So things are definitely getting harder before getting easier. Yesterday I met with a woman named Nuria, whose husband works at the school that I’m going to work at. Nuria and I had been emailing a lot before I came here about Navalmoral and about me teaching conversation classes to her kids. So she invited me out to lunch with her and her family yesterday. I met them at a café where we each had a drink and chatted for a while, then we went to a restaurant and had a ton of delicious tapas.
After lunch, they had invited me to a barbecue on their friends’ rooftop terrace that night, so we parted ways until them. I came home, showered, took a little siesta, had a merienda, and just hung out until 7.30, when Nuria met me on my street and we walked to the barbecue. The friends’ house was right next to the school I’ll be teaching at, so she showed me the best walking route to get there.
Once at the barbeque, Spanish overload kicked in. Nuria knows a good amount of English, so we had been switching between English and Spanish all day. But, Nuria also has a cold/allergies and was losing her voice, so by the time we were at the BBQ, she wasn’t really in any condition to play translator. There were so many people there (all either over 35 years old or under 13) and they all spoke Spanish so quickly and loudly and all at once. I was definitely overwhelmed and though they all were trying to include me, most of the time I had no idea what was going on.
It was interesting seeing a Spanish BBQ versus an American one. At this one, there was bacon, other kinds of pork, beef, and morros…that’s right…the return of the pig cheek/lips/whatever it was I had to eat the day before. I stayed clear of the morros and had a bit of the bacon, bread, and salad. At a little after 10.30pm, I think Nuria could tell I was ready to leave and she was also still feeling sick, so the two of us left and she took me back to my apartment.
While it was lovely meeting all of Nuria’s friends and family, I do just want to meet and make friends with people my age. But still, I’m in Spain and am so happy to be here. It’s so good to finally get some of the things I’ve been missing since leaving Valencia…
Things I missed about Spain:
-La comida: All of it is so good (minus the weird stuff…eg: morros). Shopping at Mercadona and has definitely been one of the highlights since being here. I’m also thrilled to have café con leche back in my life.
-Casual day drinking: Everyone has a beer or two or three with lunch and it’s completely normal. I’ve been embracing the tinto de verano or when I don’t feel like alcohol, the fresh orange juice. So good.
-Walking everywhere: Cars are overrated.
-Spanish children: SO cute, dressed like little adults, but not in the creepy “Toddlers and Tiaras” way.
Things I didn’t know I would miss about the USA:
-WiFi in cafes (or really anywhere): I’ve been without the internet for almost a week (grabbing a few seconds of it here and there) and it’s awful. Now I know what drug withdraw must feel like….
-To-Go food: Now, I’m not talking about fast food, but if I don’t feel like cooking and if my hundreds of friends (ha) are all busy, I only have two other options. 1) don’t eat, or 2) sit at a café and eat by myself (which gets pretty boring)…neither option is very good.
So basically, there are definite trade-offs to being here, but I do really like it and know that my Spanish is going to be so good when I leave and that in a month, I probably won’t even miss the Wifi in cafes or to-go food anymore ☺
Monday, September 26, 2011
September 23, 2011
Since there’s no internet in my piso and the cafes of Navalmoral (except one) seem to be against the institution of wifi, I’m going to start writing blog entries on Word, then posting them whenever I can…so days might be a little behind.
This is my second night in Navalmoral. I flew into Spain after leaving Dulles on Tuesday. The flight into Heathrow and the into Madrid were perfectly lovely. On the one to Heathrow, I was so disappointed at first when at the gate the lady told me they had to switch my requested aisle seat to a window seat…but then, the middle seat in my row ended up being empty! I had so much room to stretch out and eat my airline grade chicken curry. I slept on and off during the flight, but mostly read or watched bits and pieces of “Bridesmaids.” At Heathrow I grabbed some food before getting on the flight to Madrid. I couldn’t even tell you who I sat next to on that leg of the journey, I slept basically the entire time. When we landed at Barajas airport, it took a good 45 minutes to get my luggage and navigate out of the massive building, onto the streets of Madrid.
I hopped on to an airport shuttle bus and made friends with an Irish lady, who lives in Canada, and travels all over. We said goodbye and I took a taxi from the bus stop to my hostel. The taxi dropped me off “very close” to where I needed to be…but the thing was, I had no idea where that was. I was lugging 100 lbs of rolling luggage, a 25 lb backpack, and a purse through the streets of downtown Madrid in the extreme heat for 20 minutes. Finally after asking policemen, security store guys, and even a sketchy street vendor who was saying “I buy gold!”, I arrive at my hostel. I checked in, got settled, and decided to go out exploring. I wandered around Madrid for a while, went back to the hostel to rest and use their computer, then headed back out in search of some dinner. I found a restaurant in the center of everything, so I ordered some paella and sangria and sat with my kindle for a while. Towards the end of eating, a Valencia-Barcelona fútbol game came on, so I hung out for a while and watched.
I slept so well that night . The next day, I had a lot of time between check out (at 11am) and my train (at 3.30pm). I walked around Madrid for about 3 hours, stopping to buy cookies from nuns, eat at 100 Montaditos, and visit my sister’s old neighborhood. I taxied to the train station, got my ticket, and soon enough, was off on the two-hour train ride to Navalmoral de la Mata.
The train was pretty uneventful. I had my headphones in and listened to music for most of the ride…and thank god I had that. There was a lady a few rows behind me who, for the majority of the two hours, was singing her little heart out. It reminded me of when I worked at the gym and one night a lady on a treadmill was belting out whatever song she was listening to on her iPod. Everyone on the train was super uncomfortable with the singer….
When I got to Navalmoral, my roommate (Mamen) and a woman with whom I’ve been talking to about tutoring her kids, greeted me there. We loaded my enormous bags into Mamen’s car and she drove me to our apartment. The apartment is actually really nice and a good size. We each have our own rooms, bathrooms, there is one main terrace, one inner terrace (for doing laundry), a decent sized kitchen (no dishwasher or oven though), and a very big living room with a TV. Mamen is super nice and knows English very well (so in these first few overwhelming days, she’s definitely easy to be around).
Mamen took me around the town yesterday, helping me to get a phone, some living essentials (sheets, hangers, shower curtain…), and even offered to take me to a concert that she and some of her friends were going to. I really wanted to go, but I had to be a party pooper and say no because I was so, incredibly exhausted. She had even said, “Oh, we won’t get home too late…maybe 2 :30 or 3am?” Oh. My. God. I need to get used to the Spanish way of life again. I’m not as young as I was in Valencia…
Today I ran all over town. I woke up, got ready, and as I was walking towards the center to start shopping for more things, Mamen called me and asked if I wanted to have a beer with her and her friends. I got to meet about 4 of her friends, who are all very nice. I do feel like I’m from a different planet though. I really can’t add much to the conversation because I don’t understand most of it. My Spanish isn’t that great to begin with and the Extremaduran accents are definitely not what I’m used to listening to. But that’s why I’m here, right?
After beer and some tapas (they made me try everything before they would tell me what it was- I ate chicken stomach and either pig cheek or lips…I’m still not sure), I went to Mercadona (!) and stocked up on some food necessities. Oh, Mercadona, how I’ve missed you. Then I lugged my groceries home, ate, went back out, and was set on finding some place with wifi. I wandered from café to café asking with no luck. On the third or fourth one I went in, guess who was there? Mamen’s friends! One of them walked me to one of the TWO cafes with wifi in Navalmoral, where I stayed for a while and caught up on emails. The I wandered around some more and found a place called SuperSol which is about as close as you could get to a Kmart here. I was able to buy some things that I was pretty hygienically against buying at the Chino (a pillow), brought that all back home, went back out, went to a bunch of phone stores trying to find out about getting internet for the apartment, bought more stuff at the Chino, then finally came back home and SHOWERED. Now I’m lounging around after a wonderful dinner of pan integral, jamón, un tomate, y queso de cabra. For dessert I’m going to eat a Príncipe or two (or the whole sleeve).
So all in all, life here is good. I just want to start meeting people and making friends and stop spending so much money trying to get settled in here. I figure all of that will come with time though. On the plus side, I’ve made a pretty stellar picture collage on my wardrobe door…
This is my second night in Navalmoral. I flew into Spain after leaving Dulles on Tuesday. The flight into Heathrow and the into Madrid were perfectly lovely. On the one to Heathrow, I was so disappointed at first when at the gate the lady told me they had to switch my requested aisle seat to a window seat…but then, the middle seat in my row ended up being empty! I had so much room to stretch out and eat my airline grade chicken curry. I slept on and off during the flight, but mostly read or watched bits and pieces of “Bridesmaids.” At Heathrow I grabbed some food before getting on the flight to Madrid. I couldn’t even tell you who I sat next to on that leg of the journey, I slept basically the entire time. When we landed at Barajas airport, it took a good 45 minutes to get my luggage and navigate out of the massive building, onto the streets of Madrid.
I hopped on to an airport shuttle bus and made friends with an Irish lady, who lives in Canada, and travels all over. We said goodbye and I took a taxi from the bus stop to my hostel. The taxi dropped me off “very close” to where I needed to be…but the thing was, I had no idea where that was. I was lugging 100 lbs of rolling luggage, a 25 lb backpack, and a purse through the streets of downtown Madrid in the extreme heat for 20 minutes. Finally after asking policemen, security store guys, and even a sketchy street vendor who was saying “I buy gold!”, I arrive at my hostel. I checked in, got settled, and decided to go out exploring. I wandered around Madrid for a while, went back to the hostel to rest and use their computer, then headed back out in search of some dinner. I found a restaurant in the center of everything, so I ordered some paella and sangria and sat with my kindle for a while. Towards the end of eating, a Valencia-Barcelona fútbol game came on, so I hung out for a while and watched.
I slept so well that night . The next day, I had a lot of time between check out (at 11am) and my train (at 3.30pm). I walked around Madrid for about 3 hours, stopping to buy cookies from nuns, eat at 100 Montaditos, and visit my sister’s old neighborhood. I taxied to the train station, got my ticket, and soon enough, was off on the two-hour train ride to Navalmoral de la Mata.
The train was pretty uneventful. I had my headphones in and listened to music for most of the ride…and thank god I had that. There was a lady a few rows behind me who, for the majority of the two hours, was singing her little heart out. It reminded me of when I worked at the gym and one night a lady on a treadmill was belting out whatever song she was listening to on her iPod. Everyone on the train was super uncomfortable with the singer….
When I got to Navalmoral, my roommate (Mamen) and a woman with whom I’ve been talking to about tutoring her kids, greeted me there. We loaded my enormous bags into Mamen’s car and she drove me to our apartment. The apartment is actually really nice and a good size. We each have our own rooms, bathrooms, there is one main terrace, one inner terrace (for doing laundry), a decent sized kitchen (no dishwasher or oven though), and a very big living room with a TV. Mamen is super nice and knows English very well (so in these first few overwhelming days, she’s definitely easy to be around).
Mamen took me around the town yesterday, helping me to get a phone, some living essentials (sheets, hangers, shower curtain…), and even offered to take me to a concert that she and some of her friends were going to. I really wanted to go, but I had to be a party pooper and say no because I was so, incredibly exhausted. She had even said, “Oh, we won’t get home too late…maybe 2 :30 or 3am?” Oh. My. God. I need to get used to the Spanish way of life again. I’m not as young as I was in Valencia…
Today I ran all over town. I woke up, got ready, and as I was walking towards the center to start shopping for more things, Mamen called me and asked if I wanted to have a beer with her and her friends. I got to meet about 4 of her friends, who are all very nice. I do feel like I’m from a different planet though. I really can’t add much to the conversation because I don’t understand most of it. My Spanish isn’t that great to begin with and the Extremaduran accents are definitely not what I’m used to listening to. But that’s why I’m here, right?
After beer and some tapas (they made me try everything before they would tell me what it was- I ate chicken stomach and either pig cheek or lips…I’m still not sure), I went to Mercadona (!) and stocked up on some food necessities. Oh, Mercadona, how I’ve missed you. Then I lugged my groceries home, ate, went back out, and was set on finding some place with wifi. I wandered from café to café asking with no luck. On the third or fourth one I went in, guess who was there? Mamen’s friends! One of them walked me to one of the TWO cafes with wifi in Navalmoral, where I stayed for a while and caught up on emails. The I wandered around some more and found a place called SuperSol which is about as close as you could get to a Kmart here. I was able to buy some things that I was pretty hygienically against buying at the Chino (a pillow), brought that all back home, went back out, went to a bunch of phone stores trying to find out about getting internet for the apartment, bought more stuff at the Chino, then finally came back home and SHOWERED. Now I’m lounging around after a wonderful dinner of pan integral, jamón, un tomate, y queso de cabra. For dessert I’m going to eat a Príncipe or two (or the whole sleeve).
So all in all, life here is good. I just want to start meeting people and making friends and stop spending so much money trying to get settled in here. I figure all of that will come with time though. On the plus side, I’ve made a pretty stellar picture collage on my wardrobe door…
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Airports are interesting places.
So I'm sitting at my gate in Dulles and can't help but make silent judgments about the people around me. First off, today was full of packing and goodbyes. I'm good at the first, but terrible at the latter. That said, I think I was pretty good when my parents left me at the airport. I made my way through security, where I had to take up FOUR bins with all of my carry on stuff (backpack, computer, case, purse, small pillow...). After that, I took the tram to my gate where I took the escalator up a floor and was greeted by a wine bar like manna from Heaven. I debated for a bit if I wanted to give in to this temptation...a cute little Italian wine haven, or go sit at my gate for 3 hours (my flight is delayed). There was really no decision to make. I sat in a plush chair, pulled out my computer, ordered a lovely pinot grigio, and played an LATimes.com crossword puzzle. After my glass and winning the crossword, the waitress asked if I wanted anything else, hinting that if I didn't, I should leave. I took the subtle hint, having been in her position, bought a bottle of water, and moved to my gate.
Now I'm sitting here in a row of seats by the window that used to be empty but slowly passengers are arriving. A Spanish mom and teenage son just sat down across from me and confirmed my suspicion that I no longer know Spanish very well. Hm, I guess immersion truly is the best way to learn. Hopefully in a few months I'll be totally fluent...hopefully.
Next time I post, I'll be in España. I get into Madrid tomorrow afternoon and will probably have a lot of time to myself in my hostel. I foresee another post from there. But who knows, hopefully I'll be so busy with the city, blogging won't even enter my mind. Hasta luego!
Now I'm sitting here in a row of seats by the window that used to be empty but slowly passengers are arriving. A Spanish mom and teenage son just sat down across from me and confirmed my suspicion that I no longer know Spanish very well. Hm, I guess immersion truly is the best way to learn. Hopefully in a few months I'll be totally fluent...hopefully.
Next time I post, I'll be in España. I get into Madrid tomorrow afternoon and will probably have a lot of time to myself in my hostel. I foresee another post from there. But who knows, hopefully I'll be so busy with the city, blogging won't even enter my mind. Hasta luego!
Friday, September 16, 2011
So much to do, so little time.
It's Thursday night. Tomorrow is Friday. Then Saturday, Sunday, Monday, then Tuesday, then I'm in SPAIN! I seriously cannot believe how close it is. When I applied for the program back in November, the move across the ocean was something that was so far in the future. Who knew it would come so quickly?
The past week has been a blur of trying to buy things for the trip, start packing, finish working, and doing anything and everything else you could possibly think of. I've been updating every piece of technology in my life. I bought myself a new camera and iPod shuffle. I was able to complain enough to AT&T about the poor state of my Android and they kindly sent me a (hopefully) better Blackberry. Then tonight, I cashed in my graduation present promise from my parents and they bought me a new MacBook Air! It's a beautiful thing. Really. It weighs so much less than my old Pro and works so much better. With all of these new toys to play with, Tuesday is going to be here before I know it.
The last few shifts at the restaurant were actually really good. Knowing the end was in sight, I was in such a relaxed mood and really none of my tables got to me. If I go back next summer, I swear I'm going to start a blog about the stories I get from that place. I seriously think that if MTV wants the next "Jersey Shore," they just have to put some cameramen in Clyde's and follow the staff around, both during and after hours. One of my favorite stories of the last days was a woman who tried to tell me that instead of the Manhattan clam chowder she had ordered, that she received a beef and vegetable soup. When I told her we didn't have beef and vegetable soup and that she was indeed eating clam chowder, she showed me a piece of clam on her spoon and said, "See...beef!" This soup debate went on for a solid 3 minutes. I don't think I ever convinced her.
The past week has been a blur of trying to buy things for the trip, start packing, finish working, and doing anything and everything else you could possibly think of. I've been updating every piece of technology in my life. I bought myself a new camera and iPod shuffle. I was able to complain enough to AT&T about the poor state of my Android and they kindly sent me a (hopefully) better Blackberry. Then tonight, I cashed in my graduation present promise from my parents and they bought me a new MacBook Air! It's a beautiful thing. Really. It weighs so much less than my old Pro and works so much better. With all of these new toys to play with, Tuesday is going to be here before I know it.
The last few shifts at the restaurant were actually really good. Knowing the end was in sight, I was in such a relaxed mood and really none of my tables got to me. If I go back next summer, I swear I'm going to start a blog about the stories I get from that place. I seriously think that if MTV wants the next "Jersey Shore," they just have to put some cameramen in Clyde's and follow the staff around, both during and after hours. One of my favorite stories of the last days was a woman who tried to tell me that instead of the Manhattan clam chowder she had ordered, that she received a beef and vegetable soup. When I told her we didn't have beef and vegetable soup and that she was indeed eating clam chowder, she showed me a piece of clam on her spoon and said, "See...beef!" This soup debate went on for a solid 3 minutes. I don't think I ever convinced her.
Friday, September 2, 2011
The beginning...
Before I start Spain: Part 2, I thought I should make a new blog. The last one, "Semester Abroad in Valencia," just somehow didn't seem appropriate for my upcoming year in Extremadura. In about 18 days I'll be on a flight to Madrid, then take the train or bus (plans are still pretty nonexistent) to my small pueblo town of Navalmoral de la Mata in the region of Extremadura, Spain. But I'll be about 2 hours away from Madrid, so I don't think small town life should be too bad...
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I feel like I have SO much left to do before I leave. I stop working at Clyde's (waitressing) on the 15th, so I think I'm going to just wait until then to start packing. I'll go crazy if I start now. I've been collecting things here and there over the summer from Target and other stores (but let's be honest...Target is the best). Things that I wished I had had last go around in Spain: American deodorant, contact solution (one bottle is about $20 in Spain), peanut butter, the 4-wheel" suitcases (I'll never forget walking from my Valencia apartment to the metro rolling two of the regular suitcases on wheels and my backpack...never doing that again).
But in good news, I have a place to live once I get to Navalmoral! This whole summer when people would ask where I was living, I would answer, "Umm, I don't know...I'll figure it out when I get there." Luckily a few days ago, the Spanish roommate of the two girls who were Auxiliares in Navalmoral last year contacted me and asked if I wanted to take their place as her roommate this year. She found us a place and moved in the other day. So, thankfully I won't be homeless when I get there!
Now it's time to get a little sappy...This year (2011) has had some very distinct phases to it. I can divide it into 3 different "eras" almost. Era #1: Last semester of college. Definitely the best time I had in my four years at UVa. I got so close to so many people and was so sad after beach week and graduation to be leaving Charlottesville, my friends, and my home for the last four years. But then came era #2: Clyde's. Definitely nothing compared to my time at UVa, but it was a great distraction from the transition into the "real world". I had worked at Clyde's about 3 years ago, but this time was a lot better...this time I was over 21 and could go to the bar after a long shift. Such a necessary thing for restaurant life. Between Clyde's fun, my sister and her husband visiting from their home in Australia, and quality time with the parents, this summer was wonderful. So, now that I'm about to end the Clyde's era, I'm getting nostalgic. But, I felt this way (on a much bigger scale) I was when the UVa era ended. I'm just hoping that this means that when era #3, the Navalmoral era, comes to an end, I'll be sad to be ending that part of my life too. I have no expectations for life in Spain and am going into this adventure fully open to whatever happens. All I know is that I'm going to be eating lots and lots of delicious food. I'm going to miss everyone and please, please, please stay in touch!
Add me on skype, write me letters, and COME VISIT ME (seriously.)!
View Larger Map
I feel like I have SO much left to do before I leave. I stop working at Clyde's (waitressing) on the 15th, so I think I'm going to just wait until then to start packing. I'll go crazy if I start now. I've been collecting things here and there over the summer from Target and other stores (but let's be honest...Target is the best). Things that I wished I had had last go around in Spain: American deodorant, contact solution (one bottle is about $20 in Spain), peanut butter, the 4-wheel" suitcases (I'll never forget walking from my Valencia apartment to the metro rolling two of the regular suitcases on wheels and my backpack...never doing that again).
But in good news, I have a place to live once I get to Navalmoral! This whole summer when people would ask where I was living, I would answer, "Umm, I don't know...I'll figure it out when I get there." Luckily a few days ago, the Spanish roommate of the two girls who were Auxiliares in Navalmoral last year contacted me and asked if I wanted to take their place as her roommate this year. She found us a place and moved in the other day. So, thankfully I won't be homeless when I get there!
Now it's time to get a little sappy...This year (2011) has had some very distinct phases to it. I can divide it into 3 different "eras" almost. Era #1: Last semester of college. Definitely the best time I had in my four years at UVa. I got so close to so many people and was so sad after beach week and graduation to be leaving Charlottesville, my friends, and my home for the last four years. But then came era #2: Clyde's. Definitely nothing compared to my time at UVa, but it was a great distraction from the transition into the "real world". I had worked at Clyde's about 3 years ago, but this time was a lot better...this time I was over 21 and could go to the bar after a long shift. Such a necessary thing for restaurant life. Between Clyde's fun, my sister and her husband visiting from their home in Australia, and quality time with the parents, this summer was wonderful. So, now that I'm about to end the Clyde's era, I'm getting nostalgic. But, I felt this way (on a much bigger scale) I was when the UVa era ended. I'm just hoping that this means that when era #3, the Navalmoral era, comes to an end, I'll be sad to be ending that part of my life too. I have no expectations for life in Spain and am going into this adventure fully open to whatever happens. All I know is that I'm going to be eating lots and lots of delicious food. I'm going to miss everyone and please, please, please stay in touch!
Add me on skype, write me letters, and COME VISIT ME (seriously.)!
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