Sunday, January 30, 2011
Madness in Madrid
Hey Everyone,
This weekend was the Madrid weekend! The excursion began on Friday at 8:45am when we left for Madrid. About 100 students went on the trip. It was really rainy all day so I got to wear my rain boots :) The first place we went was the Palacio Real. It was a royal palace in the early 15th Century. After taking a tour through many rooms of the palace, we headed to Museo de Jamon (The Ham Museum) for lunch. They funny thing was…..we didn’t even eat ham! We ate salad, chicken, French fries, and for desert we had a chocolate and vanilla popsicle.
After lunch we were free to leave the rest of the group. Brittany, Derek, Jake, Katie, and I stayed the night in a hostel named Las Musas. On the way to the hostel we found out that 2 other girls from school were also staying at the same hostel. So all seven of us were traveling through downtown Madrid….Not the best idea. We had to take the Metro to get to our hostel. This is the subway that runs through Madrid. The subway was completely packed. I decided to turn my back pack around and wear it in the front so I could make sure I watch it and that no one could get into it with out me seeing them. Let me tell you that wearing about 15 pounds on my front was not appealing! If that is anything like being pregnant I can wait A LONG TIME!!! My back was sore, I was getting side aches and my feet hurt!! NO THANK YOU!!!
When it was time to get off, Lisa (one of the other girls at our hostel) was trying to get off and there was a lady that had her arm across the door not letting her get off. We were all screaming to let her off and she finally dropped her arm and let Lisa off. It was shortly after that when Lisa discovered that her wallet was missing out of her purse…The girl on the subway was blocking Lisa so her partner in crime could get into Lisa’s purse. Lisa lost everything. She had 250 euros, credit/debit cards, and her social security card. I think Lisa was in complete shock because she didn’t even get upset. I was more upset for her than she was. I felt just terrible. From that point on, the rest of the trip I was so paranoid!
Thank goodness the hostel was extremely nice!! Everyone there spoke English. It was soooooo clean, too!! There was a lounge area right next to the reception desk. In our room there were 4 bunk beds. With only 5 people in our group, there were 3 beds open for “random” people. We all locked our things up just incase the other people were weird! Then we left and went to the Prado. It is an art museum in Madrid. It has the most famous paintings from Velasquez, Goya, and many others. I couldn’t believe how large some of the paintings were!!! It was really neat to see the original works of art from over 500 years ago!
After the Prado, we met up with two other students from St. Norbert, who are studying in Madrid. We also met up with our study abroad advisor from SNC. We went to the grocery store to buy the items needed to make spaghetti. We thought it would be cheaper to make food instead of going out for dinner. It cost 2 euros a person for salad, spaghetti and sauce, bread, and wine!! You can’t get a dinner this good at a restaurant. It was by far my favorite dinner since I have been here! When we went back to the room, a girl was in there reading a book. I said hi and introduced myself. When she introduced herself I could tell she wasn’t from around here! She had a thick Australian accent. Her name was Dani. She was so nice and funny!! She fit right in with all of us!
When we woke up this morning, we got breakfast from the hostel. Breakfast was also included in the price of the hostel. We had toast, orange jelly, corn flakes, and coffee! It was also a really nice breakfast J After breakfast, the hostel coordinated a FREE walking tour around Madrid. It lasted 3 hours. It was such a nice tour and cost very little (I tipped the tour guide because he was so funny and didn’t make the tour boring!!!) After the tour we got lunch at McDonalds!!! When I was in line waiting for the bathroom Brittany and I were talking to the lady behind me. Brit asked where she was from. I laughed when she told us she was from Tennessee! What are the odds?!?! She lives in London with her husband, but they are both originally from Tennessee! What a small world J After lunch we just walked around and looked at shops and stores.
We caught the metro to the bus station in order to catch our bus back to Toledo. It only cost 4.82 euros to travel from Madrid to Toledo. It was an extremely short bus ride! It only took us 45 minutes to get home! Of course I fell asleep so that helped a little!!
I am extremely tired from walking around all day today!! Good thing dinner was chicken and rice! I didn’t know if I could battle any bad food tonight J Other than the pick-pocketting issue at the beginning of the trip, meeting a new friend, staying at an amazing hostel, and learning tons about Madrid, the weekend was great J
Now starts the planning for London next weekend!!! I am most excited to see Swan Lake!!! We just need to find a hostel and everything should be planned!!
I hope everyone’s weekends are going well thus far!
Have a great rest of your night and Sunday J
Besos y Abrazos
B
P.S. I would like to thank my uncle Steve for telling me about Slingbox. I am currently watching a Lifetime movie right on my laptop! This box allows me to watch all the shows everyone is watching back home at the exact same time! Thank you so much this is a life saver J
Friday, January 28, 2011
HOLA EVERYONE!
Sorry I didn't get a chance to post anything last night...I was exhausted! I started my internship today. I met my internship advisor (Miguel--HE IS REALLLLY CUTE!) at school and he showed me how to get to my internship location. I am working at an addiction clinic in a city just outside of Toledo. I have a twenty minute bus ride from my house to the plaza by school. Then I catch another bus to the clinic (20 more minute bus ride!). Oh yeah...and I have to be to work by 8am!!! Tuesday mornings are not going to be fun!!!! I work every Tuesday from 8-3. The doctors I work with were extremely nice! They kept telling me that if I didn't understand something then I should ask! They talked pretty slow so I could understand!! The first few weeks (2-3) I will just be observing. Then the next few weeks after that I will be rotating between the nurses, medical doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. The final two weeks I will be spending all my time with the psychologists. I am VERY excited to start this!! I will keep everyone updated on how things go!!
We took a field trip to see a mosque in Toledo. This was where the Muslims went to pray and worship. I took a lot of pictures, so this weekend I WILL put them online for everyone to view!! After the field trip Brittany and I went shopping!!! I bought 2 belts for 3 euros!!! Things in America are so over priced!!!
Lunch was macaroni and cheese!! Don't get too excited it wasn't Kraft :) It was still good though :)
Tonight we continued the Thursday night tradition and went to Enebro's Tapas Bar. Jake and Taylor has some drinks and I had their tapas (appetizers!). They are more generous with their alcohol than America is (just ask Taylor)!!!
Tomorrow we are going to Madrid. So I have to be up early!!! The bus leaves at 8:45am!! We are staying over night in Madrid so I won't be back until late Saturday!! I am bringing my camera and video camera so I will take lots of pictures (and video of my very first hostel)!!!
I hope everyone has a GREAT night :)
I will talk to you guys this weekend!
B's and A's
Brooke :)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Today was another pretty uneventful day. I didn't have class until 6:20 so I relaxed around the house and read more of my book I brought (thanks Dani!) I had a meeting with one of the advisors here to make sure my Visa was legit. I can officially stay here until July. In case that is an option.... My advisor told me I had one of the nicest smiles and sets of teeth she has ever seen...I told her that's good because they cost a lot of $!
I ate lentil soup for lunch with my family. I also had lentil soup for lunch at school yesterday. Good thing I love lentils! Dinner was very americanized. I had a salad, bread, soup, and an ice cream sandwich :) Maybe the school knew how sad I was about not attending the Super Bowl so they decided to throw in some good food for me....
We took Flamenco dance lessons tonight. It wasn't what I expected at all. There were about 80 students in one gym with only two instructors. I couldn't hear ANYTHING! Let's just say I won't be quitting the dance team to begin Flamenco classes :)
As my depression about not going to the SB wears off, I promise my posts will become longer and more detailed. I'm just feeling a little "under the weather" today. I also promised to get pictures up for everyone to see. I moved them from my camera to my computer so that is one step closer for you guys :)
Talk to everyone soon.
B's and A's
xoxoxo
B
I ate lentil soup for lunch with my family. I also had lentil soup for lunch at school yesterday. Good thing I love lentils! Dinner was very americanized. I had a salad, bread, soup, and an ice cream sandwich :) Maybe the school knew how sad I was about not attending the Super Bowl so they decided to throw in some good food for me....
We took Flamenco dance lessons tonight. It wasn't what I expected at all. There were about 80 students in one gym with only two instructors. I couldn't hear ANYTHING! Let's just say I won't be quitting the dance team to begin Flamenco classes :)
As my depression about not going to the SB wears off, I promise my posts will become longer and more detailed. I'm just feeling a little "under the weather" today. I also promised to get pictures up for everyone to see. I moved them from my camera to my computer so that is one step closer for you guys :)
Talk to everyone soon.
B's and A's
xoxoxo
B
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Well I just found out that if I was still in Green Bay I would be going to the Super Bowl...... I'm a little depressed now that this is one more thing I am missing out on while I am over here....
Today was just a nice, normal day. Classes went well. I can fully understand my teachers already. I understood more of my family today than any of the past days. All of my meals were even pretty appetizing today (Lentil soup for lunch and egg salad for dinner).
I made a trip to the mall in Polígano today. It was really nice. There are government mandated sales two times a year and of course one of those times is now! I discovered I have extremely good self control shopping over here. I know I don't need anymore clothes so I just "browse" through everything! Also the fact of having absolutely no extra room to bring anything back puts a damper on my shopping trips....
I hope everyone has a great night.
Besos y Abrazos,
B
Today was just a nice, normal day. Classes went well. I can fully understand my teachers already. I understood more of my family today than any of the past days. All of my meals were even pretty appetizing today (Lentil soup for lunch and egg salad for dinner).
I made a trip to the mall in Polígano today. It was really nice. There are government mandated sales two times a year and of course one of those times is now! I discovered I have extremely good self control shopping over here. I know I don't need anymore clothes so I just "browse" through everything! Also the fact of having absolutely no extra room to bring anything back puts a damper on my shopping trips....
I hope everyone has a great night.
Besos y Abrazos,
B
Monday, January 24, 2011
SUPER BOWL HERE WE COME!!!!!
Today was a pretty uneventful, yet relaxing day. I headed to school at about 3:00 to plan some more trips and get some homework done. We intended to book a hostel for our trip to London, but there are about 1904174187 different hostels in London. We did book bus tickets from the airport to London (about and hour away) so that was successful! There are so many things that come into account when booking hostels. They have to be close to the main sights, clean, pretty cheap, and close to public transportation to and from the airports!
I also scheduled a trip to Valencia, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal. I will be spending my last week in Portugal, so I am extremely excited about that! I still have about 5 weekends and my spring break open for trips. I am trying to arrange trips to northern Spain (San Sebastian and Santiago de Compostela), southern Spain (Granada and Córdoba), Paris, Italy (Rome, Venice, Milan, Cinque de Terre, Tuscany), Germany, and Greece. There are too many places and not enough time! Not to mention some of these trips are not cheap!!!!
I am watching this AMAZING Packer game right now as I’m typing this post!!! What a game!!! I just can’t believe that I am in Spain while the Packers are celebrating their victory and their journey to the SUPER BOWL!!! I wish I could be at home working and feeling the MADNESS of the Packer pride!!!
This Packer game was definitely better than dinner tonight….I walked to the table and there was a plate of some oyster/clam looking things. They weren’t juicy so I’m not sure what they were….They were orangish and had a tail that was curled up!!! I took one and my mom told me to eat them with mayonnaise. So I dumped a LARGE amount on my plate and covered the mystery sea creature with it. I took a bite of bread, put the creature in my mouth, took a big gulp of water, and swallowed it…..the first one went down ok, but the second one was VERY rough!! I couldn’t eat anymore without throwing up so I had to stop!!!
Congrats to the Green Bay Packers!!! Congrats Brett!!! Good luck at the Super Bowl!!!! You guys deserve EVERYTHING :) Bring home a win!!!!
On that note….Good night everyone!
Celebrate this amazing win for me!!!!
I can’t believe I’m not there……
Awww….I just saw a Packers Pro Shop commercial after the game :( I miss you guys so much!!! Save me a Championship shirt!!!!
Besos y Abrazos!
B
P.S. I had to put this post in GREEN to support the GREEN AND GOLD :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Today was an extremely eventful day to say the least. My parents and I went to Madrid to see Jorge (my oldest brother who goes to school there). They also had to return a shirt that my dad didn't like. So we got to the city, parked the car, and started walking. Little did I know I wouldn't see the car for two more hours!!! Along the way I spotted 4 McDonalds, 3 Starbucks, 2 Kentucky Fried Chickens, 1 Burger King, 1 TGI Friday's, and a partridge in a pear tree (ok you caught me... I really didn't see a partridge in a pear tree :) ) When we got to the store where we had to return the shirt, we looked for something else to purchase. Boys in America sure do dress differently than boys in Europe!!! I kept thinking of Brock the whole time I was in the store. There was a huge rack of mens, corduroy pants. They came in EVERY COLOR YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE!!! All I could think was....If Brock was here right now he would say how ugly these pants are! Then my dad stopped and almost bought a pair and the older gentleman behind me had a rusty orange pair on!!! Good thing I didn't say anything :) Needless to say, I didn't buy Brock anything from that store!!!
My family showed me around some cool sights and plazas in Madrid. There was this little hotel built completely out of 12 tons of garbage found on the beaches of Europe. That was really cool to see! I also got my picture taken at a point called Km 0 (kilometer 0). This is the point that google and other maps will tell you how far something is from Madrid. So if you look up Green Bay to Madrid, it will tell you the distance to that exact point!!! Also, there is a famous dog in Spain named Pancho. Apparently this dog knows how to fish, go to the bathroom on a normal toilet, set the table, etc. etc. etc. He apparently helped his owner pick the winning numbers in the lottery, too. So the dog was there, in the center of the Madrid plaza, with a line of hundreds of people waiting to get their picture taken with this psychic dog. I didn't wait in line, I just pushed my way to the front to get a picture :)
For lunch we had calamari (squid) sandwiches. Dad I know what you are thinking when you are reading this because I was thinking the same thing!!! In sixth grade we dissected squid for science class. My dad decided to be the parent helper that day! After ripping the squid apart we were able to try some....needless to say it didn't go well and I haven't ate calamari since....UNTIL TODAY!!! I ate all of it!! It only took a little water with every bite to get everything down!
As we were walking back to the car we walked down the main theater street. This was where all the movie theaters, main hotels, and performance theaters are located. As we were walking I saw a HUGE sign for the Imperial Russian Ballet. They were performing Swan Lake! For those of you who don't know, the movie Black Swan with Natalie Portman (up for about 2397512837 Oscar and Golden Globe awards) is based on this movie!! I have always wanted to see a ballet so why not see one of the best ballet companies in the World! When I got home I looked online for tickets and there was only one seat available for next weekend (the weekend I am going to Madrid). Soooooooo that rained on my parade a bit! But, I didn't let that get me down! I searched and searched for their tour schedule and I found out they would be in London the first weekend of February. So.......I just booked my flight to London and 3 tickets to Swan Lake at the Wimbledon Theater :) GIRLS WEEKEND!!!! I am soooo excited!
Along with the London trip, I booked a trip to Barcelona the first weekend of April! It is soooooooo hard to believe how cheap flights are over here!!! Now comes the lovely hostel hunting search! Boy I hope the comments on these websites are legit comments and it isn't just the owners filling things out wanting people to stay at their hostel!
At dinner tonight, we received some devastating news. My mom told me that Alfonso (my dad) wasn't at dinner because his father was really ill. It wasn't five minutes after she told me that when the phone rang. Alfonso's father has passed away. He was 88 and had extremely bad Alzheimer's. He passed away at home with his wife and kids. So now comes the part where I don't know what I am going to do....Do I go to the funeral after only knowing my family for a week and one day? Do I not go to the funeral? I didn't quite bring the proper funeral attire with me and I don't think my black, lace mini skirt would be appropriate! I think I might just wait and see if they bring it up.....any suggestions???
Welllll its extremely late here and I am starting to feel guilty about booking those trips tonight!!! I better fall asleep before I can change my mind :)
I wish every a relaxing rest of your Saturday and Sunday!
Don't forget to cheer on the Packers at 2pm!!! GO PACK GO!!!
If I can watch it here there is no excuse you can't watch it there :)
I miss everyone lots!!!
Besos y Abrazos
B
My family showed me around some cool sights and plazas in Madrid. There was this little hotel built completely out of 12 tons of garbage found on the beaches of Europe. That was really cool to see! I also got my picture taken at a point called Km 0 (kilometer 0). This is the point that google and other maps will tell you how far something is from Madrid. So if you look up Green Bay to Madrid, it will tell you the distance to that exact point!!! Also, there is a famous dog in Spain named Pancho. Apparently this dog knows how to fish, go to the bathroom on a normal toilet, set the table, etc. etc. etc. He apparently helped his owner pick the winning numbers in the lottery, too. So the dog was there, in the center of the Madrid plaza, with a line of hundreds of people waiting to get their picture taken with this psychic dog. I didn't wait in line, I just pushed my way to the front to get a picture :)
For lunch we had calamari (squid) sandwiches. Dad I know what you are thinking when you are reading this because I was thinking the same thing!!! In sixth grade we dissected squid for science class. My dad decided to be the parent helper that day! After ripping the squid apart we were able to try some....needless to say it didn't go well and I haven't ate calamari since....UNTIL TODAY!!! I ate all of it!! It only took a little water with every bite to get everything down!
As we were walking back to the car we walked down the main theater street. This was where all the movie theaters, main hotels, and performance theaters are located. As we were walking I saw a HUGE sign for the Imperial Russian Ballet. They were performing Swan Lake! For those of you who don't know, the movie Black Swan with Natalie Portman (up for about 2397512837 Oscar and Golden Globe awards) is based on this movie!! I have always wanted to see a ballet so why not see one of the best ballet companies in the World! When I got home I looked online for tickets and there was only one seat available for next weekend (the weekend I am going to Madrid). Soooooooo that rained on my parade a bit! But, I didn't let that get me down! I searched and searched for their tour schedule and I found out they would be in London the first weekend of February. So.......I just booked my flight to London and 3 tickets to Swan Lake at the Wimbledon Theater :) GIRLS WEEKEND!!!! I am soooo excited!
Along with the London trip, I booked a trip to Barcelona the first weekend of April! It is soooooooo hard to believe how cheap flights are over here!!! Now comes the lovely hostel hunting search! Boy I hope the comments on these websites are legit comments and it isn't just the owners filling things out wanting people to stay at their hostel!
At dinner tonight, we received some devastating news. My mom told me that Alfonso (my dad) wasn't at dinner because his father was really ill. It wasn't five minutes after she told me that when the phone rang. Alfonso's father has passed away. He was 88 and had extremely bad Alzheimer's. He passed away at home with his wife and kids. So now comes the part where I don't know what I am going to do....Do I go to the funeral after only knowing my family for a week and one day? Do I not go to the funeral? I didn't quite bring the proper funeral attire with me and I don't think my black, lace mini skirt would be appropriate! I think I might just wait and see if they bring it up.....any suggestions???
Welllll its extremely late here and I am starting to feel guilty about booking those trips tonight!!! I better fall asleep before I can change my mind :)
I wish every a relaxing rest of your Saturday and Sunday!
Don't forget to cheer on the Packers at 2pm!!! GO PACK GO!!!
If I can watch it here there is no excuse you can't watch it there :)
I miss everyone lots!!!
Besos y Abrazos
B
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Where o' Where
Good evening everyone!
I hope everyone had a great day so far! This is going to be a short blog tonight because I am exhausted! Today was the guided tour around Toledo. We boarded the buses at 10 this morning to drive around Toledo. We drove outside of the wall and across the river (Toledo is a city completely surrounded by a stone wall and the Tajo River). Once we got across the river we got off the bus to take amazing pictures!! It is such an amazing city!! Once again, I apologize I haven't had pictures up yet, that is my project for tomorrow! After the photo opportunity we drove back to the city to walk around and see many different churches and buildings.
After the tour, Brittany and I went shopping on the main shopping street in the city! I wasn't as successful as Brittany though :( She ended with more than a couple pairs of shoes and I just got some hair clips! For lunch we finally got some McDonalds! My snack wrap has NEVER TASTED SO AMAZING!!!!! Don't worry....they even have a euro menu (just like our dollar menu) so lunch was very cheap!
After lunch we decided to take a bus ride outside the walls to show our fellow friends where Taylor, Jake, and I live. At the end of the route, typically the bus continues on and returns back to the city....WELL apparently this wasn't the case. The bus driver kicked us off the bus. So here we are....six Americans without a ride back to the city! We decided that getting on a different bus was the best idea to get back. As we got further away from things that look familiar, we began to think maybe this wasn't a good idea. Jake decided to ask a Spanish boy, about 18 years old, if we were going to return back to the city. When he told us we wouldn't and that we were on the wrong bus we all started laughing. Then he yelled GET OFF NOW (of course in Spanish)!!! We didn't have enough time to press the button and stop the bus, so we missed that stop. Also, EVERYONE ON THE BUS TURNED AND LOOKED AT US AND STARTED LAUGHING!! I'm sure they were all thinking we were stupid americans!!! It was pretty funny! As Taylor would say, if you aren't lost, then you aren't trying!!!
Today, we also tried to plan some weekend trips. This is a difficult task when you have six people wanting to go different places, wanting to spend different amounts of money, wanting to take different modes of transportation, and wanting to stay in different hostels/hotels. There are about eight weekends of trips that need to be planned...Does anyone have any suggestions?!?! We did accomplish one thing today. I booked the hostel we will be staying in next weekend when we go to Madrid. This was my first time booking a hostel vs. a hotel. With the bed bug epidemic breaking out in Europe I was a little hesitant staying in a hostel as opposed to a Hilton :) Hopefully it will be nice and clean so no one has anything to worry about!!! We still have a lot of planning to do though. As of right now, I am thinking about going to Lisbon (Portugal), London, Paris, somewhere in Ireland, and somewhere in Germany. I also have my spring break week and the week prior to my adventure back to the States. For these weeks, I am thinking Italy and Greece! I never knew how difficult it was to look for cheap flights and appealing hostels/hotels!
Dinner was surprisingly good tonight! It was something similar to the signature Spanish dish known as paella. This consists of rice, carrots, peas, corn, chicken, and shrimp. It was amazing! I ate a lot :) Could today be the end to the unappetizing Spanish dishes I have had?!?! Cross your fingers for me!!
I will try extremely hard to get those pictures up online tomorrow! I will look for the easiest way to be able to share them with you guys!!! Have a great rest of your evening!!!
besos y abrazos
B
I hope everyone had a great day so far! This is going to be a short blog tonight because I am exhausted! Today was the guided tour around Toledo. We boarded the buses at 10 this morning to drive around Toledo. We drove outside of the wall and across the river (Toledo is a city completely surrounded by a stone wall and the Tajo River). Once we got across the river we got off the bus to take amazing pictures!! It is such an amazing city!! Once again, I apologize I haven't had pictures up yet, that is my project for tomorrow! After the photo opportunity we drove back to the city to walk around and see many different churches and buildings.
After the tour, Brittany and I went shopping on the main shopping street in the city! I wasn't as successful as Brittany though :( She ended with more than a couple pairs of shoes and I just got some hair clips! For lunch we finally got some McDonalds! My snack wrap has NEVER TASTED SO AMAZING!!!!! Don't worry....they even have a euro menu (just like our dollar menu) so lunch was very cheap!
After lunch we decided to take a bus ride outside the walls to show our fellow friends where Taylor, Jake, and I live. At the end of the route, typically the bus continues on and returns back to the city....WELL apparently this wasn't the case. The bus driver kicked us off the bus. So here we are....six Americans without a ride back to the city! We decided that getting on a different bus was the best idea to get back. As we got further away from things that look familiar, we began to think maybe this wasn't a good idea. Jake decided to ask a Spanish boy, about 18 years old, if we were going to return back to the city. When he told us we wouldn't and that we were on the wrong bus we all started laughing. Then he yelled GET OFF NOW (of course in Spanish)!!! We didn't have enough time to press the button and stop the bus, so we missed that stop. Also, EVERYONE ON THE BUS TURNED AND LOOKED AT US AND STARTED LAUGHING!! I'm sure they were all thinking we were stupid americans!!! It was pretty funny! As Taylor would say, if you aren't lost, then you aren't trying!!!
Today, we also tried to plan some weekend trips. This is a difficult task when you have six people wanting to go different places, wanting to spend different amounts of money, wanting to take different modes of transportation, and wanting to stay in different hostels/hotels. There are about eight weekends of trips that need to be planned...Does anyone have any suggestions?!?! We did accomplish one thing today. I booked the hostel we will be staying in next weekend when we go to Madrid. This was my first time booking a hostel vs. a hotel. With the bed bug epidemic breaking out in Europe I was a little hesitant staying in a hostel as opposed to a Hilton :) Hopefully it will be nice and clean so no one has anything to worry about!!! We still have a lot of planning to do though. As of right now, I am thinking about going to Lisbon (Portugal), London, Paris, somewhere in Ireland, and somewhere in Germany. I also have my spring break week and the week prior to my adventure back to the States. For these weeks, I am thinking Italy and Greece! I never knew how difficult it was to look for cheap flights and appealing hostels/hotels!
Dinner was surprisingly good tonight! It was something similar to the signature Spanish dish known as paella. This consists of rice, carrots, peas, corn, chicken, and shrimp. It was amazing! I ate a lot :) Could today be the end to the unappetizing Spanish dishes I have had?!?! Cross your fingers for me!!
I will try extremely hard to get those pictures up online tomorrow! I will look for the easiest way to be able to share them with you guys!!! Have a great rest of your evening!!!
besos y abrazos
B
Friday, January 21, 2011
Another day has come and gone! I had my first art class here in Spain and was pleasantly surprised when the teacher told us we were going on a field trip once a week!! Field trips will NEVER get old :) I didn't have to eat lunch or dinner at my house today, so that was also very relieving!!
Tonight at school we had a cena de rompehielos (Ice-breaker dinner). It was to introduce students to members of the Spanish community that wanted to participate in something called Intercambios. The Spanish speakers are looking to improve their English and we are looking for someone to help us with our Spanish. So we would just meet once or twice a week and just talk for about an hour each day. One day in English and then the other in Spanish. It was quite awkward walking into a room filled with a bunch of native Spanish speakers. So we headed right to the dinner table. The school served pizza tonight. Don't get too excited because it wasn't Pizza Hut or Papa Murphy's by any means!! It was still nice to have a food that looked like something I have seen before :) About 15 minutes into the dinner a mom walked in with her two kids! Being the caring, mother-like person I am, I immediately called them over to the table to talk to them! Nerea is eight and Aarón is seven. Aarón has the most adorable curly hair I have ever seen. Their English was almost flawless! They taught me how to say some animals in Spanish so that was a treat! They reminded me so much of my cousins (Isabella and Mateo) who lived in Spain for a while! Aarón told me he had two girlfriends and 3 hamsters!! They really were the most adorable things ever! I am going to email the head of the Intercambio program and request their family!!! I took a picture with them so I'll put that on here (along with my other photos that I still haven't put up!)
After the dinner tonight we went out to have some refreshments! The wine is amazing here :) Also, when you buy drinks, some bars have free "tapas" or snacks. So along with our drinks we got french fries and mini sandwiches! It was a great evening!!!!
The travel planning process is under way. Next weekend is Madrid with the weekend after that taking me to Santiago de Compostella. It is a city in the north of Spain. A round trip flight for 27 euros....WE COULDN'T GO WRONG!!! I think planning the flights will be the easy part. It will be looking for a hotel/hostel that may be tough! Some hostels seem sketchy so it may be interesting!!!! There is a bed bug epidemic in major cities of Europe so lets hope they don't find their way into my bed!!!!
It is now way past my bed time and I need my sleep tonight! Tomorrow we are taking a walking tour around the city of Toledo!
Have a great night everyone!!!
besos y abrazos
xoxoxox
B
Tonight at school we had a cena de rompehielos (Ice-breaker dinner). It was to introduce students to members of the Spanish community that wanted to participate in something called Intercambios. The Spanish speakers are looking to improve their English and we are looking for someone to help us with our Spanish. So we would just meet once or twice a week and just talk for about an hour each day. One day in English and then the other in Spanish. It was quite awkward walking into a room filled with a bunch of native Spanish speakers. So we headed right to the dinner table. The school served pizza tonight. Don't get too excited because it wasn't Pizza Hut or Papa Murphy's by any means!! It was still nice to have a food that looked like something I have seen before :) About 15 minutes into the dinner a mom walked in with her two kids! Being the caring, mother-like person I am, I immediately called them over to the table to talk to them! Nerea is eight and Aarón is seven. Aarón has the most adorable curly hair I have ever seen. Their English was almost flawless! They taught me how to say some animals in Spanish so that was a treat! They reminded me so much of my cousins (Isabella and Mateo) who lived in Spain for a while! Aarón told me he had two girlfriends and 3 hamsters!! They really were the most adorable things ever! I am going to email the head of the Intercambio program and request their family!!! I took a picture with them so I'll put that on here (along with my other photos that I still haven't put up!)
After the dinner tonight we went out to have some refreshments! The wine is amazing here :) Also, when you buy drinks, some bars have free "tapas" or snacks. So along with our drinks we got french fries and mini sandwiches! It was a great evening!!!!
The travel planning process is under way. Next weekend is Madrid with the weekend after that taking me to Santiago de Compostella. It is a city in the north of Spain. A round trip flight for 27 euros....WE COULDN'T GO WRONG!!! I think planning the flights will be the easy part. It will be looking for a hotel/hostel that may be tough! Some hostels seem sketchy so it may be interesting!!!! There is a bed bug epidemic in major cities of Europe so lets hope they don't find their way into my bed!!!!
It is now way past my bed time and I need my sleep tonight! Tomorrow we are taking a walking tour around the city of Toledo!
Have a great night everyone!!!
besos y abrazos
xoxoxox
B
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Not out of the Woods Yet....
Just when I thought I was out of the woods with the food situation......they threw me a curve ball!!! I was online talking to Sammy and my dad come and asked if I would like an "aperitivo" (appetizer). This is the exact same thing he asked me before he gave me BLOOD SAUSAGE!!! So obviously I was walking into the kitchen a little apprehensive. I looked at the plate on the counter and it had bread with what looked like butter on it. So I thought to myself "well this doesn't look too bad!".........THEN..........THEY PULLED THE JAR OF ANCHOVIES OUT OF THE FRIDGE....... so they wrapped one anchovy up on each piece of bread and scarfed them down! I told them I was scared to try it and that I probably wouldn't like it (I'm not a HUGE fan of fish). My mom grabbed a stack of napkins and set them in front of me. She told me if I didn't like it then I could spit it out. I told my family that I didn't want them to watch while I tried it....so of course i took a bite.....and it was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted!!! Definitely not like uncle Tod's fish AT ALL!!!! It was sooooo fishy tasting and still had scales on it that I could feel.....So it went right into the napkin and into the garbage :) I think I actually preferred the blood sausage over this, but I chased the taste down with a nice, cold cerveza!!!!! Our normal dinner course consisted of a chicken patty covered in cheese. That was really good! Why can't the food be like that all the time?!?!?!?
Also, I need to apologize for all the mistakes in my previous post :( Mother Theresa was not to happy about it :) Good thing my major is Spanish and not English :)
Have a great night everyone :)
Besos y Abrazos
xoxoxoxo
B
Also, I need to apologize for all the mistakes in my previous post :( Mother Theresa was not to happy about it :) Good thing my major is Spanish and not English :)
Have a great night everyone :)
Besos y Abrazos
xoxoxoxo
B
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
First few days in Spain!
Hello Everyone!
I decided to start a blog so it is easier for everyone to follow my adventures!! I will try and update as much as possible!
So I have not been here a full week yet so I am still adjusting. The first few days were pretty rough. I'm going to start from the very beginning!
I started packing my things Wednesday night at my apartment. My bed was full of things. My floor was full of thing. My roommate's (Morgan) bed was full of things...My room looked like a disaster. I didn't know how I was going to fit everything in two suitcases, a carry on, and a backpack. The first thing I pack was my shoes (of course)! My shoes alone, in one suitcase, weighted 25 pounds.... Suitcases for international travel can only weight fifty pounds!!! So now I started getting nervous! Thanks to vacuum seal bags, I managed to fit my sweaters and a few other items in that suitcase! Over the next few hours, some wine, and a few swear words my suitcases, carry on, and backpack eventually got packed!!!! We weighed and reweighed the suitcases about fifty times because they would weigh too much and then only one would weigh too much. Then the other would weigh too much....WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!
Wednesday night (January 12th) I stayed at my parents house. We went out to dinner at Nakishimas. But before we went out to dinner, my mom and I made me a mini tie-blanket for the plane! It is purple with hearts all over it. She kept some squares of left over fabric to always have me close to her!!! At dinner, I ate EVERYTHING I COULD POSSIBLY FIT IN MY STOMACH!!! My parents kept commenting on how fast and how much I ate! I felt like it was going to be my last dinner! After dinner we drove to my apartment to pick up my suitcases and finish last minute things around that apartment before I left. I felt very weird leaving, knowing i was not coming back for 4 months! Of course I cried, too :) When we got back to my parents house I kept checking to make sure I had everything and that everything weighed under the fifty pounds. I checked my wallet to make sure all money, credit and debit cards were secure....One thing was missing....MY CREDIT CARD! I had no idea where I put it! Thank goodness my mom asked if I had it because I would have left the country without it! I had to make copies of my cards, passport, visa, etc and of course I left the credit card on the scanner at my house. So my dad drove me back to the apartment to get my credit card!!!!
After returning back to my parents house, figuring out how to use the video camera, and a few tears, I finally went to bed. The feeling is indescribable knowing you won't be coming home for four months! It's hard knowing that you won't be sleeping in your own bed, eating your own foods, waking up and going to bed at your own time, and talking to your friends and family whenever you deem necessary. There were quite a few tears that night. Then my parents brought me a photo album that they put together. It has pictures of family, dance, Brock's hockey team, friends, coworkers, Bailee, and of course LUNA! Of course we all cried when they gave me this!!!! (If you haven't noticed, crying was a main theme preparing for this trip!)
When Thursday morning rolled around it was tough to get up. We weighed the suitcases one last time and of course one weighed over the fifty pounds!!! So along with more swear words and tears, we eventually got the suitcases ready to go. The drive to the airport was extremely hard for everyone (except Brock. I think he was more excited about missing school and sad I was leaving!!!). I got everything checked in and the tickets were in my hand. Now was time for the goodbyes. It was really tough to say goodbye to my parents (and even Brock!). Even though it wasn't goodbye forever, it was see you later for now. So I finally had to go through security and of course the people at the airports are rude. Im balling and they kept asking me questions and making me take my shoes off, and rings off, and everything out of my carry ons. TIP: ONCE YOU FIT EVERYTHING IN YOUR CARRY ONS, IT WILL NEVER BE ORGANIZED THE SAME WAY AFTER THAT!!! I had an extremely difficult time trying to close up my carry on after security!!!
Getting on the plane to Chicago was tough. There were lots of tears!!! The flight was only about 30 minutes long, so that amazed me a little!!! When I landed in Chicago the terminal for my next flight was listed differently on my ticket than the terminal listed on the TV screen. Good thing I wasn't traveling alone! While I was getting Starbucks my friend Jake arrived at the airport! He told me that he wouldn't be happy if I cried. He said no more tears only smiles! So that was the last time I cried (until I got to Spain!). We also met up with our three other friends. We all go to St. Norbert together so it was nice to know people to travel with. Right when I met up with them, I got a call from my mom saying that the fraud alert company was already calling her about fraudulent charges!!! What a mess!!! I hope that is all sorted out now! You would think that once you originally tell them you will be leaving the country they won't hassle you anymore....that must not be the case!
Waiting for our flight to Philadelphia, we all got McDonalds! I sure wouldn't want to work at the McDonalds in O'hare's airport!! It was a mess!!!! I got food so that's all that matters!! They also don't have a dollar menu :(
While we were boarding the flight to Philly, I hand the lady my ticket. Then she proceeds to tell me that the plane ran out of overhead room for carry ons and I would not be able to bring mine onto the plane!!!! I had a few choice words streaming through my head at this point!!!!! Not only could I not bring it on this plane, but I would not be able to get it back until MADRID!!!! My carry on had everything!!! It had my change of clothes, my tennis shoes, my camera, blanket, travel pillow, EVERYTHING!!! So with some more rearranging I smashed everything into my backpack (that already weighed about thirty pounds!). This flight went really quick as well!!! Next stop MADRID!
Philly's airport was really big, so most of the layover consisted of walking through the airport. Once we got to the terminal, it was packed with students. A lot of kids were leaving to study in Spain and Italy. I only waited about twenty minutes to board the plane. A few more tears fell once I got on the plane. I was texting right up until the plane took off!!! I don't know if I was more sad about leaving everyone and everything in the States or because of the fact that I wouldn't have my cellphone/lifeline anymore?!?!?!
The flight to Madrid was TERRIBLE!!!! It was about 7 hours from Philly and I was miserable!!!! We had REALLY bad turbulence for about an hour and it made me so nauseous. Good thing I packed dramamine!!! I only slept about an hour that whole flight! Jake definitely didn't have a problem sleeping seeing that he was probably only awake for about an hour!!! Our food on the plane was amazing so that was a plus!!! We were served dinner (pasta, salad, dinner roll) and breakfast (an apple toaster strudel type thing!). When we landed, the real fun began!
Getting through customs was a breeze! There was no line and they didn't ask me any questions. Getting my luggage was the difficult part! There were about 23897239751 people standing around the luggage claim thing. Luckily, all my luggage arrived with me. But, it weighed more than I did!!!! Can you guys picture me walking through the airport with two huge suitcases, a rolling carryon suitcase, and my HUGE backpack....well it was priceless to say the least! Finally I decided to get a luggage cart and that made it a little easier!!! When we met up with the group it was finally time to head to Toledo. It is about an hour or hour and a half bus ride from the airport. Luckily I was able to fall asleep a bit on this ride. When we got to school it was like everything was moving in slow motion. We had about an hour to explore Toledo before orientation started. So I went to my carryon to grab my purse and it is GONE!! So of course, once again, I start to cry!!! I thought someone stole it! I looked in my big suitcase and thank goodness there it was!!!!
Once orientation started my mind was just shot. All I could think about was everything back at home and how much I stunk from the plane ride!!! Orientation was of course in Spanish....that was the last thing I wanted to hear after traveling for many hours and more tired than I've ever been. After the do's and don'ts of the staying with families, we met our family. My Spanish dad, Alfonso was there to pick me up...Once again all I want to do is eat, sleep, and talk in English!!!! After a little while of introductions at school we headed home. My house here is about fifteen minutes from school. The first question I asked was if anyone in my family spoke English.....Answer: NO! One of my brother's here knows very little, but that was about it. When we arrived home I unpacked my things and my dad cooked lunch. Lunch consisted of spaghetti noodles and hamburger meat. It was actually really good!!!! After lunch I of course took a ciesta (nap!!!). Before dinner my family took me on a walk around Toledo and showed me the way to walk to my classes. When we got home, then came dinner........for dinner we had raw bacon and come other type of uncooked meat and eggs. I saw my dad cutting the bacon right off the pig leg we keep in the kitchen. Yes that is right a pig leg is in the kitchen.....It's just hanging out....like it's no big deal!!! He cut it off the leg and then put it on a plate...no cooking involved!!! Then he cut slices of what looked to be more legs of something (I really don't want to know). Being the nice, gracious person I am, I tried the raw bacon.....It has a name, but I don't know what it is (so for now it's raw bacon to me!). It was soooooooooooo disgusting!!!! It stuck to my teeth and was slimy!!!! The thought of me eating something, not cooked, off a leg just chilling in the kitchen (not even in the fridge) disgusted me!!!! I just took a big gulp of water, sucked it up, and swallowed it!!! During dinner my dad received a call from my oldest brother saying that he hurt is neck and wanted him to come pick him up from Madrid. So my dad left to get him. His name is Jorge. He is 20 and goes to school in Madrid. My younger brother is 16 and goes to school somewhere around my house here. He reminds me so much of Brock!!!!! It must be the age :) After dinner I just went to bed.
I had to be up early Saturday morning to take placement tests. The placement tests were really easy and I don't even think they meant anything!!! After those, we scheduled our classes. I signed up for Women of Spain, Grammar, Spanish Cinema, Spanish Art, and an Internship class. After all those tests, I went home for the rest of the day. When I got home it was lunch time. For lunch they decided a nice appetizer would be good. So they pull this brat thing out of the fridge. It was shaped just like an brat from the States. They only thing different was the color. This one was a DARK BROWNING RED color. I was thinking oh great....what is this. When I asked my family what it was they told me that they weren't going to tell me what it was because then I won't try it.....WELL THAT SURE DIDNT MAKE ME WANT TO TRY IT!!! So the smash it up into what looked like pieces of tobacco. The cut some bread and put some if this "appetizer" on top of it. I tried it....it wasn't the WORST taste I have ever had, but if it was the last thing on earth I wouldn't eat it.....They finally tell me what it is......BLOOD SAUSAGE. When they kill pigs they inject their blood with someone to be able to preserve it. Yes that is right.....pig intestine filled with blood!!!!!!!!! Sorry if I just made anyone toss their cookies, but that's exactly how I felt when I tried it. They ate it like it was equivalent to our chips and salsa!!! My mom here was even eating it plain with a spoon!!! When everyone was turned away, I scooped it back into the pan so I didn't have to eat anymore of it!!!!!! Then to top it off we had mushroom soup on rice...yes pure mushrooms over rice. I HATE MUSHROOMS!!! But, once again, I ate the whole plate! I get so excited for bed time because it's when I get to talk to my parents and not have to think about food anymore!!! I get so nauseous when I think about what we might have for lunch or dinner!!!
Sunday was pretty casual. We went to three different plant stores looking for I don't even know what!! For lunch we had spaghetti casserole!!! It was really good!!!! Finally some food I like!!! Every time we eat something that is normal or that I really like....I always tell them OHHH THIS IS SO GOOD I LOVE IT....I hope I'm getting the point across!!!! For dinner I had tomatoes and sausage. I have never tried a full tomato back home so this was another first for me. It actually wasn't that bad! I might even eat them when I go back home!!!
Monday I started my classes. Walking to my first class.....at about 9:30 in the morning I got lost!!! Imagine that!!! Everything looks the same over here so it was tough. I just wondered around hoping for things to start looking familiar and good thing they did!!! I haven't got too lost since so that is a good thing!!!! My first class (Women of Spain) went really well!!! One of my friends is in it with me too. The teacher was so nice! She told us not to worry about anything and that she would work with us. She even told us that she was going to talk slower in the beginning so we can adjust to everything! HOW NICE!!! My second grammar class also went well! I have 3 of my other friends in this one so that is nice!! The teacher was super nice and she was born in Argentina!!!! My third class....Cinema....went TERRIBLE. The teacher was a complete idiot (he reminded me of a mix between Hitler and Stalin!!!) He was so rude! When he handed out the syllabus I almost died! It consisted of 2 exams, 5 debates, and 4 papers of at least 4 pages long.....HOW MISERABLE!!! I'm sorry, but I was not planning on working THAT hard here!!! Soooooooo I am dropping that class for a class on Spanish history :)
Tuesday I didn't have anything until a meeting at 2:50. It was nice to sleep in and relax a little! I got up and even read 100 pages of my book!!! Then I went to school for a meeting on Intercambios. These are people from Spain that want to practice or improve their English. They are mostly students from universities around here. In exchange for us helping them with English, they will help us with Spanish! After the meeting I didn't have class until 6:00 so I went home for lunch. IT WAS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP AND A CHICKEN PATTY!!! Hopefully the bad food has come and gone!!! I returned to school for my 6:20 class. This was my class about my internship. I am doing an internship once a week while I am here. I am working at an addiction center near my school. I don't know what I will be doing there yet, but once I know I will update everyone!!! For dinner last night we had GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE!!!!! How awesome is that!!! Grilled ham and cheese! I really hope the disgusting spanish food is gone for good!!!
Today has been pretty good so far! I had my grammar class again and that should be very easy! For lunch my dad made beef and potatoes! Another great meal!!! I am just resting now before I had back to my last class of the day....Spanish History. I just took a class on this at St. Norbert so I am hoping it will be nice and easy!!!!
We are starting to plan trips for the weekends ahead. Next weekend is looking like Madrid! We have a guided tour through some museums. It is only a day trip through school, but Brittany, Taylor, Jake, and myself might stay until Sunday instead of just the Friday trip! This Friday we have a guided tour through Toledo. There are so many picture opportunities here!! I will also be uploading some pictures for everyone to see! I will let everyone know when they are up and how to get to them!!!
I wish everyone the VERY BEST!!!
I hope all is well back home!!!
How about those Packers?!?!?!? I brought a jersey with me and I will be watching the game on Saturday!!! It will be a little easier to watch than the one last Saturday. It was on at about 2:30 here!! I set my alarm to wake up and watch it, but I never heard my alarm go off.....So when I woke up it was already into the 3rd quarter and we were winning by so much that I just went to bed!!!! GOOD LUCK TO THE PACKERS ON BEATING THE BEARS!!! THEY CAN DO IT :)
I will try to update as frequently as I can! Sorry this post got quite lenghty, but I just wanted to fill everyone in on my time here!!! I promise the next posts won't be as long :) I also apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes! I didn't go back and proof read any of this!!! MY BAD!!! I'm here for Spanish not English, anyways!
I love everyone lots!!!
I miss everyone tons!!!
Feel free to email me at brooke.sanborn@snc.edu or sanbornbl@hotmail.com!!!
Or skype me! Just search for my name...I'm the only Brooke Sanborn on there :)
Talk to everyone soon!
xoxoxoxoxo
besos y abrazos (kisses and hugs)
B
I decided to start a blog so it is easier for everyone to follow my adventures!! I will try and update as much as possible!
So I have not been here a full week yet so I am still adjusting. The first few days were pretty rough. I'm going to start from the very beginning!
I started packing my things Wednesday night at my apartment. My bed was full of things. My floor was full of thing. My roommate's (Morgan) bed was full of things...My room looked like a disaster. I didn't know how I was going to fit everything in two suitcases, a carry on, and a backpack. The first thing I pack was my shoes (of course)! My shoes alone, in one suitcase, weighted 25 pounds.... Suitcases for international travel can only weight fifty pounds!!! So now I started getting nervous! Thanks to vacuum seal bags, I managed to fit my sweaters and a few other items in that suitcase! Over the next few hours, some wine, and a few swear words my suitcases, carry on, and backpack eventually got packed!!!! We weighed and reweighed the suitcases about fifty times because they would weigh too much and then only one would weigh too much. Then the other would weigh too much....WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!
Wednesday night (January 12th) I stayed at my parents house. We went out to dinner at Nakishimas. But before we went out to dinner, my mom and I made me a mini tie-blanket for the plane! It is purple with hearts all over it. She kept some squares of left over fabric to always have me close to her!!! At dinner, I ate EVERYTHING I COULD POSSIBLY FIT IN MY STOMACH!!! My parents kept commenting on how fast and how much I ate! I felt like it was going to be my last dinner! After dinner we drove to my apartment to pick up my suitcases and finish last minute things around that apartment before I left. I felt very weird leaving, knowing i was not coming back for 4 months! Of course I cried, too :) When we got back to my parents house I kept checking to make sure I had everything and that everything weighed under the fifty pounds. I checked my wallet to make sure all money, credit and debit cards were secure....One thing was missing....MY CREDIT CARD! I had no idea where I put it! Thank goodness my mom asked if I had it because I would have left the country without it! I had to make copies of my cards, passport, visa, etc and of course I left the credit card on the scanner at my house. So my dad drove me back to the apartment to get my credit card!!!!
After returning back to my parents house, figuring out how to use the video camera, and a few tears, I finally went to bed. The feeling is indescribable knowing you won't be coming home for four months! It's hard knowing that you won't be sleeping in your own bed, eating your own foods, waking up and going to bed at your own time, and talking to your friends and family whenever you deem necessary. There were quite a few tears that night. Then my parents brought me a photo album that they put together. It has pictures of family, dance, Brock's hockey team, friends, coworkers, Bailee, and of course LUNA! Of course we all cried when they gave me this!!!! (If you haven't noticed, crying was a main theme preparing for this trip!)
When Thursday morning rolled around it was tough to get up. We weighed the suitcases one last time and of course one weighed over the fifty pounds!!! So along with more swear words and tears, we eventually got the suitcases ready to go. The drive to the airport was extremely hard for everyone (except Brock. I think he was more excited about missing school and sad I was leaving!!!). I got everything checked in and the tickets were in my hand. Now was time for the goodbyes. It was really tough to say goodbye to my parents (and even Brock!). Even though it wasn't goodbye forever, it was see you later for now. So I finally had to go through security and of course the people at the airports are rude. Im balling and they kept asking me questions and making me take my shoes off, and rings off, and everything out of my carry ons. TIP: ONCE YOU FIT EVERYTHING IN YOUR CARRY ONS, IT WILL NEVER BE ORGANIZED THE SAME WAY AFTER THAT!!! I had an extremely difficult time trying to close up my carry on after security!!!
Getting on the plane to Chicago was tough. There were lots of tears!!! The flight was only about 30 minutes long, so that amazed me a little!!! When I landed in Chicago the terminal for my next flight was listed differently on my ticket than the terminal listed on the TV screen. Good thing I wasn't traveling alone! While I was getting Starbucks my friend Jake arrived at the airport! He told me that he wouldn't be happy if I cried. He said no more tears only smiles! So that was the last time I cried (until I got to Spain!). We also met up with our three other friends. We all go to St. Norbert together so it was nice to know people to travel with. Right when I met up with them, I got a call from my mom saying that the fraud alert company was already calling her about fraudulent charges!!! What a mess!!! I hope that is all sorted out now! You would think that once you originally tell them you will be leaving the country they won't hassle you anymore....that must not be the case!
Waiting for our flight to Philadelphia, we all got McDonalds! I sure wouldn't want to work at the McDonalds in O'hare's airport!! It was a mess!!!! I got food so that's all that matters!! They also don't have a dollar menu :(
While we were boarding the flight to Philly, I hand the lady my ticket. Then she proceeds to tell me that the plane ran out of overhead room for carry ons and I would not be able to bring mine onto the plane!!!! I had a few choice words streaming through my head at this point!!!!! Not only could I not bring it on this plane, but I would not be able to get it back until MADRID!!!! My carry on had everything!!! It had my change of clothes, my tennis shoes, my camera, blanket, travel pillow, EVERYTHING!!! So with some more rearranging I smashed everything into my backpack (that already weighed about thirty pounds!). This flight went really quick as well!!! Next stop MADRID!
Philly's airport was really big, so most of the layover consisted of walking through the airport. Once we got to the terminal, it was packed with students. A lot of kids were leaving to study in Spain and Italy. I only waited about twenty minutes to board the plane. A few more tears fell once I got on the plane. I was texting right up until the plane took off!!! I don't know if I was more sad about leaving everyone and everything in the States or because of the fact that I wouldn't have my cellphone/lifeline anymore?!?!?!
The flight to Madrid was TERRIBLE!!!! It was about 7 hours from Philly and I was miserable!!!! We had REALLY bad turbulence for about an hour and it made me so nauseous. Good thing I packed dramamine!!! I only slept about an hour that whole flight! Jake definitely didn't have a problem sleeping seeing that he was probably only awake for about an hour!!! Our food on the plane was amazing so that was a plus!!! We were served dinner (pasta, salad, dinner roll) and breakfast (an apple toaster strudel type thing!). When we landed, the real fun began!
Getting through customs was a breeze! There was no line and they didn't ask me any questions. Getting my luggage was the difficult part! There were about 23897239751 people standing around the luggage claim thing. Luckily, all my luggage arrived with me. But, it weighed more than I did!!!! Can you guys picture me walking through the airport with two huge suitcases, a rolling carryon suitcase, and my HUGE backpack....well it was priceless to say the least! Finally I decided to get a luggage cart and that made it a little easier!!! When we met up with the group it was finally time to head to Toledo. It is about an hour or hour and a half bus ride from the airport. Luckily I was able to fall asleep a bit on this ride. When we got to school it was like everything was moving in slow motion. We had about an hour to explore Toledo before orientation started. So I went to my carryon to grab my purse and it is GONE!! So of course, once again, I start to cry!!! I thought someone stole it! I looked in my big suitcase and thank goodness there it was!!!!
Once orientation started my mind was just shot. All I could think about was everything back at home and how much I stunk from the plane ride!!! Orientation was of course in Spanish....that was the last thing I wanted to hear after traveling for many hours and more tired than I've ever been. After the do's and don'ts of the staying with families, we met our family. My Spanish dad, Alfonso was there to pick me up...Once again all I want to do is eat, sleep, and talk in English!!!! After a little while of introductions at school we headed home. My house here is about fifteen minutes from school. The first question I asked was if anyone in my family spoke English.....Answer: NO! One of my brother's here knows very little, but that was about it. When we arrived home I unpacked my things and my dad cooked lunch. Lunch consisted of spaghetti noodles and hamburger meat. It was actually really good!!!! After lunch I of course took a ciesta (nap!!!). Before dinner my family took me on a walk around Toledo and showed me the way to walk to my classes. When we got home, then came dinner........for dinner we had raw bacon and come other type of uncooked meat and eggs. I saw my dad cutting the bacon right off the pig leg we keep in the kitchen. Yes that is right a pig leg is in the kitchen.....It's just hanging out....like it's no big deal!!! He cut it off the leg and then put it on a plate...no cooking involved!!! Then he cut slices of what looked to be more legs of something (I really don't want to know). Being the nice, gracious person I am, I tried the raw bacon.....It has a name, but I don't know what it is (so for now it's raw bacon to me!). It was soooooooooooo disgusting!!!! It stuck to my teeth and was slimy!!!! The thought of me eating something, not cooked, off a leg just chilling in the kitchen (not even in the fridge) disgusted me!!!! I just took a big gulp of water, sucked it up, and swallowed it!!! During dinner my dad received a call from my oldest brother saying that he hurt is neck and wanted him to come pick him up from Madrid. So my dad left to get him. His name is Jorge. He is 20 and goes to school in Madrid. My younger brother is 16 and goes to school somewhere around my house here. He reminds me so much of Brock!!!!! It must be the age :) After dinner I just went to bed.
I had to be up early Saturday morning to take placement tests. The placement tests were really easy and I don't even think they meant anything!!! After those, we scheduled our classes. I signed up for Women of Spain, Grammar, Spanish Cinema, Spanish Art, and an Internship class. After all those tests, I went home for the rest of the day. When I got home it was lunch time. For lunch they decided a nice appetizer would be good. So they pull this brat thing out of the fridge. It was shaped just like an brat from the States. They only thing different was the color. This one was a DARK BROWNING RED color. I was thinking oh great....what is this. When I asked my family what it was they told me that they weren't going to tell me what it was because then I won't try it.....WELL THAT SURE DIDNT MAKE ME WANT TO TRY IT!!! So the smash it up into what looked like pieces of tobacco. The cut some bread and put some if this "appetizer" on top of it. I tried it....it wasn't the WORST taste I have ever had, but if it was the last thing on earth I wouldn't eat it.....They finally tell me what it is......BLOOD SAUSAGE. When they kill pigs they inject their blood with someone to be able to preserve it. Yes that is right.....pig intestine filled with blood!!!!!!!!! Sorry if I just made anyone toss their cookies, but that's exactly how I felt when I tried it. They ate it like it was equivalent to our chips and salsa!!! My mom here was even eating it plain with a spoon!!! When everyone was turned away, I scooped it back into the pan so I didn't have to eat anymore of it!!!!!! Then to top it off we had mushroom soup on rice...yes pure mushrooms over rice. I HATE MUSHROOMS!!! But, once again, I ate the whole plate! I get so excited for bed time because it's when I get to talk to my parents and not have to think about food anymore!!! I get so nauseous when I think about what we might have for lunch or dinner!!!
Sunday was pretty casual. We went to three different plant stores looking for I don't even know what!! For lunch we had spaghetti casserole!!! It was really good!!!! Finally some food I like!!! Every time we eat something that is normal or that I really like....I always tell them OHHH THIS IS SO GOOD I LOVE IT....I hope I'm getting the point across!!!! For dinner I had tomatoes and sausage. I have never tried a full tomato back home so this was another first for me. It actually wasn't that bad! I might even eat them when I go back home!!!
Monday I started my classes. Walking to my first class.....at about 9:30 in the morning I got lost!!! Imagine that!!! Everything looks the same over here so it was tough. I just wondered around hoping for things to start looking familiar and good thing they did!!! I haven't got too lost since so that is a good thing!!!! My first class (Women of Spain) went really well!!! One of my friends is in it with me too. The teacher was so nice! She told us not to worry about anything and that she would work with us. She even told us that she was going to talk slower in the beginning so we can adjust to everything! HOW NICE!!! My second grammar class also went well! I have 3 of my other friends in this one so that is nice!! The teacher was super nice and she was born in Argentina!!!! My third class....Cinema....went TERRIBLE. The teacher was a complete idiot (he reminded me of a mix between Hitler and Stalin!!!) He was so rude! When he handed out the syllabus I almost died! It consisted of 2 exams, 5 debates, and 4 papers of at least 4 pages long.....HOW MISERABLE!!! I'm sorry, but I was not planning on working THAT hard here!!! Soooooooo I am dropping that class for a class on Spanish history :)
Tuesday I didn't have anything until a meeting at 2:50. It was nice to sleep in and relax a little! I got up and even read 100 pages of my book!!! Then I went to school for a meeting on Intercambios. These are people from Spain that want to practice or improve their English. They are mostly students from universities around here. In exchange for us helping them with English, they will help us with Spanish! After the meeting I didn't have class until 6:00 so I went home for lunch. IT WAS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP AND A CHICKEN PATTY!!! Hopefully the bad food has come and gone!!! I returned to school for my 6:20 class. This was my class about my internship. I am doing an internship once a week while I am here. I am working at an addiction center near my school. I don't know what I will be doing there yet, but once I know I will update everyone!!! For dinner last night we had GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE!!!!! How awesome is that!!! Grilled ham and cheese! I really hope the disgusting spanish food is gone for good!!!
Today has been pretty good so far! I had my grammar class again and that should be very easy! For lunch my dad made beef and potatoes! Another great meal!!! I am just resting now before I had back to my last class of the day....Spanish History. I just took a class on this at St. Norbert so I am hoping it will be nice and easy!!!!
We are starting to plan trips for the weekends ahead. Next weekend is looking like Madrid! We have a guided tour through some museums. It is only a day trip through school, but Brittany, Taylor, Jake, and myself might stay until Sunday instead of just the Friday trip! This Friday we have a guided tour through Toledo. There are so many picture opportunities here!! I will also be uploading some pictures for everyone to see! I will let everyone know when they are up and how to get to them!!!
I wish everyone the VERY BEST!!!
I hope all is well back home!!!
How about those Packers?!?!?!? I brought a jersey with me and I will be watching the game on Saturday!!! It will be a little easier to watch than the one last Saturday. It was on at about 2:30 here!! I set my alarm to wake up and watch it, but I never heard my alarm go off.....So when I woke up it was already into the 3rd quarter and we were winning by so much that I just went to bed!!!! GOOD LUCK TO THE PACKERS ON BEATING THE BEARS!!! THEY CAN DO IT :)
I will try to update as frequently as I can! Sorry this post got quite lenghty, but I just wanted to fill everyone in on my time here!!! I promise the next posts won't be as long :) I also apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes! I didn't go back and proof read any of this!!! MY BAD!!! I'm here for Spanish not English, anyways!
I love everyone lots!!!
I miss everyone tons!!!
Feel free to email me at brooke.sanborn@snc.edu or sanbornbl@hotmail.com!!!
Or skype me! Just search for my name...I'm the only Brooke Sanborn on there :)
Talk to everyone soon!
xoxoxoxoxo
besos y abrazos (kisses and hugs)
B
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