Shefali takes Spain

my semester abroad in Castellón

[siestasinthesun]

Article for CV Newsletter by Shefali

10/25/2016

[siestasinthesun]

My love letter to Spain

Dear Spain,

This is my love letter to you. It definitely wasn’t love at first sight or the second or the third. In fact, I never told you this, but I at first, I wondered what in the world I was doing with you. Why wasn’t I in the comfort of my home university with my friends? I was repulsed by your terrible smoking habits and was worried that I would never be able to get along with you because of your affinity for drinking and partying into the early hours of the morning. Our lifestyles didn’t mesh, and I was worried that they never would. It took me about a week to adjust and it wasn’t till I had been with you for about three weeks till I realized that I was falling hopelessly in love. I think the first time I realized how much I loved you was after we had been apart for a couple of days. I took a short trip to Germany in early October and literally everything went wrong. Coming back to you at the end of the weekend, I felt something I never thought I would. I felt like I had come home. And for that, I want to thank you.

Thank you for being my safe, happy place where I could take risks and grow without the fear of being hurt. Thank you for showing me that the best memories are made at the crack of dawn and that the night isn’t over till the sun comes up. Thank you for showing me that the sun is just as beautiful rising above the ocean as it is setting above the ocean. Thank you for teaching me that it is okay to be alone and sometimes not knowing where you are is one of the greatest adventures. Thank you for helping me conquer public transportation. Thank you for all of the embarrassing miscommunications and misunderstandings because there’s no better way to learn a language than by failing at it. But most importantly, thank you for giving me the strength to conquer my fears and go out into the world. The last four months with you have opened up my world like I never thought possible. Who knew that the sheltered girl from Cerritos would one day be able to travel out of her comfort zone and into 9 different countries, and have a friend on every continent of the world (except Antarctica). The world has never felt so huge and small at the same time. I feel like there’s just so much to see and for the first time ever, I actually have the courage to go out and see it.

Te amo, España y te echo de menos mucho.

Hasta pronto!!

Dos besos,

Shefali

[siestasinthesun]

What I Learned from Germany

1. Prepare for the worst and bring extra cash to pay for it. 

2. Germans have a song for everything

3. Germans sing when they’re drunk

4. Germans have a very high alchohol tolerance which makes sense because they can start drinking at the age of 16. 

5. The autobahn is awesome and there surprisingly aren’t very many accidents there 

6. Laughing relieves stress. Just laugh it off 

7. I love Spain so much. i instantly felt safer and more comfortable once we were back in Spain and for the first time, Spain felt like home. 

PS. I’ll update about my trip to Morocco soon! School’s been crazy 

[siestasinthesun]

09.20.2015: Germany Day 3!

Day 3! Started off great! We woke up and went to take a tour of the city. Rothenburg is straight out of a fairytale! It’s so enchanting and magical and absolutely darling. All the houses are painted a different bright color and the roofs are pointy, giving them the typical german look. There were medieval walls and old clock towers that transported us to a different world and time. Every window has a windowsill overflowing with flowers of all colors and varieties but the coolest part was a natural spring water fountain flowing straight out of the wall! it looked kind of shady at first because it was just water flowing out of a faucet literally out of the wall into this little pool but it said “clean water” in germ (at least that’s what I think it said lol) so we filled up our water bottles and it was the most delicious, refreshing, cold water I’ve ever had. Before we left Rothenburg, we made sure to pick up snowballs for the road! Snowballs are this braided shortbread cookie thing rolled into a ball and fried and then coated in brown sugar and cinnamon (but there were a bunch of other toppings too). We headed to train station, bought our ticket, and boarded the train. A young couple sitting behind us on the train noticed that we spoke english and started talking to about the funny german accents. As we were about to get off the train, the stopped us and told us that there had been an accident at one of the main train stations so all the trains had been suspended for the next two hours. They told us not to worry and told us to follow them on their train to Nuremberg which was in the direction that we needed to go to. They spoke to the train conductor and after a few minutes of rapid german they came back to us and told us that we wouldn’t be able to get to Stuttgart until 5:00pm. Our flight was at 3:00pm... We started to freak out just a bit lool. Actually we weren’t entirely surprised. After all the trouble we’d had with the bahn so far, of course this would happen to us. We all went a little hysteric, sure that we were about to miss our flight and in turn the last train from Barcelona to Castellon. The couple made it their mission to make sure that we got to the airport on time and frantically began talking to the train conductor and calling taxis to see if there was any other option. We soon came to the conclusion that the only way we were going to make this flight was if we ditched this train (therefore wasting the ticket we just bought) and taking a taxi to Stuttgart. This taxi was about to cost us 300 euros. Even though I’m writing this 2 weeks later (lol procrastinating), it still hurts that we had to pay so much for a taxi. The only positive from this? we got to go on the autobahn! a huge freeway with no speed limit! We went over 120 mph at some points! super cool experience. Just wish it didn’t cost 300 euros.

We made it to the airport with plenty of time, especially considering the fact that our flight had been delayed by 45 minutes. We got to Barcelona later than expected but still had an hour till the last train left for Castellon so we felt good and couldn’t wait to get home. But first, we had to take a train from the Barcelona airport to the Barcelona train station. It’s only a 15 min ride and we had an hour. Nothing to worry about. omg we were wrong. The train to the train station was delayed by FIFTY MINUTES! by the time we got to the Barcelona train station, the last train to Castellon was LONG GONE. You learn a lot about a person’s character when times get tough. Two of my friends did not handle this situation well at all. Miranda and I got into problem solving mode and tried to do our best to stay calm and make the best of the situation. With went from person to person in the train station till someone was able to help us find a bus that left from Tarragona to Castellon. We quickly bought a ticket for the last train to Tarragona and prepared ourselves for a long night. Once we got to Tarragona, we booked a bus ticket and searched the city for the bus station which was a major struggle of its own. 30 minutes later we found the bus station and rejoiced at our little victory but were too afraid to breathe a sigh of relief until we had stepped foot in Castellon. Thankfully, the bus arrived about an hour later and several hours later, we made it to Castellon at about 2am. I’ve never been so happy to see my bed before in my entire life. Germany was a crazy, stressful, amazing adventure and I’m never going to forget it nor will I be going back to Germany for a while.

Coming back to Castellón, Spain felt like home and I think I’m falling in love with this little city and this amazing country.

PS. We’re still in touch with the couple that helped us (Michaela and Sebastian). We exchanged email addresses before we parted ways and they’ve invited us to Nurmberg! 

[siestasinthesun]

09.19.2015: Germany Day 2

Day 2! Definitely the best day of our trip. Mostly because we didn’t have any problems with transportation! We arrived in Munich around 10am, Miranda bought a dirndl, and we lined up for the opening parade! There were bands and horses and beautifully decorated floats filled with barrels and barrels of beer. Each float represented a different beer company from around Germany which is crazy because there were like 50 different floats. Oktoberfest is like a massive state fair with beer. There’s rides and fair foods and games and booths and huge tents that serve as beer gardens. We headed straight to lunch at one of the smaller beer tents called Haxenbrateri and waited an hour to be seated. Being inside the tent was a really cool experience. There were people in lederhosen and dirndles singing, and dancing, and playing music, and eating, and drinking, and just having a great time. Bethany and Miranda each ordered a liter of beer and pork knuckles, while Jen and I decided to stay sober and ordered a hearty potato soup and a massive pretzel. The food was amazing and 45 minutes we were extremely full and two of us were a little tipsy.

No better way to sober up then by heading to a concentration camp lol. We didn’t plan this day out very well. Nonetheless, we quickly finished our food and souvenir shopping and took a train to Dachau, the first concentration established during the Nazi regime. There were two barracks open to the public and rows of trees behind them that represented the hundreds more barracks that used to exist. Although I was able to see first hand the living conditions of the concentration camps and saw pictures and video from that time, I still can’t really comprehend it. I’ll never be able to really understand the horrible things that the people in these concentration camps had to go through. Being at Dachau was heartbreaking and eye opening and humbling, and most importantly, being at Dachau made me so thankful for the life and opportunities that I have.

We were only at Dachau for an hour before it closed and we headed back to our hostel in Rothenburg. We reached Rothenburg just in time for the night watchmen tour of the city. Unfortunately, we had missed the english tour and this tour was in German. We decided to stick with it anyway, figuring we’d at least get to walk around the city. We were wrong. There was more talking than walking so the tour of consisted of my friends and I smiling and nodding and laughing at the appropriate times, pretending we had any idea what was going on. At one of our many stops, my eyes wandered to a theater and I pointed it out to Jen. She got super excited being the theater kid she is and walked over to it and beaconed us over. A really nice lady told us that there was an art exhibition and a music performance going on and that we should definitely come inside. Not particularly fond of the bitter cold air or the german tour, we readily agreed and were welcomed by a cozy theater space filled with the beautiful music of an amazing cellist and clarinet player. There was mostly old people there but everyone welcomed the foreigners anyway, offering us smiles, free drinks and what little english they knew. The lady we had met outside wasn’t a pro at english but did her best to explain the program for the night, the history of Rothenburg, and her life in general. After about 15 minutes, she spotted the featured artists and went over to him to tell him about the foreigners visiting Rothenburg. The artist, Simon something offered to give us a personal tour of his exhibit. It was the coolest thing ever having an artist explaining the work, the thought, and the story behind each of his pieces. Simon was really talented and creative. Most of his pieces were made of a plank of wood, covered in black duct tape and painted white. He then carefully scraped away the white to reveal black and shades of gray. The theater and the art exhibit were definitely some of my favorite parts of germany! I love Rothenburg and definitely want to come back to this adorable little town.

[siestasinthesun]

09.17-18.2015: Germany Day 1

Germany was amazing, stressful, beautiful, frustrating, green, charming, loud, fun, hilarious, memorable, expensive, and absolutely incredible.

Thursday- Friday: Our trip started off easy peasy, smooth sailing. We made it to the Barcelona train station and then to the airport in plenty of time and felt excited and jittery in anticipation of the weekend ahead of us. The first sign of trouble began when our flight to Stuttgart, Germany was delayed. At first only by 15 minutes but this 15 min soon became an hour. Still, we weren’t too worried because we knew we had plenty of time to catch the midnight train to Fussen from Stuttgart. We arrived to Stuttgart just before 11 and went to the ticket machine but saw that the next available train was not at midnight like we had believed but at 4:30am. That means we had five and a half hours at this train station which would’ve been annoying but fine if the train station wasn’t shady AF! We were greeted at the train station by two homeless people fighting and shouting and sketchy people giving us looks at we tried to find a safe place to hang out for the next five hours. To top it all off, it was 40 degrees fahrenheit and we were dressed for Spain weather. This was about to be the longest five hours of my life. Luckily, my friends weren’t about to let this bump in the road dampen our excitement. We were freezing, scared, miserable, and exhausted, but we made this a bonding experience and played card games till the wee hours of the morning. The last hour was definitely the longest but at last, we made it to 4:30 am and boarded our train. The inside of the train looked like the Hogwarts express! This would be the first of many trains that we took on our way to Fussen.

We got a quick hour nap before we had to switch trains. It went on like this for the next few hours. In our sleep deprived state, we got off at our second to last stop only to realize that we had gotten off at the dingiest, middle-of-nowhere stop I’d ever seen. It literally just looked like the side of a road rather than a station. It wasn’t long before we realized that this was the wrong station. Of course, all the buildings were closed and we had five minutes to get to our next stop so we frantically searched for someone who could help. Thankfully there were a few construction workers nearby and once we explained our dilemma, he offered to call a taxi for us. Several euros and hours later, we finally made it to Fussen, home of the Neuschwanstein, aka the inspiration for the Disney castle! Because we arrived 4 hours later than we had originally planned, we decided to cut out the tour of the castle and our trip to Dachau. The castle was amazing! This king really knew how to choose a castle’s location! it was on top of a mountain, overlooking the valley and a lake. It was absolutely beautiful and I was glad our exhausting journey hadn’t gone to waste. We ate bratwurst for lunch and headed back to the train station so that we could take 3492804 more trains to Rothenburg, where our hostel was located. We knocked out that night in seconds. It was a long day 

[siestasinthesun]

09.12.15:Montanejos & Vila Real

Went on a trip to Montanejos with UJI today. It wasa beautiful drive in the mountains to the hot spring. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t in the mood to cooperate with our plans and it soon started raining. The hot spring was actually kind of chilly and combined with the rain, I decided to stick to just wading knee deep in the water rather than going for an all out swim. We weren’t at the pool very long and walked to restaurant for lunch. The food was great. Started with a deconstructed salad and bocadillos (with ham. why does everything have ham). The entree was a plate of paella! it was my first time eating paella in spain it was nothing like the paella I ate in san diego a few years ago. It tasted like maggie noodles lol not that I was complaining. 

I don’t know why but I was absolutely exhausted after Montanejos (even though all I did was sit around) but Jen made me agree to go to Vila Real with her that night. Going to Vila Real was a great decision. There were bars in front of the doors and cage looking things along the street; the bulls were running tonight. Even though I knew I’d be safe behind the bars, I could feel the adrenaline in the air as people lined in the streets preparing themselves to run with/from the bulls. A couple guys I had met that night planned on running too. We heard two shots in the sky signaling that the bull was being released. It wasn’t long before I saw the fire coming from the bull’s horns coming down the street and people began to literally run for their lives. 

Fun story, after about half an hour, a second bull was released and I waited on my tipetoes to see the fire in the distance. Once the bull had run past me, my friends and I come out of the cage thingy we were standing and starting walking in the wake of the bull. I don’t know why I didn’t think about this but suddenly the bull turned around and started to charge in our direction. I have never run so fast in my life. It was terrifying and I almost peed and I totally understand why people do this for fun. 

I left soon after this petrifying experience and as I was leaving I realized the party was just starting. There were thousands of people up and down the streets, music blaring and lights flashing from every house. But I left cause I was pooped. 

best day in Spain so far

[siestasinthesun]

09.08.2015: Primera Semana

it’s been a week and school starts tomorrow! so I thought I’d take this time to make a list of what I’ve learned so far! 

1. going out at 12am or even 1am is totally normal. On any day of the week.       dinner isn’t until 9 or 10 and people need an hour to get ready before going. makes sense lol

2. Spanish people are very accomodating.                                                         earlier this week, I went to a pretty nice restuarant by the beach with 6 friends. The restaurant was pretty busy but instead of making us wait, the waiters set up a large foldable plastic table. 

3. water at restaurants isn’t free.                                                                             I’m so used to going cheap at restaurants by ordering water. Not anymore lol. Also some water is “fancier” and more expensive than other water. literally all tastes the same tbh. But it’s cool getting a water bottle for the table that looks like a wine bottle. 

4. Castellon is a bilingual community.                                                                     All residents speak Castellon (which is Spanish) and Valenciano (which is like a mix of Spanish and French and makes absolutely no sense to me)

5. people call me exotic because I’m from California.                                           Lol what?? People from Romania or Poland or Turkey are exotic! But it’s cool to see the diversity among the exchange students! I came here thinking most people would be American but most students are from Germany, France, or Italy!

6. Spanish people greet each other by making kissing noises and touching cheeks. Left cheek then right cheek. Italians on the other hand kiss right then left. Don’t greet an Italian in Spain. It’ll end up with your lips all over the place. 

7. Vale! that means okay and spanish people say it literally after every sentence. 

In other news! I just booked my flight to the opening weekend of Oktoberfest! I’ll be on the search for helium beer. 

[siestasinthesun]

Day 4: Fiesta by the Sea

lol already behind on updating my blog.

The previous night, my friends and I had learned about a fiesta happening in Benicassim, a villa near the beach that was just a short bus ride away. We got their around 7 and it was definitely not what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting a crazy party by the beach where everyone is drunk. I didn’t expect so much history and antiques and people dressed in clothes common during WWII. It was a lot of fun walking by the mediteranean sea, eating chocolate croisants, and it hit me again that I’m actually in spain. Bennicasim is a cute little city with the most beautiful houses and towers. Carla later told me that these towers were used to look out for pirates!

Later that night Jin and I met up with Yolanda for dinner at El Sole, a reggae resturant literally on the beach. Definitely my favorite meal in Spain so far! I wanted iced coffee so I ordered cafe frio at the bar which isn’t actaully a thing. The bartender gave me a confused look before pouring me a glass of a brown slushy looking thing. It was great! the perfect amount of sweet and coffee! That bartender just got me man. I later learned that this was called a granizada de cafe. #lifechanged #foundmydrink As we finished up our dinner, we got to see the fireworks from the festival! Overall, it was a great day in Spain (:

[siestasinthesun]

Day 3: FroYo Makes Everything Better

I had class registration this morning and I have a new appreciation for the American class registration system. It was so much more complicated than it needed to be in Spain. 3 hours later I left UJI with none of the classes I had originally planned to take. Fortunately, I have another month to finalize my classes. 

After lunch we took a guided tour of Castellon, provided by ORI (international relations office). I feel even more in love with the city when I learned about the history and meaning behind every sculpture and statue. There’s art everywhere! Castellon is a tiny city but the streets have so many twists and turns it’s easy to get lost. I’m finally learning my way around and have finally figured out where I live. 

Later that night, a couple of my friends invited me to go out for drinks and tapas before dinner. I was really excited to experience this common Spanish custom and quickly agreed. However, I didn’t expect it to be the down turn of my night. I’ve always been really sheltered, first at Whitney and now at UTD. I’ve never been to a raging college party, gotten drunk, or even really tried alcohol (besides chapagne which nasty stuff). My inexpereince made me an outcast among my friends and even the city. While they ordered cervezas and cocktails, I decided to stick with a coke, which was fine. But the problem began when they started to talk about drinking and partying and drunk stories. I literally said nothing for an hour and a half and missed all my friends back home like crazy. Would I ever be able to find a group of friends who like to have fun and explore (perferably while being sober) in a city that loves to party and drink? I’ve never felt so out of place in my life and started wondering if despite my love for the city of Castellon, if Spain was the right place for me. After their drinks finally finished, we separated for dinner and I was glad for the chance to go back home. 

After dinner, my friends texted me and asked if I wanted to go out again later that night. I was hesitant but decided to meet up with them at 11pm. We ended up finding a froyo place with the best froyo I’ve ever had. I expected this interaction to be similar to what had happened earlier that night. What I didn’t expect was to stay out till 2am talking and laughing with a group of people I actually began to think of as my friends. My worries began to fade away and with time, I’m sure I’ll be able to create a solid group of friends even on the other side of the world. 

some of the art in Castellon!

[siestasinthesun]

Day 2: Call me Sheffey

Spaniards can’t say Shefali to save their life. I can always expect blank confused stares or a loud ¿Qué? after I introduce myself. My host mom calls me Sheffey, which I actually think is really cute, and some of my friends from Korea call me Shep (unable to say Shef). I’ve become a new person in Spain.

I had orientation this morning! It was amazing and a little overwhelming walking into a room of people and not being able to understand a thing. There were so many different languages spoken in the little room. From the Spanish, to German, French, and Italian, I didn’t really know what language to use when trying to make conversation. There are over 200 exchange students this semester, most of them from primarily around Europe. There are only a few students from the States and we tend to stick together. I also met a girl from Australia at orientation and we soon became friends, initially brought together by the fact that we could actaully communicate. The language barriers definitely makes making friends much more difficult.

Later in the evening, I went out with my roommate, Jin, (a girl from Korea), her friends, and some locals. It was a little awkward at first. Noone knew what to say or what language to say it in. Carla, a Castellon local, was one of the few who spoke both spanish and english and she made an effort to speak to everyone. I liked her immediately. She showed us around Castellon, pointing out her favorite restaurants, shops, and cafes. We’ve already made plans to meet again and I really hope that we can become good friends this semester! 

Jin, Carla, y yo 

[siestasinthesun]

Day 1: LAX to VLC

24 hours, a wrong train, a missed train, and buckets of sweat from lugging around 50 pounds up and down several flights of stairs in the sweltering heat later, I arrived at my home for the next four months.  

First impression: really nice house in a great location (right in the center of the city). There’s 3 other students living with me but there is plenty of room for all of us. Something I didn’t expect was everyone just leaving and coming when they want. It’s kind of like a college dorm. Everyone just does their own thing and they aren’y big on talking. Hopefully gets less awks with time. Also, Spain is very hot. Should’ve brought more shorts.

Highlights of the day: 

1. meeting so many interesting and nice people on the journey! Talked with an old lady for hours during a flight about Switzerland and life, and met two more study abroad students in the Chicago airport and we quickly became friends. Hopefully I’ll be able to visit them in Florence!

2. getting terribly lost as soon as we arrived in Valencia. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun and I got to get my spanish gears going! Plus I actually know how the train system works now. ish. 

3. walking through the streets of Castellon at night. Even at 10pm the streets were bright and bustled with life. The tiny streets were packed with boutiques, restaurants, and bars. I loved seeing people of all ages hanging out with friends and family. I could spend hours getting lost in the maze of streets. There’s something interesting to see around every corner. I love seeing the blend of old and new. A centuries old orante building could be located right next to a modern apartment complex. 

[siestasinthesun]

My Spain To Do List

1. eat churros con chocolate (going to check this off ASAP)

2. try seafood (and hopefully like it)

3. eat tapas

4. have a conversation with a stranger in Spanish 

5. go on a spontaneous adventure

6. travel whenever possible

7. learn/try something new everyday

8. do something that terrifies me 

9. swim in the Mediterranean Sea 

10. visit Alhambra, Granada

11. visit la mezquita de Cordoba

12. learn to flamenco

13. bargain (and strike a deal) at El Rastro, Barcelona 

14. learn to cook a Spanish meal 

15.  actually update this blog