A Rainy Day

Today I experienced my first rainy day in Madrid. Normally, I love the rain! Just not when it ruins my plans. My friend Tara and I had decided to do some sightseeing around Madrid this morning and see some of the famous spots like Plaza Mayor, Templo de Dubod, El Palacio Real, etc. But when we stepped off the metro and were already soaking wet, it didn't look like that was going to happen. We trekked around Sol (basically the center of everything in Madrid) for about an hour and a half, and were able to see the Plaza Mayor at least. After that we decided to admit defeat and went home. I know this isn't very exciting or inspiring, but that wasn't the point of this post: the point is to talk about what I did for the rest of the day! (Stayed home!)

Something I've been thinking about lately/struggling with is what to focus on during these months in Madrid. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting to do with my time before I came. Traveling, maybe... studying, yes... speaking Spanish, sí? I don't think I really planned what I would do with my time. I got the same advice from pretty much everyone before I left: "Make the most out of your time in Europe!" "Don't waste a second!" "See EVERYTHING!" "Live it up in España!" But I've hit a point where I have to ask myself how much of that advice I really need to follow. Is it worth spending all my money and time seeing everything, experiencing every aspect of Spanish culture? There's a very fine line between enjoying the culture and overly immersing myself in it.

This week someone held me accountable to this by asking me why I was planning a whole bunch of weekend trips away from Madrid. He reminded me that my initial goal for Spain was to perfect my Spanish! Somewhere along the way I had picked up the idea that I needed to explore the culture, experience everything, travel everywhere...essentially, turn a 4 month "STUDY abroad" experience into a "travel abroad" holiday.

It made me realize something. Just because I'm in Spain does not mean I have to turn into a typical Spaniard! (Or a typical American tourist for that matter!) There are some things about Spanish culture that I LOVE. But there are also some things that I don't love, like the dominance of the party scene, alcohol everywhere, and the more loose/liberal social relationships. Since I'm here, does it mean I have to immerse myself in that part of the culture too? Also, I barely ever travel when I'm in the US, so does it mean that I need to become a tourist now that I'm in Spain?

The beauty of my semester in Madrid is that I have time to make connections with my neighborhood, to frequent a cafe, get to know the waitresses, really practice my Spanish and make a mark. Even more importantly--I need to continue my life! I'm the same person that left the US, I like the same things, and I don't need to become a new person just because I'm in a different country. So that's why today, I stayed at the apartment, worked on homework, watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Skyped with my boyfriend. :) Good day overall!

I'm sorry for making you suffer through this rant; I just felt like I needed to put it out there!

Finally, because I promised my sister Katie:

This was the castle (called the Alcázar) that I saw on my trip to Segovia two weekends ago! It was beautiful!

Ciao! I miss you all! :)

Chocolate!!!!!! And Granada I guess ;)

I'm sorry--I'm a little behind in blogging! I will make an effort to keep this updated more frequently because so much happens every day!

I'll start with Thursday: After weeks talking about going out for churros and chocolate (Madrid's favorite dessert/breakfast for those who go out at night), my friend Erika, her roommates and I finally went to La Chocolatería San Ginés for their famous churros and chocolate. It's basically fried dough that you dip in a mug full of melted chocolate. (Need I say more?) 

Then, Friday morning I left super early to catch my flight to Granada for the weekend! I went with four friends from my university here (3 of them are from Baylor). We spent Friday exploring Granada, touring a cathedral, shopping and admiring the city. Granada is in the south of Spain in a province called Andalucía, which is famous for its mix of gypsy, Arabic and Spanish culture. The main attraction in the city is the Alhambra, which is a Moorish palace and grounds from when Spain was ruled by the Arabs (700s-1492). It was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen--mostly because it is like nothing I have ever seen before. The architecture is so different; their art is focused on geometric design and very precise detail, which was on all of the walls and ceilings of the palace. We were able to get tickets to see the main palace Friday night, and then we went back to see the rest of the grounds (including a beautiful garden called the Generalife) Saturday morning. 

Friday: 

                                 (walking down the street from the hostel towards the touristy area) 

                                                 (view of part of the Alhambra from our hostel)

                                                         (inside the Granada Cathedral)

                               (behind these doors, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are buried)


Nasrid Palaces (Part of the Alhambra):

(yes this is a real room! :D)

                                          (detail on the walls. All the walls were similar to this)

Saturday morning: El Generalife (gardens) and La Alcazaba (another palace, mostly in ruins)

                                                   (view of Granada from the Generalife)

                                                            (SO many gorgeous flowers)

                                                   (gorgeous view of one of the buildings)

                                 (me in front of the Generalife: my favorite part of the Alhambra!)

 The rest of the weekend was filled with good food, ice cream, exploring and church Sunday morning (for the first time in Spain!). We found a small Baptist church in Granada and I loved it--it might have been the highlight of the weekend. It was small and simple, with great worship (most of the songs were the same as ones we sing in America, just in Spanish!) and a very nice message. I hope I can find a church like it in Madrid for future Sundays.

Overall it was a fun weekend traveling with friends! Nevertheless I am happy to be back in Madrid and on a schedule again.
Adios :)

Me encanta...

Since the day I arrived in Madrid, I've felt myself complaining a lot, internally, and also externally. It comes out every time I have a longer-than-normal conversation with someone and finally I realized it has to stop. Naturally being in a foreign country without close friends or family is a bit alienating and depressing at times--but there are so many things that I can be thankful for! Today I decided to focus on those things.

First, let me back up; I finished class today and decided to be "adventurous" and find El Corte Inglés, a big department store chain that apparently has everything. I was looking for headphones and a calling card, things that have been surprisingly hard to find. After my customary after-school cup of coffee at Café y Té, I headed in the direction Google Maps had told me to take to find this department store. Needless to say, if you know me, I got lost. But rather than stressing out, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to explore a new part of Madrid! Here are some things that I loved uncovering today:

Sorry the photo is a little blurry, but this was inside a cute used bookstore that I found. There is something so happy about a used bookstore, even more than a new bookstore, especially when all the books are in Spanish! I loved fingering through the old editions of books that I've read, am going to read for class and books I had never heard of before. I almost bought a copy of Lazarillo de Tormes for 2 euros but decided not to (this time)!

This--I don't even know what it is. I do know, however, that it is beautiful! Assuming it was a church, I tried to look it up and see what it is called but I couldn't find anything. Regardless, it was a treat to turn down a random alley and see this at the end of it!

At the end of the day, I didn't end up finding El Corte Inglés (or headphones or a calling card)... I guess I'll have to leave that adventure for a different day. But I did find some other cute boutiques along the way and had fun window shopping. Successful day after all!

Art, cathedrals and random awesome revelations

One thing I was not expecting in traveling to Spain was that my faith would grow. You see on one hand, Spain is a "Catholic" country, but on the other, it can be described as pretty dead spiritually. One of my tour guides last weekend said that around 97% of the country identifies itself as Catholic, BUT only about 30% of those people are actually practicing Catholics. It's almost a paradox as Spain has so much religious history and so many beautiful religiously-affiliated monuments and cathedrals. Anyway, all that being said, I wasn't expecting for my faith to be deepened.

However, I've been surprised for the best. In the past two weeks I have visited at least five cathedrals (I lost count), one convent and one synagogue. I've also been to the Prado Museum twice and seen hundreds of paintings of Biblical scenes, especially Christ figures. And I've found that it's impossible to see so many different images of Christ, and so many historically significant religious places, without experiencing something internally. It first hit me at the Prado when I saw a painting by Sebastian Martinez called "St. Joseph with the Child." It was basically a painting of toddler Jesus reaching his hand into a bowl of fruit to take one and Joseph holding him back, reprimanding him. It opened my mind so much to think about what sacrifices Joseph might have had to make, or what humility it must have forced him to have, knowing his son was the Messiah, and yet still having to take a fatherly position. Then, seeing various interpretations of Christ on the cross has allowed me to focus mentally on His sacrifice and what that means to me. I once heard that Catholicism tends to focus more on the suffering Christ and Protestantism on the resurrected Christ, and I think that is so true--I normally identify more with the Jesus who defeated death, but being here has really made me consider the suffering Christ, and it has given me a very special appreciation and awe that I had been lacking for a long time.

Another awesome thing was seeing the difference between the medieval, Romanesque and Gothic churches. The medieval church was small and circular. The Romanesque church was in the form of a Latin cross but built with simple stone and small windows to focus on prayer and mediation. And the Gothic churches are extremely ornamented. They're huge, with numerous side chapels, lots of gold embellishments on the organ and other pieces, and have a lot of separation between the choir/church officials and the rest of the congregation.

(Medieval church in Salamanca)

                                                        (Romanesque church in Segovia)

                                                          (Gothic cathedral in Segovia)

              (Gate added to separate the choir from the congregation in Salamanca's Gothic cathedral)

Anyway the Gothic cathedral was a good example of what the Reformation was trying to reform. As beautiful and amazing as the Gothic cathedrals are, the only thing I could think of was all the money that it must have taken to build such a luxurious building. I will not judge those who built it (they intended it to be luxurious because it's God's house), but I definitely gained a new appreciation for the Protestant Reformation.

Lastly, I have been so blessed in my relationship with Luis. He suggested that we start a Bible study over Skype and it has been awesome!! Already I have grown and we have both grown together, which is so cool. I love it.

That's all! I tried to make this entry short but it looks like I've written a book already... sorry! Hasta luego :)

Random things about Madrid!

I have now been here in Madrid for about a week and a half, although it feels much longer! Already I'm starting to get a feel of the city and am beginning to feel more comfortable. Before coming to Madrid, I had so many questions: What is the culture like? What do people look like here? How do they dress; how do they act; what do they do for fun? What kind of food do they eat? Now that I've had enough time to observe some of the differences from American culture, but haven't been here long enough to forget about them or grow accustomed to them, I wanted to write them down so I can look back at them later and also for those of you who ask me these same questions!

First, a few interesting things!

1. Spaniards tend to talk REALLY LOUD. Some people are different from others, of course, but in general they speak a little louder than people in America. It took me a few days to realize that was what was different when they would speak--sometimes, at the beginning, it felt like people were yelling at me! For example, the first day I met my host mother, as she was showing me around the house and explaining the way she ran things, I felt a little like she was scolding me!! Thankfully someone explained later that that is just the way people talk. The accent is definitely strong and more in-your-face than the Mexican accent, so that has been an adjustment.

2. Spaniards eat a lot of ham. Everywhere you go there will be some kind of dish that has "jamón", of all kinds. (They even have jamón flavored chips, which are pretty popular and, actually, pretty good). They also like bacon and pork. On my day trip to the monastery last weekend, the tour guide explained to us that the reason for that is historical: in the past, if you wanted to show you were a "good Catholic," you would eat pig publicly, because the Jews and the Muslims did not eat it. Since then it has just become part of the national diet.

3. Another thing about the diet: they are much healthier than Americans in some ways: the customary dessert after a meal is a piece of fruit, they don't load their salads with fatty dressings (instead, they top it with olive oil and/or vinegar), and they eat a light breakfast, usually a piece of fruit and toast. However, in some ways their diet is less balanced than what I am used to. They eat a lot of carbs! Everywhere you go there is bread, bread and more bread. Plates like rice and pasta are popular, and it is hard to find vegetables on a restaurant menu unless you want a salad. The meat is usually limited to jamón serrano on a sandwich, which is like sliced ham, or maybe a small piece of chicken, but it is not customary to eat a lot of meat at a meal. (At least that has been my experience so far).

Some things about the language:

1. The "lisp" has actually started to grow on me. I don't notice it as much when people talk and I've even started to slip it into conversation a little.

2. I like using the "vosotros" form (which refers to an informal group of people). It is actually a lot easier to pick up than I expected!

3. Everyone says the word "vale." It's a phrase that kind of means "okay?" or "do you understand?" in a friendly way. It is really excessive though! One of my professors literally says "vale?" at the end of almost every sentence. That definitely hasn't grown on me yet!

4. A few differences in words for those who know Spanish:
"zumo" instead of "jugo" for juice
"ordenador" instead of "computadora"
"bolso" instead of "bolsa" for bag
"gamba" instead of "camarón" for shrimp
....and I'm sure there are more but I can't think of any others!

Lastly, I'll show you a picture I took from my trip to Toledo on my birthday last Sunday. There I was able to see a beautiful cathedral, a synagogue-turned-cathedral-turned-museum and a very picturesque little town.

Hasta pronto!

Paradise...

 These past two days have been incredible. I've seen some of the most beautiful spots in my life. Yesterday I went on a day trip to Monasterio de Piedra. It is a monastery located in the state of Aragon, basically in the middle of nowhere, but it is probably the most breathtakingly beautiful place I have ever seen. Waterfalls, forest, green grass, cliffs...I spent the entire time entirely in awe of the beauty of natural creation. It was extremely refreshing. Here are some of the many beautiful spots there!

                                                   The Monastery (dates from 1300 AD)

The motto of the monastery: "Pray as if you would die tomorrow, and work as if you would live forever." 

                                                         
                                                            Gardens of the Monastery:

                                                              (^detail in the caverns)

                                              ^^ridiculously clear water

                                            (^literally a lime green color. It was fascinating)

Today was an even more busy and fascinating day, but I'll wait until tomorrow to describe it so I can let it all sink in! Hasta pronto!

Conociendo Madrid

Today I met my friend Erika in the morning to do some sightseeing around Madrid (finally)!! We went to the Prado Museum again, and this time were able to spend a good three hours there. It is actually free admission for students, which is really nice. I may end up being a frequent visitor. Then we walked around the area, took pictures and ate at a small restaurant where we finally tried tapas! Tapas are very popular here. I had been hearing about them since I got here but I had no idea what they were until this afternoon. Basically it's toasted bread with any variety of things on top. We shared four tapas, one with eggs, one with bacon and melted cheese, one with ham and one with breaded chicken on top. We both ordered a water and an orange juice (freshly squeezed; it was delicious), and I ordered a pasta with pesto. I'm pretty sure we sold ourselves out as Americans for ordering WAY too much food. I could barely eat any of my pasta by the time it came. Regardless, I'm glad to say I had my first experience at a Spanish restaurant eating real Spanish food! After eating so much, we were both too tired to keep going so we just went home. However, I'm happy with today--I finally saw Goya's dark paintings, including "Saturn devouring his children," I did a little souvenir/gift shopping and I was able to walk around beautiful Madrid! Pictures are worth a thousand words so I'll let you see for yourself!

                                         (above: statue of Francisco de Goya outside the Prado)

                            Above: Went to Starbucks and this is how they spelled my name! Haha.

                                                          I liked the bark on this tree...

                                              Palacio de comunicaciones!