La Penúltima

So, back in good ol' Segovia. In some ways, this week was eventful and in others not. For the purpose of my storytelling and to help me keep things better organized, I'm going to narrate differently. Instead of going through day by day, I'm going to go class by class and describe anything interesting from M-Th, then come back for Friday, which is just our excursion to La Granja. Ready?

Grammar class this week was fairly challenging. A lot of homework, and none of it was easy. The topics weren't conventionally difficult (Imperative, Pronouns, Past), but I realized this week that pretty much all of my Spanish classes up til now have just been the warm up, have just scratched the surface of Spanish grammar. Which makes sense, since it takes us a good 12 years to get a solid hold on English, and even then we still have problems from time to time. Also, I think I'm disappointed in Spanish education in the states, though it may be similar to my disappointment with elementary education. The vosotros form is *so* undertaught, and they don't even use nosotros commands in Spain. I guess you could sum it up with a strong preference for Latin American Spanish, which I think is a shame, especially for college level Spanish when the academics of the language should be at its highest. As the original Spanish-speaking country, the grammar and usage in Spain is important, even if it's less used than the Latin American version. Also, we never really thought of the present perfect as a past tense, which is actually the pretérito perfecto, not presente perfecto. Almost makes me want to be a Spanish teacher again :)

UE class was pretty cool. Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted to country presentations. Each of us was assigned 2-3 countries, and had to give a presentation over the basic facts of each, and then something interesting about them. I had Greece, Cyprus, and Malta and I discovered that Cyprus has hardly any recognizably famous people and Malta has none. Learned some interesting things though, like that Big Ben is technically the bell inside the clock tower. On Thursday, our class was once again substituted for a mini-excursion. We finally visited the cathedral in Segovia!! Oh my goodness, it's as beautiful as the one in Salamanca. I've decided that gothic cathedrals are my favorite. They're so majestic and awe-inspiring. We visited a few of Marian's favorite capillas, and then walked out around the patio and in a couple of other rooms attached to the church. There was one capilla that was much larger than all the others, and very Barroque--the alter area was all golden! It was all so pretty. Then we went back to another little capilla that had a legend associated with it. Apparently way back when there was a couple to be married. But, the day before the wedding, the groom disappeared! The bride came to this capilla, placed her right foot on the stone that is said to have been placed last and without which the whole cathedral would fall (it's in the floor, and sunk in a little), and asked for her fiancee to return, then spun around in a circle, prayed, spun again and left. A week later her fiancee returned and they were married. Legend has it, that anyone who places their right foot on the stone, thinks of the person they wish to marry, spins in a circle, prays, then spins again will one day get married. Guess who was one of the people from our group to do just that? Can't tell you who I was thinking of though, or it violates the whole ceremony ;)

Art class was.....interesting. We spent two days on Picasso and two days on Dalí. I have only this to say for Picasso: his paintings totally made me appreciate Goya more, who I was less than impressed with after seeing all of Velazquez's awesomeness. Dalí was pretty cool too, if a lot of his stuff is super weird. And, learned waaaaaaaaay too much about his sex life/sexual preferences. The painting we have to study for him is called Gran Masturbador. Not even kidding. But other than that, he sounds like a very crazy interesting individual. I kinda wanna see what his autobiography is like. I can see why Dad liked him so much. The poor kid was pretty much doomed to have something wrong with him though, from the day his parents named him after their son who had died 9 months before, the original Salvador Dalí. Talk about messed up.

Friday was our excursion to La Granja, which is pretty close to Segovia (like 20 minutes away, probably less). We visited the royal palace, constructed by Felipe V and which served as their summer palace. It was pretty neat. There was a whole section of tapestries, and in some of them you could still see the gold gleaming! Apparently a lot of the gold strands are mixed with silver, and they don't survive age as well so they don't sparkle anymore. Some of them were super huge, as big as some apartments according to Elena (our art teacher and tour guide). The really cool thing about this palace is that all the rooms are all lined up in a row, so if you look at one end all the way down to the other, it looks absolutely huge. Elena said this was an optical illusion to make it look larger than it really is, but walking through it, it seemed pretty big to me! Besides the royal quarters, we also visited the lower level, which was right next to the royal gardens. It was full of windows and sculptures and was said to be an extension of the garden. It allowed people to take walks without having to be in the direct heat of the summer.

After the palace, we walked over to the attached church. Interstingly, both Elena and Edu (another prof with the school) had been married in the church. It was really pretty. We also saw where the "theoretical" resting place of Felipe V and his wife. It's theoretical because back in the 20's there was a giant fire that ruined a lot of the palace. When they were renovating it, they discovered the actual bodies of the King and Queen located elsewhere, hidden away. I guess during wars and uprisings and stuff, it's not uncommon to deface graves, so they wanted to protect their bodies.

After lunch we went and explored the royal gardens. What's really special about these gardens is that they're only half garden. The other half is pretty much a big ol' forest, with a transitional space in between. They were all really pretty, and it was full of fountains. Apparently the fountains are so super old that they don't work on automatic pumping or anything, and must rely on the height difference between the reservoir that is the water source for the fountains and where the fountains are located. We hiked up to the reservoir as well, and it's a very pretty little lake. There's also a little hedge maze called the labyrinth, but it's kinda lame because there's only one entrance. We all made it out! While we were waiting for everyone to get out (because some people decided to make it more interesting and go explore), Marian taught us the Spanish equivalent of tag, called pilla pilla. You tough someone, say te la queda! and run away because I have no idea how to say no tag backs in Spanish and otherwise they'll just te la queda you right back. It was pretty fun, cuz it was a small space without obstacles and the accompanying professors joined in.

Friday night, I went out to watch a show being put on near the school and to hang out with Javi and Rúben, a couple of the Spanish guys I'd met previously. The show was really cool. I'm not exactly sure what it was, other than a random exposition of music and dance. There was a lot of percussion, and it reminded me a bit off the Spanish version of Blast! At one point, they played musical clay pots, like the kind you plant flowers in. That was awesome. Then there was a guy playing flute who did things with it that I've never heard anyone do before. It was sooooo cool. We also saw a man dance a bit of flamenco, though I think it would've been way cooler to see a woman. At that point, the girls I was with got sick of all the smoke and they left, so I went to hang out with Javi & Rúben. We went to San Miguel, a bar on the "street of the bars" where pretty much everyone ends up at some point in the night if they're out in Segovia. Unfortunately, this bar sucks because they didn't have Eristoff Black! Just Absolut, and I'm not sure if I like that stuff. So, no drinking for me, just a lot of fun conversing with Spaniards who are learning English. I did learn that apparently publicity majors (Oh yeah, need to ask Javi wtf that means) are the bottom of the ladder for university students because you only need a score of 5 in high school to get into the program (it's the lowest score for any program, and some range as high as 16...dunno what a perfect would be though). You can apparently tell who they are just by looking, which Javi pointed out to me. It was pretty amusing.

Today I've had a pretty lazy day. But, I'm finally all caught up on my blogging, woohoo!! Pictures are next on the list, though a lot of the places I visited did not permit pictures and thus I don't have any. If I mention a place and you don't see any pictures for it, that's why!

Santiago de Compostela

(Parte Dos)
I made it to the bus station in plenty of time, and got to Principe Pío with enough time before my train to stop at that awesome Chinese restaurant for dinner. Super tasty! Kind of expensive though, will maybe stick with the 2€ rice in the future. Hopped on the metro, wandered around the train station awhile trying to figure out where in the heck I needed to catch my train, and eventually got it all figured out.

Let me say this though: I should've taken a freakin' plane or the bus. The train was *not* more comfortable than a bus--less so. It was absolutely freezing, I had just as much leg room, and I couldn't lean back my seat. They kept the lights on past 1am, and there was no helpful signery or announcer saying where we were everytime we stopped, so I was a little panicky. I got some sleep, spoke with nearby passengers, and managed to get off at Santiago. Whew! I got something to drink, then prepared to head out to Santiago.

The problem was, the directions I printed out sent me to my hostel, which I was pretty sure wouldn't be open for checkin at 7:30am. Luckily, there was a giant map near the bus station, and I more or less figured out where to go. I first headed for the Office of Tourism seeking a map, and with the help of a nice policeman found it. Of course, it didn't open until 11, and I was there around 8....so I headed for the cathedral which I knew must be close by because I could see the towers. I wandered around a bit and found it!

It was really pretty. Unfortunately, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get into the darn thing. The gates at the front were all closed, since it was so early. I wandered about the square, saw the crazy flagstone thing being set up (which I didn't figure out until later what exactly that meant), and then wandered off to find something substantial to eat, since the ibuprophen gives me a stomachache ache if I don't eat enough. I wandered until the shops went away, then backtracked up a hill. I ended up in this little plaza, and saw a church with its doors open. I was like heck, might as well stop and see the pretty church...

...and it turns out it was the entrance to the cathedral! I was pretty pumped about that. I looked around for a bit, and it was really pretty. I saw a sign that I thought said no photos (it's was a picture of a camera with a line going through it, don't look at me like that), so I only wandered. There was like no one there, so it was really cool to have the place practically to myself. Have I mentioned I really like churches? They're just so peaceful. I sat for a bit too, cuz I was kinda tired.

Then I got up and trudged on in search of breakfast. I stopped at a few places, but they pretty much only served pastries and such. Then, I made it to another plaza and there was a little pub right on the corner. And lo and behold, it served eggs and french fries (okay, sounds weird but was awesome)! So, I went in and had a very lovely breakfast. I somehow managed to get a free churro and tarta de Santiago, which I guess must just come with all the breakfasts? I'm still not sure how that happened. The pub was warm though, so I stayed and read for a couple hours so that everything would be nice and open by the time I left, and hopefully a little warmer.

....It wasn't. Warm that is, was open. Did I mention that it had been misting since I set foot? And there I was, in a tank top and shorts. Sigh. I would've been fine if it weren't for all the wet. So, I walked along the street back towards the Office of Tourism and saw a rain coat in one of the windows!! I immediately went in and bought it (5€) and was sooo much more comfortable after that :D I made my way to the Office of Tourism, stood in line in the tiny office for awhile (and suddenly had no problems being cold), and finally got my map, along with a list of suggested places to visit. Ahhhh, success! I immediately set off for the one located furthest away, intending to hit other things on my way back.

So, I have I mentioned that the streets in Santiago are absolutely insane? Spain has no never heard of right angles or a grid. Finding the first museum was intense, and I got turned around in this one little square for a good five minutes, walking back and forth across it until I finally figured out where I was. Whew! Also, maps really don't take into account elevation, which can be really mind-boggling when your'e lost and trying to get somewhere. Maybe I'm just too used to flat Central Indiana...Luckily, Santiago is pretty small (at least the center is), and even with all my walking in circles it didn't take too long to get to the first stop: Museo de Pobo Galego.

When I got to the Museo de Pobo Galego, the receptionist was really nice and helpful (yay discounts for students!) and gave me a map, explained where everything was, then gave me a key and took my backpack. The whole museum was in Gallego with papers in English on the exhibit, but I wasn't in the mood to read that much, so I just did a lot of looking. I think Pobo Galego must translate to something like the Gallego People or something, because it was dedicated to basically various aspects of life in Galicia. The first floor was kinda boring, because was mostly how everyone worked and made a living way back when (sorry, old farm equipment just isn't exciting). The upper levels were pretty cool though, especially the spiral staircase!! They had exhibits for clothing, musical instruments, art, all sorts of things. The museum was also connected to this really old church as well, which was pretty, but kinda of in a former way. Like, you knew it used to be gorgeous once, but had now fallen into disrepair. I don't think they even hold mass there anymore.

Right next to the Museo de Pobo Galego was the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, the contemporary art museum. This one I enjoyed much less, probably because I'm not a huge art or old TV fan. Because that's what a lot of the museum seemed to be dedicated to--TV. I just don't do black and white. They did have some other contemporary art, and all of it was pretty weird to say the least, and kinda disturbing at times. One that stood out to me was a series of photographs of little girls posed in "sex kitten" outfits. Very unsettling. I didn't stay long, and headed back out to Santiago.

By this time, it was getting to be lunch time (by Spanish standards), so I headed in the direction of my hostel, with the intention to stop at a yummy-looking restaurant on the way. I didn't find one until I was back to the neighborhood around the cathedral, but I'm so glad I stopped there. The food was phenomenal. I had the menu of the day and chose a house salad, chicken with cream sauce, and water. The service was almost morbidly slow, but the woman serving me was really nice and I wasn't in a hurry, so I didn't mind. The house salad had tomatoes, lettuce, AVOCADO (*insert rapturous face here*), and what I think was squid, some sort of shellfish anyway and an oil dressing. The shellfish was easy to pick out though (I don't do creepy seafood), and did I mention it had avocado? I also had a nice basket of super tasty bread to go with it, was delicious. Have I described the bread I encountered in Santiago yet? No? Well, it was amazing. Most of the bread I'd had up to that point was typical french bread, like what you put bruschetta on. This was...different. In a way I can't really put into words, because I'm not even sure how to describe it. It was darker, and the bottom was all super floury. And totally tastier. Anyways. The chicken was in a mushroom cream sauce, which was perfectly supplemented by the tasty tasty bread. Finally, I chose my dessert--flan. It was...nothing like I expected. Imagine if pudding and jello had a baby--it'd taste like flan. It was topped with chocolate syrup, surrounded in whipped cream, and was pretty tasty.

By this time, I was all sorts of full and getting to be a bit tired. I walked the last several blocks to my hostel and found it without much issue. Got checked in without issue as well, and then climbed two giant flights of stairs to my room (*pantpant*). Got settled in, then laid down to take a nice little nap before exploring the rest of the items on my list (since they close for siesta anyway).

...uhm, maybe slept a little longer than anticipated. Not super long though, so no big deal. I dragged myself from the (sorta) comfy bed and ventured back out into Segovia. First stop: Igrexa de San Martiño Pinario.

Heh, heh. So, about that. I couldn't figure out how to get into the freaking building. The guy in the Office of Tourism put an arrow on my map telling me how, but he either put it in the wrong place or the map was just that confusing. I finally gave up since I thought the list said it closed at 6 and it was after 5:30. So, I went to the next stop, Museo Sacro, which was much easier to find. It was in this really pretty church, and had a whole bunch of art and "articles of mass" (dunno what else to call them as a group--vestaments, chalices, the thingy they use for Adoration, etc). No pictures, and it wasn't super exciting, but was neat enough.

Next, I set off for the Museo das Peregrinacións e de Santiago. This one was tucked away a little, but I managed to find it okay because it was pretty close to the main plaza I'd been visiting. Once again, not overly exciting. Was pretty neat though. My favorite was an exhibit at the top that had a bunch of different pilgrim's notebooks...I think there must've been some sort of contest, because they had first and second place marked. They were all pretty cool, and really creative.

As I was leaving, I decided to take a different way back, and guess what I stumbled upon? The entrance to the Ingrexa de San Martiño Pinario!! The entrance was really pretty, and I made it with just enough time before they closed :D It opens into a church, which is absolutely beautiful, with little capillas on the side. And then off to one side of the church, it opened up into the museum aspect of the monastery. There were all kinds of neat exhibits, and the rooms were all situated at various levels, so it was an interesting journey. One of the coolest exhibits was an old laboratory from way back when. I really like the idea of science and religion coexisting peacefully :) There was also an animal exhibit which was honestly kinda random, a bunch of paintings of cardinals and popes (I really enjoy Pope Portraits, dunno why), and then it went across to the choir that looked over the church. It was so elegant and beautiful.

After visiting San Martiño, I decided to stop by the cathedral again on my way back to the hostel to see when mass would be held the next day. As I was reading the signs posted, I noticed something--everyone else was taking pictures! I looked at the sign more carefully and realized that it showed a camera with its flash lit up, most likely indicating that pictures must be taken sin flash. So, I whipped out my camera and started taking pictures of the beautiful cathedral :D One of the most interesting thing about it was all the confessionals. There were these little wooden boxes along the sides of the cathedral, some of them occupied by priests. Confessors could either kneel in front or sit beside to receive Reconciliation, and priests unoccupied sat serenely reading their Bibles. It was pretty cool, if a little odd. The cathedral was filled with people though, so after walking around a bit, I left for my hostel.

Back at the hostel, I got online to say hi and check my email. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long--in the middle of a sentence, it died and never came back. I was tired and it wasn't time to eat yet, so I decided to rest a bit and read.

Once it got to be about dinner time (by Spanish standards), I headed out seeking food. I stopped by the plaza in front of the cathedral, and saw that the flagstone competition was just wrapping up. It was kinda crazy, cuz I had seen them earlier in the day, 24 stonemasons chipping away at 24 giant slabs of rock (flagstones), and wasn't sure what they were doing. I'd had a sneaking suspicion though, and it turned out I was right. Were they sculpting it into anything cool or interesting? Nope. The goal seemed to be simply to make the very top all smooth and level. They even had prizes, though I couldn't have told you had they decided that. They all looked pretty smooth and level to me!

I set off for a restaurant, and was majorly craving some tortilla española, so I stopped at every restaurant along the way to see if their menú del día included a tortilla española. Found one, and immediately went in, which was blessedly warm. I wasn't feeling super hungry, so I chose a hamburguesa to go with it. The tortilla was everything I'd hoped it would be, but I was pretty dang surprised by the hamburguesa. I'm not entirely sure what it was to be honest, because it tasted kinda like chicken (before you freak, one of my classmates had mentioned earlier that week that hamburguesas were weird in Spain, and that she'd had one made from chicken with her host family...so this is apparently a normal occurrence in Spain, not a freak out they're a yucky restaurant occurrence) and was definitely not beef. Didn't have a bun, just lettuce, tomato, and onion off to the side with some french fries. Was tasty enough though. For dessert, I decided to chance the tarta de Santiago, figuring it was only appropriate that I try the city's dessert. Took one bite, discovered the cake was absolutely FULL of some sort of chopped nut, and didn't eat the rest. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

Went back to my hostel and upon discovering my internet was still out, decided to go to bed a little early so I could get up early and see a really pretty park which is apparently amazing for taking pictures of the cathedral from. The bed wasn't very comfortable, though luckily they provided nice heavy blankets to keep warm :) Yeah, totally didn't get up as early as I'd wanted, so pretty much had to go straight to the cathedral for mass. I was worried it would be crowded, so I got there fairly early...I definitely needn't have worried. Maybe 10am is just too early, but there was hardly anyone there, given that it was this giant cathedral. A nun led a bunch of the singing, and let me tell you, cathedrals are meant for singing. No musical accompaniment, but it was really pretty. One thing that struck me as pretty odd and that I have yet to figure out, is that mass was not presided over by a bishop, just a regular priest (well, and like 6 others, a few who did small translations during the Consecration). Towards the end of mass, tourists just walked in and out, taking pictures, which was thoroughly unsettling and a little upsetting. They were generally hushed by the guardians of the cathedral, priests dressed in blue and gold (no idea what order they're from though). Was a nice mass though, overall.

After mass, I walked around the shops near the cathedral and did a bunch of souvenir shopping. I started looking for one particular gift, and was helped by the woman who had sold me the raincoat the day before :D Found something for everyone on my list, though I think some people are gonna be surprised. Is a secret though! :D Afterwards, I stopped back at the pub that I'd had breakfast in the previous day because I really enjoyed the place and the servers, and had myself another tortilla española. Was divine :D Oddly though, no churros and cake. Wasn't bothered though, tortillas make every situation happier :D I left for the station afterwards, because I was maybe paranoid about missing my train. Got there with plenty of time though, then had a nice freezing cold ride back to Segovia. Sigh. Never taking the train again, unless it's the Ave!! All in all, a wonderful visit to Santiago, easily my second favorite city in Spain (is hard to beat Segovia)! :)

El Escorial

Hi :D So yeah, has been awhile. We excursioned to El Escorial on Friday, then there was literally an hour between when our bus got back and when I had to catch my bus from Segovia to Madrid, and then I was in Santiago until Sunday, and then I had a sizeable project due Tuesday...so yeah. I apologize, and prepare yourselves for a nice long post! (EDIT: Okay, it's gotten to the point of ridiculous, so I'm going to break it into parts so it's not quite so much at once. Parte Uno!)

So, El Escorial. It's really close to Madrid and is the largest building in all of Spain. It's a palace. And a basilica. And a library. And a museum. And a monastery. Is kinda crazy, but also pretty cool. The overall shape of El Escorial is a grille, in reference to San Lorenzo who was apparently matyred that way. This is because Felipe II's first major battle was won on San Lorenzo's feast day, so he's like the patron of El Escorial, and the little town where it's located is named for him. The unfortunate thing about El Escorial is that they wouldn't let us take any pictures inside :( So I have a couple of pictures outside, but really not much.

So, first we went through the museum of tapestries. Spain has like the best collection of them, by quality (preservation) and quantity. One interesting thing is that they were originally woven with strands of gold, and would pull out those strands when they needed it...so there are sorta blank spots in most of the tapestries now. There were also some paintings in the same area...no idea why. There was one by El Greco, and it was super huge! It was neat to see, because in class we never saw anything bigger than what was projected onto the chalkboard :)

Next was the museum of architecture. There was a tiny scale model of El Escorial, which was pretty awesome. It also showed a lot of the tools that had been used to build El Escorial, which was built all super fast for its time. Overall, it wasn't super exciting, and we didn't stay long. We quickly passed through another set of paintings, but nothing too interesting.

Next, we saw the palace section of El Escorial. What's really neat about the living quarters for the King and Queen is that they both have windows that go right to the basilica--which came in handy when Felipe II got really sick and was bedridden for awhile. And there were of course, bunches of cool paintings everywhere.

Next we ventured up some stairs to the Room of the Battles, names so for the two giant murals on either wall that portray battle scenes. The murals are painted to look like tapestries, and at the doorways are all wrinkle from being pulled back. It looks really cool. The room is really long and skinny, with one wall featuring one of the battles where the Christians pushed back the Muslims in their conquest, and the other one facing it featuring Felipe's first victory over the French.

After that, we went down and saw the tombs of all the Kings and Queens (well, since some of them had more than one, only the Queen to bear the next heir got to be burried in the special area) since Felipe's father Carlos something or other (which, it turns out, what the whole original point of building El Escorial--a resting place for Felipe's dad), with the exception of Fernando V (I think?), who was buried elsewhere with his wife--he's also the only King to sleep with his wife. There were only two empty ones there, which are slated to go to the current King Juan Carlos I's parents, who he believes should've been King and Queen, but Franco beat them out of it. Where will Juan Carlos and his Queen be buried when they die? No one knows (well, probably Juan Carlos and his Queen)--being buried in El Escorial isn't a requirement though. After that first mystical chamber, we went up some steps to the other burial area, for all the wives who didn't produce heirs and all the kids who didn't become King for whatever reason (brothers, sisters, heirs that died prematurely). There was this one giant cake looking tomb that held a bunch of bitties that had died, and their tombs were all tiny :(

Next stop, the Basilica! In the entranceway there's a dome, but it's flat. When the second architect was auditioning to become the architect, he built the flat down with a paper column in the middle to give the appearance of holding up the ceiling. Then he invited the King to see what he had created, and the King was unimpressed. So he took out his sword and cut through the column and the King freaked out. The ceiling didn't fall or anything though, so he got the job! The basilica was super pretty, but we unfortunately didn't get to stay long. By this time a lot of people were getting grumpy and bored, but it was soooo beautiful!! I love giant pretty churches :D

Our final stop was the library. It was a long skinny hall with bookshelves on the side, and they were all super old! They have a few on display, but I couldn't read anything. There were also a bunch of globes and other map like objects along the center of the hall, and it was really neat to see the drawings of the world from the 16th century and such.

Finally, our trip ended, much to the relief of many of my classmates. We all went and ate lunch in town, which wasn't super exciting. What was really cool was listening to two of my classmates talking, because they came from Spanish backgrounds. I swear, every couple of words, they switched languages! It was kinda hard to follow and I think if I'd tried for any length of time I'd have gone crazy, but it was really cool.

Next stop was the Valley of the Fallen. This is a highly controversial monument and was closed until a couple of years ago. The only way we were allowed in is because Elena told the gate people we were there to pray (the only excuse to visit). You see, it was build by Franco after the Civil War by the Republican prisoners (who had lost to the Nationalists) to be a giant basilica (I think? Maybe it's just a church...a mighty impressive one though!) where all those who had fallen in the war were buried, and he eventually was also buried there. Currently, the Republicans have power, and a lot of people are really upset about it and think it should be destroyed. There was a terrorist bombing in there at one point too--like I said, hugely controversial. However, for all that, it was absolutely beautiful. It's carved right into the mountain, and that giant cross I saw on my first bus ride to Segovia stands above it. It was so tall and majestic--very awe-inspiring.

After we got back, I had literally one hour between the getting off the bus at the Aqueduct and when my bus to Madrid left--so I booked it home. I had packed everything the night before, so all I had to do was grab it and some snacks from my madre and I was good to go!

Alcazar

So today started kinda bleh. Grammar class has turned into a giant waste of time. Seriously, today's lesson started with, in what situation would you use the imperative form? *facepalm* I learned about imperative and how to conjugate it like 6 years ago, this was a joke. Tomorrow doesn't promise to be much better--our homework was to copy a recipe, using the tú form of the imperative. Also, she totally ignored the nosotros form, saying only the second and third person forms were really used much--she needs to be introduced to Dora! Ahem. Anyway, will stop complaining now, I promise.

Instead of UE class today, we went and toured Alcazar!! It was all really pretty. The tower had like 150+ steps though, and they were all like double-size...which really puzzled me because they were all short back then, so how'd they manage it?! I'm glad Marian took us, cuz she told a bunch of neat stories. I think we'll be going to the cathedral at some point before we leave, and I can't wait for that! Pics and stories can be found on FB:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100176803875618.2515278.20718294&l=2d6745ad9f

After siesta, I went with my hermana (cuz my madre wasn't ready yet) to the pharmacy and wow am I glad I went with her! She explained everything to the pharmacist-dude and made it a lot easier. The ankle-sock thing they had was the same size as I'd tried to put on back at la casa without much success, so I'm going to try again tomorrow. I bought special cream (no idea what's in it :s) and ibuprophen though. Their ibuprophen comes in pills of 600mg--I was like whoa. Hopefully it'll help with the inflammation though!

Un Día Interesante

So today has been an interesting day, despite being what would seem a regular Tuesday. It started out with grammar class. I was a few minutes early, or so I thought--turns out our regular professor is going to be gone for the next few days, if not the rest of the week, and the other professor starts the class 15 minutes early because she leaves 15 minutes early. Honestly, class today pretty well sucked. I miss our regular professor, she's awesome! There's a pretty big gap between the levels of the two grammar classes, and conducting them together (the current solution) is not all that helpful. But, meh.

UE class dumped two projects in our laps, one for next week and one for the week after. Is nothing too major, we just were all a little blind-sided, given the absolute lack of work this class has required up to now. Oh well. We talked a bunch about money, which was kinda fun cuz Euros are so interesting.

Then at lunch, I totally dumped water all over the table. They have a pitcher with a water filter, and as I was pouring my glass the top popped off and water went everywhere. We had damp bread for lunch today! I had such silly timing too, cuz Miguel had been crying for a good half hour and Diego was insisting on watching the TV, and then I dumped water everywhere. Sigh. I'm much more careful about pouring water now!

About halfway through lunch, the most amazing thing happened: it finally stormed!! Okay, by Indiana's standards was a weak storm. But rained!! In fact, it was raining when I went to take my siesta, and still raining 3 hours later (oops) when I walked to class! I can't guarantee it rained the whole time, but was a bunch of rain! I was glad I brought my umbrella, cuz a bunch of people forgot and either had to borrow from their host family or get pretty wet. Was pretty awesome :D

Art class was pretty standard, and then dinner was interesting. Any time the boys eat with us (they sometimes go to bed first) is interesting, because there's lots of yelling and deal-brokering, and Jorge really only has one volume: very loud. It's totally adorable and hilarious. Today, though, they bought this special dessert that's typically eaten on the Feast of the Three Kings (because that's when they do the majority of their Christmas celebratin), but you can get it year-round. It's basically a giant bagel (though fluffier, more pastry like) with cream where you'd put the cream cheese and eaten like a sandwhich. Additionally, there are surprises in the cream! One is a toy, the other a bean. Whoever gets the bean has to buy the next (whatever this dessert is called, everyone said it too fast and excitedly). Guess who got the bean? They joked I should come back with JP in the RV (cuz I told them about my plans after I get back). Also, there's a cardboard crown a la Burger King in the middle under the dessert, that of course the boys fought over. It was pretty cute though.

El Fin de Semana en Barcelona

So the manager finally got there and after listening to everyone's complaints, finally got to me. She said I wouldn't be able to check in until around 2 or perhaps later, so I went to explore the city first. She gave me a map and suggested several places to visit, highlighting them on the map and insisting I visit Parc Güell probably first since it was so far away. Made sense to me, so I hopped on the metro and took it most of the way to where I needed to be. Unfortunately, the nearest metro to the park is still a good 20 minutes away on foot, so I had to walk the rest of the way. Wasn't too bad of a walk though, that is until I got lost. I turned onto the wrong street and hiked up this huge hill, only to realize once I got to the top that it didn't connect over to the Parc, and I would have to trek back down to turn up a different street and a smaller hill. Oy. I thought about saying forget it, but I'd already taken the metro (more expensive in Barcelona than Madrid), and I wanted to see the freakin Parc, even if I had no idea who Gaudi was. So, I trekked on and made it to the park. It was really pretty, just as promised. Had a bunch of stairs leading up to this giant area (sorta like a building, but it didn't really have any walls to speak of) full of columns and pretty designs on the ceiling. I rested there a bit before realizing I had to go back down all those stairs, which was way harder than going up. Sigh. Got a bunch of pretty pictures though! Once I got back to the main street, I took a bus back to the metro.

Next stop, La Sagrada Familia! It was really impressive looking, despite still being under construction. I wonder if it holds the world record for the building with the longest construction time. It's not even expected to be finished until like 2030! As I was looking around the outside and trying to figure out how to get in, I saw a bunch of people standing in line. Figuring it was probably to get in but wanting to see the entrance, I followed the line....about halfway around the church! On top of that, it was 12,50 E to get in and I really didn't feel like waiting all that time to spend $20, so I just took a bunch of pictures. Will have to come back and see the inside after it's all finished! Explored a little park across from the church with the most pathetic pond ever. Was kinda cute in its patheticness though!

So, after walking around for several hours, I went back to the hostel to see if I could check in and siesta...turns out they still weren't ready for me :( Luckily they had a little lounge with a couch, so I totally crashed there for a few hours. When I woke up, I finally checked in and saw my room--was nice enough. I didn't get a top bunk but after sleeping there (they're super creaky), I wasn't upset. After I was all checked in, I left my stuff in my locker (which they'd actually given me as soon as I left the first time before I even paid for my room so I could go explore...I guess it pays to be the only one not complaining and being impatient!) and went out to find the Dow Jones Bar.

Luckily, the hostel was really close to the Passieg de Gracia (I chose well :D), and I was able to walk along it for quite a ways. It was pretty, full of people and shops everywhere. I stopped at a Subway for dinner (don't judge me!) then set off for the bar which I knew was only a few blocks from the Passieg. I found it no problem, and promptly took a bunch of pictures. Right after I sat down to consider ordering a drink, a group of like 30 obnoxious Americans who'd obviously already stopped at another bar came in. That was an interesting hour, mostly listening to them complain about not being served fast enough. It was interesting to see the bar tenders handle it though, as they were obviously used to obnoxious Americans and didn't take any crap. They actually refused to serve one guy who came in who had apparently not acted appropriately on a prior visit. Finally they all left and I ordered my Eristoff Black and Sprite (not on the stock market as far as I could tell :/). I enjoyed my drink in peace then left to walk home, enjoying the Passieg a second time. No pictures though because my camera batteries died (regular ones totally suck, I'm on my last set). Was a nice walk though.

Sunday on my way to the bus station, I stumbled upon a giant motorcycle parade. I think it was some sort of festival for motorcycles, and I saw flags from a bunch of different countries. It was pretty neat to see all the different kinds of motorcycles too. Apparently it is mandatory to either rev your engine or honk, so it was pretty loud too. Made it to my bus no problems after that though! Was a long ride and couldn't sleep the whole time, so lots of thinkin' time. Was nice, actually.

Made it to Madrid okay, and then was totally paranoid about missing my bus back to Segovia, because it was the last one of the night. Got there reasonably and found my gate, but then realized I was hungry and only had about 20 minutes until I had to leave. So I raced out of the station to the mall that was like 10 yards away and proceeded to look for something quick. Unfortunately, both Burger King and McDonald's had really long lines. Fortunately, some chinese buffet place offered to go stuff, so I got a box of amazingly delicious fried rice (without soy sauce, curiously. I'm dying to know how they seasoned it) for only 2E! Then I raced back and ate really quickly (because our art prof had said you're not supposed to eat on the bus in Spain) and got my drink and was all ready to go....and then the bus was like 15 minutes late. Sigh. Made back to Segovia all safe and sound though! Am still all tired, but it's good to be back. The heat in Barcelona is much more like Indiana (though I still think not quite as bad), and I'm enjoying the humidity-less heat of Segovia today :D

Viernes

Friday was kind of a crazy day. It started out by me missing the bus for the excursion by like 2 minutes. I got confused on the time we were meeting so I wasn't there until two minutes past the leaving time, and this was the excursion they decided not to make sure they had everyone...sigh. They probably weren't sure who all was going and who wasn't since half the group skipped out to go to Barcelona early...but, oh well. C'est la vie. I had plenty of time to relax and pack for my trip to Barcelona though. However, the steps leading down to the bus station were made of typical Spain rocks in concrete and were a bit uneven. I stepped wrong and twisted my ankle, and it immediately swelled up. Luckily, a random Spanish couple happened upon me and helped me out--God watching over me :) They got me a bag of ice and then helped me find my bus because it was leaving soon. Let me tell you, buses are not ideal for dealing with a twisted ankle cuz there's no space to prop it up. I made it okay though, thanks to some help from Aleve. The bus station in Madrid was connected to the metro, which I needed to take to the other bus station to catch my Barcelona bus. The metro was an interesting experience, because I've never been on a metro/subway before. The scenery is pretty boring cuz it's just tunnels. You see some interesting people though. There was one group with a kitty who wore one of those link bracelets as a collar, and a guy carrying around a bass drum pedal. The other bus station was kinda confusing, cuz they all have a zillion levels. But, I made it just fine and had plenty of time to eat and read a bit. Caught my bus, which apparently was not a direct trip because we stopped like a zillion times. Was not bad though, slept some. And by the time we got here and I woke up, my ankle was only swollen 1.5 times the size of my left ankle (the not hurt one)! The metro wasn't located in the same station this time, so I wandered around a bit because the area was under construction, but I eventually found it!! Then had no idea where I ended it up (though I did get off on the right stop at least), so wandered around some more and eventually found my hostel, yay!! They don't let you check in until 11 though which is when checkout is, so I'm resting and computering until the chaos settles a bit. Not sure how much of my original plan I'm going to do, but the hope is to at least see La Sagrada Familia and maybe the beach...don't think walking around and exploring is probably the best idea, but we'll see!

La Tercera Semana

So yeah....has been awhile since I blogged. Most sincere apologies! It wasn't my intention to go so long, I just haven't had a lot of time nor in a huge writing mood. But, it has gone on too long, so here's what's happened in the past few days:

Monday was our excursion to Salamanca & Avila!! We had to be ready about the same time as I usually have class, so wasn't too early. Plus, we had a two hour bus ride of sleeping! The first thing we saw in Salamanca was the cathedrals. Yes, plural, Salamanca actually has two. One was built in Roman (ish? something like that) times, and then when the university was build (like, the oldest in the world) there were so many people there that the cathedral wouldn't hold them anymore. But instead of destroying the one they had, the just constructed another one right next to it (literally only a few feet away, if that....they may actually be connected somehow, it was hard to tell) and kept the old one. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the inside of the old one, but the outside was pretty.

The new cathedral is *amazingly* beautiful. The outside is so very majestic, and then inside....wow. It's beyond words. So beautiful and awe-inspiring. I think 20 of me or so could have stood head to foot and been comfortable in there. Everything was so pretty. There were like 18 capillas along the two sides, will little mini-churches inside, so very beautifully decorated. Interestingly, the architecture is gothic, but the interior decoration is more baroque/renaissance. Originally, the capillas were purchased by rich families to be buried in the cathedral, and are called capillas after San Martín who was buried with his half-cape (he gave the other half to a beggar cuz he didn't have anything else), called a capilla (capa=cape, capilla=bitty cape). Now though, they're like little chapels with themes of different saints. One other interesting thing about the cathedral was that it seemed to have very little seating for an actual mass. I guess when it was built they performed mass in the center and then everyone else stood and watched, but I'd guess you still need to get there early to get a seat for mass these days.

After the cathedral, we visited the university, and what I think was the oldest building, but I'm not 100% sure. On the outside was this incredibly intricate decoration, and there was supposedly this little frog right above a skull that if you found it you would have good luck on your exams. I'm telling you, I looked and looked and looked and saw the skull but couldn't find a freakin frog. Oh well, guess I'm doomed :p The classrooms were incredible, so elegant. I can't imagine having class there. There was also a chapel in the school where students always used to get married way back when, and was only used for super special occasions such as this, not for daily or even weekly mass. Now, the waiting list is apparently 4 years long to get married there! Someone joked that you would need to book the church before you met your future husband :) The library was also really neat, although the books are super old so they don't let people in there much anymore. You have to have a special pass and be researching something to go in there, though they are in the process of digitizing everything.

After the university, we walked to the plaza mayor (omg, is the same plaza as in Vantage Point!!) where we were left to our own devices to have lunch and walk around. Unfortunately, by the time I'd eaten not much was open on account of siesta. Was still pretty cool to walk around though, Salamanca is quite pretty.

Next was a bus ride to Avila, about an hour (little less) away. Once there, we looked at the walls (quite pretty), but didn't get to walk around on them, something I'm told is pretty awesome. We also visited the museum of Saint Theresa, which had one of her fingers on display. They wouldn't allow photos, and I wasn't about to look! Apparently it's common to chop up a saint's undecomposed body and distribute it to different places :s Seems a little creepy to me though...

Once we got back, I had to stop at the travel agency to fix my borked travel plans for Barcelona, cuz I totally made them originally for the wrong weekend. After that, I had enough time to dash home, drop off my stuff, and head out to el Oso Blanco for Intercambios. Unfortunately, Ryan and I were the only Americans to attend, which was kinda awkward especially at first. It got better though, especially when Chris came and joined us and we compared the three cultures. Apparently the word "obnoxious" isn't much used in Britain, something I learned when he was trying to translate the Spanish equivalent for obnoxious into English. Now I can call Nathan obnoxious in Spanish AND English, mwahahaha :p

Then, let's see. Tuesday after grammar class I did a little shopping, but only bought one thing. I think I'm going to wait to buy much else until the end of my trip, when rebajas reach their terminal velocity and I know how much money I have left after my two weekend trips. I left for school after siesta to talk on Skype with my favoritest person, and then after dinner got to Skype with my family. Was pretty awesome. Other than that and classes though, didn't do too much on Tuesday.

Yesterday, relaxed during my morning break and then got to school early again after siesta, this time to work on a class project for UE. After art class, a group of us tried to go to el Oso Blanco to play euchre, but it was closed!! I guess Wednesday is a bad day to visit el Oso Blanco :( But it was okay, because we went to Ven Ven instead! There were three teams and only one deck of cards, so we had to play one game at a time. The first game I played was with Shelby against the two boys, Jake and Nathan...they totally squished us. Who gets two loners in as many hands?? Was ridiculous. Luckily, the second time we played them (they beat the other team twice), we kicked butt! Well okay, the score was actually pretty close, 10-9, but we still won! Euchred them once or twice too, mwahaha.

So, now I'm all caught up. Today haven't done too much, though did hang out in the library during my morning break and talk a little politics (not my initiation, but I can't help myself when it comes up) and thus wasn't all that productive. But, got my blog all done during siesta, and hopefully my pics too!!

El Domingo

Today I woke up around 12:30, not too bad given how late I stayed up. Didn't really do much until after lunch, when I met up with Daniel from Intercambios, as well as Meghan and Gurbaksh. We walked all over Segovia, it was pretty cool. Meghan and Gurbaksh ditched after a little bit, so Daniel and I walked through the valley around the edge of Segovia. It was really fun, we talked about amusement parks, precipitation differences, and even politics! We ended up at the aquaduct and chatted for a bit before he had to leave for a fiesta in a nearby village. I felt so undereducated when we started on politics though, cuz he knew all about what's going on in America, as well as Spain and the rest of Europe! Maybe I'll be inspired to read more BBC or something. Afterwards, came back pretty much just to check mass times and find a new church, then dashed off to mass. I went to San Miguel, and it was sooooo pretty. I would've taken pictures but I think they were having adoration as part of their novena after mass and I would've felt rude. They had an organ playing and singing and it was all really pretty. The priest was really hard to understand though, despite the decent sound system, because all his words just flew together. It was a good experience though, I enjoyed San Miguel. Pretty much have just been resting since then, after all the walking I did. Hopefully going to bed soon, because excursion tomorrow!!!

Ir de Compras

Today was definitely a shopping day. I didn't sleep in too late (only like 10:30), so had plenty of the morning to take advantage of. After breakfast (mi madre pretty much insisted, by way of Jorge, it was super cute), I went out on the town. First order of business: returning the earrings I bought yesterday to De Mil Colores. They were these really cute pink butterflies, but one popped off last night before my last class, and though I shoved it back on, I woke up missing both earrings. I was so mad. However, since I didn't have my receipt, they wouldn't exchange them. Officially never shopping there again, because I don't want to waste money on crap that's going to break the next day. Oh well. It actually worked out, because there's this really cute store by la catedral and I got a pair of shiny clear gemmed earrings there today that I like better anyway. Plus I think I found some other gifts for people. I also bought a new hair pretty to match my dress that I bought yesterday, because the dress is red and my other hair pretty was pink so it didn't work. I also stopped by the travel agency to book my bus ticket from Madrid to Barcelona for next weekend, so I have that much all set up and ready to go! Now just to get my ticket from Segovia to Madrid and find a freaking hostel!

After lunch and partway through siesta, Amie and I took the bus to the mall. It was an interesting experience (the mall, not the bus ride...the bus ride was pretty bus ride typical). It's more or less like any other mall, except half the first floor was a giant supermarket and it was open to the hall and there were shops along the side. I found a really cute pair of sandals for only 7E, and totally go them :D Also went to the supermarket section and got a bottle of Eristoff Black for only 9E, since it is not sold in the US. Then we ventured up to the second floor for Burger King! It was pretty tasty, though next time I'm definitely getting a Whopper cuz their cheeseburgers don't have any toppings on them! We rode the bus back and then stopped at this little store on the way back that was like a dollar store based on the crazy weird items that they had, but not quite on price. Amie found a really cute top and I got a bottle of nail polish (so my feet will look cute in my new sandals!).

After dinner, Amie and I met up with the group of Spanish students from Intercambios Monday night, because it was Daniel's (one of the Spanish students) birthday on Friday so they were celebrating and we were invited. And for the record, some of the Spanish students that we hung out with were female! It was a total blast though. Communicating when both parties know a little of the other language is a lot of fun, it's a lot of back and forth to figure out what's going on. I also had my first shot, which tasted like appley cough syrup. Wasn't bad. Time flew by and it's a good thing Amie had a watch, because I never would've guess it was 3am when we left!

La Valle Abajo del Alcazar

Didn't sleep well again last night, but didn't have trouble this morning getting ready (though I still didn't breakfast much...I want more than cereal for crying out loud) so worked out. Walked to school with Sarah and we were a little late, but promptness is a much looser term here in Spain. Since today was Friday, we had a very special class. The other grammar class joined us, and we all played Party Inc. This is a game very similar to Cranium, but in Spanish. It was kinda hard since it's all made for Spaniards and our vocabulary is limited, but it was a lot of fun. After class, I walked around and did some shopping. I found some of what I was looking for (no spoilers!), so it was a successful trip :)

UE class was also pretty cool. We took a little voyage through the valley on the edge of Segovia all the way around Alcazar to la iglesia de San Juan de la Cruz. It was a really pretty walk, and hard to believe such nature existed so close to the city! It was like a bitty state park nestled right next to the city. Unfortunately, it was quite a walk and while I like walks, my backpack was kinda heavy and we went over our class time. Totally worth it though. I ate lunch through a bit of a tired haze, and then collapsed into siesta. Luckily I didn't sleep too much, because my wonderful alarm clock started blaring a little after 5 right on schedule, and I ran out of the house.

Shopped some more on my route to class and was totally successful! I bought this cute red summer dress that actually doesn't look half-bad on me! I'm totally excited, probably gonna wear it tomorrow :D Looked at some shoes, but despite rebajas a lot of them were still super expensive so I'm holding off. Speaking of shopping...I've a few ideas and have already gotten a few things, but does anyone have any Spanish requests? Rebajas=crazy awesome sales, so I'm all about the shopping :)

Art class was kinda silly...we played a game to review, but she kept leaving the classroom for unknown reasons which was pretty silly. We divided into two teams, and then each team had to answer a question. If they got it wrong, the other team had a shot at answering. My team totally won, because Amie and I were on the same team and we either pay more attention in class to the less interesting bits or just have better memories. It was a fun class :) And then after class, I talked to Mr. Jon and figured out how to fix my computer and now it works and yay!!

Los Fuegos Artificiales...y el Próximo Día

So, Tuesday night we all met at el Oso Blanco again for fiestaing, because Wednesday was a festival day and therefore we didn't have class. This is officially my favorite bar. Jesús, the bartender, puts out all kinds of little snacks such as gummy bears, plus you get a pincho with drink purchase. That night it was watermelon, and if you haven't heard a Spainiard, Jesús in particular, try to say "watermelon" then you are totally missing out! Not to mention the fact that my favorite drink is 1.1€ lees than other bars! Like I said, official favorite bar. We hung out there for a bit, then decided we all wanted to go dancing. Now, it was only 1am, so we were a little worried about our prospects, but we really wanted to dance! So, we headed over to Toys. It was pretty empty when we got there and the dance floor was deserted, but we totally got Toys hopping that night. There were like 10-15 of us, and numbers always help when you're trying to get the dancing started. The club was pretty satiated by Americans for the first hour or so (we weren't the only American group out), but it was still fun. I discovered the importance of having guy friends go out dancing with you, so that they can intercept any creepy guys. Wasn't much of a problem, but still nice. Our group of guys are pretty hilarious too, I will never think of Jagger the same way!

So I got home about 3:30am, a new record for me, and slept until about 1. Yes it was a first day, but I hope you aren't expecting too many awesome stories from me! Everyone I knew was going to the bullfight, something I had no desire to see, so I pretty much had another lazy day. Did some homework, talked to people, recovered from staying out all night. At midnight though, they were showing fireworks by the bus station (??? Don't ask me, I have no idea...there's nothing interesting over there and it's still pretty well within the city) and I was determined to go to see if they were as pathetic as the ones I had seen last week (cuz can't very well judge Spanish fireworks on only one showing, can I?). Unfortunately, Sarah was tired and had homework (not that it stopped me, I mean come on, it was a 20 minute study break!), so I went alone. It was like five blocks straight down the main street packed with people though, so it wasn't bad. Oh my goodness, the fireworks were amazing! The bookends (start and end) were startling, as they were just bright flashes and gigantic booms, but the fireworks were so pretty! I mean, I've been to the Thunder of Louisville, so I've seen my share of impressive fireworks, and while this was no Thunder, I was not disappointed either. They had a lot of different ones, a lot of variance, and I can't even describe them well. Just trust me, they were beautiful and magnificent and I will never again scoff at Segovia for it's fireworks!

So I went home to finish my paper, and the trackpad was behaving atrociously. It would either not move or act like I was using two fingers instead of one to either right click or scroll. Then I was messing with the keyboard (they pop out on macs) to see if I could make the spacebar cooperate better since it tends to stick, when the screen whent black to screensaver. I popped the keyboard back in and tried to move the mouse, but nothing happened. So I closed the lid to see if it would snore (the pulsing light at the front that comes on when it sleeps/hibernates), but it never did. It was pretty hot, so I gave it some air and finishes my paper on my iPad then went to bed, hoping my computer would feel better in the morning,

I didn't wake up quite when I was supposed to, so I only had some juice for breakfast since I wanted to get to school in time to print my essay. Turns out it was still closed and none of the teachers got there until 8:50! There were like 4 of us needing to print and the computer was really really anciently slow, so it took forever! Class was good though. Our prof is totally awesome and has a great sense of humor. About half the class who went to the bullfight only stayed for one bull out of six because it was so awful, so she called them weak, haha. See, totally am not sorry I decided not to go. We went on a field trip mid class to the Thursday open market, and talked about the names of flowers, fruits, vegetables, and legumes in Spanish. Then we went to the candy stall and she bout us a bag of gummies! Told you our prof was maja. By the time we got back, class was over and no homework, woo!

In UE class, we talked about the leaders and Parliament. Apparently they speak English during Parliament. And I think she said kids are required to take ESL in school now, because it's the "language of business." Then we went on another miniexcursion to la iglesia Corpus Christi, which used to be a major synagogue and is the last standing Jewish synagogue in Segovia of seven. It was quite pretty inside, but the tour guideish person went on and on and we were so tired. I stopped at the pharmacy to see if they had anything to help with my cold, but they keep *everything* behind the counter and I wasnt ready to try to explain in Spanish, so I went home, just in time for lunch. After lunch, I tried to revive my computer with absolutely no success. I have no idea whats wrong with it, though I guess it is 7 years old...I took siesta, then fled around five cuz I couldn't take the screaming any longer. Luckily the first class after siesta is at 4:15, so I took refuge in the school. I picked up some pizza on the way cuz I wanted to see what it was like here and have really been craving anything mad on the other side of the pond, but pizza especially. The cheese sucks and no pepperoni, but coca-cola is the same :)

Oooh, and on request, let me explain my host family. I'm going to try to get a pick eith at least my host mom at some point before I leave, and maybe others too. So, hostmomis named Julia and she has two married daughters, Mirian and Diana. I have never met Diana's husband, but she does have a daughter named Alejandra (older than 9 months, less than 2 years...around 18 months maybe?) who comes by every day around 5 with her mom and stays to go out on the streets with everyone, but not for dinner. Mirian and her husband José are living with us until their house in Madrid is finished, though no time scale has been mentioned to my knowledge. They have three little boys who also live with us. Diego is 4, Jorge is 2, and Miguel is 9 months. All the little ones are super adorable except when their incessant screaming wakes me up, so about twice a day on average :p

¡La Noche de Intercambios!

Unfortunately, due to my crazy amount of sleeping in the day before, sleeping Sunday night didn't go well. Monday I missed my alarm, but made it to school no problems. We talked in grammar class about all the different things between the US & Spain, which was kinda neat to sort of organize all the various differences we had each noticed. One I forgot about because I don't pay much attention to them, is how crazy the drivers are here. They go so fast, and then stop all suddenly-like! Maybe it would be less crazy-seeming if I were from Chicago or something...UE class was less interesting than usual, as we finished the brief history overview of the UE, then split into groups to help us remember all the countries in the UE, etc. We did get to color though! We colored the UE countries on the map based on when they joined, then labeled a separate map with the names of the countries and identified the countries that have adopted the Euro.

My siesta of course lasted longer than I intended, and I didn't have a chance to browse shops or relax in the library. One of these days...! In art class, our profesora told us about the Spanish ID card that all of them are required to carry from age 14. It's like a combination driver's license/birth certificate/social security card. They all have their own number along with their full name and picture, and then on the back it lists who there parents were, when and where they were born, and where they are currently living. They apparently have to renew this every 5-10 years, depending. I wonder if that means they don't have to worry about any other identification, other than perhaps a passport? That'd be neat. In the actual class, we began our study of El Greco, starting with his birth and beginnings as an artist in Crete. Suuuuper exciting. He's apparently a "cocktail" of all the best artists of the 16th century: Tintoretto, Tiziano, Michaelangelo, and Veronés.

After art class was Intercambios! We all went to El Oso Blanco and in a fairly chill setting mixed with Spanish students. The first half hour was English, the second half our Spanish, and after that it was pretty much whatever. The first half hour, I was the only American with 4 Spanish women who had heard about the event but none of them were students and they were all older and working. That was pretty awkward. Luckily, their director saved me when we switched to Spanish and took me over to the group of Spanish students, one of whom I'd met when getting my drink earlier. That was more fun, and I was joined by Sarah, Gurbaksh, and Rachel. We all had such a lovely time that we didn't even notice that everyone else left! Next thing we know it's after 11 and we're the only ones still at El Oso Blanco. We decided to go to the concert playing in the plaza mayor and then at 12 I finally decided to leave because I hadn't yet had dinner! It was a lot of fun though and we friended them on Facebook so hopefully we'll be able to catch up with them again sometime.

I was pretty tired so went to bed more or less on time, but I think my alarm hates me. I think I've developed a cold and wasn't feeling too hot, so I took a shower and skipped breakfast so I wouldn't have to hurry to class. Today's UE class seemed pretty short, as we just briefly reviewed and then went over the basic governing structures of Europe. She kept comparing Parliament to el Senado, which I for the life of me can't figure out if she meant Senate or Congress as a whole. I'd guess Congress, because that's the proper comparison, but it looks like a cognate of Senate. I suppose I could look it up...Huh. I guess it can mean both. Seems weird that our Congressman would be called senadores though...*shrug* Anyway. After that we went on a mini-excursion to this cute little shop that among other things sells plates and such made of colored glass that they make there. It was pretty neat. I saw this beautiful little clock, but I couldn't think of who to get it for, so I didn't get it. I may be revisiting this shop in the future though, cuz it was very cute. We also went to some gardens that overlooked the northeast(?) side of the city that were really pretty.

Once again my siesta took too long, and I barely had a chance to eat an orange before dashing off to class! I probably would've been late, except that class didn't start for almost 15 minutes because the profesora was talking to some students in the office. We talked about various paintings of El Greco, and how he combined the techniques of byzantine, venician, and roman art. On my walk home from class, we walked by a gypsy (Amie's classification, not mine) selling these really cute bracelets, so I bought this really cute one with bells! Now every time I move my wrist, it makes bitty jingly noises :D I wonder how annoyed Lauren would be... *mischievous grin*

La Noche y La Desaparecido de la Mañana

So, after my super lazy Saturday, everyone met out in front of the school. While we were waiting for everyone to show up, along came Spongebob! He figured out we were Americans, and proceeded to chat with us for awhile. We taught him the theme song in English, which was a bit of an adventure :) Turns out it was his bachelor party, so all his friends had a shirt with his picture done Obama-style and an unfortunate phrase below it. The whole thing was quite amusing, and he had his picture taken like a zillion times. They knew enough English to more-or-less communicate, so it was a fun mezcla of Spanish and English. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture...but it was fun.

Then Chris showed up and everyone else, and we sort of chatted and hung out a while since no one could decide where to go next. Large groups without one person in charge and without a predetermined plan don't plan well, I've noticed. We finally decided to go to La Luna which is right by the the school as well. It was nice, and I had an Eristoff Black and Sprite which turned my tongue fairly black. Is fun. Also danced a bit, before moving on. We were going to go to Shout, but we basically just spent a couple of hours in the street drinking. It was pretty crazy, but normal since it was pretty packed with others doing the same. Nothing is really hopping until like 3am, so everyone hangs out in the streets. I discovered another drink I like, Red Bull (or Burn here, but it tastes really similar) and vodka. I'm not sure an energy drink so late was a good idea though, cuz it took a bit to get to sleep that night. Right by where we were is this neat little restaurant that sells cones of fries, so I got one of them. Unfortunately, I handed them to a friend so I could use the restroom and by the time I got them back, they were half gone :( Were tasty though. Left soon after, cuz Sarah was ready to go. Had a fun night though!

So yeah, about sleeping. Took me a bit to get to sleep and then I didn't get up until after 3...I think I'm going to limit my staying out late to one night a week, cuz I don't like missing my whole weekend. And I spent like 12 E last night, not something I want to do on a regular basis. After I got up, I had a delicious lunch of pisto which is amazing and something I'm going to have to make back home cuz its relatively easy. Also had delicious spongy bread and what I think was roast beef and potatoes. Then did my homework for tomorrow and basically just relaxed cuz it was suuuuuuper hot today. Then I went to church at San Millán, and it was a much better experience. It's still a lot different from back home, and likely just a function of it being a Spanish Mass instead of American. Much less singing though, which I was sad about. Hopefully at least the catedral will have more music! I made a cheat sheet with all the prayers and responses which helped some too. They go so super fast though, was impossible to keep up at times! Will have to practice. Came home, had popcorn with my madre and then cena, and basically just a chill evening.

¡Castillos y Fiestas!

It's been a bit crazy lately, so apologies for everyone who has been anxiously waiting an update! I'm probably gonna forget a lot, but maybe this way today's post won't be a whole novel :p

So, I left off on Wednesday night. At 11, Amie and I decided to go out for a bit. We spent a seriously crazy amount of time finding the perfect ATM, and then set off for El Oso Blanco. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was closed! :( So we headed to Zircus right by our school instead. I tasted the sangria there and most definitely did not like it, so I got another Eristoff Black and sprite. I seriously need to find a less expensive drink that I like, cuz 5E a pop gets expensive. So, Amie took my sangria and we sat and chatted for awhile before returning home. Nothing too exciting, but I really enjoyed it.

Thursday I was all sorts of tired...I don't think I'll be staying out on school nights anymore! Our UE class was once again quite interesting, as we only went through a small part of the UE's history before going on another mini-excursion! We went to the open-air market they have every Thursday, but passed through the Jewish barrio on the way. It was pretty cool. It was interesting how she compared Spain to the US, based on both countries being a mezcla of cultures--Spain is very much shaped by the Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic cultures. The market was really neat, and fun to look around in.

After siesta I went to school early to work on the homework I was so unmotivated to do earlier, and hung out with some of the other unmotivated girls in the library. I more or less got it done! We didn't end up turning it in anyway, so it worked out. In art class we finished up the various "dictionary" type aspects of the course and watched more videos about how the various techniques are done. After class, went home for dinner and got ready to go out!

The plan was to go with Chris to Hook, a dance club that has a nice drink special on Thursdays. However, it was like the start of San Juan, so Hook was closed. We got to see a neat aerobatics show though, with people twirling in the air hung from a crane. They brought people in from far away with the crane, and it was really neat to see! So very hard to describe though and the pictures aren't helpful, but it was awesome. They were all super flexible and super strong, holding each other in the air by just a foot or something at times. After the show, we went to Hook only to find it was closed. So then we went to this crappy bar named Up & Down at Chris's insistence and a few people had a drink. There were like 8 chairs in the whole place and over 20 of us though, so it didn't work so well. After that we went to the plaza mayor to see the fire, which we had been promised people would jump over. It wasn't that big given the bonfires I've seen in my time, and after a bit they put it out and we got bored and wandered off. There was also a concert, which we heard the first part of. Was pretty cool.

So then Chris took us to this other crappy bar that was all cramped and dark and totally unappealing. Sarah had to leave, so a group of us walked her to meet her hostparents at the aquaduct. While we were there, we stumbled upon a couple of Michiganipodes trying to call home with a phone card, and their hostmom trying to tell them how to do it. We helped translate everything properly and they got it working. We hung around a bit just chatting, then returned to the crappy bar. By then it was getting late and so our small group decided to leave. I had a lot of fun despite the crappy bars though!

Luckily, Friday morning I didn't have to leave until 10, so I got to sleep in a little. Was quite tired though. Our first castle was 30 minutes away though, so I got a mini-nap. Our first stop was Santa María la Real de Nieva, and the cloister there. Apparently there used to be a palace attached, but it disappeared a long time ago. It was built around the turn of the 15th century (14-15), and so is really old. The center patio area had really neat carvings on the pillars, because it was open to the villagers and they could come in to contemplate and learn (since they couldn't read). It was quite pretty. Attached to it was a church, that I think was built afterwards, and it was gorgeously old. It's crazy to think about something that old, though I think a lot of Segovia is even older. Anyway, I took a zillion pictures of the inside of the church, so be forewarned. After looking around a bit, we set off on another 30 minute bus ride to our next stop: Ville de Coca!

Next we went to el Castillo de Coca. It was built in the 15th century as well, and features more mudéjar arquitecture. Now it's a school, and the students live there. The first question asked of our tour guide was, "¿es como Hogwarts?" and we all cracked up. She said yes it was though! It was pretty cool, and there were a lot of interesting views. There was one room, the Room of Secrets, where if you stood at one spot and put your ear to the wall, the person standing directly opposite from you could whisper into the wall and you'd hear it! It was pretty nifty. The stairs were insane though, all spirally and quite tall, step-wise. It was quite fortress-y, though I think Napoleon managed to beat it up pretty bad. The top was really neat too, and the whole castle was surrounded by a dry moat. Apparently, all moats in Spain are like this, because water would help invaders get into the castle. After our tour and taking what Marian declared was the ideal picture location, we headed back to the bus for another 30 minute bus ride to Cuéllar.

Once in Cuéllar, we stopped in a park and were given about an hour and a half of free time/lunch time. We all ate, and then the boys declared we should play tag. So we went to this itty bitty kids park full of sand and they started to play. I sat out, because I didn't want to have shoes full of sand. It was quite hilarious, especially when one of the boys was it because they'd do all sorts of crazy things, like jump over bushes and run down awkward stairs and out of view. The last time Sarah was it, she found this injured bird, which she proceeded to coax onto a stick and show it to us. We teased that she was trying to play bird gynecologist, and she finally put it down. Then everyone got tired and we just kinda chilled for a bit until it was time to go.

After meeting back up with our professors, they took us up this giant steep hill through town that never seemed to end, at the very top which was our final castle. Unfortunately, it was also converted into a school and was closed when we got there, so we didn't even get to go in! The outside was sort of neat, all the tops of the towers had been chopped off because at some point a noble ticked off the king so he ordered the Duke's castle to have all its towers decapitated. So after a short visit, we went to meet the bus which was also at the top of the hill! That crazy long walk for nothing was a bit annoying.

After the final castle, we went to a winery close by. It was pretty neat, though the inside totally stank of alcohol. Our guide told us a little about how wine was made there, and about the different kinds. Then we had our own wine tasting! He told us how to properly taste wine and we all followed his example. I will admit, swishing the glass before smelling it makes it smell so much less gross. Unfortunately, it does nothing for the taste. I really dislike wine. Our first tasting was vino tinto, red wine, and then he brought out a second for us to try, rosada, a sweeter, dessert wine. Also disgusting. I'm not sure which one was better, cuz they both tasted blech to me. Apparently they had flavors such as banana, strawberry, and cherry to them somehow, but I couldn't tell. After the wine tasting we went back to the bus and took us home!

Once home, all the little kids had left and I stayed in to rest before going out that night. I ended up talking to most everyone back home, which was nice. Figured out how to make Skype more or less cooperate and got to see JP and his awesome hair cut for the first time since I've been here! Also talked to Mom and Nathan, a very nice evening. Then had a quick dinner and got ready and left!

We met again at the aquaduct, only this time there was some sort of ceremony type thing going on onstage. I think they were crowning the Queen of the festivals, since last night was the official start of the festivals in Segovia. It was kinda weird, and then I think some famous director took the stage and gave an inspiring speech about always having dreams and dreaming, and jumping over any obstacles along the way. Then, the acrobat show from the previous night started up again! We had only seen the last bit, so we stayed and watched it. Sooo very cool. Then, we thought there were going to be fireworks in the plaza mayor, so we headed that way once it got to the end. Two-thirds of the way there, we realized that the fireworks were actually at the aquaduct, so we started to head back. We only caught about the last 30 seconds of it, but it lasted maybe 2 minutes total so I don't feel too deprived.

After the fireworks, everyone reconvened and we decided to go to El Oso Blanco for sangria. Six of us pitched in for a pitcher, and we drank downstairs which is a really chill part of the bar. I tasted the sangria and even sipped maybe 1/5 of it, but it never tasted any better. *sigh* It was full of fruit though, which I ate cuz it was yummy. After that, the smaller group of us left because we were quite exhausted and went home. It was a good night.

Today, I may have slept in until almost 2...I've got to stop partying like this! :p Had lunch with my hostmom, as the kids were all gone to Madrid today! After lunch, I went through all my email for the first time in two days, then went to my room to relax and listen to my Spanish Harry Potter ebook. About 10 minutes in, I couldn't take it anymore--I really wanted to read it, not listen to it! Having not read anything in like 2 weeks, I finally gave in. I picked up one of the books I already had in my library (iBook library) and read for awhile. It was quite nice. When I finally got up and decided to get to work on blogging and updating my photo album, Julia was gone and I had the place to myself.

So, that's my day! Lazy Saturday, but you need a recuperative day every once in awhile! And the day's not over yet, who knows what's in store :)

Dormido Cómodo

So I bought a fan yesterday and with it on and blowing softly at me, I was able to close my window and block out a lot of the noise and voila! I slept well :) Which means I got up more or less on time and was able to shower :D

Grammar class went well. It's not super interesting because let's face it, it's grammar. But she does talk with us a lot and I've learned the proper way to say things that I didn't know before. For example, how to ask what someone does for a living. Since this is the advanced class, we're starting with things such as when to use the subjunctive...which on a case-by-case basis is tricky. Today we actually had homework!

After class, I did not have any particular errand to run, so I sat at one of the cafes and did my homework with a glass of coke. It was actually a little chilly this morning, so I sat in the sun and soaked up some nice Vitamin D. It was very nice.

UE class was all sorts of interesting as usual. I guess I don't know my history very well, because we learned some really interesting things about history again today. For example, I wasn't aware that the Isabel and Fernando that sent Christopher Columbus to explore the New World were the parents of the Katherine who married King Henry VIII and whose divorce caused the split of the Church of England. And her sister, Juana, was the mother of King Carlos, who apparently conquered most of Europe before Martin Luther came around split the Protestants from Catholics and caused Carlos to lose his empire due to fighting between the two. Before all his conquering though, when he had just become King and was all from Germany and stuff, one of the captains in Spain who incited the revolution was Juan Bravo from Segovia, and the main street right by the school is la Calle Juan Bravo!

We got through all the history of attempts to unite Europe by force and the beginning stages of the UE today. It's really interesting to hear about these things from a European perspective, because I don't think we have quite the same appreciation for the destruction caused by all the wars Europe has been through. We learn about the terrible destruction in WWI & WWII, but hearing about it from someone who lives in a European country is something else. I'm definitely liking this class.

After our discussions, we went on a mini-excursion to see Juan Bravo's statue. See, apparently there's a system for how many hooves of a horse are raised on a statue depending on how they died. Two for dying in battle, one for dying due to injuries inflicted in battle, and none for dying of natural causes. So she had us guess how many hooves were raised in Juan Bravo's case--she totally tricked us! He was considered a traitor and hanged, and that's why he doesn't get a horse. Bummer. After that, we went to la Casa de los Picos to see the mudeja art there. See, when a Muslim creates art for a Muslim owner, the art is Muslim. But when a Muslim creates art for a Christian owner, the art is called mudeja and it only exists in Spain. It was pretty cool, and I took a bunch of pictures. The floor was super boring and ugly, because they don't consider it worth decorating cuz it's all by the feet. The ceiling was pretty though. It's now an art school, and the students there were having an exhibition and the art was pretty cool. I took pictures of that too.

We got out early, so I took a more adventurous way home and made it okay. It was sort of a back way though, and I like walking by all the cute little shops, so I'm not sure how often I'll go that way. Millions and millions of steps too! Luckily downward. On my way back I met Amy, one of my classmates, in the park and we chatted a bit. She doesn't have any classes until after siesta, so she was reading the third Harry Potter in Spanish. This is apparently a very popular series to read among my classmates, because I know others who are also reading or planning to read it. I'm planning to buy the 7th book in Spanish while I'm here to complete my collection :D

After lunch, I siesta'd for too long again, though not quite as long as yesterday. I'll get on a proper schedule eventually! I started listening to my HP1 Spanish audiobook, but was too comfy to stay awake more than a few minutes. Afterwards, I went to my last class of the day, art class. I think I must be weird because I'm still enjoying this first, "boring" part of class when we learn about the composition of art, such as line, color, light, etc. I've never had a particular fascination with art, but I think it'll be fun to talk about art in those terms. We did watch a little video about how murals and wood art are made, it was pretty neat.

May or may not be going out for a bit tonight, we'll see! I've already finished my homework though, so no worries :)

Las Consequencias de Dormir

So, last night I was all set to go to bed at a reasonable time and be all refreshed for the next day. How'd it go? Not so good. There's no white noise here, and plenty of random noises, plus it's fairly hot (though thank goodness for the lack of humidity) and I simply could not fall asleep until after 1:30am. Ay mí. So then I could've sworn when I hit the snooze button that I would only sleep for another five minutes this morning, but I don't remember it going off again and next thing I know it's 8:20. Le sigh. I still made it to class on time and everything, but my breakfast once again was little.

Today was the first day of grammar class, since yesterday was the test. We spent a good chuck of the class just introducing ourselves and conversing a little in Spanish. Then we went through the syllabus and began going over our tests from yesterday. I didn't do so well, but got more than half!! :p There were a few places where I knew as soon as I looked that it was wrong, and I think I would've done better yesterday with more sleep. No matter, it doesn't count anyway. There were a bunch more where I didn't understand a few key words, but now I know that se debe means due to! I think I'm going to like this class once it gets going, despite the 3-6 page final paper due at the end!

After class, I stopped at a cafe for a little more breakfast and something to drink...I've gotta figure out a better way to stay hydrated, because it's starting to be a drain on my wallet! After that I went back to school to address my postcards, then went on an adventure to find the post office. I asked Marian beforehand where it was, and I managed to follow her directions without issue! The post office was a little odd, because they had you take a number in order to be helped at the counter, a la the BMV. There was only one person in front of me though, so it didn't take much time. Afterward, I went back to school to check my email and send one to the study abroad adviser to make sure taking 3 classes would be okay. She once again emphasized that it will be a lot of work and that she counsels against it, but I'm totally going to ignore that because several students are taking 3 classes and some are doing internships. I think I'll be fine.

For UE, we discussed briefly the first half of the European history of trying to unite the continent by way of comics. I also discovered that in Spain, they only consider the world to have 6 continents and the Americas are all one. It's kind of odd, because I was under the impression that part of our classification of the Americas as separate were based on geological reasons, but maybe elementary school lied to me again >:( Then we went on a brief excursion through Segovia. On our way to the aquaduct, we went through a street that used to go next to a seminary there. Now, it's all offices because they didn't have students to use the seminary for. Que triste :( It was really pretty though, so I took several photos. Then we reached the aquaduct and looked over it from the top. She told us a really neat legend about how the aquaduct was constructed, but I think I must've missed something. As I understood it, there was a girl who did the laundry every morning and had to get up really early to go down to the river to get water. One night a man proposed to her and she was to be married the next day. However, her mom said no because she had to get up early and couldn't get married. So, the girl talked to the devil and sold her soul so that water could be delivered to her house and she could get married the next day. So, the devil went to work constructing the aquaduct. But then, the girl had second thoughts. So she prayed and prayed and prayed, and God (or somebody upstairs, I'm assuming him but I don't actually remember if she said specifically who, or maybe I just missed that part) decided to help her out a little. The contract was that it be completed before the first rays of sun touched the land, so God made the night the shortest of the year (the solstice) and just before the devil finished placing the last stone of the aquaduct, the first ray of sun appeared. However, the water still came to her house and so she got to get married and kept her soul too. *shrug*

After that we went and saw a statue for another legend, the origins of the Roman Empire. According to legend, cities were attacking each other and the victors killing every single person in the losing city. Well in one such case, a mother of the losing city put her twin babies in the woods so that they wouldn't be killed. A mother wolf who had lost her cubs found them and took them as her own. Then, when they were still young, a hunter from the city killed the mother wolf and raised the twin boys, teaching them. They were super big and strong though from being raised by a wolf, so the hunter then used the boys to conquer a bunch of other cities in Italy. Then, the two boys fought over what to name the empire: Roma for Romulus or Remolo for Remo. During the fight, Romulus killed Remo and thus it was named Roma. The statue is of a wolf nursing two baby boys.

After class, I went home for lunch and we had some sort of delicious stew-like dish with potatoes and hamish meat and carrots. It was super good. Then I went back and siesta'd for like 3 1/2 hours, getting up with only a little time to spare before going off to my final class of the day, art history.

Art history was probably boring to most people, but I thought it was interesting because I've never studied art before. We talked about the types of materials used, how paints were made, colors, and the process by which someone became an artist in the 1500-1700's. After class, we all went to out for the Welcome Dinner to El Sitio. There we tried all sorts of interesting dishes. My favorites were la croqueta y la tortilla. The salad was also pretty tasty. I tried calimari and the taste was pretty good, but it was all sorts of slimy and I couldn't eat a whole ring. It's something I would taste again though.

Pictures

Primer Día de Clases

Today was the first day of classes....and I totally slept in. No one's surprised though, right? Didn't miss class though, thank you Jorge! I woke up with about 15 minutes to spare, so I grabbed a few of the graham cracker-like cookies and had some orange juice (which, much to my immense surprise, didn't taste horrible. It was like drinking an orange) and then ran out the door to meet Sarah. We got lost on the way because we didn't remember the school being as far up as it was and we'd only been there once before, but we were only a few minutes late and class hadn't started yet. Gramática is first, and today we took the prueba to see which level we would be best suited to, as well as a quick interview. I didn't think it was too bad, but I've forgotten so much about when to use subjunctive, etc! Hopefully I'll get the advanced class, but I don't think it impacts my credit transfer so I'm not particularly worried.

After Gramática, I had about an hour and a half before my next class, so I went questing. I needed a notebook because I didn't know they wouldn't let me use my computer in class and I even managed to find it! Not only that, but I managed to communicate my request to the shopkeeper and bought 3 notebooks (one for each class). I was super proud of myself. Then I decided to stop and get a few postcards to mail out and spent the rest of my time writing them at a cafe and drinking coca-cola. I'll have to mail them tomorrow though, because I didn't have time to search and find the post office.

My second class was la Union Europea con Marian. We very briefly touched on the UE and went through the syllabus, but mostly spent the period getting to know each other. We each drew some things that we like and some we don't, and then swapped drawings. Then we had to go around and figure out whose drawings we had by asking what people did or didn't like. Then, we introduced our artist to the class by their drawing. She also explained a few ways that Spain is different from the rest of Europe, such as how they do their last names and which finger you wear a ring on to indicate that you're married. That last part was confusing, because it's your right ring finger but when one of my classmates said she should switch it because she wasn't married, Marian said she was okay and sort of explained it only not really and it was kinda confusing...I think you have a ring on both hands though, essentially. Also, although there are 27 countries in the UE right now, only 17 use the Euro.

After class I returned home for lunch and a nice siesta. After siesta, a bunch of the girls went out for chocolate and churros, then walked around for a bit. It was so much fun. The churros were decent, and the chocolate very rich. While we were there, it started raining giant rain drops...but as soon as we all got up to move inside, it stopped! It felt nice though, and I love rain :D Our walking around didn't end up going very far, because we kept stopping to take pictures. It was really fun though, and I was sorry to leave for class. Hopefully we'll be doing that sort of thing a lot these next few weeks though! I know we all want to at least go to Barcelona on the 8th of July, as well as the Harry Potter premier.

Finally, my last class was art history. Today was basically a brief overview of what history and art history are, and what art is. I learned that at least from an art history perspective, there is only one difference between artists and artisans: whether or not they sign their work. So, all art created before the 15th century was created by artisans, not artists. It was pretty interesting. We're going to be studying five artists this summer: El Greco, Velasquez, Goya, Dalí, and Picasso.

Will be trying to go to bed earlier tonight, so that I hopefully wake up closer to on time!

Pictures

¡Bebidas, Iglesias y Tormentas, Ay mí!

So last night, we went out with Chris to a few bars. I think he was surprised when pretty much everyone from our group came--we were quite a group at over 20! First we went to a bar with a bunch of outdoor tables, like many in Segovia called Ven Ven. He insisted we try calimocho, so we split one between every two people. Calimocho is 1/2 red wine, 1/2 coke. I tried it, and even drank several times after being told by others that it grows on you. Yeah, it's totally gross. But, now I've tried *the* Spanish drink and won't have to again!! After that, Chris asked who would like to try some absinthe shots. About half the group agreed (not me!), and he brought out these bright purple shots. It smelled strongly of licorice, so I'm glad I passed.

After Ven Ven, we went to this really neat bar called Metrópolis. It has this upper loft that is really neat, and we hung out there. I initially wanted a strawberry daquiri, since I'm a super picky drinker. One of the other profs with us, Bob, laughed when I asked if they would have it here, and he promised to ask the bartender for me. Turns out they don't, so then Bob tried to negotiate an appropriate substitute. I think daquiri must've sounded a lot like Tanqueray, cuz that's what I got, paried with some fruit drink and topped with a bitty strawberry. I took it to the loft and tried it. It was really strong and so very disgusting. I took a second sip trying to convince myself it wasn't that bad and failed. So, I tried one of the other girls' drink because she said it tasted like kool-aid and it was delish! Eristoff Black and Sprite is what I ordered the second time I returned to the bar. I'm still not sure if it only tasted so good because I'd had such yucky drinks prior, but I enjoyed it. I started the night with a headache, and around 1am it got too much, so I left. Was a good night though, and the group was really fun :D

Today, I slept in quite a bit...I guess I don't party well. After siesta, Sarah and I explored more of Segovia and ventured in the opposite direction. It was kind of funny, because we stayed along the major road of Segovia, and along one side were a bunch of apartments, like usual. And then if you went to the opposite side of those buildings, the city just ended! I took a picture of what looked sort of like a mesa...we weren't quite sure how to describe it. She thought it was sort of like the sand/gravel mines they have in Michigan. We somehow ended up back at the aquaduct, and found an ice cream place where they sold smoothies, just what the dry walk called for! It claimed to be strawberry, but they totally used raspberry sorbet...was super tasty though. We had some time before church started, so we went up to this terrace by the aquaduct to watch a performance/demonstration by a martial arts school (I think). It was pretty cool! They performed to music, and at first it was hard to tell what they were doing, because it was more like dancing and the music was slow. As it went on, the music sped up and I realized it was some form of martial arts! It was pretty cool. Is a very fancy kind of martial arts, with lots of spinning and kicking and cartwheels. After watching for 20 minutes or so, we walked back towards the church. We stumbled upon a really cute park and stayed there for another 30 or so, chatting by the fountain. Which, I've noticed, are much less impressive than in the US. We speculated that because water is much more precious here, they display it more carefully. No getting drenched by a fountain should the wind suddenly pick up!

Finally, it was about time for church, so we walked over to la Iglesia de Santo Tomás. It was...an experience. Quite unlike I was used to. The sound in the place was actually worse than St. Gabriel's, so I barely heard anything, much less understood. Luckily I know the progression of the Mass, otherwise I would've been completely lost!! There were no instruments, and the music was all pretty short. In fact, the whole Mass took about 35 minutes, maybe. It was quite strange, because there was a distinct lack of everyone sitting and everyone standing at the same time after the Liturgy. And they didn't hold hands for the Our Father, so I totally missed it :( I think I need to learn some of the prayers and creeds and such in Spanish before I go again next week. Sarah and I are thinking of going to the cathedral next week!

After I returned, Julia and I had dinner minus the boys for the first time. I've realized that dinner is much less of an affair than lunch, and there is less food. Is still tasty though, and Julia picked out the spines (itty bitty bones) from the fish for me :D I think she said it was called gallo, and it tasted just like fish sticks, but without the questionable breading and much more tender. I found out that it does in fact rain in Segovia, and usually comes in the form of storms :D Sarah and I were wondering where all the outdoor cafes put their tables and chairs, but Julia just said they stuff them inside.

Pictures