Time is flying by here in Chile! I realized I forgot to post to this blog earlier, so here is something I wrote on the 25th of February to my personal blog.
I apologize for not updating this blog in a while — it’s summer here in Santiago so everyone is on vacation, myself included. As my friends in the United States are currently facing their midterms, I confess that I haven’t even started the actual semester yet. With all of this extra time before classes start, I had the opportunity to do some traveling in the south of Chile.
I’ve always dreamed of traveling as a backpacker and I finally got to do so! I took a backpacker bus tour called Pachamama (which means Mother Earth in Spanish) through the Lake District with some of my gringa friends. We left from Santiago and traveled to our first stop, an indigenous town called Pomaire, famous for their empanadas that weigh half a kilo (over one pound)! We also made stops at the Rapel Dam and Punta Lobos. We ended up staying in Pichilemu that night, a town known as the capital del surf. That being said, when staying in the capital del surf, one obviously must surf. So that’s exactly what I did — or at least attempted to do. I took surfing lessons and by the end of the session I had actually caught a couple of waves!
The next day we left Pichilemu. Our first stop was Santa Cruz, where we visited Chile’s most famous museo. After that, we saw Villarrica Lake and then headed towards our final stop for the day, a town called Pucón. In this town, we got to go white water rafting. It gave me such an adrenaline rush! The rapids were crazy and at one point we even had the opportunity to cliff jump!
We also got to see Ojos del Caburgua Waterfalls and Lake and then the Pozones Hot Springs while in Pucón.
We then left Valdivia and stopped in Puerto Montt, where we jumped off the bus because we wanted to visit Patagonia and Torres del Paine. Patagonia is the Antarctic of Chile and Torres del Paine is a national park within Patagonia famous for hiking and trekking. They are both so far south that we had to take a plane to get there. It was cold but so worth it! I got to see penguins, snow capped mountains, glaciers and a magnitude of other gorgeous sights!
After our adventure in the far south, we headed back to the Lake District to hop back on the Pachamama bus, where we continued the rest of the tour. On the rest of the journey we ventured to places like Puerto Varas, Llanquihue Lake, Frutillar, and Salto el Laja Waterfall.
Other things we saw include San Javier, where we got to see a volcano, and Balduzzi Winery, where we got a tour of the winery and tasted many varieties of wine! Then it was back to home sweet Santiago.
I wish I had more time to describe what a unique experience this was. I believe backpacking and staying in hostels is one of the best ways to encounter a culture and meet new people, both locals and foreigners alike.
There was one instance in which it was raining cats and dogs and we were drenched to the bone. We were desperate to get out of the rain and reach our destination. A truck was driving past us so we decided to take a chance and see if we could catch a ride. Sure enough, after we put our thumbs up the truck pulled over for us. Inside was a nice Chilean man on his way to work. He reminded me of my friend Ernesto back in the United States. We had a wonderful conversation — it was nice to chat with a local. When he dropped us off, he gave us apples. It was such a kind gesture and it definitely put a smile on my face.
I met people from so many different countries during my trip that I’ve lost track of where they all came from. Many people I encountered were not only traveling through Chile but were also traveling the world! Some of the most memorable people that I met was a couple from England. They have been traveling the world for a year. They even sold their house in order to do so! They have inspired me to take risks and the road less traveled.
Now I have a week or so to explore Santiago until the semester starts. I am excited to have even more stories to share about my explorations in the city. (Be on the lookout for a new blog post dedicated to Santiago!)
“Confieso que he vivido” is a quote from Pablo Neruda (he is a famous literary icon from Chile, as mentioned in a previous blog post). Translated into English, his quote means “I confess that I have lived.” I hope over time this becomes more relevant to my life.
Take any Islamic Civilization or Islamic Art class and you will inevitably study Granada. Granada and Córdoba have some of the best conserved buildings from before the Catholic Kings took over Spain, the best examples of which are the Gran Mezquita de Córdoba (in Córdoba) and the Alhambra (in Granada). Walking through some of the neighborhoods here puts you in touch with buildings and streets older than the idea of exploring the Americas. In the U.S., if something’s really really old it might have been built in the 1800s. Here, that’s new and shiny.
Last week we took a trip to Córdoba for our Art and Architecture class so that we could see Madinat Al-Zahra, the city built exclusively for the Caliphate of Córdoba by Abd Al-Rahman III, and the Gran Mezquita de Córdoba.
In 929, the emir Abd Al-Rahman III decided that since he was so rich, he didn’t have to be ruling a measly emirate, still linked to Damascus, so he declared himself the caliph and established the Caliphate of Córdoba. After doing this, he decided to build a city for himself. This city is Madinat Al-Zahra, outside of Córdoba. It was built with the finest materials and adorned with the finest decoration, because it was meant to be a city of brilliance, the symbol of the caliphate’s power. As time wore on and the caliphate was divided into the Taifas, then defeated by the Almorávides, and then the Almorhades, and then the Catholic Kings, Madinat Al-Zahra was abandoned and buried in the sands of time. Until some farmers outside of Córdoba happened upon some stones too perfectly arched to be natural, and caused an archeological uproar. The mythical city of Madinat Al-Zahra had been found. Now the city is a museum, and you can visit it and walk on the very floors that the former kings of Andalucía laid. It’s unreal. I’ve never felt so much like I was in a history book. In my classes we study the Independent Emirate, the Caliphate, the Reigns of the Taifa and their art, but it is something very different to be able to stand there and run your fingers across the deeply carved capitals of the red marble columns.
Being in the mosque was another experience. I’ve seen iconic pictures of the forest of red-and-white striped arches printed on the glossy pages of books, and to stand looking up at them gave me chills. Not only is the mosque still largely intact from when it was finished during the Caliphate, but parts of the Christian church it was built on top of still exist as well. The grandeur and the detail are unlike anything else, but the part that really blew my mind was that it was still standing. Through the years of Andalusian turmoil, it is still standing, and around us swirled the whispers of the worshippers who had come through the ages, the whispers of the architects and kings who shaped Spanish history.
There is something magical about being one of millions to have laid your feet down in the same place, and to have stood in awe. There is something beautiful about stopping to gaze and reflect in a building that has held thousands of years of human beauty and suffering and discovery and questions.
Portico and arches at Madinat Al-Zahra outside of Córdoba, Spain
Well, it’s been about three weeks since my last blog, a good indicator that I am pretty busy traveling and enjoying my time here in Spain! After the Granada trip at the end of February, I have spent the last two weeks doing a lot of homework and studying (we just had our midterms) and planning for my Spring Break. I will be traveling for 18 solid days in April, hitting up four different countries- SO EXCITED!!! Flights and hostels were all pretty cheap, and I am excited to be crashing on some couches at the apartments of other friends who are studying abroad hahaha. I sense a long blog post after that chunk of traveling!
But any who, I have also been continuing my internship at the M.A.R.Q. museum, which has been really fun and interesting. I’m still learning a lot about the museum and possible career choices for someone like me with my majors and ambitions. I also picked up a second internship, where I am an English teacher’s assistant at a small school in Alicante. Every Friday, Luis (the director of the USAC Program) drives me to Aire Libre, the school I teach at, and I spend about 6 hours there assisting Maria, the English teacher, with teaching 3 classes of twenty kids English. It’s actually a lot of fun, and pretty hysterical too. I’m impressed at how good their English is for being only 10-13 years old. A lot of the boys ask me if I have a boyfriend and flirt with me (they are romantics even from a young age), and the girls are interested in knowing if I have horses and what America is like. They are all very smart and goofy, and I have never had more fun playing Simon Says with English commands than I have with them. I am usually not a big kid fan, but I really enjoy going to the school and working with them. It’s even starting to make me think if teaching Spanish in the states could be a possible career choice for me in the future….
Now as for my title, last weekend I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to… AFRICA. A bunch of USAC students and I got together at the beginning of the semester and we planned a trip to Morocco, Africa, through this travel agency that provides safe tours to students in Africa. We planned it all a while ago, and now finally it was here! I had always wanted to go to Africa, and now that dreams was actually going to be realized. We left at 3 am on Friday morning (pretty miserable, but it was the only time that there would be a bus going from Alicante to Malaga, the port city). We arrived around noon that day, met with our group organizer, and headed for the port. We had to take a ferry to Africa, which surprisingly only took about an hour. There were 16 of us USAC students total going to Africa, and we were all ecstatic. We arrived around 7 pm in Ceuta, a small Spanish city in Africa, and then took a bus to our hotel in a small city near Tangier, starting our African adventure.
Morocco was beautiful, but it was not at all what I thought it would be honestly. I admit, I thought it would look like the Saharan desert, or the plains of Africa with a lot of animals and small towns- I blame Hollywood for those ideas. Instead, northern Morocco was incredibly green and mountainous, humid and wet, and appeared more like Ireland than the Africa I had envisioned. The cities were small, and all the buildings were white or blue (blue paint keeps mosquitoes away- check the pictures!). The people spoke Arabic, obviously, but also French and a little Spanish, and they were extremely modest in the appearances, with the women wearing the head scarves and men wearing full body robes. Us Americans really stuck out, and I had never felt more out of place and different in my whole life. Now this isn’t a bad thing- I liked feeling that intense culture shock. It was the first time I had ever been somewhere that was completely different in every aspect- how the people looked, their language, their mannerisms, their food, buildings, interactions, homes, etc. It was a completely different world, and it was exhilarating to see something so different from America and even Europe. I am not going to lie, there were some challenges to this though. My snow white complexion and red/light brown hair brought a lot of attention to me, since all the Moroccans have very dark hair and complexions. The locals stared at my friends and I, especially the blonde haired, blue-eyed girls. It was definitely uncomfortable sometimes, knowing that everyone knew I was not from Morocco, and having them treat me different, but I didn’t let it bother me.
During our trip, we visited three Moroccan cities; Chefchaueoun, Tetuan, and Tangier. They were all different and unique in their own way, but all equally interesting. We did a walking tour in each city, learning a little bit more about it’s history and culture. We learned quite a bit about Morocco’s history as a country as well, but I won’t go into detail here about all that information 🙂 My friends and I did a lot of walking, shopping, eating, exploring, and learning everywhere we went. We learned that they paint the walls of the city blue to keep the bugs away, and that tapestries, rugs, Argon oil, and leather are very popular merchandise there. We learned about their religion, like how often they pray, where they do it, and their religious rituals. My friends and I learned how to bargain at the little shops and market places around the city, some of us scoring great deals on objects. I bought a beautiful blanket and some postcards, as well as a tea cup set and fridge magnet for my host family (my host mom loves collecting magnets from everywhere she goes, so I thought it was perfect…. she loved it a lot!) I took a ton of pictures, everything that was interesting and beautiful, and even learned some Arabic words and phrases along the way. I only really learned the basics, like Hello, how are you? in Arabic, but I made sure to say them as often as possible, trying to communicate with the locals.
We visited a couple cool spots during our transition from one city to the next, checking out the beach point where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet, as well as the famous cave of Africa. I think my favorite part though, however, was our camel ride. It was probably one of the funniest things I have ever done, and I loved it. The camel ride was included in our tour, and was one of the last things we did. We stopped at this one beach on our way to Tangier, and saw a bunch of camels and people riding them. Everyone was super giddy about it, and we were pushing each other around trying to get to the camels first. The ride itself was not long, maybe only ten minutes, but it was awesome. At first it was terrifying getting on the camel and having it stand up, and boy those things are a lot taller when standing, but it was really scary when we started to move and the camel trainers made the camels run. My friends and I were laughing our butts off because it was just so fun and we were all freaking out. We took tons of pictures and just had a blast. I love saying that I rode camels in Africa now- still feels unbelievable to me that we were able to do that. We left Africa Sunday night, after our visit to Tangier, exploring the city and watching a belly dance show at an incredible restaurant. It was sad leaving Africa, but I was ready to go back home to Spain.
We spent one day in Sevilla during our transition back to Alicante, and it was incredible! Sevilla is honestly what I pictured all of Spain to be like- old and majestic buildings, lots of bull fighters and flamenco dancers, and a rich historical setting. I learned a lot about Sevilla during our walking tour, such as the fact that Sevilla had the oldest tobacco factory, and that a couple of the beautiful buildings and plazas that were built for the World Fair during the 1900s were settings for certain movies, like Star Wars. It was a great time spending the day walking around and hanging out, and it was a nice close to a rather adventurous weekend. When I got back to Alicante, I spent the next couple of days resting and recuperating from that weekend, and getting all the rest of my stuff ready for Spring Break. I have also been spending a lot of time with my host family, because I missed them a lot over the weekend and I know I will miss them a ton over Spring Break. They told me how much they missed me as well, and even said they wouldn’t let me return to the states after the program because they love me too much. It was a joke of course, but it was so sweet knowing how much they like me.
Alright, I got to study for a big test tomorrow, because unfortunately school work does not stop while you’re abroad. Probably won’t be posting for a couple weeks until I am back from Spring Break, but I promise to come back with great stories and adventures!
I have the travel bug!!! I want to travel the world 3 times!! I love TRAVEL. I know I have not posted in a while but I am going to try to post once a week for the next 6 weeks. I have had a really fun few weeks. Basically all of Europe has spring break during Holy Week or Semana Santa so that was technically our second spring break. My friends and I went to Italy!! We went to Rome for a couple of days and then went to Sorrento for a couple of days! It was the best trip I have ever taken!! Italy is such an amazing place. My motto on the trip was “Gelato: everyday twice a day.” If they spoke spanish I definitely would have studied there. Rome is not as clean as Madrid, and I thought the people were a lot more down to earth and nice. Rome is much more touristy then Madrid, for example, the metro said the stops in both italian and english. The food was out of this world. I had pizza or pasta for every meal. We went to Palm Sunday mass AT THE VATICAN. That is right folks…I saw Pope Francisco!! Seeing the Pope and going to Palm Sunday mass was the greatest experience of my life. I can not even describe how happy I was that Sunday. He rode around in the Pope mobil after the mass and we were so close to him! Seriously the best experience of my life, just indescribably wonderful. In Sorrento we rode motor scooters for a day. It was the most exciting and fun thing I have ever done. The Amifi Coast is just beautiful and Sorrento was such a quaint little town, riding bikes was definitely the icing on the cake for my Italian adventure!
When I returned from Italy my mom, dad and sister came to Madrid! It was not until my parents came that I realized that there is not that much to do here. Walking, sleeping, and drinking is the spanish way of life. We walked through the parks and walked around the center a bit, but for the most part we ate and drank the whole time! It was a very relaxing vacation for them. I was really glad my to see all of them and to hang out together as a family in a foreign country. I showed them my all of my favorite restaurants, took them to churros con chocolate, and we went to dinner with my host mother which was pretty cool. All in all it was a very fun second Spring break.
My host mom has started teaching me how to cook spanish food!!! I love cooking and it has been sad not being able to cook here so I am really glad she is teaching me how to make things!! I am going to be a worldly chef before I leave!
I have decided that I am going to start going out more and taking advantage of the drinking age 😉 I went to el tigre, a nice little bar last night with a group of friends and it was a lot of fun. In my final blog I am going to list all of the places I recommend going for drinks, tapas, dessert, and more if any of you, my readers, decide to go to Madrid in the future!
In school we are almost done with our 3rd class out of 4 and the work load is getting pretty intense. We have to write compositions once a week and they have to be 350 words…all in spanish. Our final for this class in next Thursday. I realized that I need to speak more spanish, I can understand spaniards really well, but when it is my turn to speak I get my verbs confused so I just end up saying “vale” which means “okay.” So, for the next six weeks I am going to speak as much spanish as possible so I can be as fluent as I can when I return to the States.
Alright now here are some things that I have noticed:
PDA is OKAY here. People of all different ages make out everywhere. On the metro, in the park, in restaurants, on the street, just everywhere. I am not talking pecks or just a little make out session, OH NO it gets pretty intense, and they do not care who is watching.
In my last blog I said I would find out what the center of their lives are because it definitely is not their job, well it is just living. They live. Hanging out with their friends, going for walks, traveling, whatever makes them happy, that is what they do. It is a really cool and interesting way to live your life.
Old people are everywhere. Their old people are not like our old people. Their old people ride the metro, they take the bus, they walk around, they sit on benches and stare or talk to friends, they are out and about all day long! I do not know where they are going or why it is so important to get out of the house, but these old folks are always out of the house. This city is covered in old folks.
They are in a crisis right now. There are a lot of strikes and marches that go on every weekend. Well two weeks ago there was a metro strike so there was not a lot of people to drive the metros. This was a problem. The metro normally runs every 3-5 minutes in the mornings but that week it was every 12-15 minutes. This means that all of those people are waiting for a long time and by the time the train comes it is packed and there are a million people trying trying to get on the train with the million people who are already on the train. Getting to school was rough! I have to transfer trains once but some of my friends have to transfer twice to get to school.
It is not getting warmer 🙁
Everyone smokes
Being on time is an option. If someone is running late, they do not call and give you an explanation they simply show up late. And what do you do while you are waiting for them? Nothing, look up and enjoy the trees or the beautiful buildings and enjoy life. It is strange but also very cool, no hurry and no rush.
Most cell phones are pre-paid or pay as you go so they do not use there phones like we do and text all day long. The younger generation uses a texting app to text each other called Whatsapp. So if you come to Spain and you think a guy is hitting on you do not be alarmed if they ask for your “whatsapp.”
Okay that is all for now!! Stay tuned 🙂
Bianca, Matt, Me, and Jordan in Sorrento!
Papa Francisco!!
My sister, Kennedy, and I having (non alcoholic) drinks 🙂
A few weeks ago, a bunch of friends and I went to the FIS World Cup of nordic skiing up at Holmenkollen. There were cross country ski races in the morning and ski jump competitions in the afternoon. I know I say this a lot, but this had to have been one of the best days I’ve had here. Norway is just a magical place full of fun and wonderful things.
The day started out pretty eh and I wasn’t even particularly excited about the event. However, as soon as I met up with my friends on the metro, I got excited. Like, really excited. The metro cars were PACKED with ski fans from all over the world, but mostly Norwegians. My friend Grant and I got super excited when we saw a small American flag peaking out of one man’s backpack.
Once we arrived at the stop for Holmenkollen, my excitement grew. There was a little souvenir cabin set up right up the hill from the stop selling scarves and giant flags and Norwegian cow bells etc. It was the one time in Norway when I said to myself “Ok I’m going to spend money on something overpriced and unnecessary.” I was so prepared to buy a Norwegian flag. Unfortunately, I notoriously never have cash on me and the souvenir seller didn’t take credit cards. I was CRUSHED. My emotions really went through the ringer that day for no apparent reason.
My friends and I began our ascent up the winding hill that leads to another hill that has a giant ski jump on top. On our way, there was a man on the side of the road with a bunch of Norwegian flags and cow bells. He had a sign in the snow that said he accepted credit cards. I was over the moon. His flag was bigger and 30NOK cheaper than the woman’s back at the cabin. Score! I excitedly handed over my card and anxiously awaited that one word I had quickly come to learn in Norwegian- Godkjent. But no, no approval for me. See my card doesn’t have this little chip in it (THANKS AMERICA) that most European cards have. So it generally only works at larger stores that still accept all cards. This guy couldn’t take my silly American chip-less card. I was so sad. Two attempts in five minutes, neither of which ended with me clutching a Norwegian flag. Then he said the nicest thing I have heard since being here: just keep it. I was flabbergasted. Excuse me? I was so confused by what he was saying to me because for some reason that flag held way more value to me than to him. He told me to keep the flag and if I ever saw him in town, I could pay him then. If not, he told me I should pay it forward and remember to do something nice for someone else. I couldn’t believe it. Guys, I literally cried. It was so dramatic. I was so overly happy I cried. I couldn’t thank him enough as my friends started laughing and pointing out the fact that I was crying from happiness.
^That’s right before he told me America isn’t valid in Norway. So much happy.
Let’s just say the day was on the up and up from then on out. We met the winners of the cutest-couple-award-in-my-heart-forever: a woman with the BEST sweater I have ever seen, not too mention the most Norwegian, and her husband, who just so happened to own a mini replica of the Holmenkollen ski jump in hat form.
The rest of the day was super awesome: I received a bunch of free trail mix from a man with a super beard; wandered around the spectator camp and saw a giant troll statue (oh Norway); witnessed adorable older Norwegians dancing in traditional dress and being too cute for words; and found the ice sculpture of Holmenkollen meant for children to slide down and proceeded to slide down myself. Before climbing the ice block (literally this thing was complete and total ice, I don’t know how the kids weren’t slipping all over the place like I was) I asked one of the fathers watching his children slide down if it was ok for me to go up. He smiled at me and said it was only for kids and then asked “are you a kid at heart?” BEST RESPONSE EVER. Obviously, I smiled big and ran up to the ice hill immediately. I kind of sort of accidentally slipped at the top and fell more than slid down the slide and almost crashed into a child, but still a super cute, super fun experience :]
My friends and I finally sat down to watch the women’s ski jump competition. I happily ate the cold chili I had packed and sipped cocoa from my favorite “ikkje få panikk” thermos. We stayed at the competition until about 4:30 in the afternoon. In the women’s ski jump, AMERICA won which was super cool because we didn’t even know the US was competing initially. It was so fun to be some of the only Americans there and super live up to the stereotypes- yelling our country’s name every time a US competitor came up, obnoxiously proclaiming that America always wins, even in Nordic ski competitions, etc. So much fun to be those people for the day :p
All in all, fantastic fun was had all around, and the FIS World Cup will be a fond memory I hold in my heart forever <3
Well, I have less then a month left of this wonderful experience. I am going to miss this place soooooo much. Since I only have a little bit of time left, I am trying to do everything I wanted to do here before I leave! The weather has really turned around here! For most of the 3 months, it has been cold and rainy but this past week the temperature has averaged about 70 degrees!! Everyone in the USAC program has been taking advantage of this amazing weather. That being said, I have spent a lot of time outside walking around and sitting on the grass in the parks, just enjoying being in Europe with such great weather. Last Sunday, my friends and I went to a Bull Fight! I never ever thought I would actually go to a bull fight. Thought I did get a little queazy, I thought I would cry the whole time or puke or get up and leave, but I didn’t, I sat though the whole ceremony. I can appreciate the art of Bull fighting, but I do not think I would ever go again, it seemed like animal cruelty. The atmosphere was awesome and they let one bull go because of its bravery, so it was not all bad. I would recommend it. I also went to a Cirque Du Solie Show last week! I love those shows and it was really cool to see one here. Tonight, my friends and I, are going to a Futbol game!! We are going to see Real Madrid play at the stadium here, I am super excited!
I just found out that I got an A- in my most recent spanish class which is awesome! I am so glad I am having fun and working hard, it makes me feel good.
I am going to Malaga in a couple of weeks for independence day weekend!
Okay so some things that I have noticed:
Spaniards do not really like people from Latin America, they see them as immigrants and they call them bad names. (I think that is one of the reasons I have gotten mean glares, they think I am Dominican.)
Apparently 80 degrees is not hot enough to wear shorts or a dress cause all of the USAC students got mean glares on the metro for it.
Spaniards are not good at speaking english, it is too hard to pronounce the words so they just do not try. I am not sure why it took me so long to realize this. My professor said that one of the things most spaniards make as their New Years Resolution is: to speak english-more or at all.
I do not think I ever told you guys this, but I call myself Jordana (Jordan is my middle name)
because I HATE the way spanish speakers say Tyler.
Wow can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my last blog entry. As you have read, I had my spring break during the beginning of April, traveling to four countries in a matter of 18 days. And honestly, as fun as it was, I am EXHAUSTED. I will try to do a quick recap of everything that happened without drawing it all out to long and making you all jealous 😉
First Stop: Aix-en-Provence
Since I had already been to all the major cities (Paris, London, Berlin, etc.) last semester, I decided to visit some lesser known places and focus on visiting friends and relaxing, as compared to going crazy with sight-seeing and touristy adventures. My first stop was to Aix-en-Provence, a small city in the south of France, to visit my good friend Phoebe from Loyola. I would compare Aix to Alicante in that it is a rather small city, but it is beautiful and relaxing and has almost no tourism, which I personally prefer. The first couple days I was there, Phoebe took me around the city, showing me where she hangs, her school, the museums, favorite restaurants, etc. I met a couple of her friends and we went out for drinks and dinner a couple nights, but for the most part, we just talked and relaxed over a cup of coffee at the café below her apartment. We went to Marseilles for a day with one of her friends, which was fun, but spent most of the time just hanging out in her apartment and cooking homemade meals. It was nice not having to pay any money for a hostel and spending practically nothing on fresh produce to make our food the whole time I was there. Being in France and catching up with my friend was a very relaxing and fun way to start my spring break.
Stop Two: Greece
After 6 days in France, I was off to Greece to join two of my good friends that are in the USAC program. I arrived in Athens a day early, and after checking into my hostel, I decided to spend that first day alone exploring the city. I walked around the Acropolis and ate some delicious Greek food by myself, and did some light shopping too. I did not mind being alone at all, especially in a city with so much beauty and history. However, around 8 pm when I returned to the hostel, I met some really nice Australian girls who invited me out for dinner and drinks with them. It was fun hanging out with them and getting to know more about them, what they were doing abroad, where they were going next, and of course, more about their Australian culture. The next day my friends joined me, and we took it easy just walking around the city and shopping. The following day, however, we were up bright and early to go on a 5 hour free waking tour of Athens. Our tour guide was an archeologist, so he was able to give us more information and details about certain ruins, buildings, and life styles of the Greeks back then. Of course I had learned about a lot of this back in Loyola, but it was quite the experience to actually be able to see and experience these things. We explored museums, the Acropolis with the Parthenon, Zeus Olympus, the Agora, the ancient forum, and numerous churches. We were all exhausted by the end of the tour, that after a nice dinner and some repacking for our adventure tomorrow, we were in bed by 11 pm. That Friday we headed off to Mykonos, a small Greek island that is part of the Cyclade islands. Mykonos was absolutely gorgeous! It was the island that you image when you think of the Greek Islands- amazing sunsets, warm temperature, bright white buildings with blue and red accents, and incredible food. It was quite the island adventure, exploring this tiny island and enjoying the sun and beaches. The tourism season of the city hadn’t started yet, so we got to see the island in its natural setting- old men and women going to church, children playing at the beaches, people cleaning and working, etc. The crazy partying tourists hadn’t arrived yet, which allowed this trip to be very enjoyable and continue my Spring Break of relaxation. We returned back to Athens after two days at Mykonos, and parted our separate ways to spend the rest of Spring Break in different cities. I absolutely loved Greece, and truly hope I can return some day.
Stop Three: Rome, Italy
There was no way I was not going to return to Italy during this second semester, to revisit my friends and my second home, Rome. I was only in Rome for two days, but it was enough to make me nostalgic for last semester. I visited some friends that are still studying in the JFRC center and was immediately overcome with a mixture of feelings. I was so happy to see my friends and return back to my home last semester, seeing my favorite sites and eating at my favorite restaurants, but I was incredibly sad too that not all of my friends from last semester were there to accompany me. It really made me miss them all and appreciate the community and love that I experienced last semester. The second day in Rome, I was joined by my friend Lizzy, and I took her all around to the famous spots and ruins, acting as her free personal tour guide. It was fun showing her my favorite spots and reliving some of my memories from last semester. We ate at the best gelateria and pasta restaurant, and had a great time simply strolling the old Italian streets, as everyone should when visiting Rome. My time back in Rome was short and cheap, but it was nice to revisit this gran city.
Stop Four: Milan, Italy
I had a one day layover in Milan between Rome and Barcelona, so I decided to message a friend of my family who was living there, seeing if she was available to take me around Milan and show me what a local does. She was delighted to have me for the day, and showed me a wonderful time. She took me around Milan, showing me the great shopping and bar areas, the breath-taking church, the main plazas, and her favorite restaurants. She took me out for Indian food (my favorite!) and even took me out to Pavia, a small city on the outskirts of Milan that has an incredible medieval feel to it. There is an ancient and beautiful monastery there which we spent a couple hours at, admiring the incredible paintings, architecture, gardens, and interior designs. My stay with Jane was very short, but it was lovely. It was nice having an older woman showing me her city and taking me out, just to treat me and have fun… also helped me save some money!
Last Stop: Barcelona
After 15 days of traveling, I was coming to my last trip during spring break- a weekend in Barcelona with my friend Allison. I arrived mid-afternoon that Thursday, checked into my hostel, and slept until my friend arrived. I was so tired from all the planes and buses that a nice long nap was necessary. She arrived around 8 pm, we went for dinner and drinks, and decided to go to bed early for the night so we could take advantage of the next day. That Friday morning we went on a three hour free walking tour around Barcelona, seeing all the famous sites of course- the medieval churches, the Jewish quarters, the Gothic buildings, all of Gaudi’s unique buildings, and the Picasso museum. I had not walked that much since the first month in Rome, and my body was incredibly sore by evening time. We did some more exploring after the tour, checking out some flea markets and other museums, and of course we did some shopping and eating. I really like Barcelona, but it was way too touristy for me. I heard more English and German there than any other country or city I had ever visited before. It was fun being able to talk and understand the people more, but I felt like the true Catalan culture was lost in the midst of all the foreigners and concentration on tourism. Nonetheless, the Sagrada Familia, the beaches, the seafood, and the lively atmosphere made this trip very enjoyable. It was not nearly was relaxing as my previous adventures, but it was nice a bang it the end of my spring break.
Back in Alicante…
I was actually incredibly excited to head back to Alicante after being gone for almost 20 days. I was missing my host family a lot, even though we had texted and talked on Facebook several times. I was missing my bed and home cooked meals, and I was tired of flying and tours. I was ready to sleep and enjoy my last month back in Alicante. School was hard to get back into when I returned, but it was easy being back with my family and friends. I realized though that I only had a month left in Alicante, and I became very sad this past week. I have two more trips left, one to Scotland and one to Portugal, and although I am excited, part of me just wants to stay in Alicante with my family and the beach. Can’t believe this semester is wrapping up so quickly… it feels like it went by so fast! I still have a couple weeks of school, internship at the museum, and free weekends, but I know it will fly by right before my eyes. I am starting to worry about how I am going to return to real life after this!
I really hope students are reading my blog and learning a bit about traveling, like all the ups and downs and the numerous opportunities that come about from traveling. I hope they, or yourself, see that it is possible and totally worth working hard and applying yourself to set out on an adventure like this. I honestly wouldn’t give up any of it. I hope that I can really share my experiences and my advice to students who want to study abroad, whether it’s suggestions on where to study or advice on how to save money and apply to different scholarship programs, like the Gilman scholarship, to help with this adventure. If anyone is interested in some more one-on-one communication, I would love to help out! I really want other students to have an incredible time traveling the world and growing as an individual, no matter where you are now or where you want to go.
Please find me on Facebook (Ryann Nicole Howard) or email me (rhoward4@luc.edu) to find out more!
I know it seems like I am always have the best time over here and I just want to reiterate…I am having the best time over here! Last week my friends and I went to a futbol game, it was Real Madrid against the Seville team (I do not remember their name). Madrid won and I guess that is why I can not remember the other teams name! It was really cool seeing the players in person, the whole team is VERY good looking. My friend Bianca met some Brits at the airport on her way back from Barcelona and we showed them around Sunday and Monday. They were awesome! So funny and so sweet. We really had a good time showing them around, and it was cool to show people around our new city, it definitely made us realize how well we know this place. Saying goodbye to them was a dose of what it is going to be like saying goodbye to all of these wonderful people I have met here studying abroad. It is too sad to think about.
We had great weather most of the week, so I went to Retiro a lot. We had a test on Thursday and had a study session in the park, it was really nice. Friday, the USAC group went to Salamanca! Salamanca is a gorgeous college town about 2 hours from Madrid. The collage in Salamanca is the oldest in Europe! If you ever visit Salamanca you have to find the frog, that is right the frog, on the outside of the collage wall. Supposedly the nightlife in Salamanca is really fun, but I did not stay the night. Last night my friends and I went to a Thi restaurant and then got crepes at our crepe spot! It was a great end to a long day! I do not have plans yet for this weekend, I might just go souvenir shopping! Vamos a ver (We will see).
I am going to Malaga on Tuesday for 5 days!! Malaga is a small town in the south of Spain right on the beach! I went once when I was little so I am excited to go again!
Alright so some things that I have noticed:
People cuss all the time. Sometimes it seems like every other word is a cuss word. Now cussing here is a bit different. In the states we have a bunch of bad words and a couple of really really bad words, here they have a few really really bad words, they get really creative with them, and they go after your feelings. They say things we would NEVER say in the states because it is just rude! For example, They say, “I ‘poop’ on your dead people.” WHY would you say something like that? They also say, “I ‘poop’ on the communion host.” WHY would you EVER say that?? These are just some of the examples I can give online, it gets much worse. The vulgarity is amazing. I feel like we would not even think to say these things in the states, especially screaming them at the television in a bar to a futbol player…
The futbol fans are intense!! They really get into the game! They cuss the players out when they win the game so I was wondering what they would say if they lost the game. Well, I found out Wednesday night in the bar near my house. Real Madrid lost them game 4-1 and the fans were tripping out. The vulgarity in the bar was too intense for me, I was just laughing at it. The creativity is amazing!
So the crisis is getting really bad. On Thursday we got an email saying that there was going to be a demonstration in Sol, the center of the city, and as American citizens we were advised to stay out of that area and preferably at home. This demonstration was unlike the others because it was not authorized. People stole from stores, had lockouts and sit ins, there were bombs being thrown, SWAT was there beating people up and taking them to jail, it was just a bad scene. I stayed at home and watched it on the news.
Well my time here has just about come to a close. I have had several amazing experiences this semester in Madrid. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity. I leave for Dallas on Thursday May 16th. I have a direct flight, which is really nice, and I should land around 5pm Central Standard time. I am not fluent but I have definitely improved. Speaking is much harder then listening and understanding. I can almost completely understand Spaniards when then speak. I have made some great spanish friends and I have discovered great restaurants, bars and clubs throughout the city. I am really going to miss Madrid, I have learned to call this my home.
Well for the 5 day weekend my friends and I went to Malaga, which is in the south of Spain, and we had a blast! We went to the beach, went swimming in the pool at our hotel and read books. It was a very relaxing vacation.
Last week was the last week of classes and today was our Spanish final. I am happy to announce that I have completed all of the verb conjugations!! This is definitely one of the highlights of my spanish speaking career. If I would have known there were 2 MILLION (an exaggeration of course) verb conjugations I think I would have quit 6 years ago… Anywho, I think the final went well and hopefully I will finish this class with an A or A- as well.
My friends and I are trying to do everything and eat everything we cannot do or eat back in the U.S. which is surprisingly stressful! I packed tonight, I only have one big bag to check so in order to fit everything including the new clothes I bought and souvenirs, I am actually leaving some of my clothes here. We went to the Madrid open and saw Serena Williams and Federer play! It was incredibly surreal!
The weather has been spectacular lately but it is suppose to rain tomorrow and Wednesday, (I think Madrid is going to cry because I am leaving). I am looking forward to some aspects of going home for example, I really miss spicy food and flavorful food. I miss driving around. I miss not having to convert euros to dollars and Celsius to Fahrenheit and Miles to Kilometers and just the whole metric system. I miss English. I miss malls. I miss breathing fresh air without cigarette smoke interrupting it every couple of seconds.
Tomorrow is my last day of volunteering at the elementary school, and the kids do not understand that I am leaving 🙁 it is very sad. I have grown to really like those kids and it is going to be really sad saying goodbye to them. Saying goodbye to my spanish professor was actually pretty hard today as well. She was such a fun awesome and amazing professor. She is the best racquetball player in Spain. Our whole class was in spanish and she really helps us translate and conjugate anything. Saying goodbye to Paloma, my host mom, is going to be very sad as well. I am not looking forward to all of the goodbyes I have coming up this week!
Speaking of Paloma, she has been teaching me how to cook. This week I learned how to make torltilla de patata and croquetas. Both are very easy and have few ingredients, but all Spanish food is easy to make and has few ingredients.
Alright so now some things that I have noticed:
Spaniards are not the best dancers.
If a thief steals your stuff and you catch them they will give you your stuff back.
I am going to have to think of some more stuff but that is all for now!!
The Trevi fountain, the women in stilettos on cobblestone streets, the gelato, the smell of Italian fresh flowers – it has all been a whirlwind of impressive beauty here in Rome! I am currently in day three at my new home in the JFRC where I will reside for the next five weeks. The whole time I’ve been here I have felt completely full. Maybe from the genuine meats, cheeses and pasta served here at the JFRC and the full four course meal we had on a day trip yesterday. Maybe from what seems like a heightened sense of smell I’ve received from the clean air and poignant smells of food and scenery. Maybe from the rich history that I am surrounded by. Regardless, in the past 72 hours I have absorbed so much of Rome and it has left me with a feeling of warmth and thankfulness.
Classes began today, and to those reading for future experience on study abroad – do it! I cannot explain enough how much I have learned, seen, and enjoyed in the past three days alone. My first day of class revealed that my experiences here are far from full and also are far from being over. In my Italian culture and context class I will be experiencing Rome by learning to make pizza, taste testing food & wine, and also touring monasteries in the countryside. The day trips ahead of us in our group sound incredible – the ancient & beautiful Abrazzo, Tuscany, Pompei, etc! I know from the tour of the rolling green Lazio countryside yesterday and the Palazzo Frenese day trip yesterday that this experience is far from over. My feeling of being whole is only the beginning and I cannot wait to spill over more of my experiences to be recorded on this blog.
