after a seriously stressful and hectic week full of ups and downs, I'm starting over: new family, new school, new experiences. crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!
"always do what you are afraid to do." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
domingo, 16 de enero de 2011
domingo, 2 de enero de 2011
successful winter break
i love my family and eating annnnd christmas time and new years. happy holidays!
basically a week left until i go back to spain...
basically a week left until i go back to spain...
sábado, 23 de octubre de 2010
Las turistas...
Okay so I haven't written in here for two weeks, I'm sorry. Let me re-cap what I've been doing, it's been crazy!
So to begin with, THREE weekends ago was a holiday weekend here in Spain. The Monday after that weekend was a holiday in Alcalá and that Tuesday was a holiday in all of Spain, so I didn't have class both of those days, which was absolutely fantastic. The Saturday of that weekend, my friends and I went to the Medieval Festival in Alcalá de Henares. The festival happens once a year! People dress up in costumes and set up little shops all over the main square called Plaza de Cervantes. The shops sell and make things that were found in the Medieval Ages. In the middle of the street, people dressed up as medieval soldiers were doing skits and dances and other people with really creepy face paint were walking by on stilts. Even though it rained the entire time, it was amazing and so much fun! And we ate a lot of delicious desserts :)
Then, the Tuesday after that weekend, I went to see a parade in Madrid with my friend. This holiday is in recognition of a special Saint and every year in Madrid, there is a huge parade that involves the entire Spanish army (aka the marines, soldiers on foot, soldiers with horses, etc etc etc), so there were at least a couple or three hundred soldiers. There were tanks on the street and later, army planes even flew above us in the sky. All together, it was an incredible sight! My friend and I tried to take pictures with each type of soldier because we thought it was hilarious. There was almost a thousand people out on the street to watch the parade! We found out later that the Spanish president gave a speech, but we didn't see him or hear what he said. Apparently, the Spanish people are very unhappy with the government at the moment, so we heard people in the crowd start negative chants about the president.
That week I only had three days of class, which was an absolute dream, and then, last weekend, my friends and I took a day trip to Toledo! It was an absolutely beautiful city. It's only about a half an hour train ride away from Madrid, and it actually used to be the capital of the Spanish Empire. It's recognized worldwide for incredible coexistence of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions that takes place in the city. Toledo is extremely small - it takes about fifteen minutes to walk from one side of the city to the other - and it's very hilly. It's an ancient city though, so it not only has stunning monuments but it also has a mysterious, old glow in its entirety, from its roads to its houses. Everywhere you looked, the architecture was gorgeous and so interesting. You could definitely see the Arabic presence in the structure of the houses and some buildings. We walked into the Cathedral first, and it was an amazing sight. It was the biggest cathedral I have ever seen! The painted or sculpted walls were incredible, so carefully designed to represent heaven and religious scenes. We tried to follow groups with guides that were speaking either Spanish or English so that we could learn about the Cathedral. There is definitely a Jewish presence there: in the middle of one painting (my favorite!) covering the top part of a room, there was writing in Hebrew that said "God." We took two rounds walking through the Cathedral so we could absorb all of it. We then went up a huge tower and took pictures of Toledo from way up top! Along the way, we met a Brazilian girl who was touring Toledo by herself and she joined our group... so we became the four international touristas, represting Japan, Sweden, Brazil, and Italy/America! It was fantastic :) We spent the entire day walking around everywhere! We were so exhausted on our way home that we could barely speak.
Tomorrow marks my fourth week in Spain and its almost frightening how fast time has flown by. I think I speak and understand Spanish better than I did when I got here, and the classes are definitely helping. I even started taking a theater class on Sundays, which is really scary because it's just a group of ten Spanish teenagers from Madrid who all speak really fast. But I'm trying hard to make Spanish friends so I can speak and listen to Spanish all the time. It's much much much easier to talk Spanish to the foreigners at the university than it is to talk to actual Spanish people. With other foreigners, we just kind of laugh at our own mistakes and finish each other sentences. With Spanish people, it depends if they have the patience to talk to you or not. Thankfully, most of the people I've met do. Also, I am constantly reminded how nice some people can be. Once, on the train, one woman woke me up (yes, I basically sleep the entire time on the train hahaha) to tell me that we had reached a certain station, in case I was supposed to get off there. And the teacher of my theater class is so caring and nice to me - he told me he would speak slowly with me and that it's no problem that I don't speak well. I'm even feeling better with my Spanish family, which is great. I had a little trouble feeling situated and "at home" with the family, but I think we're all warming up to each other, even though we all have our differences, and I've finally gotten over the fact that my actual family isn't the same as this one.
Okay, it's noon here and I have yet to get out of my pajamas! Tomorrow, I'm going to theater class and then to a Chinese restaurant with my foreign friends from the university... most of them being Chinese! It'll be really fun, so I'm excited. One last thing - I'm totally loving the unprofessional relationship I have with my professors. They tell us to call them by their first names and we talk as if we've been friends forever. It's so fun! I think my class is going out to dinner with one of my professors soon! I'm also thinking, unfortunately, that I need to change universities because Alcalá is way too far away for me (I basically spend three hours every day riding the train). But if I do switch, I'm not switching until January, when I come back from winter break at home, so I have all the time to make the most of my friends and professors and classes at Alcalá! :)
So to begin with, THREE weekends ago was a holiday weekend here in Spain. The Monday after that weekend was a holiday in Alcalá and that Tuesday was a holiday in all of Spain, so I didn't have class both of those days, which was absolutely fantastic. The Saturday of that weekend, my friends and I went to the Medieval Festival in Alcalá de Henares. The festival happens once a year! People dress up in costumes and set up little shops all over the main square called Plaza de Cervantes. The shops sell and make things that were found in the Medieval Ages. In the middle of the street, people dressed up as medieval soldiers were doing skits and dances and other people with really creepy face paint were walking by on stilts. Even though it rained the entire time, it was amazing and so much fun! And we ate a lot of delicious desserts :)
Then, the Tuesday after that weekend, I went to see a parade in Madrid with my friend. This holiday is in recognition of a special Saint and every year in Madrid, there is a huge parade that involves the entire Spanish army (aka the marines, soldiers on foot, soldiers with horses, etc etc etc), so there were at least a couple or three hundred soldiers. There were tanks on the street and later, army planes even flew above us in the sky. All together, it was an incredible sight! My friend and I tried to take pictures with each type of soldier because we thought it was hilarious. There was almost a thousand people out on the street to watch the parade! We found out later that the Spanish president gave a speech, but we didn't see him or hear what he said. Apparently, the Spanish people are very unhappy with the government at the moment, so we heard people in the crowd start negative chants about the president.
That week I only had three days of class, which was an absolute dream, and then, last weekend, my friends and I took a day trip to Toledo! It was an absolutely beautiful city. It's only about a half an hour train ride away from Madrid, and it actually used to be the capital of the Spanish Empire. It's recognized worldwide for incredible coexistence of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions that takes place in the city. Toledo is extremely small - it takes about fifteen minutes to walk from one side of the city to the other - and it's very hilly. It's an ancient city though, so it not only has stunning monuments but it also has a mysterious, old glow in its entirety, from its roads to its houses. Everywhere you looked, the architecture was gorgeous and so interesting. You could definitely see the Arabic presence in the structure of the houses and some buildings. We walked into the Cathedral first, and it was an amazing sight. It was the biggest cathedral I have ever seen! The painted or sculpted walls were incredible, so carefully designed to represent heaven and religious scenes. We tried to follow groups with guides that were speaking either Spanish or English so that we could learn about the Cathedral. There is definitely a Jewish presence there: in the middle of one painting (my favorite!) covering the top part of a room, there was writing in Hebrew that said "God." We took two rounds walking through the Cathedral so we could absorb all of it. We then went up a huge tower and took pictures of Toledo from way up top! Along the way, we met a Brazilian girl who was touring Toledo by herself and she joined our group... so we became the four international touristas, represting Japan, Sweden, Brazil, and Italy/America! It was fantastic :) We spent the entire day walking around everywhere! We were so exhausted on our way home that we could barely speak.
Tomorrow marks my fourth week in Spain and its almost frightening how fast time has flown by. I think I speak and understand Spanish better than I did when I got here, and the classes are definitely helping. I even started taking a theater class on Sundays, which is really scary because it's just a group of ten Spanish teenagers from Madrid who all speak really fast. But I'm trying hard to make Spanish friends so I can speak and listen to Spanish all the time. It's much much much easier to talk Spanish to the foreigners at the university than it is to talk to actual Spanish people. With other foreigners, we just kind of laugh at our own mistakes and finish each other sentences. With Spanish people, it depends if they have the patience to talk to you or not. Thankfully, most of the people I've met do. Also, I am constantly reminded how nice some people can be. Once, on the train, one woman woke me up (yes, I basically sleep the entire time on the train hahaha) to tell me that we had reached a certain station, in case I was supposed to get off there. And the teacher of my theater class is so caring and nice to me - he told me he would speak slowly with me and that it's no problem that I don't speak well. I'm even feeling better with my Spanish family, which is great. I had a little trouble feeling situated and "at home" with the family, but I think we're all warming up to each other, even though we all have our differences, and I've finally gotten over the fact that my actual family isn't the same as this one.
Okay, it's noon here and I have yet to get out of my pajamas! Tomorrow, I'm going to theater class and then to a Chinese restaurant with my foreign friends from the university... most of them being Chinese! It'll be really fun, so I'm excited. One last thing - I'm totally loving the unprofessional relationship I have with my professors. They tell us to call them by their first names and we talk as if we've been friends forever. It's so fun! I think my class is going out to dinner with one of my professors soon! I'm also thinking, unfortunately, that I need to change universities because Alcalá is way too far away for me (I basically spend three hours every day riding the train). But if I do switch, I'm not switching until January, when I come back from winter break at home, so I have all the time to make the most of my friends and professors and classes at Alcalá! :)
lunes, 4 de octubre de 2010
Ni un día sin poesía
I can't believe it's already been more than a week since I left and came here. It's gone by so quickly! The end of last week wasn't too crazy. I explored more of Madrid and - ready for this? - bought a SIM card for my phone, bought a transportation pass for the metro/train/bus, ordered a student ID at my university, found an apple store and got my iPod fixed, and ordered something at a Starbucks... all in Spanish!!! I'm really proud of myself, you have no idea.
I've been thinking about how I could describe Madrid in a way that you could picture it. Think of New York-like place, with horizontal and vertical streets crossing into each other and with cars passing every which way and people walking on the sidewalks. Now imagine that there is no trash on the ground (there are people cleaning it literally every second of every day), and the sidewalks are lined on one side with pretty stores, markets, or cafés, and on the other side with a long row of sycamore trees (thank you Waterbound). Imagine that there isn't that much traffic and your thoughts and conversations aren't constantly overpowered by the noise of the happenings on the street. Instead, it's quiet and peaceful. Some people are in a hurry, others walk leisurely. Cars pass by, but they respect the traffic lights, as well as the people walking across the street. Actually, cars will very nicely stop for you if you need to get to the other side of the street, except they stop so close to you that it feels like they want to run you over, but it's only their way of being respectful. Also, it's funny to me to see police cars or ambulances on the road - cars don't react the same way as they do in America. The other day, I saw a police car with its sirens blaring stuck in traffic for a good five minutes because the traffic light was red!
I see my being in Spain a lot like a big research project. I like observing my surroundings and asking questions about the culture. For example, my host family is Catholic and very religious, which is something to which I have never been exposed, and it is interesting for me to learn about their religion and their customs. The oldest host sister and I had a long talk about God and religion the other day, it was fantastic to see what she thought about fate and happiness and what she called "God's plans for each person." It was a wonderful look into the mind of a Catholic believer, and I very much respect her ideas and opinions. However, I thought long and hard about my own beliefs, and I decided that I'm fine believing in my own ideas of success and happiness without being tied to a certain religion.
OH and I forgot a really important part of my stay here in Spain - the FOOD! I had paella with chicken and all of this seafood on Sunday at the family's grandparents' house. It was so so so good. I also had papaya the other day and tonight I had some other sort of tropical fruit, but I forget what it's called. I've also eaten a lot of lentils, which is unusual for me because in Italy, we only really eat them on New Years' Day, since it is said that it brings luck for the entire year. The 16-year-old sister and I like to cook together, so the other day we made pizza, which turned out pretty well! We decided that we're going to cook something every weekend, so I'll keep you updated.
And today was my first day at the university! I LOVED it! Today, we only had a placement exam, which wasn't too awful, thankfully. The actual classes start tomorrow and I really should be going to sleep soon, but I definitely have to tell you all about what I learned today. First off, the other students - there were about fifty of us - are mostly all Chinese and Japanese, which was a little unsettling at first, I'm not going to lie. They were all taking Chinese/Japanese with each other! But I met this fantastic Italian girl who knows a lot more Spanish than I do, but she's great and I'm glad I met her! We made a promise to only speak in Spanish, and it's helping me very much, especially since I have to speak English for three hours a day with the children of my host family. I'm really excited to meet the other students in my class tomorrow though. I also want to make friends with Spanish people, so that I can get as close to the culture and the people as I can.
With one of the professors of my program as our guide, the other foreigner students and I went on a tour of the city of Alcalá de Henares, where the university is located. My little Spanish program is part of a much larger university called la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, and it was the third university of Europe (meaning it was built in the mid-1400s). As our professor told us, not that many things have happened in the little town of Alcalá, but those events that have happened changed the course of history. This completely struck a chord in me - isn't amazing to think of an event that changes future years and years of history? Inside the actual, original university of Alcalá, which is currently under construction, is a big inner courtyard, covered in trees and surrounded by beautiful architecture. On the left is a prison (yes, the university had its own prison!), which was meant for students who had bad grades or were caught cheating.. can you imagine?! In front is a little area that was meant for students to only talk in foreign languages, meaning no Spanish. If a student crossed an imaginary line into the area and was still speaking Spanish, he/she was sent to the prison!
We also saw the house were Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, among other things, was born. And next to it, the first hospital in Europe to admit patients free of charge. It was built in 1438 and it is among the oldest hospitals, if not the only one, that is still functioning today. Also, we stood outside of the palace where Fernando and Isabel (the rulers of Spain in the late 1400s, I think?) met with Christopher Columbus for the first time, so he could show them his plans for his travels to India - aka the infamous trip that led to the discovery America. Lastly, we went inside the room where the Premio Cervantes, which is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Spanish and Latin-American literature, is given. On the walls outside the room were names of important authors who had won the prize, and upstairs, on the walls, were the names of people important to the university. One of them was the first woman in the world who got her Ph.D., graduating from that university. She wrote a 14,000 page senior thesis at 24 years old on the origin of many Spanish words. How incredible? Another was the man who basically wrote out all of Spanish grammar for the first time. He did it right inside of that university! The actual room was was small, but it felt enormous, as if the knowledge that passed through those doors was palpable to all of us, and it was beautiful beyond belief. The three most important religions of Spain - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - were represented by the architecture in the room, in three different layers, from the walls to the ceiling respectively. We just stared around us in wonder for a few moments. After all, how could we not? Around us were the most important authors in the Spanish/Latin-American world - their words and language enveloped us warmly, welcoming us.
And to finish the day just right, the train I was on broke down on the way home and I ended up taking a different train and the metro (for the first time by myself!). On the metro, I saw a poem posted up on the wall. At the bottom it said "Ni un día sin poesía" (not a day without poetry), which I liked immensely and am currently writing on a post-it so I can hang it up on my wall. I keep thinking that I was fated to be here. The other day, I took a picture of a sign that said "Destino: ¡Madrid!" Destino in Spanish means destination, and in that case, it meant destination for the metro, but in Italian, it's a word that is much more commonly used to mean fate. So that made me laugh - I swear, it's destiny at it's finest!
Now I really do have to go to bed, it's almost midnight and I have my first day of actual school tomorrow! I'm still thinking about this changing the course of history business.. we're all changing it in our own little words, no? Even though we don't all end up in history books! :)
Buenas noches!
I've been thinking about how I could describe Madrid in a way that you could picture it. Think of New York-like place, with horizontal and vertical streets crossing into each other and with cars passing every which way and people walking on the sidewalks. Now imagine that there is no trash on the ground (there are people cleaning it literally every second of every day), and the sidewalks are lined on one side with pretty stores, markets, or cafés, and on the other side with a long row of sycamore trees (thank you Waterbound). Imagine that there isn't that much traffic and your thoughts and conversations aren't constantly overpowered by the noise of the happenings on the street. Instead, it's quiet and peaceful. Some people are in a hurry, others walk leisurely. Cars pass by, but they respect the traffic lights, as well as the people walking across the street. Actually, cars will very nicely stop for you if you need to get to the other side of the street, except they stop so close to you that it feels like they want to run you over, but it's only their way of being respectful. Also, it's funny to me to see police cars or ambulances on the road - cars don't react the same way as they do in America. The other day, I saw a police car with its sirens blaring stuck in traffic for a good five minutes because the traffic light was red!
I see my being in Spain a lot like a big research project. I like observing my surroundings and asking questions about the culture. For example, my host family is Catholic and very religious, which is something to which I have never been exposed, and it is interesting for me to learn about their religion and their customs. The oldest host sister and I had a long talk about God and religion the other day, it was fantastic to see what she thought about fate and happiness and what she called "God's plans for each person." It was a wonderful look into the mind of a Catholic believer, and I very much respect her ideas and opinions. However, I thought long and hard about my own beliefs, and I decided that I'm fine believing in my own ideas of success and happiness without being tied to a certain religion.
OH and I forgot a really important part of my stay here in Spain - the FOOD! I had paella with chicken and all of this seafood on Sunday at the family's grandparents' house. It was so so so good. I also had papaya the other day and tonight I had some other sort of tropical fruit, but I forget what it's called. I've also eaten a lot of lentils, which is unusual for me because in Italy, we only really eat them on New Years' Day, since it is said that it brings luck for the entire year. The 16-year-old sister and I like to cook together, so the other day we made pizza, which turned out pretty well! We decided that we're going to cook something every weekend, so I'll keep you updated.
And today was my first day at the university! I LOVED it! Today, we only had a placement exam, which wasn't too awful, thankfully. The actual classes start tomorrow and I really should be going to sleep soon, but I definitely have to tell you all about what I learned today. First off, the other students - there were about fifty of us - are mostly all Chinese and Japanese, which was a little unsettling at first, I'm not going to lie. They were all taking Chinese/Japanese with each other! But I met this fantastic Italian girl who knows a lot more Spanish than I do, but she's great and I'm glad I met her! We made a promise to only speak in Spanish, and it's helping me very much, especially since I have to speak English for three hours a day with the children of my host family. I'm really excited to meet the other students in my class tomorrow though. I also want to make friends with Spanish people, so that I can get as close to the culture and the people as I can.
With one of the professors of my program as our guide, the other foreigner students and I went on a tour of the city of Alcalá de Henares, where the university is located. My little Spanish program is part of a much larger university called la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, and it was the third university of Europe (meaning it was built in the mid-1400s). As our professor told us, not that many things have happened in the little town of Alcalá, but those events that have happened changed the course of history. This completely struck a chord in me - isn't amazing to think of an event that changes future years and years of history? Inside the actual, original university of Alcalá, which is currently under construction, is a big inner courtyard, covered in trees and surrounded by beautiful architecture. On the left is a prison (yes, the university had its own prison!), which was meant for students who had bad grades or were caught cheating.. can you imagine?! In front is a little area that was meant for students to only talk in foreign languages, meaning no Spanish. If a student crossed an imaginary line into the area and was still speaking Spanish, he/she was sent to the prison!
We also saw the house were Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, among other things, was born. And next to it, the first hospital in Europe to admit patients free of charge. It was built in 1438 and it is among the oldest hospitals, if not the only one, that is still functioning today. Also, we stood outside of the palace where Fernando and Isabel (the rulers of Spain in the late 1400s, I think?) met with Christopher Columbus for the first time, so he could show them his plans for his travels to India - aka the infamous trip that led to the discovery America. Lastly, we went inside the room where the Premio Cervantes, which is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Spanish and Latin-American literature, is given. On the walls outside the room were names of important authors who had won the prize, and upstairs, on the walls, were the names of people important to the university. One of them was the first woman in the world who got her Ph.D., graduating from that university. She wrote a 14,000 page senior thesis at 24 years old on the origin of many Spanish words. How incredible? Another was the man who basically wrote out all of Spanish grammar for the first time. He did it right inside of that university! The actual room was was small, but it felt enormous, as if the knowledge that passed through those doors was palpable to all of us, and it was beautiful beyond belief. The three most important religions of Spain - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - were represented by the architecture in the room, in three different layers, from the walls to the ceiling respectively. We just stared around us in wonder for a few moments. After all, how could we not? Around us were the most important authors in the Spanish/Latin-American world - their words and language enveloped us warmly, welcoming us.
And to finish the day just right, the train I was on broke down on the way home and I ended up taking a different train and the metro (for the first time by myself!). On the metro, I saw a poem posted up on the wall. At the bottom it said "Ni un día sin poesía" (not a day without poetry), which I liked immensely and am currently writing on a post-it so I can hang it up on my wall. I keep thinking that I was fated to be here. The other day, I took a picture of a sign that said "Destino: ¡Madrid!" Destino in Spanish means destination, and in that case, it meant destination for the metro, but in Italian, it's a word that is much more commonly used to mean fate. So that made me laugh - I swear, it's destiny at it's finest!
Now I really do have to go to bed, it's almost midnight and I have my first day of actual school tomorrow! I'm still thinking about this changing the course of history business.. we're all changing it in our own little words, no? Even though we don't all end up in history books! :)
Buenas noches!
miércoles, 29 de septiembre de 2010
"No sè hablar en pasado..."
That was basically my catch phrase on Sunday. I got to Madrid with a thankfully uneventful flight. Actually, it was beautiful because when the plane took off from the Philadelphia airport, the sun was just setting, and when we arrived in Madrid, the sun was just beginning to rise. The sight was wonderful both times, and it melted a little bit of the fear away.
Anyway, on Sunday my host father and the oldest sister picked me up from the airport and brought me home. I slept for a couple of hours and immediately went with the older sister to her friend's birthday barbecue party. We took the bus to get there and we had to run really fast to the bus station because we were very late. In all, it was an interesting first experience with the transportation in Madrid. Everyone at the barbecue was super nice and patient with me. They all laughed whenever I tried to say something because I kept mixing up the little Spanish I knew with Italian, English, and French. I also didn't (and still kind of don't) know how to conjugate verbs in the past, so I kept saying I didn't know how to talk in the past and I talked all in the present with wild hand gestures to indicate that I wasn't actually describing the present. Who knows, they laughed a lot. And despite all that, I managed to have some intense conversations, I loved it!
Then on Monday I tried to go to the university where I will be taking classes starting on October 4th. But since I'm really not into asking people for directions, especially in a language I don't know, I tried to figure out the train system by myself... huge mistake, also considering the fact that I have absolutely no sense of direction. I ended up taking a million wrong trains and when I finally got to the university, I found out (after a while of walking around aimlessly, asking myself whether I had the courage to go up and ask someone where I was) that this university campus wasn't the main campus, it was the "external" one. So basically, I spent three hours trying to get to this place just to find out that it wasn't where I wanted to go in the first place. But at least I got to know the train station, and I'm very happy with it. The transportation system in Madrid, and probably just generally in Spain, is very well-organized and clean. The trains are on time and there is logic to everything. It's funny, when you get on the train, everyone is super quiet. When people start talking, it sounds really weird. Usually, the only sound you can hear are people flipping pages in their newspapers. It's peaceful though... and a perfect ambience for sleeping.
Today I finally got to the right place, and I LOVED it. Madrid is a city with a very urban feel: the buildings are new and modern, inside and out. Instead, the little city, called Alcalá de Henares, where my university is located, is much different. It's about an hour away by train and it is much more rural. The buildings are visibly older and very beautiful. There is a hint of medieval architecture as well as some Arab architecture, and the mix is wonderful. My university, Alcalingua, is part of the larger Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, but it is located in a old-looking building about ten minutes away from the central campus. Inside, the building is full of classrooms with smartboards and foreigners - today, I heard people speaking Italian, Russian, Chinese, and English. It's just amazing! On Monday, I have to go to Alcalingua to take a placement test, both oral and written, for my level of Spanish. I'm nervous! But I'm still really excited, everything about the school is very positive. I think I accomplished a lot today: I even got up the courage to ask people questions along the way, to make sure I was going the right way!
As for other adventures, today I was stalled by a gypsy who read me my fortune and then demanded that I pay her 50 euros, which I obviously didn't have and didn't want to give her anyway. She managed to get 6 euros out of me though.. Also, I started my daily three hours of working - from 4:30 to 7:30 I talk in English with the youngest daughter of the family. I teach her piano, do some reading with her, and then we go to the park. It's pretty relaxing work, I like it. Also today, I helped the second youngest son do his French homework and then he explained some Spanish grammar to me. Who know the "b" and "v" sound the same? No wonder I get so confused! He's so funny though, I love it. And the second to oldest daughter, who's sixteen, showed me these drawings she did.. she's so talented! I told her that she has to teach me, so maybe I'll come back a talented artist too haha, except probably not. She also showed me these two short poems from Bécquer, a Spanish poet, which I really liked:
"¿Qué es poesía?, dices mientras
clavas en mi pupila tu pupila azul.
¡Qué es poesía! ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
Poesía... eres tú."
"Por una mirada, un mundo;
por una sonrisa, un cielo;
por un beso... yo no sé
que te diera por un beso."
Anyway, I should probably get to bed. Apparently, tomorrow there is going to be a strike because the parliament just passed a law about working and the labor unions are trying to get everyone, especially the transportation system, to go on strike tomorrow. I picked up a pamphlet today to see what it was all about, but it'll take me a while to read it and understand it. We'll see what happens though. Tomorrow's adventure for me is to go to a phone store and get a SIM card. We'll also see how THAT goes.
Right now, I feel very much at home. I'm having some difficulties with the language barrier, but I feel fortunate to feel at ease within the culture and the European atmosphere. I love walking around in the city and knowing that I'm not a complete stranger. In my room, I stuck a large bright orange post-it on my bulletin board that says NO TENGO NINGÚN MIEDO (I have no fear). :)
Pictures aren't uploading right now - my Internet is sometimes slow here. I'll get them up when I can!
Anyway, on Sunday my host father and the oldest sister picked me up from the airport and brought me home. I slept for a couple of hours and immediately went with the older sister to her friend's birthday barbecue party. We took the bus to get there and we had to run really fast to the bus station because we were very late. In all, it was an interesting first experience with the transportation in Madrid. Everyone at the barbecue was super nice and patient with me. They all laughed whenever I tried to say something because I kept mixing up the little Spanish I knew with Italian, English, and French. I also didn't (and still kind of don't) know how to conjugate verbs in the past, so I kept saying I didn't know how to talk in the past and I talked all in the present with wild hand gestures to indicate that I wasn't actually describing the present. Who knows, they laughed a lot. And despite all that, I managed to have some intense conversations, I loved it!
Then on Monday I tried to go to the university where I will be taking classes starting on October 4th. But since I'm really not into asking people for directions, especially in a language I don't know, I tried to figure out the train system by myself... huge mistake, also considering the fact that I have absolutely no sense of direction. I ended up taking a million wrong trains and when I finally got to the university, I found out (after a while of walking around aimlessly, asking myself whether I had the courage to go up and ask someone where I was) that this university campus wasn't the main campus, it was the "external" one. So basically, I spent three hours trying to get to this place just to find out that it wasn't where I wanted to go in the first place. But at least I got to know the train station, and I'm very happy with it. The transportation system in Madrid, and probably just generally in Spain, is very well-organized and clean. The trains are on time and there is logic to everything. It's funny, when you get on the train, everyone is super quiet. When people start talking, it sounds really weird. Usually, the only sound you can hear are people flipping pages in their newspapers. It's peaceful though... and a perfect ambience for sleeping.
Today I finally got to the right place, and I LOVED it. Madrid is a city with a very urban feel: the buildings are new and modern, inside and out. Instead, the little city, called Alcalá de Henares, where my university is located, is much different. It's about an hour away by train and it is much more rural. The buildings are visibly older and very beautiful. There is a hint of medieval architecture as well as some Arab architecture, and the mix is wonderful. My university, Alcalingua, is part of the larger Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, but it is located in a old-looking building about ten minutes away from the central campus. Inside, the building is full of classrooms with smartboards and foreigners - today, I heard people speaking Italian, Russian, Chinese, and English. It's just amazing! On Monday, I have to go to Alcalingua to take a placement test, both oral and written, for my level of Spanish. I'm nervous! But I'm still really excited, everything about the school is very positive. I think I accomplished a lot today: I even got up the courage to ask people questions along the way, to make sure I was going the right way!
As for other adventures, today I was stalled by a gypsy who read me my fortune and then demanded that I pay her 50 euros, which I obviously didn't have and didn't want to give her anyway. She managed to get 6 euros out of me though.. Also, I started my daily three hours of working - from 4:30 to 7:30 I talk in English with the youngest daughter of the family. I teach her piano, do some reading with her, and then we go to the park. It's pretty relaxing work, I like it. Also today, I helped the second youngest son do his French homework and then he explained some Spanish grammar to me. Who know the "b" and "v" sound the same? No wonder I get so confused! He's so funny though, I love it. And the second to oldest daughter, who's sixteen, showed me these drawings she did.. she's so talented! I told her that she has to teach me, so maybe I'll come back a talented artist too haha, except probably not. She also showed me these two short poems from Bécquer, a Spanish poet, which I really liked:
"¿Qué es poesía?, dices mientras
clavas en mi pupila tu pupila azul.
¡Qué es poesía! ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
Poesía... eres tú."
"Por una mirada, un mundo;
por una sonrisa, un cielo;
por un beso... yo no sé
que te diera por un beso."
Anyway, I should probably get to bed. Apparently, tomorrow there is going to be a strike because the parliament just passed a law about working and the labor unions are trying to get everyone, especially the transportation system, to go on strike tomorrow. I picked up a pamphlet today to see what it was all about, but it'll take me a while to read it and understand it. We'll see what happens though. Tomorrow's adventure for me is to go to a phone store and get a SIM card. We'll also see how THAT goes.
Right now, I feel very much at home. I'm having some difficulties with the language barrier, but I feel fortunate to feel at ease within the culture and the European atmosphere. I love walking around in the city and knowing that I'm not a complete stranger. In my room, I stuck a large bright orange post-it on my bulletin board that says NO TENGO NINGÚN MIEDO (I have no fear). :)
Pictures aren't uploading right now - my Internet is sometimes slow here. I'll get them up when I can!
sábado, 25 de septiembre de 2010
The Beginning
"The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. 'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?' he asked.
'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'"
-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
This is the beginning, a new chapter. I have finished IB, graduated high school, and had an incredible summer full of new experiences. Today, I leave for Madrid, Spain!
I have deferred my acceptance to NYU Global Liberal Studies for one year. During that time, I will be living in Madrid with a host family and studying Spanish grammar and culture at la Universidad de Alcalá Henares. As is the deal with my host family, I will be speaking English for three hours with their children every weekday. On the weekends, I will have time to study, travel, and experience Spain and Europe. I'll be coming back to my family in the States for 'winter break' from December 10th to January 7th. For the rest of the year - the end of September to the end of May - my home will be Madrid, Spain.
I am excited beyond anything words could express. I can't wait to board the plane. I've been planning all my travels in the next few years, and I can't believe how lucky I am, to be able to make the world mine. My desire to see new people, learn new languages, and absorb new cultures is boundless. My dream is to be as big as the world.
I'm also way, way scared. It isn't my first time traveling around the world or traveling alone. I have been traveling since I was six, when my family and I first came to the US from Italy, where I was born. I've been to distant places, I've been in situations where I could not contact my parents for a few weeks.
Yet, this is my first time being almost completely independent. This is my first time packing up my room and going to a place foreign to me for months on end. This is my first time going to a country where I do not know the language. I went to Mali, West Africa two years ago, and even there, I had a group of students with whom I could talk in English. I had translators who could help me express myself in Bambara, the village's dialect. But I don't speak Spanish. I've only ever studied French throughout school; I've never taken a Spanish class. I speak Italian, which will help me, but I couldn't hold any sort of conversation in Spanish past the "hello, how are you, my names is..." part.
I'm sure it isn't as scary as I'm imagining it. I'm sure that as soon as I get over the culture shock, I will be as comfortable as can be. Once I realize that I can find the words to make my way around the country, I'll be okay. I am reassured by the thought that I'm going to Europe, and, what's more, to a place that is close to Italy, which I know well. I'm not going to a country where the culture is the opposite of mine.
But beyond fears, I am ready to go. I have a huge list of things to buy and things to remember and things to pack, but I am ready to begin my studies and my travels.
A little bit more about me: I love to learn. I'm extremely energetic. I love to travel, to learn languages, to read, to write, to volunteer, to meet new people, to converse, to listen to music and sing loudly off-key, and to dream. I love sunflowers, balconies, the ocean, exclamation points (I get made fun of constantly by my friends about how many exclamation points I use), and being around children. I love poetry above all things, besides my family and my friends.
I also have never actually kept up a serious blog before, so excuse my sounding so conceited - I usually dislike writing about myself. I just want to give you a picture of me before I start blogging about Spain!
I also have a plan for the next five years, which I know it sounds crazy, but just listen for a second. I have it all loosely figured out, mostly because of the requirements and rigidity of my program at NYU. I know I'm about to sound like an NYU pamphlet, but bear with me - I ADORE my program and NYU in general. The Global Liberal Studies program is one in which students take specific classes each year and study the cultures of the world, including their literature, politics, history, philosophy, and more. The program is rooted in sending students abroad junior year, after they intensively learn a language their sophomore year, so as to immerse themselves in both the language and the culture of the country, thus truly becoming one with its people. Also, the students all pick a region in the world and study, in-depth, its history, culture, politics, etc. Basically, this is the best program in the world.
So anyway, as for my plan: this year, I'm spending a gap year in Spain. The year after, I'm going to be a freshman at NYU... in Paris! (The Global Liberal Studies program in which I'm enrolled allows students to go abroad their freshman year.) My sophomore year, I'll be in New York, and my junior year, as my program requires, I'll study abroad once more - I'm thinking of learning Chinese and going to China, but that could change and I have plenty of time to decide thankfully. Then, as a senior, I'll live in New York and become part of the class of 2015. After that, I would love going to the Peace Corps for two years, but we'll see where life takes me.
In any case, the point of this blog is to write about these next few years. It's mostly for my family to know what I've been doing (phone calls won't be enough to cover everything!), but you're welcome to keep up with my adventures! I'm a bit of an over-talker and over-writer, meaning I could go on for days talking and writing about what I've seen and thought and learned and read, so please bear with me!
I'd love comments on where to go and things to do, for people who have been to these countries before. I've never been to Spain, Paris, or China, for starters, so I'll let you know what my first impressions are. Or if you just want to give me general feedback on what I said, please go ahead! Respond to what you'd like, tell me about your own travels, give me titles of books and poetry to read, or movies to watch.
Finally, here is where everything starts, the beginning of this coming year. At the end of the year, everything will come to an end, and a new year, a new chapter, will begin. Since this is not the first chapter of my life, as I've had many, many others previous to this one, and since, in my mind, every passing year is a chapter, I'll call this Chapter 18.
So, welcome to Chapter 18!
I'm including a picture of a beautiful Plaza near my host family's house called Plaza de Castilla. The two buildings you see in the picture are really cool, I can't wait to actually see them.
_02.jpg)
I'm so excited!
:)
'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'"
-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
This is the beginning, a new chapter. I have finished IB, graduated high school, and had an incredible summer full of new experiences. Today, I leave for Madrid, Spain!
I have deferred my acceptance to NYU Global Liberal Studies for one year. During that time, I will be living in Madrid with a host family and studying Spanish grammar and culture at la Universidad de Alcalá Henares. As is the deal with my host family, I will be speaking English for three hours with their children every weekday. On the weekends, I will have time to study, travel, and experience Spain and Europe. I'll be coming back to my family in the States for 'winter break' from December 10th to January 7th. For the rest of the year - the end of September to the end of May - my home will be Madrid, Spain.
I am excited beyond anything words could express. I can't wait to board the plane. I've been planning all my travels in the next few years, and I can't believe how lucky I am, to be able to make the world mine. My desire to see new people, learn new languages, and absorb new cultures is boundless. My dream is to be as big as the world.
I'm also way, way scared. It isn't my first time traveling around the world or traveling alone. I have been traveling since I was six, when my family and I first came to the US from Italy, where I was born. I've been to distant places, I've been in situations where I could not contact my parents for a few weeks.
Yet, this is my first time being almost completely independent. This is my first time packing up my room and going to a place foreign to me for months on end. This is my first time going to a country where I do not know the language. I went to Mali, West Africa two years ago, and even there, I had a group of students with whom I could talk in English. I had translators who could help me express myself in Bambara, the village's dialect. But I don't speak Spanish. I've only ever studied French throughout school; I've never taken a Spanish class. I speak Italian, which will help me, but I couldn't hold any sort of conversation in Spanish past the "hello, how are you, my names is..." part.
I'm sure it isn't as scary as I'm imagining it. I'm sure that as soon as I get over the culture shock, I will be as comfortable as can be. Once I realize that I can find the words to make my way around the country, I'll be okay. I am reassured by the thought that I'm going to Europe, and, what's more, to a place that is close to Italy, which I know well. I'm not going to a country where the culture is the opposite of mine.
But beyond fears, I am ready to go. I have a huge list of things to buy and things to remember and things to pack, but I am ready to begin my studies and my travels.
A little bit more about me: I love to learn. I'm extremely energetic. I love to travel, to learn languages, to read, to write, to volunteer, to meet new people, to converse, to listen to music and sing loudly off-key, and to dream. I love sunflowers, balconies, the ocean, exclamation points (I get made fun of constantly by my friends about how many exclamation points I use), and being around children. I love poetry above all things, besides my family and my friends.
I also have never actually kept up a serious blog before, so excuse my sounding so conceited - I usually dislike writing about myself. I just want to give you a picture of me before I start blogging about Spain!
I also have a plan for the next five years, which I know it sounds crazy, but just listen for a second. I have it all loosely figured out, mostly because of the requirements and rigidity of my program at NYU. I know I'm about to sound like an NYU pamphlet, but bear with me - I ADORE my program and NYU in general. The Global Liberal Studies program is one in which students take specific classes each year and study the cultures of the world, including their literature, politics, history, philosophy, and more. The program is rooted in sending students abroad junior year, after they intensively learn a language their sophomore year, so as to immerse themselves in both the language and the culture of the country, thus truly becoming one with its people. Also, the students all pick a region in the world and study, in-depth, its history, culture, politics, etc. Basically, this is the best program in the world.
So anyway, as for my plan: this year, I'm spending a gap year in Spain. The year after, I'm going to be a freshman at NYU... in Paris! (The Global Liberal Studies program in which I'm enrolled allows students to go abroad their freshman year.) My sophomore year, I'll be in New York, and my junior year, as my program requires, I'll study abroad once more - I'm thinking of learning Chinese and going to China, but that could change and I have plenty of time to decide thankfully. Then, as a senior, I'll live in New York and become part of the class of 2015. After that, I would love going to the Peace Corps for two years, but we'll see where life takes me.
In any case, the point of this blog is to write about these next few years. It's mostly for my family to know what I've been doing (phone calls won't be enough to cover everything!), but you're welcome to keep up with my adventures! I'm a bit of an over-talker and over-writer, meaning I could go on for days talking and writing about what I've seen and thought and learned and read, so please bear with me!
I'd love comments on where to go and things to do, for people who have been to these countries before. I've never been to Spain, Paris, or China, for starters, so I'll let you know what my first impressions are. Or if you just want to give me general feedback on what I said, please go ahead! Respond to what you'd like, tell me about your own travels, give me titles of books and poetry to read, or movies to watch.
Finally, here is where everything starts, the beginning of this coming year. At the end of the year, everything will come to an end, and a new year, a new chapter, will begin. Since this is not the first chapter of my life, as I've had many, many others previous to this one, and since, in my mind, every passing year is a chapter, I'll call this Chapter 18.
So, welcome to Chapter 18!
I'm including a picture of a beautiful Plaza near my host family's house called Plaza de Castilla. The two buildings you see in the picture are really cool, I can't wait to actually see them.
_02.jpg)
I'm so excited!
:)
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