newest weather report for granda ---
SNOW on Sunday. SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY?
it will be in the high 60s here in Cordoba.
grrrrrr.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I LOVE CONVERTING THINGS!
Also, I found a scale today. 62 kilos.
Which translates to roughly 136 pounds. There is a god.
Speaking of kilos v pounds... that pot luck I organized? I just finished making the pasta.
4 kilos equals just under 9 pounds. YES.
and then I realized I have to CARRY that tomorrow to the bus and then to the hostel or until people eat their food. I was going to get two large tupperwares, and then went A THIRD ONE COULDNT HURT. and thank goodness I did. Because Sergio and I had to eat quite a bit of pasta just to get the rest to fit in the 3 tupperware.
It's also 1130 and I haven't eaten dinner yet. so my plan of going out tonight after all these shenanigans is off the market. HOWEVER, that is probably for the best since I DO have to be at the bus at the buttcrack of dawn.
Lovely.
Which translates to roughly 136 pounds. There is a god.
Speaking of kilos v pounds... that pot luck I organized? I just finished making the pasta.
4 kilos equals just under 9 pounds. YES.
and then I realized I have to CARRY that tomorrow to the bus and then to the hostel or until people eat their food. I was going to get two large tupperwares, and then went A THIRD ONE COULDNT HURT. and thank goodness I did. Because Sergio and I had to eat quite a bit of pasta just to get the rest to fit in the 3 tupperware.
It's also 1130 and I haven't eaten dinner yet. so my plan of going out tonight after all these shenanigans is off the market. HOWEVER, that is probably for the best since I DO have to be at the bus at the buttcrack of dawn.
Lovely.
Gone This Weekend To Granada
I am roughly 5895 miles from the ADPi sorority house at UCLA. For some reason, googlemaps wouldn't let me calculate from anywhere else. Stupid. But I figure that that is closest to the airport anyway.
So ya, I'm roughly 5900 miles from home. To my doorstep here. Interesting.
Tomorrow morning bright and early at 7.50AM we leave for Granada. Guess what the weather is in Granada? You guessed it! RAIN. I thought I had ESCAPED this. False.
So this is one of the longer trips. I'm gone Friday morning to Sunday night... which is... Thursday night to Sunday morning- midday for you.
Also, I will never be able to adapt to these keyboards. I am quite certain that as soon as I adapt to the Spanish board I am going to be back in america.
OH and I have the potential for a job here for the month of July. Which is great. Except I would need to survive somehow all of June AND August with friends because I can't even THINK about changing my flight until August 24th. So thats not looking like an option.
Theres the TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE certification program at UC Irvine this summer, but I really need to take summer classes as well. We'll see. Work is also necessary. Who knows.
Off to make large quantities of pasta because I am a mother and coordinated a potluck between my friends and I. Hasta luego!
So ya, I'm roughly 5900 miles from home. To my doorstep here. Interesting.
Tomorrow morning bright and early at 7.50AM we leave for Granada. Guess what the weather is in Granada? You guessed it! RAIN. I thought I had ESCAPED this. False.
So this is one of the longer trips. I'm gone Friday morning to Sunday night... which is... Thursday night to Sunday morning- midday for you.
Also, I will never be able to adapt to these keyboards. I am quite certain that as soon as I adapt to the Spanish board I am going to be back in america.
OH and I have the potential for a job here for the month of July. Which is great. Except I would need to survive somehow all of June AND August with friends because I can't even THINK about changing my flight until August 24th. So thats not looking like an option.
Theres the TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE certification program at UC Irvine this summer, but I really need to take summer classes as well. We'll see. Work is also necessary. Who knows.
Off to make large quantities of pasta because I am a mother and coordinated a potluck between my friends and I. Hasta luego!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Hunt for Peanut Butter
When you're a little kid, there's nothing better than a PBJ sandwich. Over the past years, I havent really given much thought to the role peanut butter plays in my everyday life. Because it has a very small one. In Ecuador, my dad said he would trade peanut butter for things. I laughed at him.
You have no idea how quickly I would have traded my liver for some peanut butter on Tuesday. No, Im not kidding. At all.
I decided that, as an effort to not waste money on small things, I would stop buying a snack at school and instead make myself a sandwich every day. A lot of the señoras here pack a lunch of fruit or a bocadillo (sandwich) for their kids. Mi madre sleeps late and showed me how to make myself food. but we know jamee and her great time management. since making myself toast was too difficult in the morning, she bought me cornflakes. since i cant figure out how to make myself go faster in the morning, i fill a little plastic cup with cereal and eat it on the way to the bus instead of sitting down in the morning and eating. its okay, i dont mind not drinking the milk. to be honest, im kind of scared to.
ANYWAY. PEANUT BUTTER. I wanted to make myself sandwiches. Sergio told me the word for peanut butter. I went to the market near my house. There was no peanut butter, nor could I remember the word for it, so I couldnt ask, because how do you DESCRIBE peanut butter if you cant even SAY the word PEANUT. you cant. Please believe me when I say I spent a good 20 minutes staring at packages to see if i recognized a peanut. I did not.
Honey? check
jelly? check
pate in 23 or so different flavors? check
peanut butter? epic fail.
i got so frustrated i bought myself chocolate that ended up tasting like death as well as some cookies and snack food for the trip to granada this weekend, including juice boxes. yes, i am incredibly nerdy. i returned home frustrated beyond belief to which sergio replies
WELL OF COURSE IT WONT BE AT THAT MARKET.
as if i am supposed to know WHICH market has PEANUT BUTTER. its at GAS STATIONS in the US for crying outloud! I wasnt aware it was such a WEIRD thing to want. apparently it is.
and called CREMA DE CACAHUETE, for the record.
Sergio felt bad so he walked with me to the better market farther from the house and literally took my hand and walked me to where the peanut butter was. There is ONE type of peanut butter. In a little jar the size of my fist. IN THE CHOCOLATE SECTION. It is NOT a dessert. It is a spread. Just like that weird looking pate you spanish people always eat. UGH.
also, tortillas as we know them in the us, the essential part to most mexican food? kiss it goodbye. it does not exist. tortilla here is an egg and potato dish. its delicious. i asked to find normal tortillas, thinking quesadillas were easy as well. instead the man showed me crepe and pancake batter. fail.
I spent 10euro on the following things - a giant loaf of sandwich bread, peanut butter, popcorn, bananas, parmesean cheese, jam, lotion. the peanut butter was 3euro. yes, in all seriousness, a third of my bill was the smallest jar of peanut butter known to man. word on the street is that another market has JIFFY or SKIPPY but i am skeptical because i can't remember which one of those I don't like, and it would be very like me to purchase the one I don't like. So I will be happy with CAPTAIN MANI peanut butter.
i have made myself a pbj sandwich the last two mornings and stuck it in my tupperware i brought from home. i feel really accomplished and happy with myself. its the small things, like finding peanut butter and making yourself a sandwich in the morning, that makes you feel like you are growing and can function like a human being.
or really make you miss the usa and your mother. and wondering how your sandwich was cut, as if it was a surprise each day.
theres no surprise if YOU cut it yourself.
no, do not send me peanut butter. i was just sharing a story.
You have no idea how quickly I would have traded my liver for some peanut butter on Tuesday. No, Im not kidding. At all.
I decided that, as an effort to not waste money on small things, I would stop buying a snack at school and instead make myself a sandwich every day. A lot of the señoras here pack a lunch of fruit or a bocadillo (sandwich) for their kids. Mi madre sleeps late and showed me how to make myself food. but we know jamee and her great time management. since making myself toast was too difficult in the morning, she bought me cornflakes. since i cant figure out how to make myself go faster in the morning, i fill a little plastic cup with cereal and eat it on the way to the bus instead of sitting down in the morning and eating. its okay, i dont mind not drinking the milk. to be honest, im kind of scared to.
ANYWAY. PEANUT BUTTER. I wanted to make myself sandwiches. Sergio told me the word for peanut butter. I went to the market near my house. There was no peanut butter, nor could I remember the word for it, so I couldnt ask, because how do you DESCRIBE peanut butter if you cant even SAY the word PEANUT. you cant. Please believe me when I say I spent a good 20 minutes staring at packages to see if i recognized a peanut. I did not.
Honey? check
jelly? check
pate in 23 or so different flavors? check
peanut butter? epic fail.
i got so frustrated i bought myself chocolate that ended up tasting like death as well as some cookies and snack food for the trip to granada this weekend, including juice boxes. yes, i am incredibly nerdy. i returned home frustrated beyond belief to which sergio replies
WELL OF COURSE IT WONT BE AT THAT MARKET.
as if i am supposed to know WHICH market has PEANUT BUTTER. its at GAS STATIONS in the US for crying outloud! I wasnt aware it was such a WEIRD thing to want. apparently it is.
and called CREMA DE CACAHUETE, for the record.
Sergio felt bad so he walked with me to the better market farther from the house and literally took my hand and walked me to where the peanut butter was. There is ONE type of peanut butter. In a little jar the size of my fist. IN THE CHOCOLATE SECTION. It is NOT a dessert. It is a spread. Just like that weird looking pate you spanish people always eat. UGH.
also, tortillas as we know them in the us, the essential part to most mexican food? kiss it goodbye. it does not exist. tortilla here is an egg and potato dish. its delicious. i asked to find normal tortillas, thinking quesadillas were easy as well. instead the man showed me crepe and pancake batter. fail.
I spent 10euro on the following things - a giant loaf of sandwich bread, peanut butter, popcorn, bananas, parmesean cheese, jam, lotion. the peanut butter was 3euro. yes, in all seriousness, a third of my bill was the smallest jar of peanut butter known to man. word on the street is that another market has JIFFY or SKIPPY but i am skeptical because i can't remember which one of those I don't like, and it would be very like me to purchase the one I don't like. So I will be happy with CAPTAIN MANI peanut butter.
i have made myself a pbj sandwich the last two mornings and stuck it in my tupperware i brought from home. i feel really accomplished and happy with myself. its the small things, like finding peanut butter and making yourself a sandwich in the morning, that makes you feel like you are growing and can function like a human being.
or really make you miss the usa and your mother. and wondering how your sandwich was cut, as if it was a surprise each day.
theres no surprise if YOU cut it yourself.
no, do not send me peanut butter. i was just sharing a story.
¡Carnaval!
¡CARNAVAL!
this was my night in a nutshell. i got on a bus for 3 or 4 hours, dressed up with friends, met people dressed up even crazier than us, and had an amazing time. and then at 5am i was freezing and wanted to get back on the bus faster than humanly possible. i left at 630pm and got back at 11am the next day.
and yes, that picture above is of me and my friends with ABBA. Just in case you were wondering.
Carnaval was SO much fun I can't even begin to tell you. Well, I can and I WILL!
When you live in a sorority house and you need to get dressed up in stupid costumes, you and your friends get together and do so. However, having people over isn't really allowed here since we are guests in homes, so please imagine Jenny and I getting ready in our respective homes and meeting up to walk together to Ilana's.
Image - me, dressed as a witch, complete with hat. Jenny is also my height, dressed in a small indian frock with leggings because she is so tall. We look ridiculous as we walked through town center, but at least the people knew it was for CARNAVAL. I hope.
yes, thats a costume. breathe.We arrive at the Bullfighting ring at 630 and are on the buses asap. We sit with a bunch of spanish girls who are dressed as SUPER FLAMENCO GIRL, complete with polka dot capes and matching SUPERMAN symbols on their chests. I immediately love them, if only for the reference to DC. However, they get better as my group of friends and our spanish girls sing common songs -- feliz navidad, random christmas songs, spice girls, disney, nsync... and their favorite, GREASE.
I do not know what it is about myself that I always end up singing GREASE with complete strangers in Spain. This happened when I was here with my parents in 2000 as well. Perhaps I was SANDY in another life. Probably not.
3 hours on a bus. At one point, the spanish boys dressed as braveheart smushed me between their faces, and I ended up with blue facepaint on myself. Typical of myself yet again... I can't even keep my makeup intact through an event. I didnt even GET THERE YET. gah. apparently the thing to do is go with your friends as a group costume, such as colored pencils or an animal.. such as chickens.
Really, there were so many interesting costumes. Such as this one 
which, as you can see, is a bunch of girls dressed as god knows what, but they are attached to ostriches. AVESTRUZ! SEE! I TOLD YOU I WOULD NEED THAT WORD AGAIN! perhaps i was so excited solely for that purpose.I was a witch, Ilana and Steph were in colorful shirts with a mask, Jenny was an indian, Mason was WALDO from wheres waldo, which proved to be an excellent costume, except when we lost hiim at one point.
Chris was speedy gonzalez, a group of girls were the 4 musketeers, and mark was a pirate. all in all, quite an interesting group we had. jasmine was a cat, kathlena was an old lady without a bra (see first photo, it was actually really funny and since she got to stay wrapped up in her clothes, she was the warmest of us all at 5am), and saya was the police. lots of fun.
so its this giant party, with people EVERYWHERE (see above photo for even the tiniest idea of how many people there were. no, the people never stop). by the end of the night, there was not an inch of ground not completely covered with broken bottles, alcohol, vomit, or other bodily fluids. some man attempted to snatch my camera right at the beginning, but you best believe i got that back. too much work to get it in the first place. we walked around for a while and went to find the performances... at which point a guy dressed up like a stupid tiger cat called me, and grabbed my butt.
not okay.
I turned around, marched over to him and kicked him directly in the shin, saying the only coherent spanish sentence that popped into my head -- NO PARA TI! which roughly translated is, NOT FOR YOU. There are times in my life I am the proud owner of a size 11 boot. That was one of them.
On that note, thank GOODNESS for leggings and tights and my sweater. It was great weather until like 3am, but keep in mind, i'm basically in a witch dress, leggings, and boots on a piece of land that is almost an island, surrounded by the ocean. and yes, the ocean. not the sea. at 5am, i hated my life and wanted a blanket or a heater immediately.
Back to the story... we were watching the group performances and THIS MAN
who i can only assume was batty drunk, kept hitting jenny and i on the head with this rubber hammer. had he kept doing it, i would have taken it and given him a taste of his own obnoxious medicine, however, he escaped before i had the chance. this was almost directly after the tiger pounce incident. i was in no mood. and no, i wasn't irritated because i was intoxicated, in fact, quite the opposite. steph and i remained the two normal sane people throughout the night with one glass of wine while the rest of our group demonstrated the different levels of being DRUNK, or in spanish, BORRACHO. Steph and I were fabulously sober while the others were fabulously acting like TROMPAS. rather funny really.
At one point, we found these guys dressed up as sorority girls, with the letters KEG on their shirts and fake navel rings and Mason took a picture with them. I found it hilarious.
People here are not aware of what it means to be poliitically correct... hence the HUNDREDS of people dressed up with blackface. Not kidding. Hundreds. SEE?
So here are a few pics of some costumes... edward scissor hands!
at 4am, steph and i had had enough of wandering around, so we wanted to find the bus station. problem, we had lost mason. yes, i can appreciate the irony in losing the guy dressed up as WHERES WALDO. so around 5am we found our way to the bus station, and we decided to steal a jacket from the lawn and sit on it on the ground and huddle together for body warmth. for 2 hours. everyone else went to the beach. i dotn know about YOU but going CLOSER to the water when its windy sounded like a horrible idea. i was happy to curl up with my sorority sister.
let me tell you, that whole sisterly bonding thing is awesome, even tho shes from berkeley, we instantly had a connection im really grateful for.
The bus came at 730 and we ran to our seats and then PASSED OUT for 3 hours. This is mark and I on the way home. I have NEVER had a walk of shame... which, in greek world, is walking back from a frat house the morning after a party. I have NEVER and will never do that. However, there was no option BUT to walk back from the bus station in Cordoba dressed like a witch and accompanied by a pirate. on a sunday. lovely.
needless to say, i came home, my family gave me lunch at like 12 instead of 3, and then i proceeded to pass out the rest of the day until 6 or so. maybe 7. it was great.
I am glad i had the experience, but I am not nearly a big enough party girl or crazy enough to want to repeat that any time soon.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
My life here
AAAAAND since I'm already updating like crazy... here are some photos of my daily life. I live in the center of town, so scary stuff like what happens to Ilana is less likely for me. Because SOMEONE always has to walk my way to get away from the bars-clubs, so one of the boys is always walking with me. But no worries, I am still being uber careful.
I live in this apartment. It has three bedrooms, a kitchen-dining area, and a family room. I have my own bathroom and I still can't get the shower to stay one temperature thats warm. But its okay. I live in an apartment building. It is off one of the main streets, and my door to the main street is about 15 seconds.
I take the bus to school in the morning because it takes at least 30-45 minutes to walk. My school is called THE SCHOOL OF THE EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, roughly translated. I have 3 classes -- grammar for 2 hours, a half hour break, literature and film for an hour, and then history for an hour. Then I find my friends who live near me (aka far away) and we start the trek home. When the weather is nicer, I am going to try to walk to school more often so I don't have to pay for the bus. Speaking of the bus, I nearly got kicked off it the other day because the bus driver said my bus pass was wrong because it was a student pass and I didnt have the school ID with me. I DIDNT HAVE THE SCHOOL ID BECAUSE IT CAME THE NEXT DAY IN THE MAIL. stupid administration here. Anywhoooo, I take the bus, and get off and walk maybe 3 minutes to school. I am in 2 classrooms and the cafeteria all day. Stephanie thinks we should accost the cafeteria guy and have him show us around town or make him her spanish boyfriend. one of the two.
PHOTOS OF MY LIFE!
bus stop!
my schooooool
the sidewalk for the main street
Week 3 and Medina Azahara
Week 3 went by without anything TOO crazy happening, I got my CAMERA in the mail and I was STOKED! )the picture above is amy and i jumping for joy when our pacakges arrived... thats my one from last week from my family). I attempted a Flamenco class, but I'm not going to spend the money on that because I really want to travel more. I ended up cutting Mason's hair in my apartment lobby and gave him a fabulous EUROPEAN spanish haircut... which, if I saw someone with this haircut in the US, I'd laugh at them... however, it is completely normal here. PHOTO!
Tuesday we went to a place where we can volunteer with autistic children. I am going to help with the equine therapy I believe, and go to the zoo to help the kids feed-ride-pet the burritos... and NO, it doesnt mean mexican food. It means little donkeys. I got SO excited when I heard the word burrito... and then they clarified it did not mean food. Sad.
Wednesday Jenny Ilana and I met up with a Spanish guy named Almeyda... he's a friend of the brother in Ilana's host family. He showed us around different parts of town and we got chocolate con churros. DELICIOUS. PHOTO!
Thursday was a lot of fun. We tried to make Thursday the big night since Friday we would want to rest up because Saturday (aka Today) is the big trip to Cadiz for Carnaval! Thursday I tutored english for a while and then a whole slew of us, american and spanish, went to CONFUCIOUS, which is a japanese buffet. Yes, a japanese buffet here in spain. My little group got driven there by Graham's intercambio, Josefo or something like that. We hadnt been in a car in like 3 weeks and it was SO weird, especially with their crazy driving. Not sure I'll do that again. It was nice to bond with people who I normally only see at school. We got sangria for the first time and I actually enjoyed it. I like fruit. I eat oranges with my meals, its like a dessert apparently. No idea. We ended up at this bar called HOLLYWOOD PLAZA and just hung out, but Steph and I were actually really tired so we convinced the guys to walk us home, and on the way we found this park where you can see this really cool hotel that changes colors. Well, the lights on it change colors.
Every day I find something new in this city. It's rather small, but there is SO much. The jewish quarter, the roman bridge (YES, ROMAN... as in its lasted this long), and then all the modern stuff and the parks and gah, its wonderful here.
ANYWAY, on friday we took a trip to the Medina Azahara... again, I am probably spelling it wrong but its ok because i have PAMPHLETS! Its the city and palace of the Muslim califa, which is like the big boss cheese man, bigger than a king. It's basically where he kept his women. Very pretty. PHOTOS!
the muslims really like arches...
the house of ya'far
the ruins
gardens!
more ruinsoh AND i just found out that when I decided to not go out last night, my friends still did, and Ilana, on her way home, was nearly mugged. A guy hit her in the face with a beer bottle and tried to steal her purse... but she kept her purse and ran home. She lost her phone thursday night... things are not going well for her.
I promise I am being safe.
Week 2 and Malaga!
It's been a while, once again, but I am updating you on my full adventures the past week or so. I log the hilights in my little journal so I don't forget, and now I'm catching up.
Friday we visited the Mezquita, which is this giant (originally) Muslim worship place which was later turned into a catholic cathedral, although it still maintains a ton of the original architectural build. When I say original, nothing is original, it has all been reconstructed, but the idea is that everything now looks the same as when it was built, PLUS the changes from the catholics. Its really cool. There's a giant courtyard with orange trees and ONE olive tree around a fountain.
There was weird light coming through the window so we all took funny pictures in the light... it looked like you were holding an orb or something. Unfortunately my pose apparently looked like I was praying to the mecca or something, and the guards started running over and yelling at me DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS? in spanish, but, alas, when you yell at me AND speak really quickly, my brain shuts down and I look like a deer in headlights. FACT. 
Once I figured out they were telling me it was NOT a muslim worship house and was catholic and I was not allowed, I then proceeded to show them my catholic pendant of the Virgin Mary and holler in my best spanish YO SOY CATOLICA! which roughly translates to i am catholic... at which point they stopped yelling at me, mumbled, and walked away. PHOTOS!
Friday night we went to a club called VERSAILLES which was really cool.... and Saturday began our adventures to Malaga!
The internet lies. It said the bus was at 11... it was at 3. The internet as far as the bus stations here is complete malarky. We ended up just trolling around town for a while, and the 3 hr bus ride to malaga went so quickly. We got there, found a hostel near the center, and it smelled like cat litter, but was cheap and safe and close to the center. The boys got the room on the street side, and us girls (me, ilana, jenny) ended up in the backroom with bars on our window and facing a building... lovely. So, it was Valentines Day and Chris got me chocolate, which was absolutely adorable, but then THEY MADE ME CLIMB THE BAZILLION MILE MOUNTAIN TO THE CASTLE..... ON VALENTINES DAY. It was actually night and the view was breathtaking. SEE? LOOK!
yes, yes, beauty abounds. So the castle was the castillo de gibrafaltar or something (I have it written down WITH pamphlets and all, i promise), but we didn't go inside. Then we went back down to the middle of town and bought these GIANT baked potatos and you can put ANYTHING inside them and they were DELICIOUS. They are preparing for Carnaval there, even though it isn't a main city, and there was a parade and singing and SO much fun. PHOTOS!
We were accosted by a group singing dressed like devils and angels, and of course I made friends. We ended up grabbing tapas and I ate OCTOPUS! rather proud of myself. and a delicious sweetonionwithbriecheeseonbread dish... also one of the best things i have eaten here. So my valentines included a bus ride, chocolate, a HIKE to a castle, an amazing view, a parade of crazy people in crazy costumes, being accosted by a devil, and octopus. Lovely.
Sunday we strolled around town, which, oddly enough, looks like santa barbara
We went to the picasso museum... I keep my little knife with me and they made me check it while I was there for fear I'd destroy priceless picasso. Also saw a Max Ernst exhibit, which was really cool too. What was REALLY cool was underneath it is an example of the ROMAN architecture... like they found a house under it... what was even COOLER was that some of the descriptions of the stuff directly corrolated to the stuff we were learning in history (granted, history is in spanish, so i can only ASSUME to know what im saying). Then we went to picassos house PHOTO! 
and then took the bus to what we thought would be a lovely beach. we were wrong. it looked like LA had taken it over. and not like tiny tan people, as in broken glass and grafitti. BUT as souveniers of the journey, I took a piece of decorated tile I found on the beach and confetti from the parade. We found a rundown playground, and of course, PLAYED! 
Here is the last photo I'll post about Malaga... we really had a great time and it was nice to stick my toes in the Mediterranean Sea.
Me, Mason, Ilana, Chris, Jenny
Thursday, February 19, 2009
i stole this from lena
yes, this is basically how it works. oh... i should probably add english in there... oh wait... it is basically that black veritcal line called the Y axis that comes crashing down right at the beginning. fact.
I fail. But it is okay. because everyone else does too.
i get frustrated and i tend to talk in circles in spanish and then they REALLY dont understand me. anyway, going to hopefully asian dinner with steph-jenny and friends. if they restaurant cant hold us, steph is already begging to go to pasta.
i rarely eat out, im trying to save money. but lunch today nearly made me vomit. at the table. sergio just made fun of me. he is not on my happy list for that. but seriously, the horrible watery salty taste in my mouth and i thought i was gonna upchuck right at the lunch table. thats what you get for serving me salty salty food salted beyond recognition. FACT.
cadiz this weekend for carnaval. i WILL update you, im sorry. ive been off lately. school and sleep, MC has been sick and im recovering again. im working on it.
the homesickness isn't as often or as bad, and thats what im grateful for.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
I'm back
I am alive. I was in Malaga this weekend for Valentines Day with friends and I had no internet access. I will write more tomorrow, because right now I am exhausted and still have homework to do.
Goodnight
Goodnight
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Mail from Home Makes My DAY!
I switched my computer into spanish and now the keyboard is slightly different... but I don't see HOW it's different, I just go to type something normal and it comes out SO WEIRD... like when I want to type ' I end up typing ´and I have to get used to these new things. However, I now have the ¡ (upside down exclamation point!) on my computer. SO STOKED.
I´ll write more later, but for now, just know this.
I got my Valentine´s Day card in the mail on Tuesday (I think)... and I got my package from home today.
Thank you. You have no idea how incredibly happy it makes me. Even just seeing your handwriting brings the biggest smile to my face. I am literally sitting here crying and it isn´t because I´m sad, it´s because I am so incredibly happy I don´t know what to do with myself.
Yesterday was really rough on me, I was missing my family and my friends and just kind of wanted to cry, curl up in a ball and sleep and pretend I was home. I went out with friends and really did have a great time, but still, at the end of the night I come home to a room that still doesn't feel like mine and I feel a bit alone. My brother here noticed I was upset but they didn't want to intrude and I felt bad for being a bit of a downer. This morning I was still just kind of in a daze, but when I saw my package my whole world was turned right back around and I don't think I've ever been so grateful to be able to see my family's handwriting, and I really appreciate it. You have no idea.
Thank you. I am sorry for everything I've ever done and all the times I was a teenage drama queen and a royal pain in the butt. Thank you for still loving me, for being my family and my rock. I am so far away and while yes, it is the experience of a lifetime and I am having SO much fun and meeting new people, I wouldn´t be here or the person I am today or doing as well as I am without you and your support. so thank you. thank you so much. from the bottom of my heart. thank you for answering the phone, for writing me emails, for getting on skype, and writing me letters. thank you for the big things like a card and a package (now with boots i won't look like such an american) and the small ones like chatting with me online or sending me a thing of tissues, because i'm currently putting them to good use.
I don't know if I've ever cried from being happy. I'll mark today down in my life calendar and keep a note of it. Thank you. It's just what I needed, and way more.
I love you.
And, in other news... my shower finally gets hot again. So I'm going to go enjoy that.
All my love and tears of happiness,
Jamee
I´ll write more later, but for now, just know this.
I got my Valentine´s Day card in the mail on Tuesday (I think)... and I got my package from home today.
Thank you. You have no idea how incredibly happy it makes me. Even just seeing your handwriting brings the biggest smile to my face. I am literally sitting here crying and it isn´t because I´m sad, it´s because I am so incredibly happy I don´t know what to do with myself.
Yesterday was really rough on me, I was missing my family and my friends and just kind of wanted to cry, curl up in a ball and sleep and pretend I was home. I went out with friends and really did have a great time, but still, at the end of the night I come home to a room that still doesn't feel like mine and I feel a bit alone. My brother here noticed I was upset but they didn't want to intrude and I felt bad for being a bit of a downer. This morning I was still just kind of in a daze, but when I saw my package my whole world was turned right back around and I don't think I've ever been so grateful to be able to see my family's handwriting, and I really appreciate it. You have no idea.
Thank you. I am sorry for everything I've ever done and all the times I was a teenage drama queen and a royal pain in the butt. Thank you for still loving me, for being my family and my rock. I am so far away and while yes, it is the experience of a lifetime and I am having SO much fun and meeting new people, I wouldn´t be here or the person I am today or doing as well as I am without you and your support. so thank you. thank you so much. from the bottom of my heart. thank you for answering the phone, for writing me emails, for getting on skype, and writing me letters. thank you for the big things like a card and a package (now with boots i won't look like such an american) and the small ones like chatting with me online or sending me a thing of tissues, because i'm currently putting them to good use.
I don't know if I've ever cried from being happy. I'll mark today down in my life calendar and keep a note of it. Thank you. It's just what I needed, and way more.
I love you.
And, in other news... my shower finally gets hot again. So I'm going to go enjoy that.
All my love and tears of happiness,
Jamee
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Jazz is my new project
Today I woke up late at like 830, hustled my butt and was out of the house BEFORE 9am. Which, for the record, is earlier than ANY OTHER DAY so far. Then I was like "oh I have time I can take the bus with the longer route" and ay dios mios I had a half hour and that stupid bus only gave me 5 minutes to get to class. Not taking THAT route again.
The past two days, our spanish teacher has played songs in spanish and we fill in the blanks with verbs we hear. So imagine roughly 20 americans trying to sing "A Quien Le Importa" by ALASKA and "HOMBRES" by Fangoria. By the way, both of the singers sound like men, which, oddly enough, neither of them are. Basically, 20 kids trying to find the right verbs and then getting so into the song that they sing it... all day long. However, we did learn how many languages we can say "thank you" in, and I think I was up to 7. WIN! In Lit we had to translate a poem, and dear goodness it took forever. The poem was beautiful, but when I translated it into english, it lost some of its magic. Sad. Paid for my ticket on the bus to Cadiz for Carnaval. Totally excited....
So excited, in fact, that after Mark and I walked home, we arranged to meet with Stephanie and Ilana at 630 at the costume shop to find outfits for Carnaval. Hilarity of course ensued as Stephanie may be my new favorite person. She's the ADPi from Berkeley, and I am glad I have her as a sister.
Cold shower again, Sergio says they'll look into it tomorrow. One can hope. Mason and Chris wanted me to join them at the Jazz Cafe at 10, but seeing as I didn't eat until 11, that was a no go. I still wanted to go out so MC asked Sergio to walk me to meet the boys so I wasn't shanked on the way there at midnight. It was awesome. The boys and I snagged seats right up front of the stage and watched a pianist, a violinist, a singer, a bassist, and a drummer just jam... the singer changed a few times (thank goodness for some people who have a voice), and I made a resolve to listen to enough jazz and learn the lyrics and go every week and EVENTUALLY push myself up there on stage and sing with the band. Wish me luck. Well, dad... there you go, I gave in. I'm listening to jazz.
Now its 2am and I have to translate a poem into english and hope I wake up in time to talk to the Dana Point family in the morning. Hasta Luego!
The past two days, our spanish teacher has played songs in spanish and we fill in the blanks with verbs we hear. So imagine roughly 20 americans trying to sing "A Quien Le Importa" by ALASKA and "HOMBRES" by Fangoria. By the way, both of the singers sound like men, which, oddly enough, neither of them are. Basically, 20 kids trying to find the right verbs and then getting so into the song that they sing it... all day long. However, we did learn how many languages we can say "thank you" in, and I think I was up to 7. WIN! In Lit we had to translate a poem, and dear goodness it took forever. The poem was beautiful, but when I translated it into english, it lost some of its magic. Sad. Paid for my ticket on the bus to Cadiz for Carnaval. Totally excited....
So excited, in fact, that after Mark and I walked home, we arranged to meet with Stephanie and Ilana at 630 at the costume shop to find outfits for Carnaval. Hilarity of course ensued as Stephanie may be my new favorite person. She's the ADPi from Berkeley, and I am glad I have her as a sister.
Cold shower again, Sergio says they'll look into it tomorrow. One can hope. Mason and Chris wanted me to join them at the Jazz Cafe at 10, but seeing as I didn't eat until 11, that was a no go. I still wanted to go out so MC asked Sergio to walk me to meet the boys so I wasn't shanked on the way there at midnight. It was awesome. The boys and I snagged seats right up front of the stage and watched a pianist, a violinist, a singer, a bassist, and a drummer just jam... the singer changed a few times (thank goodness for some people who have a voice), and I made a resolve to listen to enough jazz and learn the lyrics and go every week and EVENTUALLY push myself up there on stage and sing with the band. Wish me luck. Well, dad... there you go, I gave in. I'm listening to jazz.
Now its 2am and I have to translate a poem into english and hope I wake up in time to talk to the Dana Point family in the morning. Hasta Luego!
Monday, February 9, 2009
1st wekeend, 2nd week
I forgot to mention that on Friday morning we met up at the Puerta de Almodivar, which is one of four standing gateways into the old part of the city, and we walked through the Juderia, which is the old Jewish section of town. If my camera wasn't broken I'd post some pictures. I bought a new one off eBay yesterday so it should come relatively soon. We walked through the city and saw some of the major landmarks. I live really close to El Centro, which, as you could probably guess, means I'm in a busy part of town. RIGHT DOWN THE STREET IS THIS GIANT AREA OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS! It's crazy. And you already read about Friday night.
Saturday I woke up at 1pm and barely touched my almuerzo, which was a combination of cooked potato (I think cooked), tomato and onion... which, if you know me, you can assume that didn't go over well. Sticking two of my least favorite vegetables in with one I DO like doesn't make it better. Even if the onions had been cooked I could have stomached it better. Marie Carmen was displeased, but they served me a taquito that tasted like a fish stick but was made of ham and beef and i dunked it in ketchup and ate two of those. Anyway, I caved and called Ilana to join her window shopping if she promised I could eat Burger King fries. And I did. 3 Euro for a large fry, and that is a rip off. only two packets of ketchup. I love ketchup. Met up with Mason and chris as well and walked around in the Correderra, which I'm pretty sure used to be a bull fighting ring, from what I can understand. Another place that was on our walking tour, and beautiful. Came back home around 2100 and got in bed as it was rather chilly.
Sunday I had planned on going to mass with a group of people at the Mezquita, but when I woke up, it was 37 degrees out. There was no way on earth I was getting out of bed. So I fell asleep again and woke up for almuerzo which this time was a delicious cream over chicken thing. Fabulous. I'd eat it every day if I could. But she also made me "probar" (to try) red bell peppers, which weren't horrible the way she prepared them. I actually enjoyed them, but it's not going to become a regular thing. Watched two american movies dubbed over in spanish with my family as we huddled around the table with the heater under it. I fell asleep sitting in the chair a few times. Ate thistle and hot dogs again last night (no idea what it is with mini hot dogs here). Had terrible cravings for chocolate and coconut but alas, I could not get them at 1am.
This morning it was a battle of who could hit the snooze button more before actually getting up, Me or Sergio. I lost and got up to hurry and was almost late for school, except the teacher was later than us, so it was fine. Classes were fine, I'm pretty sure the guy who works in the cafeteria is my new best friend. Decided that since the weather was okay and not raining, that i would walk home with Christina today along with Stephanie and Pauline. FORTY FIVE MINUTES. and you wonder why I take the bus in the mornings. Since I was craving chocolate last night, we popped into the supermercado and got some chocolate and a package of cookies I was recommended. Good decisions. And some pringles. Because I like to munch.
As I've mentioned, it's been nothing but rain all week. Friday was the sun, saturday wasn't TOO bad, and sunday was as freezing as antarctica. Today, it was nice. Granted, I was prepared for a repeat of sunday, so I didn't even bother changing out of my pajama top/sweatshirt, so I just threw on a zip up and my peacoat. BOY DID I REGRET THAT. It was almost 60 and I could have been walking around in a tshirt and jeans... and instead I had on 3 jackets and a pajama shirt. Peeled off two of the layers and barely survived. But the nice part about walking is that since I'm so close to the center of town, I haven't journeyed outside of it yet, and today gave me a chance to really see a tiny bit of the city. THIS PLACE IS GORGEOUS. and the walk home I only stayed on two streets. TWO STREETS AND MY HEART IS ALREADY A TWITTER WITH FASCINATION! from the juderia to the modern buildings, oh and parks and fountains and oh my goodness its too much.
It's wonderful here. I can't wait for the sun to come out and my camera to come. I plan on taking the bus in the morning and walking in the afternoon. Came home and slept for only 2 hours today (improvement), talked to my mom on the phone, and ate that delicious chicken dish again. Thank goodness, but we didn't eat until 2315! Now I'm gonna jump in the shower and pray it isn't cold like yesterday. not. a. fan.
*edit* shower was AGAIN cold but not as FREEZING. only moderately so. thank goodness for my hair dryer as it could probably melt Titanic's iceberg in about 4 seconds. I love heat.
tomorrow is an informational session about morocco (i think) and cadiz for carnival (for sure) i am SO excited it isn't even funny.
Oh, and there was a terrorist bomb attack in Madrid today. They assume its the northern Basque group ETA. here's a link if you want to see it.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/9/worldupdates/2009-02-09T161242Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-379170-2&sec=Worldupdates
Saturday I woke up at 1pm and barely touched my almuerzo, which was a combination of cooked potato (I think cooked), tomato and onion... which, if you know me, you can assume that didn't go over well. Sticking two of my least favorite vegetables in with one I DO like doesn't make it better. Even if the onions had been cooked I could have stomached it better. Marie Carmen was displeased, but they served me a taquito that tasted like a fish stick but was made of ham and beef and i dunked it in ketchup and ate two of those. Anyway, I caved and called Ilana to join her window shopping if she promised I could eat Burger King fries. And I did. 3 Euro for a large fry, and that is a rip off. only two packets of ketchup. I love ketchup. Met up with Mason and chris as well and walked around in the Correderra, which I'm pretty sure used to be a bull fighting ring, from what I can understand. Another place that was on our walking tour, and beautiful. Came back home around 2100 and got in bed as it was rather chilly.
Sunday I had planned on going to mass with a group of people at the Mezquita, but when I woke up, it was 37 degrees out. There was no way on earth I was getting out of bed. So I fell asleep again and woke up for almuerzo which this time was a delicious cream over chicken thing. Fabulous. I'd eat it every day if I could. But she also made me "probar" (to try) red bell peppers, which weren't horrible the way she prepared them. I actually enjoyed them, but it's not going to become a regular thing. Watched two american movies dubbed over in spanish with my family as we huddled around the table with the heater under it. I fell asleep sitting in the chair a few times. Ate thistle and hot dogs again last night (no idea what it is with mini hot dogs here). Had terrible cravings for chocolate and coconut but alas, I could not get them at 1am.
This morning it was a battle of who could hit the snooze button more before actually getting up, Me or Sergio. I lost and got up to hurry and was almost late for school, except the teacher was later than us, so it was fine. Classes were fine, I'm pretty sure the guy who works in the cafeteria is my new best friend. Decided that since the weather was okay and not raining, that i would walk home with Christina today along with Stephanie and Pauline. FORTY FIVE MINUTES. and you wonder why I take the bus in the mornings. Since I was craving chocolate last night, we popped into the supermercado and got some chocolate and a package of cookies I was recommended. Good decisions. And some pringles. Because I like to munch.
As I've mentioned, it's been nothing but rain all week. Friday was the sun, saturday wasn't TOO bad, and sunday was as freezing as antarctica. Today, it was nice. Granted, I was prepared for a repeat of sunday, so I didn't even bother changing out of my pajama top/sweatshirt, so I just threw on a zip up and my peacoat. BOY DID I REGRET THAT. It was almost 60 and I could have been walking around in a tshirt and jeans... and instead I had on 3 jackets and a pajama shirt. Peeled off two of the layers and barely survived. But the nice part about walking is that since I'm so close to the center of town, I haven't journeyed outside of it yet, and today gave me a chance to really see a tiny bit of the city. THIS PLACE IS GORGEOUS. and the walk home I only stayed on two streets. TWO STREETS AND MY HEART IS ALREADY A TWITTER WITH FASCINATION! from the juderia to the modern buildings, oh and parks and fountains and oh my goodness its too much.
It's wonderful here. I can't wait for the sun to come out and my camera to come. I plan on taking the bus in the morning and walking in the afternoon. Came home and slept for only 2 hours today (improvement), talked to my mom on the phone, and ate that delicious chicken dish again. Thank goodness, but we didn't eat until 2315! Now I'm gonna jump in the shower and pray it isn't cold like yesterday. not. a. fan.
*edit* shower was AGAIN cold but not as FREEZING. only moderately so. thank goodness for my hair dryer as it could probably melt Titanic's iceberg in about 4 seconds. I love heat.
tomorrow is an informational session about morocco (i think) and cadiz for carnival (for sure) i am SO excited it isn't even funny.
Oh, and there was a terrorist bomb attack in Madrid today. They assume its the northern Basque group ETA. here's a link if you want to see it.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/9/worldupdates/2009-02-09T161242Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-379170-2&sec=Worldupdates
Saturday, February 7, 2009
First Party Night Out!
My hair reeks of smoke even after a shower and a blow-dry. Lame. BUT it is something I'm just going to have to get used to living here. smellyuckysmoke. the blog layout changed because I had complaints that those in the older community can't read it with a black background :-)
HERE GOES!
Last night was great. We eat really late here (my family in particular), but it worked out because Ilana was running late as well. They left me alone for te first time in the house, and thank goodness, because they made me pasta and I wasn't forced to put ketchup on it, instead I russled around in the fridge and found grated cheese and butter. THANK GOD. most delicious meal.
went out with Ilana, met up with Mason, Stephanie, Ben and two intercambios (spanish students who are our penpals/friends given to us by the university) Laura and Sandra. Went to a bar called HOLLYWOOD PLAZA for 2 hours, sitting on couches and cushions and interacting with the locals. This one guy was like playing his throat like an instrument. Weirdest thing ever. Then we left to go to another bar/dance floor place called SOUL where of course, the americans were the only ones dancing. Went to ask Ben something and one of his new spanish friends assumed I was Spanish by my coloring and started talking to me and I was like "um I just want Ben's number because we're going to another club" to which he responded "well why don't you just take my number instead? I'm cute" and yes, while he was decently attractive and probably one of the few tall men I've seen here in Spain, I just went "ummm no thanks" and walked away. I'm rude and he's awkward.
Met up with Amy and Yunah, Stephanie had left, and Ben had remained behind, so our new group ended up finding a tiny little club called "Nino Libertad" or something like that, where Mason started chatting with the locals, they assumed I was his girlfriend and he was Spanish (men are short here, mason is short and speaks spanish better than the rest of us, thus they think he is spanish.... i look spanish so they assume i'm spanish and then assume we're togther. we're not), and we hung out for a while. Ilana and Yunah called it a night around 330 or so and Amy Mason and I ended up at a DISCOTECA called THE UNDERGROUND where lo and behold, we ran into Ben again. FUN TIMES.
I danced and it felt great to just have some fun after being cooped up in jackets and classrooms, buses and planes. Although, yet again, got stared at because I'm tall as heck here and I happened to be wearing white, which under a blacklight draws far too much attention, and I was dancing like an American whereas everyone else was like jumping and kicking around like a weird rabbit aka the Spanish.
Came home around 5 (ITS NORMAL HERE, dont look at me like that) and was quiet and didn't wake up my family (I asked, they said I was fine. Promise.) My hair reeks of smoke and I hung my clothes outside today to try to air the smoke smell out.
The sun is out, so I am getting dressed and going window shopping with Ilana. Lunch today was a potato/onion/tomato dish, so needless to say, I didn't take to it well. Burger King fries? Yes please. Maybe I'll just find myself something else spanish instead of giving in to my horrible american ways.
I am going to get FAT here. Apparently they're surprised at how little I eat (especially when I dislike the food) and keep trying to get me to eat more. The portions are large, and I'm just not used to eating this much. I am going to be a fatty.
In other news, I may go to mass tomorrow at the Mezquita with Graham. British guy on my program, really cool, and actually taller than me thank goodness.
HERE GOES!
Last night was great. We eat really late here (my family in particular), but it worked out because Ilana was running late as well. They left me alone for te first time in the house, and thank goodness, because they made me pasta and I wasn't forced to put ketchup on it, instead I russled around in the fridge and found grated cheese and butter. THANK GOD. most delicious meal.
went out with Ilana, met up with Mason, Stephanie, Ben and two intercambios (spanish students who are our penpals/friends given to us by the university) Laura and Sandra. Went to a bar called HOLLYWOOD PLAZA for 2 hours, sitting on couches and cushions and interacting with the locals. This one guy was like playing his throat like an instrument. Weirdest thing ever. Then we left to go to another bar/dance floor place called SOUL where of course, the americans were the only ones dancing. Went to ask Ben something and one of his new spanish friends assumed I was Spanish by my coloring and started talking to me and I was like "um I just want Ben's number because we're going to another club" to which he responded "well why don't you just take my number instead? I'm cute" and yes, while he was decently attractive and probably one of the few tall men I've seen here in Spain, I just went "ummm no thanks" and walked away. I'm rude and he's awkward.
Met up with Amy and Yunah, Stephanie had left, and Ben had remained behind, so our new group ended up finding a tiny little club called "Nino Libertad" or something like that, where Mason started chatting with the locals, they assumed I was his girlfriend and he was Spanish (men are short here, mason is short and speaks spanish better than the rest of us, thus they think he is spanish.... i look spanish so they assume i'm spanish and then assume we're togther. we're not), and we hung out for a while. Ilana and Yunah called it a night around 330 or so and Amy Mason and I ended up at a DISCOTECA called THE UNDERGROUND where lo and behold, we ran into Ben again. FUN TIMES.
I danced and it felt great to just have some fun after being cooped up in jackets and classrooms, buses and planes. Although, yet again, got stared at because I'm tall as heck here and I happened to be wearing white, which under a blacklight draws far too much attention, and I was dancing like an American whereas everyone else was like jumping and kicking around like a weird rabbit aka the Spanish.
Came home around 5 (ITS NORMAL HERE, dont look at me like that) and was quiet and didn't wake up my family (I asked, they said I was fine. Promise.) My hair reeks of smoke and I hung my clothes outside today to try to air the smoke smell out.
The sun is out, so I am getting dressed and going window shopping with Ilana. Lunch today was a potato/onion/tomato dish, so needless to say, I didn't take to it well. Burger King fries? Yes please. Maybe I'll just find myself something else spanish instead of giving in to my horrible american ways.
I am going to get FAT here. Apparently they're surprised at how little I eat (especially when I dislike the food) and keep trying to get me to eat more. The portions are large, and I'm just not used to eating this much. I am going to be a fatty.
In other news, I may go to mass tomorrow at the Mezquita with Graham. British guy on my program, really cool, and actually taller than me thank goodness.
Friday, February 6, 2009
avestruz
You know... when I learned the word for ostrich in high school, I laughed and went "when on EARTH am I ever going to need to know THAT word in spanish?"
today. I needed it today. It was so frustrating not even having an IDEA of the word I wanted. Like if you can't think of a verb, you find another one. Verbs are easy because you can act it out if you can't remember it. HOW DO YOU ACT OUT AN OSTRICH? And goodness knows the images in their heads had I said "very tall bird that can't fly" -- actually, that probably would have been really smart. Anyway, I went through THREE dictionaries. and then I found it, I remembered it and I went "STUPID JAMEE"
avestruz. OSTRICH = AVESTRUZ
sergio laughed at me. i deserved it.
today. I needed it today. It was so frustrating not even having an IDEA of the word I wanted. Like if you can't think of a verb, you find another one. Verbs are easy because you can act it out if you can't remember it. HOW DO YOU ACT OUT AN OSTRICH? And goodness knows the images in their heads had I said "very tall bird that can't fly" -- actually, that probably would have been really smart. Anyway, I went through THREE dictionaries. and then I found it, I remembered it and I went "STUPID JAMEE"
avestruz. OSTRICH = AVESTRUZ
sergio laughed at me. i deserved it.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Idiotic Things Jamee Has Done Since Arriving in Cordoba
fun facts about jamee and her being stupid --
a) they conserve their electricity here like WOAH. i'm really good about it. So good that I thought I didn't need to use my cell as a flashlight and I'd be okay locating the bathroom without tripping over this box thing in the hallway. FALSE. So, when I went to leave the house 10 minutes later, I grabbed my cell to light the way only to run smack dab-face first-full force into the wall because I was focusing on looking for my phone so I could have a light so I wouldn't do precisely what I did.
b) lights again. I have to go down a flight of stairs to get to the door on street level. There are light switches outside each apartment door, one at the bottom of the stairs, and one on the inside of the door to light up the lobby. On the way in the other day, I found the switch by the door and was thinking "I can get used to this, this isn't too hard. I can DO IT!" and was very proud of myself. Fast foward to this morning, when I continued to hit the doorbell by accident and wondered why the lights weren't turning on. YEP. I'm that stupid.
c) raining and pouring here. rain to bus after school. was chatting and not looking out foggy windows when friend said "isnt this your stop" and i looked around and went "no i can go one more or so" and then when I got off, realized I had in fact gotten off at the wrong stop, so I just kind of followed the bus' path, assuming I got off too early. False, I had gotten off too late and thank GOODNESS I had gone out the other night and gotten a small sense of direction, because I found the department store near the fountain and went HA HA! I KNOW WHERE I AM and then proceeded home. I live by a Burger King. There's only 2 in Cordoba and I live near one. I can NEVER get lost. EVERYONE knows where the burger king is. Go ahead, start taking bets on when I cave and order myself some home-style fast food. I refuse to eat there. At least for now.
d) I accidentally said I was pregnant instead of embarrassed the other day. I KNOW BETTER. but I was at a loss of words after having a horrible miscommunication about marmalade with the waiter at the cafeteria at school. I didn't want orange marmalade, I wanted strawberry. Plus, I had already been super confused by the fact that when I said I wanted juice, he asked me if I wanted it from a bottle or natural, and when I said natural, he said too bad because they were out. SO WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK ME WHAT I WANTED IF YOU DONT HAVE IT? So there i was, confused over orange juice and frustrated about a fruit condiment, when the guy just broke down and spoke to me in Spanglish. So once we figured otu what I wanted, I thanked him for his patience and told him I was embarazada... you'd figure... emocionada (emotional), embarazada would make sense. FALSE. IT DOESN'T. IT MEANS YOURE PREGNANT. So this poor guy is trying to give me stupid fruit jam for my toast and a drink and here I go mumbling around in spanish about oranges and bottles and butter-but-not-butter and I tell this unfortunate soul that I'm pregnant. I AM NOT. I AM EMBARRASSED. However, I never learned what the CORRECT word for embarrassed was. My teacher had to correct me. Oops? Typical of my life. I don't even LIKE orange marmalade.
a) they conserve their electricity here like WOAH. i'm really good about it. So good that I thought I didn't need to use my cell as a flashlight and I'd be okay locating the bathroom without tripping over this box thing in the hallway. FALSE. So, when I went to leave the house 10 minutes later, I grabbed my cell to light the way only to run smack dab-face first-full force into the wall because I was focusing on looking for my phone so I could have a light so I wouldn't do precisely what I did.
b) lights again. I have to go down a flight of stairs to get to the door on street level. There are light switches outside each apartment door, one at the bottom of the stairs, and one on the inside of the door to light up the lobby. On the way in the other day, I found the switch by the door and was thinking "I can get used to this, this isn't too hard. I can DO IT!" and was very proud of myself. Fast foward to this morning, when I continued to hit the doorbell by accident and wondered why the lights weren't turning on. YEP. I'm that stupid.
c) raining and pouring here. rain to bus after school. was chatting and not looking out foggy windows when friend said "isnt this your stop" and i looked around and went "no i can go one more or so" and then when I got off, realized I had in fact gotten off at the wrong stop, so I just kind of followed the bus' path, assuming I got off too early. False, I had gotten off too late and thank GOODNESS I had gone out the other night and gotten a small sense of direction, because I found the department store near the fountain and went HA HA! I KNOW WHERE I AM and then proceeded home. I live by a Burger King. There's only 2 in Cordoba and I live near one. I can NEVER get lost. EVERYONE knows where the burger king is. Go ahead, start taking bets on when I cave and order myself some home-style fast food. I refuse to eat there. At least for now.
d) I accidentally said I was pregnant instead of embarrassed the other day. I KNOW BETTER. but I was at a loss of words after having a horrible miscommunication about marmalade with the waiter at the cafeteria at school. I didn't want orange marmalade, I wanted strawberry. Plus, I had already been super confused by the fact that when I said I wanted juice, he asked me if I wanted it from a bottle or natural, and when I said natural, he said too bad because they were out. SO WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK ME WHAT I WANTED IF YOU DONT HAVE IT? So there i was, confused over orange juice and frustrated about a fruit condiment, when the guy just broke down and spoke to me in Spanglish. So once we figured otu what I wanted, I thanked him for his patience and told him I was embarazada... you'd figure... emocionada (emotional), embarazada would make sense. FALSE. IT DOESN'T. IT MEANS YOURE PREGNANT. So this poor guy is trying to give me stupid fruit jam for my toast and a drink and here I go mumbling around in spanish about oranges and bottles and butter-but-not-butter and I tell this unfortunate soul that I'm pregnant. I AM NOT. I AM EMBARRASSED. However, I never learned what the CORRECT word for embarrassed was. My teacher had to correct me. Oops? Typical of my life. I don't even LIKE orange marmalade.
Welcome to Cordoba -- disclaimer: this is long
I know I've been MIA for a few days, and I apologize for that. If it makes you feel any better, I am logging in my journal daily, but it sometimes just doesn't get transferred to the computer.
So how should I do this? Like the program suggested, I'm keeping a journal... in spanish. I'm actually not too bad at it and it's coming to me rather easily. I've started thinking in spanish, which is peculiar. Let me know what you want to hear about and what you could care less about.
So Mark and I ended up both nights in hostels that only had one bed... which isn't exactly my cup of tea for someone I just met, but I figured it was a safer bet to be with someone on my program who wouldnt steal my stuff than a room of 8 or 12+ strangers. anyway, at the hostal in cordoba, the woman freaked out at the front desk because we're so young and its the one bed and she kept hollering something about "matrimonio" at me and I was like "i'm not marrying him... its not our honeymoon" i simply had no idea... thank goodness our friend ana translated for us and we realized that it just meant that there was one bed. and boy was it a tiny bed.
POURING rain sunday morning, we took a taxi to the hotel and met up with our friends from the bus and some more people, watched a movie, met the rest of the group, had orientation. Monday I met my family and they are wonderful.
Father: Antonio -- on the quieter side but witty, makes fun of me and thinks I don't understand
Mother: Marie Carmen -- absolutely wonderful woman who laughs at me and is very patient with my spanish
Son: Sergio -- 19 year old SUPER tall, violin, viola, organ, piano, choir. we match really well and he is the reason I was placed with this particular family. he speaks enlgish THANK GOD so when i get really frustrated with myself or simply have no idea how to translate it, I ask him. He corrects my spanish, i correct his english. He basically makes fun of me all day. Seriously.
They also have 2 other songs -- Alberto is older and lives in the building next door. He comes over for lunch and sometimes dinner. Raffa is married and has a brand new baby named Hector. I've met them once.
I have my own room, and everything is marble. The weather right now is constantly POURING rain and it is very unusual for the Andalucia territory -- usually they have droughts. So freezing cold + marble = Jamee bought a pink fleece blanket and it is the best thing of her life. They kicked Sergio out of the bathroom so now it's mine. I feel bad, and the second shelf in the shower is so tall I literally have to go on my tip toes to reach it.
I live very near "el centro" which is where all the shops, bars, clubs, and businesses are. The bad part about that is it's rather far from school, so I have to take the bus unless I want to walk a half hour or so in the rain. Nooooo me gusta. Since the area isn't known for rain at ALL I didn't pack rain shoes -- and seeing as Jamee has GIANT feet, there is no hope for buying them here. Yes, I've already asked a ton of shops and when I explained my plight to Marie Carmen (MC), she also laughed at me -- I am having a package with my boots sent to me.
My camera broke. No idea why. Literally. None. Sergio has tried to help. Nope.
As for school, I took the placement tests on Tuesday and thank goodness I don't completely suck at spanish. I got placed into the higher class for the language, which means I am able to take the Literature/Film class I wanted as well as the History of Spain class. Keep in mind, all my classes are in Spanish, so I'm in for quite the journey. I have Lola for Language & my Lit/Film class, and Antonio for my history class. Antonio is amazingly easy to understand and he's awesome.
Weird things about classes in spain -- you are NOT late (yes, go ahead and giggle as you think of me and my inability to be on time to ANYTHING), you do not eat in class, water and gum are only permitted if the teacher says so. No stretching, no yawning, no talking, no laptops. You can't leave to use the restroom or leave class early. Nothing. Nada. Nunca.
so my schedule is as follows --
8:30 -- wake up
9:00 -- catch bus
9:30 - 11:30 -- language
11:30-12 -- break (el descanso)
12-13 -- lit/film
13-14 -- history
lunch is around 1500 or so. so far for food, i've had [chicken with french fries], [eggs and thistle], [bean/potato soup], [green beans and hotdogs], [pasta], [tortilla espanola], [potato and pork soup with weird french-fry-esque anchovies], and [rice dish]. Every meal I have is with an orange and bread, and MC laughed at me for peeling my orange with my hands so I've learned to peel it with a nice and do a rather good job at it. Sergio rolled his peel into a rose today and was like "here, you're a girl, you like these things, you can have it" -- oh, so honored Sergio. funny guy.
After lunch you take a nap. It's called Siesta, and all the stores close down from like 1-5. It's only supposed to be like a 45 minute nap, but you all know me -- I pass OUT, especially because I am getting over a cold and my body is exhausted from travel, jet lag, and the time change. (By the way, Spain is GMT+1, or, 9 hours ahead of California, 6 hours ahead of NY) So on average, I'll sleep between 3-4 hours during siesta. Oops?
So I'll wake up around 7 or 8, and get a text (yes, I have a phone in spain... it's so expensive it's ridiculous. everything incoming is free, but when you respond to a call or text, YOU pay 16 cents for a text, 32 cents to connect your call, and then you pay fo ryour minutes as well) saying what plaza people are meeting up in and I'll go get a drink with friends or wander around the shops. Due to Spain's horrible economic crisis, there are FABULOUS sales going on... which is good because I need more sweaters. Like NOW.
I return home at 930 and we eat around 1030. Antonio always eats separately, and I think it's funny. The kitchen table and the salon table (family room) have GIANT thick long table cloths on them, which you shove as much of your lower body under because there is a HEATER underneath it. So during meals I am toasty and warm, and then after dinner we watch TV and go on the computer and again my feet are toasty in the salon.
They have a lot of american shows dubbed over in spanish, which is interesting to watch and listen to. I'm really fortunate and I love my family. I asked for a family with older kids because I didn't want to deal with small children, but I miss my siblings. It all worked out tho, because MC is a tutor and there are always younger kids (like HS age) in the kitchen staring at me like I'm crazy when I walk in wearing sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and my slippers, occasionally dragging along my blanket, just trying to stay warm and not lose my digits to frostbite. You get DRESSED here. Heels and boots EVERYDAY are normal, and they can instantly peg me as a foreigner based on my shoes. Stupid shoes. I'd kick them off in a fit of American joy but the Spanish dont go barefoot either.
I like the people on my program. granted, with a personality like mine and my strong opinions, there are a few I am keeping my distance from, but everything is great otherwise.
So how should I do this? Like the program suggested, I'm keeping a journal... in spanish. I'm actually not too bad at it and it's coming to me rather easily. I've started thinking in spanish, which is peculiar. Let me know what you want to hear about and what you could care less about.
So Mark and I ended up both nights in hostels that only had one bed... which isn't exactly my cup of tea for someone I just met, but I figured it was a safer bet to be with someone on my program who wouldnt steal my stuff than a room of 8 or 12+ strangers. anyway, at the hostal in cordoba, the woman freaked out at the front desk because we're so young and its the one bed and she kept hollering something about "matrimonio" at me and I was like "i'm not marrying him... its not our honeymoon" i simply had no idea... thank goodness our friend ana translated for us and we realized that it just meant that there was one bed. and boy was it a tiny bed.
POURING rain sunday morning, we took a taxi to the hotel and met up with our friends from the bus and some more people, watched a movie, met the rest of the group, had orientation. Monday I met my family and they are wonderful.
Father: Antonio -- on the quieter side but witty, makes fun of me and thinks I don't understand
Mother: Marie Carmen -- absolutely wonderful woman who laughs at me and is very patient with my spanish
Son: Sergio -- 19 year old SUPER tall, violin, viola, organ, piano, choir. we match really well and he is the reason I was placed with this particular family. he speaks enlgish THANK GOD so when i get really frustrated with myself or simply have no idea how to translate it, I ask him. He corrects my spanish, i correct his english. He basically makes fun of me all day. Seriously.
They also have 2 other songs -- Alberto is older and lives in the building next door. He comes over for lunch and sometimes dinner. Raffa is married and has a brand new baby named Hector. I've met them once.
I have my own room, and everything is marble. The weather right now is constantly POURING rain and it is very unusual for the Andalucia territory -- usually they have droughts. So freezing cold + marble = Jamee bought a pink fleece blanket and it is the best thing of her life. They kicked Sergio out of the bathroom so now it's mine. I feel bad, and the second shelf in the shower is so tall I literally have to go on my tip toes to reach it.
I live very near "el centro" which is where all the shops, bars, clubs, and businesses are. The bad part about that is it's rather far from school, so I have to take the bus unless I want to walk a half hour or so in the rain. Nooooo me gusta. Since the area isn't known for rain at ALL I didn't pack rain shoes -- and seeing as Jamee has GIANT feet, there is no hope for buying them here. Yes, I've already asked a ton of shops and when I explained my plight to Marie Carmen (MC), she also laughed at me -- I am having a package with my boots sent to me.
My camera broke. No idea why. Literally. None. Sergio has tried to help. Nope.
As for school, I took the placement tests on Tuesday and thank goodness I don't completely suck at spanish. I got placed into the higher class for the language, which means I am able to take the Literature/Film class I wanted as well as the History of Spain class. Keep in mind, all my classes are in Spanish, so I'm in for quite the journey. I have Lola for Language & my Lit/Film class, and Antonio for my history class. Antonio is amazingly easy to understand and he's awesome.
Weird things about classes in spain -- you are NOT late (yes, go ahead and giggle as you think of me and my inability to be on time to ANYTHING), you do not eat in class, water and gum are only permitted if the teacher says so. No stretching, no yawning, no talking, no laptops. You can't leave to use the restroom or leave class early. Nothing. Nada. Nunca.
so my schedule is as follows --
8:30 -- wake up
9:00 -- catch bus
9:30 - 11:30 -- language
11:30-12 -- break (el descanso)
12-13 -- lit/film
13-14 -- history
lunch is around 1500 or so. so far for food, i've had [chicken with french fries], [eggs and thistle], [bean/potato soup], [green beans and hotdogs], [pasta], [tortilla espanola], [potato and pork soup with weird french-fry-esque anchovies], and [rice dish]. Every meal I have is with an orange and bread, and MC laughed at me for peeling my orange with my hands so I've learned to peel it with a nice and do a rather good job at it. Sergio rolled his peel into a rose today and was like "here, you're a girl, you like these things, you can have it" -- oh, so honored Sergio. funny guy.
After lunch you take a nap. It's called Siesta, and all the stores close down from like 1-5. It's only supposed to be like a 45 minute nap, but you all know me -- I pass OUT, especially because I am getting over a cold and my body is exhausted from travel, jet lag, and the time change. (By the way, Spain is GMT+1, or, 9 hours ahead of California, 6 hours ahead of NY) So on average, I'll sleep between 3-4 hours during siesta. Oops?
So I'll wake up around 7 or 8, and get a text (yes, I have a phone in spain... it's so expensive it's ridiculous. everything incoming is free, but when you respond to a call or text, YOU pay 16 cents for a text, 32 cents to connect your call, and then you pay fo ryour minutes as well) saying what plaza people are meeting up in and I'll go get a drink with friends or wander around the shops. Due to Spain's horrible economic crisis, there are FABULOUS sales going on... which is good because I need more sweaters. Like NOW.
I return home at 930 and we eat around 1030. Antonio always eats separately, and I think it's funny. The kitchen table and the salon table (family room) have GIANT thick long table cloths on them, which you shove as much of your lower body under because there is a HEATER underneath it. So during meals I am toasty and warm, and then after dinner we watch TV and go on the computer and again my feet are toasty in the salon.
They have a lot of american shows dubbed over in spanish, which is interesting to watch and listen to. I'm really fortunate and I love my family. I asked for a family with older kids because I didn't want to deal with small children, but I miss my siblings. It all worked out tho, because MC is a tutor and there are always younger kids (like HS age) in the kitchen staring at me like I'm crazy when I walk in wearing sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and my slippers, occasionally dragging along my blanket, just trying to stay warm and not lose my digits to frostbite. You get DRESSED here. Heels and boots EVERYDAY are normal, and they can instantly peg me as a foreigner based on my shoes. Stupid shoes. I'd kick them off in a fit of American joy but the Spanish dont go barefoot either.
I like the people on my program. granted, with a personality like mine and my strong opinions, there are a few I am keeping my distance from, but everything is great otherwise.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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