¡Màs Por Favor!

Prost!

2008-04-16T22:57:00.002+02:00

There is nothing like good friends, good beer, good weiners, and good weather. Especially after leaving the rainy days of Italy, the weather was greatly appreciated. My time in Germany could not have been much better.
~ Cheap train tickets on an overnight from Florence
~ Multiple free Starbucks upon arrival in the train station at 7:00 am
~ Interesting teenagers with milk crates of beer
~ Regensburg was absolutely adorable with friendly people
~ Great new drink, the Regensburg Creamsicle
~ Nice hostel in the center of Munich
~ Beer gardens
~ Visiting Dachau, the first concentration camp opened in 1933
~ Train ride to southern Germany with breathtaking views of the Alps
~ Fusson, another adorable German town surrounded by beauty
~ Neuschwanstein Castle was fairytale-esque
~ Wonderful German food with weiners, brats, and sauerkraut
~ Euro Sandwiches and cheap beer for dinner and lunch

Italia

2008-04-04T18:09:00.005+02:00

I went to Italy, sometimes I have to say it to remind myself it actually happened. After leaving Scotland, I traveled to Luton England to pick up Erin and her roommate Deanna. We left early Saturday morning the 22 of March for Rome. After a week in the chilly wind of Scotland, I was excited for the warm weather of Rome and the historical significances I was going to experience. Unfortunately only one of those 2 things happened. It rained. It rained almost the entire time we were in Rome. It was raining when we arrived, and it didn't really stop until Tuesday.

Within minutes of getting off the bus in Rome we were situated in a restaurant experiencing our first taste of real Italian Pizza. With our bags were stacked in a corner, we devoured our first of many Italian meals. From there we managed to catch the correct Metro and then Train to our hostel located about 40 minutes from the City Center. At first we were concerned about staying so far away from the city, but price dictated our stay. It was after all Easter weekend and there was no way we could afford even a run down hostel in the city center. We settled in and made plans for Easter, we were determined to see the Pope.

At 5:30 am we left the hostel and walked to the train station to catch the first train into the city. From there we walked towards Vatican City. There were already a good 3-400 people in line waiting to gain entrance. We did not have reserved tickets, but when they finally allowed entrance at 8:30 we quickly passed through security and made a run for the reserved seats close to the front of the square. Avoiding eye contact with the guards, and blending with large masses of people, we managed to slip into the reserved seats and claim a section 7 rows from the front. It was spectacular. Now all we had to do was wait. Mass was going to start at 10:30 with the Blessing at 12:30. About 9:00 it began to rain. At about 10:00 it began to rain even harder. Mass began on time but it was tricky to maneuver all the standing and sitting that occurs at a Mass with the thousands of umbrellas overhead. Despite the torrential downpour, people stayed. The Square was completely filled and people were lining up in the streets behind the square. We couldn't believe our luck in sitting so close to the Pope. I could see him with my own 2 eyes, pretty incredible. Definatley a once in a lifetime opportunity. It wasn't until about 1:30 when we finally made our way back to the hostel to warm up. We were completely soaked and chose to spend the rest of the afternoon warming up and plannig our trip.

The following day we wandered the city avoiding rain for most of the day. There is nothing like walking down a street with the Colliseum looming in front of you. I couldn't stop giggling, I couldn't believe I was actually standing in front of it. This was a common theme during my time in Italy. The Sistene Chapel, St. Peter's Basillica, the Roman Forum and Senate and many more historical places visited during my experience. While it cost us a fortune, we chose to invest in a guided tour of Vatican Museum, something I believe was more than worth the 40 euro it cost. We skipped a 3 1/2 hour line and were exposed to the hidden stories behind much of the art displayed in the museum. Fortunately the other historical places around the city were free at that time so we were able to compensate for the fortune we spent at Vatican.

We spent 5 days in Rome, catching a train to Florence on Wednesday. Florence was a drastic change from the busy setting of Rome. We enjoyed Steak Florentine and then wandered the city until about 3 in the morning. We had a friend Marco from Florence who spent the evening showing us the sights and explaining the history. We saw Duomo, an amazing church, Michelangelo's David, a copy, situated outside the building containing the original, and we traveled to a high point so we could overlook the city. It was a great way to experience the city with the streets completely bare. We had Florence to ourselves. Thursday was spent relaxing, reading adn wandering the city. We had already seen the important sights so we were able to take our time and enjoy the breathtaking surroundings. Drinking coffee, reading, watching, relaxing; all perfect things to do in Florence. It was a more than perfect way to spend our last day in Italy. That night we caught a night train from Florence to Germany. We said our goodbyes to Italy as we sat in the train station awaiting our train.

Reading, writing, coffee and more reading

2008-03-19T14:15:00.003+01:00

My time in Scotland has been a relaxed experience, spending most of my day relaxing, reading, writing in my journal, and writing friends online while sitting in a magnificently comfy chair in the coffee shop Zest in St. Andrews. Matt and Alissa both travel into St. Andrews during the day and if we have plans in St. Andrews in the evening I have the pleasure of accompanying them to town at 9 or 10:00 that morning. We part ways with plans to meet up later, them to work and me to my coffee shop. Sometimes I leave the confines of the shop and wander the cobblestone streets to enjoy the sun, when the sun is actually shining. When we have no plans in St. Andrews I remain in the quaint Quill Cottage in Pittenweem and pass my time in a very similar fashion only at their house or the local coffee shop. The local coffee shop Cocoa Tree is greatly superior to Zest and I will miss their White Mocha with Soy when I leave in 2 days. Yesterday I indulged my desires and completed my day of leisure with fish and chips from the modest shop next to Cocoa Tree. It was a wonderful day.

In between my leisurely activities we have enjoyed many entertaining nights and afternoons with each other and with friends. Friday night we celebrated a friends birthday with dinner at a Pub in St. Andrews. Saturday we traveled into Dundee to buy Matt and Alissa a new car and then to Edinburgh to hike Arthur's Seat and have a magnificent dinner at a Tapas Restaurant. Sunday was Palm Sunday and after church we had an outstanding Sunday roast of leek and potato soup, fresh bread, smoked salmon, roast lamb with potatoes, cheese, wine and bread and butter pudding. 16 of us filled the quaint restaurant in Pittenweem. Monday was the day of Matt and Alissa's friend Jen's viva, or the defence of her PhD along with St. Patrick's Day. We celebrated with Pizza followed by a great evening of drinks in Jen's favorite Pub. Tonight I am excited to experience 'The Vagina Monologues' a play I have been wanting to see for quite some time. Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday and an evening of Matt's famous Sangria and Cheesecake. Unfortunately it is also my last evening in Scotland as I travel back to England Friday afternoon where I will meet Erin. While I am filled with excitement at visiting Rome, and Easter Sunday in Vatican City, I am sad to leave Scotland and more importantly Matt and Alissa. I have been blessed with amazing family and am so thankful we are so close as siblings, despite living in different parts of the world. I look forward to the next time I see them and will miss them when I leave.

Scotland

2008-03-13T20:04:00.005+01:00

Here I am in Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland. After a long and emotionally draining day of travel, I have arrived at my brother and sister-in-law's cottage in Scotland. Leaving Spain was one of the hardest things I have done, I was not ready, nor do I feel my time in Spain is completed. I am determined to return. I began my traveling yesterday at 2:00 in the afternoon and completed my journey about 2:00 this morning, 13 hours of travel including 1 subway, 2 buses, 1 train, 1 plane, and 1 car. I became quite famous on my plane, maybe notorious is better fitting. After checking my bagage I had to pay a fee for checking 2 bags which required me to wait in yet another queue along with about 20 other passengers on the same flight. After rectifying the matter I made my way through security to the plane. Oddly, I heard my name being announced overhead, the plane was waiting for me. I quickly jumped the line, went through security and ran for the plane. I handed my boarding pass and passport and made my way down the steps onto the tarmac. The plane had already closed its doors and was backing away! I stood there shocked, not quite knowing what to do. One gentleman took pity on me and signaled the plane to stop. I saw the door open and the stairs unfold as a flight attendant stuck her head out the door. I quickly boarded the completely full plane, apologized immensely to the passengers and quickly took a seat, not sure if it was mine or not. The passengers gave me a quick hello, a few even clapped, possibly out of annoyance possibly out of amusement. Needless to say it simply added to my desire not to leave the people, city, and country with whom I have fallen in love. As if leaving Spain wasn't hard enough, my body was quickly reminded I was no longer in the warm Mediterranean climate as the rain and clouds consumed me when I stepped off the plane. The cold, something from which I have been sheltered the last 7 weeks.

Despite my difficult trip and the cold, I truly am excited to be back in Scotland. Driving through St. Andrews at 1:00 this morning brought me back a year and a half ago when I first visited. I am excited to wander the quiet closes and wynds once again. The architecture is incredibly contrasting with that of Barcelona but it carries its own beauty. Drinking coffee, reading books, catching up with Matt and Alissa, taking pictures, and staring at the ocean will consume my next week. It is the beginning of the end of my travels in Europe, it marks my last 3 weeks abroad; last 3 weeks this time around. I will be back.

Almost time to say goodbye.

2008-03-08T13:36:00.002+01:00

I am only in Barcelona for one more week and am terribly sad to say goodbye. I am determined to return.

Pictures from Barcelona

2008-02-22T21:17:00.002+01:00

Apparently it takes awhile to fix a hot water heater.

2008-02-22T20:16:00.001+01:00

We have no hot water, or heat. We haven’t for about 1 week now. The worst part was it happened right when I was getting sick and all I wanted was to curl up in a warm bed after a hot shower. I had the shivers, was achy, and had a sore throat. Of course when I arrived home from school I was informed of the broken water heater. The apartment was frigid, well it probably wasn’t that bad but remember I was sick. After all, it is Spain. So I now sleep in pants and 3 blankets and have been showering at a friend’s house. This entails me loading up my shower things in a back pack, along with a towel, and either walking 35 minutes or taking the metro to their house to enjoy a quick but warm shower. Luckily I was able to sleep most of Friday and recovered from my minor sickness rather quickly. But I am told it will actually be fixed this Friday, we’ll see. Again, it is Spain and they tend to work at their own pace.

Other than the heat, I have had a great past couple of days. My TEFL course has begun and I am enjoying the people and the teachers. Class begins at 9:30 every morning until 12:30. Then we break for lunch and if we are teaching that day we lesson plan at 1:30 and teach at either 4:00 or 6:00. We teach a total of 6 days during our 4 weeks. Those days are long, but the others we are free to do as we please after 12:30. Half of our class time is spent learning English grammar: present simple, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous and repeat in past and future tenses. Combined with learning gerunds, participles, and conditionals, I feel well informed on the English language. The other half of class is spent on teaching methods, pedagogy. Fortunately, they are teaching the same styles as UCD during my licensing. While it makes it extremely repetitive, I am trying to stay positive and think of it as helpful reminders as I prepare to apply for jobs at home. The only other downside to these lessons is the other people in my class. God bless them they are wonderful and intelligent people, but those who have gone through education courses once can agree with me that going through education courses twice, with fellow classmates who have no education background, well, it makes it slightly annoying. But the teachers are very knowledgeable, professional, and skilled which makes learning from them a blessing.

Many of my afternoons have been spent wandering the city, enjoying the architecture and marveling at the city. The main park in Barcelona, housing the Arc de Triomf, the zoo, and the Catalan Parliament is breathtaking. There are parrots roaming the trees, at times acting more like pigeons than parrots. The flowers are in full bloom, something I would be missing at home right now. I enjoy wandering the park, reading, admiring, watching. The laid back atmosphere has been a blessing, while I moved here expecting to be filled with the busy city life, I have found the opposite. Spaniards love to take their time. They may go out with friends all night long, but rarely do they have set plans and have usually spent a lazy afternoon before ever meeting up with friends. I spend more time reading, writing, and reflecting here than I have in a long time. This is combined with the increase in social life at night. It seems like an oxymoron but somehow the Spaniards have found a balance between personal relaxation and socialization. I hope to find this balance when I return home in 6 weeks.

Pictures from Sitges

2008-02-16T16:51:00.001+01:00

Sitges and Carnaval!

2008-02-08T16:11:00.001+01:00

Sitges and Carnaval, what an amazing experience. My roommates Nicole, Ben and I took the train to Sitges, a small town south of Barcelona on Tuesday to celebrate Carnaval, Spanish style. I am not exactly sure what Carnaval celebrates, but I believe it corresponds with Mardi Gras. As we walked down the heavily Mediterranean influenced buildings and streets, we were overwhelmed with the sights and sounds. Everywhere we looked there were people preparing for the parade. Apparently we had arrived just in time for the start of the parade. And when Spaniards have a parade, they have a parade. Every costume was perfect in each detail, color, and attitude. We had arrived for the children’s parade, the adult version of the parade would commence at about 9:00 that evening, quite late compared to parades in the U.S. (But everything in Spain is late. Dinner is late, people are late, church is late, parades are late, parties are late. For example, tonight we are going out with our professors from school to a Karaoke bar, and we are meeting at midnight to go out.) But I digress. My favorite float was Grease. There were atleast 50 little T-Birds, Pink Ladies, Danny’s and Sandra D’s all dressed perfectly in costumes and wigs. With music playing the kids danced while onlookers through confetti. By the end of the parade, I was finding confetti in places where confetti doesn’t belong. Little did I know I would still be finding confetti 4 days later. It reminded me of snow covering the ground and people’s shoulders.

After the parade, we wandered to the beach where Nicole and I took off our shoes and socks and played in the Mediterranean. It was a perfect day, blue sky and about 22 degrees Celsius. Who could ask for more when visiting the beach. From there we meandered through the streets, admiring the costumes of the Spaniards both in the parade and observing it. (For everyone dresses up for Carnaval, not just for the parade) Walking everywhere in Spain works up quite the appetite so we found a quaint gelateria that sells waffles or crepes with chocolate and icecream, amazing desserts after a difficult work out J Of course this was followed up with a pint at a little bar right off the beach before heading to the train station for the trek home. What a relaxing day, nothing greater than a train ride giving time to see the countryside and catch up on reading.

My own personal eloquence.

2008-01-30T15:45:00.002+01:00

As I begin thinking about my first week here in Barcelona, I try to decide how to eloquently describe all that has happened and all that I have observed. I have now completed my 3rd day of class at Alhombra Instituto which is an interesting feat in and of itself. The entire class is in Spanish which means when I don’t understand a word and I must ask the definition, the definition is given in Spanish. This is different than straight translation. It also means that we spend time reading articles and having discussions. I am positive I won the award for eloquence while debating today as we discussed gay marriage and adoption and whether or not homosexuality is genetic, definitely not words taught in Spanish class at D’Evelyn.
Just about every word was followed with the use of a dictionary and me making up Spanish words from the words in English. Yep, pure eloquence.

In my first email I tried to quickly describe my surroundings and my apartment. Now I wish to take a moment to describe the less than appetizing aspects of the city. There are dogs everywhere. This not necessarily a bad thing, I love dogs. What I don’t love is the dog poop everywhere in the streets and the sidewalks. Only about half the dog owners I have noticed try to clean up after their dogs and those that do, still usually leave behind a lovely streak of brown on the sidewalk for passerbyers to step in. Luckily there are street cleaners constantly sweeping and cleaning the sidewalks and walkways so one pile of dog poop will only exist for 24 hours. At least there are usually colorful designs decorating the street as an innocent person has stepped in a pile and left multiple shoe marks pointing the direction of his or her travels. Smells. The smells here are. . interesting. Closer to the sea there is a strong salty sea water smell. This is mixed with the hundreds of restaurants littering the streets. Wafts of sewage float around as well, mixing with the salty sea air and cooked food. It is lovely. Finally, the way people walk. Barcelona is a large city with thousands of people walking everywhere. My good home manners require me to say Pardoname (excuse me) when I get in someone’s way, or when they are in mine. This is not effective here. They could really care less if I am in their way, and they could especially care less if they were in mine. They simply continue walking, usually at a slightly slower pace than I prefer, I suppose I will continue using my polite phrases through it all.

Now please do not let this affect all of the wonderful attributes I will be describing in the future, but I felt I needed a touch of reality mixed in with my idealized stories and ideas which will no doubt litter my future posts.

My first mass email is now a blog.

2008-01-30T15:42:00.001+01:00

It is Sunday morning and I just got back from my first attempt at attending church. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful. I thought it would be easier to wander and find a church, but apparently I was wrong. But I have a week to find another church and attempt this all over again. I had looked in a guide book for functioning churches, and found one that was only 4 calles or blocks away. The church, if it was functioning, wins the award for fooling people into believing it closed. It also could have been the time of day, maybe 9:00 is too early for mass? So now I am back at my flat drinking instant coffee that is too strong and attempting my first mass email.
I suppose I should start at the beginning. I arrived in Munich after a long 10 hour flight where I was the middle seat of the middle section, spectacular. But my weariness quickly went away as I received my next stamp in my passport and got seated on my quick flight to Spain. Thursday night before I left, I woke up at 3 in the morning concerned about finding the right apartment and wandering around the city, but once I landed in Spain I had no fears or concerns at all. I simply picked up my beastly backpack, at baggage claim and was on my way. The taxi driver I found was a kind man and we spoke casually in Spanish the entire way to my apartment. (He was kind enough to speak slowly and repeat when needed thoughJ) I then had to walk about 2 blocks with my luggage because I live in a flat that is off an alleyway. When I was handed my keys at the school, I thought it was straight out of a story because the key looks like an old dungeon masters key, classic brass. This is the key that gets me through the rod iron door and into the building. We are located directly between a candy store and a shoe store. I then ascended the 3 flights of stairs to the 3rd floor, or 2nd here in Spain and wandered into my flat. As I wandered through the dark apartment, I wondered where my roommates were and if I was in the right place. I finally stumbled into a room where my roommate Jesper, a quite hilarious and unique Swede, was sleeping. Apparently I was in the right place because he called me the ‘new one’. I put myself in a spare bedroom, used the restroom, and he showed me around. There are about 5 bedrooms. I say about because one is a closet with a bed in it, and the other, mine, is 5’ by 10’ with a bed. The other 3 rooms are quite large and I can share a room if I so desire. We will see. There is a tiny kitchen, an eating area, 2 toilets, 1 shower, and a living room. We also have a balcony off a bedroom, and a very large patio off the living room. We also have a washing machine which is exciting.
I then made my way walking back to the school to pick up my sheets and bedding. School is only a short walk, about 10 minutes or so away. The school is very small and so everyone knows each other. The moment I walked in they called me by name. From there I wandered to find myself a cell phone which I mastered in just over ½ an hour. I felt quite accomplished having only been in Spain 1 hour. I then found myself a little café where I enjoyed my first tapa, fried potatoes with a spicy sauce and crema. While I enjoyed my interesting little dish, I attempted to decipher my archaic phone, the cheapest they had. It reminds me of the first cell phones created. Don’t be fooled, it is slim and little, but the screen is worse than a 1980’s calculator. I managed to call my mother and father which was quite exciting. I then found a little store where I bought a few basic grocery items to prevent me from buying all my meals. Back at home I met a few of the other roommates, Ava is from the Netherlands, but she it was her last night. She just completed her 2 weeks in the Spanish class. Margarita is from Latvia, a blonde who keeps to herself, and Nicole from Boston. I felt like a character in the movie Spanish Apartment where students from all over the world share one flat in the middle of Barcelona, a movie Mike Angell made me watch before I came to Spain. While I enjoyed the movie, I felt it was not going to be applicable to my time, little did I knowJ
I then decided to find myself a library and get set up to use the internet since my phone apparently isn’t working the way it is supposed to. I found a biblioteca that is very close and received my Spanish library card. From there I wandered back home, now having no sleep for 24 hours. I took a 2 hour nap and got ready for a party we were apparently throwing in my honor in order to meet people from school. Sure enough, about 8:30 people started arriving with food and drinks. In total about 13 people came over; almost the entire population of the school minus 2 of the professors and 2 students. I was completely in awe. We all sat around eating great food and drinking wine, speaking in all sorts of languages. German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, English, French. It was amazing, amazing that all of these people were learning their 3rd or 4th language and I am excited to know 2, I was also amazed because I was understanding and keeping up in Spanish. I finally went to sleep about 2:00 am in my hole of a room, using my airline pillow.
I awoke the next morning about 11:30 just as Ava was leaving. I made myself a bowl of cereal and got ready for the day, which did not include showering because I didn’t have a towel yet. That was number 1 on my list to do. I sat for awhile in the main ‘park’ next to our flat and watched and wrote in my journal. The weather has been gorgeous, blue sky and a slight breeze. I am fine in a long sleeve shirt, but others are wandering in heavy coats and scarves. After using the internet once again I managed to find El Corte Ingles, apparently a very large chain mall. It is about 8 stories tall with the groceries in the basement. I purchased myself much needed toilet paper, (which I discovered we were out of as I was sitting there after 2 flights and no sleep) a towel, slippers, and few more groceries. This actually was quite a difficult feat considering each item you had to purchase on a different floor from a different person and therefore had the pleasure of carrying that item with you to the next item. I got an incredible workout carrying around a 5 liter bottle of water up 7 flights of escalators. Don’t forget the walk home and up my 3 flights of stairs to my apartment. I came home to a PBJ and an orange, and to our cleaning guy. Apparently the school pays for a cleaning guy which is greatly appreciated because it is a pretty gross apartment. I got to shower in the freshly washed bathroom and Nicole and I set out to The Travel Bar, a bar with free WiFi where we enjoyed a fairly inexpensive meal. More fried potatoes with garlic mayo and some beastly large rice and olives dish for 2 Euro. On the way home we grabbed gelato. At home, Jesper and some friends were writing and recording music so Nicole and I grabbed the laptop and watched Pride and Prejudice before going to bed.
Of course all of this is combined with much people watching and enjoyment of the architecture. Every building is unique and classic. There are rod iron balcony’s everywhere, very romantic looking. I am certain that all Spaniards have been serenaded when standing at a balcony at some point. Maybe not but it is a nice thought. It is absolutely breathtaking and I wish I was eloquent enough to do it justices. So for now you will have to take my word for it and I will try and send pictures. Today is a day of sightseeing and then tonight is a cooking class where we make a 3 course meal and sangria and enjoy all we want. It should be fun. Tomorrow I start school and my formal learning of the language. It has been a spectacular couple of days and I hope everyone is doing well at home. I will write again soon. I love and miss you all.
Rachel

Things I now know:

2008-01-30T15:32:00.000+01:00

I love book stores and journal stores no matter what the country.
I have shin splints: walking on cobblestone and hard streets 15 hours a day.
What SPAM tastes like, it was served in my 1€ dinner with egg and pasta. It wasn´too bad.
I wear a size 38 shoe in Europe.
Just because you are speaking Spanish, in Spain, does not mean they will understand you.
I am alright with wearing socks 2 days if it means less laundry.
Just because it is 2:00 in the afternoon does not mean a store will be open.