CHIPS AND SALSAMANCA

Well, here I go. Follow me on my journey. We'll do this together... Except you're probably in bed, and I'm 6 hours ahead.      

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Barcelona Bonita

I was so back and forth about traveling alone to Barcelona. But, I bought the tickets online two days before leaving. I left Friday morning at 7:00; I woke up, got dressed, and briskly walked about 20 minutes to the bus station. The ride to the airport was about 2 and a half hours. The Thursday before I had gone out with some friends for some “food from home”. We went to a diner called Peggy Sue’s  - it was good, but definitely not home grown potatoes if you know what I mean. You could taste the Spanish lemon Coca Cola. Needless to say, it was a great change from bean soup.

 That night, it was raining and chilly. I felt myself get a sniffle and a sore throat. I didn’t think it would be as bad as it was. Friday morning, I took some disgusting Emergen-C that has some medicine that’s banned in the United States (thanks, Mom, for doing your research). It wasn’t making me better. I was sneezing, coughing, and exhausted. When we made it to the airport, I got extremely confused at the signs. I got to check in, and went downstairs to find a shuttle that said BCN-MAD. Too sketched to take it, I opted to go through security the normal way When I got through, I looked at the flight board. BCN / IBERIA 11:20 / GATE:               / So I sat down. Waited..for about 30 minutes. When my flight wasn’t on the board, and I couldn’t find anyone to help I got nervous. Finally, I had the brains to google it, and within 10 minutes of the set boarding time, I found the gate that wasn’t on the screen. Shortly after I sat at the gate, about 30 other people showed up. I was sitting next to an older couple who asked me (in English) where I was from. She told me I was so brave for traveling alone. Her and her husband take trips all the time. They were from Wisconsin, and actually lived in Michigan (Howell) for a few years – small world.

 When I arrived in Barcelona, I had no idea what to do, and I felt like I couldn’t walk anywhere. I found a nice taxi driver who took me to my hotel which was about $40 from  -- I mean 40 minutes from the airport. I got there at about 1:00pm. The hotel was okay. I had a gorgeous view from my room. 

I knew I didn’t have much time to spend in this gigantic cosmo capital, so I put down my things, blew my nose, and went on my way. I figured I’d find lunch and went to this place near the hotel. . I found a comforting plate of fettucini.  I spoke in Spanish to everyone I met, and they spoke right back to me in English. Everyone tells me it’s because they’re used to tourists, but I wasn’t very happy. If I continue to speak to you in Spanish, please respond accordingly.

 I decided that was the day for Park Guell. It being on the outskirts of the city, I had to find my way around by bus and metro. I took the bus about 45 minutes north of my hotel. I didn’t quite know how to pay, so I accidentally took a free ride. I got off the bus and was in awe. I was in Barcelona. Alone. At Park Guell. I started walking, heard beautiful music coming from inside a stone structure; tossed the man a euro, took a few photos, and covered all the land I could before it got dark. I facetimed my mom and Jordan from the high point and took too many photos to count. It was around sunset I got to go out near the mosaic benches and down towards the main entrance.

 I was exhausted and sick when I made it back to the hotel room around 9:30, and opted for room service telepizza because I couldn’t move after a full day of traveling. It definitely hit the spot and I went right to sleep after to prepare for my full day tomorrow.

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Sevilla: Sunshine & The South

We left this past Friday morning and traveled by bus to Sevilla, about 7 hours south of here in the province of Andalucía. It’s one of the larger cities in Spain. When we arrived, we were surprised at our hotel. It was super nice! Like 4 stars nice. Awesome bedrooms, awesome views, beautiful lobby, and amazing breakfast. API treated us super well.

Sevilla, Spain

At 8:15, we met to walk to a Flamenco Show. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but it was amazing. I thought it was couples dancing, light guitar, red dresses, spinning - ya know “flamenco”. No. It was tap dancing, live guitar, clapping, cheering, and all improv dancing - solo. It was so cool! 

Flamenco dancers

On Saturday, we had a 4 hour walking tour of the city that included the Alcazar, the Cathedral, and the Giralda Tower. The Alcazar was breathtaking. I can’t even describe the amount of detail and beauty there was in this buliding. From the gardens to the tile work, to the orange trees and the fountains the Alcazar was probably one of my favorite places so far. 

The Cathedral? Meh. Another one. Except for the fact that part of Christopher Columbus is buried there. Our guide told us that his only wish before dying was that he didn’t want to be buried in Spain. Sorry, buddy. We also took a picture in front of it because..? 

And the Giralda. “Ramps” they said! “So much better than stairs!” Except there were 35 ramps. Plus 17 stairs at the end. The view was worth it, but you’d better believe every corner I turned I thought this HAS to be the top...floor 12?!?Okay seriously..floor 24?! Come on. 30? There can’t be more. There’s just no possible way. Ah, 35. 35 floors. Perfect. Made it. No? 17 STAIRS? Shit. I’m turning around. Only joking :) the view from the top was totally worth it. 

Afterwards, we had free time. We went to a nice restaurant and I got lagrimas de pollo which directly translates to chicken tears. But, they’re actually just chicken nuggets, so I was happy. We followed lunch with a tour of the bull fighting ring, and Plaza de España, a beautiful beautiful plaza. Surrounded by a ton of gorgeous parks and streets filled with friendly happy people..

Sunday we had a few hours for free time which a small group of us spent at “The Mushroom” aka the Parasol, the largest wooden structure in the world! We also got to go on top of it.

Safe to say our first excursion was a success!

[chipsandsalsamanca]

So, I’ve definitely lost about 20 pounds, and I forgot to bring shoes for when it rains. I’ve been on the hunt for “real” plus size clothes since 10 minutes after my plane landed, you could say. Every size 14+ either belongs to your grandma’s grandma or doesn’t fit how it is supposed to. 

I can’t say I’m mad, but I can. I just want some jeans that button and also fit mi culo, ya know? While on the subject of shopping...it’s bad. Things are cheap here. I window shop frequently and occasionaly buy a 3rd bag from misako (like today). That’s my favorite store - you should Google it and fall in love with it. I’m not sure if they show their rockin’ deals online, but I frequently dream of buying their 10-20 € bags.

Coca-cola, on the other hand, is NOT cheap. So you bet I don’t drink that! Water, water, wine, water. Wine. Wine, mostly wine. The occasional copa but madre mía the wine here is amazing! 

My absolute favorite (that surprised me) is Marquesado Del Alto. It’s an aged red wine, that they describe as fruity with “fine tannin” - yes, I had to look that up. It means mildly dry. Tannin is the ingredient in wine that makes it seem dry.

All in all, everything is well. English school is amazing. Teaching with Bea and students my age (and older) has only reinforced my decision to become a teacher of Spanish. I can’t wait for the future and for this adventure to bring so many more wonderful things. 

[chipsandsalsamanca]

When you don’t feel good, and just want food you know...

The food here is good, but sometimes you just need a little pizza and pop. Something that you’re not sure is beans or meat, chicken or fish..

Thank goodness for VadePizza right on the corner near my house! I chowed down. 

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Valor

Chocolate and churros! Crepes! Lava cake! Whatever you want smothered in chocolate. Of course, it’s amazing. See for yourself:

[chipsandsalsamanca]

The past few days I haven’t done much. I’ve been sick with a cold. Thankfully today I’ve felt much better, but I have a lot of homework and studying to do. This weekend was weird..I didn’t go out at all, really, except for a walk a few times, and to the pharmacy to get medications. Which was interesting. 

You don’t get to pick your medications here! You tell the pharmacist what’s wrong, and she gives you what she thinks would be best, which makes total sense. But, I wasn’t a happy camper because I ended up with the Emergen-C powder we use in the states. Gross.

It helps though. Probably because it has 650mg of acetaminophen in it. 

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Exploring

We went to a park today and walked around Salamanca. It was absolutely beautiful - 60 degrees, sunshine, and blue skies :)

[chipsandsalsamanca]

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Volunteering

Hello!! English is a school that I mentioned in one of my previous posts. They help people of all ages learn and master english. Not only do they prepare them for the Cambridge Exam (a mastery language exam administered by THE Cambridge University) but this school I’m volunteering at is endorsed by them. How amazing!? It’s in something you’d think of as an apartment building. The front desk is on the “first”(second) floor, and there is one apartment that has two classrooms. 

The classes have a whiteboard, a TV, desks..everything you would expect. They have books, notebooks, etc, but the only difference is that they pay for these classes. I heard Beatrice, the director, say once that one of the students owed $82 for the class to the secretary. Yikes.

The teacher I’m working with is the director, Beatrice. She’s awesome, and super enthusiastic about both teaching and learning. She loves all her volunteers. Sometimes, these classes are even difficult for me. You can’t tell someone “that’s just the way it is” every time they ask you “why”. 

For example:

Pronounce them. Especially the last group. Why is cough pronounced [kauff]? but dough not pronounced [dauff]? Fundamental problem. Learning road block. Sorry guys, I don’t know! No one does.

Other than explaining pronunciation, we do grammar, vocabulary, and discussions. It’s really amazing to be in these classrooms and be able to help. Even though sometimes I can’t explain the difference between a device and an appliance as smoothly as I’d like, I really do like teaching these students. They’re about my age, sometimes older or a little younger, and are preparing to take the exam I mentioned earlier.

That’s all for now. Besos! :*

[chipsandsalsamanca]

I will likely come back to the States a size 10. Not only because you get no pop over here, you also get fruit for dessert, and walk everywhere you need to go! Today, I needed some fresh air because, well, I was bored!

After going to Hello English, I went on a walk down to Río Tormes (Tormes River) to try and catch the sunset with my camera. I didn’t make it, because we got lost. (Never a bad thing) But we finally made it, and I’m glad we got there late. The reflections on the river, and the lights on the buildings were AMAZING to see at night.

I’m also planning on just talking walks for fun. I had so much fun taking pictures tonight, I want to start going on photo walks because this city is so pretty, and I don’t mind getting lost.

Under the bridge

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Estaba aburrida..

I was bored! This city is boring. There isn’t a lot to do. Salamanca is gorgeous, but it’s definitely a bar town. I had to find something to do other than sleep a siesta everyday. So, I decided to volunteer twice a week at a school called “hello english. - salamanca.” I’ll go there and help out college students who are trying to pass something called the Cambridge exam - which is similar in the states to the DELE. Speaking of the DELE, I volunteered to be an experimenter to test the test. Know what I’m sayin’? I don’t get anythign for it, but it’s free, and I’ll have to take it some day. In return for my presence, they give me a bunch of practice materials, and my results. The Cambrige is similar - it’s a language exam certifying your ability. And it’s extremely necessary if you want to have a public job, my intercambio amiga tells me.

That’s another thing I’m doing! With Paquita’s neice, Ana, I’m doing something called intercambios. It’s a fancy Spanish word for talking to eachother in Spanish (or English sometimes, because Ana needs help for her exam similar to the Cambrige!) We’ll meet once or twice a week as well.

I also have a ton of homework all the sudden. I’m not quite sure where that came from. I’m just over here settling in! Another group arrives from Madrid here in a few days, and a few from our current group will leave :(

Also, I’m sorry if you have messaged me. I get a lot of WhatsApp chats everyday from various people (family, friends, API people) and sometimes at weird times of the day. If I don’t message you back, please don’t take it to heart. You know I’m even bad at that in the States...

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Madrid: Day 2

We were so busy this past weekend in Madrid! The second day we went to El Escorial (no pictures allowed inside) and the Prado Museum (no pictures, again). We were all awestruck, but today definitely kicked our butts.

Walking everywhere is definitely a different concept. The Prado was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel in Puerto del Sol, and after being rained on in El Escorial, I think our whole group was ready for a nap.

My purse also broke today. that was interesting. The strap just snapped and it fell off in the middle of Madrid. On the quest for a new one of those, and possibly some short rain boots..

P.S. - I don’t know why this didn’t post! This was from Thursday, January 7th. My second day in Spain :)

[chipsandsalsamanca]

fourth floor living

[chipsandsalsamanca]

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Guided Tour through Salamanca

How pretty my new home is :) A little chilly, I might mention. It’s really nice here. But there’s not a ton to do in between meals unless you’re going to eat somewhere, shop, or to the bar. We started today out with sunshine, which is super lucky for our tour.

We walked to the old university first. The wall in the main square has a frog made somewhere on it. Our tour guide told us that it used to be said that if you found the frog on the wall, that you would have good luck and pass your exams.  Luckily, she showed us where it was, so I’ll pass :)

The university has so much character. We got to see a 600 year old classroom, as well as the room that functioned as a church. She told us that if you are or ever have attended the current University of Salamanca (which we are considered students of currently) you have the right to marry in that church, and they hold weddings there frequently.

At the center square of the university was a rather large redwood tree. 150 years ago, this was given to the University of Salamanca by the University of California. 

We moved through later to the cathedral.

We actually got to climb up some winding stairs (oy) to a tower that looked out on the city, and then up some more stairs to the central bell tower which, like in every city, used to be the alert system for anything needed, and different rings meant different things. Sometimes weddings, fires, or even to be used as a clock, as it is today. The bell tower is the highest point in Salamanca!

[chipsandsalsamanca]

La Universidad de Salamanca

Classes! School! Something I can handle! I had to make a few changes, but as of now (if my GVSU director gets back to me) my classes are set. I’m taking three classes, and because they’re more frequent, I receive ample credit for them. They’re actually really interesting.

The first is my grammar class. That meets for 2 hours, Monday through Friday. My professor’s name is Lula. Yes, Lula. She’s awesome. She makes class so fun. And for all that I’ve learned in the states, the first week of classes with Lula has taught me so much more. Halfway through class we usually get a break, and there’s this really yummy café next door to my building. Coffees in the states are really expensive..I get cafe con leche for about 80 eurocents. Granted, it’s much smaller, but it tastes a million times better and it keeps me going through the day. Plus, the people are really nice there.

Next, I have to go to a building that’s about a 15 minute walk away. I have a Women in Spanish history class with an awesome professor named Charo. She’s very animated and she makes really relateable connections between women in the middle ages and women today.

My third and last class of the day is Spanish Culture. That class is interesting. I feel kinda dumb because sure, we know a lot about America: 50 states, MI is shaped like a mitten, Mi-ss-iss-i-pp-i, etc. But Spain? Psh. Whenever I’m in there I feel like a little kid. But  I do enjoy it. This professor talks a lot.

[chipsandsalsamanca]

Salamanca

We made it! It was a little awkward when we got off the bus and just got sent off with our new families, but Paquita was so nice. She carried one of my bags for the walk to her apartment (thank goodness) and we talked a little in Spanish. Once we dropped off my bags and she showed me the house, she asked if I wanted to take a short walk to Plaza Mayor, and that I could meet the API group there tomorrow by myself.

Plaza Mayor at night

My room is a good size. I have a nice armaria to put my clothes in and shelves to put my bathroom stuff on. One thing I managed to learn very quickly is that in Spain, it’s rude to not wear slippers in your host home. Bare feet and socks are not accepted in Spanish homes, you must be wearing shoes or slippers at all times. I love my room. The bathroom is large, the shower? Small..

The living room is cute, but I don’t spend any time in there. The kitchen is tiny as well. The dining table is one of those half tables meant for one, but we use the chair from my room when we eat together everyday.