For those who will worry or wonder about my who-what-when-and-wheres while away.



SAFARI!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Jamón y cañas

Where to begin....I feel like I've done SO much in the past two days. I've managed to go almost all the places I intended to (except the museums, which I plan to do later)---El Real Palacio (the Royal Palace), including the Real Armeria (Royal Armery) and the Real Farmacia (Royal Pharmacy) and the Jardines de Sabatini (the gardens), la Plaza Oriente, la Plaza Mayor, el Parque de Buen Retiro (basically their version of Central Park, which includes El Palacio de Cristal--The Crystal Palace--and the Monument of Alfonso XII), El Paseo del Prado (a nice walking area next to El Prado Museum), El Jardin Botanico (The Botanical Garden), El Fuente de Neptuno (Neptune's Fountain), La Puerta de Alcala, La Plaza de Espana and its Cervantes monument.....and probably some other stuff that I can't remember now. Everything is named "Plaza" or "Puerta," so it seems like everything is important. Just look at the pictures--they can tell a better story than I can.

My first tapas experience didn't go completely as planned. Elena planned to take me with her and her friends to her favorite tapas place, El Tigre, which I'm pretty sure is near Chueca--the gay neighborhood of Madrid. However, when we got there it was closed due to the the Metro being on strike. What great timing! Elena has lived in near Madrid for 15 years and has never heard of a Metro strike..oh well. It only means (once again...) that I have to walk everywhere, instead of only paying about 2 Euros for a whole day of riding the Metro. Oh well...Que sera, sera. (I'm getting pretty good at finding my around since I'm mostly walking, and I think its the best way to get to know a city anyways.) Soooooo... instead of El Tigre, we went to El Museo del Jamon. Yes, thats right...literally translated it means "Museum of Ham." There weren't many tapas choices that weren't ham, as you would expect, but we did have some bread, a plate of ham, cheese, sausage, and a couple of canas (the local word for a draft beer). Another common snack is called a "bocadillo." Usually its just ham, just cheese, or a mix of both on a roll...but I LOVE THEM. And when I call it ham, its only because thats the translation. Its actually jamon, and I LOVE jamon. Its very similar to prosciutto..very thinly sliced and salty. I could eat it everyday....and I have.

Something else I love about Spain so far is that everyone expects you to take a siesta. In fact, when I was walking around with Elena and some other pharmacy students from la Universidad de Alcala after tapas y canas, one of them asked me if I had taken my siesta today. When I said no, she was like "ooohh nooo, you must be exhausted." Haha..these are my kind of people. Naps are not something you want but you need. I wonder if I'll ever leave...

Everyone hears about how Mediterranean men are very forward, and while I don't think Spanish men are as bad as Italian men, I have had a few encounters (nothing to worry about Mom and Dad, they are very respectful about it...). I've had several men walk past me and say something complimentary to me, a few of which have grabbed my hand while doing so. They don't do it forcefully, just very softly as they pass by. Its strange to get used to, but I try to just keep walking, not turn around and not make eye contact..thats what I've heard works best.

Today I took some time to do some shopping on the La Gran Via (my hotel is right on the corner of this street and La Calle de Montera--where ironically the prostitutes like to hang out; once again Mom and Dad, its safe. They're harmless and I've seen more police in Madrid than in any other city, especially on this street..). During the month of July (and also in January), almost all the stores in Spain have a huge sale, called las rebajas. Its the best time to shop, and I'm so glad the entire time I'll be in Spain it'll be going on :) .

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Yesterday I arrived in Madrid around 3:00pm, and Elena from IPSF met me and showed me to my hostal. Its basically in the center of Madrid, one block from kilometro cero (kilometer zero, what they say is the geographical center of Spain). Elena and I had lunch in the Plaza Mayor and then took a small walking tour. I plan to do it again today to take pictures, enter El Palacio Real (The Royal Palace) and walk around in its gardens. Elena only talks to me in Spanish, which has already tested my skills, and by the end of the day I was too tired to keep listening (it takes a lot of effort). Hopefully each day will get better...they placed me in a pharmacy instead of a lab because my spanish level was above everyone else's in the program. I know my spanish will improve in just a few days.


The streets of Madrid are BEAUTIFUL! It reminds me of New York (it actually made me a little home sick...well, America sick), but instead of their Time Square looking like it does in New York, it looks like Greenwich village, Soho, ect. Bellisima. I plan on visiting the museums to see Guernica and other works by Picasso, Velazquez, Dali, and the various famous Spanish artists, but I might wait to do that on a weekend (when most of them are free and I can go with more people). Last night, I went to bed early to be well rested and prepared to speak Spanish well, but since the hostal is in the middle of everything it was loud throughout the night, especially when considering Spanish nightlife doesn't start until around 12. Today I'll meet Elena and her friends for lunch and my very first tapas experience, which I'm rrrreally looking forward to.


Dejan from Slovenia is meeting me on Wednesday at the hostal, and on Thursday we'll head to Alcala, I'll go the pharmacy where I'll be working, but I won't start working until Monday. So I basically have a week to get accustomed to the sights and sounds of Spain before work. Eight students, including myself, will be staying in a house on campus at la Universidad de Alcala, and they will all speak English. In fact, most people near where we'll be staying on campus will speak English and very little Spanish. The students staying with me are from Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, aaaand I don't know where else, but I do know I'm the only one from the States.

Hasta manana.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Adios Alice!

On Saturday, Alice's friend Johanna took me to Holland for a few hours. Just about an hour train ride from Munster, Enschede is a smaller city so it didn't take more than a few hours to see most of it. We walked around the city and marketplace, looked through the stores and had a coffee. There were lots of fish and cheese vendors and fresh flowers in the market--getting around was really easy since most Dutch people speak English and German, so we were set. When we first arrived we went to find some real "coffee shops," but it was too early for them to be open. Its probably a good thing, so I had an excuse not to go in. While the concept of the Dutch coffee shops, with people smoking weed and eating hash browning, is exciting, I can't imagine there would be much to do if you didn't want to partake in the festivities. I was happy to see them from the outside.

Even though Enschede is so close to Munster, the differences between the people and the city were definitely noticable. Germans have a flare for architecture and design that the Dutch just can't compete with...or at least in this particular city. I always like to compare the people in different places as well--I'm a big people-watcher. Comparing between the countries, the Germans seem to also have nice style in dress; they're always neatly put together in a simple way. The Dutch were much more random, probably more like what someone would say about Americans. And the people themselves...how do I say this so I don't sound rude? Oh screw it, there aren't many attractive people in Holland. Once I noticed that, I kept looking for someone to change my opinion...but alas, no one did. They also seemed a great deal shorter than the Germans. Anyways, I'm not saying there aren't any attractive people...this is just conjecture.

After we returned, Alice and I rode our bikes to the wine store where she worked a tasting that evening. Her boss was really friendly and allowed me join the tasting for free...all the german wines, serrano ham, and antipasto I wanted. It was really an awesome experience; Alice really went above and beyond for me. Then we went a birthday party for Alice's friend Nina, where I had a really interesting view into German university party life. Once again, everyone was really accomodating (language wise), I had an amazing night that I will most definitely remember.

Today was laid back; Johanna and Alice prepared quite a spread for a traditional "German breakfast." Lots of bread, cheese, jams, an egg, and some great fruitspread called something like rote griste (sp?). Then we swam in the channel (a little weird for me since its an industrial passage way, and big boats went through carry their loads...my instinct was to believe it wouldn't be clean, but it was), laid out, then watched the soccer game. It was soo unbelievably hot, I can only imagine what it will be like in Spain. I leave tomorrow for Spain and while I CANNOT WAIT(!!!!), I'm also sad to be leaving Alice. We only get to see each other every other year or so, and its been great seeing her. Its crazy to think I have such a good friend from so far away, but there is no one in the world like Alice.

P.S. I'm getting used to riding bikes in town; its much better than walking (One of Alice's roommate left for a few days and let me borrow hers. Unfortunately, my legs were too short to ride it, so Alice let me use hers.)...and I didn't hit ANYTHING. Okay, I did once. Well actually, I ran into parked bikes twice and knocked over three other bikes when I wasn't even moving. Who woulda thought......

Friday, June 25, 2010

Do you want my trash?

Yesterday was a photo tour of Munster while Alice was in class in bloque (all day). Then I met up with her for dinner, along with her classmates who she is traveling to Ecuador with in August. Afterwards we walked through the "fair" and watched fireworks go off over the castle.

As I've been saying, Munster so far has been a lot of walking for me. So yesterday when I got up to trek through the city, I was at a loss for what shoes to wear...something that wouldn't hurt my already throbbing feet, cause more blisters, or look too stupid. Well, as practical as I am, I went with looking silly over discomfort and wore my tennis shoes. The reason I looked silly is because its not common for people to wear tennis shoes walking around in Europe (or so I've been told, although I did notice I was the only girl wearing them). When I caught up with Alice I told her why I wore them, and she said "Yeah, I laughed to myself when I saw your shoes and thought 'you're soooo American.'" Not that I care that they know I'm American, but its nice not to stand out like a sore thumb. Well at least my feet don't hurt today....

Something else that is hard to get used to in Germany is that everyone wants your trash....your beer bottles, water bottles, coke bottles, plastic or glass. In the supermarkets there are two prices for these items, one for the contents of the bottles and one for the bottles themselves. While a six pack may cost 4 Euros, you're charged an extra 2 Euros that is considered a "deposit" that you get back when you return the bottles to the store. So, most people keep their bottles when at home, but unless you want to carry around empty bottles with you all day long, you leave them on the streets or in the grass instead. Then poor people come and pick up the bottles to return them for the deposit. Its strange to see people finish a beer and hand the empty bottle to a homeless man, or drop it in the grass and forget about it. But hey, if it keeps the streets clean and gives the poor a way to make more money, why not?

Germany scores!

Celebrating the win!

German Punks

Thankfully, Alice has class until early afternoon or later each day, which has given me time to catch up on my sleep and the blog. Soon I'll be on the right time schedule.

Yesterday I spent another day walking around Munster with Ron, Alice's friend from Guatemala. He has been hitch-hiking across the world for seven months so far (Central America, the US, and now Europe). He only has two shirts, one pair of pants, two pairs of shoes, and he budgets his trip for 5 Euro a day. Some how, I don't think my parents would approve of this time of travel. Haha. We were supposed to meet her other friend Johanna for a Spanish class at 4:00pm yesterday, but we sat down in a park near this promenade that encircles old Munster, had lunch (I had bought schnitzel and didn't even know it), shared a 6 pack of bier (3 euro!), got to talking and lost track of the time. We went to find the building so that we could still meet up with Johanna after her class around 6. We had an extra hour, so Ron and I visited the Schloss of Munster. Its a gooorgeous castle..too bad I had left my memory card in my computer :( What was very strange was that they had put a fair right in front of this castle. Thats Europeans for you I guess. We don't have "castles" in the States, but I imagine if we did we wouldn't put a ferris wheel and a hotdog stand in front of it.

Alice met us at 6 and took us to one of her university (they all call it Uni over here) cafeterias for some good, cheap food. After dinner, we sat next the lake in Munster to enjoy the sunset. Two more friends of Alice's, Anna and Camila, joined us and we enjoyed more beer and wine on the grass. Anna and Camila are really fun girls, especially Camila...I told her to come to the States and I would host her, haha. I hope to see some more of her later. Then we headed to a party in a Uni building, which is a weird concept to me. The University decided that they were going to tear a building down so for a farewell, the students had a party in it the day before the demolition (I guess they're working on that today?). I got the chance to see some real German punks, which for some reason I've always wanted to see. Of course they were there to wreck havoc on the building while they still could, but the cops were there before I was. They chose a good location too, because in graffiti on the builing next to them it said "Fuck the Police." I spent the rest of the night with that NWA song stuck in my head, as well as "Fight the Power." haha. The evening ended up being a success; after the punk music stopped they put on some techno (not my favorite, but the first song was some version of "Walking in Memphis," so it wasn't bad) and we enjoyed the night. The conversations were quite hilarious though...there was almost always a conversation in English, German and Spanish going on at all times, and frequently it was a mix of all three in the same sentences.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Munster

I've had the opportunity to see much of Alice's town of Munster here in Germany. Its a great city of around 230,000 people, with a huge university population. Last night I got to see them in celebration mode after advancing in the world cup. It was definitely worth seeing. After watching the game from a public viewing area in a "pool," as Alice called it (basically a wading pool with dirty water), all the students head to "Rabbit Island." This is basically a huge roundabout with a good size grassy area in the middle. During the day, tons of rabbits stay on the grass because they can't leave during the day or they will get hit by cars or bikes. Anyhoo, whenever something great happens to celebrate, all the students go there. There was a lot of German pride for the game, which as Alice has explained to me, is a pretty new concept as of late. After World War 2, almost no one showed national pride by flying German flags or wearing the national colors. They have been very careful about that up until around 2006 when they hosted the World Cup. Since then, it has become more acceptable to support the country so loudly (carry flags, paint faces, etc)....but only for sporting events.

Speaking of bikes, Munster is unofficially known as the bike capital of Germany. Its estimated that there are 2 bikes for every person. I've had to do a lot of walking since I got here just because I don't have a bike to ride like everyone else. Whenever I'm in Germany, I always forget about how bike crazy they are, and nearly get hit by several when I'm walking down the streets.

I'm looking forward to seeing more today...Munster is the site of the signing of the Peace Treaty of Westphalia and has a rich history which I hope to explore.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Three countries and 40 hours later...

Wie geht ist Ihnen?

I finally made it to my (current) final destination--Munster, Germany. And no its not where the cheese comes from. Alice and her roommates, all of which speak English, are great and very helpful. Tomorrow Alice will be in school and/or working until the evening, so she's provided me with a walking tour of historic Munster. I plan to use this time to get out the ole' SLR and take some good photos. Alice has also had some Guatemalan friends in to visit this week, one of whom is coming back into town tomorrow. Not only will it be his birthday, it will also be the night of Germany's last game for this round of the World Cup. And Wednesdays are big going out nights for the large university population here in Munster. Sooo I'll be cheering on the Germans from a Beirgarten along with loads of their passionate followers. Its definitely going to be a celebration I won't forget.

The rest of the week is looking just as good. One of Alice's friends who is studying to become a translator wants me to join her for one of her Spanish classes on Thursday. She knows I'll be headed there next week and thought it might be helpful. Her name is Johanna, and she's also offered to take me to Holland on Saturday while Alice is in class all day. After the short train ride back from the land of the tulips, the wooden clogs, drugs or legal prostitutes (you take your pick), I'll be meeting Alice at the wine store where she works for a little German wine tasting.

Even though the layovers were awfully long, and I've heard more crying babies than I want to hear for another ten years, I'm so glad I made the extra trip up to Germany. Its sure to be quite a good time...

Gute nacht.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

So close....

For those of you who may not know me too well, its hard to explain what this trip means to me. I have wanted to go to Spain for as long as I can remember...probably since I started studying the language back in middle school. After so many years, I had almost accepted the fact that I would never be able to spend an extended period of time in Spain (more than a week or two, which is usually necessary to gain fluency in a language). To finally be able to realize this goal is overwhelming and life-changing...especially as a "graduate" student. Needless to say, there are only three days or so left before I begin my adventure, and its getting harder and harder to believe something I've wanted for so long is about to happen.

Lets hope it exceeds my expectations!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Flights Booked!

My plans are finally ready! I'll be leaving Pittsburgh International Airport Monday, June 21st at 6:20AM and arriving in Madrid Barajas Airport Tuesday, June 22nd around 7:30AM.

Later that day, I will be leaving from Barajas and flying to Dusseldorf, Germany. After I land, I'll be taking a train into Munster, where my good German friend Alice Neht attends college.


After a week in Munster (and possibly a weekend excursion to Holland?) I fly back to Madrid Monday, June 28th. I will meet people from IPSF and head to Alcala de Henares, where I'll work for the month of July in a pharmacy.

Until then!