"but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes i feel like i'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...and then i remember to relax and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and i can't help but feel gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life...you have no idea what i'm talking about, i'm sure. but don't worry...you will someday."
Sunday, March 1, 2009
american beauty.
i was watching american beauty the other day on surfthechannel.com and this was the ending quote and it just seemed appropriate.
this weekend
it was so nice this thursday to know that i didn't have to rush home, eat a quick sandwich and apple and head to the bus station to sit on a bus for hours-because i stayed in toledo this weekend because on friday we had a day trip to segovia.
it really has been a very relaxing weekend, which i needed. i am burnt out from traveling every weekend. also, it was so nice because i felt like i hadn't hung out with everyone in our group outside of school since we first got here. and after this weekend with our group-i honestly am love everyone! we had so much fun and really bonded i think with everyone.
friday we went to segovia on friday but thursday i went to o'briens for a glass (or 2) of wine. this was after i got my bangs/hair cut at the mall (just a trim) even though i was too nervous for her to cut a lot of my bangs off because i did not want spanish bangs. so i don't think she cut them short enough but they are better than before, much better.
then we left for segovia at 830 on friday. it was such a nice day-in the afternoon i didnt really need my coat. segovia is only an hour away from madrid so it didnt take too long to get there and we went to see the roman aqueducts there. our guide said that people from italy come to segovia, spain to study the aqueducts because they are still better than the ruins in rome. and it really was a sight! they are huge and completely made out of stone without cement, which i think it amazing that they are still standing-and they were built before jesus' time (to give you an idea). i think that is so amazing. i was standing there looking up at them and i could almost imagine standing there thousands of years ago with roman soldiers patrolling and walking around in white sheets and sandals. then we went to the cathedral there that is the same style as the one here in toledo but it is a little smaller. but it had a very realistic sculpture of jesus right after he was taken down from the cross-the fingernails and holes in his feet were the most realistic. then we had headed back to the bus where we played mafia ( a card game that we played with coins because no one had cards) the entire way home (2 hours). great way to bond.
friday night we all meet up at o'briens, normal. and then went to dance at circulo! my favorite dancing spot.
saturday we went to the mall for the chinese buffet. their egg rolls were awesome and just what i wanted-and the lo mein. we saw fabian working and he told us to come over. i was excited for everyone to meet and hang out with them because they are my favorite spanish boys! i think that talking/hanging out with them is probably when i feel i can speak spanish best. because jose-fabian's brother-can only speak spanish and it's weird how i think i get along with him the best and i can only speak spanish-i actually love it and am proud of myself that i can actually communicate with him and tell jokes, stories, etc. it's a good feeling to have a friendship completely in spanish. we both love to dance, like rap and youtube. i know i am going to miss them when i go back home...hard to believe i only have two weeks here. and after this weekend, it is going to be so hard to leave!!
running.
my favorite day here, or at least one of them, was the other day. it was nice enough in the afternoon to go running.
my house overlooks the river and the old bridge here but i haven't been there yet. so i put on my northface, nike pants and tennis shoes, grabbed my ipod and headed down. the stairs that lead down the bridge are probably the prettiest (and coldest) stairs i have ever seen. they are in stones and polished rocks and so are the high walls.
i found the don quixote route and followed it. it was the best run because it was so pretty. the path is on the side of the mountain with parts of the rocks jutting out into the path. on the left is the river and across the river are more mountains, trees and shrubbery. it almost doesn't look real.
it was nice to actually exercise (other than walking up and down hills every day), sweat, and have some time for myself.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
corodoba
this past weekend a lot of people stayed in toledo but i really didn't want to because usually by the end of the week i want to go somewhere-i look forward to the week during the week and i really wanted to go somewhere warm. so i decided to go to cordoba which is in andalucia (south of spain) with jasmine and adrienne. we got there after some confusion about our bus tickets (we usually just use our passports to get one because we don't have printers to print out the tickets we buy online but apparently we needed tickets) but we ended up getting on the bus and after 4 hours we arrived in cordoba.
it was soo warm! the next day we sat outside for lunch and i was literally sweating in the sun, roasting. i had gazpacho, which is a typical spanish soup-kinda like tomato soup but it's served cold. it's so good i asked mercedes to show me how to make it one day so i can make it when i get back home-she said it's really simple. then we got ice cream and walked around the mezquita which is one of the main attraction points there.
i don't know if it was the heat we weren't used to or just the fact that we have been traveling every weekend since we have been here and the lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with our bodies- but after shopping after the mezquita we took a nap. then woke up, grabbed some dinner and headed out to find a bar. it took us more than an hour and a half to find A SINGLE BAR or place where they served alcohol. we finally found the pub after realizing we had been walking around in a complete circle. the streets in spain will do that to you.
next day we walked around for a while trying to find somewhere to eat where we could eat outside and ended up finding a place by the mezquita and i had gazpacho again with chicken. so good. then we walked over and around the big bridge there. again took a nap and went out for the night to a dance club- i think we really are adjusting to the spanish culture where they don't end up going out until 11-12 but stay out until 6 or so in the morning. at one of the bars we took a picture with a guy who was on BIG BROTHER but the spanish version-first spanish celeb!
it was hard to leave the weather but it actually is heating up here in toledo- spring needs to spring!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
ML 250 update.
Pues, ¡yo he disfrutado mi tiempo aquí en España! Mi casa está cerca de todo: diez minutos por pies de nuestra universidad y tres minutos o menos de la plaza Zocodover donde hay tiendas, restaurantes y bares. Yo he caminando por todos partes y puedo sentirme en mis músculos de pierna. Pero yo necesito ejercicio porque Mercedes es un fabuloso cocinero. Hemos tenido muchos legumbres y carne y cada noche tenemos algo nuevo y diferente. Claire, "mi hermana," habla español mejor de yo. Pero, cuando nosotros comemos, me siento que yo puede aprender mas porque yo eschucho. Yo hablo también y el otro día Mercedes dijo que yo he mejorado mucho cuando hablo porque yo puedo conjugar verbos mejor porque yo me siento más relajado. A mí me gusta tener Claire aquí porque nosotros hablamos y practicamos español durante la comida y yo aprendo cosas culturales porque Claire ha estado aquí desde septiembre.
Pero pienso que mi cosa favorita o mi costumbre favorito es tapas. Hay un lugar dos minutos de mi casa se llamo "Enebro." Cuando yo compro una bebida, recibio una tapa gratis. Todos las tapas tiene papas frítas. Un tiempo, tuve carne. Otro tiempo, tuve un bocadillo con jamón y tomate. ¡Estas tapas son ricas! Yo voy a Enebro para tapas por lo menos una vez a la semana con Claire, mis amigas de Intercambio o mis amigas/os de Ohio.
Mi otro lugar favorito es NocaNoca-un cafe. Tienen el mejor chocolate. También me gustan los bocadillos. Cuando fui en Granada, tuvimos chocolate y churros después de la cena. En este momento, yo sentía muy española porque de yo consegía costumbres españoles. También, fueron deliciosos.
Otro punto: yo puedo he acostumbrado a las siestas...cuando en España, vive como los españoles.
ML 250
I have two experiences I can pass on to other students.
First, the bus to the mall. You can take the 6.1 or 6.2 but it doesn't take you directly there. It only takes you to the main road that the mall is off so you have to walk. But if you go to the Plaza de Torres and take the 92 it will take you directly to the mall. The bus ride is probably 15 minutes. At the mall there are many clothing stores (many of which we have right here in Toledo near Zocodover: Zara, Pull and Bear, Pimpkie...) but there is a Corte Ingles at the mall and takes up about half the lower level because it is so big! There also is a food court with McDonalds and BK and other spanish chains and a movie theater. But don't go on Sunday because the only thing that is open is the food court and the Ben & Jerry's.
Second, I had to buy a new camera here, as much as I didn't want to spend the money I didn't have much of a choice. When I went to the beach in Valencia sand got in my camera because it was so windy and the lens wouldn't open. So the man said they could fix it but it would cost around 100 euro because of the shipping to and from Madrid on top of the actual cost to fix it. So I bought a new camera for 135 euro...but I loooove it! The only thing is that I think i am going to have to buy an adapter for the US, weird. But the camera store is on the way to the cathedral and is called Foto Spot. The owner was really nice, didn't speak english but spoke slowly so I could understand. You can develop pictures or buy photo albums there as well.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
SALAMANCA.
Last Saturday we went to Salamanca just for Saturday night because we had our excursion to Aranjuez/Escorial on Friday. We felt like traveling and had already spent Friday night in Toledo. Salamanca is a university town with a Plaza Mayor (above) that looked exactly like the one in Madrid. We had lunch in the Plaza, the menu del dia. We had paella first that had mussels, shrimp, some kind of fish and rice, of course. I am coming around the fish and tried the mussels but it still tasted a little too fishy for me (and salty from all the fish). I think the paella in Valencia was better (and that time it had rabbit and snail, which I tried). Then we had eggs, ham and french fries. It also came with wine as the drink and the waiter gave us two bottles (there were 5 of us) so we finished lunch and sat there for about 2 hours finishing the wine and talking. We took a nap and then got ready because as Mercedes told me, Toledo has "mucha marcha." The next day we got Doner Kabeb, my new favorite! I think the man opened his restaurant just for us because he was watching our disappointed faces through the window when we couldn't open his door. Again, we sat around in the Doner Kabeb until we got back on the bus. This was probably the worst bus ride ever-it was only supposed to be 3 hours and ended up being like 5 because we took the non-express route because it was cheaper but then we hit traffic and there was an accident because it started snowing. There was a good few inches of snow that we drove through but we were higher up in the mountains but it was so pretty-all the mountains covered in snow. i almost miss the snow here. it is cold, but there is nothing really to show for it. but despite the bus ride home, it was nice to get away for the weekend from Toledo and experience a different part of Spain-if only for one night.
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