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

Explorando Segovia

After siesta time, Sarah and I decided to go explore Segovia. And somehow, magically, we didn't even get lost! I was impressed with us. Also, we walked through a few place from our tour this morning, and I'm convinced we walked in a giant circle and that Segovia isn't quite as crazy big and confusing as I thought it was. I'm so glad we explored, it was super fun! We basically walked more or less in a straight line (as straight as you can in Segovia) to the edge of the city, to some palace from the 1800s. And then when we walked back, we took a different route close to where our classes are, and ended up right back at the aquaduct! Still not sure how we managed that, but it worked out :) At this point we were so very thirsty, but weren't sure where to stop since we were really craving a lemonade-type drink. We eventually ended up at a little shop that sold like candy, but also had drinks like a super-scaled down gas station selection, and got limon flavored fanta, which basically tasted like carbonated lemonade. Was pretty tasty. Sat and chat for awhile on a bench and received some funny looks, then went to our respective homes to rest up for a big night of partying!

Pictures

Orientación

Ahhh, it's a new day. I woke up feeling much more well rested. Breakfast was a bit of an amusing affair. I think I must've awoken late, because everyone else had eaten. When I came into the kitchen, there was a bowl on the table. My choices entailed a bag of corn flakes, cookies, sugar, chocolate powder, and some sweet bread. She poured milk into my bowl, and then asked if I wanted to warm it up. I think she was quite mystified when I declined, and reminded me that the microwave would warm it up if I needed to. Then she left me to my own devices. Since the corn flakes were just sitting there and I already had milk in my bowl, I decided to have a very American breakfast of a bowl of cereal :D Oh well, we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

After breakfast, we left for orientation at the school. It was actually kinda chilly this morning--it felt a lot like spring. It's either much cooler here than at home or humidity accounts for most of the hot feeling. We had to hurry because we left late, but I think I'll be able to find my way back to school on Monday. Here's hoping! Orientation consisted of a bunch of information and meeting even more people. Of interest was a guy from London (who I admit mostly communicates with us in English) who was quite amusing. He's going to be setting us up with Spanish students who are studying English so we can all practice, as well as showing us Segovia nightlife (starting tonight)! I also discovered that I'm signed up for 3 classes, not 2; but I'm not complaining because the European Union class just sounds so interesting and I think I'll be okay taking 3 classes. Probably need to contact ISU before too long to make sure they know I'm taking 3 though. Additionally, some phone company came and offered their mobile phone plan. The offer was for anyone who signed up that day to get a phone free from activation fees, and everything is post-paid so I only pay for what I use at the end (couldn't resist the offer, so I now have a mobile phone). I feel a little less stranded having it too, because if I get totally lost in Segovia, I'll at least have that!

After orientation, we went on a walking tour of Segovia. It's quite a beautiful city, and though I took some pictures, it's impossible to take pictures enough to do the city justice. I will say though, it's absolutely crazy. Any city in the US that you might think has a crazy layout, you are wrong. You can tell the difference between places that are meant for car travel and places that are designed for foot travel. Additionally, it's all hilly and level-full and just crazy. I'm so going to get lost. It's cute though. There's lots of little cafes and stores and I can't wait to explore on my own. A travel group of 25 is just not an ideal way to see Segovia. On the way back from the aquaduct (the end of out tour) to the house, Julia and I walked with another student, Sarah, and her host mother. We agreed to meet up again later today, so we'll get to explore Segovia a little more independently. Additionally, all the students have been invited to go out with Chris (the London guy) tonight, which I intend to do.

It's almost lunch time, but I wanted to update before I forgot everything! So many new things :)

Pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100107014678728.2511213.20718294&l=509ba1facc

El Día Primero

I'm in Spain!! It feels like it's been one really long day, since I haven't yet had a full night's rest. A what a long, though good day. My first flight was from Indianapolis to Newark, and despite some turbulence it went well. Transferred well, then relaxed a bit between flights. My second flight was to Madrid and was on a giant Boeing 767. Was huge! The seat next to me was empty, so it was quite comfortable. I only slept a few hours though, but was able to listen to a few chapters of my Harry Potter audiobook. The monitors aboard the plane showed the progress of our flight, which was really neat, as well as estimated arrival, altitude, etc. We had to fill out immigration forms before we landed, which wasn't the best of ideas for someone who gets motion sick. Wasn't too bad though.

Finally, we landed in Madrid. The gate was a little ways from immigration, and I'm glad I had a long line of people to follow. There were signs posted along the way saying Equipaje y Salida and the translation Baggage and Way Out, which amused me greatly. I was kinda surprised at how easy immigration was. Literally, he stamped my passport and moved on. It took a bit to get my luggage, and then I was ready for customs. They stressed that not declaring something you needed to for customs was bad, so I went there just in case. The sign said if you have more than 10.000 Euro, you need to declare it. Well I forgot that the . and , are switched in Spain, and proceeded to look all kinds of silly. Going through Customs was super easy too, I just walked through a door, didn't do anything. I guess I just expected the whole going to another country thing to be more difficult.

After finding the group of AHA Segovia students, we sat around for awhile, and then were shown to a pretty nice charter bus that would take us to Segovia. I tried to stay awake for the first part of it at least, and got a couple of cool pictures. Madrid was so weird looking! There's all these apartment-looking buildings for quite a large radius, and then in the middle are four giant skyscrapers. Is not what I expected a city to look like. There was also this giant cross surrounded by mountain-looking things (I have no sense of perspective, maybe they were just big hills). Pictures can be found on Facebook.


Upon arriving in Segovia, we were paired with our Spanish mothers. Mine is named Julia and she has 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren. We went back to her apartment which is much larger than I would have expected. I've only really seen my room, the bathrooms, kitchen, and living room, but the hallway turns and there's more around the corner and maybe I just haven't seen many large apartments. I had to carry my bags like 5 blocks (it was more than 3, I'm just not sure the exact amount cuz I was battling exhuastion). Note to self: bring wheeled luggage next time! My room is pretty cool though, cuz the bedspread is pink!! Pictures can be found on Facebook.

After my tour, I watched pokemon with her grandson Diego until lunch, which was some sort of vegetable soup and salty pork. Was quite tasty. After lunch, she asked if I'd like to rest and I heartily agreed. I slept about four hours, and then finally got up. Small children are quite loud, especially when they are three little boys. Everything is very chaotic and I'm never sure exactly what's going on. So it goes. I got all settled in, and then Julia and I went shopping. The market was really interesting, and they totally didn't have any cold milk :( I think I may have said I like orange juice, cuz the other option was piña and I have no idea what that is, so maybe I'll learn to like orange juice this summer. She also bought some hotdogs, which was a little surprising. The baskets were pretty neat, like the ones we have only bigger and with wheels on the bottom.

On our way back, we stopped to sit with her family and had drinks and tapas (...pretty sure). I had a tortilla on toast, and was delicious. The kids were so adorable. It gets pretty chilly at night, which was a bit unexpected. The weather here is very very dry, something I wasn't really expecting.

And now I am quite exhausted, and I don't think we've even had supper yet!! I'm going to go do something that requires less thinking now. Hope you enjoyed my first update!!

The Night Before

I'm leaving for Spain tomorrow!! Just set up my blog which I will be using to tell everyone back in the States what I'm up to. I'll try to blog frequently (every day), but knowing me, don't be too disappointed if one doesn't show up for a week or so. Spain, here I come!