This post should catch me up on my weekends. Sorry these are so long! I wanted to get them up before I am swept up with my family.
This past weekend was very chill. Friday, I cooked lunch for my family!! I have been wanting to do this for a very long time. In Spain, people see food as a sign of affection. They like to cook for other people, and when they insist on giving others food, it means they like them. Pilar always says she cooks with love. I wanted to give them a gift of comida to show them how much I appreciate them. Coming up with a recipe proved very difficult, considering I am better at baking than cooking, at my house we use the oven a lot, and in my Spanish apartment the dishwasher, oven, and two burners are broken. I made a tried and true recipe of my grandfather, chicken and rice. I went to the office to ask Miguel where I should buy chicken, knowing that he is very fond of cooking. He would know. Why, a pollería, of course! Literally meaning chicken store. More like a butcher who exlusively sells chicken products. It’s a little butcher within a mercado. I squeeze into the shop, full of elderly people. I stand and wait while the butcher works his magic behind the counter. The people seemed to have enormous orders, like they were buying their chicken for the month. I realized after about 15 minutes that it was a ticket number system when he switched the counter to the next number. I grabbed my number. 14. He was on seven. I went and bought bread, a tomato and red pepper for the salad. Pilar knows that I like red peppers, so I got one special for the salad. I came back, only on 9. I ended up waiting to get my four chicken breasts for an hour. I sprinted back home, knowing Pilar gets home a little after two. I wanted to have the dishes washed and started the meal when she got there. Success. Both Tania and Pilar ended up liking the dish, which was such a relief because Tania is an extremely picky eater. Definitely ended up making waaay to much chicken and graxy and not enough rice. That’s what ya get when you are used to cooking for an army of Svens!
With the prospect of my family coming, I tried to work ahead on my hw as much as possible. I stayed in and worked every night of the weekend, prompting my host mom and sister to comment that I don’t like going out that much and work really hard. Have they not seen me the rest of the semester? Not that I have been a crazy American girl let loose in Spain, but because I haven’t had as much work until this point I have been able to relax. For once! I guess my hardworking self came through this weekend. I did take a nice break with Bridget on Saturday to go to the Sorolla museum in Madrid. It is his former home, now preserved and decorated with his work. A definite must see and laid back morning activity. There’s a special exhibit of his work from Granada, so we were able to buy postcards from Granada FINALLY. A relaxed morning before a long afternoon of work. It’s nice spending time one on one with Bridget because we can talk about stuff back home. A good touchbase with reality.
Sunday was quite exciting! Election Day! In the morning, Pilar finally invited me to go “hacer deporte” with her! She took me through her Sunday walk. Although it was a little rainy, the day was beautiful. She took me past la Casa de la Juventud to the river, passing by la huelta!! She found out that in fact, la huelta is still open. I finally realized it literally is a farm with a man standing and selling in his fields of veggies. I saw the biggest cabbage I have ever seen! I liked seeing her interact with the farmer, seeing that she really is a conocido there. Later she explained to me once again the story of when he asked her if she was single, and then asked if her friend from Madrid is single. The guy knows her so well that, although she didn’t think to bring money, he trusts she will be back to pay for her parsley. The walk was really sweet. I felt like she took me into her safe place. She love going on the walk down by the river to escape the world, so I felt very loved being taken there. I’m sure she might have wanted that time for herself to think, but she asked me to come. She took me through a bunch of parks and told me stories about them from their history and her own personal history. In one of the parks, her granddaughters learned how to rollerblade and like playing on this crazy zipline swing. In another, there are exercise machines that she uses when she excercises during the week. The park is literally called insemination park because it used to be the place where horses would make babies. Hmmmmm… It’s hard to explain the morning completely and how much I appreciated it, but I really enjoyed sharing it with her.
She also took me with her to vote! Even on the way down the elevator of the apartment building, I asked her who she was going to vote for, and she still hadn’t decided. She’s usually in th middle, a little to the right, but she didn’t want to vote for either major party, so she voted for the second runner up. She told me her whole family is faithful to the right side. Voting is extremely casual. It seemed organized and official at first, but really, there are stacks of paper and envelopes on a table. You fill out two different forms with literally one check each, stick them into their envelopes, flash your driver’s license, and they stick them into a clear plastic box. That’s that. The predicted winner, PP, won. It’s the opposite party that had been in power, and basically everyone just wants a change because enothing was happening with Zapatero. The next day, one would think that there would be some talk going around… Nothing. It was the least exciting day after an election you could imagine.
The lead up to see my family has been quite a roller coaster. As their arrival drew nearer, I, along with Pilar, realized how little time left I have here. Yes, I have a month before I return to the states, but I won’t be in Alcala this weekend, and next weekend, for about 10 days, I will be up in the northland visiting family. Pilar came to this realization Monday night and I think was close to tears. She had no idea I was going to be gone for that long. She got so upset and her way of expressing it was pointing out that I haven’t made paella or cocido yet and must make them before I leave so she knows I know how to make them. I only have one weekend after my vacation. Of course, these days, I am close to tears at any moment. I worry for the relationship I will have with this place after I’m gone. Even through all my struggles, I have really grown to love it here. I finally feel settled in and I’m going to have to leave again. Spain has taught me so much, especially about enjoying life. I can’t let stress or time lead my life. Even today, having trouble getting in touch with my fam and then worrying about getting to my class, I feel I reverted back to my anal self about having enough time to do things. I let it go finally during lunch and decided to skip class. I put what is obviously more important to me first and enjoyed my afternoon, although short and a little lost, with my family.
BUT MY FAMILY IS HERE!!!!!! THIS IS REAL!!!! Seriously, sometimes life here feels like a dream. Seeing my family in Madrid solidified that this is for real. I do speak Spanish. I am living in Spain. This is real. More to come later on their visit!
I can’t believe it’s Thanksgiving! Where did the time go? Normally during school, by this point I am dragging myself to the finish line to make it home. I still feel totally charged here to keep going. Maybe not in relation to my studies, but at least to take advantage of what this experience has to offer. Too bad chatting with Pilar isn’t considered grammar homework.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Long time no see!
I haven't posted in quite awhile! I have been writing though. Here is a reflection that I started on November 12th:
I’m sitting at my computer, trying to work on homework, with a raging apartment behind me. It’s Paula’s birthday, so she, Vicente, las niñas, Eva, Tania, and Pilar are here for lunch. The niñas have literally gone insane. Off the wall. And, with the prospect of balloons and tarta, they are nuts. Screaming and running around. One literally went through my drawer to find my expensive set of watercolors to paint the balloons. Fortunately, I found her before she started and could completely destroy them. Hopefully they are going to play en la calle soon.
The birthday was really wonderful. We had lunch, which was a special Gallician dish. Pilar had planned for it all week and was working on it all morning. Cerdo, a leafy green from up that way she asked for special from the market, and a soup. A really fun, intimate close family gathering. The atmosphere in the apartment was so homey with anticipation, just like I feel for any of my family member’s birthdays. I’m writing this a little after the fact, but it’s not really important now what we talked about, more that I felt so welcomed into this special family time. I feel I understand the quirks, both good and bad, of the family. Pilar serves the food, even after slaving away all morning, proud of her cooking and making sure everyone gets more than enough, serving me even before the birthday girl, Eva is very helpful to her mom and rolls her eyes at the drama of her girls, Paola semi-complains that there are onions in the salad, Vicente, when things get a little to hot, makes jokes sometimes in English and laughs, the ninas refuse to eat anything but cake but agree to eat ten more bites while having their eyes glued to the tv, and Tania finally comes to the table a minute or two after we start. I felt welcomed into the family, though of course not when Pilar singles me out wondering why her daughters don’t help, appreciate, and eat like I do. And we had a delicious bought cake that was so moist. I’m not even sure what the flavor is. I proposed we should take pictures, which started a frenzy. Of course, there was Pilar, insisting they take a bunch with me in them. The day before, I did stress about getting Paola a gift. I didn’t want to get her something just because I felt I had to, but because she and her husband were so nice to me my first weekend here. I got her coffee and some chocolates to eat with it because she loves coffee. She even bought a nice machine to leave at her mom’s for when she visits, which is maybe once every month, if that. So I know she is a coffee person. I think Pilar was even more touched by my gift than Paola was. She was like, “Elisa, no you didn’t! She deserves an applause.” After all the festivities were done, the feeling in the air was like after Thanksgiving dinner. There is love in the air and everyone feels fuzzy and sleepy.
Even so, I have not been sleeping well. I mean, we’re all tired all the time, right? Wrong. I will go to bed, not be able to fall asleep, and then literally dose all night. For 8-9 hours. And feel exhausted in the morning, but can’t sleep anymore even if I am able to sleep in. I can’t even sleep for la siesta! Laid in bed for an hour and a half the other day when I was so tired from not sleeping during the night, and still couldn’t sleep. I think it all started the other day when I was actually sleeping and was shaken awake by a horrible dream. It was as if I went to sleep here in my bed and woke up in my bed at home. It was the scariest dream. I hadn’t done everything I wanted, and the worst part being that I didn’t say goodbye to Pilar. I tried to wake myself up from that dream, but it didn’t work. And I kept trying and trying, but I was home like nothing happened. Finally I woke myself up really, but it was like I was still in my dream. My heart was racing.
I have realized I really do not have that much time left here, which has made me incredibly sad. I have a really nice relationship with Pilar, so I am worried about what kind of relationship we will have when I leave. Nothing? Like nothing happened? I have wanted to talk with her about it because I know I can, but things have been a little crazy here. She wasn’t here Thursday, I wasn’t here yesterday. Hopefully I will talk with her soon about it.
There was a big international short film festival in Alcala this past week. I went one night but wish I could have gone more. It was really fun, and the movies were very inspiring. Some super serious, some very “vanguardia”, and some hilariously shallow.
I also went to el rastro on Sunday, which is said to be the biggest fleamarket in Europe. The market used to be a meat market. El rastro, meaning stain, refers to the blood stain left by the animal carcasses being dragged down the hill. From what we had read in guide books, the stalls open at 8, and all the diehards go early. So, leaving my house a little before 8 on Sunday, we arrived at the fleamarket by 9:30. Or what we thought was the location of the market. There really wasn’t too much to see. Some stalls setting up. So we wondered around for a couple hours, trying to find the center, and finally returning to the same place to a bustling market! Of course no one goes at 8 o’clock. It’s Spain! People could still be out partying from the night before at 8 on a Sunday morning. What was I thinking? Have I not learned anything? Lots of cool stuff though. Bought lots of Christmas presents! And, although I was sick, I pushed through it to experience another thing on my list.
This weekend was a crazy weekend! With all of the family over at once, birthday celebrations, Alcalá film festival, el rastro. So many things! Although I was really sad last night and Friday, I am glad I was able to do things this weekend. I have definitely scrapped the idea of going to northern Spain this weeened, although I would realy like to go. I know that if I go, I will not have a weekend here in Alcala for a month, and the next one would be my last here. Can’t do that. Spain, you better invite me back!
PS.
Ohhh Pilar… You are just the best Spanish host mom a girl could hope for. To go to el rastro, at 7 this morning, I woke up to her still bustling around the kitchen from last night. I was so out of it, sick, and unable to speak Spanish at that hour that I waited for her to go to bed. Quietly tip toeing around the apartment, while making my morning coffee, I came upon a bag of churros on the kitchen table and a note from Pilar saying that she bought them for Tania and me if we wanted them for breakfast. Pilar went out, danced all night, had a craving for churros, waited until they were open, and bought enough to bring home for all of us to eat breakfast. She still kept her daughter and me in mind during her night out on the town. What a lady.
I’m sitting at my computer, trying to work on homework, with a raging apartment behind me. It’s Paula’s birthday, so she, Vicente, las niñas, Eva, Tania, and Pilar are here for lunch. The niñas have literally gone insane. Off the wall. And, with the prospect of balloons and tarta, they are nuts. Screaming and running around. One literally went through my drawer to find my expensive set of watercolors to paint the balloons. Fortunately, I found her before she started and could completely destroy them. Hopefully they are going to play en la calle soon.
The birthday was really wonderful. We had lunch, which was a special Gallician dish. Pilar had planned for it all week and was working on it all morning. Cerdo, a leafy green from up that way she asked for special from the market, and a soup. A really fun, intimate close family gathering. The atmosphere in the apartment was so homey with anticipation, just like I feel for any of my family member’s birthdays. I’m writing this a little after the fact, but it’s not really important now what we talked about, more that I felt so welcomed into this special family time. I feel I understand the quirks, both good and bad, of the family. Pilar serves the food, even after slaving away all morning, proud of her cooking and making sure everyone gets more than enough, serving me even before the birthday girl, Eva is very helpful to her mom and rolls her eyes at the drama of her girls, Paola semi-complains that there are onions in the salad, Vicente, when things get a little to hot, makes jokes sometimes in English and laughs, the ninas refuse to eat anything but cake but agree to eat ten more bites while having their eyes glued to the tv, and Tania finally comes to the table a minute or two after we start. I felt welcomed into the family, though of course not when Pilar singles me out wondering why her daughters don’t help, appreciate, and eat like I do. And we had a delicious bought cake that was so moist. I’m not even sure what the flavor is. I proposed we should take pictures, which started a frenzy. Of course, there was Pilar, insisting they take a bunch with me in them. The day before, I did stress about getting Paola a gift. I didn’t want to get her something just because I felt I had to, but because she and her husband were so nice to me my first weekend here. I got her coffee and some chocolates to eat with it because she loves coffee. She even bought a nice machine to leave at her mom’s for when she visits, which is maybe once every month, if that. So I know she is a coffee person. I think Pilar was even more touched by my gift than Paola was. She was like, “Elisa, no you didn’t! She deserves an applause.” After all the festivities were done, the feeling in the air was like after Thanksgiving dinner. There is love in the air and everyone feels fuzzy and sleepy.
Even so, I have not been sleeping well. I mean, we’re all tired all the time, right? Wrong. I will go to bed, not be able to fall asleep, and then literally dose all night. For 8-9 hours. And feel exhausted in the morning, but can’t sleep anymore even if I am able to sleep in. I can’t even sleep for la siesta! Laid in bed for an hour and a half the other day when I was so tired from not sleeping during the night, and still couldn’t sleep. I think it all started the other day when I was actually sleeping and was shaken awake by a horrible dream. It was as if I went to sleep here in my bed and woke up in my bed at home. It was the scariest dream. I hadn’t done everything I wanted, and the worst part being that I didn’t say goodbye to Pilar. I tried to wake myself up from that dream, but it didn’t work. And I kept trying and trying, but I was home like nothing happened. Finally I woke myself up really, but it was like I was still in my dream. My heart was racing.
I have realized I really do not have that much time left here, which has made me incredibly sad. I have a really nice relationship with Pilar, so I am worried about what kind of relationship we will have when I leave. Nothing? Like nothing happened? I have wanted to talk with her about it because I know I can, but things have been a little crazy here. She wasn’t here Thursday, I wasn’t here yesterday. Hopefully I will talk with her soon about it.
There was a big international short film festival in Alcala this past week. I went one night but wish I could have gone more. It was really fun, and the movies were very inspiring. Some super serious, some very “vanguardia”, and some hilariously shallow.
I also went to el rastro on Sunday, which is said to be the biggest fleamarket in Europe. The market used to be a meat market. El rastro, meaning stain, refers to the blood stain left by the animal carcasses being dragged down the hill. From what we had read in guide books, the stalls open at 8, and all the diehards go early. So, leaving my house a little before 8 on Sunday, we arrived at the fleamarket by 9:30. Or what we thought was the location of the market. There really wasn’t too much to see. Some stalls setting up. So we wondered around for a couple hours, trying to find the center, and finally returning to the same place to a bustling market! Of course no one goes at 8 o’clock. It’s Spain! People could still be out partying from the night before at 8 on a Sunday morning. What was I thinking? Have I not learned anything? Lots of cool stuff though. Bought lots of Christmas presents! And, although I was sick, I pushed through it to experience another thing on my list.
This weekend was a crazy weekend! With all of the family over at once, birthday celebrations, Alcalá film festival, el rastro. So many things! Although I was really sad last night and Friday, I am glad I was able to do things this weekend. I have definitely scrapped the idea of going to northern Spain this weeened, although I would realy like to go. I know that if I go, I will not have a weekend here in Alcala for a month, and the next one would be my last here. Can’t do that. Spain, you better invite me back!
PS.
Ohhh Pilar… You are just the best Spanish host mom a girl could hope for. To go to el rastro, at 7 this morning, I woke up to her still bustling around the kitchen from last night. I was so out of it, sick, and unable to speak Spanish at that hour that I waited for her to go to bed. Quietly tip toeing around the apartment, while making my morning coffee, I came upon a bag of churros on the kitchen table and a note from Pilar saying that she bought them for Tania and me if we wanted them for breakfast. Pilar went out, danced all night, had a craving for churros, waited until they were open, and bought enough to bring home for all of us to eat breakfast. She still kept her daughter and me in mind during her night out on the town. What a lady.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Siestas y Fiestas: Barcelona: Home to Messi and Hot Messes(Moi)
Again! Another great post by Bridget with more on our trip to Barcelona (if you couldn't get enough of my monster post)
Siestas y Fiestas: Barcelona: Home to Messi and Hot Messes(Moi): Hola chicos!!! So, this past weekend, Beth and I went on our adventure to the one, the only Barcelona! It was kind of our half way treat t...
Siestas y Fiestas: Barcelona: Home to Messi and Hot Messes(Moi): Hola chicos!!! So, this past weekend, Beth and I went on our adventure to the one, the only Barcelona! It was kind of our half way treat t...
Friday, November 4, 2011
¡Barcelona!
Bridget and I travelled to the older, cooler, trendier sister of Madrid this past weekend. Wow, if I didn't love Alcalá so much, I wish I studied there. Think New York, mixed with Paris and Rome, minus the amount of graffiti I saw in Rome. I was extremely lucky to receive an email from my brother's friend, Zach, who spent a semester in Barcelona this past spring. He gave us a wide variety of things to do and sites to see. Thanks Zach!
So, woke up at six on Friday after five hours of sleep to run to meet Bridget at the commuter rail. Made it just in time. The train was full of business people and the like who had the train deal down pat. For most of my walk to the train, I was behind a man in a suit who knew how to cut even the smallest corners to be the most time efficient. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the hard core partiers off of one of the returning trains, but then remembered it was only Friday.
We got to Atocha, the big train station in Madrid to catch the line going to the airport, but accidentally got on a train too soon. Luckily, not a big mistake and we corrected ourselves with ease. SO PROUD! Although the first mistake was a little tonto, I only would have known how to fix it after living here for two months. Go us! And only had a minor freak out when I realized two seconds after the doors closed in Atocha that we were on the wrong one. My mom would be proud because we were early in order to leave room for such mistakes.
We got to the airport, and being so responsible the night before, we had already checked in. It was pretty smooth sailing. I even had time to eat my DELICIOUS tortilla bocadillo my host mom had prepared for me the night before. She is the nicest! Packed me a huge bocadillo, a chocolate croissant, a banana, a pear, and a juice box. Typical Pilar. Btw, terminal 4 of the Barajas airport is pretty nice! Waaay better than the delta terminal in New York. Think more of the Beijing airport. Big. Shiny. Also, the flight was only 50 minutes! WHOA! And, if you are thinking of traveling within Spain, use Vueling. Really nice for being cheap, and their good design made the small leg room very bearable.
First impressions from the plane: SO GREEN! It's been awhile since I have seen legit greenery, other than olive trees in Andalucia. And mountainous, and MEDITERRANEAN! WATER. We took the airport bus to Plaza Catalunya. Loved seeing things in Catalan. For those who don't know (I didn't know the extent of it before this semester), Spain is much more diverse than you think, so it was nice to see yet another region of the country. At times I couldn't tell if people were speaking French or Catalan, and we were in Spain!
We stayed at Mambo Tango Youth Hostel, the place where Jonny stayed in the spring. Great location, kinda cooky! Never stayed in a hostel before, so learned that towels and flip-flops are a must. Next time! Ended up not showering anyway. Didn't really have time. The day was running very smoothly. We went to lunch, recommended by the hostel. Not the greatest food, but that didn't matter. It wasn't very expensive.
We took the red hop on-hop off bus tour around the city, which was a really good choice because I wouldn't have had the energy to figure out how to get to the places and it took us to places I didn't even know about beforehand. Friday everything just seemed to line up. A perfect example of this is that the bus tour took us to the Olympic stadium, something I probably wouldn't have gone to, which was incredible! The complex is so beautiful, and because it was raining earlier, the clouds were gorgeous. A beautiful sunset over Barcelona. We spent a lot of time walking around there. We got back on the bus and got off at the next stop not really knowing what it was. There wasn't anything around, except for the museum that we thought was closed, so we almost got back on the next bus when we heard music! We decided to follow the music down some steps and came across the Magic Fountain, one of the recommended sites by Zach!!!! What a wonderful surprise! His description of the fountain was spot on "Most crucial: go to the Magic Fountains!!! It's a quick walk to Plaza Espanya from MamboTango and they do not disappoint. The fountains are lit up and dance to the most eclectic music ever (the transitions from 80s pop to opera to Disney are the weirdest). Get a spot high up the steps of the museum." There is a huge set of stairs leading down from the museum, which was beautifully lit with a fountain in the front, to the Magic Fountain. We were totally not expecting this at all. We made our way down to the Magic Fountain, and enormous fountain that is little up and illustrates all different types of music. Think Disney, but even bigger. I could have watched it for hours. And there were so many people watching!! I loved it! Another example was finding the Quatre Gats, also a recommended site. "For a historical drink, go to Quatre Gats (very close to the Palau), where Picasso and his artistic buds used to drink -- you'll pay a lot more for a bottle of wine (and some olives) than you would elsewhere, but it's worth it for the ambience (jazz piano included)." Well, we skipped out on the wine after our exhausting day and instead had coffee, tea, and two delicious chocolately desserts! Chocolate for dinner. Yum. We also passed by Bar London, famous for visits by Hemingway and Orwell.
The next day was even more packed. We lucked out again with the weather, having seen the forecast with rain. Took the bus again for the second day. Rough start getting stuck in touristy areas. Ended up being forced to eat a tourist place, but definitely the best deal. Saw a lot of incredible Gaudí. Made me love him even more. I had studied some of his work in my high school art history class, but really the magnitude, whimsy, and detail of his work cannot be fully experienced in a photo. Also, had no idea he died after being run over by a tram... They emphasized that at least four times on the bus tour. I hit a few hangry moments when we didn't stop for lunch, but we took a peaceful peanut break in Park Guell, site of both the Cheetah Girls 2 and the finale of a season of ANTM. Another one of my favorite stops we made was the Boqueria (yes, the same name of the tapas restaurant in New York City!! It all makes sense now!), an enormous food market. I don't think I have ever spent so much money on fruit in so little time. Also, I don't think I have ever eaten that much fruit in so little time. We had delicious fresh fruit juice (a combo of kiwi and mango being my favorite), fruit pops, and just plain old fresh fruit (really good figs!). Yum yum yum. That was our lunch. We then took a walk up La Rambla to Plaza Catalunya to experience the enormous Corte Ingles, and extremely popular department store+ in Spain. We came, saw and conquered the store in about 15 minutes. Too overwhelming, but that's all we wanted. We had planned our Saturday evening to be the night to explore the Barcelona night life, but after being exhausted from the day and not being able to find anything to suit our mood, we had an early night. I think I slept the most I've slept in one night since I've ben in Spain, especially with the hour change.
Our final day, after an extremely touristy boat tour, we planned to enjoy the city like Spaniards. WORST IDEA. Of course everything non touristy is closed in Spain on Sundays. How long have we been living here? So, we spent most of the day wandering, trying to find a legit place to sit and eat and relax, only to end up settling on one of the most touristy restaurants in Barcelona. Though we did get to touch the Mediterranean! Well, I guess you live and you learn. And the frustrating day did make me even more excited to return home to Pilar and Tania. We got to the airport extremely early (so unspanish), but oh well. It was another great airport, until I saw a lady let her dog poop in the middle of the floor. Oh Spanish people and their pets. Will they ever learn?
Although our last day wasn't the greatest, I am so proud that we could travel by ourselves and not get kidnapped and sold into the sex trade without being saved by Liam Niesson. We figured out the train system to get to the airport, the buses to get to and from the Barcelona airport, the metro! I realized, as much as I love having my mom with me to figure out where things are and how to get there, I now realize I can do these things myself (although definitely not with the same ease). Now I'm even more excited to travel elsewhere! I think the mentality I had going into this semester experience was that I was waiting for myself to have some life changing experience or waiting for my moment of growth to happen, when it actually already has happened. It snuck up on me somewhere, and this trip made me realize that I have grown and learned so much since I've been here. And this happened over time. It wasn't a specific moment. I'm more independent and confident, even more so than after spending two years away at college or living by myself for a month and a half in Philly. I can conquer the world with a little less fear than before. And, although I definitely could have gotten by only speaking English with all of the tourism in Barcelona, I was certainly very proud of myself when arriving at a ticket counter after other Americans and communicating with the person behind the glass in Spanish, instead of just assuming they know English.
I definitely will be back in Barcelona again, at the very least when the Sagrada Familia cathedral is finished.
So, woke up at six on Friday after five hours of sleep to run to meet Bridget at the commuter rail. Made it just in time. The train was full of business people and the like who had the train deal down pat. For most of my walk to the train, I was behind a man in a suit who knew how to cut even the smallest corners to be the most time efficient. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the hard core partiers off of one of the returning trains, but then remembered it was only Friday.
We got to Atocha, the big train station in Madrid to catch the line going to the airport, but accidentally got on a train too soon. Luckily, not a big mistake and we corrected ourselves with ease. SO PROUD! Although the first mistake was a little tonto, I only would have known how to fix it after living here for two months. Go us! And only had a minor freak out when I realized two seconds after the doors closed in Atocha that we were on the wrong one. My mom would be proud because we were early in order to leave room for such mistakes.
We got to the airport, and being so responsible the night before, we had already checked in. It was pretty smooth sailing. I even had time to eat my DELICIOUS tortilla bocadillo my host mom had prepared for me the night before. She is the nicest! Packed me a huge bocadillo, a chocolate croissant, a banana, a pear, and a juice box. Typical Pilar. Btw, terminal 4 of the Barajas airport is pretty nice! Waaay better than the delta terminal in New York. Think more of the Beijing airport. Big. Shiny. Also, the flight was only 50 minutes! WHOA! And, if you are thinking of traveling within Spain, use Vueling. Really nice for being cheap, and their good design made the small leg room very bearable.
First impressions from the plane: SO GREEN! It's been awhile since I have seen legit greenery, other than olive trees in Andalucia. And mountainous, and MEDITERRANEAN! WATER. We took the airport bus to Plaza Catalunya. Loved seeing things in Catalan. For those who don't know (I didn't know the extent of it before this semester), Spain is much more diverse than you think, so it was nice to see yet another region of the country. At times I couldn't tell if people were speaking French or Catalan, and we were in Spain!
We stayed at Mambo Tango Youth Hostel, the place where Jonny stayed in the spring. Great location, kinda cooky! Never stayed in a hostel before, so learned that towels and flip-flops are a must. Next time! Ended up not showering anyway. Didn't really have time. The day was running very smoothly. We went to lunch, recommended by the hostel. Not the greatest food, but that didn't matter. It wasn't very expensive.
We took the red hop on-hop off bus tour around the city, which was a really good choice because I wouldn't have had the energy to figure out how to get to the places and it took us to places I didn't even know about beforehand. Friday everything just seemed to line up. A perfect example of this is that the bus tour took us to the Olympic stadium, something I probably wouldn't have gone to, which was incredible! The complex is so beautiful, and because it was raining earlier, the clouds were gorgeous. A beautiful sunset over Barcelona. We spent a lot of time walking around there. We got back on the bus and got off at the next stop not really knowing what it was. There wasn't anything around, except for the museum that we thought was closed, so we almost got back on the next bus when we heard music! We decided to follow the music down some steps and came across the Magic Fountain, one of the recommended sites by Zach!!!! What a wonderful surprise! His description of the fountain was spot on "Most crucial: go to the Magic Fountains!!! It's a quick walk to Plaza Espanya from MamboTango and they do not disappoint. The fountains are lit up and dance to the most eclectic music ever (the transitions from 80s pop to opera to Disney are the weirdest). Get a spot high up the steps of the museum." There is a huge set of stairs leading down from the museum, which was beautifully lit with a fountain in the front, to the Magic Fountain. We were totally not expecting this at all. We made our way down to the Magic Fountain, and enormous fountain that is little up and illustrates all different types of music. Think Disney, but even bigger. I could have watched it for hours. And there were so many people watching!! I loved it! Another example was finding the Quatre Gats, also a recommended site. "For a historical drink, go to Quatre Gats (very close to the Palau), where Picasso and his artistic buds used to drink -- you'll pay a lot more for a bottle of wine (and some olives) than you would elsewhere, but it's worth it for the ambience (jazz piano included)." Well, we skipped out on the wine after our exhausting day and instead had coffee, tea, and two delicious chocolately desserts! Chocolate for dinner. Yum. We also passed by Bar London, famous for visits by Hemingway and Orwell.
The next day was even more packed. We lucked out again with the weather, having seen the forecast with rain. Took the bus again for the second day. Rough start getting stuck in touristy areas. Ended up being forced to eat a tourist place, but definitely the best deal. Saw a lot of incredible Gaudí. Made me love him even more. I had studied some of his work in my high school art history class, but really the magnitude, whimsy, and detail of his work cannot be fully experienced in a photo. Also, had no idea he died after being run over by a tram... They emphasized that at least four times on the bus tour. I hit a few hangry moments when we didn't stop for lunch, but we took a peaceful peanut break in Park Guell, site of both the Cheetah Girls 2 and the finale of a season of ANTM. Another one of my favorite stops we made was the Boqueria (yes, the same name of the tapas restaurant in New York City!! It all makes sense now!), an enormous food market. I don't think I have ever spent so much money on fruit in so little time. Also, I don't think I have ever eaten that much fruit in so little time. We had delicious fresh fruit juice (a combo of kiwi and mango being my favorite), fruit pops, and just plain old fresh fruit (really good figs!). Yum yum yum. That was our lunch. We then took a walk up La Rambla to Plaza Catalunya to experience the enormous Corte Ingles, and extremely popular department store+ in Spain. We came, saw and conquered the store in about 15 minutes. Too overwhelming, but that's all we wanted. We had planned our Saturday evening to be the night to explore the Barcelona night life, but after being exhausted from the day and not being able to find anything to suit our mood, we had an early night. I think I slept the most I've slept in one night since I've ben in Spain, especially with the hour change.
Our final day, after an extremely touristy boat tour, we planned to enjoy the city like Spaniards. WORST IDEA. Of course everything non touristy is closed in Spain on Sundays. How long have we been living here? So, we spent most of the day wandering, trying to find a legit place to sit and eat and relax, only to end up settling on one of the most touristy restaurants in Barcelona. Though we did get to touch the Mediterranean! Well, I guess you live and you learn. And the frustrating day did make me even more excited to return home to Pilar and Tania. We got to the airport extremely early (so unspanish), but oh well. It was another great airport, until I saw a lady let her dog poop in the middle of the floor. Oh Spanish people and their pets. Will they ever learn?
Although our last day wasn't the greatest, I am so proud that we could travel by ourselves and not get kidnapped and sold into the sex trade without being saved by Liam Niesson. We figured out the train system to get to the airport, the buses to get to and from the Barcelona airport, the metro! I realized, as much as I love having my mom with me to figure out where things are and how to get there, I now realize I can do these things myself (although definitely not with the same ease). Now I'm even more excited to travel elsewhere! I think the mentality I had going into this semester experience was that I was waiting for myself to have some life changing experience or waiting for my moment of growth to happen, when it actually already has happened. It snuck up on me somewhere, and this trip made me realize that I have grown and learned so much since I've been here. And this happened over time. It wasn't a specific moment. I'm more independent and confident, even more so than after spending two years away at college or living by myself for a month and a half in Philly. I can conquer the world with a little less fear than before. And, although I definitely could have gotten by only speaking English with all of the tourism in Barcelona, I was certainly very proud of myself when arriving at a ticket counter after other Americans and communicating with the person behind the glass in Spanish, instead of just assuming they know English.
I definitely will be back in Barcelona again, at the very least when the Sagrada Familia cathedral is finished.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)