First week of Classes

This week was my first full week of classes. Monday and Wednesday I have Economies of Spain and Latin America. The class is pretty difficult because of all the terms and words that I might not even use in English, let alone Spanish. The material itself is not very difficult yet though. We talk about Spain one day a week and then a new Latin American country every other day. I am most excited about that. I'm hoping I can actually say something intelligent in class since I had to read out loud and got stuck with the paragraph with a bunch of numbers in it. I have problems with numbers. Who knew 500 was quinientos?!?!? Ciento cien made a lot of sense to me. Tuesdays and Thursdays are much longer with Grammar, History of Art in Spain, and Pronunciation and Oral Communication. That means 4.5 hours of class which is a long time to be sitting in a little desk.
So far I am enjoying my classes, and I definitely like having a more regular schedule down.
I started practices for intramural soccer this week also. Our first practice was just a scrimage. It was pretty humorous. I guess people who sign up for IM sports actually have experience in the sport. I got a lot of pity cheers when I blocked a couple of goals, so that was exciting. And I started getting back into a running routine which makes me feel a lot better. I want to run before class twice a week but it is still really dark at 7:00am so I don't know if that will be possible for a while.
It is nice to not have so many commitments here. I am so much happier not having to deal with all the b.s. that comes with my extracurriculars at home. I emailed a bunch of people about setting up intercambios, a meeting when you speak half Spanish half English to help each other learn the language, and printed fliers to post about trying to tutor children in English. I would be fine if neither worked out and I just had time to explore and enjoy the city, but I would really like to find other opportunities to improve my Spanish and I feel weird not having a source of income so tutoring would be nice. It would also be a nice thing to put on my resume.
I am getting into the Spanish way of life: doing everything slowly, napping in the middle of the day, etc. It is very tempting to just quit everything except classes and a job and actually have free time when I go back. I seriously doubt I will be able to get away with it, but it might be worth a try.
This weekend my friends and I are going to Huelva (a city on the west-ish south coast of Spain) to visit a friend of my friend who plays basketball there. He is in the Spanish professional league and has tickets to a game! I am looking forward to some sports. The only difficult part is figuring out how to get there since the bus schedule to Huelva seems to be a bit erratic and expensive. It may actually be cheaper and quicker to rent a car. One of the girls knows how to drive a car with a manual transmission, hopefully I will get to learn. Since there are only two of us who are 21+ we get to/have to share driving time if we end up doing any driving since 21 is the minimum age to rent. We will see how that goes.
Also, a friend from home who is studying in Madrid will be in Granada this weekend. Her senora has a house in Granada and they are coming to stay there this weekend. I am excited to see a familiar face.
Here is a funny video that was created somewhat as an accident while in Paris, just as idea of how we pass the time. Hey, falling down in free. We were sober too, believe it or not. Sobriety is also free:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HFmCKlVJSs

et Paris

My trip to Paris reminded me why I hate Parisians, and also why I love making good friends. We arrived in Paris (well in the airport 1 hour outside of Paris) just after seven pm. On the bus ride on the way in we had some views of the Eiffel Tour which was lit up at night and "glitters" for 15 minutes every hour on the hour. However, there was some debate from the girls sitting behind us about whether or not it was in fact the Eiffel Tour. Some thought it was too small and must be a fake. Others thought it was a Christmas Tree. I thought Darwinism should weed them out, but I'll just blame that on the hunger since we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We managed to get on the metro without killing someone (although my best friend here did finally snap and informed them: that's the f-ing Eiffel Tour, not many buildings are shaped like that) and made it to our apartment. We had said we would check in at 11:00pm, since we did not realize there would be no customs at the mini airport RyanAir flies into, so we were a lot early. We found a kebab restaurant luckily and gobbled up some kebab sandwiches and fries with garlic sauce, the first of three such meals we would have in Paris (kebabs are both cheap and good, Paris is neither).
When we checked into the apartment I waited outside the address with Alan, the only guy who got stuck staying with us because he didn't know anyone else going. There were actually five of us but the apartment was for four people so the other three waited in a cafe around the corner. Alan and I carried ALL the luggage up FIVE flights of a spiral staircase. We had to stop twice because we were laughing so hard. The apartment owner didn't get it. Apparently everyone else was eating creme brulee the whole time I was carrying three suitcases up five flights of stairs. Now that is funny. The apartment ended up being great. It was spacious and fully furnished with a warm shower, washing machine, dishwasher, stove, microwave, toaster, etc. We stocked up at the grocery store and then all passed out.
The next day was the first Sunday of the month so almost all the major tourist attractions were free. We set out pretty early after some toast with Nutella, and went to the Louvre first. We saw about a third of it before the crowds became too overwhelming and we set off, but not before filming a scene for our music video in front of the glass pyramid (don't worry, I'll post the youtube link when the video is edited and posted. We filmed scenes in front of all the major tourist attractions we visited, and on top of the Arc de Triumph. It's quality). Then we visited Notre Dame, although we skipped the huge line to climb the tower in favor of crepes and coffee, and went to the top of the Arc de Triumph. We planned to see the Eiffel Tour but read the sign incorrectly and thought the tickets were selling for 9:30pm when we were in line at 6:00pm. The sign actually said it opens at 9:30am... whatever. We headed home, by way of the grocery store. One of our apartment mates said she really wanted to cook so she whipped up amazing pasta, veggies and garlic cheese toast. For about ten euro each we had stuffed bellies of amazing food and supplies for breakfast and lunch the next day. The pasta was also breakfast the following day after that.
The second day was freezing cold and raining. We had a slow start but planned to start at the Eiffel Tour and then head out to Versailles. We made it to the top of the tower, even the two of us with severe fear of heights, and were basically ready to give up and go home. However, after a coffee run we reevaluated and headed to the catacombs instead. We were all really really disappointed that they were closed until March! We planned a great thriller dance scene to be filmed inside and it was ruined. We decide to see what else was around and found the famous cemetery where Jim Morrison and a lot of famous French people are buried. However, I was not expecting to find the grave of Porfirio Diaz, the president/dictator of Mexico. I have never been more excited to see a dead person, ever. I dragged everyone to the back of the cemetery where Diaz was buried and gave them a brief (and somewhat confusing because I mixed up all the dates) history of Mexico on the way. I am pretty sure none of them understood how amazing it was for me to stumble upon such a significant piece of Mexican history in the middle of this French metropolis. I spent at least ten minutes staring at the grave, walked around it, looked inside (it was a little house), touched it and took pictures. The rain and the cold and the packed metro were all worth it for ten minutes with Porfirio Diaz. Plus we filmed thriller in the cemetery so that was pretty bomb.
Afterwards, we headed to the Moulin Rouge since two of the girls really wanted to see it first hand. Everyone agreed it was a let down and the movie made it look way cooler. Getting there we had to change metro lines at one of the biggest stops. We went through the stop and had to hand our tickets to the ticket controllers. Unfortunately my ticket was no where to be found. I handed over a new one but apparently that was not good enough. The woman checking my ticket said I could either pay 25euro or she could call the police. She started speaking French, which obviously made me stare at her blankly, and then switched to English. I started speaking Spanish hoping that she would just let me go because we couldn't communicate but she spoke Spanish too! I knew I should have gone for German... I really just wanted to try and run or let her call the police (that would be such a good story) but I felt bad holding up the group so I just paid the 25 euro and said merci beacoup followed by some other words in Spanish. Making Spanish friends has helped increase my vocab for swearing someone out quite a bit.
The Champs Elysees was our last stop. We wandered up the street looking at the shops and getting a night view of the Arc. Then we headed home (kebab count:2).
The last day two of the girls were supposed to be heading back to Granada because they mixed up dates and booked their flights for a day earlier than the rest of us. However, at 7am we got a call saying one was coming back and actually booked her flight for the same day as the rest of us. It would have cost her 225 euro to change it so she said another day in Paris was fine. We met her at Starbucks and then moved to Peace and Love Hostel where we were staying the last night. Luckily they had an extra bed. Unluckily I was really really grouchy. The three girls parted ways with our male counterpart and headed to find the Longchamp store. I promised Stephanie, who was leaving a day early I would try to find the store for her and buy her a bag she really wanted. We had some luck and found it and bought the bag! The best part was the store was next to a pastry shop with the yummiest pastries in all of Paris. I felt easily one million times better after eating this giant napoleon looking pastry full of cream and raspberry sauce. A little blood sugar does wonders. We wandered around looking at things we could not afford (Chanel, Dior, Hermes, etc...) and then we decided to go back to the Champs Elysees. There was the biggest Sephora I have ever seen there, and wouldn't you know I just ran out of face lotion and infected my mascara with my funky gunky eyeballs! It was much cheaper to stock up on Sephora brand products than try to buy anything in Spain so that worked out really well. Also they gift wrap for free so I have a cool new purple box to keep all my makeup in.
Afterwards we saw Charlie Wilsons War at the movie theater. I loved it! I don't know why it got only ok reviews. It is definitely on my DVD wish list and I was so excited by all the history and clever dialogue I could barely stay in my seat. I have a renewed interest in the senate and government and in general and a reinforced feeling that the CIA is total crap... However, I finally realized what my skills are well suited for: being a spy. I can speak a couple of languages and with training could perfect them, I could be racially ambiguous in many eastern European countries, and I love knowing stuff other people don't know. Also, I am a bad ass.
After waking up at 4:00am to take a taxi, bus, airplane, and two other buses I am more than ready to be back in my own bed in Granada. And the weirdest part is all we could say in Paris was that we couldn't wait to get home, but we meant Granada. J'taime, Espana, mi amor. Buenos noches.

y Madrid

I just returned from a trip to Madrid and Paris. All of the students from AIFS (my program) went on an organized three day trip to Madrid. The first day we stopped in Toledo on the way. I was pretty tired to be honest, so a lot of the trip is a blur. I do remember that we took a walking tour of several parts of the city, including one of the most well known cathedrals which takes a whole day just to see the whole thing. There were a ton of cardinals buried in the cathedral and apparently their hats are hung above their graves when they die. The hats are red (cardinal actually is a more appropriate description... ironic, no?) and look like the traditional chinese laborer hats but with long red tassels. Que chic. We also toured a sword making factory... and some other stuff... I'll have to look at my pictures to remember. The best part of the tour was the guide telling us that there are 16(?) cathedrals in the relatively small city of Toledo.. hence the phrase "holy Toledo". Good times.
The second day we saw the Royal Palace and a museum of Spanish art. Both tours were pretty much a whirlwind of royal stuff... Luckily we had the afternoon free. My friends and I walked to the Plaza Mayor and ate lunch at the Museum of Ham. I kid you not, there is a chain restaurant in Spain called Museum of Ham. They also have ham flavored ruffles. Luckily there was also a Ben and Jerrys in the plaza and we waited 20 minutes for it to reopen after siesta. Then we watched male pigeons try to impress mates while we ate our ice cream. I really thought the day could not possibly get any better, but then it did. We went to the modern art museum. Unfortunately the Picasso exhibit was closed but there were 4 full floors of other art to see. I even saw a few Dalis. For only 3 euro it was a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
The next day we went to Segovia. After we climbed on the bus our group leader told us that Segovia is the coldest city in Spain. And it was raining there. Somehow they failed to give us this information ahead of time and left it off the info packet they handed out... which was great since I left my extra layer and umbrella in the hotel room. After we all stopped whining about the cold and rain the tour of the summer palace was pretty interesting. The palace was fairly plain because the king who built it said he wanted to build a hut for himself and a palace for God (don't ask which king I don't remember). That was great but made for a boring tour, except for the tombs. There was a separate tomb for the kings and queens, but only the queens who bore the first son and future king were buried there. Next to it was the rotting room where the dead bodies rotted for about 4 months before they were buried. The second tomb was for the rest of the royal family, like the other wives of the kings and what not. Those tombs were actually cooler since most of them had a unique statue above the granite box holding the body and the royal tomb was all generic granite coffins. The third tomb was for all the children who died. They buried them in a big granite layer cake, because it was "mas dulce" (sweeter). It was the most creepy morbid thing I have ever seen, and I love cake.
After lunch (and a coffee break) we saw the roman aqueduct. It was built without cement, just with perfectly calculated shaped stones in arches. The story of the aqueduct is that the devil fell in love with a Segovian girl who was a servant in one of the homes in the town. Every night the girl had to go fetch water from the river. One night there was a big fiesta and the girl was sad because she had to go fetch water while everyone else was drinking and dancing and doing what the Spanish do best, besides being extremely slow and relaxed. The devil promised he would build the girl an aqueduct in one night so that she could fiesta with everyone else, and in exchange she just had to sell him her soul. Sweet deal. The servant girl thought so too and agreed, but soon realized what she had done. She ran to the priest in the town and spent the whole night praying that the devil would not finish the aqueduct by morning so she could keep her soul and as the dawn broke the devil was just about to put in the last stone, which was still missing from the aqueduct. So the girl kept her soul AND she didn't have to walk all the way to the river anymore. How fortuitous.
After the aqueduct we went to see the castle that inspired the Sleeping Beauty castle. It was the castle of Isabel la Catholica and Ferdinand. They had many castles, but this was the one they really called home. I thought it looked more like a palace than a castle since it wasn't very fortress-ish. I also thought they should have had central heating. The best/worst part was climbing to the top of the tower. The view was amazing but it required climbing an extremely narrow winding spiral staircase which we learned was both the way up and down. We took some fun pictures at the top and saw the amazing view and then very slowly made our way back down and to the bus. We were excited to get home earlier than planned and take a nap before going out.
For our last night in Madrid we saved up some money and went to Kapital, the relatively famous nightclub. It had "seven stories of pure entertainment". The bottom floor had European club/house music which just makes me laugh, but it also had this machine that shot HUGE gusts of what looked like fog but was thicker and cold on to the dance floor periodically. I'll try to upload the video at some point, it was so cool! They dropped confetti once also. Other floors had hip hop music, salsa music, a lounge and kareoke. All the floors had creepy Spanish men. The only bad part of the night was constantly playing stay away from the gross men. Usually speaking German confused them enough to make them go away. Except the one from Berlin, someone always has to rain on my parade. The club itself was amazing, definitely worth all the hype and the expense. Entrance did come with a free drink and a free thong though. Gotta love Europe...