Barcelona with the Dewitts

Still in Barcelona, still on my balcony, I am trying to catch up to present day. I don’t want to have to be home and write about my travels. It will just make me miss Europe more. As much as I am excited to be home or back at Cornell, I will really miss all the traveling and the people I met and just the culture of Spain in general. It is truly a bittersweet ending to such an amazing experience, kind of like summer camp. You make friends with people from all over who you never imagined meeting and then you have to say goodbye. Oh well, I will try to make it to Bari someday.

Anyways, after one last night in Bilbao of exploring the Casco Viejo, I caught a bus to Barcelona and met up with Caitlyn and her mom. Sunday morning we pretty much dedicated to Gaudi. We saw Casa Batllo, la Pedrera, la Sagrada Familia and picnicked in Parc Guell. A relatively long siesta back in the hotel room (I stayed with the Dewitts my first two days in Barcelona), we wandered to Las Ramblas and Barri Gotic. Caitlyn’s mom then treated us to dinner.

It was at dinner that Caitlyn realized we were right next to a fairly famous shots bar. There is something called the Monica Lewinsky which I can only imagine. Anyways, not passing up some interesting shots, Caitlyn and I treated each other to a shot. I enjoyed the Comeme el Coño while Caitlyn had an Orgasmo de Monja. Parents, believe me, don’t translate those.

Day two with the Guapa family we went back to Las Ramblas to go to the Boqueria market. Fresh fruit, pastries, cheeses and meats. Delicious. I bought some ingredients for paella and we wandered around until it was time for the Dewitts to depart for Madrid. We said our goodbyes and I made my way to my hostel.

That brings me to now. I am rarely at this point, but it is nearing the end of my stay in Europe, so it is about time I make it this far. I have two more days coming up including a day of travel back to the ole US of A. Tomorrow I think I will hit the beach, seeing as I have seen a lot of what I want to see in Barcelona. The following day I catch a flight to Chicago on Pakistan International Airlines. Don’t worry, I am sure the flight will be fine and I will be safe at home in Wisconsin, eating a burger and enjoying a beer by Wednesday evening. Here’s to the last few days of Europe.

Sanfermines: The Biggest White Party in Spain

Clad in all white and a little buzzed, I made my way to the bus station feeling a little awkward. Yes, they could all guess where I was off to, but I still felt a little weird wearing white head to toe. It would all be worth it when I made it to Pamplona.

That’s right, I was off to Sanfermines, the Running of the Bulls, the festival made famous in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and the event that has inspired more debauchery across the world. Originally a festival, as I gather, to honor Saint Fermin, a martyr, the weeklong party has evolved into a multinational gathering of people (apparently one million people) who wear white only for it to become soaked in red wine, sangria and calimocho. There also happens to be a bunch of bulls running down the streets at 8 in the morning.

I meet Caitlyn, David and Hillary at the bus station and we start off on the two hour ride to Pamplona. Once at our destination, we start our long night with some food and, of course, a little bit of alcohol. We don our newly obtained red bandanas and sashes and head out into the streets.

The streets are packed with people. Have you ever gone to a costume party with a super sweet costume only to find out that somebody had the same idea as you? Well, imagine that you went to a party with 100,000 people and not just one, but the other 99,999 people decided to wear the same thing as you. Well, that was what this was like, except expected. It was incredible. The atmosphere of everyone, young and old, Spanish and guiris and everyone in between wearing the same outfit, celebrating in the streets with you, it was great.

Add to this the fact that we were greeted with a barrage of fireworks, I couldn’t ask for anything better. I missed the fireworks on the 4th, but four days later worked!

After the firework display we found our Italian friends: Giulia, Simone, Andrea, Margherita and her sister at a concert. The concert featured all the current hits. Excuse me, I mean all the current hits if it were 1987. We jammed out to “Ghostbusters” and “Highway to Hell” and “Smoke on the Water” in a crowd of happy drunk Spaniards.

At one point after the concert I got super sleepy and wanted to take a nap on the ground in the park. This was not a planned break. Take this as you will.

After this break, I was back up wandering the streets. It was probably around 4 or 5 am and things had started to die down. Surprising, as this was Spain and the party doesn’t usually quit until the sun (also) rises, but I guess people had been partying since the afternoon, the morning, or the day before even, and people were on different party schedules. The streets were still very busy though.

Well, all pretty tired, we found a place on some steps near the route of the run and settled in. I talked to some fellow Americans who were teaching in Spain for the summer and waited for the whole goal of the trip.

At around 7:30 am the crowd started moving, getting anxious. The brave men (and one very ballsy woman) started to make their way into the street to get bowled over by bulls. The people with the money and wherewithal of renting a balcony started to emerge from the buildings. You could feel the energy and tension mounting.

At 8 am I heard a firecracker. The bulls had been released. Less than a minute later the people started to run. The bravest stuck around a little longer. Soon we saw the bulls. Seconds later they had passed. Everything was a blur. I’m not too sure I saw all the bulls. All that remained was the aftermath. One guy had been trampled or horned a little before our stretched of road and the police and authorities rushed to him. Other than that, just as soon as it happened, the barriers were taken down and the crowd took to the streets again.

We said goodbye to the Italians as they caught their bus back to Santander and promptly passed out in the grass, awaiting another event of Sanfermines: Cabezudos y Gigantes, a parade of people dressed up with gigantic heads. Our information was wrong though, because after an hour of waiting we still didn’t see any giants parading down the streets. Dang.

More sleeping in the field and we decided to see if we could catch an earlier bus. Nope. Well, we hung out in the bus station a couple of hours and then caught our bus back to Bilbao, happy, tired, hungry, a little hungover and again, happy to have taken part in one of the biggest parties there is.

I look forward to coming back. Next time, I might just run. Not the whole course, but maybe like 20 meters before jumping into the safety of the barriers. Or at the very least renting a balcony. Also, hopefully staying for the fights and seeing the Cabezudos y Gigantes. But either way, I can check that off the bucket list.

One Month

This weekend marks a couple of landmarks for me.

1. It has been one year since I have been home in Wisconsin. The last time I was home it was for the Fourth of July weekend. This was the last time I saw any of my friends from home and one of three time I saw my family in the last 15 months. Don't worry though, Independence Day will be celebrated here in Spain too!

2. I now have a full month left in Spain. I have begun to realize that these weeks are passing much more rapidly than they have, but it hasn't really hit me that my time is coming to an end. Probably when I move out of Bilbao or board my plane in Barcelona it will actually sink in that my year abroad is finally over, but until then I guess I will just try to enjoy it all.

3. The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona is less than a week away. There were two events I have wanted to participate in while in Spain. One, the Tomatina, a large tomato fight in the streets of a tiny town in southern Spain, I will not make it to. I have been in Spain for almost a full year, but the three weeks that I will miss in August are when this fiesta falls. The second is the Running of the Bulls. Way back when I thought I would run in it too. Well, I have since wizened up and will be going just to party and soak in the culture. Looks like I will have to go out and buy some white clothes!

Hasta Luego Santander

All the posters are off the walls. Each shirt is out of the dresser and packed away. Nothing still hangs on the hangers. I have just about packed up my room. It is my last day in Santander. 295 days have passed since I first arrived, bewildered, confused, foreign. Today I leave, still bewildered, confused and foreign.

I head off to Bilbao today for my internship. And although it is only an hour away, it feels like I am leaving a huge part of my life. Everything that I have known and grown accustomed to in the past ten months is staying here, and I have to venture into the unknown again. Scary, huh?

One of the scariest parts is that I still don’t exactly have a place to live. I mean, I have been in contact with this guy since… yesterday. I think the place will work out. But that apartment isn’t free for another week, so before that I am supposed to live in an alternative apartment. And that isn’t free until tomorrow. So tonight… I stay with David, a kid from my classes who lives near Bilbao. And thank God, because I really don’t want to start off in a hostel. Hopefully he can show me around a bit.

Anyways, I am procrastinating. Everything may have been emptied and cleared away, but now it just sits on the floor or on the table tops. I am putting off packing and writing about Norway. They just seem like daunting tasks. Instead I am writing about packing, kind of like two in one. I think that counts at least.

Well, I guess this is good bye Santander. It has been great. Don’t worry, I will come back to visit very soon.

Madrid with the Family

As I said in the previous post, we had an early flight. I mean early. We left our place in Vienna at 4 or so in the morning to get to the airport on time. Well, that afforded us a full day in Madrid!

One thing before I talk a little about Madrid. We were sitting in the Vienna airport at our gate and found out they had wireless. For free. Awesome! That actually isn’t the important part. Due to the free wireless Hill was able to access the internet with her iPad and the first piece of news we read that morning was OSAMA WAS KILLED!!!

Thrilled, I told my mom, “Hey Mom! Guess what! They Osama is dead.”

Shocked, she pauses for a second. She then turns to my dad and says solemnly, “Gary, the president is dead.”

It is unfortunate how close their names are.

Our three goals for Madrid:

1. Meghan wants sangria.

2. Dad wants paella.

3. Mom wants tapas.

We get into Madrid at around 8 or 9 in the morning and head to the place we are staying, Hostal Pez Azul. It is in this really eclectic and interesting part of Madrid, right next to Gumbo, a Cajun food restaurant. I am not sure if I mentioned that Hillary’s family is from New Orleans in my post about her, but she was really excited about this fact. Too bad it was closed that day. Next time.

Okay, so we check into the room and then head out. For what? Another Sandeman’s free tour! Yes, that makes my Sandeman’s Free Tours count up to five: Dublin, Berlin, Munich, Prague, & Madrid! You might actually think that I enjoy these tours.

Well, I do. But after already having been on another Madrid free tour, having a flight at 6 in the morning and just being overall exhausted from so much travelling, by the end of the tour I just wanted to pass out. And after accomplishing goals one and two at dinner, I get that opportunity, as my family wants a siesta. Instead I stay up though, planning out Porto details with Hill.

After a few hours siesta (not the way actual Spanish do it by the way), we knock off number three on the list on Cava Baja, this street lined with great tapas restaurants. We end the night with some churros.

I would say, all in all, a good end to a good family vacation.

Northern Spain Photos

Leon, Oviedo & Updates

I went to Leon and Oviedo awhile ago. Like over a month ago. With Erasmus. I should update you guys about that first.

That was a lie, I should tell you guys first about probably one of the most quintessential study abroad nights I have had first. So I mentioned before that I met the Polish kids from our class for drinks and a concert. I also said that we agreed that we would have an international potluck. Well that potluck happened on the Friday before I left for Leon.

Not knowing what I could make that represented American and could also feed a good number of people (I was not prepared to make 25 cheeseburgers), I decided I would fall back on an easy favorite: Chili and Cornbread. Yea, I guess it is kind of Mexican, but I consider it TexMex cuisine over anything else, which means it is at least part American. Actually, a quick Wiki search just now informed me that it was first made by Spanish Canary Islanders in San Antonio, Texas. I feel like that means it is wholly American.

Anyways, I made chili and cornbread and it was actually a hit. The Italians especially liked it. I was surprised, especially after having eaten the other food made. The Italians made lasagna and pizza, a Hungarian made goulash, and admittedly, I forget what else was there. Regardless, it was all very delicious. I was in food heaven. Either way, I impressed some people and they made me promise to make more chili. Only as long as they make me more Italian food.

LEON

First I would like to point out that after seeing probably around 20 cities in Spain, a lot of them being only for a day or two, Spanish cities are starting to blend together. I do remember a bit about Leon, though.

Leon, like a lot of cities in Spain, has a beautiful cathedral. The one in Leon has pretty incredible stained glass throughout the building. Leon also has the MUSAC, a contemporary art museum that is full of a lot of random things. A few of the exhibition halls displayed what I would describe most accurately as what would happen if everything from a dorm building was emptied into a room and haphazardly organized. There were also one or two Guadí buildings on Leon, but nothing at all compared to those in Barcelona.

Probably the most memorable aspect of Leon is the nightlife. Leon does tapas like they are meant to be done, by which I mean you order a corto of beer (a small glass) and with it you get a small thing of food like a slice of pizza, bread with chorizo, or even octopus (gross and chewy), all for slightly more than a euro. Caitlyn, Hillary and I met some students from Germany also on the Erasmus trip and headed out to a few bars to try their tapas. It was a lot of fun. Like I have probably mentioned before, one of the best aspects of studying abroad and traveling is meeting people from such different cultures. Did you know you have to pay several hundred euros and take intense tests to get just about any license? This includes fishing licenses. That is ridiculous considering obtaining a fishing license in Wisconsin involves paying $20.00 annually.

After drinks and tapas with the Germans we also met up with a group of Italians (the same that hosted the potluck). We partied it up until the wee hours of the morning. I could tell that eventually this group of Italians was going to be the death of me. Luckily they are helping me practice my Spanish.

Oh, did I mention we went for churros con chocolate with the Italians? Delicious.

Anyways, we woke up late into the morning, ate breakfast, and boarded the bus to Oviedo.

OVIEDO

One of our Spanish friends, Pelayo, is from Oviedo, one of the two large cities in Asturias (an autonomous community read: Spanish equivalent of states). He raved about how great the city was. It was clean and much nicer than Santander. It even won a golden broom (or something along those lines) for being the cleanest city. Right, Pelayo. We therefore made it our mission to find as much garbage as possible and take pictures of it. Luckily it was the weekend before Mardi Gras and there was a fiesta the day before. The streets were slightly littered, and we made sure we told Pelayo. Besides being clean, Oviedo, and Asturias in general, is known for its cidra, or cider. You have to pour the cidra from above your head to a glass near your waist. You waste a lot of cidra, get it on the floor and other objects around you, and also aerate it, enhancing the taste. I don’t see the point, because it still is pretty disgusting.

Anways, Oviedo has a cathedral too. It has a street full of cidrarias (cider houses). It has some nice squares. It also has a statue of Woody Allen. That is about it. All in all, a fine city.

Eating with the Italians

After our night out with the Italians, we promised each other food. They promised to make panzerotti, a deep fried calzone popular in Bari and the region around Bari. We promised something American (we would think of something). Well, I still haven’t had panzerotti, but they did make us pasta, chicken, pizza, and risotto. All of this was outstanding. I made Luca promise to show me how to make this chicken. Seriously, all of it was the best Italian food I have ever made. So far we have made them pancakes and apple pie. We will be making them chili con carne and white chili after Semana Santa and hosting an American night of drinking chock full of beer pong, flip cup, quarters and kings. I think we are getting the better deal here.

Friends Visiting

I mentioned earlier that Sabrina (with friends in tow), Ben and Eve visited. I went to dinner with Sabrina and her friends one night. The other night I had everyone over to make tortillas. This was my first time being in charge of the tortillas. It might be my last time, too. The tortillas tasted great, but they weren’t exactly how they are supposed to look, and honestly, Hillary and Caitlyn make a better tortilla (not to mention Manila, the restaurant with the best tortilla in Spain, or second best if you ask Manuel). It must have been decent though, because when Sabrina got back to Oxford she told me she made tortilla.

Then day after was Saint Patrick’s day. Being a little bit Irish (one eighth, which is not mostly, Dad), I had to celebrate. I made some of the Spanish kids celebrate too. Well, I invited some of the guys over the drink and then go out with Ben, Eve and I. A few bailed, like usual, but we enjoyed our time. We met up with the Italians (as we are apt to do) and they dragged us to more and more clubs. We ended the night at The Indian, this American themed club, at 6 in the morning. Ben and Eve were tired, I was exhausted. I had class at 9:30 the next day and only got two hours of sleep. This is what Erasmus is all about, isn’t it? I cannot handle Erasmus.

Besides that, I brought Ben and Eve around the city. We did the naturally tourist things to do in Santander (there are not many). We ate kebab and Doner King. We walked along the port. We saw the palace with the penguins and we went to the beach. Eventually their (very) short stay came to an end and before I knew it I was dropping them off at the bus stop.

Sadly it was kind of poor weather for my visitors, especially Sabrina. The next week, though, was fantastic! It got well into the 80s and we went to the beach several times. And before I knew it…

I WENT TO IRELAND

(This will get its own post)

I got back from Ireland and the weather was crummy. Oh well, the beach could wait, by which I mean, stop distracting me and let me concentrate on homework and studying.

Since Ireland, we finalized our exam schedule. This in itself isn’t very exciting, but meant we knew when we could travel, and we are going to NORWAY! Yep, Kristine will have three eager Americans rocking Haugesund and the fjords in June. How lucky she is.

Also, Hillary and I met up with some Spanish kids for tortilla at Manila (the really good tortilla, remember?) and then made apple pie for a second international potluck.

Now I have three days until I see my family. It has been 238 days (or just short of 8 months) since I have seen my parents and sister. I am looking forward to it. It will be nice to finally see them. Being able to travel like a normal person instead of a poor student won’t hurt either. That is right! No hostels. Being able to eat in restaurants. Paying to see things. Taxis. I can’t fathom the difference between the way I have learned to travel and how travelling with my family will be.

Upcoming Travel Plans

Family Trip:

Berlin, Germany

Prague, Czech Republic

Munich, Germany

Budapest, Hungary

Vienna, Austria

Bratislava, Slovakia

Post Semana Santa:

Porto, Portugal

Madrid, Spain

Haugesund & Fjords, Norway

An Update on Life

So a bit has happened since my last series of posts, but I have been too lazy to write about them until now, and this isn't going to be a great post as it is.

About two weeks ago we didn't have class because there was a conference about construction (I believe) that all the Spanish kids in our class went to. Finding out about this, we decided to go to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim Museum as we kind of got on this kick about visiting all 1000 Places to See Before You Die. Bilbao is only an hour and a half or so away by bus so we thought why not.

Bilbao is a pretty industrial city, but it has a nice old part of town and the Guggenheim is the main attraction anyways. We spent a few hours wandering the galleries of the museum. One of the most impressive pieces of art was this gigantic hangar sized room with equally gigantic steel structures winding around the room. Another piece that really struck me was this series of scrolling LED signs that extended probably 30 to 40 feet into the ceiling above. All in all, the museum was really interesting, full of modern art, but after a while we got hungry and left to eat lunch on the steps. We wandered la parte vieja a little bit before returning back to Santander.

The next day I met up with Kasia and Michal, two Polish kids I have class with. We sat through a little concert in a bar down in the centro. The singer was really good and I met a bunch of Italians and English from Kasia and Michal's Spanish class with whom I agreed to have dinner with. We are all going to cook a dish from home and bring it to share, a little International Potluck. One Italian, Marco, made Kasia promise to make "un monton de pierogies" or literally a mountain of pierogies.

Last weekend we met up with the Spanish kids from our class for a dinner at Pinocho, this pizza place that is Pinocchio themed. It actually had pretty good pizza (much better than Telepizza's) and was nice to finally hang out with the Spanish kids without being the ones to invite them. We all then proceeded to Peter Pan, this bar a lot of students go to for big cheap drinks, and played some dice games.

The following day we had our first excursion for our Prehistoric Art class. This has got to be one of the most dull classes I have taken. Sorry prof. The class is essentially our professor pointing out legs, backs, and horns of animals that were painted 12,000 years ago. Thrilling, truly. The tours of the caves we went on were pretty much the same thing. The caves themselves were really interesting though. The stalagmites, stalactites, and these formations that could be played like xylophones were really neat.

While all of this has been going on, I have been on another quest of sorts. I think I have been getting obsessed with completing lists of somewhat epic proportions. First the 1000 Places list (which isn't going to happen anytime soon, I am at around 50). More recently I have been watching movies from IMDb's top 250 list. In the past two weeks or so I have watched 10 of the movies and am up to a total of 76. Now, I am not going to watch all 250, because most movies made before 1970 just bore me to death (I am ignorant, I know). That leaves me with 163 total. I am almost halfway done and am kind of on a roll (but don't worry mom, homework comes first. Also, I am watching these in Spanish so that should count as productive).

On the cooking front, we have been getting creative lately (and partially cultural). We celebrate Falafel Fridays every Friday. I have to admit, our fried chickpea concoctions have been pretty mouth watering. Not so successful was our attempt at gnocchi. Some of them turned out like mashed potatoes while most of them just were too mushy. I think we have to figure out the cooking time and add more flour to be more successful. Last night we actually ate out. This is a rare occasion because I would rather save money for travelling. I have to admit though, the restaurant was delicious. We went to Dia Delsur and ordered a bunch of different raciones (large portions of tapas) to split. The food was excellent. I was particularly a fan of the patatas bravas we ordered. In Madrid the patatas bravas we got were like roasted potatoes drenched in this delicious red sauce. Here, it was home made potato chips with two different sauces, a red sauce resembling a salsa and this sour cream-ish sauce that reminded me of the Chives n Fries dip you get from Saz's (Wisconsin people know what I am talking about). The Tikka Masala chicken kebab and rice was really good too. The only thing we got that I probably wouldn't order again was a vegetable plate. It was super oily and salty making everything really soggy and heavy. Finally, today, in celebration of Mardi Gras, Hillary and I are going to fashion a King's Cake out of Cinnabon's Cinnamon Rolls. It should be delicious.

Southern Spain 2

Third stop: CORDOBA

Well, you may think that by now I am done with Moorish architecture. I have seen the Giralda and Alcazaba in Seville. I just took in the Alhambra. I have even been to Morocco. What more could I want? Well, surprisingly, I was ready for the Mezquita in Cordoba.

The ride from Granada to Cordoba was beautiful. We passed rolling hills covered in almond trees blossoming with tiny white flowers and rows and rows of olive trees as far as the eye could see. Spain still does not cease to amaze me. The country is so diverse.

Well, we arrived in Cordoba, and like most cities in Spain, its roads went every which way. Somehow we find our hostel without a map. Eager to take in the sites, we head straight for the Mezquita. We find out it costs 8 euro or something around there. Reasonable for such a historic site. But then we discover that it is free on Sundays. Tomorrow is Sunday. I think we know when we are visiting the Mezquita.

Instead, we wander around a bit. We cross the bridge to some castle like hold. We locate Cordoba’s alcazar and see the gardens… under construction. I understand that travelling during the low season will have some drawbacks. In exchange for smaller crowds and less tourists I understand the weather will be worse and the hours will be shorter. That doesn’t mean that everything has to be under construction, too. Seriously, does everything go under construction in the winter every year, or is it just our luck that this winter everything happens to need restoration?

Despite the construction, the gardens and the fortress are pretty astounding. These Moors and their perfect geometry. They might have been short (even I didn’t fit in some of their doorways), but they made up for it with recessed lighting shaped like stars and gardens that put many others to shame.

Hungry, yet kitchenless, we raided a OpenCor grocery store and feast in one of the countless quaint plazas dotted throughout Cordoba. Yet again, we found ourselves wondering what to do with our time. We were putting off the Mezquita until tomorrow and had already seen the Alcazar. We tried to get into the royal horse barn but to no avail. Noticing that Cordoba pretty much had a church for every resident, we began wandering the streets, stopping at cathedrals we found along the way. Then we spotted some posters advertising a free concert at the Metropolis. Not knowing where the Metropolis was nor having a means of finding out where it was, we decided to walk along the streets until we found it. We had a few hours and Cordoba is only so big.

Well, that plan didn’t work out too well. We found Roman ruins and more churches, but were no closer to finding the Metropolis than an hour ago. We went back to the hostel and asked the receptionist. She took our map and drew an arrow at the very edge. She told us that it wasn’t on the map, but if we walked in the direction and took some lefts and some rights and asked around we would be able to find it in an industrial area of town. Rock music in an industrial area of town? Count me in.

Hillary and I started off in that direction, stopping by the old town’s wall for a bit to pass the time. Eventually we find ourselves in an industrial part of town, hoping to Dios that we find the Metropolis and that the 75 minute walk out of town was worth it. After passing discount furniture stores and warehouses, Hillary shouts out, “AH! We found it!”

Our receptionist was not lying. The Metropolis was definitely a long walk out of town. Well, we stand in line with maybe 10 Spanish people waiting to enter the free concert. A while after entering the place the first band starts to play. They were pretty good and it was great to finally be at a concert again, but exhaustion took hold and we knew we had to wake early to get to the Mezquita. After the first set we headed back to the hostel.

Again, the Moors were a great civilization. The old mosque was so great that when the Christians took over the city they could not bear to tear it down. Instead, they built a cathedral right inside the old mosque. That’s right, the Mezquita is this series of beautiful Moorish arches and architecture surrounding a cathedral that was plopped right in the center. The contrast is stark. The dark aspects of the mosque juxtaposed with a brightly lit church. Even the ornaments of each style are so different.

Well, we finish with the Mezquita and drop by the synagogue before leaving for Seville. What a religious day.

Last Stop: SEVILLA

We had already been in Sevilla before. This time it was more of a stopping point before flying to Venice. That didn’t mean we didn’t want to site see some more. And unlike last time we were in Sevilla, the weather was perfect. We revisited the Plaza de Espana, and this time could actually bask in the center instead of huddling underneath the arches of the building to avoid the rain. We walked along the river and just enjoyed the weather.

Back at the hostel we try to simulate a little bit of America with a dinner of cheese burgers and fries that left us wholly unsatisfied. The burgers didn’t brown, but instead turned pink, making us fear for our health as we bit in. The fries didn’t crisp. The cheese we bought said it was cheddar. It was actually a terrible version of American cheese. I hate American cheese. That does not count as cheese when you hail from Wisconsin. Oh well, at least the kilo of clementines that we split was delicious.

Granada Pics

Southern Spain 1

Successfully finishing my first semester at the Universidad de Cantabria, I think I owe myself some type of reward. How about a trip to southern Spain? Great! And how about you tack on a week to Italy? Sounds like a plan! That is exactly what I did for my two weeks in between first semester finals and the beginning of second semester classes.

First stop: MALAGA

From what I can tell, Malaga could be great in the summer. When we were riding the city bus towards our hostel we passed some great big old structures that looked awesome and the beach looks nice, well, at least in the dark. We didn’t spend too much time in Malaga. It was just a stepping stone to the real goal (well, the first goal) of the trip, Granada. We flew into Malaga, took a bus several miles in the wrong direction, walked several miles back in the right direction, slept, and saw the bus station. Good times in Malaga.

Second stop: GRANADA

After a short bus ride we arrived in Granada (literally pomegranate in Spanish, I did not see a pomegranate in Granada). After dropping off our stuff in the hostel we head to the Alhambra, the main attraction of Granada (and possibly one of the top attractions of Spain). According to a quick perusal through the Wikipedia entry, the Alhambra is a palace and fortress constructed in the 14^th century by the Moors and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (the first of many on this trip).

While accurate, this description kind of falls flat in comparison to the actual building. You may remember from my stint in Seville that the Moors kind of had a knack for architecture and carving. Well, while I was impressed with the Alcazaba in Seville, the Alhambra blew me away. The intricate carvings weren’t even the start of it. The attention to detail was astounding. The details had details. The gardens were perfect. The view of the city was astounding. The view of the Sierra Nevada was even better. I could have spent hours exploring the building and grounds. To make things better, the weather was perfect. We had nothing but blue skies and warm weather.

Following hours of exploring this labyrinth of gardens and buildings, Hillary and I were ready for something new. Unfortunately, we researched very little for Granada. We knew the Alhambra was the attraction of the city, but that was it. So we slowly wandered the streets and took in the truly peaceful day.While accurate, this description kind of falls flat in comparison to the actual building. You may remember from my stint in Seville that the Moors kind of had a knack for architecture and carving. Well, while I was impressed with the Alcazaba in Seville, the Alhambra blew me away. The intricate carvings weren’t even the start of it. The attention to detail was astounding. The details had details. The gardens were perfect. The view of the city was astounding. The view of the Sierra Nevada was even better. I could have spent hours exploring the building and grounds. To make things better, the weather was perfect. We had nothing but blue skies and warm weather.

While eating dinner we met a really friendly guy from Cordoba, Argentina. He invited us to go out with him and some other people from the hostel for tapas. A group of Czechs, Argentines, Brazilians, French, Germans and, of course, Americans headed out to the bars for real tapas. It was a lot of fun and was really interesting to see English act as the common link between so many nationalities. I am truly lucky it is my first language!

Early the next day we made our way to the Sierra Nevada mountain range. We were really looking forward to the trineo ruso or literally Russian bobsled. Apparently it is like a really tame rollercoaster, but in the snow. Well, upon arrival to the snowy mountains we wandered over to the kid part of the ski village. It had ice skating, snow bikes and yes, trineo ruso, pretty much anything I could want from a ski village. We approached the trineo ruso ticket booth and asked for two rides. Then we hit our first snag. The women replied to us that she needs workers there and that we would have to wait. Hillary and I, not entirely understanding, awkwardly wait around for a few minutes before deciding it would take more time for workers to arrive. Instead of having an awesome fun time on the bobsled, we go explore what the ski village has to offer. In short, it has ski rentals, clothes rentals (interesting), and their corresponding ski and clothes shops. We were momentarily intrigued by the Bumerang (we assumed it was pronounced bum, not boom) which was essentially a shovel for your bum which you could use to sled down the mountain. Fun! Wait, no! We came here to ride some Russian bobsleds and we will not be swayed by a totally awesome mini sled. Keep focused.

We continued wandering. We took in the scenery of the snow capped mountains and stopped in a place to eat and play Dutch Blitz (there was a lot of Dutch Blitz playing on this trip, A LOT). Finally we decided that the workers must be at the trineo ruso. We walked back over, only to be confronted with even more disappointment. This time they told us that it was booked up. Well, great Sierra Nevada trineo ruso people for ruining the awesome time we were going to have.

Mad as hell, or at least slightly disheartened, we purchased some very expensive gondola rides to the top of the mountain and absorbed all the snowy glory that awaited us at the top. More Dutch Blitz inside the ski lodge ensued and we descended the mountain to return to Granada.

Back to classes

So I arrived safely home in Santander after a full two weeks of travelling. To be sure, there are plenty of stories to share, but as I have been up since 4.30 this morning, I will update you shortly. As for now, I need to get some sleep. Second semester classes started today and I need to rest up!

Busy

Hay muchas cosas que tengo que hacer antes de escribir de mis vacaciones, pero quiero declarar que sí, estoy vivo y sano después de todo de lo que pasó. En las dos semanas siguientes tengo 3 examenes y una presentación (en castellano) sin mencionar una nueva pareja de tandem y las examenes finales que vienen después. Pues, debes echar un vistazo a mis fotos en Facebook. Saqué muchos, disfrútalos.

There are a lot of things I have to do before writing about my trip, but I want everyone to know that yes, I am alive and well after everything that has happened. In the next two weeks I have 3 tests and a presentation (in Spanish), not to mention a new tandem partner to meet and finals that are at the end of the month. So until then, check out all my photos on Facebook. I took a lot, so enjoy.

Sevilla Fotos

Mi cámara rompió en Tarifa, no sé por qué, solo paró de funcionar. Pero, aquí están algunas fotos de Hillary de Sevilla. Tenemos fotos de flamenco, la catedral y el alcázar.

My camera broke in Tarifa, I don't know why, just that it stopped working. But, here are some pictures of Hillary's that she took in Sevilla. Here are some pictures of flamenco, the cathedral, and the alcazar (fortress slash palace).

Morocco

Getting to Morocco wasn’t too hard, but it was definitely a round about way of going. I will sum up the transportation situation first.

Taxi to Santander Airport. Fly to Malaga Airport. Take a bus to Malaga city center. Walk to Malaga Bus Station. Take a bus to Algeciras. Take a bus to Tarifa. Walk to Tarifa Port. Take a ferry to Tangier (finally in Africa). Take a ferry back to Tarifa. Walk to Tarifa Bus “Station”. Take a bus to Seville (the second real stop of the trip). Take a bus to Malaga Airport. Fly back to Santander Airport. Take a bus to the city center. Take a bus to my apartment.

All in all, 7 busses, 1 taxi, 2 flights and a lot of walking. Not to mention a camel ride or a tour of the Moroccan coast by way of van.

Algeciras, Spain

As my guide book blatantly says, nobody comes to Algeciras for its beauty, it’s only a stopping point between Spain and Morocco. I couldn’t agree more. We got there late at night and left early in the morning, but that was enough. The only memorable part was when we first got to the hostel we were kind of bouncing on the beds like children, taking pictures when all of a sudden CRAAACK!!! Hillary broke the bed. In order to hide the evidence, we took the slats to Morocco.

Tangier, Morocco

We arrive in Africa after a short ferry ride from the very southern tip of Spain (Tarifa) to be greeted by our guide Rashid. Right away we are rushed off into a van past what seemed like a palace for every ruler of a Middle East country to see the Atlantic coast of Morocco. We pit stop for some pictures of the ocean and speed off to an area where camels are waiting. We are told that a short ride costs a euro. WORTH IT! We ride the camels as our guide and our driver shout “SMILE! RIDE THE CAMEL! CHRISTMAS CARD!” We then return to Tangier and get out of the van for a tour of the Medina, the old part of town with all the shops and restaurants, on foot and for lunch. At the restaurant a group of old guys are playing music on a guitar and drum in this place with great Moorish architecture. As we ate our cous cous, I thought to myself, yes, we are in Africa.

After lunch we are hurried from store to store, where we are taught about traditional Moroccan rugs and spices. This is the point where Morocco unfortunately started to make me feel uncomfortable. I have been to other touristy places before, where people surround you, asking you to buy their goods, but I thought if I had been on a tour the stores we stopped at wouldn’t be quite like this. I was wrong. The carpet guy reminded me I was making a mistake when I didn’t buy a carpet (I showed not even the slightest interest in purchasing a carpet, yet the man went down from 80 euro to 50 to 30 without me even offering a price), I was offered hash, but most of all I was reminded I was among friends and if I didn’t like what they offered, I shouldn’t feel pressured. The spice store was better, and we learned about the uplifting effects of ginseng and I actually purchased a Moroccan spice mix for dummies.

We escaped the Medina and were brought back to the hotel. We asked our guide where we could get falafel, and he told us to just to go the new city center, not to return to the Medina. Okay. So we dropped off our stuff in the room and made our way toward the new city center, with our eyes peeled for falafel. Sadly, we didn’t locate any falafel, instead, we met this old man, and I made a mistake that would lead to an awkward encounter ultimately leading to a sour note in my memories of Morocco.

So as I said before, we met this guy while we were just wandering the streets. He said he was a cook from the hotel down the street and wanted to welcome us to Morocco (as a blond male, outside of the US/Canada and eastern/northern Europe, I essentially have an arrow with the word TOURIST directed toward my head). He said that he would show us the next street up because it had more places to eat and then he would be on his way. Seeming nice enough, I agreed that it couldn’t hurt for him to show us the next street up. He then said there was a market that we shouldn’t miss, and he could show us there and then he would head on his own way. Again, he seemed nice enough, he was old so obviously he couldn’t cause any physical harm, so I said okay, but was a little more hesitant. Once we got to this “market” (read: outdoor pet shop) he kept on leading us to different stands, telling us we could take pictures of the animals. Feeling pretty uncomfortable at this point, I told him we had to go, and he said he did too. Once out of the market area he asked for one euro from each of us because he had acted as a guide for us. I told him we didn’t ask him to be our guide and explained that we didn’t even have a euro (not a lie by the way, we weren’t carrying much money on us for clear reasons). Hillary offered him the change she had, probably around 70 cents or so and I only had 10 cents. Caitlyn and Reina walked off, pissed that he wasted their time and then asked for money. He looked at our change, took it, and insulted, threw it back at us. We just quickly walked away toward the crowded streets. I felt pretty horrible after that, not because I didn’t pay him, but because I allowed me and the girls to get into that kind of situation and because, being from the Midwest, was being too trusting of people. Besides about a half hour of time and some 80 cents lost, there was no actual harm done, which was a very cheap lesson. We all agreed that we would no longer talk to anyone on the street for longer than 30 seconds.

Following that encounter, we decided it was late enough to return to the hotel, and if we found falafel on the way back we could stop. We stopped at a convenience store for some cards and a guy told us that falafel isn’t Moroccan. Thanks Fodor’s guide for telling us that Arabia in Madrid had the best falafel north of Morocco. That should be a given, seeing as Moroccans don’t have falafel.

We returned to the Medina the next day in search of some souvenirs. Caitlyn bartered like a champ and the girls got their fill of fezzes and we boarded the ferry back to Spain.

Tarifa, Spain

After one of the choppiest ferry rides back to Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar, we disembarked and found our hostel and settled in. Now, we didn’t expect anything from Tarifa. It was just a stop in our way towards Seville, but I would have to say it was one of the most fortunate stops we have had.

Tarifa is this great port town with great a really nice beach and crazy wind making it a perfect wind and kite surfing site. Well, on our way to the bus station to check the schedule Caitlyn just happened to glance toward the beach and asked, “Can we go over there?” She was referring to the beach facing west where the sun happened to be setting. Eager not to miss the moment, we ran towards the beach for some pictures. We kicked off our shoes and ran towards the water where there were some rocks peeking out from the water. The whole scene was perfect, the sunset, the beach, the rocks.

After checking the schedule we headed toward this restaurant that my book recommended for falafel. As we were disappointed by the availability of falafel in Morocco, we were really looking forward to some good fried chickpea balls. We brought the falafel back to the hostel and had a feast, it was delicious.

Not really feeling like going out, we just bought a bottle of vodka and started playing cards in the hostel lounge, probably one of the best decisions we made. After some cards and an intense round of Uno, we heard an accordion and a guitar/ukulele coming from the kitchen. We went in and found a group of French and a German singing and jamming out. We offered some alcohol and sat down with them, singing along to Zombie and the Beatles. It was just a perfect night.

Details about Seville will be up later.

Turkey Day Pictures

Thanksgiving Update (Finally, I know)

So, I should probably update you guys on Thanksgiving first, seeing as I promised an update on the following day and it is now more than a week later.

Well, much to my surprise, Thanksgiving was a raging success. No, we didn’t actually rage, but we had a turkey (a $50 turkey I might add). We had pie, we had bread rolls, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, great stuffing, cranberry sauce. What more could we have asked for? Well internet wouldn’t hurt, and that was installed on Thanksgiving too! Which meant we got to slingbox the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and some good ole American football (thank you Mr. and Mrs. Richard). The four Spanish students that are coming to Cornell (Alberto, Borja, Deivid and Raquel) all came to celebrate with us, and even helped with the cooking. I don’t think our celebration through gluttony scared them too much either.

This isn’t to say that Thanksgiving was easy. The power probably cut out on us seven times. We burnt the tops of the two pumpkin pies (which we strategically just peeled away) while trying to figure out how my oven worked. We (apparently) cooked the turkey upside down. We had to DEFEATHER the turkey. The turkey leaked turkey juice everywhere.

But, I repeat, it was a success through all these problems.

PreThanksgiving

I just got the turkey. It is about 6.2 kilo, or according to google's converter, 13.67 pounds. Most places say that you need 1.5 pounds per person, which leads me to at best 9 people eating all the turkey they want. We have 11 to 12 coming, and half of them are Spanish, so probably will not stuff their faces like the Americans will, so I think we are alright in that department. Oh, and last night we made pies 3 and 4. We have stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, green beans and corn on deck so this looks like it should be a successful Thanksgiving ala Spain, as long as the turkey turns out. Fingers crossed, I will update you on the outcome tomorrow.

San Sebastian con Chloe

14 Noviembre 2010

El fin de semana pasado mi amiga Chloe, quien está estudiando en Paris, me visitó. Conozco a Chloe de escuela secundaria. Pues, ella vino por un tren y nos reunimos en San Sebastián. San Sebastián es una ciudad bellísima situada en un cabo en el océano en País Vasco. Nos quedamos en un albergue se llama Urban House que está en la Parte Vieja de la ciudad.

Cuando llegamos al albergue, llamé a la puerta y cuando alguien contestó, empecé a hablar español, explicando que estabámos allí para hacer check in. La persona respondió, “¿Hablas inglés?” pero no la oí y continué a explicar porque estábamos allí. Después de un rato abrió la puerta y entramos el edificio.

Al llegar al albergue, una chica Australiana confundida preguntó en inglés si tenemos una reservación. Respondí, “Yes, it’s for Wachtl.”

Otra vez me miró confundida y me preguntó, “Do you speak English?”

Un poco molestado, respondí, “Yes, it’s under Wachtl.”

Obviamente no comprendió que estaba hablando inglés y de nuevo me preguntó, “Do you speak English?”

A este momento pensaba que la situación era un poco rara. Estaba en España y después de tratar de hablar español e inglés todavía ella no me comprendió. Mi amiga y yo empezamos a reír un poco. “Yes, my reservation is under Wachtl.”

Había algunas otras personas en la sala y un chico dijo, “He is speaking English.”

Pues, respondió, “Oh, well it’s too early to check in now. But you can come back in an hour or so and check into your room. I’ll get you a map and you can drop your stuff off under the benches over there.” Continuamos a reír un poco, porque la situación era tan ridícula y nos preguntó, “Why are you guys laughing?”

Dije que no estábamos riendo de ella y salimos para ver la ciudad y esperar hasta la hora que pudimos entrar nuestra habitación.

Caminamos para la playa y era tan bellísima. La playa era en la forma de un medio círculo protegida por una isla y colinas en ambos lados de la playa. Era muy limpia y prístina. Pues, caminamos en la playa y nos sentamos un rato antes de regresar al albergue. Eran las once y media, más o menos, más de una hora después, y las habitaciones todavía no estaban listas, pero pusimos nuestras mochilas en la habitación y fuimos al acuario.

Nunca había visitado un acuario antes (si no cuentas la vez cuando fui a Chicago para ver el acuario y tenía 3 años más o menos y no puedo recordar), entonces, era muy interesante. Había tantos tipos de peces y tiburones y tortugas y animales como eso. También el acuario tenía una parte que era como un museo naval. Tenía modelos de barcos famosos y algunas cosas raras como trajes de equipos de regatta. Parecía como si ponían todo que relacionó al agua que pudieran encontrar en el acuario.

Pues, después del acuario subimos una colina grande que tenía vistas bellísimas de la ciudad, pero la atracción de verdad era una estatua de Jesús. Estaba situada en el techo de un “castillo” que estaba encima de la colina. Era tan alta pero, si estoy siendo honesto, no es una estatua muy impresionante. Es verdad que siempre se puede ver la estatua, pero he visto mejores.

Bueno, al ese momento teníamos mucha hambre. Bajamos la colina y comimos. Después, puesto que teníamos demasiado sueño a dado que viajar, dormimos un rato hasta la noche. Otra vez dimos un paseo por la playa y también fuimos a ver la catedral de la ciudad. Nos sentamos en el parque un rato y regresamos al albergue para dormir de nuevo, pero después de hablar con algunos viajadores. Me sorprendí de que cuantas personas hubiera allí que solo estaban viajando algunas semanas. Había una chica de Sudáfrica, quien ya había estado viajando para un mes, una chica de Sur Korea, quien ya había estado viajando para unas semanas, y un chico de Australia, que estaba en como su tercer mes de viajar. No podía imaginar cómo podían viajar para tanto tiempo solos, me sentiría tan solo.

Pues, nos despertamos tarde, desayunamos y fuimos a la otra playa. Había tanto viento que las ondas eran altísimas. Había hondas en el río que chocaron sobre las paredes. Quería ver algunos surfers, pero solo había uno nuevo surfer que no podía levantarse en la tabla para más de un rato.

Después, fuimos a la estación de autobuses pero perdimos el primero autobús, entonces buscamos unos postales (estoy comprando postales de cada lugar que visito para enviar a mi hermana, pero todavía no he enviado ninguno, soy un hermano malo, ya lo sé) y tomamos el autobús siguiente.

Llegamos a Santander un poco tarde. No podíamos ver mucho de la ciudad, pero fuimos a la playa y cocinamos la cena. No salimos porque el autobús de Chloe salió a las 7 por la mañana. ¡Qué lástima! Pero nos disfrutamos la viaje y viendo alguien que conocíamos de los EEUU.

La próxima viaje: BELGICA

14 November 2010

This past weekend my friend Chloe, who is studying in Paris, visited me. I know Chloe from high school, and we have kept in contact since graduating. Well, she came in an overnight train and we met up in San Sebastian. San Sebastian is a beautiful city situated in a cove on the ocean in Basque Country. We stayed in an hostel called Urban House that is in the old part of the city.

When we arrived at the hostel, I rang the bell and when somebody answered I started to speak Spanish, explaining that we were there to check in. The person responded, “Do you speak English?” but I didn’t hear her and I continued to explain we wanted to check in. After a moment the door opened and we went into the building.

Upon arriving at the lobby of the hostel, a confused Australian girl asked in English if we had a reservation. I said, “Yes, it’s for Wachtl.”

Again, she looked confused and asked, “Do you speak English?”

A little annoyed, I responded, “Yes, it’s under Wachtl.”

Obviously not understanding that I was speaking English, she asked me again, “Do you speak English?”

By this time I thought the situation was a little weird. I was in Spain and after trying to speak English and Spanish she still did not understand me. My friend and I started to laugh a little. “Yes, my reservation is under Wachtl.”

There were some other people in the room and a guy said, “He is speaking English.”

She responded, “Oh, well it’s too early to check in now. But you can come back in an hour or so and check into your room. I’ll get you a map and you can drop your stuff off under the benches over there.” We continued to laugh a little at the ridiculousness of the situation and she asked us, “Why are you laughing?”

I said we weren’t laughing at her and we left to see a bit of the city and wait until we were able to get into our room.

We walked to the beach and it was so pretty. The beach was in the shape of a half circle, protected by an island and hills on either side of the beach. It was really clean and pristine. So we walked on the beach and sat in the sand for a bit before returning to the hostel. It was around eleven thirty, more than an hour later, and the rooms still were not ready, but we put our bags in the room and went to the aquarium.

I had never visited an aquarium before (if you don’t count the time I went to Chicago to see the aquarium when I was three and can’t remember), so, it was really interesting. There were tons of fish and sharks and turtles and the like. The aquarium also had a part that was kind of like a naval museum with models of famous boats and some other random things like team uniforms for regatta. It seemed as if they put everything that they could find related to the water in the aquarium.

So after the aquarium we climbed this huge hill that had great views of the city, but the main attraction was the Jesus statue. It was situated on the roof on a “castle” that was on top of the hill. The statue was huge, but if I am being honest, it wasn’t very impressive. Yes, you can see the statue from everywhere in the city, but I have seen better.

Well, at this moment we were really hungry. We went down the hill and ate. Afterwards, since we were really tired from travelling, we took a siesta until it was night. Again, we walked along the beach and then also went to see the cathedral. We sat in a park for a while and then went back to the hostel to sleep again, but only after talking with some other travelers. It surprised me how many people they were that were just travelling, for a month or two. We met a girl from South Africa who had been travelling for over a month, a girl from South Korea who was on her second week and a guy from Australia who was on like his third month of traveling. I couldn’t imagine how they could travel for so much time alone; I would feel so lonely after awhile.

Anyways, we woke up pretty late in the morning, ate and went to the see San Sebastian’s other beach. It was super windy that day and the waves were huge. The waves going up the river were crashing over the walls which are several meters high. We wanted to see some surfers, but there was only one beginner surfer who wasn’t very good and couldn’t stay up on his board for very long.

Afterwards we headed for the bus station, but we missed the first bus so we looked for some post cards (I am buying a postcard from everywhere I visit and sending them to my sister, but haven’t sent any yet, I know, I am a terrible brother) and then caught the next bus.

We got back to Santander a little late. We couldn’t see much of the city, but we went to the beach and then cooked some dinner. We didn’t go out because Chloe’s bus left at 7 the next morning. What a shame! But we enjoyed ourselves quite a lot and it was nice to see someone from home.

Next up: BELGIUM

Overdue Update

Okay, this post is going to be in English (lo siento Diego), but it will be short and I will have a longer one in both languages soon.

To be honest, I haven't had too much to write about lately. All of my travel plans in October kind of fell apart. We weren't old enough to rent a car to go to Portugal. We didn't sign up early enough to go to Burgos. We weren't motivated enough to take advantage of our 3 day weekend over Halloween, so I have been in Santander ever since returning from Madrid 4 weeks ago. That doesn't mean I am staying here much longer, though.

This weekend Chloe, a good friend from high school, is coming all the way from Paris to visit. We are going to be staying in San Sebastian Friday and then will return Saturday, perhaps passing through Bilbao, to Santander. The Wednesday after I am headed off to Belgium with Alex and Josh, the land of waffles, beer, french fries and CHOCOLATE. That's right ladies, guys like their chocolate too. Two weeks after Belgium I will be going to AFRICA! Yes, I guess I will only be about 30 miles a way from Spain, but Morocco is in Africa and there are plenty of camels to be ridden. We were slightly disappointed that we didn't have time slash were too poor to do the 5 day trek through the Sahara, but a night in Tangier is almost as good, right? At least there will be an abundance of falafel. Mmm. Falafel.

And that isn't enough, Mac will be arriving about two weeks after that. Which reminds me, the past few weeks have been mainly me focusing on planning trips and studying for classes. Now, Mac and I have booked a few of our hostels and finalizing details. We have been researching attractions, but I wouldn't mind suggestions of what not to miss, be it museums, churches or food, I want to see it all. To remind you, we will be in Barcelona, Andorra, Geneva, Lyon, Paris, Marseilles, Nice, Monaco and Rome. If there is something I can't forget, even if it is obvious to you, just shout it out (through a comment I suppose).

Other than that, I guess we had Halloween here. Most Europeans it is purely an American thing, but they still do it, although in Europe, instead of slutty, everybody is scary. I'm not sure which tradition I appreciate more, but nonetheless, it was fun. We went a the Beagle Boys (google it, they are from Duck Tales I guess) which none of the Americans knew about, but this German girl was super pumped and a lot of Europeans recognized our costumes. It was a good time.

Oh, and speaking of American traditions and holidays, we order a turkey today for Thanksgiving. Yes, we ordered one. They don't have frozen whole turkeys for sale so we need it specially ordered. We went to a carnecería, a butcher shop essentially, and asked for them to get a turkey from their supplier. That is actually a lie. We asked them to get two. We wanted a 7 kilo turkey, about 15 pounds, which we thought wasn't too big, but the guy said the normal turkey they got was only about 4 kilo on the big side. Being that we want to invite the Spanish kids, some roommates, and friends will be visiting from the US, we need a lot of turkey. Hopefully they are here in time.

Finally, the weather in northern Spain sucks during the winter. I wish it got cold enough to snow, I wouldn't be as wet every day. It is like a hurricane here. The winds make it impossible to use an umbrella. The rain is falling horizontally into your face, adding insult to injury as it pelts you in the eyes. It is non stop too. It has been raining two days straight, and looks like it will continue for a good week. Ugh. Oh well. This leaves me more time to study (read: watch Phineas y Ferb, which I consider studying up on my Spanish) and sleep (thank God for siestas).

Okay, so that is all for now, but there will be more following my trips!