The first things I am going to do when I get back to The States:
1. Hug my parents, brothers, and dogs
2. Cuddle with Luke and Leia for hours
3. Go eat Taco Bell
4. Go to the beach house
5. Put my toes in the sand
6. Bake
7. Cook
8. Go on a drive
9. Make a trip to Corvallis
10. Get Dutch Bros
11. Run errands
12. Go grocery shopping with my mom
13. Cook my friends and family Asturian food
14. Curl my hair
15. Wear all of my clothes that I couldn't bring here
16. Go buy new jeans that actually fit/aren't baggy
17. Have friends over to my house
18. Hang out with EVERYONE that wants to hang out
19. Find a new job
20. Stop sleeping in til ungodly hours
I still absolutely love it here! But after being on Pinterest for a couple hours today, I really want to do all of the above items! Also, they are not necessarily in order of importance (I promise Taco Bell is not THAT important haha)
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
My Spanish Family :)
My Spanish family is completely different than my American family, but I still think they're great. At home, I have 2 brothers, my mom, my dad, and Luke and Leia (the puppies). That makes 4 guys total, the majority of the family. Here, it is all girls. In fact, when Marisa's brother Valentin was here the other day I was kind of in shock to hear a man in the house. I live with Lucia and Marisa, and Luisa (the grandma) is here at least part of the week so I consider her part of the fam too! She has been staying here since her cataract surgery 3 weeks ago, and at this point I don't know if she is ever going to leave. But she cracks me up so its all good!
Marisa:
Marisa is my host mom, and she is absolutely adorable. She is everything that a stereotypical Spanish mother should be. She always yells at me for not dressing appropriately, and there was a time when she may have thought I was anorexic since I apparently don't eat enough. However, since then I have been eating a bit more cause she has started only making food that she knows I like haha. She still offers me extra food items after every bite, and when I say no she hands it to me anyways and says I need to eat it. She likes to pick fights with Lucia by purposefully being difficult, and she is always telling me it is freezing outside when it's not. She likes to knit and she just finished a jacket for her grand-daughter in Chile. When she found out that I crocheted, we immediately bonded, and now she shows everyone that comes over the scarf that I made haha!
Lucia:
Lucia cracks me up so much! She is 31 and gorgeous! I recently found out for sure that she doesn't have a job and already finished school, but she is studying for a test in June that will give her a certification in English and Italian. She refuses to speak in English to me, but I have heard her on the phone and I know she speaks really well. I had no idea she spoke Italian also though! I guess she studied in both Italy and London. She is very loud and opinionated, and she acts like an adult. She refers to Marisa by her first name, which drives Marisa nuts haha. She dresses really cute but casual, and she is always going out to study or to go to the gym. Tonight at dinner she yelled at Marisa when Marisa asked why Finland was playing in what she thought was the World Cup. After explaining that it was a world league and therefore Finland could play, she shook her head and said Marisa was crazy. Also, Marisa randomly stopped talking and looked at Lucia and said "Hola" out of the blue, and Lucia told her she was nuts. They are like children together, always arguing and definitely not acting like mother-daughter! Finally, the Finland-Spain game is on and Lucia is getting very into it (as she does for a lot of shows) and she keeps yelling "Joder". Just to paint the picture, she is sitting on the couch with her mother and grandmother, and she keeps dropping the F-bomb casually. And they don't even flinch haha.
Luisa:
Luisa is 87 years old, but does not look it. She has her own apartment, but lives with us for part of the week, and lives with Laura's host mom for part of the week. She is fully capable of being independent, but I don't think she likes to be alone. She is one of the craziest old ladies I have ever met, and I can't help but constantly laugh around her! She doesn't like technology or anything from our generation, and I think she is opposed to change in general. One day I came home from class and she was the only one home. I told her I was going to shower, and she stared at me with the radio in one hand and a paper in the other. She said something along the lines of "I am SO bored. They left me alone and I am SO bored. I don't know how to work the phone. Do you know how to work the phone? I don't know how to do it and they left me here and I am SO bored!" hahahaha. She also loves to argue, I think it's a family trait! She is constantly saying things that I am pretty sure she knows are incorrect, just to get Marisa and Lucia started. Half the time when I go in the bathroom after her there is water EVERYWHERE, and I don't know how she makes such a mess! Today at dinner there was a piece of bread on the floor, and I'm sure she purposely dropped it just to see what would happen! haha. Also, when I am in my room, she sometimes randomly walks by and waves. Doesn't say anything, just waves at me. Of course I wave back haha :)
Luisa and I are often treated like children, which I think is hilarious. Lucia and Marisa do all of the cooking and cleaning, and Luisa and I are always served and given more to eat. We are called to the kitchen, and then we sit at the table together waiting for our food to be served to us. I offer to serve myself or help clean up, and I just get told no. So I guess I will just continue taking advantage of it! We also both get yelled at if we leave the house without an umbrella or a coat, and we are constantly wandering around aimlessly-me because I'm just being awkward, Luisa because I honestly just think she forgets what she is doing in the middle of doing it. Or maybe she is trying to find a new thing to meddle with, I'm not sure haha. Currently she is sitting at the table doing the crossword (or pretending to do it, who knows) and talking to herself while I blog and Marisa knits. Since the game just ended, Lucia went to bed.
One lovely, and maybe a little crazy, Spanish family :) I couldn't have asked for a more entertaining bunch!
Marisa:
Marisa is my host mom, and she is absolutely adorable. She is everything that a stereotypical Spanish mother should be. She always yells at me for not dressing appropriately, and there was a time when she may have thought I was anorexic since I apparently don't eat enough. However, since then I have been eating a bit more cause she has started only making food that she knows I like haha. She still offers me extra food items after every bite, and when I say no she hands it to me anyways and says I need to eat it. She likes to pick fights with Lucia by purposefully being difficult, and she is always telling me it is freezing outside when it's not. She likes to knit and she just finished a jacket for her grand-daughter in Chile. When she found out that I crocheted, we immediately bonded, and now she shows everyone that comes over the scarf that I made haha!
Lucia:
Lucia cracks me up so much! She is 31 and gorgeous! I recently found out for sure that she doesn't have a job and already finished school, but she is studying for a test in June that will give her a certification in English and Italian. She refuses to speak in English to me, but I have heard her on the phone and I know she speaks really well. I had no idea she spoke Italian also though! I guess she studied in both Italy and London. She is very loud and opinionated, and she acts like an adult. She refers to Marisa by her first name, which drives Marisa nuts haha. She dresses really cute but casual, and she is always going out to study or to go to the gym. Tonight at dinner she yelled at Marisa when Marisa asked why Finland was playing in what she thought was the World Cup. After explaining that it was a world league and therefore Finland could play, she shook her head and said Marisa was crazy. Also, Marisa randomly stopped talking and looked at Lucia and said "Hola" out of the blue, and Lucia told her she was nuts. They are like children together, always arguing and definitely not acting like mother-daughter! Finally, the Finland-Spain game is on and Lucia is getting very into it (as she does for a lot of shows) and she keeps yelling "Joder". Just to paint the picture, she is sitting on the couch with her mother and grandmother, and she keeps dropping the F-bomb casually. And they don't even flinch haha.
Luisa:
Luisa is 87 years old, but does not look it. She has her own apartment, but lives with us for part of the week, and lives with Laura's host mom for part of the week. She is fully capable of being independent, but I don't think she likes to be alone. She is one of the craziest old ladies I have ever met, and I can't help but constantly laugh around her! She doesn't like technology or anything from our generation, and I think she is opposed to change in general. One day I came home from class and she was the only one home. I told her I was going to shower, and she stared at me with the radio in one hand and a paper in the other. She said something along the lines of "I am SO bored. They left me alone and I am SO bored. I don't know how to work the phone. Do you know how to work the phone? I don't know how to do it and they left me here and I am SO bored!" hahahaha. She also loves to argue, I think it's a family trait! She is constantly saying things that I am pretty sure she knows are incorrect, just to get Marisa and Lucia started. Half the time when I go in the bathroom after her there is water EVERYWHERE, and I don't know how she makes such a mess! Today at dinner there was a piece of bread on the floor, and I'm sure she purposely dropped it just to see what would happen! haha. Also, when I am in my room, she sometimes randomly walks by and waves. Doesn't say anything, just waves at me. Of course I wave back haha :)
Luisa and I are often treated like children, which I think is hilarious. Lucia and Marisa do all of the cooking and cleaning, and Luisa and I are always served and given more to eat. We are called to the kitchen, and then we sit at the table together waiting for our food to be served to us. I offer to serve myself or help clean up, and I just get told no. So I guess I will just continue taking advantage of it! We also both get yelled at if we leave the house without an umbrella or a coat, and we are constantly wandering around aimlessly-me because I'm just being awkward, Luisa because I honestly just think she forgets what she is doing in the middle of doing it. Or maybe she is trying to find a new thing to meddle with, I'm not sure haha. Currently she is sitting at the table doing the crossword (or pretending to do it, who knows) and talking to herself while I blog and Marisa knits. Since the game just ended, Lucia went to bed.
One lovely, and maybe a little crazy, Spanish family :) I couldn't have asked for a more entertaining bunch!
A little piece of home
Sorry I haven't written much lately! I do have a lot to update on, but I have been super busy with midterms and work! I will try to update tomorrow, but no promises! I had 4 tests in the last 2 weeks, which is 4/5 of the tests I've had total in the last 3 months (gotta love Spain hehe)! However, this meant I had to study a lot, especially for the classes that I haven't been paying attention in.... I think I did just fine on most of them, and I'll know more after Spring Break! My mom and Mike are coming on Sunday (yayy!!!) and then Semana Santa (Spring Break) starts on Wednesday after classes. My friends and I are going to Barcelona for 3 days, then on an 8 day cruise to Tunisia, France, and Italy. Words cannot describe how excited I am for the next 2 weeks!
This is my lovely mother. She is one of my best friends and my biggest role model. I seriously do not think that I could have been given a better parent than her (and my dad, as a team of course).
This is my little brother, Mike. I love him to the moon and back and consider him one of my best friends. We are more similar than he knows, and I truly admire how caring and considerate he is. He is super smart and has everything going for him! He is a better person than I am even though he is younger, and I strive to be more like him every day! Reject children forever and always, little bro :)
And while I'm at it, this is my brother and his brand new fiancee, Shelley! Shelley is absolutely gorgeous, and also goes by the name Sha-lay-lay ;) They are not coming to Spain, but they just got engaged last weekend at the beach house and I am so excited for them!
On a different note, people keep on posting packages on Facebook. Or pictures of food from the US. If anyone wants to send me a package with any of the following items, I seriously may love you forever. Or a letter, thatd be cool too.
Calle Viaducto Marquina 7, 2-G
Oviedo, Asturias
España
And yes, after seeing the pictures of taco bell and Kraft macaroni on Facebook, I am indeed begging for packages haha. I've hit a new all time low.
Okay I need to stop. I think I'm just hungry. But seriously, when you know you can't have something it makes you want it 100 times more. And none of these things exist in Oviedo....
This is my lovely mother. She is one of my best friends and my biggest role model. I seriously do not think that I could have been given a better parent than her (and my dad, as a team of course).
This is my little brother, Mike. I love him to the moon and back and consider him one of my best friends. We are more similar than he knows, and I truly admire how caring and considerate he is. He is super smart and has everything going for him! He is a better person than I am even though he is younger, and I strive to be more like him every day! Reject children forever and always, little bro :)
And while I'm at it, this is my brother and his brand new fiancee, Shelley! Shelley is absolutely gorgeous, and also goes by the name Sha-lay-lay ;) They are not coming to Spain, but they just got engaged last weekend at the beach house and I am so excited for them!
On a different note, people keep on posting packages on Facebook. Or pictures of food from the US. If anyone wants to send me a package with any of the following items, I seriously may love you forever. Or a letter, thatd be cool too.
Calle Viaducto Marquina 7, 2-G
Oviedo, Asturias
España
And yes, after seeing the pictures of taco bell and Kraft macaroni on Facebook, I am indeed begging for packages haha. I've hit a new all time low.
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| This doesn't exist in Spain as far as I can tell :( |
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| Homemade cookies. OMG. |
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| Girl Scout Cookies! |
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| Believe it or not, I actually do miss reading the Barometer and knowing what is going on in good old Corvallis. |
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| I need a new book to read! |
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| OMG Taco Bell. |
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| Favorite chips of all time. |
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| I would seriously kill for Kraft Mac and Cheese right now! |
Okay I need to stop. I think I'm just hungry. But seriously, when you know you can't have something it makes you want it 100 times more. And none of these things exist in Oviedo....
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Raging american
Tonight I was walking out to study looking like a mess. I am in yoga pants and a sweatshirt, which is the first time I've worn this outfit casually in public. A guy stopped me on the street before I had even passed him. He asked if I spoke English and was clearly relieved when I said yes haha. Apparently being the only person on the street wearing a sweatshirt and yoga pants makes me stick out like a sore thumb. Fellow Americans, we need to step up our game if it is so clear to the rest of the world that we dress like slobs.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Ohhhh Spain :)
Friday, March 15, 2013
A Playdate with Laura
Laura and I had a playdate last night. Just like little kids. It was wonderful, and I cannot believe how happy it made me to have a friend over!
We aren't allowed to have friends over here. It's a cultural thing in Spain, and people just don't do it. It seemed very strange at first, especially since in the US we ALWAYS entertain in our homes and have friends over. And at school I live with friends, lots of friends! But here they have less interest in spending money on their homes and more interest in spending time with family, so the homes are not to show off and are just for family to use. Believe it or not, I have really gotten used to this rule, and it doesn't really seem strange anymore. However, breaking it for a night was fun!
Last week, Luisa (Marisa's mom) had cataract surgery and she has been staying at my house for the last 2 weeks. Since she has been healing, all of the extended fam has been coming over to visit every night. I have gotten to know Estela (Marisa's sister and Laura's host mom), Valentin (Marisa's brother), and their other sister (don't remember her name...oops) somewhat well at this point haha. I also met Alfredo, (Estela's son and Laura's host brother) who I hear about all the time from Laura so now I have a face to put to the name! Anyways, last night Estela asked Laura if she wanted to come over to my house with her, and so we got to have a playdate! It really was like a playdate-the adults all sat in the living room and talked, and Laura and I sat in my room and skyped and watched countless hours of Gossip Girl. I felt like a little kid, but it was so much fun! When Estela left, she told Laura that she could stay if she wanted, so she stayed for a few more hours, and Marisa served us each a great dinner and even gave us pastries from the pastry shop. It was adorable, and I hope Marisa understands how much it meant to us! We both thanked her, and she said Laura can come over whenever she wants!
Although not having people over doesn't really bug me anymore, it was awesome that Estela and Marisa let us hang out! We literally just skyped Laura's friend and Facebook creeped and watched Gossip Girl (such Americans), but I felt so privileged that they trusted us and felt comfortable with us in their homes. So thank you Marisa, you definitely made our night! :)
We aren't allowed to have friends over here. It's a cultural thing in Spain, and people just don't do it. It seemed very strange at first, especially since in the US we ALWAYS entertain in our homes and have friends over. And at school I live with friends, lots of friends! But here they have less interest in spending money on their homes and more interest in spending time with family, so the homes are not to show off and are just for family to use. Believe it or not, I have really gotten used to this rule, and it doesn't really seem strange anymore. However, breaking it for a night was fun!
Last week, Luisa (Marisa's mom) had cataract surgery and she has been staying at my house for the last 2 weeks. Since she has been healing, all of the extended fam has been coming over to visit every night. I have gotten to know Estela (Marisa's sister and Laura's host mom), Valentin (Marisa's brother), and their other sister (don't remember her name...oops) somewhat well at this point haha. I also met Alfredo, (Estela's son and Laura's host brother) who I hear about all the time from Laura so now I have a face to put to the name! Anyways, last night Estela asked Laura if she wanted to come over to my house with her, and so we got to have a playdate! It really was like a playdate-the adults all sat in the living room and talked, and Laura and I sat in my room and skyped and watched countless hours of Gossip Girl. I felt like a little kid, but it was so much fun! When Estela left, she told Laura that she could stay if she wanted, so she stayed for a few more hours, and Marisa served us each a great dinner and even gave us pastries from the pastry shop. It was adorable, and I hope Marisa understands how much it meant to us! We both thanked her, and she said Laura can come over whenever she wants!
Although not having people over doesn't really bug me anymore, it was awesome that Estela and Marisa let us hang out! We literally just skyped Laura's friend and Facebook creeped and watched Gossip Girl (such Americans), but I felt so privileged that they trusted us and felt comfortable with us in their homes. So thank you Marisa, you definitely made our night! :)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
La Dentista
My tooth just broke in half. Well actually, the crown on my back molar did. Last year during French class my actual tooth literally fell apart. I went to the dentist and he said that there was a cavity under my filling, and it had been deteriorating my tooth until it eventually just fell off. So I had to get a crown put on. The sanding down, then fitting of the crown and gluing it on all took about 5 hours. And my jaw hurt for days afterwards from being stretched open for so long. Anyways, I thought it was all taken care of. I guess not.
Now I get the joy of going to a Spanish dentist with my complicated situation. Good thing I know a lot of tooth vocabulary...NOT.
Hahaha ohhh life, sometimes you have a strange sense of humor. This is going to be a challenge.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
Now I get the joy of going to a Spanish dentist with my complicated situation. Good thing I know a lot of tooth vocabulary...NOT.
Hahaha ohhh life, sometimes you have a strange sense of humor. This is going to be a challenge.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Living for the Weekends
In Oviedo, I find myself counting time by how many weekends a date is from now. I do this at home in Oregon as well, but since classes are pretty easy here and the week goes by SO FAST, I can't help but kind of forget about the actual weekdays. There aren't usually huge tests or projects that I need to study for, and without these middle-of-the-week deadlines, I am able to just look forward to the weekend! So, in case you were wondering, there are 2 weekends until my mom and Mike (little brother/bestie) get here, less than 3 weekends til Spring Break, and 7 weekends til another possible vacation! After that, I avoid thinking about, because it means I have to go home and I may start crying. April is going to be a very mellow month, and rather than traveling I am going to focus on soaking up every minute I can in my lovely Oviedo before May rolls around!
This weekend was crazy! It was a great weekend in Oviedo, but I cannot say it was very relaxing because I was so busy! Thursday night we went out and I didn't get back til 6ish, so I felt like a real Spaniard haha (see post below about Thursday night!). On Friday Emily and I fell asleep during our 9am Art History class that is 2 hours long. We sit in the front row and after getting virtually no sleep, we were both hardcore struggling haha. Luckily, Laura is our professor and she works with AHA, so I know her pretty well. She didn't take offense and chose to make fun of us in front of the class instead, which was fine with me as long as she let me keep sleeping! haha. I believe she said something along the lines of "Let's take a 10 minute break so that these two dead girls in the front can sleep" hahaha. Em and I took advantage of those 10 minutes, let me tell you! Our classes are with all of the same kids for the most part, so we are all friends and we can joke around :) They also uusally only have 15-20 kids in them, so it's nice and small compared to Oregon State. During my break Em and I sat in the sun for a bit and I like to think that I got some color. I had to go back to class, but afterwards I walked home in the sun and immediately went to shower. I didn't think anyone was home, but all of a sudden the radio turned on and I looked in the spare room. Luisa, Marisa's mom (the grandma) was sitting in the room all by herself holding a piece of paper and the radio. I told her I was home and was going to shower, and she complains, "I am SO BORED. They left me here alone and I don't know how to use the phone and I am so bored. Do you know how to use the phone cause I don't. And this is so boring!". It was probably the most adorable complaint I had ever heard! haha. Luisa is in her 80s and just had Cataract surgery, so she has been staying at our house all week. I have also now met the entire extended family. Anyways, I showered and slept all day, and then went out to meet Laura, Chloe, Goksu, Roberto and his friends. He had invited us out, and when we got there he introduced us to like 10 of his friends. Turns out the man knows EVERYONE! Everywhere we go, he stops and talks to someone and he is always chatting it up. His friends were nice and after getting some light drinks we headed to a club called Funky Room. Of course, he knew the people there too. We danced for a while and had fun, but I was super tired and had to meet my conversation partner for the first time in the morning, so I went home "early" as far as Spain is concerned.
Saturday morning I walked down to school to meet Estefania, my conversation partner! She is adorable and we went to a cafe to talk. We are supposed to talk in Spanish for 30 minutes and English for 30 minutes, so we started with English and then switched to Spanish. We talked about a ton of random things, and she is a really cool girl! She is from Leon, but is studying chemical engineering at University of Oviedo. We got carried away and ended up talking way longer than an hour, until Laura passed us and told us what time it was. Thank God she did, cause I had told everyone I would meet them at school 15 minutes earlier! We said goodbye to Estefania and she offered to pay for my drink (so sweet!), and then we went to meet everyone because we were going to climb up to El Cristo! We eventually made our way to the bus and got off at the stop in the middle of nowhere, but at the base of Mount Naranco. We started climbing and immediately the view was gorgeous! We stopped at the 2 old churches, then took a path that lead right up the mountain. And I mean straight up, it was one of the steepest roads I've climbed. We got lost a bit but ended up finding a small path that came up the backside of El Cristo. It was a long hike and by the end I was struggling, but I am very glad I did it and the view was great! You could see all of Oviedo and the surrounding mountains on one side, and another city (Gijon?) and the ocean on the other! The pictures below do not really show how great it was, but I promise it was really beautiful! Also, Roberto has told us that at night there are wild pigs on the mountain at night. I don't know if I believe this guy, but he wants to climb it at night so that may be an adventure we take in the future...
After hiking, we went to this doughnut shop that Em found a couple weeks ago, that is very similar to Dunkin Donuts. It was delicious and a great way to celebrate, but it ended up being a lot of sugar! I came home and showered, and then we had promised Goksu that we would go to her apartment for a bit because she wanted to make us Turkish food! Saturday night was hard because there was SO MUCH going on and I didn't know what to do. Em and the Brits were having a party, there was a cooking class through the city, Goksu had people over, and Estefania invited me out! It was overwhelming and I was so tired, so since we already had plans with Goksu we went to her house, and then I pretty much ended up going home and passing out! Roberto and Carlos were at Goksu's, along with me, Laura, Chloe, and Megan, and it was a lot of fun to just hang out. Since we aren't allowed to have people over to our houses or go to other people's houses, it was cool to go to Goksu's flat where she didn't have a host family to tell her we couldn't be there. It felt kinda like home, just hanging out at a friends house, and everyone there was fun to hang out with!
Today Em, Laura, and I were going to go to Mass, but we were all so tired and sore that we decided to wait til next week. I ended up sleeping really late and then did some homework and skyped with my parents and the dogs, and tomorrow I have to go to class again. This week I have 3 essays, 2 tests, and a couple homework assignments to do, which is a ton to do compared to the usual week! However, we've got to get them done before Semana Santa, so it is UniOvi's version of midterms. Luckily, I can't imagine them being nearly as hard as the ones in The States haha!
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| View of Oviedo at the beginning of the hike. The white building in the middle is Calatrava, the "Spaceship Mall". It was such a gorgeous day for most of the hike! |
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| Santa Maria del Naranco, one of the 2 old churches on Mount Naranco |
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| We found Jesus! Some people search for him their entire lives, and it only took us a couple hours! ;) |
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| A pre-romanesque church before the tough part of the hike begins |
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| View from the top. This isn't a good picture at all, but it was gorgeous! Below is all of my lovely Oviedo with the mountains surrounding it :) |
Well this post is definitely long enough, sorry for rambling! I'll update again soon :)
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Hellooo Basketball Players
Tonight we made friends with part of the Oviedo basketball team. I also have class in 3 hours. Oops.
Thursday nights are the best nights to go out cause we always make friends then. There are less crazy people out and overall it is much more chill. I usually don't go out on Thursday cause I have a raging 2 hour art history class at 9am on Friday, but since we were celebrating Em's birthday I figured it was a special occasion! I'm going to hate myself in about 2 hours, but oh well haha!
We were at B-12, the Erasmus (exchange student) bar owned by an ESN guy, and were just hanging out when we noticed probably the only tall guys in Oviedo. Guys in Spain are generally short, so when you find one that is over 6'0", it is pretty much a miracle. There were 3 of them all standing together, so naturally we made friends with them. Turns out they play for the Oviedo basketball team (stereotypical, right?! haha). They are the only 3 members on the team from the US, and apparently we were the first Americans they had met in their 6 months here. I don't know how that's possible because I feel like there are tons of Americans here, but I guess they're probably pretty busy guys. They are all significantly tall, like 6'8", it was great! haha. We talked for a while and B-12 closed around 4, so we went to another club. 2 of the guys had left, so it was just Will (one of the basketball players), Me, Laura, Chloe, Goksu, and Nacho. Nacho is our friend who goes to school in Gijon, and when we ask him to come out with us he is always happy to hop on the train to Oviedo and spend the night hanging out! He is hilarious and speaks very little English, but we are teaching him! Anyways, we danced at the other club for a while until I finally decided I needed to go home. It was a lot of fun, and Will was great! He is a good head taller than anyone else in the club, and he was totally down to have a good time-even when his friends went home he stayed with us to dance and hang out! We were all having a good time and dancing and just being ourselves, and Will was not afraid to show off some silly moves, so he fit right in with us haha. We told him we would go to his last home basketball game next weekend, and he said to cheer loud for him so that he could hear us! Aye, Aye Captain, can't wait!
Thursday nights are the best nights to go out cause we always make friends then. There are less crazy people out and overall it is much more chill. I usually don't go out on Thursday cause I have a raging 2 hour art history class at 9am on Friday, but since we were celebrating Em's birthday I figured it was a special occasion! I'm going to hate myself in about 2 hours, but oh well haha!
We were at B-12, the Erasmus (exchange student) bar owned by an ESN guy, and were just hanging out when we noticed probably the only tall guys in Oviedo. Guys in Spain are generally short, so when you find one that is over 6'0", it is pretty much a miracle. There were 3 of them all standing together, so naturally we made friends with them. Turns out they play for the Oviedo basketball team (stereotypical, right?! haha). They are the only 3 members on the team from the US, and apparently we were the first Americans they had met in their 6 months here. I don't know how that's possible because I feel like there are tons of Americans here, but I guess they're probably pretty busy guys. They are all significantly tall, like 6'8", it was great! haha. We talked for a while and B-12 closed around 4, so we went to another club. 2 of the guys had left, so it was just Will (one of the basketball players), Me, Laura, Chloe, Goksu, and Nacho. Nacho is our friend who goes to school in Gijon, and when we ask him to come out with us he is always happy to hop on the train to Oviedo and spend the night hanging out! He is hilarious and speaks very little English, but we are teaching him! Anyways, we danced at the other club for a while until I finally decided I needed to go home. It was a lot of fun, and Will was great! He is a good head taller than anyone else in the club, and he was totally down to have a good time-even when his friends went home he stayed with us to dance and hang out! We were all having a good time and dancing and just being ourselves, and Will was not afraid to show off some silly moves, so he fit right in with us haha. We told him we would go to his last home basketball game next weekend, and he said to cheer loud for him so that he could hear us! Aye, Aye Captain, can't wait!
2 Months!
I've now been here 2 full months. I've had the time of my life so far, but I really don't want to think about how fast the time has flown! I really try to avoid thinking about May cause the thought of leaving makes me want to cry. I've already started looking up jobs abroad and talking to other friends who have connections and are also applying! haha. I miss everyone important to me at home and I will ultimately end up in the United States, but I mean I wouldn't complain if I got the opportunity to come back to my lovely España for another year or two!
On that note, I had an interview the other day for a job teaching a 4 year old English. Her mom speaks English and wants her to learn at an early age. The job was offered to all of us in AHA, so I know that 3 or 4 of my other friends also applied and have interviews this week. Honestly, if I don't get it I won't be upset, because every girl that applied would be wonderful at it and I love them all! Even just interviewing in Spanish was a great opportunity, and if I want to have a job teaching in a dual language program in the future, I am going to have to get used to it. Everything went great and I understood everything she said. We talked about family and life for about half an hour, and then I left. I was the first interview so she said she'd call later, but I told her I was interested in returning to Spain and teaching and she said she would tell her friends about me! So either way it was a win!
On the way home from her house, I had a moment where I realized just how much I love it here. I know I talk about this a lot, so sorry to repeat myself, but I was literally overwhelmed! I took a new way to the area her house is in and it is absolutely gorgeous. She lives close to Calatrava, the "spaceship mall", and my friend Victoria, and I usually take the main road up there. However, on my way home last time I noticed that there is an overpass that connects to the road my house is on, so I tried going this way. The overpass has grass and statues and fountains all over, and playgrounds for the kids. It is a gorgeous street, and I will always take it from now on! You can also see the city below, and El Cristo on the mountain to the north. I should have taken pictures, but I will next time! Also, there is a huge Chino shop on the corner. The Asian markets here are called Chinos and they are really inexpensive. Chino is not used as a racist term, but when we all first got here we didn't know if that was politically correct or not. Turns out it is, because China in Spanish is pronounced Chee-na, and so the term Chino (Chee-no) is simply a reflection of this. I went in and looked around and found a cute coffee set for 7 euros. The coffee cups here are tiny, and this one includes 6 plates, 6 cups, and a tray. I wanted to get one before I leave for my apartment next year, so I will definitely be going back! I love looking around the Chinos because they are all different, but generally have the same type of stuff and it is amazing the assortment of things you will find in there!
I didn't get to work in the school today because the English teachers all had a conference in Salamanca and weren't there, so I spent my break with Em and Mac. I can't wait to return next week though! I am also meeting my conversation partner, Estefania, for the first time tomorrow and I am super excited! This weekend I think I am going to hike up to El Cristo if it is nice out on Saturday, and then Sunday I might go to the futbol game for Real Oviedo. There is also a museum right up the street from my house which is an exhibit on the ancient Iberians. It is similar to an OMSI type exhibit, and it will only be here until April. I asked Carmen and she said it is free, so I might go look around on Sunday as well! I have learned about the history of the Iberian Peninsula in most of my Spanish classes since last year and have done multiple presentations and reports on the Celtic populations in Spain, so it may be very interesting! Tonight I'm going out to dinner to celebrate the birthday of my girl Emily, and then we are going to go out for a bit! We will probably hang out with some of our Spanish friends, Nacho and Roberto, sometime this weekend, and hopefully meet more!
That's all I've got for now, hasta luego!
On that note, I had an interview the other day for a job teaching a 4 year old English. Her mom speaks English and wants her to learn at an early age. The job was offered to all of us in AHA, so I know that 3 or 4 of my other friends also applied and have interviews this week. Honestly, if I don't get it I won't be upset, because every girl that applied would be wonderful at it and I love them all! Even just interviewing in Spanish was a great opportunity, and if I want to have a job teaching in a dual language program in the future, I am going to have to get used to it. Everything went great and I understood everything she said. We talked about family and life for about half an hour, and then I left. I was the first interview so she said she'd call later, but I told her I was interested in returning to Spain and teaching and she said she would tell her friends about me! So either way it was a win!
On the way home from her house, I had a moment where I realized just how much I love it here. I know I talk about this a lot, so sorry to repeat myself, but I was literally overwhelmed! I took a new way to the area her house is in and it is absolutely gorgeous. She lives close to Calatrava, the "spaceship mall", and my friend Victoria, and I usually take the main road up there. However, on my way home last time I noticed that there is an overpass that connects to the road my house is on, so I tried going this way. The overpass has grass and statues and fountains all over, and playgrounds for the kids. It is a gorgeous street, and I will always take it from now on! You can also see the city below, and El Cristo on the mountain to the north. I should have taken pictures, but I will next time! Also, there is a huge Chino shop on the corner. The Asian markets here are called Chinos and they are really inexpensive. Chino is not used as a racist term, but when we all first got here we didn't know if that was politically correct or not. Turns out it is, because China in Spanish is pronounced Chee-na, and so the term Chino (Chee-no) is simply a reflection of this. I went in and looked around and found a cute coffee set for 7 euros. The coffee cups here are tiny, and this one includes 6 plates, 6 cups, and a tray. I wanted to get one before I leave for my apartment next year, so I will definitely be going back! I love looking around the Chinos because they are all different, but generally have the same type of stuff and it is amazing the assortment of things you will find in there!
I didn't get to work in the school today because the English teachers all had a conference in Salamanca and weren't there, so I spent my break with Em and Mac. I can't wait to return next week though! I am also meeting my conversation partner, Estefania, for the first time tomorrow and I am super excited! This weekend I think I am going to hike up to El Cristo if it is nice out on Saturday, and then Sunday I might go to the futbol game for Real Oviedo. There is also a museum right up the street from my house which is an exhibit on the ancient Iberians. It is similar to an OMSI type exhibit, and it will only be here until April. I asked Carmen and she said it is free, so I might go look around on Sunday as well! I have learned about the history of the Iberian Peninsula in most of my Spanish classes since last year and have done multiple presentations and reports on the Celtic populations in Spain, so it may be very interesting! Tonight I'm going out to dinner to celebrate the birthday of my girl Emily, and then we are going to go out for a bit! We will probably hang out with some of our Spanish friends, Nacho and Roberto, sometime this weekend, and hopefully meet more!
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| El Cristo. Formally known as El Monumento al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús on Mount Naranco. It overlooks all of Oviedo and is a common hike! |
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| Calatrava. Also known as the "Spaceship Mall" by all of us Americans haha. Believe it or not, it just looks like a regular mall inside. |
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| Calatrava from above. It is awesome-you are literally walking around the city and all of sudden it looks like there is a spaceship coming out of nowhere! |
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| The plaza at the top of my street that begins the new route I took! The bridge thing is part of the train station, and if you go the other way you go towards the lady's house. I'll take pictures another day, this is just one I found on google! |
That's all I've got for now, hasta luego!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Salamanca
Oh gosh, where to start?!
Salamanca is a beautiful city. Most of the places I have been to so far have some sort of grand reputation and have been great, but I was expecting them to be. I hate to say that I didn't expect much from salamanca because it is just another college town. However, the minute we got there we all seemed to fall in love, and it has been my favorite place thus far (besides my lovely Oviedo of course). It is full of history and the university is the oldest university in Spain. Everything is way closer than it is in oviedo or Madrid or any other bigger city, so when you go out it only takes like 10 minutes to walk back. And when its 3am and you're drunk, this is a huge plus haha. Also, there is a large plaza mayor, which is the one thing I really wish oviedo had. Most cities have a main square that is always full of people, but for some reason Oviedo is lacking that. I love hanging out at the main plazas, and anyone who knows me well knows that I love to people watch. On Sunday I spent the afternoon sitting in the plaza enjoying the sun, a beer, and some good old country music as I watched 4 little boys play futbol with an empty water bottle for hours. Salamanca has a very lively vibe, and the whole city is just full of life. It also helped that the weekend was absolutely gorgeous!
On Saturday night all of us girls went out together. This was the first time all 7 of us went together, and it ended up being a ton of fun. We drank vodka and sang 90s songs in the hotel room (I'm sure they hated us after the 3rd Backstreet Boys song in a row, sung by tone deaf 21 year olds haha), then we went to plaza mayor to take pictures. I apologize in advance for any pictures I may get tagged in, I'm sure I ruined all of them because I felt the need to photo bomb EVERYTHING haha. After this we went to a bar that had a really good deal on chupitos (shots, this is one of those absolutely necessary words to remember if you come to Spain hahaha), then ended up going to a club called Camelot. We were dancing and having fun til some of the girls left and our group got smaller. So then Laura and Chloe and I decided to go on stage and dance, and were having a blast. One guy started dancing in front of us, so Laura started goofing off and making moves behind him and he had no idea. His friends started videotaping it and before we knew it the whole club had cameras out and were recording us. This lasted for hours and we had a blast dancing and being silly in front of everyone. Around 3 we got tired and went home (once again the lame Americans going home early haha).
During the days we visited the university, the cathedral, and a couple museums. The university has a frog carved in the stone, and if you find it then it is good luck. We found it! Also, we went to the cathedral and got to climb the tower to the top. It was scary since it was an old narrow spiral staircase, and I'm super afraid of heights. But I've done worse, and when I got to the top it was well worth it! You could see the whole city and the view was gorgeous! We took a bunch of pictures and then came down to wait for everyone. As we were waiting, Eiton (David's oldest son) made friends with one of the street beggars. Eiton has a big heart, and every time we see a beggar he asks everyone to give them coins to help them out (he's only 7, yet he cares so much!). This beggar played an accordion and so Eiton danced to it and ended up getting a lot of money from people, all of which he gave to his new friend. It was adorable! Even though I don't generally like to give money to people on the street (charities of course though!), it is refreshing to see such a young little guy with such a big heart and who genuinely cares about everyone, even strangers! The world needs more people like Eiton :)
Salamanca is a beautiful city. Most of the places I have been to so far have some sort of grand reputation and have been great, but I was expecting them to be. I hate to say that I didn't expect much from salamanca because it is just another college town. However, the minute we got there we all seemed to fall in love, and it has been my favorite place thus far (besides my lovely Oviedo of course). It is full of history and the university is the oldest university in Spain. Everything is way closer than it is in oviedo or Madrid or any other bigger city, so when you go out it only takes like 10 minutes to walk back. And when its 3am and you're drunk, this is a huge plus haha. Also, there is a large plaza mayor, which is the one thing I really wish oviedo had. Most cities have a main square that is always full of people, but for some reason Oviedo is lacking that. I love hanging out at the main plazas, and anyone who knows me well knows that I love to people watch. On Sunday I spent the afternoon sitting in the plaza enjoying the sun, a beer, and some good old country music as I watched 4 little boys play futbol with an empty water bottle for hours. Salamanca has a very lively vibe, and the whole city is just full of life. It also helped that the weekend was absolutely gorgeous!
On Saturday night all of us girls went out together. This was the first time all 7 of us went together, and it ended up being a ton of fun. We drank vodka and sang 90s songs in the hotel room (I'm sure they hated us after the 3rd Backstreet Boys song in a row, sung by tone deaf 21 year olds haha), then we went to plaza mayor to take pictures. I apologize in advance for any pictures I may get tagged in, I'm sure I ruined all of them because I felt the need to photo bomb EVERYTHING haha. After this we went to a bar that had a really good deal on chupitos (shots, this is one of those absolutely necessary words to remember if you come to Spain hahaha), then ended up going to a club called Camelot. We were dancing and having fun til some of the girls left and our group got smaller. So then Laura and Chloe and I decided to go on stage and dance, and were having a blast. One guy started dancing in front of us, so Laura started goofing off and making moves behind him and he had no idea. His friends started videotaping it and before we knew it the whole club had cameras out and were recording us. This lasted for hours and we had a blast dancing and being silly in front of everyone. Around 3 we got tired and went home (once again the lame Americans going home early haha).
During the days we visited the university, the cathedral, and a couple museums. The university has a frog carved in the stone, and if you find it then it is good luck. We found it! Also, we went to the cathedral and got to climb the tower to the top. It was scary since it was an old narrow spiral staircase, and I'm super afraid of heights. But I've done worse, and when I got to the top it was well worth it! You could see the whole city and the view was gorgeous! We took a bunch of pictures and then came down to wait for everyone. As we were waiting, Eiton (David's oldest son) made friends with one of the street beggars. Eiton has a big heart, and every time we see a beggar he asks everyone to give them coins to help them out (he's only 7, yet he cares so much!). This beggar played an accordion and so Eiton danced to it and ended up getting a lot of money from people, all of which he gave to his new friend. It was adorable! Even though I don't generally like to give money to people on the street (charities of course though!), it is refreshing to see such a young little guy with such a big heart and who genuinely cares about everyone, even strangers! The world needs more people like Eiton :)
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| Eiton dancing |
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| The Cathedral! |
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| Me at the door of the cathedral |
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| Gorgeous bridge and reflection! |
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| We took a walk around the river, so pretty! |
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| Sunset :) |
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