Technically I should stop blogging because blog name is me in espana.. which i am no longer! For anyone that cares, I made it to Rome -- to my hostel, more importantly, in one piece. We had one last hurrah at Valors before we met up at 1am for our bus to Madrid Airport. Got there around 4am and while Vera got to check in, the rest of us camped out and slept on the floor like bums until 7am when people actually started arriving. We got stared down by every passer-byer.
Every few hours or so one person would get the chance to get in and our numbers started dwindling. Steph and I were had the last flights, luckily i got to check in at 3 while she had to stay for her 8pm flight. =/ Anyway, the guy sitting next to me tried getting my number to meet up with my while I was in Rome, but I didnt know if I should trust his intentions. He had already annoyed me when I chose the inside seat and he crowded me by choosing the middle one... on a non empty flight. I ended up getting his number but probably wont call since I cant use my own computer here and hes a smoker. No me gusta.
Oh btw, new country, new keyboard! The @ sign was hard to find and Im not even gonna try to find the apostrophe-- hence the lack of use in this entry. The hostel Im staying at isnt like a normal one.. I think, its more of a camp ground with some dorm rooms. The staff is really nice and I already scored a free drink so Im not complaining yet.
Liking Rome so far.. its very economic friendly with the metros and shuttles. Hopefully it wont be too late to sign up for a bike tour tomorrow and ill see from there what else Roma has to offer.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
i changed my mind
My plans of sleeping in today... ¡foiled! by mi madre. I didn´t get home til 5a and I´m pretty sure I woke up still drunk. Luckily I learned my lesson and didn´t finish an entire burger by myself this time, so no throwing up! Went to my first 2 classes but I wouldn´t have lived through the next two--instead I´m hiding out at the ISA office because it´s too early to go home.
Last night turned from no plans to finding a mass of random groups. Carroll and I met up to go to Holy Cross to claim our cups, after buying a pinta of course. Initially we were just gonna stick with the Germans that we met from Granada but they took too long deciding where to go, so we were gonna find them after our pints. I was sitting there for 20 mins sipping at my Paulander, while Carroll was flirting with Fran, the bartender who didn´t call last time, when half my class walked into the bar!! I´ve talked to them before but never about anything substantial... now I have friends from Austrailia, Japan, Germany, and Scotland to visit when I travel again. woot! One of the Alemanians is gonna call me up when she visits LA in February. Super psyched! She also introduced me to a drink called Desperatos (?), a Mexican beer mixed with Tequila. I wonder if they have those in the states? If so, time to stock up.
Our night continued at Camelot where we found the original Germans we had met up with... and yeah... the usual. I was pretty hammered after more tequila shots and that´s when I started swearing. For those of you who know me, I haven´t cussed since I was ... 10, maybe. It felt so liberating but still felt guilty about it.
Gonna have to siesta and recover before we go out again tonight. I wish I had hung out with the other international students before... I don´t want to leave yet.. the fun just got started. =(
Last night turned from no plans to finding a mass of random groups. Carroll and I met up to go to Holy Cross to claim our cups, after buying a pinta of course. Initially we were just gonna stick with the Germans that we met from Granada but they took too long deciding where to go, so we were gonna find them after our pints. I was sitting there for 20 mins sipping at my Paulander, while Carroll was flirting with Fran, the bartender who didn´t call last time, when half my class walked into the bar!! I´ve talked to them before but never about anything substantial... now I have friends from Austrailia, Japan, Germany, and Scotland to visit when I travel again. woot! One of the Alemanians is gonna call me up when she visits LA in February. Super psyched! She also introduced me to a drink called Desperatos (?), a Mexican beer mixed with Tequila. I wonder if they have those in the states? If so, time to stock up.
Our night continued at Camelot where we found the original Germans we had met up with... and yeah... the usual. I was pretty hammered after more tequila shots and that´s when I started swearing. For those of you who know me, I haven´t cussed since I was ... 10, maybe. It felt so liberating but still felt guilty about it.
Gonna have to siesta and recover before we go out again tonight. I wish I had hung out with the other international students before... I don´t want to leave yet.. the fun just got started. =(
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
SAD SAD SAD
Our bus to TOMATINA GOT CANCEELLLLLLLLEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Muy triste =(((
Got a call from my prof after class that there wasn't enough interest going to Valencia from Salamanca so they had to cancel our bus. LAME. I even took a final early for it too, what a waste. Not going to class till Friday since I finished all my finals today and I still have 2 unexcused absences to take advantage of.
Three more days left in Salamanca!!! Looking forward to moving on... I booked my hostel for Rome yesterday.. I'm paying 12 euro a night for a "luxuorious" hostel, but it's 20 mins away from the city central. I tried to find a decent hostel in the city for 2 nights like Gary suggested but they all cost more and have crappier reviews. So the deal is there's only one bus that leaves from Salamanca to Madrid airport for our program and it depends on what time the first flight is. There are 13 of us, and most of us have afternoon flights, but ONEEEEEE person decided to leave at 6am, so we're ALL going to the airport at 130AM (it takes 2.5 hrs to get there from here). Looks like I'll be there for a good 12+ hours since my flight to Rome isn't until 530 pm! Another crappy thing: RyanAir has a limit of 30lbs for checked in luggage or else it's 15euro per kilo over! That's ridiculous! Hoping I'll make the cut since I only came with 22lbs worth of stuff.. but I did do some shopping here.
I wanted to get my next tattoo here but I found out that it costs 50 euro, minimum! Guess I'll have to wait till I get back.. Bummmmer.
That's about it for now.. check back later.
Got a call from my prof after class that there wasn't enough interest going to Valencia from Salamanca so they had to cancel our bus. LAME. I even took a final early for it too, what a waste. Not going to class till Friday since I finished all my finals today and I still have 2 unexcused absences to take advantage of.
Three more days left in Salamanca!!! Looking forward to moving on... I booked my hostel for Rome yesterday.. I'm paying 12 euro a night for a "luxuorious" hostel, but it's 20 mins away from the city central. I tried to find a decent hostel in the city for 2 nights like Gary suggested but they all cost more and have crappier reviews. So the deal is there's only one bus that leaves from Salamanca to Madrid airport for our program and it depends on what time the first flight is. There are 13 of us, and most of us have afternoon flights, but ONEEEEEE person decided to leave at 6am, so we're ALL going to the airport at 130AM (it takes 2.5 hrs to get there from here). Looks like I'll be there for a good 12+ hours since my flight to Rome isn't until 530 pm! Another crappy thing: RyanAir has a limit of 30lbs for checked in luggage or else it's 15euro per kilo over! That's ridiculous! Hoping I'll make the cut since I only came with 22lbs worth of stuff.. but I did do some shopping here.
I wanted to get my next tattoo here but I found out that it costs 50 euro, minimum! Guess I'll have to wait till I get back.. Bummmmer.
That's about it for now.. check back later.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
BARF
Carroll and I just had dinner at a Chinese-Japanese buffet here in Granada.. when we were going for our second plate of food the workers were congregating around the frying machine, yelling and screaming. We watched them grab some mops and started going at it at a rat which we heard squealing!!!!!!! Uh yea, no more food after that. We only had to pay for our drinks. I´m thoroughly grossed out.
Our worst fear came true this morning when we went down to eat breakfast at 930 but couldn´t find our group anywhere. Turns out we were supposed to be on the bus by 930... and luckily we saw the guide come back to the hotel, for us I guess. We were the only two who didn´t know. WHOOPS
Lemme just say.. Andalucia (the southern region of Spain we´re in) is freakin HOT. It´s at least 95F and if we´re not sitting on the stuffy bus then we´re walking around in the heat. I´ve had a headache all weekend just from the dehydration.
I´ve been thinking of a new hobby to pick up when I get back and was trying to decide between snowboarding and surfing. Settled on surfing because I love the water so much more than snow and snowboarding is limited to winters. Annd wada got one recently too so we could go together!! Roommate bonding time.
Our worst fear came true this morning when we went down to eat breakfast at 930 but couldn´t find our group anywhere. Turns out we were supposed to be on the bus by 930... and luckily we saw the guide come back to the hotel, for us I guess. We were the only two who didn´t know. WHOOPS
Lemme just say.. Andalucia (the southern region of Spain we´re in) is freakin HOT. It´s at least 95F and if we´re not sitting on the stuffy bus then we´re walking around in the heat. I´ve had a headache all weekend just from the dehydration.
I´ve been thinking of a new hobby to pick up when I get back and was trying to decide between snowboarding and surfing. Settled on surfing because I love the water so much more than snow and snowboarding is limited to winters. Annd wada got one recently too so we could go together!! Roommate bonding time.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Sevilla
Kinda bitter right now about the hotel we´re staying at in Sevilla because they advertised free Wifi and we can´t even connect to it. Got our hopes up and everything. I still love Sevilla for the shopping though, they have a huge Sfera which we don´t have in the states. Other than that, went to the largest Gothic cathedral today. It looks very similar to the one in Salamanca.. but to go up to the tower we trekked up a ramp and made at least 20ish turns? The view at the top was awesome though. I´ll post those pics when I get back.
Tried some of that sherry last night, and i gotta say, i´m not a fan. Swallowing was the worst part.. it just burned all the way down and the after taste was weird. Jessica ended up downing the other half of my drink. That girl´s only drank 4 times, but she can down alcohol like it´s water. Oh by the way, she´s had laryngitis and a stomach virus since Barcelona. Needless to say, I spent the night watching out and taking care of her at the salsa club because the men were all over her. I guess it´s something about blondies because they just kept coming, one after another. There were instructors there teaching us the basic moves before everyone else busted out with their partners. This one little 80 year old Japanese lady had the attention of one the guys we wanted to dance with the entire night. So sad... I wasn´t very good at the whole dancing thing, so I spent most of the night talking to the bartender instead and danced when one poor guy thought I´d be a good partner. Oh yea, every person I talked to last night first asked where I was from, and when I said US, they would ask me where my parents were from, or else they would begin with.. so you´re from Korea? or Japan?... WHY does it matter?!
Stayed at the club until it closed and had to take a taxi back because our feet were hurting so freakin bad. Now I remember why I don´t wear heels. And yes, they still hurt. Slept the entire way here. There´s only one tour guide for the 50 of us who came and she sucks! She left 20 of us behind at the hotel today because we were a little late, and so we had to find our own way to the cathedral. Then she left us at the bottom of the ramp to the tower and peaced out at the end of the tour. Wé´re really paranoid that we´re gonna get left behind at some point during this trip. Haven´t gotten much sleep lately and I think my cold is just getting worse every day. People find me disgusting.. more than i already am.
Tried some of that sherry last night, and i gotta say, i´m not a fan. Swallowing was the worst part.. it just burned all the way down and the after taste was weird. Jessica ended up downing the other half of my drink. That girl´s only drank 4 times, but she can down alcohol like it´s water. Oh by the way, she´s had laryngitis and a stomach virus since Barcelona. Needless to say, I spent the night watching out and taking care of her at the salsa club because the men were all over her. I guess it´s something about blondies because they just kept coming, one after another. There were instructors there teaching us the basic moves before everyone else busted out with their partners. This one little 80 year old Japanese lady had the attention of one the guys we wanted to dance with the entire night. So sad... I wasn´t very good at the whole dancing thing, so I spent most of the night talking to the bartender instead and danced when one poor guy thought I´d be a good partner. Oh yea, every person I talked to last night first asked where I was from, and when I said US, they would ask me where my parents were from, or else they would begin with.. so you´re from Korea? or Japan?... WHY does it matter?!
Stayed at the club until it closed and had to take a taxi back because our feet were hurting so freakin bad. Now I remember why I don´t wear heels. And yes, they still hurt. Slept the entire way here. There´s only one tour guide for the 50 of us who came and she sucks! She left 20 of us behind at the hotel today because we were a little late, and so we had to find our own way to the cathedral. Then she left us at the bottom of the ramp to the tower and peaced out at the end of the tour. Wé´re really paranoid that we´re gonna get left behind at some point during this trip. Haven´t gotten much sleep lately and I think my cold is just getting worse every day. People find me disgusting.. more than i already am.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Gracias.. or not
Something I really miss... being able to sit on my bed blast music whenever I want, I find it to be extremely therapeutic. I'm happy about being able to sit on the bus for 6 hours and blasting it through my headphones too (tomorrow). I miss my friends and I really wish we could've hung out more this summer, but we all got caught up in working, house-sitting, and Thailand. =( Our boba run's been long overdue guys.
I learned in class today when it's appropriate (or not) to say "thank you" to someone in Spain. Our prof got tired of having to say "de nada" because we would thank her every time she passed out a worksheet. So unless you're ASKING someone for a favor, don't thank them. Again, it was only the Americans that did that. Another thing Spaniards do, they say "tranquila" when they think you're overreacting, when it's really nothing.
We learned how to make Tortilla de Espana today (eggs and patatas). Much better than yesterday cause there were only 4 of us and we had to peel/cut our own potato and onion. For something so simple it takes some skill to make because you gotta flip it a certain way. We made our own sangria again.. and added way too much wine because we were all tipsy after 2 tiny cups. I didn't have lunch either so that didn't help.
Andrew is introducing us to a salsa club tonight, after we try some of this sherry that he's been raving about since day one. Can someone explain what sherry is cause I have no idea? I haven't salsa'ed since last year when I took that class at Wooden with Jeff.. but I failed miserably. He just got really mad at me =P If that doesn't work out we can always hit the clubs again. Four of us are leaving for Granada at 6am, so our plan is to stay out til 5a, go home and fetch our stuff and then sleep on the bus.
For those of you coming to Spain (Justin) WAMU really SUCKS. It wouldn't let me withdraw money from a few of their ATMs, because they have at least 10 different banks here, and it still charged my account. SOooo I'm out $440 right now. I called customer service but the call dropped as they were trying to connect me elsewhere. Hopefully my mom can help take care of it this weekend.
K time to peace out, have a great weekend, y'all.
I learned in class today when it's appropriate (or not) to say "thank you" to someone in Spain. Our prof got tired of having to say "de nada" because we would thank her every time she passed out a worksheet. So unless you're ASKING someone for a favor, don't thank them. Again, it was only the Americans that did that. Another thing Spaniards do, they say "tranquila" when they think you're overreacting, when it's really nothing.
We learned how to make Tortilla de Espana today (eggs and patatas). Much better than yesterday cause there were only 4 of us and we had to peel/cut our own potato and onion. For something so simple it takes some skill to make because you gotta flip it a certain way. We made our own sangria again.. and added way too much wine because we were all tipsy after 2 tiny cups. I didn't have lunch either so that didn't help.
Andrew is introducing us to a salsa club tonight, after we try some of this sherry that he's been raving about since day one. Can someone explain what sherry is cause I have no idea? I haven't salsa'ed since last year when I took that class at Wooden with Jeff.. but I failed miserably. He just got really mad at me =P If that doesn't work out we can always hit the clubs again. Four of us are leaving for Granada at 6am, so our plan is to stay out til 5a, go home and fetch our stuff and then sleep on the bus.
For those of you coming to Spain (Justin) WAMU really SUCKS. It wouldn't let me withdraw money from a few of their ATMs, because they have at least 10 different banks here, and it still charged my account. SOooo I'm out $440 right now. I called customer service but the call dropped as they were trying to connect me elsewhere. Hopefully my mom can help take care of it this weekend.
K time to peace out, have a great weekend, y'all.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Bummer
Went to the Holy Cross last night just to find out that they are OUT of tshirts!! Andrew finally got his 4th pinta but had to settle for a mug. It´s a pretty cool mug, but nothing like a shirt. Last week the bartender had asked Carroll for her number but failed to call her that night, so she was kinda bummed. I guess he recognizes me now since I´m technically a regular and asked me if she was coming.. I tried to explain to him in Spanish that she´d be back Thursday. He told me to give her kisses for him.. heheh. BUT now that they don´t have shirts anymore I dunno if we´re going back anytime soon.
If you haven´t heard already there was a major crash at the Madrid airport a few hours ago. Most Spainairds didn´t even know... Carroll´s dad called her and freaked out. Our group is a bit nervous about flying out next week now.. =/ Luckily none of us are flying SpainAir.
Got a new roommate from France today.. she´s 17 and she´s only here for two weeks. She barely speaks English, but speaks better Spanish than I do, so whatever I can manage in Spanish is the most we can converse. It was super quiet during lunch today.. because there are 3 of us, but we all speak different languages, and mininal Spanish. I´d try, but I´d just look like a fool.
Today´s cooking class was basically watching the lady make paella and sangria. We took turns throwing in fist fulls of rice and water.I thought were actually gonna cook, but she had most of it prepared already AND she used packaged mariscos specifically for paella. I can´t find that in the states!!
Time to go home for dinner... but I´m still full from the paella. Watching a Spanish movie later tonight starring Elijah Woods? No subtitles! =/
Yea, I´m bummed.
If you haven´t heard already there was a major crash at the Madrid airport a few hours ago. Most Spainairds didn´t even know... Carroll´s dad called her and freaked out. Our group is a bit nervous about flying out next week now.. =/ Luckily none of us are flying SpainAir.
Got a new roommate from France today.. she´s 17 and she´s only here for two weeks. She barely speaks English, but speaks better Spanish than I do, so whatever I can manage in Spanish is the most we can converse. It was super quiet during lunch today.. because there are 3 of us, but we all speak different languages, and mininal Spanish. I´d try, but I´d just look like a fool.
Today´s cooking class was basically watching the lady make paella and sangria. We took turns throwing in fist fulls of rice and water.I thought were actually gonna cook, but she had most of it prepared already AND she used packaged mariscos specifically for paella. I can´t find that in the states!!
Time to go home for dinner... but I´m still full from the paella. Watching a Spanish movie later tonight starring Elijah Woods? No subtitles! =/
Yea, I´m bummed.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Holiday In Spain
Holiday in Spain-- a song by the Counting Crows. I am looking super forward to the Maroon 5/ Counting Crows/ Augustana concert in September!! First person who says yes to me gets a free ticket... enticed yet?
Next weds is La Tomatina Fiesta in Buñol, near Valencia. It happens only once a year in August and we´re freaking going! We have finals next week but I´m going to ask if I can reschedule one of them. My vocab prof is hooking me up with bus tickets to and from the site. It´s about 6 hours away. Oh before I go on, La Tomatina is a tomato throwing festival!
Check it out: http://www.latomatina.es/index.php?lang=english It can also be youtubed for some real action. I´m going to pay 79 euro to throw tomatoes. More updates about that after next Weds.
It´s been really quiet and lonesome in the house since Sarah left. I try not stay there and only go home for meals. I´m happy ISA has stuff planned for us this week -- tour of catedral and cooking classes! Also going to Granada and Sevilla this weekend. Yayy... last weekend in Spain!
Next weds is La Tomatina Fiesta in Buñol, near Valencia. It happens only once a year in August and we´re freaking going! We have finals next week but I´m going to ask if I can reschedule one of them. My vocab prof is hooking me up with bus tickets to and from the site. It´s about 6 hours away. Oh before I go on, La Tomatina is a tomato throwing festival!
Check it out: http://www.latomatina.es/index.php?lang=english It can also be youtubed for some real action. I´m going to pay 79 euro to throw tomatoes. More updates about that after next Weds.
It´s been really quiet and lonesome in the house since Sarah left. I try not stay there and only go home for meals. I´m happy ISA has stuff planned for us this week -- tour of catedral and cooking classes! Also going to Granada and Sevilla this weekend. Yayy... last weekend in Spain!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
I love sleep
Didn't sleep for almost 3 nights....
Started Weds night w/ Jess and Ben's birthdays overlapping. Went to the bar, got some chupitos and then headed over to camelot. I love clubbing here because not all the guys are as aggressive as they are in the states. We get to do our own thing and sing along with the music. However the occasional few do follow us after we leave. Anyway, tried looking for more chupitos but everything was closed at 4am so we found Leonardo's, the ONLY food place open in the early morning. I was completely fine when I got home but an hour into sleeping I got nauseous from the smell of smoke in my hair and threw up my burger. Mi madre was pissed in the morning cause she thought I came home drunk and threw up all over the place. Lectured me and gave me disappointing looks. Argh..
Thursday.. somehow made me it through my classes, thought not entirely awake. Got on an 11 hour journey on a bus for Barcelona without sleeping much because they have a law here that requires bus drivers to stop every 2.5 hours. We had the best luck of sitting right to the door and it was freeezing cold everytime he stopped. Got here around 645am and our friend had just gotten home. Found a flier for a "ciclotour" of Barcelona on bike. Got to see all of Antoni Gaudi's works.. the cathedral in progress is amazing! Construction began 135 years ago and they're trying to finish by 2036, the 100 year mark of his death. here's some info on the cathedral if anyone is interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia
I think it's pretty awesome.
Spent the rest of the day in the sun at the beach... a topless beach like they all are in spain or maybe europe in general? Anyway, I wanted to say that I've it at least once, so the three of us (girls) all did. Quite liberating and didn't feel weird at all! Spent the night at Opium, club right by the beach, the lounge area actually connects to the beach. Didn't have as great of a time because we sat there talking for a good while. I can't drink and breathe in smoke at the same time or else I get nauseous.. so I was got really bored. Things started picking up when we finally decided to dance and dance .. and dance... until the they kicked us out at 615 am. At that time Jess and Carroll were still drinking their 4th or 5th redbull/ vodka of the night. It was disasterous trying to take the metro with these drunkards. I'm just glad Carlo and Alberto (the Italianos) came with us so I had help taking care of them. FINALLY got to sleep at 930am... and now we're watching US kick Spain's butt in basketball. First time I have the chance to watch the olympics because they're always on while I'm in class during the weekday! Our friend recommended we not go out to bars because there probably wouldn't be many Americans there =P. I really want to watch the Kayak/ canoe starting Monday!
I finally changed my return flight and bought my one way ticket to Rome! Carlo is trying to find me a place to stay with his friends for the 4 nights I'm there. If not, the hostels don't see too bad, and everything seems to be centralized in one area within walking distance. Flying into NYC on the 3rd and going to explore the city on my own till Friday night when i meet up with Carroll and then heading over to Boston to visit Jon Hua! Checked SW tickets and there aren't any available to SFO so I'm thinking about flying to LAX instead and possibly driving the van home that weekend instead. I realized that as much as I love Spain, I shouldn't have come here to study. Four days a week in Salamanca gets kinda boring and we really don't have that much time to explore. I look forward to traveling to other places on the weekends and a few days in each place is more than enough. Miss everyone at home, can't wait to be back in 3 weeks.
One last thing, Congratulations to Karrie and Ben on their engagement! The one couple in our program who came together and are staying until the end of December. Ben proposed on his 21st birthday (2 days ago) at a gorgeous park with a cathedral in the background in Salamanca. Absolutely stoked for the couple =)!
Started Weds night w/ Jess and Ben's birthdays overlapping. Went to the bar, got some chupitos and then headed over to camelot. I love clubbing here because not all the guys are as aggressive as they are in the states. We get to do our own thing and sing along with the music. However the occasional few do follow us after we leave. Anyway, tried looking for more chupitos but everything was closed at 4am so we found Leonardo's, the ONLY food place open in the early morning. I was completely fine when I got home but an hour into sleeping I got nauseous from the smell of smoke in my hair and threw up my burger. Mi madre was pissed in the morning cause she thought I came home drunk and threw up all over the place. Lectured me and gave me disappointing looks. Argh..
Thursday.. somehow made me it through my classes, thought not entirely awake. Got on an 11 hour journey on a bus for Barcelona without sleeping much because they have a law here that requires bus drivers to stop every 2.5 hours. We had the best luck of sitting right to the door and it was freeezing cold everytime he stopped. Got here around 645am and our friend had just gotten home. Found a flier for a "ciclotour" of Barcelona on bike. Got to see all of Antoni Gaudi's works.. the cathedral in progress is amazing! Construction began 135 years ago and they're trying to finish by 2036, the 100 year mark of his death. here's some info on the cathedral if anyone is interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia
I think it's pretty awesome.
Spent the rest of the day in the sun at the beach... a topless beach like they all are in spain or maybe europe in general? Anyway, I wanted to say that I've it at least once, so the three of us (girls) all did. Quite liberating and didn't feel weird at all! Spent the night at Opium, club right by the beach, the lounge area actually connects to the beach. Didn't have as great of a time because we sat there talking for a good while. I can't drink and breathe in smoke at the same time or else I get nauseous.. so I was got really bored. Things started picking up when we finally decided to dance and dance .. and dance... until the they kicked us out at 615 am. At that time Jess and Carroll were still drinking their 4th or 5th redbull/ vodka of the night. It was disasterous trying to take the metro with these drunkards. I'm just glad Carlo and Alberto (the Italianos) came with us so I had help taking care of them. FINALLY got to sleep at 930am... and now we're watching US kick Spain's butt in basketball. First time I have the chance to watch the olympics because they're always on while I'm in class during the weekday! Our friend recommended we not go out to bars because there probably wouldn't be many Americans there =P. I really want to watch the Kayak/ canoe starting Monday!
I finally changed my return flight and bought my one way ticket to Rome! Carlo is trying to find me a place to stay with his friends for the 4 nights I'm there. If not, the hostels don't see too bad, and everything seems to be centralized in one area within walking distance. Flying into NYC on the 3rd and going to explore the city on my own till Friday night when i meet up with Carroll and then heading over to Boston to visit Jon Hua! Checked SW tickets and there aren't any available to SFO so I'm thinking about flying to LAX instead and possibly driving the van home that weekend instead. I realized that as much as I love Spain, I shouldn't have come here to study. Four days a week in Salamanca gets kinda boring and we really don't have that much time to explore. I look forward to traveling to other places on the weekends and a few days in each place is more than enough. Miss everyone at home, can't wait to be back in 3 weeks.
One last thing, Congratulations to Karrie and Ben on their engagement! The one couple in our program who came together and are staying until the end of December. Ben proposed on his 21st birthday (2 days ago) at a gorgeous park with a cathedral in the background in Salamanca. Absolutely stoked for the couple =)!
Monday, August 11, 2008
My first F
I checked my grade last night for the my session A summer class and it said Final Grade: F. I freaked out and emailed my prof and couldn't sleep for a while. So turns out that it's a MISTAKE and I actually got a B. PHEW. that was a tough 24 hours to endure thinking my gpa had plummeted even more.
Reality about my weight gain struck me hard today. ISA planned a soccer game, Summer 3 vs. Summer 4 (i'm part of summer 4). Only one person on our team had ever played soccer for a real team while almost all the girls were experienced on the other. After one sprint down to the other side of the field and I was out of breath. After running back and forth for a while I was cramping on the side and limping because some guy kicked the back of my ankle, the one with tendonitis! So after that I volunteered to goalie.. bad idea. I kicked the ball directly to a girl on the other team and she kicked it right into the goal. I was so glad halftime came. Left early because I planned to go to dinner w/ my roomie and her friends.
So I had 2 mins to change when i got back and tried slipping on some jeans for the first time since I've been here. Took me a few mins along with some tugging at and they're still hugging my hips like no other. =/ I really hoped that walking so much would cancel out the amount of food I was inhaling, but nope! I guess I'll have to start doing some real aerobics and crunches in my room or somethiing. i'm too cheap to pay for gym membership.
Needless to pay the only reason I'm able to go online right now is because I'm at the bar again! Got my free shirt.. it's awesome! =D That means I've had 3/4 gallon of beer because my friend helped me w/ one. Hmm maybe that's where all the extra weight is coming from? So yea, I"m gonna have to try harder with the keeping in shape, especially since TI race is 2 weeks after i return! Can't let the SD down. Miss you guys by the way!
Reality about my weight gain struck me hard today. ISA planned a soccer game, Summer 3 vs. Summer 4 (i'm part of summer 4). Only one person on our team had ever played soccer for a real team while almost all the girls were experienced on the other. After one sprint down to the other side of the field and I was out of breath. After running back and forth for a while I was cramping on the side and limping because some guy kicked the back of my ankle, the one with tendonitis! So after that I volunteered to goalie.. bad idea. I kicked the ball directly to a girl on the other team and she kicked it right into the goal. I was so glad halftime came. Left early because I planned to go to dinner w/ my roomie and her friends.
So I had 2 mins to change when i got back and tried slipping on some jeans for the first time since I've been here. Took me a few mins along with some tugging at and they're still hugging my hips like no other. =/ I really hoped that walking so much would cancel out the amount of food I was inhaling, but nope! I guess I'll have to start doing some real aerobics and crunches in my room or somethiing. i'm too cheap to pay for gym membership.
Needless to pay the only reason I'm able to go online right now is because I'm at the bar again! Got my free shirt.. it's awesome! =D That means I've had 3/4 gallon of beer because my friend helped me w/ one. Hmm maybe that's where all the extra weight is coming from? So yea, I"m gonna have to try harder with the keeping in shape, especially since TI race is 2 weeks after i return! Can't let the SD down. Miss you guys by the way!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Studying at a bar
I just introduced my friend to The Holy Cross, the bar that gives free tshirt for 4 pints of beer! It's the most awesome place ever because they're open till 3 am, they have free wi-fi, and they have bumpin music! Free internet is a big deal around here because it's so hard to come by, and the times places are open till are very limited, especially on a Sunday night. We were planning on studying here, and i guess we'll start when our laptops die. Just got back from Portugal a few hours ago, not as great as expected. First night in Aveiro, did some shopping for the first time since I've been here and glad i waited because it's definitely a bit cheaper... except for English books. I paid 11.50 euro, almost 18 dollars for a regular book i could've paid 7.99 for, but i was desperate for something to read. Cool thing was the mall was open till 12am. Wanted to go to a concert afterward that we saw the band setting up for but I lost Carroll and ended going back to finish my book.
Spent almost 8 hours at the beach on Saturday and even though I reapplied every hour I forgot to apply at the bikini line. It hurts to sit. =( Got dressed up for dinner at this pretty awesome place where we got the "tourist menu" The night sucked cause we couldn't find the club where our waiter had suggested. spent an hour or so walking around with EVERYONE staring at us and guys following us. It finally got too scary and we went back to the hotel.
I haven't planned out the last two weeks of my trip yet and I don't know if I want to travel anymore! It's gonna cost us 96 euro to go to barcelona via train this weekend, almost $200. think about how much i would have to spend just to get from paris to rome to amsterdam to ireland, to london... yea it's financially not possible for me. i'm gonna try to either change my flight to come home early or pick 2 places to stay for one week at a time. still gonna cost me a bundle to pay for hostel/ meals. any suggestions??
half way through my pint and kinda buzzed already. better get to the studying before i don't remember what i read. my madre said my spanish got worse since i left for the weekend. not my fault that they speak portugese/ english in portugal!
Spent almost 8 hours at the beach on Saturday and even though I reapplied every hour I forgot to apply at the bikini line. It hurts to sit. =( Got dressed up for dinner at this pretty awesome place where we got the "tourist menu" The night sucked cause we couldn't find the club where our waiter had suggested. spent an hour or so walking around with EVERYONE staring at us and guys following us. It finally got too scary and we went back to the hotel.
I haven't planned out the last two weeks of my trip yet and I don't know if I want to travel anymore! It's gonna cost us 96 euro to go to barcelona via train this weekend, almost $200. think about how much i would have to spend just to get from paris to rome to amsterdam to ireland, to london... yea it's financially not possible for me. i'm gonna try to either change my flight to come home early or pick 2 places to stay for one week at a time. still gonna cost me a bundle to pay for hostel/ meals. any suggestions??
half way through my pint and kinda buzzed already. better get to the studying before i don't remember what i read. my madre said my spanish got worse since i left for the weekend. not my fault that they speak portugese/ english in portugal!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Meeting under the clock
Finally in Salamanca! My "mom" is more of a grandma because she already has 3 grandkids. We can't communicate too well but it works out. Let me just say that they should not even call breakfast a meal here. It's a tiny little muffin or crackers with a cup of coffee. (The coffee is delicious here btw.) Lunch isn't until 3pm and that's the largest meal of the day. Dinner at 930 when the sun sets. The program totally spoiled us with the hotel meals when we got here, what with the unlimited jamons and eggs.
Today was the first day of class.. 845-240pm, it's like high school all over again. The first 3 hours of grammar and vocab was fun and bearable. There are only 12-15 students in each class and most of mine were either from the US or from Japan. One of them was SEVENTY years old and spoke better Spanish than the rest of us Americans. By the time 1pm rolled around we were super tired and hungry and bolted when it was time to go. We all go home for lunch and then siesta! (siesta = nap) My mom wouldn't let me out of the house after lunch the first day here because it was too hot.
Haven't gone out much yet because we've all been trying to settle in still. Going out for the first time tonight with my roommate, Sarah, to a bar that gives away free tshirts if you drink 4 beers. I'm getting that tshirt. OH! so not many of us have cell phones here and it's really hard to contact someone after you part. We all meet at the Plaza Mayor under the clock at a certain time (in the picture above.) Absolutely gorgeous at night!! I walked around by myself last night around 1130ish and there were groups congregating in circles in the center, all speaking different languages.
Still trying to plan out my last two weeks in Europe, but transportation is extremely expensive.. I might have to cut down the number of places I can hit. Heading to Aveira, Portugal with ISA this weekend. It's supposed to be beachtown, much cheaper than Espana, and we get tons of free time..yayy
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