So I’ve been in Oslo for almost a month now, and let me tell you, it’s been more of an edventure that I could’ve ever imagined. This place is magical, seriously. My first few days were a little more difficult than expected: running through the Frankfurt airport to make my connecting flight, getting through passport check just as the door to the plane was closing, getting all of my luggage lost between Germany and Norway etc. Worth it? Absolutely. When I first got off the plane at Oslo Gardermoen Ariport, I couldn’t help noticing the fine layer of pure white snow covering everything. It was so beautiful, the sun was just beginning to rise and everything had this sparkling fresh glow. I instantly fell in love. The airport itself was a lovely example of simplistic Scandinavian architecture, all glass, concrete and light woods.
My first impression of Norwegians? No one seems to realize that it’s freezing cold here. When I landed, it was 19° outside with five inches of snow. No one was wearing a winter coat; most people had on little wind breakers or ski jackets. One man next to me was literally in a short sleeve t shirt. Funny enough, two days ago it was around 4° outside, a warm break from the typical -15 or -20° weather we’ve been having. I was walking around with everyone else in my sweater and jeans talking about how crazy warm it was. Apparently, I’ve acclimated to the cold more than I thought.
It is very VERY frustrating knowing what you want to say to someone but not knowing the words to say it… From buying a cell phone to ordering at a restaurant to going grocery shopping talking has been a struggle. It is physically draining trying to have a conversation. However, I can tell my spanish is improving! I am remembering not just vocabulary but little things like the difference between “A mi tambien” and “Yo tambien” both meaning “me too” but a spaniard’s face with scrunch up in a second if you use the wrong one. In other news, I planned a trip to Paris last week, but could not go because I got the Flu! It was quite sad..but I got to catch up on my TV shows and lost a few pounds.
The “study” part of studying abroad is actually pretty difficult. Learning a new language is NOT easy, true it is not Accounting or Finance, but it is not a walk in the park. We have class every day for 2 1/2 hours and a bunch of homework. I have to say it is much different then taking spanish in the States because I can practice what I am learning with anyone. I am also taking a cooking class! The chef does not speak english so we get to practice our spanish while learning to cook traditional spanish cuisine. Friday the USAC group went to Toledo! It was just a day trip, but we got a tour of old Toledo, a synagogue, and a cathedral. Toledo is very different from Madrid. Madrid is a fast paced city while Toledo is a small beautiful town with a beautiful landscape, and amazing architecture. The city of Toledo goes back to B.C. and has Christian, Muslim, and Jewish influences.
Alright now for my little realizations and experiences portion of the blog.
I mentioned the staring in my last blog. I decided I had enough and just stared back at someone, BIG mistake. They do not stop looking at you just because you look at them.
Spaniards are the healthiest people I have ever seen. A girl in my class tried to describe cheesy bread to our professor and she had never heard of it! She made a “that is gross” face at the thought of cheesy bread. They cook everything in olive oil. EVERYTHING even french fries. Oh, and the french fries are not out of a bag, french fries are freshly cut and fried. I am a big gelato fan and there are not very many gelato or even ice cream shops open during the winter, which makes me sad. My stomach has definitely shrunk adapting to the spanish eating style.
Single working moms and working women are the main people on the metro.
I learned a little bit about their health care system
-Money for health care is taken from everyones pay check
-There is private and public healthcare
-For public, when you need to schedule an appointment all you have to do is call and they will set you up for free. The problem is that it could take up to a month to get an appointment unless it is an emergency. Everything is free and all prescriptions are up to 60% off. Everything is free, even prescriptions, for old people. They have the best equipment and the best doctors in public because everyone is paying for it.
-For private, when you need to schedule an appointment all you have to do is call and they will set you up for an appointment the next day. You have to pay a certain amount per month for the quick service.
-The only difference between public and private is the amount of time you have to wait to get an appointment, that is what my host mom said. And the public hospitals have better equipment and sometimes better doctors.
Most people would rather walk then drive
It is common to live with your parents until you get married, no matter how old you are.
Spaniards party hard. I have never seen anything like it. They start going to bars around 12 or 1am and go to clubs around 3am and catch the first train at 6am back home. I found out they have “after hour discos” that open at 6am!!
Sunday was literally the best day I have had in forever. I can’t remember the last time I laughed and smiled so much! A group of my friends and I decided to take a trip up to Korketrekkeren, a giant sledding hill right outside of Oslo. The hill is so big, you have to take a train 15 minutes from bottom to top! Once we arrived, we rented our little baby sleds and helmets (!) and ventured off to find the hill. This was the most thrilling sledding day I have ever had. The turns on this hill were INSANE. You would literally turn a bend and the ground was all of a sudden just sheer ice and the sled would just fly around these bends like crazy. Then there were little bumps and jumps the entire way down, so you just constantly get thrown in the air, snow in your face, freezing cold, and blinded. SO MUCH FUN. We went down the hill a total of three times which took about three and a half hours all totaled. According to the website, the hill is 2.6 km long and takes about 22 minutes to get down, without stopping. This is by far my favorite thing about Oslo so far, and I really hope we have time to go back again soon! I will never look at sledding in Chicago the same way again :p
Well, that was quite a busy week and weekend. First off, I was fortunate enough to get an internship at the Alicante Provisional Archeological Museum (M.A.R.Q.)! I will be working in every department of the museum, from restoring ancient pottery and sculptures to giving tours to visitors, in Spanish too. Luis, the director of USAC in Alicante, drove me to the museum Monday for my first day, which was incredible. Anna, my supervisor, took me around the museum, showing me their collection, which is over 9 million pieces ranging in dates from prehistoric times to the mid-1800s. My favorite part was the behind the scenes areas, where they do the cleaning and restoring of the ancient pieces, which is where I spent my Wednesday. They also told me I would be going to the dig site once or twice a month which is just a little north of the city. There, I would be helping them search and excavate pieces in the tombs and dig sites. Basically, I am the next Indiana Jones hahaha. I am so excited to be doing this twice a week, and really learning what goes on in a museum, which could be a potential career for me in the future.
School is still awesome, learning more every day and surprising myself with how good my memory is with my Spanish. I’m meeting more of my classmates every day as well. In Rome, I lived in a dorm where I was constantly surrounded by other students, whether it was in the library, the cafeteria, our bedroom wings, classrooms, out in the city or in other counties during weekend travels. I was with these 183 students 24/7 and became incredibly close to many of them. It’s quite different now here in Spain, however, because most of the time I only see a lot of these people at school or when we go out on the weekends. I don’t mind the change, but sometimes I miss having my closest friends right down the hall from me. On the other hand, my host family is comforting and fun to hang out with, so I don’t mind being away from American students a majority of the time. I actually just finished watching Mamma Mia with my host family in Spanish, and it was hilarious watching them try to sing the songs in English. They are really such a sweet family, and AMAZING cooks. Always making the best home cooked food.
I also went to my first Spanish fútbol game on Saturday, and that was quite an experience. The game was played in Elche, a town just a couple minutes away from Alicante. It was Hercules, the Alicante team, versus the Elche team. My closest girl-friends here and I decided to go after we heard it was cheap and close by. We made it a day trip however, starting with a visit to the huge outlet mall between Elche and Alicante. However, we went during siesta time, the few hours a day that every working person goes home to eat with family and take a quick nap, and so everything was unfortunately closed. So instead we went straight to Elche to check out the city. We walked around, checking out the cool church of Santa Maria and the old castle nearby. We also found a huge palm tree forest, which we later found out is the biggest one in all of Europe. It was extremely beautiful and exotic, and it had several banana and orange trees within it. We met this old man who was wandering around the forest, which seems a little sketchy at first, but after talking to him a little (all in Spanish of course) we realized he was super sweet and he took us on our own little private tour of the city. There wasn’t much else to see besides the forest, but it was a pretty little town and worth the visit. Around 6, we got hungry and went to this cute little Spanish restaurant for dinner, and had incredible salads and pastries. We then went to the futbol game, and were immediately excited by the atmosphere. A lot of USAC students were there, as well as die hard Hercules team fans. I had gone to one in Rome, and that was quite the experience. The fans were cursing, singing, and screaming, nothing like the fans at games in the states. But the Spanish game and the fans were ten times more intense than the Italians. They screaming insults and swear words left and right, and I admit I joined in- When in Spain right? It was a lot of fun, but unfortunately Alicante lost. I was just happy to see a game and check out another town nearby.
The group I went with returned to Alicante around 11 pm, and since we were still amped up on the energy from the game, we decided to go out for the night. Unlike in America where people start going out and partying around 10/11 at night, Spaniards don’t start partying until 2 am. It’s going to take me a while to get used to that difference, and I will admit I haven’t been able to do it often. I get tired by midnight, and have decided to stay in with my host family watching movies or … dare I say it… doing puzzles. Lame, I know, but my body is not ready is not quite up to Spaniards partying standards! Maybe by next weekend I will try staying out until 6 am, which they do every weekend. I don’t entirely mind though, especially when Idoya has her friends over, which are my age. We all hang and talk, even if the conversation is full of broken English and sloppy Spanish. I really enjoy their company though, and their attempts at teaching me new Spanish phrases and styles. I have been in Alicante for about 3 weeks now, and I have enjoyed every minute. Carnival is coming up next weekend, which is similar to Halloween in America, and I am really looking forward to the big party and costumes. Every week is getting more and more exciting! Is it bad to say I don’t miss home too much? Hahaha.
The week of New Years is about to start and Ho Chi Minh City is already starting to clear out. Everywhere, decorations are being put up and flags are being flown proud. So far, I get the feeling of 4th of July and thanksgiving is coming. National pride is everywhere, flags and banners are everywhere. Today I saw someone driving around in a Mercedes with a giant 6×9 flag attached to the roof. People are getting filing out of the city and traveling to stay with family during the celebration. The city is quieter and it is ten times easier to cross the street, even during rush hours. The excitement can be felt in the air everywhere around the city as people clean their shops and restaurants and post signs saying they will be closed during the New Years. I can’t wait for the fireworks.
Last weekend, a group of nine of us Loyola students took a trip to Vung Tau, which is on the coast just east of Ho Chi Minh City. We woke up early on Thursday morning to make it to the river to catch a hydrofoil boat. It was around $10 for the hour and a half ride through ports and forests, all while weaving in and out of huge container ships. This was really cool because we were going so fast and it was pretty smooth. When we got off the boat though, we were overcome with the sea breeze and sunshine. It is crazy how just an hour boat ride and the air clears right up and it is noticeably easier to breathe.
We walked over to the bus station and bought our tickets, then checked into our hotel and straight to the beach we went! The waves were huge! It was so much fun to jump and play in them, even though it was really really really salty. After what seemed like 45 minutes, but was really 3+ hours of swimming and building sand castles, we all realized we were starving. We caught some xe oms to a restaurant that everyone was referring us to. Our table was literally 15 feet from the waves and we had some of the freshest seafood I have ever had. It was so yummy, especially the calamari.
That night, we played a card game in the hotel driveway on little plastic chairs, it was awesome, especially when the desk worker guy played with us. A couple people went to go get food and when I went to go find them, I ran into this guy who called himself “Crazy Moe.” I tried calling him just Moe a couple times, but he would correct me every time. He walked me to his house and I had a good forty-five minute discussion with him. He was 66 years old, fought for the South Vietnamese Navy during the Vietnam war, was “reeducated” after the war, and about his family. His first daughter was born in 1972, his youngest, 1992. It was great to hear someone talk about how the government really works in a citizen’s point of view.
After checking out of the hotel the next day, we traveled to the base of a giant hill that had a huge jesus on top. Kind of like in Brazil. It felt like the stairs went on forever, but we finally made it to breathtaking views and a strong breeze to cool off with.
The journey back was an experience unlike any other… a sprinter van pulled up to our hotel, we climbed in and the sliding around started. Our driver was one of the most aggressive drivers I have ever even seen. It reminded me of the Night Bus in Harry Potter, weaving in and out of thousands of motorbikes. We would just stop in the middle of a huge intersection, someone would climb right from the back of a motorbike into the van, then we would speed away. Another weird thing that happened was it was picking up more and more people as we went. It got to the point where someone hopped in and the driver handed them a little plastic stool to sit on.
Something really funny that I’ve been noticing here, restaurants must just pick “popular english music” playlists. I am currently sitting in a cafe, with Jingle Bells blasting. It really makes you smile, especially when you don’t know what you’re eating.
This weekend was weird, for the first time in my life, did not watch the greatest game of the year. I could not watch the Super Bowl. I tried to pull a How I Met Your Mother and watch it later without hearing any news of it, but I accidentally saw the score.. but nothing more! It is currently downloading on this super slow internet… at between 12 and 24 KB/s… not to mention the only one online that I could find was 8.9GB. I am anxiously waiting to watch it when it finishes downloading. It’s been downloading for over 15 hours, and just over half way.. I hope I can last!
Back to classes for a couple days, then now I am off until the 17th for the New Years. After growing up in Wisconsin, this whole hot weather in February stuff…. I feel like I might actually melt into the sidewalk.
So my friends and I went on a 24 hour cruise to Denmark this past weekend. And it was entirely free. I don’t know how or why but yay free cruise! We spent 12 hours on the boat from Oslo to Frederikshavn, a small port town in Denmark. We landed at 8.00 and had about an hour to explore the entirety of the town. Quite easy to do, once you realize that it’s Sunday morning at 8am and nothing is open and no one is out. That’s ok though; I’m just happy to say I’ve been to Denmark :] The boat was surprisingly nice and of course there was duty free shopping while we were in international waters. While many people bought low price alcohol, my purchases consisted of 9 bars of different chocolates and a giant DELICIOUS cinnamon roll (seriously tasted just like Cinnabon). My new goal is to make that chocolate last at least two weeks. Here’s hoping :]
There are 24 hours in a day. Those 24 hours can be divided into three sets of eight hours. The Spanish day essentially follows the structure of 8 + 8 + 8. Eight hours of rest, eight hours of work, and eight hours of free time.
We’re thinking that we are not going to possibly have enough time to get all our schoolwork done and explore the city and absorb the culture and travel, but eight hours a day for free time is a lot. And that’s just the five-day work week.
It’s interesting that Spaniards think of the day this way, with free time and time to enjoy oneself built into the routine. In the U.S. it seems like we know that we need to be at work or school for eight hours a day, but then we have to come home and do more work and more things and if we don’t totally get eight hours of sleep then that’s the way it goes. We enjoy life so much less than we should.
Here, things are more relaxed. Whenever we leave to go on a walk or to go out for food, our host señora says “se disfrute mucho”, which means “enjoy yourself to a great extent”. Here, the meals are slower. They are meant to be cooked with love and shared with friends over good conversation. Life is lived in the street so that it can be shared, so that experiences can be had and friendships can be made. Life here is about enjoyment and living in the moment.
If nothing else, this is what I want to bring home with me. To remember to let myself enjoy life, and to remember to divide my time so that I can equally feed my body and my soul, as well as my obligations to society.
Vung Tau is a popular destination for short getaways. An hour and a half away from HCMC, the city used to be known as a petroleum capital of Vietnam, but also boasts a strong fishing industry and its beach resorts are a draw for tourists. This was our first spontaneous trip out of the city that we Loyola students took of our own volition. While our roommates helped us book places and figure out what to do, we were going to be on our own there.
We traveled via hydrofoil to get to Vung Tau and were bombarded with sales pitches, persistent taxi drivers, xe oms, and rickshaw peddlers the moment we stepped off the dock. Most likely because of the impending Tet holiday, much of the resort city was already empty as people returned to their hometowns. This made us as fresh a group of tourist bait as possible. Between figuring out where our hotel was, gathering our return bus tickets, and finding out that the hotel reservation was actually for a “Tinson D.,” it was quite an experience.
However, the rest of the day and weekend were phenomenal. We explored the whole of the peninsula, and even ended up at the exact same beach that I visited with my family 5 years ago! Friday evening, we sat down for dinner at Ganh Hao, which nearly every local we met suggested to. Sitting nearly 5 meters away from the sea and literally have our pick of the day’s best catch available, it is nearly impossible to describe the ambiance as anything more than splendid.
We capped out trip by scaling the local religious/tourist attraction known as Christ the Redeemer of Vung Tau. Finished in 1993, this larger-than-life statue of Jesus stands over 32m as one of the tallest of its kind in the world, larger than even the famousCristo Redento in Rio de Janeiro! Getting to the statue is a pilgrimage in and of itself as it is located at the summit of a 270m hill. Scaling the the hill, there are rest areas every 20-30m that showcase sculptures of prominent figure in Christianity such as Moses, the 12 Apostles, Angels, and etc. As a Catholic, it was really inspiring for me to see how my faith is practiced in my parents’ homeland.
When we finally reached the Jesus statue, we also found out that inside of the statue is actually a small chapel and a 133-step winding staircase that took you up to the shoulders of Christ! Unfortunately, shoulders and knees were required to be covered before we could step in, so many of us shorts-wearing Loyolans had to improvise.. By tying some of my extra bandanas to over my knees and throwing on an extra shirt over my tank top, the elderly gentlemen watching over the door nodded their approval, and I began my ascent to one of the most breathtaking views ever. Nearly 300m above the ground, on top of Christ’s shoulder, I saw city, land, air, and sea all at once. I did my best to take photos and video, but nothing could do that view justice than being there yourself.
A couple hours later, we caught out ride home at the hotel. As my friend Brian goes to detail to say, the ride home was very much like a ride on Harry Potter’s ‘Night Bus!’ Being the only Vietnamese speaker during the Vung Tau trip was an enlightening experience I’ll never forget. I have to personally commend tour guides and other bilingual professions on their efficiency in facilitating and helping large groups have as much fun as they do when abroad. However, I can’t say that I’ll miss being our psuedo-tour guide as it could be frustrating and difficult at times to navigate unfamiliar territory with such a large group. It was a fun and successful weekend though! With the Tet holiday coming up, I’ll be venturing out on my own with my roommate to his hometown of Phan Thiet for another adventure and vacation.
If you haven’t had the chance already, you should really check out fellow Loyola blogger and friend Brian Priddis’ recap of our previous weekend in Vung Tau!
Through the Lens of Hip-Hop: Vietnamese Youth Culture
A HipHop (B-boy) dancer landing a freeze during the Converse Street Festival
Converse shoes, beanie caps, graffiti, and break-dancing are all elements of today’s hip-hop scene in Vietnam. While these facets aesthetically resemble a similar culture in the United States and other parts of the world, Vietnamese hip-hop conveys a deeper message hidden under the clout of imported flash. MCs, graffiti artists, b-boys, and DJs comprise only one of the counter-cultures that have developed in Vietnam through the processes of globalization. As one of the most youthful countries in the world, Vietnam must balance the traditional customs of past generations with the trends and developments of today’s world.
I have chosen this picture to expand upon for a number of reasons. Having been involved in the hip-hop scene in the U.S., I hope that I can relate to similar minded youth in Vietnam. I believe that Vietnamese hip-hop is a developing culture that is different than similar subcultures in other countries. Finally, I view the hip-hop subculture in Vietnam as lens through which one can visualize Vietnam’s progress and development.
In the early 1970’s hip-hop formed in the Bronx in New York City as a form of self-expression and protest by the youth. As it spread, the messages associated with the movement also found audiences in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. By the end of the 20th century, and with the economic success of the early 21st century, Vietnamese youth readily gained access to the rest of the world through venues such as MTV, the internet, and their neighbors in Asia. It wasn’t long after that a hip-hop culture developed in Vietnam.
However, in my observation and interaction with hip-hop artists in Vietnam, there is an almost entirely different message being portrayed underneath all the baggy shirts, flat brim caps, and break-beats. While American hip-hop music is notorious for off color language and a subculture that often lends itself an unsavory reputation, Vietnamese describe their brand of hip-hop as “clean.” Raps are often about romance, youth culture, dancing, expressing yourself, and being who you want to be. There are almost never political or societal issues conveyed through Vietnamese hip-hop. The overall message is resoundingly individual and being true to yourself.
As said in Saigon Electric / Yo!, a 2011 film exploring Vietnam’s street dancing scene, “We [Vietnamese] dance because we have to. It’s all we have to live for.” I believe that this quote highlights the ambiguity of the task Vietnamese youth have in forging their own culture. When President Clinton visited Vietnam for the first time in 20 years following the end of the conflict in Vietnam, he was exposed to a new generation of Vietnamese who had the freedom to find futures beyond the wars of their parents and grandparents’ generations. However, as Vietnam steadily opened up to the rest of the world, the next generation of youth have pushed the envelope even further in the creation of a unique, and thriving youth culture.
Converse’ arrival and success in Vietnam display just how eager Vietnamese youth are to ‘catch up’ with their contemporaries around the world. While Converse’s image might inspire images of old-school basketball or pop-punk bands and skater culture in the United State, Converse has harnessed a slightly different approach in Vietnam. The Converse Street Festival in Ho Chi Minh City represents nearly a decade of growing presence in Vietnam. While staple “Converse cultures” such as skate boarders, rock bands, and b-boys transitioned and took root in Vietnam, Converse successfully marketed itself to a population that literally grew up with the brand in Vietnam. While it seems that Vietnamese artists in the hip-hop scene earnestly take their inspiration from the United States, Europe, South Korea, Japan, and other hip-hop centers, a unique Vietnamese identity is slowly taking shape.
When I arrived on site at the Converse Street Festival, there was already a large crowd gathered on the main stage where the b-boy crews were battling. I noted that with few exceptions, nearly everyone in the crowd was my age or younger, and that their energy far exceeded what should have been possible for the amount of people. I have been to jams (b-boy competitions) many times larger in Chicago and the United State, but the excitement and talent of the performers, spectators, and judges in Vietnam was just as comparable!
Hip-hop in Vietnam, through conveyed through the same vehicles as ‘original hip-hop’ across the world, conveys a deeper story. The growth of this subculture parallels the development of Vietnam in recent years, not only economically or culturally, but also consciously. I believe that it would not be too farfetched of a statement to say that Vietnamese hip-hop is proof of Vietnamese identity taking new shape in an uncertain future. With over half of its population under the age of 30, Vietnam’s youth are eager to soak up the rest of the world’s trends. However, they do not seek to just catch up, but also gain the tools to forge their own of unique identity whether it be through industry, policy, or something as obscure as street dancing.
Roadside Tagging in Mui Ne
A B-boy starts his routine
A semi-related preview of my holiday break in Nha Trang
I am starting to feel very comfortable here in Madrid. I have developed a routine, I feel safe when on my own in the city, I have met some amazing people, I started volunteering, and I have had whole conversations with Spaniards 🙂 Life is good right now.
I am happy to say that I have Aced my first class here!!! I got a 95% on the Final exam for what would be Spanish 103 at Loyola. We have moved on to some new material that I am not as familier with so we will see how this next class goes. I am working hard trying to learn this difficult language! Learning a language just is not easy folks…
I started volunteering at a bilingual elementary school! The moms of the kids and the teachers (the PTA) decided that they wanted english speakers to play with the kids in the after school programs so the children’s exposure to english does not stop after school. I go every Thursday from 4-6 and help with a “circus” after school program, it is basically a theatre class for 3 & 4 year olds!! It is my most enjoyable experience thus far. The kids love me 🙂 The circus program is from 4-5 and I help a Karate program from 5-6. The instructor speaks zero english and I think my only job is to attempt to practice Karate with the kids….I think. That is what I have been doing for the last 2 weeks. The instructor just laughs and gives me a thumbs up, a sure sign of a good job right? I like the Karate class, the kids are older and they speak more english then the babies which is nice. Volunteering might be the best decision I have made.
Now, they say when you study abroad there is a period of time when you slump in to a depression, you miss home and wonder why you are in a foreign country with strangers. I can tell a lot of students in the program are reaching this stage, I however, am DETERMINED to fight it. I will admit when/if I reach that point, but I do not want to spend my time wishing I was anywhere else. I do miss home and school but I am really enjoying myself here.
My friends that I met here and I are planning a trip to Rome!! I am super excited! We are going in late March during spring break!! We booked the flights and the hostel (yes hostel) over the weekend! Hopefully I do not get sick this time, but I bought the flight insurance just in case!
Next week the study abroad program is taking us (well we paid for it) to Andalusia, a region in the south of Spain. We are going to Granda, Coroba, and Seville for the week! It should be a lot of fun! One of my friends from high school is studying in Seville and we are planning on meeting up.
I am having a blast here and I know how blessed I am to have this experience.
Thanks Mom, Dad, Grandma & Pops 🙂
Okay so some new things I have noticed:
People do not wash their hands here. This is not only an observation, my professor said, “it just is not common.”
Futbol is more than a sport.
Spaniards rarely eat with their hands, I mean RARELY. They only eat with their hands when they eat burgers and sandwiches! Everything is eaten with a fork and knife, from croissants to french fries, to pizza.
Their diet seems to consist of mostly pork, bread, pork, potatoes, and pork. My spanish professor says instead of apples, students give teachers pork.
Alright that is all I have for now!! Stay tuned!! 🙂
My Favorite Meal!
Patatas con Huevos y Chorizo! YUM!
Banco de España! One of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
