend we're going to Oxford and the Cotswolds, and next week I'll take a day trip to Bath.
A few things that have surprised me about London:
-Everyone talks so quietly! I'd heard that they find Americans too loud, but I didn't know that they were completely inaudible! I just have to keep repeating, "pardon?" or "sorry?" until they raise their voices a bit. I guess they probably leave the interaction wondering why some American kept shouting at them...
-They have "look right" signs written on almost every curb, THANK GOODNESS. Otherwise I'm pretty certain I would have been hit by a car by now. It's nice of them to recognize that pretty much else drives on the right side of the road ("right" has a double meaning there.... kidding).
-I love the British accents and phrases. When you hold the door open for people they say "cheers," things are always either "lovely" or "brilliant," and on the metro they say "mind the gap." Meredith's architecture teacher said something about an architecture scholar "having kittens over" a particular church of Wren's. Assuming that means they really liked it...?
-Bangers and Mash = Sausage and mashed potatoes (you'd really think they'd want to make their food sound more appetizing...)
-They watch Spanish soccer/football!!!!! We went to a pub for fish and chips and the Real Madrid game was on. It made me feel so at home!
The worst part about England - the awful exchange rate! It makes everything almost twice as expensive! I'll never complain about the Euro again!
