Trip to Granada

Hello to all!

Sorry it's been so long. Last weekend was an amazing trip to Granada in the south of Spain - the region known as Andalucia. It is famous for free tapas and the Alhambra, and we enjoyed both those things and more! The double-decker bus filled with international students arrived in Granada around 3 on Friday and I realized about 5 minutes after stepping off the bus that I was wearing a t-shirt, and I was fine! It was probably 70 degrees the whole time we were there, sunny and breezy. Basically PERFECT. We checked into the "Funky Hostel" which turned out to be really nice other than our heater not working night #2...I didn't sleep much. But anyway the whole hostel was white with a patio in the middle and lots of bridge-walkways and there was also a heated patio on the top where they served sangria and paella on night #2. I got to watch the chef and talk to him a little - he was from Buenos Aires! (where I did a 1-month culture study-aborad). And he cooked a mean paella.

We went on a walking tour of the city and saw the Cathedral and some cool plazas. At the cathedral entrance there were all these "gitanas" (gypsy-women) who would come up to you and try to give you rosemary "toma!" (take it!) but you're screwed if you take the bait. They grab your hand if you take the rosemary and talk to you for 5 minutes and then you have to buy it - I watched this processs on a tourist it was entertaining. That night we all got on a bus and drove up to the Arab neighborhood of Granada. It's characterized by all the white houses that have paitos and fountains and gardens. We walked the windy cobblestone roads until we came upon a beautiful view of the Alhambra lit by night. Granada was the last city to be re-captured from the Arabs and thus has a lot of Arab influence - the houses, the Arab shops that line the roads, the food and tea places - and you guessed it - the Alhambra! It's on the highest part of Granada and was both a look-out and a fortress/palace for the royal family. It was quite a sight by night and equally amazing by day. But beore visiting it on Saturday we finished our Friday night with a Flamenco show!

Now that was something. I still hadn't seen Flamenco in Spain and this was quite the first experience. The whole group piled into a long skinny room and sat down with our complementary sangria. Dancer after dancer came out and did their thing - it was so intense! I had no idea how much footwork is involved or really anything about the dance. There was a guitarist and a singer, and the music was very different. To me it sounded like the singers were crying out loud while they sang, it's not anything I'd heard before. There were mostly solos, girls and guys. One guy had a cane and did some crazy-fast footwork (I'll try to post the video). There was also a dance with four people using "castanuelas" which are these wood shells you have on your fingers and palm and you clank them together to different rhythms. All in all it was a very cool first flamenco show experience.

The next day was all Alhambra. We had a guided tour and started in the gardens, then went to the summer palace (apart from the main palace) and finally made our way to the heart of it all. The whole thing was absolutely amazing. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were on top of the world, taking it all in. The only 2 sounds were birds chirping and water flowing and that made for a very peaceful tour. A lot of the Alhambra has been restored but where there was color - blue, red and I think green - those details were all original. I was taken away by the precision and detail. Every room, every wall, every corner, had a different and equally intricate design. Orange trees were scattered all over and throughout the Alhambra (and Granada) and added a nice touch. After the 3 hour tour we walked up to the look-out tower and saw some beautiful views of Granada. It was perfect. We spent the rest of the day and Sunday walking the streets of Albyzin (the Arab neighborhood), soaking up the sun in the plaza and perusing the Arab shops. It was a great trip - I got to see 2 of the things top on my list - the Alhlambra and Flamenco! The great food, idiosyncratic Albyzin and perfect weather helped too :)

I am continuing to meet new people at the university and am forging on with my classes. I like my beginning flamenco class but it's hard! I'm in the second semester of beginning flamenco so I came in behind, but I like it because we're moving quickly and I feel like I'm learning a lot. Tomorrow the son of my host parents is coming with his wife for lunch and of course I'm invited so that should be fun. Then Madrid celebrates CARNIVAL - I think we'll dress up and join the parade tomorrow night. After that I'm cooking a chinese dinner with friends, and on Sunday I'm going to go on a walk with my host mom in the neighborhood and she's going to show me all her favorite places! So other than the homework I eventually have to find time to do, it should be a fun weekend.

Espero que todos pasen un buen finde!
Ciao,
~Alex

Day trip to Toledo

Hola!

Today the international students went to Toledo, an adorable medieval city about an hour south of the Madrid city center. It was the capital of Spain over 300 years ago and so we saw the castle where the king and queen once lived. Toledo was conquered by Muslims a long time ago and some of the mosques still stand which offered a unique taste to the scenery. It was very picturesque, somewhat like Segovia in that all the streets were cobblestones and windy (and hilly!). All the cars there are stick-shift and I can't even imagine trying to drive - especially through the masses of tourists! But they managed. Anyway it was a beautiful little town with a lot of history and all in all a great 5 euro day trip! I think the best part - well there were two. One was the cathedral. It's the biggest one in Spain and pretty famous. I was taken away by how beautiful it was inside. We weren't allowed to take photos so I tried to sneak one, I'll post the only one what wasn't blurry! But the detail was amazing. A HUGE organ in the middle and this section adorned in gold where the choir sings. There was a room inside that had on display all the old traditional clothing of the bishops. Some of them were older than our country! It was mind boggling.
There was also a building that was being rennovated. It used to be the old look out tower, and the front wall is adorned with little chips out of the stone - bullet holes from invaders. Very cool.

I'll post a picture of the view of the town, one part of the inside of the cathedral, and the building with the bullet holes! Hope you enjoy.

Hasta luego, ciao!
~Alex

Classes Cake and Culture Shock

CLASSES
I started classes at the University on Monday, and they’ve been…different. The professor who was 20 minutes late on Monday due to the metro didn’t show up at all on day two…apparently due to car troubles. Nonetheless classes have been interesting and I am meeting new people! I am taking History of Theater and the professor seems really cool. He’s short and has white hair and for some reason reminds me of a leprechaun. I’m also taking Regional Geography, the prof is a little dry but I think it’ll be a great class to take here because it will cover so much I don’t know! And I’m also taking History of Latin America and that professor is a good lecturer, really easy to follow, and interesting. Although it may not seem like it, all these classes are in the Humanities department!

I found out today that nobody eats in class – not because I just noticed it, but rather because the History of Latin America professor was talking about cultural differences and pointed out the “content American in the back eater her sandwich” and how nobody eats in class here but it’s very acceptable in the US. Pretty sure my face was red the next hour and a half…
There are quite a few differences between school here and school in the US. For one, not only is it ok to arrive late to class, but it’s the norm. I got to class at 8:58 am, rushing to make sure I wasn’t lat on my first day, and I showed up to a dark empty room. I thought it had been canceled! By 9:15 most people were there and the professor began. And when people come in late and the prof has begun, whether it’s 10, 15 or 20 min late, they always say hello and greet the professor! I guess interruptions are the norm. People also leave the room to answer their phones, or they just leave. They get up and say “sorry, I have to go” – announcing it to the world – and walk out! I’ll have to try that during a particularly boring lecture one day…

I’ve met a few people this week and I hope the number grows! A Spanish girl started talking to me in class the other day (waiting for the professor who never showed) and we talked for like 20 minutes, so I hope we keep doing so! She was really nice and has traveled to California so we had some things in common. I have also met a few international students in my classes; Federica from Italy and Coralie from France are a lot of fun and really nice so I’m excited about forming new friendships! I played volleyball with the boy’s school team yesterday and met the guys and Marian, who plays on the girl’s team but was practicing with them yesterday. Afterward I grabbed a bite to eat with Tomas and Marian and talked to them about volleyball and school and life. They are both really nice but it was hard to joke around and be “fun” because I’m still in the phase of searching for words and so it’s hard to just say exactly what I want right away. Nonetheless I have some more Spanish contacts and wills see them more, so I hope those are some more friendships in the making!

CAKE
It was the birthday of one of the guys in our program the other day, so I decide I would bake a cake instead of buy one, after all I love baking and it would be cheaper and fairly easy, right? So wrong. It turned out to be quite the experience. I first had to find a recipe I could cook, that didn’t have nuts as one person has allergies, which was difficult in and of itself. I’m pretty sure nobody in Spain knows what chocolate cake is. Don’t get me wrong, this country has great tapas and salty foods-but when it comes to sweets, Spain is lacking. So anyway once I finally found a recipe I had to translate all the measurements and ingredients so I could bake it. The recipe called for the usual: flour, sugar, eggs , vanilla extract, cocoa powder and for the topping (directly translated) “bar of chocolate of cup and 1 can of condensed milk”. What did that mean? What size bar? What size can? In the US it would be obvious, but the sizes are different here! And what is bar of chocolate of cup? And is condensed milk the same as sweetened condensed milk? So many doubts…after talking with my host mom I figured out that the chocolate is bakers chocolate, and that condensed milk is “sweet and heavy” so I knew it was the same as in the US. Sizes I would worry about later…
So all that in mind I ventured to the local supermarket. Upon arrival I saw yellow baskets (but no shopping carts) so I picked one up – they were huge! At least 3 times the size of a shopping basket in the US. I was surprised but nonetheless began walking around awkwardly with my big yellow basket. I quickly realized I was mistaken. Everyone in the store was wheeling around their yellow baskets-there was another long handle, and wheels on the bottom that I somehow completely missed! Ok so I had my shopping cart. Now, for the ingredients. I went to the refrigerated section for the butter, and could only find margarine. I finally found a package that said “butter” and when I opened it back home, it too was some hybrid of margarine and butter. Anyway next I headed to the baking aisle, which turned out to be really hard to find, partly because in Spanish supermarkets the aisles aren’t conveniently labeled like in the US, and also because, oh yea – there isn’t one. The concept of backing, I never realized until trying it myself, is something foreign to Spaniards. People here don’t really eat sweets and they certainly don’t bake them. So when I finally did find flour and sugar (scattered among pasta and jam) I got the biggest bags available –about 3 cups worth. Don’t even begin to think I was able to find cocoa powder or vanilla extract –those things don’t exist here. I spent a good 10 minutes trying to describe vanilla extract to the sales clerk “a liquid that is an extract of vanilla, usually near the spices) etc etc, he had NO CLUE what I was talking about. So I gave up on that and trotted back to the house to bake. I knew Angela had a hand-held mixer and she said I could cook there. So I got everything out and was ready to go…only Angela didn’t have any mixing bowls. So I got out a series of pots, salad bowls and soup bowls, and used spoons and mugs as my measuring units – such a fiasco! First thing that happened was I realized Angela’s old single-blade hand held mixer was no match for butter (it just kept making that “rrrrrruuuuuurrrrrrrr” noise and didn’t do anything), so I whipped in the sugar by hand. The things we take for granted – that was hard! Oh and of course she doesn’t have a cake pan. She’s a great cook, emphasis on the cook – she never bakes and thus, no cake pan – I ended up using a paella pan! Despite all my setbacks however, it all turned out pretty good. Traveling in the metro with it was difficult but it made it to its destination and was readily and happily consumed, I think everyone was missing chocolate cake.

I travel to Toledo this Sunday with the international program (5 euro trip!) so I should have some cool pictures and stories from that.

Hasta la proxima, ciao
~Alex

Classes begin

Hello everyone!

Classes at the University Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) in Getafe begin Monday and my first one starts at 9am…which means I have to leave my house at 7:45…and get up even earlier! Which is REALLY early based on Spanish-time. My host parents who are in their 70s and retired don’t go to bed until after midnight or 1am and wake up around 10am every day, so it feels really funny saying goodnight to them when I’m the one going to bed.

Getafe is a part of the “Comunidad de Madrid” but it is its own city about an hour train ride from my house. I catch the metro for about 4 stops, (changing lines once) then take the train to the stop which is a 5 minute walk from the campus. Not the most ideal commute, but the metro and trains come anywhere between 3 and 6 minutes apart during busy hours so it’s not too bad. I found 4 classes that fill up my Monday at Tuesday – and that’s it! So I’m hoping they work out because it would be great to have open days for an internship and travel.

The woman who works on finding internships for the Middlebury students (I’m here with a Middlebury program in case I didn’t say that before) told me about one “practica” (internship) teaching high school students at a bilingual school in Getafe. They put strong emphasis on math and science which are my stronger areas so if I can help teach classes in English or Spanish it would be great! I would probably go there one day a week and help out teachers/help make class plans and maybe even teach some parts. Pretty cool, more to come on that…

The student network at UC3M for foreign students (ESN) organizes a great orientation for all the new foreign study students. For tomorrow they have rented all the courts and fields for 3 hours and we have “Sport Day” so I’ll get to play some “voliplaya” (beach volleyball, it’s one word here I love it!) which should be a blast! They have organized a pub crawl for this Friday and a day trip to Toledo this coming Sunday for 10 Euros! Toledo is a very cool (I’ve heard) medieval town just south of the Madrid border. ESN is also offering a trip to Granada (down south, famous for free tapas, flamenco and the Alhambra) for just 100 Euros which is dirt cheap! So I’ll sign up for that if there are any spots left!

We had orientation at UC3M on Friday and met all the students studying abroad here for the semester. There are people from France, Italy, Portugal, Holland etc, we are a group of about 100 I’d say. They gave us a lot of great information about the campus and offices and classes, took us on a tour, and gave us free tapas afterward! The word for snack here is “merienda” which I love, because I love snacks. We had croquetas (mixture of milk, flour, cheese and usually some kind of meat, battered and fried), Spanish tortilla (thick round tortilla made of potatoes, eggs and usually onion, cheese and sometimes other veggies and meats), fried calamari (different from the US, but since I don’t eat it I didn’t bother to ask…it grosses me out), bread with cheese and smoked ham (thin slices, like REALLY flavorful smoked bacon, it’s called “Jamon Serrano”) and chorizo, among other things. The jamon serrano here is really popular and cheap. It’s a big pig leg that has been smoked and just about every household and bar/restaurant has one, propped up on a wood holder, ready to be thinly sliced for “bocadillos” (bread cheese and ham sandwiches) or any of the other dishes it is used in. I’m not a huge fan. It’s almost too flavorful, I prefer bacon, which here is spelled and pronounced “beicon” (pronouncing the “o” like you would in “phone”).

The winery trip was fun but not what I expected. We went to a town about an hour out of the city and spent most of the time at an olive oil mill! We got to see the old grinding machines (picture attached) and where the finished product is stored, and tried some pure olive oil (looks like dirty car oil) but it was delicious! There are many families in this town who had olives or grapes but no way of making olive oil or wine, so there is one winery and one olive oil mill now where people bring their olives and the mill processes them and returns olive oil. The mill takes some money for the processing but can’t sell the oil, it just goes back to whoever owned the olives! I think with the winery they buy the grapes and then make wine and sell it. We got to interview the woman at the winery who is the master mixer/analyzer and see her office which was filled with chemical distillation apparatuses and things I’ve never seen before! It was pretty cool. The best part was the olive oil tasting we did (see picture) there were 3 types – extra virgin, one that had been filtered more than normal, and one made from a unique type of olive that has a garlic-y flavor. Then we tried the olives! Some were good and one was disgusting. We also had raw olives (just picked) which are SO bitter I had no idea! I mean I barely dug my tooth in and my whole mouth was dry for an hour. The olives go through a lengthy process of being soaked in water that is constantly filtered and changed, before they are edible or usable for olive oil.

Well enough about food! I’m getting hungry. I’m attaching a picture of me and some friends at a bar called “Museo del Jamon” (Ham Museum, it’s a chain) where Jamon Serrano hangs from the walls like it’s decoration. There’s also a picture of a doner kebab – not sure if I wrote about it earlier, but it’s my new favorite thing. The kebab places are open at all hours and they have big bbqs with meat always turning and cooking on a big metal pole, and they shave it off and put it in a toasted baguette with lettuce and yummy mystery sauce, the best part is they’re super cheap and delicious! And I finally took a picture so I had to share.

Hope all is well where ever you are reading this!
Hasta luego!