Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sick in Slovenia
Will post full blog later - borrowing a computer. Im feeling similar to how I felt yesterday. Its supposed to rain the next couple days here and I will try to get better. Miss you all!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sick in Venice
Today was a bad day. The grade: an F. I left the hotel with the guys not feeling well and by the time we got into Venice, it was colder than we expected. Phil and I offered to go back and get jackets for everyone. By the time I returned to the hotel, I didn't want to leave. I had a headache, sore throat, probably a fever and felt dizzy and weak. I spend from 1-7 just going in and out of sleep in the tv room at the hotel. It's not 8 PM and I am feeling better. My body was probably just begging for a day off.
We leave for Ljubljana at 930 tonight, arriving at 130 in the morning.
Some good news - my paper on the differences between Christianity in Spain and the US in comparison with Islam in Morocco got an A! My last paper she said that my conclusions were "misguided" (even though I explained it was my opinion). She loved this paper, woo hoo!
We leave for Ljubljana at 930 tonight, arriving at 130 in the morning.
Some good news - my paper on the differences between Christianity in Spain and the US in comparison with Islam in Morocco got an A! My last paper she said that my conclusions were "misguided" (even though I explained it was my opinion). She loved this paper, woo hoo!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Milan Photos
My internet is very weak. I will attempt to post photos.
3.
4. A great pizza place in Milan
5. Duomo - church in Milan
Venice
Saturday Night in Milan:
We walked around Milan after taking a metro to a tram to the outskirts of the city for about an hour to find Phil’s friend’s favorite pizza spot. We made it to the restaurant at about 11:10 PM just before they were going to close. It was worth the wait. The pizza was delicious and very filling. A great way to finish off Milan!
Sunday in Venice:
Our train was for 9:05. After pleading with the guys to leave at 7:30 AM the night before to be sure we didn’t miss our train, we left at 7:45 the next morning. Correction – we had no knowledge of the daylight savings and actually left our hostel at 845!! We realized this when entering the metro station and seeing it was 8:50. We booked it to the station, went four stops on the metro, and sprinted to the train carry all of our luggage including my big green bag that we check for flights up TONS of stairs. We made it to the train with about 10-15 seconds to spare. I was mad to be sure. Leaving early allows for unforeseen circumstances such as this one. But we made it and I’m writing this in Hotel Piave. All is well.
The hotel is really nice, we have our own bathroom and all four beds are slotted next to each other. This is an exact opposite of the last hostel. Although breakfast is not offered, it’s a really nice hotel. We are only paying about 15 euros a night, the cheapest hotel of all of our visits. We are not actually located in Venice, but a 10 minute train ride away. If we were actually in Venice we would probably be paying 2 to 3 times more. Ha so they gave us free wifi in the room, for 15 minutes. After that, it’s 5 Euros per hour. Thanks hotel Piave. I would post pictures but only have 15 minutes to be online.
The train was scheduled to arrive in Venice at 11:40 from Milan. I actually determined that we should see if there is a “Mestre” stop before Venice because that’s where our hostel was. What a time saver that was. We were able to get off the train one stop before Venice, walk 5 minutes to the hostel to check in! Otherwise we would have gotten off in Venice, found tickets back to Mestre, and waited for the next train.
Venice is beautiful!!! It is basically as I imagined it through, as silly as it sounds, Tomb Raider II and Shaun Murray Wakeboarding video games. They do a pretty good job showing the city haha. There are cafes and restaurants overlooking the beautiful blue-green calm water. The water runs everywhere through a maze of sidewalks and shops and ancient buildings. We went for a coffee to find two prices: 1.90 and 3 Euros (Venice is one of the most expensive cities anywhere). We asked if the price difference was for sizes and the waitress told us that no, its whether or not you want to sit outside by the water.
After checking in to the hostel and getting some groceries we got to Venice by about 2 PM via train. We got back to the hotel at about 9. We first took a water boat through the main canal to the St. Mark’s Basilica area. It was a beautiful ride through the canal. There are boatloads (pun) of gondola drivers in the water. It’s quite incredible because they actually only row on one side of the boat the entire time but are able to steer and go in all directions. We were able to see, from the outside, Doge’s Palace, Palazzio de St. Mark’s, and St. Mark’s Basilica. Tomorrow we will be entering all three along with Museo Correr. We didn’t really see too many specific sites on the first day, having plenty of entertainment simply wandering the streets from one corner of Venice back to the train station, which took hours.
Highlight of the day: Entering San Salvador church during a mass to watch a string quartet on Palm Sunday. I feel that Christianity is pretty cold and weak here in Europe but I really feel God’s presence and glory in these beautiful churches. We have noticed that most are in the shape of a cross, in terms of looking from a bird’s eye view. Does anyone know the significance of this?
To cap of a wonderful day Micah and Rob we able to bring back two huge Italian pizzas to the hotel for the four of us at 4.50 a person! We enjoyed it while watching Hangover before bed. Tomorrow we will try to grab some cheap pizza while in Venice and eat it by the water.
Grade for Day 1 in Venice: A-
Bathroom game: Finding a free bathroom to use is basically a game for travelers like myself. You are only technically able to use them as a customer in the restaurant, and even sometimes then they don’t have one or want you to pay. Making sure you’re hydrated is key when walking around all day, which leads one to needing to use a bathroom somewhat often. Keys to finding a bathroom:
1. Any worldwide chain is a safe bet. McDonald’s, Burger King and Starbucks are good plays.
2. Any bar or restaurant with outdoor seating. Give you backpack to a friend and act like you’re a customer from outside.
3. Never pay for a bathroom. There’s always a way. You just have to work hard to find a good place haha.
Side note that I remembered on Milan for Aaron and Ty: The Opera House. Level 4 of Tomb Raider II. The Opera House I visited was clearly the one the game was based off of. It was uncanny.
Monday in Venice:
A gorgeous day to be in Venice. We slept in a bit and left the hotel at about 11. After heading to the grocery store to pick up food for the day, we made it to Venice and enjoyed grocery store croissants and juice while overlooking the water with the sun beating down on us. We really didn’t have too many specific sites to visit for the day – we simply wanted to wander the streets and get lost in Venetian beauty. Palazzo Piscina (or something like that) is where the final scene to James Bond’s Casino Royale 2006 movie was shot. We were able to get some shots from across the canal. After a couple hours of wandering somewhat aimlessly we made it to the other side of the island in order to see Doge’s Palace, where hundreds of Dukes lived over the course of a thousand years. It was a fascinating place, costing 6.50 for students. From about 3-5 we toured the palace and the connected prison. There is a bridge connecting the palace and prison called the Bridge of Sighs. After getting sentenced to prison or death in Doge’s Palace in the courtroom, the final view that prisoners would see Venice from is a small window on the Bridge of Sighs. Hence the name, their freedom was gone.
Although we slept 9-10 hours the night before, I think we’re getting very tired from all of the walking. We strolled to a nearby park after Doge’s Palace to watch the sunset and then spent about two hours meandering back to the train station that could return us to Mestre. It actually was tiring and frustrating tonight trying to find the bridge back to the train station in the dark. Small alleys may lead to dead ends or huge plazas, how can we know? Our map came free from the hotel and is quite poor. It’s in black and white and is small. The key to navigating the streets is to follow the largest string of people to assume that they are heading to a popular or common location. I love Venice. I need to keep reminding myself where I am and enjoy every view I can get.
Future Austin if there is one place you need to revisit, it’s Venice. However, Future Austin you should go to cities you’ve never been to first, such as Lisbon, Florence, Prague, or Dublin. Tomorrow we are heading to St. Mark’s Basillica but really don’t have any other plans other than checking out in the morning. We are taking a train to Ljubljana at 9:40 PM tomorrow from Mestre and will arrive in Slovenia at about 1:45 AM. From there we’ll taxi to Micah’s friend’s apartment to stay for free for three nights.
Day 2 in Venice: B+
We walked around Milan after taking a metro to a tram to the outskirts of the city for about an hour to find Phil’s friend’s favorite pizza spot. We made it to the restaurant at about 11:10 PM just before they were going to close. It was worth the wait. The pizza was delicious and very filling. A great way to finish off Milan!
Sunday in Venice:
Our train was for 9:05. After pleading with the guys to leave at 7:30 AM the night before to be sure we didn’t miss our train, we left at 7:45 the next morning. Correction – we had no knowledge of the daylight savings and actually left our hostel at 845!! We realized this when entering the metro station and seeing it was 8:50. We booked it to the station, went four stops on the metro, and sprinted to the train carry all of our luggage including my big green bag that we check for flights up TONS of stairs. We made it to the train with about 10-15 seconds to spare. I was mad to be sure. Leaving early allows for unforeseen circumstances such as this one. But we made it and I’m writing this in Hotel Piave. All is well.
The hotel is really nice, we have our own bathroom and all four beds are slotted next to each other. This is an exact opposite of the last hostel. Although breakfast is not offered, it’s a really nice hotel. We are only paying about 15 euros a night, the cheapest hotel of all of our visits. We are not actually located in Venice, but a 10 minute train ride away. If we were actually in Venice we would probably be paying 2 to 3 times more. Ha so they gave us free wifi in the room, for 15 minutes. After that, it’s 5 Euros per hour. Thanks hotel Piave. I would post pictures but only have 15 minutes to be online.
The train was scheduled to arrive in Venice at 11:40 from Milan. I actually determined that we should see if there is a “Mestre” stop before Venice because that’s where our hostel was. What a time saver that was. We were able to get off the train one stop before Venice, walk 5 minutes to the hostel to check in! Otherwise we would have gotten off in Venice, found tickets back to Mestre, and waited for the next train.
Venice is beautiful!!! It is basically as I imagined it through, as silly as it sounds, Tomb Raider II and Shaun Murray Wakeboarding video games. They do a pretty good job showing the city haha. There are cafes and restaurants overlooking the beautiful blue-green calm water. The water runs everywhere through a maze of sidewalks and shops and ancient buildings. We went for a coffee to find two prices: 1.90 and 3 Euros (Venice is one of the most expensive cities anywhere). We asked if the price difference was for sizes and the waitress told us that no, its whether or not you want to sit outside by the water.
After checking in to the hostel and getting some groceries we got to Venice by about 2 PM via train. We got back to the hotel at about 9. We first took a water boat through the main canal to the St. Mark’s Basilica area. It was a beautiful ride through the canal. There are boatloads (pun) of gondola drivers in the water. It’s quite incredible because they actually only row on one side of the boat the entire time but are able to steer and go in all directions. We were able to see, from the outside, Doge’s Palace, Palazzio de St. Mark’s, and St. Mark’s Basilica. Tomorrow we will be entering all three along with Museo Correr. We didn’t really see too many specific sites on the first day, having plenty of entertainment simply wandering the streets from one corner of Venice back to the train station, which took hours.
Highlight of the day: Entering San Salvador church during a mass to watch a string quartet on Palm Sunday. I feel that Christianity is pretty cold and weak here in Europe but I really feel God’s presence and glory in these beautiful churches. We have noticed that most are in the shape of a cross, in terms of looking from a bird’s eye view. Does anyone know the significance of this?
To cap of a wonderful day Micah and Rob we able to bring back two huge Italian pizzas to the hotel for the four of us at 4.50 a person! We enjoyed it while watching Hangover before bed. Tomorrow we will try to grab some cheap pizza while in Venice and eat it by the water.
Grade for Day 1 in Venice: A-
Bathroom game: Finding a free bathroom to use is basically a game for travelers like myself. You are only technically able to use them as a customer in the restaurant, and even sometimes then they don’t have one or want you to pay. Making sure you’re hydrated is key when walking around all day, which leads one to needing to use a bathroom somewhat often. Keys to finding a bathroom:
1. Any worldwide chain is a safe bet. McDonald’s, Burger King and Starbucks are good plays.
2. Any bar or restaurant with outdoor seating. Give you backpack to a friend and act like you’re a customer from outside.
3. Never pay for a bathroom. There’s always a way. You just have to work hard to find a good place haha.
Side note that I remembered on Milan for Aaron and Ty: The Opera House. Level 4 of Tomb Raider II. The Opera House I visited was clearly the one the game was based off of. It was uncanny.
Monday in Venice:
A gorgeous day to be in Venice. We slept in a bit and left the hotel at about 11. After heading to the grocery store to pick up food for the day, we made it to Venice and enjoyed grocery store croissants and juice while overlooking the water with the sun beating down on us. We really didn’t have too many specific sites to visit for the day – we simply wanted to wander the streets and get lost in Venetian beauty. Palazzo Piscina (or something like that) is where the final scene to James Bond’s Casino Royale 2006 movie was shot. We were able to get some shots from across the canal. After a couple hours of wandering somewhat aimlessly we made it to the other side of the island in order to see Doge’s Palace, where hundreds of Dukes lived over the course of a thousand years. It was a fascinating place, costing 6.50 for students. From about 3-5 we toured the palace and the connected prison. There is a bridge connecting the palace and prison called the Bridge of Sighs. After getting sentenced to prison or death in Doge’s Palace in the courtroom, the final view that prisoners would see Venice from is a small window on the Bridge of Sighs. Hence the name, their freedom was gone.
Although we slept 9-10 hours the night before, I think we’re getting very tired from all of the walking. We strolled to a nearby park after Doge’s Palace to watch the sunset and then spent about two hours meandering back to the train station that could return us to Mestre. It actually was tiring and frustrating tonight trying to find the bridge back to the train station in the dark. Small alleys may lead to dead ends or huge plazas, how can we know? Our map came free from the hotel and is quite poor. It’s in black and white and is small. The key to navigating the streets is to follow the largest string of people to assume that they are heading to a popular or common location. I love Venice. I need to keep reminding myself where I am and enjoy every view I can get.
Future Austin if there is one place you need to revisit, it’s Venice. However, Future Austin you should go to cities you’ve never been to first, such as Lisbon, Florence, Prague, or Dublin. Tomorrow we are heading to St. Mark’s Basillica but really don’t have any other plans other than checking out in the morning. We are taking a train to Ljubljana at 9:40 PM tomorrow from Mestre and will arrive in Slovenia at about 1:45 AM. From there we’ll taxi to Micah’s friend’s apartment to stay for free for three nights.
Day 2 in Venice: B+
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Milan
Safe and sound!
Thursday Night:
Micah and I left the apartment at 645 to catch a bus with Phil and Rob for our 915 flight. Micah misread the Ryanair site thinking that 30 KG was allowed, when in fact the limit is 15 KG. When we checked in, our weight was 26 KG. Every KG over 15 KG is 20 Euros. So we were 220 Euros over. Wow. So basically we then had to stuff our carry-ons and wear tons of clothes. I put on 5 shirts and put sweat pants over my jeans. Whew. We made it.
We landed basically on time and were able to find a great place to spend the night. We actually ran into Mike from UPO and he is also spending the night in Girona. It’s now 11:40 so I’m going to try and relax and get some rest before our 6 AM flight.
Friday
So I was actually able to sleep for about 3 hours in the airport on the benches until I woke up at 4 with my chest hurting from laying on a bar, freezing cold, and it was a cop that woke me up. He wakes everyone up at about 4ish. Prank: We told Rob before landing in Barca that there are sleep cops that prevent anyone from falling asleep because of theft problems while people sleep. It was really fun. Ryanair flights are fun, chaotic, and always on time. You get to pick your seats on the flights. Everyone likes to line up early so they can sit with their friends and get windows etc. I have always gotten an aisle or window and always been by friends and we just wait until the line is empty to check in. So we play a game – you see who will have to check their luggage and who will carry it on. Ryanair is very strict on 1 carryon of a certain small size. Almost everyone bends the rules so we try and predict who will and who will not check their bags. If its close the staff makes you put it in a metal bin to prove it fits. So naturally, the big ones get stuck and that creates a second mess. It’s fun to watch.
I slept through my flight to Milan and we made it to our hostel by about 12. I was being a downer when we couldn’t find the hostel and was called out on it by Phil. It was needed. I think I just really value my own opinion and want things a certain way, am very frugal and need to be on time or productive. Anyways, I’m glad Phil was a good friend and talked to me about it. Lesson learned. Checking in was very slow. This hostel has no breakfast (first time for me), instead of copying your passport he simply wrote out all of my information along with the other 3 guys (inefficient??) and our “4 bed private room” is two twin beds and one queen haha. Rob and I are sharing.
Today we bought a two day metro pass and went into the main city center. We first went to Duoma, the fourth largest cathedral in the world. We were actually able to get in for free which was awesome. I continually pray to be a magnet for Christ and Micah, myself and Rob have been having great spiritual conversations. They’re both great listeners yet get their opinions voiced. The cathedral was beautiful, particularly from the outside. The city square is beautiful too, although with popular areas like this people are haggling you for money. I have a lot of sympathy for the Senagese population. They leave a rough life back home and come here and try to coax you into taking a “free” bracelet and then try to make you pay. It’s all they can do. I don’t think many companies hire them or give them any opportunity. There’s also a guy that gives you bird seeds and when the pigeons flock all over you he takes a photo. There’s an umbrella woman.
Right next to Douma is the first shopping mall in the world. It’s gorgeous. Louis Voutton, Prada and other nice stores are there. Of course, McDonald’s is too… We then went over to the largest opera house in the world for a tour. We almost bought 12 euro tickets but found out there would be good odds that we wouldn’t be able to see anything. Also, its 4.5 hours long. The tour was alright, although no photos are allowed. We snuck some photos in. Rob fell asleep on a chair while we were all walking around, it was very funny. We were able to see the rehearsal of tonight’s performance which was really entertaining. We then got some authentic pizza and bread on our way back to the hostel for a nap. Tonight we will try to catch a symphony orchestra for about 20 Euros.
Yeah… no symphony. We slept from 6 to 10. We then joined Micah’s friend from George Washington University at his apartment on the other side of the city. He was having some friends over for some beer pong before heading out to a night club. Ha, my kind of night… not. I actually had a lot of fun talking to some Italians over at the apartment. We were able to learn about their culture and actually find out about their faith and beliefs and the differences between Christianity in the US vs Italy. I also met with Kendall and another girl that are in Carlson! It was super random. Anyways, Rob and I took a taxi back at about 1:30 in the morning and have been discussing our methods for talking to non-Christians about our faith.
Milan Day 1: C+ (Beautiful but cold and rainy, hard to find hostel, hostel isn’t great, tired, enjoyed talking to Italians) Don't worry, I loved it. But I'm trying to achieve a C average in ranking my days here :)
Saturday
We got up and left the hostel at about 1045 this morning. We were able to stop by Carrefour, the national supermarket chain, to get some food and water for the day. Luckily, for the two days we are here, and only these two days, they have been giving away lots of free food. We then went to great little niche café to grab some café con leche and plan out our day. We first went to Milan’s famous cemetery, where monuments of rich deceased cover the landscape. Monuments get as high as about 75-100 feet in remembrance of who died. It was pretty incredible. We then went to a huge park and castle area to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warm temperature. Afterwards we took the metro to the church where the painting The Last Supper is held. However, you need to book a visit months in advance to see it. So we didn’t see it. We considered sneaking in with an Italian tourist group but it wouldn’t have worked out. The church was beautiful, as all European churches are. After the church, the guys and I ate gelato at the “best gelato place in Milan” according to some of our friends and citizens of Italy. It's called Chocolat and I ordered the large which I got dark chocolate, white chocolate and a cookies and cream of sorts.
A few failed visits followed these great experiences. We went to check out supposedly a cool canal area on the other side of the city, which was completely dried up and really contained nothing interesting. Next, we went to see supposedly a horse statue/race track but were unable to enter the stadium or see the famous statue. It’s now 7:30, we’re heading to an internet café where I can post this, and then we will go to, in Phil’s friend’s opinion, the best pizza place in Milan. I may be capping off the night with jazz and dance or by heading to bed. I’m exhausted but having a blast :)
Day two grade: B-
Impressions of Italians:
1. I really enjoy listening to Italians. Its a beautiful language and they really stress the syllables.
2. Italian men are just like I imagined them: dark short and gelled hair with tighter dark clothes.
3. They seem colder to Americans than Spaniards have been.
Thursday Night:
Micah and I left the apartment at 645 to catch a bus with Phil and Rob for our 915 flight. Micah misread the Ryanair site thinking that 30 KG was allowed, when in fact the limit is 15 KG. When we checked in, our weight was 26 KG. Every KG over 15 KG is 20 Euros. So we were 220 Euros over. Wow. So basically we then had to stuff our carry-ons and wear tons of clothes. I put on 5 shirts and put sweat pants over my jeans. Whew. We made it.
We landed basically on time and were able to find a great place to spend the night. We actually ran into Mike from UPO and he is also spending the night in Girona. It’s now 11:40 so I’m going to try and relax and get some rest before our 6 AM flight.
Friday
So I was actually able to sleep for about 3 hours in the airport on the benches until I woke up at 4 with my chest hurting from laying on a bar, freezing cold, and it was a cop that woke me up. He wakes everyone up at about 4ish. Prank: We told Rob before landing in Barca that there are sleep cops that prevent anyone from falling asleep because of theft problems while people sleep. It was really fun. Ryanair flights are fun, chaotic, and always on time. You get to pick your seats on the flights. Everyone likes to line up early so they can sit with their friends and get windows etc. I have always gotten an aisle or window and always been by friends and we just wait until the line is empty to check in. So we play a game – you see who will have to check their luggage and who will carry it on. Ryanair is very strict on 1 carryon of a certain small size. Almost everyone bends the rules so we try and predict who will and who will not check their bags. If its close the staff makes you put it in a metal bin to prove it fits. So naturally, the big ones get stuck and that creates a second mess. It’s fun to watch.
I slept through my flight to Milan and we made it to our hostel by about 12. I was being a downer when we couldn’t find the hostel and was called out on it by Phil. It was needed. I think I just really value my own opinion and want things a certain way, am very frugal and need to be on time or productive. Anyways, I’m glad Phil was a good friend and talked to me about it. Lesson learned. Checking in was very slow. This hostel has no breakfast (first time for me), instead of copying your passport he simply wrote out all of my information along with the other 3 guys (inefficient??) and our “4 bed private room” is two twin beds and one queen haha. Rob and I are sharing.
Today we bought a two day metro pass and went into the main city center. We first went to Duoma, the fourth largest cathedral in the world. We were actually able to get in for free which was awesome. I continually pray to be a magnet for Christ and Micah, myself and Rob have been having great spiritual conversations. They’re both great listeners yet get their opinions voiced. The cathedral was beautiful, particularly from the outside. The city square is beautiful too, although with popular areas like this people are haggling you for money. I have a lot of sympathy for the Senagese population. They leave a rough life back home and come here and try to coax you into taking a “free” bracelet and then try to make you pay. It’s all they can do. I don’t think many companies hire them or give them any opportunity. There’s also a guy that gives you bird seeds and when the pigeons flock all over you he takes a photo. There’s an umbrella woman.
Right next to Douma is the first shopping mall in the world. It’s gorgeous. Louis Voutton, Prada and other nice stores are there. Of course, McDonald’s is too… We then went over to the largest opera house in the world for a tour. We almost bought 12 euro tickets but found out there would be good odds that we wouldn’t be able to see anything. Also, its 4.5 hours long. The tour was alright, although no photos are allowed. We snuck some photos in. Rob fell asleep on a chair while we were all walking around, it was very funny. We were able to see the rehearsal of tonight’s performance which was really entertaining. We then got some authentic pizza and bread on our way back to the hostel for a nap. Tonight we will try to catch a symphony orchestra for about 20 Euros.
Yeah… no symphony. We slept from 6 to 10. We then joined Micah’s friend from George Washington University at his apartment on the other side of the city. He was having some friends over for some beer pong before heading out to a night club. Ha, my kind of night… not. I actually had a lot of fun talking to some Italians over at the apartment. We were able to learn about their culture and actually find out about their faith and beliefs and the differences between Christianity in the US vs Italy. I also met with Kendall and another girl that are in Carlson! It was super random. Anyways, Rob and I took a taxi back at about 1:30 in the morning and have been discussing our methods for talking to non-Christians about our faith.
Milan Day 1: C+ (Beautiful but cold and rainy, hard to find hostel, hostel isn’t great, tired, enjoyed talking to Italians) Don't worry, I loved it. But I'm trying to achieve a C average in ranking my days here :)
Saturday
We got up and left the hostel at about 1045 this morning. We were able to stop by Carrefour, the national supermarket chain, to get some food and water for the day. Luckily, for the two days we are here, and only these two days, they have been giving away lots of free food. We then went to great little niche café to grab some café con leche and plan out our day. We first went to Milan’s famous cemetery, where monuments of rich deceased cover the landscape. Monuments get as high as about 75-100 feet in remembrance of who died. It was pretty incredible. We then went to a huge park and castle area to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warm temperature. Afterwards we took the metro to the church where the painting The Last Supper is held. However, you need to book a visit months in advance to see it. So we didn’t see it. We considered sneaking in with an Italian tourist group but it wouldn’t have worked out. The church was beautiful, as all European churches are. After the church, the guys and I ate gelato at the “best gelato place in Milan” according to some of our friends and citizens of Italy. It's called Chocolat and I ordered the large which I got dark chocolate, white chocolate and a cookies and cream of sorts.
A few failed visits followed these great experiences. We went to check out supposedly a cool canal area on the other side of the city, which was completely dried up and really contained nothing interesting. Next, we went to see supposedly a horse statue/race track but were unable to enter the stadium or see the famous statue. It’s now 7:30, we’re heading to an internet café where I can post this, and then we will go to, in Phil’s friend’s opinion, the best pizza place in Milan. I may be capping off the night with jazz and dance or by heading to bed. I’m exhausted but having a blast :)
Day two grade: B-
Impressions of Italians:
1. I really enjoy listening to Italians. Its a beautiful language and they really stress the syllables.
2. Italian men are just like I imagined them: dark short and gelled hair with tighter dark clothes.
3. They seem colder to Americans than Spaniards have been.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Ciao!
Mom and Dad I figured you would want to see the bikes that you'll be riding. :) Here is an example of a SEVici station. There's a station every couple of blocks to grab a bike.A Blogless Night
Look out, Austin forgot to blog last night. It's been kind of hectic here trying to get ready for our trip. We have to check-in online and print all of our boarding passes for Ryanair. We have also elected to bite the bullet, pay 16 euros more each, and share one checked luggage for more clothes and such.
I'm going to meet with the kids in about an hour, then head over to CIEE to do lots of printing of boarding passes and homework for the trip. After lunch, hopefully I can squeeze in a nap. Our flight is at 9:15 PM tonight and we'll probably leave the apartment at about 7:00 PM.
So I just found out yesterday that Gustavo is moving to Alicante starting next week for good. Ana will stay here until we move out. He apparently has a much better job.
I'll be sure to blog before I leave! Austin
I'm going to meet with the kids in about an hour, then head over to CIEE to do lots of printing of boarding passes and homework for the trip. After lunch, hopefully I can squeeze in a nap. Our flight is at 9:15 PM tonight and we'll probably leave the apartment at about 7:00 PM.
So I just found out yesterday that Gustavo is moving to Alicante starting next week for good. Ana will stay here until we move out. He apparently has a much better job.
I'll be sure to blog before I leave! Austin
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Untitled
It's been a long day. I couldn't think of a title.
At tutoring today at CIEE, Manueal, a guy that just happens to be in the office with Nuria, my tutor, was very disappointed that I wasn't going to be here for Semana Santa. He explained that religion is just an excuse for an amazing, only-one-like-it-in-the-world party and celebration. Ha. I said okay. What I should have said:
1. I'm going to Italy for 10 days. Why would I ever pass that up?
2. I don't support the over-exaggerated party for Holy week in which much of the population doesn't know what they're truly celebrating, and where Mary is worshipped just as much as Jesus. Ugh.
Spaniards are amazing at parallel parking - have I already said that? Today was a great day for shorts and a t-shirt for biking across the city to and from the tutor session. It was great. I just finished a 6 page paper for Managing Cultural Diversity on Morocco and its religious differences between that and Spain and the US.
We leave for Italy in less than 48 hours. So much to do. I can't wait!
At tutoring today at CIEE, Manueal, a guy that just happens to be in the office with Nuria, my tutor, was very disappointed that I wasn't going to be here for Semana Santa. He explained that religion is just an excuse for an amazing, only-one-like-it-in-the-world party and celebration. Ha. I said okay. What I should have said:
1. I'm going to Italy for 10 days. Why would I ever pass that up?
2. I don't support the over-exaggerated party for Holy week in which much of the population doesn't know what they're truly celebrating, and where Mary is worshipped just as much as Jesus. Ugh.
Spaniards are amazing at parallel parking - have I already said that? Today was a great day for shorts and a t-shirt for biking across the city to and from the tutor session. It was great. I just finished a 6 page paper for Managing Cultural Diversity on Morocco and its religious differences between that and Spain and the US.
We leave for Italy in less than 48 hours. So much to do. I can't wait!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Final Notes on Morocco
1. As I left the homestay, the mother from the photo actually hugged both Rob and I (we both were in that homestay) for quite a long time. I'm fairly certain she was on the verge of tears. I felt so welcomed in her home.
2. Despite feeling confident that I would continue to get sicker, Morocco healed me. I no longer feel sick for the first time since early February!
3. Looking like Americans: Rob and I left the Hammam (Moroccan bath) at about 10:30 PM to walk about 15 minutes through dark, sketchy areas to get to our homestay carrying our buckets, towels and swimsuits. Boy did we stand out.
4. I got home today, Monday at about 6 PM. I leave on Thursday at about 6 or 7 PM for my 10 day Italy and Slovenia trip. Needless to say, I'm very excited.
5. Question, I sent out three postcards. One to Grandma and Grandma on the farm, one to Grandma Savat, and one to my parents. This was several weeks ago. Has anyone gotten them?
2. Despite feeling confident that I would continue to get sicker, Morocco healed me. I no longer feel sick for the first time since early February!
3. Looking like Americans: Rob and I left the Hammam (Moroccan bath) at about 10:30 PM to walk about 15 minutes through dark, sketchy areas to get to our homestay carrying our buckets, towels and swimsuits. Boy did we stand out.
4. I got home today, Monday at about 6 PM. I leave on Thursday at about 6 or 7 PM for my 10 day Italy and Slovenia trip. Needless to say, I'm very excited.
5. Question, I sent out three postcards. One to Grandma and Grandma on the farm, one to Grandma Savat, and one to my parents. This was several weeks ago. Has anyone gotten them?
Home Safe from Morocco II
Read the other blog below first!
S. On the hike Monday morning.
T. The king. Morocco has billboards and flags ALL OVER the city, particularily the areas where king shall be visiting. On our way to Chefchouen I probably saw over 100 flags.
U. Micah and I overlooking Chefchouen on our Monday morning hike.
V. Machine to make rugs and blankets in the women's shelter.
W. Chefchaouen, Morocco - the town of blue and white buildings.
X. Eating cous cous at a rural Moroccan home on the mountainside! The rule of eating is that you imagine a slice of pie in front of you on the platter and stick to that. ONLY use your right hand, which is considered the clean hand.
Y. LEO! Our cat's name was LEO! He was a male that wore a pink outfit at all times.
Z. Meat market. Ehsan is the guy on the left in olive green.
6. The Hammam!! Google this term to find photos. The Hammam is basically a spa - one for each gender. You enter and its three rooms, each progressively hotter. The third room is where the steaming hot water comes out. So you bring a towel, flip flops, soap, a hand scrubber and two buckets. You fill the huge bucket with hot water and then there's faucets in all three rooms with cold water. So basically you select the temp you want. It seems kind of gross, because everyone just sits on the floor.
6B. Scrubber man. It's ten dirhams to enter the place, 50 to hire the scrubber man. I did it. We have these really rough cloths to clean with, and he basically does it all over your body and you get SUPER clean. You just lay flat out on your stomach, then your back, and he goes to work. At the end you can see clumps of skin that came off. It's amazing.
7. I've noted that people all over the world are forceful to get money. In Morocco, people are forceful to do henna and sell weed - yes the drug. The women will take your are and put ink on it without asking, so you have to be very strong in saying no. A man walked with us for about 5 minutes pestering us about weed - apparently its popular there.
8. Sarah - our leader. She served in the Peace Corps for two years and now works for the Moroccan exchange, still living in Morocco. She is from Seattle and was great. Really run, really great. I was able to have a great spiritual conversation with her and ask her about Christianity in Morocco and get a fee for her beliefs. Thanks for the opportunity God.
9. Beds (couches). Everyone sleeps on couches against the wall like my previous photo post. They are actually pretty hard, but I slept like a rock.
10. Storks were everywhere when we visited old Roman ruins. For Africa or Morocco, can't remember, its called the origin of civilization. Coincidence? :)
11. Islam. People pray 5 times a day. You probably knew that. They actually have a speaker system accross the entire country so that people can hear the prayers. Even in the countryside. Mosques are overfilled so people are poured out onto the streets to pray.
12. The streets in Rabat are very busy with markets and such but verrrry smelly.
13. Meeting with the rural mountainside family. The first time they saw or met Americans was the weekend before this one. They were very nice - the father of the household was 62 and seemed quite happy. Although he didn't like Bush because Bush supported Israel. It was just so incredible to be there and learn about their lifestyle. They live about 20 minutes walking from the nearest road and are self-sustaining farmers. A translator was with us which allowed us to ask them questions and for them to ask us questions. The highlight of my trip. They served us cous cous - the big platter in the photo.
14. Sunday night we say by candlelight on the roof of our hotel in Chefchouen. We reviewed the weekend and discussed observations. I feel like I really bonded with my group of 13 people. We finished the night with a game of Mafia - half of the people had never played before. It didn't go well.
15. I have really developed a desire to talk to people about Jesus more and more. People need it. He's our Savior. Some are open to talking about it, some aren't. Those that aren't just break my heart. I'm really praying and thinking about working in ministry.
16. Micah and I were able to bond with Alberto - a Spaniard that works at CIEE and was responsable for us for the weekend. We spoke in Spanish, he knows some English, but he's a fun guy.
17. On the last night - Sunday night in Chefchouen I was woken up at 5 AM because I could hear the prayer calls really well from my bed. Aparently the last thing that the prayer says is "Prayer is better than sleep."
18. On Friday, the first day, we visited a women's shelter that prepares them for being qualified for jobs. It teaches classes for reading and writing, sewing and crafts, and computer stuff. I posted a picture on a machine that makes blankets and rugs.
Wow. Thanks for reading. I loved this trip. Enjoy!
Aust
Home Safe from Morocco I
S. Turkish toilet. You do your business and then fill a bucket of water and pour it down the whole. Our homestay had a western toilet.
T. My host mother!
U. Typical room in my homestay house.
V. Me at a former mosque. That tower behind me is for the prayer called to call from.
W. Visiting some Roman ruins.
X. I rode a camel! I've never even ridden a horse!
Y. The shoe style as depicted by a traditional market.
Z. 11 Dirhams = 1 Euro. We felt rich.
Best weekend I've had besides London. VERY eye-opening. Seville feels like home, like Shoreview, compared to Morocco. It was too hard to jot my day-to-day activities so I made a numbered list of things that stood out to me. Pictures will be posted as well.
1. Ehsan Ben. So part of this experience is living with a traditional Moroccan famoily for two days. This family was SOO nice and loving and warm. Ehsan Ben is the mother's son who is a doctor in a nearby village. He spoke great English and explained that he was very liberal, had strong faith in God but typically only prayed on Fridays (their holiday) even though many pray 5 times a day at a mosque. He asked us about online dating actually, so we recommended some sites. Although, he doesn't have a credit card - fascinating. He wears a baseball hat!
2. Their home is BEAUTIFUL! Kind of like Seville's with the open middle and tall ceilings. The couches surround the walls in almost all of the rooms. Everyone sleeps on a couch. When Rob and I had breakfast the first morning, we didnt realize that one the other side of the table, where there is a couch, the sister was sleeping there. Awkward. Seems like a happy family! They love to have people over at the house, very unlike Seville.
3. Judith and Ishmael. Ishmael is from St. Louis and we briefly met him, he's studying Arabic for the semester. Judith is from Holland and speaks great English - love the accent! She was super nice and helpful.
4. We spent Saturday afternoon with Moroccan students that spoke English. We went through an old part of Rabat, took in sights of the beach and went to a bar full of pool tables. It's interesting because people are more excited about non-alcoholic drinks because they aren't served in many places.
5. Spiritual Conversations. Morocco needs Jesus. This trip really made me think about my beliefs and my faith was certainly strengthened. Morocco is 98% Muslim but more modern than I expected. We met two women at a women's shelter the first day that were very passionate and faithful and never met someone like them for the rest of the trip. I think they emphasized the contrast even more because after meeting those two I expected to see similar responses from most of Morocco.
5B. Contradiction. Women are expected to cover up to not tempt men. At the same time, women shouldn't go to places like the beach so that they are not tempted by men without shirts on or anything. Hmmmm.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Marruecos Manana!
Morrocco tomorrow! I am heading to Africa. With the CIEE program (including my friends Phil, Micah, Rob and others) we are taking a bus to the Strait of Gibraltar to take a ferry to Morrocco. I believe we will be staying in Rabat for most of the nights, living with a traditional Morroccan family. I have heard great things from the other half of our program that went last weekend. I made sure to avoid hearing as much as possible so that I can go without expectations. Expectations I do have:
1. To get sicker. Apparently its very common to come back a bit sicker than when you arrived, even if you don't drink tap water.
2. Eating LOTS.
So.... Colegio Claret gave me 20 Euros today for the bus. That was awesome. I kind of assumed I wouldn't be paid for transportation but they paid me 20, how nice! Ana and Gustavo don't like that school, because, for example, kids have to pay to go to the private Catholic school, while I have to volunteer. Where does the money go?
The class was fun today - we made our fathers for upcoming father's day in Spain. I love listening to sermons on Thursday morning on my iPod. I usually get to the bus stop by 815 AM because its very unreliable, while not actually starting to volunteer until 9. Mark Driscoll sermons are about an hour or more so I can finish them by the time I am home again. It's great.
I took a nice 3 hours nap and Micah and I nearly finished our 15 page paper due at the end of April. Yeah - we don't wanna do it while traveling. I have a bunch of other papers to eventually write, so getting one nearly done feels really good. Anyways, the second half of Atletico Deportivo from Spain against Lisbon is about to start. Also - GO GOPHERS!! Gophers are the 11 seed for March Madness for those who don't know.
Austin
1. To get sicker. Apparently its very common to come back a bit sicker than when you arrived, even if you don't drink tap water.
2. Eating LOTS.
So.... Colegio Claret gave me 20 Euros today for the bus. That was awesome. I kind of assumed I wouldn't be paid for transportation but they paid me 20, how nice! Ana and Gustavo don't like that school, because, for example, kids have to pay to go to the private Catholic school, while I have to volunteer. Where does the money go?
The class was fun today - we made our fathers for upcoming father's day in Spain. I love listening to sermons on Thursday morning on my iPod. I usually get to the bus stop by 815 AM because its very unreliable, while not actually starting to volunteer until 9. Mark Driscoll sermons are about an hour or more so I can finish them by the time I am home again. It's great.
I took a nice 3 hours nap and Micah and I nearly finished our 15 page paper due at the end of April. Yeah - we don't wanna do it while traveling. I have a bunch of other papers to eventually write, so getting one nearly done feels really good. Anyways, the second half of Atletico Deportivo from Spain against Lisbon is about to start. Also - GO GOPHERS!! Gophers are the 11 seed for March Madness for those who don't know.
Austin
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunny Sevilla
What a great day, 75 and sunny! After finishing class today, I realized that, I kid you not, my next day of class is on the 24th of March, and the next one after that is the 7th of April. I have 2 days of class in the next 3.5 weeks. Wooooo! This is because I am doing lots of traveling in which I will miss some unexcused, also Semana Santa is in two weeks and that is a full week without class.
I got my bracket submitted for the Walker-Savat tourney, should be fun! I bought some headphones the other day at a cheap store, get home, open them up and realize that the cord is roughly 15 feet long. Haha apparently they are for listening to the TV. Ohhhh Spain.
I spoke to a woman working in my favorite cafe today - she left her family and friends in Peru to come here for a guy she I think met online. I think thy're still together. The thing is - sometimes with Spanish conversations - a few words can distinguish two completely opposite results. It happens all the time.
After playing with the kids tomorrow at Colegio Claret Micah and I are going to go play soccer at a nearby park. For me, its the first time this semester!
I got my bracket submitted for the Walker-Savat tourney, should be fun! I bought some headphones the other day at a cheap store, get home, open them up and realize that the cord is roughly 15 feet long. Haha apparently they are for listening to the TV. Ohhhh Spain.
I spoke to a woman working in my favorite cafe today - she left her family and friends in Peru to come here for a guy she I think met online. I think thy're still together. The thing is - sometimes with Spanish conversations - a few words can distinguish two completely opposite results. It happens all the time.
After playing with the kids tomorrow at Colegio Claret Micah and I are going to go play soccer at a nearby park. For me, its the first time this semester!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Hace Sol!
It's sunny! A beautiful day in Seville for biking and exploring! Just a quick blog for you today.
1. Although I've had some awesome trips so far, I actually haven't left Spain yet after arriving in Seville (besides Portugal). My upcoming and last four trips will be likely four of my top five (London was awesome). I still have Morocco, then a trip through northern Italy with friends for a week, then a trip in Seville then Italy with my parents, and I finish off the experience with Paris in May.
2. I have seen many kid and parent American combos walking around Seville and I'm excited to show my parents the ropes when they arrive! They come in a month!
Alright, time to get back to schoolwork. Hasta Luego!
1. Although I've had some awesome trips so far, I actually haven't left Spain yet after arriving in Seville (besides Portugal). My upcoming and last four trips will be likely four of my top five (London was awesome). I still have Morocco, then a trip through northern Italy with friends for a week, then a trip in Seville then Italy with my parents, and I finish off the experience with Paris in May.
2. I have seen many kid and parent American combos walking around Seville and I'm excited to show my parents the ropes when they arrive! They come in a month!
Alright, time to get back to schoolwork. Hasta Luego!
Monday, March 15, 2010
SEVici!
I received my SEVici card tonight which grants me unlimited bike rental for the year!! What a great day today is :) Mom and Dad: In April you'll understand the wonderfulness of biking in Seville!
I found out that I can't possible get lower than a C on exams in my history class -- Consequently, I cannot fail! Woo hoo! I am going in early on Wednesday to talk with him about my exam and how I, yes, did the worst in the class. These kinds of life lessons are needed from time to time.
Thiago is a maniac. He wants attention and is a menace sometimes. He goes right for my power button or the power strip because he knows they're important and seeks attention. Ha it's fun and I'm learning more about kids but man, it's a lot.
I'm tired, going to get some rest and spend some time in the Word. This afternoon Micah and I went to a coffee place after class. By the way I did really well on my finance test! We found a great Wifi place that's open til 3 AM. Perfect! Anyways, have a great night everyone!
Aust
I found out that I can't possible get lower than a C on exams in my history class -- Consequently, I cannot fail! Woo hoo! I am going in early on Wednesday to talk with him about my exam and how I, yes, did the worst in the class. These kinds of life lessons are needed from time to time.
Thiago is a maniac. He wants attention and is a menace sometimes. He goes right for my power button or the power strip because he knows they're important and seeks attention. Ha it's fun and I'm learning more about kids but man, it's a lot.
I'm tired, going to get some rest and spend some time in the Word. This afternoon Micah and I went to a coffee place after class. By the way I did really well on my finance test! We found a great Wifi place that's open til 3 AM. Perfect! Anyways, have a great night everyone!
Aust
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Home Safe from Alicante!
On saturday night after signing off the computer Janet and I wandered around for a whie, killing some time waiting for her friend to call to meet us up for some drinks (she never called). I took a bus back to the hotel about an hour before Janet, and we hit the sack nice and early again. Following a night of 12 hours of rest (8:30 PM to 8:30 AM on Fri-Sat) I slept 10 hours Saturday night. That may be the highlight of my trip - catching up on rest. We went to the airport after having breakfast and checking out in which I had about 3 hours until my flight but Janet had about 9... So after saying our goodbyes I went through security very smoothly and got on the plane.
I sat next to a Spanish man and asked him simply "De donde eres?" Where are you from? For the nexts two hours, both on the plane ride and then on the airport bus that took us into Seville, he conversed. He's a really nice guy that works for Bank of Andalucia, married with a 16 year old son. He works in Seville but lives in Alicante. Whoa. Soon - he'll be moving with his family to Seville. I should have brought up Jesus a bit more but he left the conversation knowing that I'm a Christian and that he's "not religious." I made it home by about 4:30 to check my emails and get online - where I discovered that I got a 6 (out of 10) on my historia contemporanea de espana midterm. Ugh. Some good news, I thought that would be a D, but actually found out its a C+. I did study well for that test - so no nagging please :). I'm likely going to email Alayna, the director of CIEE, who recommended that I take this class... quite frustrating. Anyways, hope you enjoy the photos!
A. The "aquarium". We walked across the city for this. These four windows are it.
B. "Fogueres" - Statues that people make and then burn during a huge festival in some eastern Spanish cities such as Alicante and Valencia. Look closely at this one...
C. All serious shoppers have one of these carts.
D. On some rocks near the shore.
E. A view from the top of Castillo de Santa Barbara
F. I found gold! Well, basically. A Coke manufacturing plant!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Alicante is... Alright
Hey all! Writing to you from Alicante, Spain! We´re in a 24 hour internet cafe and its about 4 PM my time on Saturday. Alicante has been cloudy both today and yesterday and quite cold. We´ve been semi-joking, semi-serious in saying that we shouldnt have gone to Alicante, but found another city to visit. The hostel is weird. It has a full size bed, and then above it a small, short twin size bed - with no latter or means of getting up. It´s very far from the city in an industrial/manufacturing zone. The bathrooms resemble biffy´s, and the showers are the ¨push-to-confir-you´re-still-showering¨type. AKA: You bush a button every 10 seconds or it will shut off. Very annoying. Yesterday Janet and I, after making it to the hostel, went into town to visit the Castillo de Santa Barbara, a castle overlooking the city. It was crazy, you walk into a long tunnel to the center of the mountain to then take an elevator to the top. We then walked along the beach for a bit, saw some snorklers risking their lives swimming by the huge rocks with the waves crashing ashore. There were three of them and we couldn´t figure out what they were looking at/for. We stopped in Corte Ingles (which is all over Spain, basically offering American products at rediculously high prices) where I bought a deck of cards for 3.20 Euros. Then Janet and I went back to the hostal. I got some time in the Word, watched a bit of Meet the Parents on my iPod and we went to bed. Janet was asleep by 7:30, me by 8:30, and we got up at 8:30 the next morning... yeah. We were tired.
Saturday: We first tried to catch a train to Valencia but were too late, that would have been great. We also discovered that getting to these famous caves outside of town are not reachable without a car. So we wandered around Alicante a bit, heading to a cafe in the port with a great view of the boats. We played a game of war that lasted almost an hour and followed up with rummy. After having lost last night to her in rummy, I showed her how Savats dominate at board/card games and won. We then went to find an aquarium, that was literally one large (not that large) fishtank in the middle of a square with about 8 fish in it. How is that a museum? Then we went to another cafe to grab some ice cream - I went with one scoop banana/one scoop strawberry. We played cards there for about 30 minutes, and being the only people in the store we were surprised when the woman working there told us that we couldn´t play cards. Hmmmm. Maybe she wanted us to leave? After that we went to MARQ (Museo de Arquolico) Museum of Archeology. It was pretty cool. We´re now sharing some internet and then heading back to the hostal to get tons of sleep again. Miss you all - Bye!
Aust
Saturday: We first tried to catch a train to Valencia but were too late, that would have been great. We also discovered that getting to these famous caves outside of town are not reachable without a car. So we wandered around Alicante a bit, heading to a cafe in the port with a great view of the boats. We played a game of war that lasted almost an hour and followed up with rummy. After having lost last night to her in rummy, I showed her how Savats dominate at board/card games and won. We then went to find an aquarium, that was literally one large (not that large) fishtank in the middle of a square with about 8 fish in it. How is that a museum? Then we went to another cafe to grab some ice cream - I went with one scoop banana/one scoop strawberry. We played cards there for about 30 minutes, and being the only people in the store we were surprised when the woman working there told us that we couldn´t play cards. Hmmmm. Maybe she wanted us to leave? After that we went to MARQ (Museo de Arquolico) Museum of Archeology. It was pretty cool. We´re now sharing some internet and then heading back to the hostal to get tons of sleep again. Miss you all - Bye!
Aust
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Alicante, Alright!
Okay that was a terrible title. But it's late. Mark and Joel - some friends have tagged me in photos from Barcelona and Mallorca on facebook if you wanna see more photos.
I'm leaving the apartment at 620 tomorrow morning for the airport for my 840 AM flight to Alicante! I am meeting up with Janet Yockers from the U of M so it should be a great time! I land back in Seville on Sunday at about 2:30 PM.
In other news, Gustavo and Anabel are probably moving to Alicante this summer because Gustavo is going to take a better job! Good for them! They are very different from the average Spaniard (they aren't Spaniards, but are from Uraguay) in that they aren't afraid of uncertainty. They don't know anyone in Alicante, just like they didn't know anyone in SPAIN before moving from South America to Seville. Spain ranks very high on uncertainty avoidance, many live in Seville their entire lives, avoiding change and the unknown. It's midnight and time for bed!
Austin
I'm leaving the apartment at 620 tomorrow morning for the airport for my 840 AM flight to Alicante! I am meeting up with Janet Yockers from the U of M so it should be a great time! I land back in Seville on Sunday at about 2:30 PM.
In other news, Gustavo and Anabel are probably moving to Alicante this summer because Gustavo is going to take a better job! Good for them! They are very different from the average Spaniard (they aren't Spaniards, but are from Uraguay) in that they aren't afraid of uncertainty. They don't know anyone in Alicante, just like they didn't know anyone in SPAIN before moving from South America to Seville. Spain ranks very high on uncertainty avoidance, many live in Seville their entire lives, avoiding change and the unknown. It's midnight and time for bed!
Austin
Time in the Word
There's nothing greater than spending an hour with 4-year-olds and then about 3 hours in the Word going through all of Colossians, and 1 + 2 Thessalonians, all before lunch :) Phil and I met up in a coffee shop across the street owned by Anabel's brother where I got a cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and a "York" which is a croissant with meat. My new thing is putting a chunk of a white chocolate bar in my cafe con leche instead of sugar.
Some highlights of the kids:
1. One of the girls, I've never heard her talk, is named Isabel and is the smallest of the group and the cutest haha.
2. Pepe, one of the biggest and loudest, always sits at the front of the mat and is typically grabbing my shoes or my knees or whatever he can do to always have my attention.
3. Marcos, the one with a mental disability, and I held hands walking to class today as he was lagging behind. He's got a very positive attitude at all times. When the class is supposed to be sitting, he's standing. He rarely sits.
4. There are three sets of twins, a pair of rowdy boys and two pairs of twin girls that I've never heard speak.
5. Some cool names: Rocio (Row-see-oh) and Angelez (On-hay-layz) - both girls.
Packing for Alicante now... will post before I hit the hay.
Some highlights of the kids:
1. One of the girls, I've never heard her talk, is named Isabel and is the smallest of the group and the cutest haha.
2. Pepe, one of the biggest and loudest, always sits at the front of the mat and is typically grabbing my shoes or my knees or whatever he can do to always have my attention.
3. Marcos, the one with a mental disability, and I held hands walking to class today as he was lagging behind. He's got a very positive attitude at all times. When the class is supposed to be sitting, he's standing. He rarely sits.
4. There are three sets of twins, a pair of rowdy boys and two pairs of twin girls that I've never heard speak.
5. Some cool names: Rocio (Row-see-oh) and Angelez (On-hay-layz) - both girls.
Packing for Alicante now... will post before I hit the hay.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Running in Seville
I went for a great 30 minute run tonight because I'm trying to coax out my cold/cough/illness. It felt great despite having had chicken, fries and pop for lunch.
Mundo Park is cancelled for tomorrow. They let me know at 9 PM the night before. Thanks. I finished my midterms! I feel that they went as well as I could have expected to do and it feels great to have that pressure off my shoulders.
Anne made is safely to Baltimore, woo hoo! I found out that my SEVici (the bike rental system) has the wrong address for me, so it'll be a few more weeks until I receive the card :(
I played with Thiago for about 30 minutes tonight. It really stinks for him because he wants attention and has energy and wants to play but doesn't always get that response from his parents. Tonight Anabel was working in the kitchen while Gustavo was watching soccer in the bedroom and yet Thiago was scolded for getting into things he shouldn't be. Well then provide him with a toy you want him to play with and go join him! What is he supposed to do, just sit quietly? He's two and a half!
We've finally had a few sunny days in a row which I really appreciate. For a while there I was thinking I should permanently reside in Spain to open up an umbrella shop. Anyways, I go to Alicante on Friday morning! Tomorrow I'm going to work at Colegio Claret in the morning and will be catching up on time in the Word during the day.
Mundo Park is cancelled for tomorrow. They let me know at 9 PM the night before. Thanks. I finished my midterms! I feel that they went as well as I could have expected to do and it feels great to have that pressure off my shoulders.
Anne made is safely to Baltimore, woo hoo! I found out that my SEVici (the bike rental system) has the wrong address for me, so it'll be a few more weeks until I receive the card :(
I played with Thiago for about 30 minutes tonight. It really stinks for him because he wants attention and has energy and wants to play but doesn't always get that response from his parents. Tonight Anabel was working in the kitchen while Gustavo was watching soccer in the bedroom and yet Thiago was scolded for getting into things he shouldn't be. Well then provide him with a toy you want him to play with and go join him! What is he supposed to do, just sit quietly? He's two and a half!
We've finally had a few sunny days in a row which I really appreciate. For a while there I was thinking I should permanently reside in Spain to open up an umbrella shop. Anyways, I go to Alicante on Friday morning! Tomorrow I'm going to work at Colegio Claret in the morning and will be catching up on time in the Word during the day.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Midterms in Many Ways
As previously stated, I had two midterms yesterday and have two tomorrow. Today is also the midpoint on my journey in Europe. I think of this in many ways:
1. I only get two and a half more months in Europe!
2. I am halfway home to friends and family!
3. I can't believe I've been in Europe for this long already!
I posted a view from my apartment tonight as well. (Yes, while procrasting).
Anne, I wish you a safe journey on your way to Baltimore, I'll talk to you tomorrow! Love you kiddo!
Study Day
Today is a study day. I had two midterms yesterday for Business Spanish and Managing Cultural Diversity. Tomorrow I have Contemporary History of Spain and Fiannce. The exams yesterday were easier than expected so I am less nervous about my history class now. Apparently he will just ask us 1 question for the hour and twenty minutes and we just start writing... It's 1030 AM as I write this and I have opted to miss my tutoring session and my Bible study to give me more time to study. After breakfast and some time in the Word I shall begin!
I just sent an email to Eloisa, the English teacher that I work with at Colegio Claret, the elementary school, with the 4-year-old kids. This Thursday they are going to Mundo PArk, a zoo in Seville and I have the option to go along for the full 9-5 day. Here is the site: http://www.zoodesevilla.es/ I will probably go regardless but did ask her if I have to pay (the site says general admission is 15 euros) and what my responsabilities would be.
I go to Alicante in three days! Alicante is on the east coast of Spain, south of Valencia and Barcelona. Woo hoo! I love traveling every weekend! After Alicante, the following weekend I am in Morocco, and then after Morocco I will be in Italy for a week!
I am still trying to communicate with my parents about logistics for their trip in April. Hopefully things work out for them! Adios.
Aust
I just sent an email to Eloisa, the English teacher that I work with at Colegio Claret, the elementary school, with the 4-year-old kids. This Thursday they are going to Mundo PArk, a zoo in Seville and I have the option to go along for the full 9-5 day. Here is the site: http://www.zoodesevilla.es/ I will probably go regardless but did ask her if I have to pay (the site says general admission is 15 euros) and what my responsabilities would be.
I go to Alicante in three days! Alicante is on the east coast of Spain, south of Valencia and Barcelona. Woo hoo! I love traveling every weekend! After Alicante, the following weekend I am in Morocco, and then after Morocco I will be in Italy for a week!
I am still trying to communicate with my parents about logistics for their trip in April. Hopefully things work out for them! Adios.
Aust
Monday, March 8, 2010
Barca II
Sit down for this one - it's long. :)
Friday in Barcelona:
We left the apartment at 6:20 AM for the bus stop. We caught the shuttle and made it for the 8:30 AM flight, which actually left early? I am very much tired of going through security. Taking off sooooo many items such as my belt, watch, necklace, shoes, etc. you get it. I was surprised to learn that Ryanair actually has the best on-time service for European airlines at 90% - while also being the low-fare airline. We technically did not fly to Barca, but Reus, an airport about 1.5 hours outside the city. (There's a reason why this flight round trip totaled 10.6 Euros). We got in at about 10 and took a 10:30 bus that actually came at about 11:10. Secondly, the bus was full by the time I got on, so four of us had to sit on the stairs near the rear exit. Originally she wasn't even going to let us on, but I pleaded with her. This bus is specifically sent for our flight - so why have a bus with less space than the airplane? Although somehow I actually slept most of the way. We bought an unlimited two-day pass for the metro (best decision ever) and took it to our hostal. Our hostal is actually located pretty far northwest of the city, to the point that its in a national forest and we couldn't see Barcelona. Oh, and on top of a huge hill. But the facilities were really nice and we only paid 12 euros for one night - so you can't beat that.
After dropping off our stuff we went to see some Gaudy buildings, starting with Sagrada Familia, a HUGE church (I think it's a church). There was a lot of construction going on so we opted not to pay to go inside. We then found two of his other creations in the midst of the city - they are so beautiful and they clearly stand out. We then walked along La Ramba - a 2 km street full of markets and street performers including gymnasts, artists, painters, most likely pick-pocketers and those fake statue people. Nothing has been stolen! We wondered into a food market and Phil and I capitalized on a 2 for 1 euro fruit smoothie deal. I went with the extravegant coconut pineapple. We then went down to the sea front as it was now dark - walking accross a bridge to one of Barca's ports. We went through the mall to warm up and then headed over to a fountain-light show (see video) which was really cool. Rob, Maureen and I then met a man named Duane from Orlando who didn't know anyone or any Spanish who seemed a bit lost + lonely. We invited him to join us on Saturday but he said he overslept. Believe me, he really did - I know he was anxious to join us. Rob is in the top bunk across from me for our one night in the hostal, and wouldn't you know it he breaks his safety railing climbing into bed haha.
Saturday in Barcelona:
Breakfast was great in the hostal. It is a nonprofit organization and I noted that there are many people with mental disabilities working there. I saw cereal in a huge container and asked the woman where the bowls were. She said "We don't have any bowls." I said "What should I use?" She told me to use a coffee cup as if it was a very normal thing... Maureen, Rob, Reagan and Kyle joined me to tour Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona soccer stadium. It was REALLY awesome. There was some kind of small church inside the stadium, we saw the field up close, the press room, and a museum of the awards and past players, as well as a video library of goals and great FC Barcelona moments. We then went to Barrio Gothic where another Cathedral is as well as other architecture. I got a new camera case, which Rob was nice enough to buy me for 3 euros, works great! So on Friday night he lost it while borrowing my camera to take 2 photos. He returned with my camera a minute later and the case was nowhere to be found. We had a good laugh. Rob also would often wander off and nobody would know where he went. It's tough when you're in a big city and you lose somebody... After the Barrio Gothic we went to the sandy beaches area. While I was in McDonald's getting a cheap cone and using the bathroom, I hear I missed out on two nude men walking along the shore. Aparently it's legal in Barcelona? After the beach we went to see this egg-shaped building on our way to see Parc Guall.
On the way to Parc Guall, some sketchy things went down. There were 6 of us now (Lauren had joined us). You know an area of Barcelona, a huge city, is sketchy when its completely deserted at 4 in the afternoon. There was a guy standing in front of a warehouse, just then two men run out of the building. The four girls were ahead of us by about half a block, and Rob was completely oblivious to the whole ordeal. Then the guy standing watch yells inside for another guy to come out. As I continue walking, I glance over to the building and see a pair of eyes looking back at me through a crack in the wall. As I finally fully pass the building, a policeman is just around the corner on the phone. Even though Rob was by my side, I had to explain all of this to him afte we were at a safe distance.
How should I feel about people speaking english to me after I ask them a question in Spanish? I take it as somewhat of an insult. They are basically saying, "Listen, my english is better than your spanish so I am going to switch the conversation into English."
We made it to Parc Guall with about 1 hour before sunset. We went to the top of a peak with a huge cross. We then came down a bit to see more Guady architecture in the Parc. Finally, when the sun was nearly down we climbed way up the mountain/hill to get a great view of the city. We were beat. During the whole day the hostal was nice enough to keep our backpacks in their hostal even though we wouldn't be spending Saturday night there and we checked out at 9 AM. so we trekked back to our hostal to get them. Kind of dangerous - basically we just walked into an unlocked room and grabbed our bags - no questions asked. Honor system I guess - anyone could have stolen our bags during the last 12 hours. We had about 5 more hours until our bus would leave at 3:45 AM from Barcelona to Reus for our 6:40 flight out of Reus. We opted to go see the 11:00 PM showing of Avatar to pass the time. Reagan and Maureen went to some other movie, and Kyle, Micah, Rob and me went to Avatar. All 6 of us slept through the majority of our respective movies. After Avatar ended at about 2 AM we spent about 20 minutes just slap-happy tired and out of it. I was so out of it that I went to the bathroom in the women's room without noticing. I should say that three people (Amy Phil and Lauren) went out to some bars and had us lug around their bags - so out of 6 Americans walking together we had 9 bags. Thank you God for not letting us get robbed at 3 AM. We took the metro and made it back to the airport and flew back to Seville! I slept from about 10 AM to 4 PM on Sunday and used the rest of the day to either procrastinate or study. This is officially my longest post ever, hope you enjoy!
Some updates from around Seville:
1. The rain has not stopped. The weatherman finally predicted no rain for today, but oh yeah it rained.
2. I had my first two mnidterms today. They went pretty well. It's very different from the Carlson culture - I've never taken midterms that were so straightforward like these exams. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate easy exams. But at Carlson we are always preparing by understanding general concepts to apply them to problems that we have never seen. I prepared in this manner for these exams not expecting that some of the examples were EXACT COPIES from our notes - so I may not have done as well as some other students. I'm trying to not let grades and exams become stressful because that's not why I am here - I am here to experience the Spanish culture and to see Europe. :)
3. I'm still very tired from the Barca weekend and will try to catch up on sleep whenever possible (right after this blog post).
4. Gustavo and Anabel went to Alicante for Monday and Tuesday for Gustavo's work. I will be going there on Friday so I am excited to hear how it was.
5. There was a blizzard in Barcelona the day after we left!
Friday in Barcelona:
We left the apartment at 6:20 AM for the bus stop. We caught the shuttle and made it for the 8:30 AM flight, which actually left early? I am very much tired of going through security. Taking off sooooo many items such as my belt, watch, necklace, shoes, etc. you get it. I was surprised to learn that Ryanair actually has the best on-time service for European airlines at 90% - while also being the low-fare airline. We technically did not fly to Barca, but Reus, an airport about 1.5 hours outside the city. (There's a reason why this flight round trip totaled 10.6 Euros). We got in at about 10 and took a 10:30 bus that actually came at about 11:10. Secondly, the bus was full by the time I got on, so four of us had to sit on the stairs near the rear exit. Originally she wasn't even going to let us on, but I pleaded with her. This bus is specifically sent for our flight - so why have a bus with less space than the airplane? Although somehow I actually slept most of the way. We bought an unlimited two-day pass for the metro (best decision ever) and took it to our hostal. Our hostal is actually located pretty far northwest of the city, to the point that its in a national forest and we couldn't see Barcelona. Oh, and on top of a huge hill. But the facilities were really nice and we only paid 12 euros for one night - so you can't beat that.
After dropping off our stuff we went to see some Gaudy buildings, starting with Sagrada Familia, a HUGE church (I think it's a church). There was a lot of construction going on so we opted not to pay to go inside. We then found two of his other creations in the midst of the city - they are so beautiful and they clearly stand out. We then walked along La Ramba - a 2 km street full of markets and street performers including gymnasts, artists, painters, most likely pick-pocketers and those fake statue people. Nothing has been stolen! We wondered into a food market and Phil and I capitalized on a 2 for 1 euro fruit smoothie deal. I went with the extravegant coconut pineapple. We then went down to the sea front as it was now dark - walking accross a bridge to one of Barca's ports. We went through the mall to warm up and then headed over to a fountain-light show (see video) which was really cool. Rob, Maureen and I then met a man named Duane from Orlando who didn't know anyone or any Spanish who seemed a bit lost + lonely. We invited him to join us on Saturday but he said he overslept. Believe me, he really did - I know he was anxious to join us. Rob is in the top bunk across from me for our one night in the hostal, and wouldn't you know it he breaks his safety railing climbing into bed haha.
Saturday in Barcelona:
Breakfast was great in the hostal. It is a nonprofit organization and I noted that there are many people with mental disabilities working there. I saw cereal in a huge container and asked the woman where the bowls were. She said "We don't have any bowls." I said "What should I use?" She told me to use a coffee cup as if it was a very normal thing... Maureen, Rob, Reagan and Kyle joined me to tour Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona soccer stadium. It was REALLY awesome. There was some kind of small church inside the stadium, we saw the field up close, the press room, and a museum of the awards and past players, as well as a video library of goals and great FC Barcelona moments. We then went to Barrio Gothic where another Cathedral is as well as other architecture. I got a new camera case, which Rob was nice enough to buy me for 3 euros, works great! So on Friday night he lost it while borrowing my camera to take 2 photos. He returned with my camera a minute later and the case was nowhere to be found. We had a good laugh. Rob also would often wander off and nobody would know where he went. It's tough when you're in a big city and you lose somebody... After the Barrio Gothic we went to the sandy beaches area. While I was in McDonald's getting a cheap cone and using the bathroom, I hear I missed out on two nude men walking along the shore. Aparently it's legal in Barcelona? After the beach we went to see this egg-shaped building on our way to see Parc Guall.
On the way to Parc Guall, some sketchy things went down. There were 6 of us now (Lauren had joined us). You know an area of Barcelona, a huge city, is sketchy when its completely deserted at 4 in the afternoon. There was a guy standing in front of a warehouse, just then two men run out of the building. The four girls were ahead of us by about half a block, and Rob was completely oblivious to the whole ordeal. Then the guy standing watch yells inside for another guy to come out. As I continue walking, I glance over to the building and see a pair of eyes looking back at me through a crack in the wall. As I finally fully pass the building, a policeman is just around the corner on the phone. Even though Rob was by my side, I had to explain all of this to him afte we were at a safe distance.
How should I feel about people speaking english to me after I ask them a question in Spanish? I take it as somewhat of an insult. They are basically saying, "Listen, my english is better than your spanish so I am going to switch the conversation into English."
We made it to Parc Guall with about 1 hour before sunset. We went to the top of a peak with a huge cross. We then came down a bit to see more Guady architecture in the Parc. Finally, when the sun was nearly down we climbed way up the mountain/hill to get a great view of the city. We were beat. During the whole day the hostal was nice enough to keep our backpacks in their hostal even though we wouldn't be spending Saturday night there and we checked out at 9 AM. so we trekked back to our hostal to get them. Kind of dangerous - basically we just walked into an unlocked room and grabbed our bags - no questions asked. Honor system I guess - anyone could have stolen our bags during the last 12 hours. We had about 5 more hours until our bus would leave at 3:45 AM from Barcelona to Reus for our 6:40 flight out of Reus. We opted to go see the 11:00 PM showing of Avatar to pass the time. Reagan and Maureen went to some other movie, and Kyle, Micah, Rob and me went to Avatar. All 6 of us slept through the majority of our respective movies. After Avatar ended at about 2 AM we spent about 20 minutes just slap-happy tired and out of it. I was so out of it that I went to the bathroom in the women's room without noticing. I should say that three people (Amy Phil and Lauren) went out to some bars and had us lug around their bags - so out of 6 Americans walking together we had 9 bags. Thank you God for not letting us get robbed at 3 AM. We took the metro and made it back to the airport and flew back to Seville! I slept from about 10 AM to 4 PM on Sunday and used the rest of the day to either procrastinate or study. This is officially my longest post ever, hope you enjoy!
Some updates from around Seville:
1. The rain has not stopped. The weatherman finally predicted no rain for today, but oh yeah it rained.
2. I had my first two mnidterms today. They went pretty well. It's very different from the Carlson culture - I've never taken midterms that were so straightforward like these exams. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate easy exams. But at Carlson we are always preparing by understanding general concepts to apply them to problems that we have never seen. I prepared in this manner for these exams not expecting that some of the examples were EXACT COPIES from our notes - so I may not have done as well as some other students. I'm trying to not let grades and exams become stressful because that's not why I am here - I am here to experience the Spanish culture and to see Europe. :)
3. I'm still very tired from the Barca weekend and will try to catch up on sleep whenever possible (right after this blog post).
4. Gustavo and Anabel went to Alicante for Monday and Tuesday for Gustavo's work. I will be going there on Friday so I am excited to hear how it was.
5. There was a blizzard in Barcelona the day after we left!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Barca Photos
Barca story to come later. Now 4 PM and still exhausted, but time to take in some caffeine and study. Figured I'd post some photos.
R. The sunset
S. The city of Barcelona
T. At the top of Parc Guall overlooking the entire city
U. The beach (pretty cold day)
V. Entering the FC Barcelona museum
W. FC Barcelona Stadium
X. Fountain show
Y. Hostel - Rob had a top bunk and broke the safety bar his first time climbing. Not bad for 12.50 a night :)
Z. Sagrada Familia
Home Safe from Barca!
After pulling an all-nighter of traveling - I made it home at about 9 AM. I am a wreck and am crashing into bed. I look forward to updating you all on the trip!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Barca 1
Made it safe in Barca. Despite leaving my apartment at 620 AM, i didnt arrive at our hostal until 2:45 PM. I dont have much time, will fully update when I get home. Some highlights so far:
1. A water fountain light show
2. Walking into a pole in the mall
3. Watching a cruise ship parallel park
4. Seeing Gaudy architecture
5. Rob losing my camera case. Haha funny story. I have my camera, he just lost the case.
Very tired - its almost 11 PM here and tomorrow weŕe getting up at 8 AM and pulling an all-nighter... talk to you Sunday when I return!
Aust
1. A water fountain light show
2. Walking into a pole in the mall
3. Watching a cruise ship parallel park
4. Seeing Gaudy architecture
5. Rob losing my camera case. Haha funny story. I have my camera, he just lost the case.
Very tired - its almost 11 PM here and tomorrow weŕe getting up at 8 AM and pulling an all-nighter... talk to you Sunday when I return!
Aust
Thursday, March 4, 2010
All Packed
Hey all! I'm all packed and ready for BARCA!! I opted to leave my precious iPod here in the case of a robbery or pick-pocket (the former being the greater concern - I protect my stuff well). Should be a very compact 48 hours. Can't wait to tell you all about it!
I didn't study for one minute today - even though I didn't have class. I was just busy with many other activities - which is a good thing I suppose? Cooking was okay. Basically you just go to someone's apartment to watch them cook a meal and they give you a recipe. We had Paella - a traditional Spanish meal. I enjoyed talking with the family and I actually knew 4 out of the other 5 people.
Now I'm just waiting for dinner, going to study for an hour or two and then hit the sack. Cya Sevilla.
Aust
I didn't study for one minute today - even though I didn't have class. I was just busy with many other activities - which is a good thing I suppose? Cooking was okay. Basically you just go to someone's apartment to watch them cook a meal and they give you a recipe. We had Paella - a traditional Spanish meal. I enjoyed talking with the family and I actually knew 4 out of the other 5 people.
Now I'm just waiting for dinner, going to study for an hour or two and then hit the sack. Cya Sevilla.
Aust
Vale la Pena
It's worth it. (Literally - it's worth the pain). This is what my senora said when I brought this up: I have the opportunity to go to this cool all day field trip with my 4 year olds. Literally 9-5 next Thursday.
In about an hour I am leaving to go to a one-hour Spanish cooking class in northern Seville. That should be fun! It's pretty exclusive, each week there are only 7 spots. Phil, Micah and myself are all going.
Yesterday a man from Camaroon (Africa) spoke to us. He has now lived in Spain for 15 years and is doing well. However, he came north to try to realize a dream and was pretty disappointed that things aren't as great as he thought they'd be. He traveled 9,000 kms over the course of 8 years to get here. Wow.
Tomorrow my flight for Barca leaves at 8:30 AM, so we're leaving really early. Yes, I am bringing some things to study :( . I will be back at about 9 AM Sunday after having pulled an all-night Saturday night.
Lastly, Spanish service... ugh. I had to go to the university to give a guy my flashdrive so that he could put it in the computer, print out everything as i wanted it, and then staple it for me. There are two men working for the entire university in the copy center - so yes I waited about 30 minutes in line to print about 25 pages of notes. A bit frustrating. I'll post before leaving!
Austin
In about an hour I am leaving to go to a one-hour Spanish cooking class in northern Seville. That should be fun! It's pretty exclusive, each week there are only 7 spots. Phil, Micah and myself are all going.
Yesterday a man from Camaroon (Africa) spoke to us. He has now lived in Spain for 15 years and is doing well. However, he came north to try to realize a dream and was pretty disappointed that things aren't as great as he thought they'd be. He traveled 9,000 kms over the course of 8 years to get here. Wow.
Tomorrow my flight for Barca leaves at 8:30 AM, so we're leaving really early. Yes, I am bringing some things to study :( . I will be back at about 9 AM Sunday after having pulled an all-night Saturday night.
Lastly, Spanish service... ugh. I had to go to the university to give a guy my flashdrive so that he could put it in the computer, print out everything as i wanted it, and then staple it for me. There are two men working for the entire university in the copy center - so yes I waited about 30 minutes in line to print about 25 pages of notes. A bit frustrating. I'll post before leaving!
Austin
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
My Parents Are Coming!
Joel and Dawn are coming for Feria de Abril (April Fair)! I couldn't be more excited!! I think as of now they're going to see Seville for a couple days and then we'll head off to Rome and then a smaller Italian town. Woo hoo!!!
I could rent a boat and take that around the city of Seville with the amount of rain we're getting here. It's insane. Tomorrow I have my elementary school kids at 9, then I'm going to CIEE to print out my Barcelona boarding pass and some lecture notes, than I have a full day of studying. On Friday morning I leave for Barcelona! It feels like I just got back in Seville... oh wait, I did! It'll be a stressful week and would be quite easy if I wasn't going to Barcelona, but I am still glad that I am going.
Coffee really gets me focused. The sizes are small here but they pack a punch. I had a cafe con leche, threw in a chunk of Micah's chocolate bar into the drink and I was good to go. I should be well-prepared for 3 of my midterms, Historia Contemporanea de Espana being the exception. Well, that's all I got! Talk to you all later!
Austin
I could rent a boat and take that around the city of Seville with the amount of rain we're getting here. It's insane. Tomorrow I have my elementary school kids at 9, then I'm going to CIEE to print out my Barcelona boarding pass and some lecture notes, than I have a full day of studying. On Friday morning I leave for Barcelona! It feels like I just got back in Seville... oh wait, I did! It'll be a stressful week and would be quite easy if I wasn't going to Barcelona, but I am still glad that I am going.
Coffee really gets me focused. The sizes are small here but they pack a punch. I had a cafe con leche, threw in a chunk of Micah's chocolate bar into the drink and I was good to go. I should be well-prepared for 3 of my midterms, Historia Contemporanea de Espana being the exception. Well, that's all I got! Talk to you all later!
Austin
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Spanish Service
Okay: Foot in mouth. Service here is continually worse. Phil and I tried to go to my "new favorite" cafe tonight for the second time (because it's somehow always closed when we try to go. So we went today, at 7:00 PM on a Tuesday, where it is not a Sunday, not the afternoon, and not their "Closed Monday for employee rest". But, it was closed. Ugh. So we went to a different cafe and bought a cafe con leche (with milk) in which the cafeteria then closed twenty minutes later. Finally we found a cafeteria accross the street from my apartment that is actually owned by Anabel's brother. That was great! It was downpouring rain the entire time that Phil and I studied but we sat outside under the overhanging roof, nice and dry. After a coffee and a hot chocolate my mind was super-focused (caffeine and sugar high).
I was able to chat with Micah tonight and he had a great time in Paris. However, his flight was canceled and so he took a train from Barcelona to Paris, but got there.
Thiago turned off my computer for the fourth time today. He also grabbed my razor, rubbed it on his face and then put it in his mouth. There is no controlling him. He then played with the tacs on our posterboard. When he is doing something wrong he isn't spoken to by his parents, either yelled at or spanked, how can he learn? Also, he doesn't have coloring books and isn't really taught anything. His mind can't really get engaged. To get a rest they just have him watch something like a Mickey Mouse show or others. I am a bit disappointed by this, but maybe that's the culture. I let him write with one of my pens on a white sheet of paper and he loved it. Imagine if he had 12 crayons and a drawing to fill in.
The next 8 days will be pretty stressful as I have 4 exams, but I hope during the next couple days I can prepare well. I won't let the upcoming exams spoil my 48 hours in Barcelona (even though we're pulling an all-nighter Saturday night and two of the exams are Monday :) )
Aust
I was able to chat with Micah tonight and he had a great time in Paris. However, his flight was canceled and so he took a train from Barcelona to Paris, but got there.
Thiago turned off my computer for the fourth time today. He also grabbed my razor, rubbed it on his face and then put it in his mouth. There is no controlling him. He then played with the tacs on our posterboard. When he is doing something wrong he isn't spoken to by his parents, either yelled at or spanked, how can he learn? Also, he doesn't have coloring books and isn't really taught anything. His mind can't really get engaged. To get a rest they just have him watch something like a Mickey Mouse show or others. I am a bit disappointed by this, but maybe that's the culture. I let him write with one of my pens on a white sheet of paper and he loved it. Imagine if he had 12 crayons and a drawing to fill in.
The next 8 days will be pretty stressful as I have 4 exams, but I hope during the next couple days I can prepare well. I won't let the upcoming exams spoil my 48 hours in Barcelona (even though we're pulling an all-nighter Saturday night and two of the exams are Monday :) )
Aust
Mallorca Photos
The Monday coming back wasn't too bad. Ryanair is actually pretty smooth - we had a 30 minute delay but really not a big deal.
English T-shirts Note: Spaniards wear clothes and I don't believe they always know the meaning. For example, a woman at the airport had a shirt that said "Destroy and Relax" while another woman had pants that read "Oh my gold!" on the back pocket.
After taking the metro to the bus station, we waited about 2 hours on the front lawn until it was time to leave. The guy I sat next to on the bus spoke some english, and we actually had a 2-hour conversation about politics and other things. Of course, I felt like I was fitting into the clueless-American-that-doesn't-know-anything-about-the-world-or-his-home-country template. What is the capital of California? Truly think about it, because I didn't know. He practiced his English and I practiced my Spanish. Prolly about 70% of the convo was in Spanish. His name was Manuel and he was born and still lives in Seville - I would put him at 45 years old. The bus ride to Madrid round trip is 33 Euros. He said he was visiting his girlfriend and didn't visit often because he just couldn't afford it very often. After that, I caught some rest and made it home by taking a taxi with Phil and two girls we knew.
Ahhh poor Spanish service is becoming more evident to me. The taxi driver took a longer route to rack up the tab. He did it once, and we noticed. The second time, we told him, "No, go this way please." He played dumb. However, I spoke with him and discovered he's been a driver for 35 years. I'm sure he knows the fastest ways around Seville. I also was curious to know if the Metro and SEVici (bike rental) implementations had affected him and he said no, and that he was never concerned about it.
Today, it's raining. This whole week, rain. I went to my tutor this morning but prolly won't make it to Bible study. I have 4 exams next week and don't have this weekend to study (Barcelona).
R. Going home on Ryanair
S. The stairs coming down from the castle
T. The Cathedral in Palma
U. I'm in the Mediterranean (sunset)
V. They caught me.
W. Janet and I on the train to Soller
X. Me at Casablanca having a decaf.
Y. The 5 km beach on the west side of the island
Z. Our view from the hostal (more like a hotel)
Monday, March 1, 2010
Home Safe from Mallorca!
I made it back at about 1 AM to my apartment Tuesday morning. Just about crashing... thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of a Mallorcan sunset :)
Mallorca 2
Hey all! Mallorca was wonderful, Phil and Kyle are packing and I´m waiting for them in the bar.
After writing to you last night we chilled in Kyle/Phil´s room as Phil wandered onto the balcony and he spoke with some Spanish girls accross the street, one story up for about 20 minutes... the rest of us eventually joined, it was fun/funny. We went to bed early to start early on Sunday morning. We took a bus to the city and trained to Santa Maria for a well known market, in which we spent an hour bartering and talking with Spaniards and actually a fairly large population from Senegal. I finally got some gifts for a few people... :) Afterwords we came back to the city center to find the Human Towers, a competition where each team tries to stack humans as high as they can. Well the paper, our bartender, and the infomation center in the city were all wrong, it was for Monday. We ended up finding a 10k to watch where we had our lunch, which was fun. We then wandered around the cathedral, which are always cool but man, I´ve seen lots of cathedrals by now. We then said our goodbyes to Janet as she has class on Monday and caught a late aftrernoon flight back. Hope you´re home safe Janet! Us three then walked about 2 miles and uphill to this castle that overlooks the city! SO MANY STEPS. Great views though.
Kind of sad - I don´t know if it is all they have, but we saw a family looking all over the hills for asparagus. They were there when we climbed the stairs and when we descended an hour later.
Getting to the castle - So we´d been following this other couple because they didn´t look Spanish, had backpacks, and had cameras. Then Phil thinks he finds a shortcut, so he climbs some wall to try to get a better view and climb over this big wall - as soon as he gets to the top he is literally is two feet from the couple that we´d been following. Just around the corner the wall ends so that people can walk up to the castle. We apparently were too antsy.
Afterwords we walked along the marina to check out some awesome sailboats and motorboats. We then caught a bus back - first time I´ve fallen asleep on a city bus before. Afterwords we watched part of the sunset on the roof of Tierramar, then the latter half on the beach. There hadn´t been sun all day, you couldn´t even tell where it was in the sky. The sunset was probably the best I´ve ever seen. It just kept getting better and better and better. You´ll see photos soon. Afterwords we got Chinese food because we heard their special was a three course meal for 5.70, so why not. Being typical early-eating Americans we had to wait until 7 for the place to open. We then walked along the beach listening to the waves for a while, and eventually found a bar, Steakhouse Tango, which was showing the US v. Canada Gold Medal Hockey game. So we watched the 2nd period through overtime, a great game. Too bad for the loss. Even though we all bought a drink, the bartender continually made references toward us indicating how ¨cheap¨we were being. Afterwords we came back to the hostal at about 12 and crashed. Writing this at 10 AM Mallorca time. Our flight is at 1:30 to Madrid and then we are catching a 6 PM bus back to Seville, should be arriving at about 11:45 PM Monday in Seville time.
Aust
After writing to you last night we chilled in Kyle/Phil´s room as Phil wandered onto the balcony and he spoke with some Spanish girls accross the street, one story up for about 20 minutes... the rest of us eventually joined, it was fun/funny. We went to bed early to start early on Sunday morning. We took a bus to the city and trained to Santa Maria for a well known market, in which we spent an hour bartering and talking with Spaniards and actually a fairly large population from Senegal. I finally got some gifts for a few people... :) Afterwords we came back to the city center to find the Human Towers, a competition where each team tries to stack humans as high as they can. Well the paper, our bartender, and the infomation center in the city were all wrong, it was for Monday. We ended up finding a 10k to watch where we had our lunch, which was fun. We then wandered around the cathedral, which are always cool but man, I´ve seen lots of cathedrals by now. We then said our goodbyes to Janet as she has class on Monday and caught a late aftrernoon flight back. Hope you´re home safe Janet! Us three then walked about 2 miles and uphill to this castle that overlooks the city! SO MANY STEPS. Great views though.
Kind of sad - I don´t know if it is all they have, but we saw a family looking all over the hills for asparagus. They were there when we climbed the stairs and when we descended an hour later.
Getting to the castle - So we´d been following this other couple because they didn´t look Spanish, had backpacks, and had cameras. Then Phil thinks he finds a shortcut, so he climbs some wall to try to get a better view and climb over this big wall - as soon as he gets to the top he is literally is two feet from the couple that we´d been following. Just around the corner the wall ends so that people can walk up to the castle. We apparently were too antsy.
Afterwords we walked along the marina to check out some awesome sailboats and motorboats. We then caught a bus back - first time I´ve fallen asleep on a city bus before. Afterwords we watched part of the sunset on the roof of Tierramar, then the latter half on the beach. There hadn´t been sun all day, you couldn´t even tell where it was in the sky. The sunset was probably the best I´ve ever seen. It just kept getting better and better and better. You´ll see photos soon. Afterwords we got Chinese food because we heard their special was a three course meal for 5.70, so why not. Being typical early-eating Americans we had to wait until 7 for the place to open. We then walked along the beach listening to the waves for a while, and eventually found a bar, Steakhouse Tango, which was showing the US v. Canada Gold Medal Hockey game. So we watched the 2nd period through overtime, a great game. Too bad for the loss. Even though we all bought a drink, the bartender continually made references toward us indicating how ¨cheap¨we were being. Afterwords we came back to the hostal at about 12 and crashed. Writing this at 10 AM Mallorca time. Our flight is at 1:30 to Madrid and then we are catching a 6 PM bus back to Seville, should be arriving at about 11:45 PM Monday in Seville time.
Aust
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