Intercambios

Today, we had the first "intercambio", which is basically a meeting with people in Spain who want to learn English and people in our group who want to practice Spanish. At the start, it was like an awkward junior high dance - everybody from our group was in an awkward corner and everyone from their group in their own awkward corner. Finally, we mixed up a bit and got to the mingling! We spoke Spanish to start and then suggested that they practice their English (we, being me and 2 other American girls, they being 2 Spaniards). We then met up with another group (2 Spaniards and 1 American), and unfortunately, spoke mostly English... Next time I think I will try to do a smaller group and that way both of us will get more time to practice both languages.

Here are some novelties that have been added to the mix at our meals: garbanzo beans with chorizo (DELICIOUS, lunch yesterday), rice with ham, shrimp, peas, carrots (dinner last night, also delicious!), pork with chopped garlic, and some more veggie puree (a common dish in our household since little Ernesto eats it a lot....that is, when my family can get him to eat).

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK FROM ISA:
Monday, Brittany: Went to a cafe en La Plaza Mayor for drinks
Tuesday, Camila: Going to get some ice cream in the Plaza!
Wednesday, Gerardo: Going to karaoke
Thursday, Me: Corrida de toros and Casetas

More details to come on karaoke and la Corrida (I'm obviously not a psychic and won't be able to get back to you on how the plans go until they happen! ;) )

<3

Misa, Mercado, Movie (darn you Spanish word for movie not starting with an "m"...I was on a roll).

"Everyone likes bologna because everyone thinks bologna. Mutual bologna appreciation" -Gracie, after hearing my title for this blog and listening to me whine about my lack of coherence in writing.

Anyways, today I did the three "m"s. I'll write a little about them and then, of course, throw in what I ate for lunch.

1) Misa: I met Megan at 9:30 (9:35 in Katie O time) to go to church. When I got to "La rotunda" (the roundabout), a clown came up to us and said "Amigaaa, cuanto tiempo" (friend, howwww long....basically like you're slow, your friend has been waiting for you). We walked away, ignoring him, and Megan explained that he had asked her for a kiss, and she thought that he meant the double kiss that Spaniards do, but he went for her lips and she pulled away). Weeeiiiird stuff. Church was really awkward. It was basically Megan and I and a bunch of older ladies (all adorable, of course) and we didn't know any of the responses. It felt like the priest was staring at us the whole time, and when I went up to get communion, he didn't say "el pan de Dios" (bread of Christ), but he just gave it to me. uhhhhh. Excuse me, Mr. Priest Sir. I may not know the Spanish version of the responses, but I understood your sermon about Jesus making the deaf hear and the mute speak, and next time I demand a "el pan de Dios" from you when I go to get communion.

2) Mercado: Brenda and I walked down to the market today, which was basically an outdoor flea market with a bunch of señoras and señores yelling "chiiicaas, liquidamos todo, dos euroooos, dos euritossss". It was really hot and after walking for a while and seeing the same products over and over and over again, we turned around and went back home.

**INTERMISSION TO MENTION WHAT WE HAD FOR LUNCH** (this part is really just for me to know what I've been eating here...feel free to skip to number 3).
-Tuna with peppers in a red sauce
- fried chicken breasts
- pan (of course, comes with every meal)
-salad
- Some cooked vegetable medley with (kale, we think?)

3) Movie - "El Amigo de mi Hermana", which should translate as "My sister's friend", but somehow became "My sister's sister". It was dubbed in Spanish (which makes for really awkward voices). The movie was decent until the end, where it decided to just stop and not let us know what happened.

Anywho, that's all for now.
<3 Katie

It's been a while since I last wrote. I need to be a little more on top of things, since Wednesday and Thursday have turned into a blur for me. That's alright though - I don't need to put down EVERY SINGLE THING that I have done here (**cough***people on facebook who post about every detail of their life**cough**). I'll just put down what I do remember from the past few days! On Wednesday, Camila and I met in la Plaza Mayor for "Tinto de Verano", which is basically Sangria, but carbonated. Then, we had a very LOOONG, detailed orientation on registering for classes. I found out that I won't have class from September 17th until the 24th, so I'm taking advantage of that to go to ITALY!!!! That night, we had pizza for dinner (it was so delicious and barbecue flavored...one had bacon and the other was barbacoa). On Thursday, I met up with the group at ISA for a tour of the new and old Cathedrals. The old Cathedral used to be a school (the oldest school for which Salamanca is famous for), and was built between the 12th and 15th century. The guide told us that each student had an oral exam at the end of their studies with all of the professors and that if the student passed, the whole city had a free festival for a week. If the student did not pass, however, they would leave through the back door (where the market was located), and that people would throw vegetables at them and then throw them into the river. YIKES! Good thing exams nowadays don't have that much pressure! The old cathedral only has three wings, instead of the four that Cathedrals typically have (to be in the shape of a cross) because the new cathedral was built as the "fourth wing". That day, the food I remember is spaghetti with chorizo! mmmmm! (I need to start writing down all of the meals so I don't forget...or maybe just be better about writing my blog) Thursday night, I tried to make my reservations for my Italy trip. Plane: success. Hotel: success. Bus from Madrid to Salamanca? Card denied. I tried to call the credit card company and it didn't work, so Friday after class, I went into the ISA office, where Maria dialed and it worked (guess I just don't have the magic touch). I have to wait until a week before my train reservation to book the train from Verona to Trento, but other than that I'm all ready to go!

....Anywhooz, grandma Katie FINALLY went out last night. The Salmantino festivals started Thursday, so last night, Brenda, Salvador and I went to see the firework show (which was great since I missed Fourth of July this year due to fire bans), the DJ Carl Jean concert ("Carl Jean's in the house" was repeated about 500 times. We get it, Carl Jean. Estas en la casa....please continue the concert), and then we went dancing!

One thing that is insane about the Spanish culture is that the kids stay out SO LATE! Last night at the concert (which started at 11 p.m.), there was a couple with two of their children there (I'd give the oldest one about 6 years and the youngest 2 or 3) and the parents were holding their kids, who were dancing to the music! Cutest thing ever! 

This morning, I was supposed to meet with my friend Camila and a Brazilian girl to practice speaking my Portuguese and eat some Churros con Chocolate at Valor, but I woke up at 1....didn't even hear my alarm go off at 10. Oh well, así es la vida. 

Hasta pronto,
Katie

Puerta de Zamora, right by my house

Tinto de Verano

Fireworks show

Principios de la vida escolar

The intensive language program has been a blast so far. There is hardly any homework (yesterday, I had to write a paragraph of a minimum of 100 words about my preconceptions about Spain and today I will need to write a minimum of 150 words about my opinion on the economic crisis). That being said, with classes from 9-1 and barely any extra work, there is a lot of time to explore the city! Yesterday, after lunch (chicken fajita meat and a vegetable purée, green plums for "dessert")* I went on a touristy adventure with Corinne and Megan (Megan will be working for the tourism office so she has to go learn about some sites around town) and we some some of the city's monuments, including the old University library, the new Cathedral, and Casa de Las Conchas. Unfortunately, we went at a bad hour, since a lot of things close down from about 2 until 5 or later for the siesta (not to mention that everything is still on summer hours, which are shorter than hours during the school year, when all of the Spaniards get back to the city). We found the frog on the façade, which barely even looks like a frog until you zoom in on it with your camera.. While we waited for the Saint Martin Parish to open, we went into our new favorite place - Valor - to have churros and chocolate (still delicious!). Dinner yesterday was lunch's leftovers, as well as tortilla (basically an omelet...no potatoes this time), a sauteed vegetable dish with cabbage, soy sauce, and some other veggies.). 

One thing that can't be skipped in my blog is a description of the professors (all female). They are incredibly animated, speak at a thousand miles a minute, rarely pause, move all around the classroom, use LOTS of hand gestures, and get distracted from the subject REALLY easily. One of the professors makes fun of the French all the time (she calls them "Gabachos de mierda"). 

Finally, this morning, I put "leche semi-desnatada", which translates to "without cream" and should be similar to skim milk in my coffee. Never again. 

Here are some more pictures!

First day of School! Living the life! (notice the awesome building in the background!)

Room in El Patio de Escuelas Mayores

Catedral Nueva

Catedral Nueva

Well, just had lunch. It was basically a Shake n' Bake pork chop with cheese inside (again, delicious) along with lentil soup and salad (avocado and tomatoes in vinegar). Aranza told me that the milk, which I had thought maybe was lactose free or something and that's why it tasted bad, actually was bad and that they are going to return it (oops). 

*Breakfast is typically the same here: Coffee, toast with jam, "cookies", or a muffin

Day One of School-Related Items

Today, breakfast was some pastries (a muffin like thing and bread with jam) andcoffee with milk and sugar, which I LIKED...to my surprise (I usually just like coffee from Starbucks that's loaded with so much sugar that it's basically not coffee anymore). We met at 8:45 in the typical meeting point, "debajo del reloj/under the clock" in the Plaza Mayor and then took the language test. The test was 80 multiple choice questions and a short oral interview. The interview was very simple and nothing to worry about; the questions asked were basic and had to do with where we were from, how we learned Spanish, how long we'd been in Spain, etc.

Then, we took a walking tour in which we were shown important areas of "el centro/downtown", but it was hard to catch everything since we went to a lot of places and sometimes a really loud car would pass when the guide was talking. We had "tiempo libre/free time" during the afternoon from about 1 until 3 ish, in which Gracie and I bought some of the things we will need in the apartment (shampoo, etc.). Turns out that the bazaar right outside our apartment has EVERYTHING you could possibly think of (including a towel with a marihuana leaf on it....hmmm). After shopping was lunch: albóndigas (meatballs), arroz (rice, but with beets, corn, and lots of other vegetables mixed in...delicious and kind of like orzo...). After lunch, we had some free time, in which I wrote some post cards and rested. We had a meeting at 6:30 p.m. to get the results from the placement exam as well as our books. I got better results than I had expected and should be able to take the classes that I really to take (as long as sneaky scheduling doesn't hinder my plans)! After the meeting, Brenda, Salvador and I went to wander around the city and see some of the stores/spend time in the Plaza Mayor. A lot of the stores have "ranas/frogs" because there is a legend that there is a small frog on the façade of one of the University's buildings and if you find it you will have good luck in your studies (and if you are not a student and you find it, you can make a wish)! In the Plaza, we had granizados (slushies, mine was strawberry flavored) and sat contemplating our ASTONISHING surroundings. 

Dinner: leftover meatballs, rice, and the most delicious grilled ham and cheese sand which ever. Oh, the perks of living with a chef. 

Hasta luego,

Katie

La perra y la gata

I won't complain about taking classes here...

El Reloj de la Plaza Mayor! 

Brenda y Salvador en la Plaza

 Front door to the apartment building

bigger view of the building

Bienvenidos a Salamanca

Today, we went to El Escorial, a monastery in which many kings and queens are buried. (It's a beautiful place, when I die, if possible, I would love for any of you readers to sneak my body into one of the empty coffins awaiting the parents of the current king, Juan Carlos). Then, we took the bus to Salamanca to meet our host familes! Gracie and I are living with Mari Cruz, the cutest abuelita, her husband Ruiz, some of her daughters, and 20 month old Ernesto (who is completely precious and only says little words like "si", "no" and "tantan", which is the sound the clock ringing in the Plaza Mayor, where we will soon be headed with our host family so that we know where to meet our group tomorrow morning for (DUN DUN DUN DUN!) the language test. Here are some pictures from today! 

Our closet! Jammed pack with clothes, of course! 

El Escorial

Whatever will we do with all this luggage?!?!

WELL I'm going to be cool and keep writing on this post about touring the city!!!!! I AM IN LOVE! Everything is so close to where we are living (ATM right outside our front door...SCORE!) and there is not a single view that is not absolutely stunning. The city is magical. If my first impressions have anything to say in the matter, I'm going to have a "semestre inolvidable". As the Spaniards would say, "Está muy guay" (It's very cool")

Hasta pronto, 

Katie

P.D. Everyone here always says "Hasta luego" (until later) here, even taxi drivers, etc., even though we will probably never see each other again. Es una cosa muy linda! 

Hola de Toledo: Primeras Impresiones

      Well, I have once again failed to write for the past few days! (oooops). I'll share some of the most memorable moments of first impressions in Madrid and Toledo. Two days ago, I met up with the group in Madrid. My roomie, the awesomely vintage and spunky Gracie Ramsdell, was sound asleep in her bed when I came in to the room. I walked into a dark room, saw the outline of a body in the bed, and then clumsily fumbled for a light switch that wouldn't turn on the main light. As I slowly unpacked my bags, I pondered whether I should wake her, or awkwardly wait on the bed next to her (the twin beds in most hotel rooms are pushed right next to each other) and stare at her face like a creeper until she got an eery feeling and woke up. Sparing me much psychological trouble, she woke up before I finished organizing my things, with a bright and cheery "Hello, I'm Gracie! What time is it?". That was 2:30 p.m., and she had just woken up for the day. 

     Gracie and I then wandered near the hotel and sat for some coffee to kill time before the tour. On the way back in from the panoramic tour of the city (again going with the theme of awkward first impressions), we got into the elevator with a Spanish man and were talking about our plans for that night. Gracie asked me "Oh, do you hear that beeping?", I replied "no", and continued to tell her that we were going to go grab Camila for snacks and the man goes, "your purse". Of course, that whole time the elevator wasn't moving and the beeping was because Gracie's purse was blocking the elevator doors from closing (stupid Americans!). That night, a group of about ten of us went out to dinner at "La Lola Loca", and we were probably the most complicated group ever, because every time the waitress suggested something for the whole table, we all looked at each other and discussed for ever before deciding what to order. We settled on sharing some Sangria and nachos, and then ordered our own plates. I had "Macarrones al horno", which was basically Mac & Cheese, but with a twist - buffalo sauce! It was muy rico! 

Day 2 with ISA: August 31st (MADRID)

     Today, we went to el Museo del Prado (again...this time with a guided tour though! AKA no interpretation mistakes for me like the one with the "sickly" Jesus) and el Museo Reina Sofia. Definitely discovered a love for Salvador Dali's work. In the afternoon, Corinne, Megan and I went and explored the city a bit, walking to La Puerta del Sol, El Palacio Real y los Criptos Neorrománicos. Let's just say we also "explored a little bit" after getting off at the subway station that we were told was the nearest to our hotel. It's crazy that I have stayed in three different zones of Madrid and has been really interesting to explore it, each time from a different starting point, and each time discovering something new and unique to the city. 

     Last night for dinner, we (Corinne, Megan, Gracie and I) went to an Asian buffet and the food goes around on A CONVEYER BELT! Coolest thing ever. 

Day 3: Madrid ------> Toledo
     
     Today, the bus departed at 9:15 a.m. from the hotel in Madrid (NH Zurbano) for Toledo. On the bus, some of the kids in the Valencia group (needless to say, the ones that only speak English and haven't made an effort to speak Spanish since they got here) could not get over how cool they were for having gone out and getting hammered the night before, and made sure that they spoke loud enough for the whole bus to hear as they said the same things over and over again (ie: "oh, floor one was such a RAVE!" "I'm still drunk", "wohh, all the double shots!!", etc.). I took it upon myself to make them a meme (see below). 

**END RANT HERE**

 After arriving, we went on two tours (1st, on a bus; 2nd, on foot). The city has really antique architecture, lot of cobblestone roads and is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Blogspot is being really slow downloading my pictures, so I might put them up later (either here or facebook). 

Un abrazo,
Katie