There's no one thing that's true. It's all true.

Bekah. 21 years old. Six months in Spain. Honestly, I'm really just hoping to learn more Spanish, see the world, and chill with Don Ernesto. blogger counter |

[bekahgoestospain]

Arguably the best part of Paris. There are free public toilets literally everywhere.

[thevoyaging]

The Crystal Palace, Madrid, Spain

photo via besttavelphotos

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[bekahgoestospain]

Its been awhile...

and much has happened.

First thing, class days.  They're not super thrilling, they're just like classes anywhere, I guess, so I'll sum up each one real quick.

On Monday/Tuesday, I have Business Spanish.  So far, this is actually my favorite class.  I have learned a lot about contemporary Spanish culture, and we did some oral presentations, and our midterm was multiple choice.  We have a final paper that we're starting after Semana Santa (Holy Week, which is our Spring Break, starts this Friday.) So its an interesting, and really easy class.  Usually after, I meet up with friends to have lunch and hang a bit, and then I head back to my apartment to accomplish things.

Wednesdays, no class.  Sometimes we have these things called 'practicas' which are class activities that happen outside of class, like museum visits or movie viewings.  I haven't had to go to one yet, so mostly on Wednesday I sleep in, and then I meet my Spanish friend Andrea for coffee around 1pm or 2 pm. I usually hang with her for awhile, then have lunch with friends at a sandwich shop called 100 Montaditos (a montadito is a teeny tiny sandwich.) At night, I tutor two kids in English.  They're actually a lot of fun.  The little girl is really fabulous in English, the little boy would rather not speak English because its tough, but he does love if I can come up with guessing games for him.  I usually cap it all off with a vegetarian burrito from the place next door to my apartment.

Thursday/Fridays, my first class is Jewish Religion. Pretty well a breeze as I have studying and practicing it my whole life.  Its really really really hard to stay awake in that class, and its weird because we actually have, like, rotating professors.  Sometimes I show up and its a totally new person teaching the class.  After that I have History of Hispanoamerica. Pretty much my favorite class.  The professor is really fun.  After that, I go to a class called Biblical Persons.  Its just about all the people in the Bible, which is really cool, but also sort of boring (because, again, I've done a lot of studying up.)  Its another rotating professor class.  And then after that I have Islam in Spain. It could be a really cool and interesting class, but about half the students are completely inept and don't have the mental capacity God gave a squirrel, so we don't make a whole lot of progress.  Notice, by the way, how nowhere in there did I mention lunch? Thats because I don't have any breaks between 10 am and 4 pm on Thursday/Fridays.  So after class I go home, eat something, and pass out for a nap. 

Weekends are anyone's game.

This past weekend I went out Friday night, with Kathryn and some of her Spanish friends.  We had a pretty good time, although a few drinks in I remembered I hadn't really eaten anything, so I definitely came out of the evening drunker than I initially intended to.

Saturday I slept in, what with having been drunk and all, but around noon I got up and met some friends at the Mercado de San Miguel, which is set up kind of like that fancy fish market place they have in Seattle or maybe San Francisco, where in the morning they throw fish at people's heads?  I don't know what that place is called, but its kind of a combination of that and a Whole Foods.  For lunch I had a salmon tostada, watermelon, and pineapple.  Oh, and I almost forgot...THE MOST DELICIOUS YOGURT OF MY ENTIRE LIFE EVER.  No yogurt will ever top the orange and chocolate greek yogurt made by this company. I may one day order this yogurt by the case, have it shipped to the United States, and eat nothing else. 

I have no idea what I ate for dinner that day.

Sunday....I slept in, did laundry, cleaned my room.

Tomorrow I'll blog about Cadiz, and also Valencia, and post some pictures.

Next though, pictures of food.

[bekahgoestospain]

You can only tell by looking at the cars, but it's snowing!! It never a snows here, the 12 year old girl that I tutor told me so. It's actually sort of a sleet, really, but it's definitely looking snowlike on car windows. Time to go back to bed, definitely can't be productive on a snow day. (Just kidding, I've already done two loads of laundry.)

[bekahgoestospain]

Wow. It has been so long since I updated on here.

Well, first things first, classes are going great.  The first week was a little nerve wracking, but all is well and the professors are really nice and understanding,

I moved into my apartment last Thursday.  (Pictures soon, I promise.) It's really close to the university, although I do have to walk about five blocks up a hill after I get off the bus, but they say exercise is good for you? lol.  Anyway, I really love it and I'm very comfortable and happy.  I am living with three Spanish girls, named Almu, Iskra, and Ana, and a French girl named Paulina.  It is worth noting that in the week I've lived here, I haven't so much as glimpsed Almu.  Iskra is sort of standoffish, but Ana and Paulina are really super nice.  The only drawback to Ana is that she really loves speaking to me in English, because she's trying to learn (but I REALLY need to practice my Spanish), and also that she and her boyfriend are often really loud.  In a sex way.

I was in Cadiz, in the south of Spain, last weekend for their big Carnaval celebration.  Thats sort of a separate story for a separate post, because it was one crazy time.

I'm loving my tutoring job; Pedro and Alba are adorable, and I'm hoping my little brother will want to be Pedro's pen pal (you never know with D.)

I've also made some really great friends on my program.  These are people that actually make me want to visit places like Wisconsin and Indiana, and I didn't even know there was stuff there.

It's funny, because I'm tired all the time, and I'm running around all over the place, and I'm way out of my comfort zone, but somehow I think I like Spain Bekah more than I like United States Bekah.  It's almost like I'm more myself here than I am at home, which is a weird feeling, but I like it a lot.  I'm definitely not going to come home the same person as when I left, and obviously thats true of anyone who goes on a trip like this, but I'm just kind of really proud of myself. (I don't know if that's a weird thing to say.)

I'm thinking about attending temple next week, I have to figure out where the big temple is, and register my passport with them and stuff.  Thats a safety measure, which is interesting because its not just for religious things.  Like, when I visit the cell store here, I have to show my original passport, not just a copy, even if I'm only putting money on it.  Its so people don't turn them into phone bombs, apparently?

Well, either way, I'm really happy. I mean, there's stuff that's lame, just like anywhere else, like the lack of public restrooms, and lack of smiling, and the strange eating hours, but on the whole its not really worse or better, its just different.  

And at the moment, I'm really liking different.

[bekahgoestospain]

IKEA is that place people always end up running around in during nightmares.  You can only go forward, its impossible to find the way out, and you’re not really sure why you’re there.

[bekahgoestospain]

Days 19, 20, 21 (2/3, 2/4, 2/5)

Saturday morning, I got up at a not totally bright and sunshine-y hour to meet Kathryn and Madison at the mall at Principe Pio. We walked around, they shopped, I didn't, I think I went to see an apartment with Madison, we had lunch, we called it a day.  Not eventful.

Sunday morning, I met Kathryn and Madison in the neighborhood of Malasaña to explore around. After getting lost inside a metro station on one of my transfers, I was only a half hour late to meet them.  I am becoming notorious for being late due to metro issues.

So, Malasaña is famous for two reasons.  The first is that when the French invaded Spain (Napoleon, I think), the square in Malasaña is where they shot the Spanish who opposed their rule, on the 2 of May. There's a Goya painting.

The second reason Malasaña is a big deal is because is has been taken over by the gafapastas (read: hipsters).  The result is that it looks like the best parts of Mediterranean Europe, with trendy and kitsch cafes, cupcake shops, bookstores, and everything a pretentious American girl could ask for in her European experience.  I immediately wanted to live there.

We had crepes for lunch and wandered the neighborhood looking for 'rent' signs, snapped some pictures in the square and stopped for cupcakes.

And then we went home for a couple of hours. Kathryn and I googled apartments in Malasaña (not kidding about wanting to live there.) We found a grand total of one.  Made an appointment to see it on Tuesday.  

Had dinner. It was the cat food again. I ate it though. Then around midnight, I met a bunch of friends at the metro stop in Sol to walk to this American bar called Dubliners, to watch the Superbowl.  Real time, folks. The bar was packed, but I hung out with friends, had a drink, rooted for the 49'ers while the rest of the bar cheered on the Ravens.  Got hit on twice, but I really cared more about the football than about the guys. Stayed till the end of Beyonce's awesome halftime show.

Also, I know I have complained about this before.  But madrid metro closes at 1 am.  Bars and clubs here open between 12 and 1. Madrid metro doesn't open till 6.05 am.

So Kathryn and I are in Sol, at a bar, at 3 am, and we can't metro home, and we don't wanna cab separately. SO I go home with her, and sleep on her floor, in my clothes and makeup, with my contacts in.  Wake myself up at 6am to catch the metro and be home in time for breakfast with my señora at 8 am. Then a quick shower, and class at 10am. 

Five minutes late to class. No big deal, its my Spanish for business class, which I was sure was just going to be vocab and an introduction.  No. Its a real business class for real business majors.  And I'm stuck in it.  At least it doesn't look to difficult.  Especially because when I went into the office to try to change it, Mamen (our assistant academic advisor) basically gave me the 'don't be wishy washy' speech.  So I'm staying. And like I said, it doesn't look horrifically hard and the professor is really nice.

Had lunch after that with Robert and Kathryn in the library cafeteria. (More baguette vegetal, lol). Then they both had 1pm classes, and I had a meeting with Amy (our program director.)  She was giving me information on teaching English. And for the record, I now have a job, teaching English to an 11 year old boy and a 12 year old girl.  It pays 40E an hour, an hour and a half a day, twice a week. Thats pretty good money, and I do love kids.

Post Amy meeting, i headed home in a blur, and napped for four hours. Because I needed it. Got up for dinner, responded to some emails, and went right back to bed.

[bekahgoestospain]

Characteristic of my meals in Spain so far.

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The freaking adorable town of San Lorenzo.

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He could appreciate a view, that Felipe II. (Hint: I am on the far left.)

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The gardens behind El Escorial (the long building on the left is the royal apartments section.)

[bekahgoestospain]

Days 17 & 18 (1/31, 2/1)

Woohoo! The start of classes!

I never thought I'd say this but was actually super excited for school to start.  We get to meet new students, and do stuff during the day.  

Still no apartment, just to get that out of the way.

So, I was five min late to my first class on Thursday morning, the History of Hispanoamerica.  Metro problems, is all I can say.  No worries though, I didn't miss anything.  Also, i really like the professor.  She is super nice and she gives out chocolate euros (yes, like gelt) when we answer questions right. And so far its been really interesting, all about colonization and stuff. On Thursday I had to sit way in the back because I was late, but Friday I sat in the third row with all my WIPT friends, which was way more enjoyable.

Post class, we all had lunch together.  I mostly eat something called a baguette vegetal (because nothing else is kosher.) Here's what comes on this sandwich: lettuce, tomato, hard boiled egg, mayonnaise. Yes. That is it.  And mayonnaise is egg. So there is a redundancy of egg on my sandwich.  Whatever, at least there's no ham.

My afternoon class is Islam in Spain. Super interesting class, great professor, the American students who are not in the WIPT program with me that are in this class need to un-enroll. For starters, the girl behind me has to verbally agree with/have an under the breath comment about everything the professor says.  I kind of want to sock her in the jaw, and also she's really distracting, because she keeps trying to answer obviously rhetorical lecture questions.  The girl behind Miss Obnoxious can't read a family tree. I will attempt to explain.  

The professor put up Mohammed's family tree. Mohammed is at the bottom end of it, so we all know its a tree of his ancestors.  Now, lets just be clear, to cut the girl some slack. There were no women listed on this tree. It just showed the line from common ancestor Qusayy, to Mohammed's grandfather and great uncle, and then all of their male children.  Right. So first she reads it upside down, and has to question who had Qusayy. (who is at the top of this chart.) So we explain she's upside down.  But then she can't figure out where all the girls are; because she's pretty sure two guys can't raise a kid together in the Muslim faith (nvm that they're brothers.)  Explaining how to read a patriarchal family tree to this girl was literally 20 minutes of my life that I am never getting back.

Anyway, Thursday night after class I went straight home, and crashed.  Friday night I was supposed to go out salsa dancing with some friends, but I wasn't feeling it, and I hate going out right now because it feels like I'm inconveniencing my señora.

The metro here closes at 1. The bars don't open till 1. The metro opens back up at 6 am. So if you go out at night, you have almost no choice except for to be out really late.  My señora locks the door (por su puesto) and although I have keys, she often leaves hers in the lock, which means mine don't work.  She feels safer that way, and she has said that she doesn't mind waking up at any hour to let me in, but it just feels rude, so I'm trying not to go out until I have my own apartment.

Anyway, that's almost caught up.  Just gotta tell y'all about the not so eventful weekend, and about Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday is happening tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be all caught up by tomorrow night.

[devstinations]

[bekahgoestospain]

Day 16 (1/30)

So we decided it was finally time to get out of the city, and at 9 am a bunch of us (me, Kathryn, Alexis, Lindsey, and Zane) got on a bus to El Escorial.

For those of you who don't know El Escorial, it's pretty damn cool.  Felipe II (the second Hapsburg king of Spain) moved the capital to Madrid, which was at the time a tiny, cramped, dirty little trade town, hardly even a city.  It only go worse when all the extraneous royals and court hangers on moved into town.  And so, Felipe II (who in my head is sort of a fickle king) decides he can't possibly build his palace IN Madrid.  He builds it on a giant hill outside of town, looking down at the city.  It took us 45 minutes on the bus, but I bet back in the day that was like two or three hours in a carriage.

It was designed in the shape of a gridiron, in honor of San Lorenzo, who was (apparently) martyred by being roasted on a grill?  I dunno much about the saints, to be fair.  Let's remember, though, that Felipe II was a pretty religious guy. His actualfax favorite artist was Bosch. (Ugh Bosch. That guy still gives me the creeps.)

So we got there, and got off the bus, and walked up the enormous hill and paid the entrance fee.  It's all a museum now, except for the part that is closed off because its still a working monastery.  Something for everyone, there's an art and tapestry section, and an ancient construction section, history, a library, a grand chapel.  Beautiful beautiful gardens and grounds that you can walk all around.  

In the art section, there's a painting by El Greco.  I don't know which one, but here's what I do know. The plaque next to it explains why it isn't with the rest of the Greco collections, in Toledo and at the Prado.  Apparently, Fellpe II commissioned good 'ol Greco to paint some kind of religious martyr scene (seriously, no clue which saint.) Instead of painting as some horrible martyr scene, El Greco painted it as more of an adoration/beatification/glory of God type deal.  Felipe II hated it.  The painting is actually known as El Greco's big failure, and it is the number one reason he was never an official court painter.

We also visited the tombs, where all the kings and (official) queens of Spain have been buried since Carlos V, who was Felipe II's father, except 3.  Even Rey Juan Carlos I's father is in there, and he never got to be king because of Franco.  Official queens are queens who had coronations, and/or who were the mothers of the next monarchs.  Second and third wives are buried in the Hall of Princes, where the princes and princesses who died before ascending the throne are buried. And also one of the (actually, I'm guessing the only) bastard sons of Carlos V.

It took us a couple hours to cover the whole palace, and to run around the grounds for a bit.  The weather was sunny and gorgeous, and it was almost (almost!) warm enough for us to take off our winter coats.  We had lunch there, too, in the town of San Lorenzo, and we were back on the bus to Madrid by 2.30.

If you ever visit El Escorial (and you should, its stunning), be prepared for a lot of walking.  We were all completely exhausted.

[bekahgoestospain]

So, uh, changed this layout a little bit.  My folks couldn't read it the way it was before. lol.

[bekahgoestospain]

Day 8 to 15 (1/23 - 1/29)

Not much happened. I looked at apartments. I found some apartments, I lost some apartments.  I wandered the city.  I learned where the largest Corte íngles is.  Had some starbucks.  (There are way more than three here, Google is such a liar.)

I had lunch with a friend of my aunt´s, Sonia.  She has two daughters, and she and her husband and the kids were super super nice.  We had lamb, which was good, because I was missing protein a little. They took me to a really neat mall.  Their part of town (north side of Madrid) is really cool, too, very safe and residential.  I´m looking at apartments up there.

I also had sort of a ´tea hour´with the family I want to au pair for over the summer.  They seemed really lovely, and they liked me a lot, I think. I thought their suburb, Majadahonda, was going to be like an hour or so outside Madrid on the bus, but it literally took me like ten minutes.

I slept a lot. It rained a lot. Oh! We went shopping a lot. Rebajas (or SALES) end the second week of February, so we´re taking advantage while the prices are low.  I bought a very cute going out dress, and a midweight sort of coat (because I didn´t bring one), a black cotton skirt, and some pink leggings for Carnavale. In Cadiz. The weekend of the 15th. (Seriously missing Mardi Gras.)

I also bought moisturizer (another thing I forgot), and let me tell you, don´t try to buy cosmetics in Spain. I spent 20E on moisturizer, not even a big bottle. It was ridiculous. Seriously, any friends who have lived in/been to Europe, please tell me what the best quality cheap brand is.  Because I refuse to pay that much ever again. Suggestions?