The problem with living in a house built in the 17th century is the
doors built for people under 5'5"....
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Mamma Mia!
I´m going to type furiously, as I only have about 15 minutes left in my free time, and the internet here is terribly slow.
Things are fantastic. The people here are so kind, polite, intelligent, and committed to this program that it´s a delight.
Sunday night we had a Quemada (sp?) ceremony. Essentially, they mixed a lot of alcohol (40% proof), sugar, coffee, and spices in a large metal bowl and set it on fire. Jose Marie, Caro, and Imran dressed up as witches and read incantations to chase away evil spirits, while Sabela and Jez mixed the flaming drink until the flames turned green. Then they served it up to everyone (except me ;) ) and we toasted and drank. Then each country´s group of people sang a song from their country. We have people here from Canada, Australia, England, Scotland, New Zealand, the States, and, of course, Spain. Sabela, the program director who used to be a classical violinist, played a few traditional songs, and we all enjoyed the night and the alcohol fumes.
Yesterday was party night. They cooked paella for everyone in a huge pan, then after dinner (about 10:00) we all met up in the meetingroom, which had been converted into a club for the night. Music, drinking, dancing, tons of fun. Jez and I were the only ones not drinking, but that didn´t keep me from dancing! Rachel and Emily would have been proud of me. :) Marcial in particular kept pulling me out to dance with him, including a redition of the Sevillianas (again, sp?), which I had no idea how to do. So I twirled and snapped my fingers, and copied Sabela and Clara as best I could while Marcial strutted around me, his black shirt unbuttoned rather far.
As the evening progressed, some of the drunker folks confessed many things to me, not all of which I think they remember today. Juan insisted on buying me a drink because he was so grateful to me for teaching him English, and he was upset that I didn´t want a real drink. He said that Sabela and Jez had explained to the Spaniards at the beginning of the program that some Anglos don´t drink like the Spaniards do. Once I explained (several times), that I was very, very happy with the bottle of water he got me, he let it go.
About half of the group danced and sang along to the music until they turned on the lights at 3 am. That included a very boisterous rendition of ¨Bohemian Rhapsody¨, which most of the Spaniards didn´t know. They quickly caught on to the ¨Mama!¨ at the beginning of each line, and would all sing it very loudly with each verse. Then again, they all went nuts over a song that I´m guessing was called ¨Follow the Leader, Leader¨ and pulled everyone into a large congo line.
It was kind of fun to watch people get progressively drunker and simultaneously more relaxed and confident as the night wore on. It lead to better dancing in many cases.
When we all finally walked (or stumbled) back to our houses, Fernando M. lingered singing ¨Waltzing Matilda¨ loudly, which he had learned from the Australians.
This morning we had breakfast at the normal time, 9:00, but then all went to a hike around the mountain to visit the next closest village. This is one that was built around the same time as Valdelavilla (the 17th century), and was abandoned at about the same time (1960s), but this one isn´t restored.
When we got back, we had a barbeque/picnic on the lawn, which lead to a nice, long siesta in the sun. I got mildly burned, nothing too bad, and we all lingered drinking wine (or water), talking, and dozing off.
It sounds peaceful, but it was actually the first long break we´ve had since the beginning of the program.
Oh, and now it´s time for my next 1:1 with Fernando G. Gotta run. Bye!
Things are fantastic. The people here are so kind, polite, intelligent, and committed to this program that it´s a delight.
Sunday night we had a Quemada (sp?) ceremony. Essentially, they mixed a lot of alcohol (40% proof), sugar, coffee, and spices in a large metal bowl and set it on fire. Jose Marie, Caro, and Imran dressed up as witches and read incantations to chase away evil spirits, while Sabela and Jez mixed the flaming drink until the flames turned green. Then they served it up to everyone (except me ;) ) and we toasted and drank. Then each country´s group of people sang a song from their country. We have people here from Canada, Australia, England, Scotland, New Zealand, the States, and, of course, Spain. Sabela, the program director who used to be a classical violinist, played a few traditional songs, and we all enjoyed the night and the alcohol fumes.
Yesterday was party night. They cooked paella for everyone in a huge pan, then after dinner (about 10:00) we all met up in the meetingroom, which had been converted into a club for the night. Music, drinking, dancing, tons of fun. Jez and I were the only ones not drinking, but that didn´t keep me from dancing! Rachel and Emily would have been proud of me. :) Marcial in particular kept pulling me out to dance with him, including a redition of the Sevillianas (again, sp?), which I had no idea how to do. So I twirled and snapped my fingers, and copied Sabela and Clara as best I could while Marcial strutted around me, his black shirt unbuttoned rather far.
As the evening progressed, some of the drunker folks confessed many things to me, not all of which I think they remember today. Juan insisted on buying me a drink because he was so grateful to me for teaching him English, and he was upset that I didn´t want a real drink. He said that Sabela and Jez had explained to the Spaniards at the beginning of the program that some Anglos don´t drink like the Spaniards do. Once I explained (several times), that I was very, very happy with the bottle of water he got me, he let it go.
About half of the group danced and sang along to the music until they turned on the lights at 3 am. That included a very boisterous rendition of ¨Bohemian Rhapsody¨, which most of the Spaniards didn´t know. They quickly caught on to the ¨Mama!¨ at the beginning of each line, and would all sing it very loudly with each verse. Then again, they all went nuts over a song that I´m guessing was called ¨Follow the Leader, Leader¨ and pulled everyone into a large congo line.
It was kind of fun to watch people get progressively drunker and simultaneously more relaxed and confident as the night wore on. It lead to better dancing in many cases.
When we all finally walked (or stumbled) back to our houses, Fernando M. lingered singing ¨Waltzing Matilda¨ loudly, which he had learned from the Australians.
This morning we had breakfast at the normal time, 9:00, but then all went to a hike around the mountain to visit the next closest village. This is one that was built around the same time as Valdelavilla (the 17th century), and was abandoned at about the same time (1960s), but this one isn´t restored.
When we got back, we had a barbeque/picnic on the lawn, which lead to a nice, long siesta in the sun. I got mildly burned, nothing too bad, and we all lingered drinking wine (or water), talking, and dozing off.
It sounds peaceful, but it was actually the first long break we´ve had since the beginning of the program.
Oh, and now it´s time for my next 1:1 with Fernando G. Gotta run. Bye!
Quick Update
We've been busy, so I haven't been blogging much.
After lots (LOTS) of conversations so far, Sunday we had Quemada
(well, I watched at least) and sang songs, then yesterday we made
paella and danced until 3:00 am. After breakfast at the normal time,
we hiked 6k to see a non-restored village. Then, back at Val, they
cooked barbeque for us and we had a picnic with a nice long siesta in the
sun.
Last night I dreamed in a Spanish accent.
I'm having a fantastic time.
After lots (LOTS) of conversations so far, Sunday we had Quemada
(well, I watched at least) and sang songs, then yesterday we made
paella and danced until 3:00 am. After breakfast at the normal time,
we hiked 6k to see a non-restored village. Then, back at Val, they
cooked barbeque for us and we had a picnic with a nice long siesta in the
sun.
Last night I dreamed in a Spanish accent.
I'm having a fantastic time.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
The Speed Test
Hello all!
It´s 11:00 on Saturday morning, my first full day at Valdelavilla. I had my first 1:1 session, and there is a surplus of Anglos in this group, so I actually have free time from now until noon. I´m seizing the moment to type as quickly as I can on the group computer, although it is a Spanish keyboard, so I have to backtrack occasionally to delete a mistaken รง-stroke.
So much to tell!
You may have noticed (especially those of you with a slow connection) the many photo posts I´ve been making. Although there is absolutely no cell phone signal of any kind up here, there is wifi in the reception/bar area. So I took those photos yesterday all around Val. and sent them off last night while hanging out at the bar. You should be able to expect more, then, so I go. Hurrah for wifi!
We met up yesterday at that fantastic yellow statue-adorned building at 9:30 and piled into the bus for a 4-hour drive to the Soria region. Valdelavilla is this teeny-tiny restored little village up in the mountains. It is totally remote - the next closest village (which is also the nearest store) is at least 10k away. Essentially, this acts like a hotel which is filled exclusively by our PI group.
Our program director is a lovely, composed young woman named Sabela, who is a Spaniard with perfect English. The MC is Jez, a lively Englishman who has been living in Spain and working for Pueblo Ingles for three years, since the first time he came here as a volunteer. They take care of us all.
The rest of the group is divided as Anglos and Spaniards. There are a few more Anglos, as I mentioned, and we come from a range of places - there are at least three Austrailians, several Brits, a few Canadians, and a smattering of Americans. The Spaniards come from all over the country, altough there is a large group from Madrid. They are a mix of people sent by their companies and people who paid privately for the program. According to Jez, this is the first program in a long while with no repeat Anglos - apparently, it is very popular for people to come back again and again as volunteers, and I can see why!
The morning officially began with breakfast at 9:00. There was a spread of salamis and ham and cheese, croissants, yogert, cereal, fruit, and a sundried tomato and olive oil spread. For each meal, we are to sit with two Anglos and two Spaniards at each table, and we are encouraged to constantly change who we sit with. Part of the program´s appeal to the Spaniards is the range of accents they get to interact with.
Oh, speaking of which, I was talking to Claire yesterday and she said something I thought was rather funny - "You Americans," she said in her thick British accent, "you all say you have such different accents! You can even tell where each of you are from in America just by listening to your accents, but to us Brits, you all sound the same!" I pointed out that the British are able to do the same with their accents, but it was an odd bit of Pygmalion-in-America!
After breakfast, we were divided up into our first one-on-one sessions. For each of those, we are given a "verb phrasal" (a phrase where the verb changes meaning depending on what preposition you pair it with) and an idiom to discuss with our partners, and then we are supposed to just have normal converstaion about anything you both want to discuss. To my delight, I was paired with Esther - a very pretty, gracious, and very well-spoken woman from Madrid. She is a P.R. person for Kraft Foods, and she often has to write press releases and speak to the media in English, so she was eager to do this.
We picked a table on the lawn across from the reception building (one in the sun - it´s actually chilly up here!) and we talked about the given phrases (the verbal phrase was "ask for" verses ¨as out¨and the idiom "all ears") and then Esther said, "I know you are not supposed to correct us today" (we had been told to avoid making any corrections the first day or two, lest the Spaniard be put off from speaking altogether by that intimidation), "but I want you to correct me." She explained that she was going to a conference in London in July, and she said she always feels like the Spanish are the worst of the Europeans at speaking English. She was very excited to hear that I am an English teacher, and she liked the detail I could go into with explanations.
"For example," she said, pulling out a notebook, "let´s talk about the genitive case."
Which is an intimidating sentence for most Americans to hear, I bet. It is for me!
Her question was a good one, though. She said that when she writes memos she´ll say "Kraft´s employees", but then she´ll get back corrections that say "Kraft employees", and she wanted to know when you use the ´s. Awesome question!
The hour flew by for me and Esther, and when we finished we walked back to the board outside of the reception building to see who we´re paire up with next. That´s when I discovered I was free until a conference call later this morning.
After that conference call, we have lunch at 2:00, then siesta (which is the only Spanish word we´re allowed to use this week. They´re very strict about the "no Spanish" rule and even insist we talk to the hotel staff in English) until 5:00. Then a group session, more 1:1, and then the "variety hour". Dinner is at 9:00, and we´re free after that.
There´s a lot to tell, but not a ton of time left. Hmm.
We´re divided up into "houses", which are very charming and rustic, which also means full of bugs. I saw a spider in the bathroom that was the size of my thumb, and I warily watch three more spiders of different varieties crawl across the wall next to my bed before I turned off the lamp last night. After the heat and the noise of the hotsel in Madrid, I was looking forward to a good night´s sleep (yesterday morning I was woken up at 5am by the sounds of an accordian playing outside the window, and the revelers who were still out bar-hopping joining in in song). Actually, it was so dark and so quiet, I had a hard time falling asleep!
I have my own room, on the same level as Laura, a special ed teacher from Washington, DC. Susan and Chris are upstairs (from New Mexico and Australia, respectively). There are a lot of fun people here. For example, Justin and Heather have been interesting to talk to - they´re a couple from Las Vegas who just finished a two-year tour of service through the Peace Corps in Romania, and are couch surfing their way across Europe before heading back to the States.
It´s a little disconcerting. We did the usual ice-breakers last night, and typically when I´m sharing something interesting about myself, I talk about my travels. Here, though, everyone´s traveled like me. It´s kind of like when you´ve grown up Mormon outside of Utah, and then you suddenly find yourself at a party in Provo. All of the things you are used to explaining or avoiding in conversation are no longer necessary, and the things that usually make you the most unique are now commonplace.
Although being Mormon did make for some dinner conversation last night. My dinner companions (Armando, Justin, and Chris), offered to fill my wine glass (There´s red wine aplenty at lunch, dinner, and snacks here). I declined, and Armando jovially protested, "but it´s Spanish wine!" I explained that I didn´t drink at all, and Justin asked if it was religious reasons. "Oh, you took the pledge!" Chris said, which confused me a little untli she explained. Then it confused Armando, who pointed out that he was Catholic and he enjoyed his wine. It was a good little topic to discuss, but then Justin mentioned my trip to Istanbul (which I had talked to him about earlier), and Armando got very excited. He was full of suggestions for me, since Istanbul is his favorite city and he´s been there often. I told him I would bring my guidebook for our 1:1 and he can give me all the pointers then.
Okay, time to end. Essentially, I´m having a fantastic time, I feel very lucky to be here, people are fantastic everywhere, and keep looking for photo posts from me if I don´t get the chance to sit down and type again for a while.
Love you all!
It´s 11:00 on Saturday morning, my first full day at Valdelavilla. I had my first 1:1 session, and there is a surplus of Anglos in this group, so I actually have free time from now until noon. I´m seizing the moment to type as quickly as I can on the group computer, although it is a Spanish keyboard, so I have to backtrack occasionally to delete a mistaken รง-stroke.
So much to tell!
You may have noticed (especially those of you with a slow connection) the many photo posts I´ve been making. Although there is absolutely no cell phone signal of any kind up here, there is wifi in the reception/bar area. So I took those photos yesterday all around Val. and sent them off last night while hanging out at the bar. You should be able to expect more, then, so I go. Hurrah for wifi!
We met up yesterday at that fantastic yellow statue-adorned building at 9:30 and piled into the bus for a 4-hour drive to the Soria region. Valdelavilla is this teeny-tiny restored little village up in the mountains. It is totally remote - the next closest village (which is also the nearest store) is at least 10k away. Essentially, this acts like a hotel which is filled exclusively by our PI group.
Our program director is a lovely, composed young woman named Sabela, who is a Spaniard with perfect English. The MC is Jez, a lively Englishman who has been living in Spain and working for Pueblo Ingles for three years, since the first time he came here as a volunteer. They take care of us all.
The rest of the group is divided as Anglos and Spaniards. There are a few more Anglos, as I mentioned, and we come from a range of places - there are at least three Austrailians, several Brits, a few Canadians, and a smattering of Americans. The Spaniards come from all over the country, altough there is a large group from Madrid. They are a mix of people sent by their companies and people who paid privately for the program. According to Jez, this is the first program in a long while with no repeat Anglos - apparently, it is very popular for people to come back again and again as volunteers, and I can see why!
The morning officially began with breakfast at 9:00. There was a spread of salamis and ham and cheese, croissants, yogert, cereal, fruit, and a sundried tomato and olive oil spread. For each meal, we are to sit with two Anglos and two Spaniards at each table, and we are encouraged to constantly change who we sit with. Part of the program´s appeal to the Spaniards is the range of accents they get to interact with.
Oh, speaking of which, I was talking to Claire yesterday and she said something I thought was rather funny - "You Americans," she said in her thick British accent, "you all say you have such different accents! You can even tell where each of you are from in America just by listening to your accents, but to us Brits, you all sound the same!" I pointed out that the British are able to do the same with their accents, but it was an odd bit of Pygmalion-in-America!
After breakfast, we were divided up into our first one-on-one sessions. For each of those, we are given a "verb phrasal" (a phrase where the verb changes meaning depending on what preposition you pair it with) and an idiom to discuss with our partners, and then we are supposed to just have normal converstaion about anything you both want to discuss. To my delight, I was paired with Esther - a very pretty, gracious, and very well-spoken woman from Madrid. She is a P.R. person for Kraft Foods, and she often has to write press releases and speak to the media in English, so she was eager to do this.
We picked a table on the lawn across from the reception building (one in the sun - it´s actually chilly up here!) and we talked about the given phrases (the verbal phrase was "ask for" verses ¨as out¨and the idiom "all ears") and then Esther said, "I know you are not supposed to correct us today" (we had been told to avoid making any corrections the first day or two, lest the Spaniard be put off from speaking altogether by that intimidation), "but I want you to correct me." She explained that she was going to a conference in London in July, and she said she always feels like the Spanish are the worst of the Europeans at speaking English. She was very excited to hear that I am an English teacher, and she liked the detail I could go into with explanations.
"For example," she said, pulling out a notebook, "let´s talk about the genitive case."
Which is an intimidating sentence for most Americans to hear, I bet. It is for me!
Her question was a good one, though. She said that when she writes memos she´ll say "Kraft´s employees", but then she´ll get back corrections that say "Kraft employees", and she wanted to know when you use the ´s. Awesome question!
The hour flew by for me and Esther, and when we finished we walked back to the board outside of the reception building to see who we´re paire up with next. That´s when I discovered I was free until a conference call later this morning.
After that conference call, we have lunch at 2:00, then siesta (which is the only Spanish word we´re allowed to use this week. They´re very strict about the "no Spanish" rule and even insist we talk to the hotel staff in English) until 5:00. Then a group session, more 1:1, and then the "variety hour". Dinner is at 9:00, and we´re free after that.
There´s a lot to tell, but not a ton of time left. Hmm.
We´re divided up into "houses", which are very charming and rustic, which also means full of bugs. I saw a spider in the bathroom that was the size of my thumb, and I warily watch three more spiders of different varieties crawl across the wall next to my bed before I turned off the lamp last night. After the heat and the noise of the hotsel in Madrid, I was looking forward to a good night´s sleep (yesterday morning I was woken up at 5am by the sounds of an accordian playing outside the window, and the revelers who were still out bar-hopping joining in in song). Actually, it was so dark and so quiet, I had a hard time falling asleep!
I have my own room, on the same level as Laura, a special ed teacher from Washington, DC. Susan and Chris are upstairs (from New Mexico and Australia, respectively). There are a lot of fun people here. For example, Justin and Heather have been interesting to talk to - they´re a couple from Las Vegas who just finished a two-year tour of service through the Peace Corps in Romania, and are couch surfing their way across Europe before heading back to the States.
It´s a little disconcerting. We did the usual ice-breakers last night, and typically when I´m sharing something interesting about myself, I talk about my travels. Here, though, everyone´s traveled like me. It´s kind of like when you´ve grown up Mormon outside of Utah, and then you suddenly find yourself at a party in Provo. All of the things you are used to explaining or avoiding in conversation are no longer necessary, and the things that usually make you the most unique are now commonplace.
Although being Mormon did make for some dinner conversation last night. My dinner companions (Armando, Justin, and Chris), offered to fill my wine glass (There´s red wine aplenty at lunch, dinner, and snacks here). I declined, and Armando jovially protested, "but it´s Spanish wine!" I explained that I didn´t drink at all, and Justin asked if it was religious reasons. "Oh, you took the pledge!" Chris said, which confused me a little untli she explained. Then it confused Armando, who pointed out that he was Catholic and he enjoyed his wine. It was a good little topic to discuss, but then Justin mentioned my trip to Istanbul (which I had talked to him about earlier), and Armando got very excited. He was full of suggestions for me, since Istanbul is his favorite city and he´s been there often. I told him I would bring my guidebook for our 1:1 and he can give me all the pointers then.
Okay, time to end. Essentially, I´m having a fantastic time, I feel very lucky to be here, people are fantastic everywhere, and keep looking for photo posts from me if I don´t get the chance to sit down and type again for a while.
Love you all!
Friday, June 05, 2009
One of the many quaint ruins
We passed on the four hour ride.
For you google earth fans (mom), search for Soria. We're about 30
minutes NNE of that town, totally remote in the mountains.
For you google earth fans (mom), search for Soria. We're about 30
minutes NNE of that town, totally remote in the mountains.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Lunch
The red banner marks where I had a paella lunch (with chicken, not Sea
World on a plate, as we encountered before) and met the other Anglos
as well as the program hosts.
I'm excited to start my program tomorrow. It will be a good challenge
for me- I am not all comfortable walking up to people and striking up
conversations (one reason why I don't usually like parties), and the
program is a lot of that. So, it will be good for me.
It doesn't sound like there's much technology up there- no cell phone
reception and only one group computer, so you probably won't be
hearing from me as much. Sorry.
For now, I had a day full of walking and wandering and another art
museum ("The Garden of Earthly Delights" is a weird one!) and I didn't
nap once and only yawned in the middle of conversing with someone at
lunch a few times (they were sympathetic when I explained I only
arrived yesterday), so I'm heading to bed.
Adiรณs!
World on a plate, as we encountered before) and met the other Anglos
as well as the program hosts.
I'm excited to start my program tomorrow. It will be a good challenge
for me- I am not all comfortable walking up to people and striking up
conversations (one reason why I don't usually like parties), and the
program is a lot of that. So, it will be good for me.
It doesn't sound like there's much technology up there- no cell phone
reception and only one group computer, so you probably won't be
hearing from me as much. Sorry.
For now, I had a day full of walking and wandering and another art
museum ("The Garden of Earthly Delights" is a weird one!) and I didn't
nap once and only yawned in the middle of conversing with someone at
lunch a few times (they were sympathetic when I explained I only
arrived yesterday), so I'm heading to bed.
Adiรณs!
Two roads diverged in a green park...
And I, I will take the one without the drunk shirtless guy on it.
Apparently it's a chain?
Spain is very meat-heavy at the meals, so when I saw this shop, I
jumped at a vegetarian meal.
jumped at a vegetarian meal.
The Gourmet Cure?
How could I resist this shop?
I stepped inside and bought some lovely little cookies and some
caramels with nougat, all sold by the gram. With my lack of knowledge
of the metric system, I figured it was either a great deal or it would
be expensive. It was the latter, but they'll be good to share at PI.
Despite the heat and the noise outside, I slept for a good 11 hours.
Because I don't have anything today until 2, I did two of the three
museumson my list yesterday, and because I haven't had a free morning
in a while nor will until the end of the trip, I slept in and then
took myself on a walk. I people-watched and ate a ham sandwich and
wandered down any street that looked enticing.
The welcome reception for Pueblo Ingles is in an hour. More later!
I stepped inside and bought some lovely little cookies and some
caramels with nougat, all sold by the gram. With my lack of knowledge
of the metric system, I figured it was either a great deal or it would
be expensive. It was the latter, but they'll be good to share at PI.
Despite the heat and the noise outside, I slept for a good 11 hours.
Because I don't have anything today until 2, I did two of the three
museumson my list yesterday, and because I haven't had a free morning
in a while nor will until the end of the trip, I slept in and then
took myself on a walk. I people-watched and ate a ham sandwich and
wandered down any street that looked enticing.
The welcome reception for Pueblo Ingles is in an hour. More later!
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
The Lounge of the Hostel
I love how everyone's an Ikea fan here.
Not so sure about the lizard on the wall, though.
Oh, and? It's 9:20pm. Look at me go!
Not so sure about the lizard on the wall, though.
Oh, and? It's 9:20pm. Look at me go!
Like Pudding
Check out how thick it is! The sides of the cup stayed coated with it
even as I sat there for a while reading and enjoying the cool
atmosphere.
even as I sat there for a while reading and enjoying the cool
atmosphere.
Dinner!
San Chocolateria de Gines, west of Puerta de Sol. Memorize that name
so if you're ever in Madrid, you can go here for hot chocolate and
churros. They FANTASTIC. AND the place is air conditioned.
so if you're ever in Madrid, you can go here for hot chocolate and
churros. They FANTASTIC. AND the place is air conditioned.
Day 2: Art and Jet Lag
Behold! The view from my hostel window!
I discovered that the hostel has free Wifi- woot! Sadly, this
discovery came after my day's treks where I took pictures on my
regular camera, not my cell phone. I'll take more on my phone
tomorrow and send in a bunch.
So.
The flights here really couldn't have been easier. Both were smooth
and both arrived early. I liked the schedule I found - going to JFK
(3.5 hours), then to Madrid (6.5 hours). I think that broke up well
and made the lengths non-interminable. I had the exit row on the
second flight, and the other seat in the row became empty. The
armrest wouldn't budge, but I could at least spread out my stuff. And
spill my Sprite all over myself and my immigration papers.
I read two books and didn't sleep very much. My suitcase arrived with
me, and together we hopped on the metro and found the hostel. It was
10am (2am according to my body), so I dropped off my bag at the hostel
and headed back out to enjoy Madeid/stay awake.
The plan to get over jet lag, according to Rick Steves, is to stay up
when you arrive until a normal bedtime, then sleep all night and wake
up on local schedule. It makes for a brutal first day, but gets you
over it faster.
I headed for the Museo Thyssen, which I enjoyed. They have a nice
collection, and I really liked the way the floor plan makes for a
smooth walk-through. Sure, my vision started to get blurry around the
edges as sleep deprivation set in, but it was still enjoyable. I
especially liked watching all of the school group tours. Apparently,
they pack in the field trips at the end of the school year here, too.
They had animated guides, too. I couldn't take any pictures in the
museum, but I sketched one of the guides and I'll stick a photo of
that on next.
I walked down Calle del Prado debating whether to give in and go sleep
or visit another museum (it was about 13:00 by then). When I ran into
a Museo de Jamon y Queso, I decided lunch was next. I got a "picnic"
- a ham sandwich, a bottle of water, and an orange for 2€, which I
ate sitting outside the botanical gardens across the street (which
Emily and I visited 9 years ago this month!).
Feeling a little revived, I walked to the Museo Reigna Sofia. I was
really tired by then, so I walked through most of it in an intolerant
blur, but I did see Guernica (the reason I went to that museum), and
it was stunning in person, as most great art is.
3:00 and back to the hostel. I checked in and took a 2 hour nap.
I've told myself I'm not allowed to sleep again until at least 8:00,
so I'm trying to figure out what to do in the meantime. I mean, sure,
Spain is at my feet; but I'm hitting that grumpy phase of exhaustion
where nothing sounds good.
Except maybe some Spanish hot chocolate.
Typing this entry via iPhone has taken up a nice chunck of time,
actually. 1.5 hours until bedtime!
I discovered that the hostel has free Wifi- woot! Sadly, this
discovery came after my day's treks where I took pictures on my
regular camera, not my cell phone. I'll take more on my phone
tomorrow and send in a bunch.
So.
The flights here really couldn't have been easier. Both were smooth
and both arrived early. I liked the schedule I found - going to JFK
(3.5 hours), then to Madrid (6.5 hours). I think that broke up well
and made the lengths non-interminable. I had the exit row on the
second flight, and the other seat in the row became empty. The
armrest wouldn't budge, but I could at least spread out my stuff. And
spill my Sprite all over myself and my immigration papers.
I read two books and didn't sleep very much. My suitcase arrived with
me, and together we hopped on the metro and found the hostel. It was
10am (2am according to my body), so I dropped off my bag at the hostel
and headed back out to enjoy Madeid/stay awake.
The plan to get over jet lag, according to Rick Steves, is to stay up
when you arrive until a normal bedtime, then sleep all night and wake
up on local schedule. It makes for a brutal first day, but gets you
over it faster.
I headed for the Museo Thyssen, which I enjoyed. They have a nice
collection, and I really liked the way the floor plan makes for a
smooth walk-through. Sure, my vision started to get blurry around the
edges as sleep deprivation set in, but it was still enjoyable. I
especially liked watching all of the school group tours. Apparently,
they pack in the field trips at the end of the school year here, too.
They had animated guides, too. I couldn't take any pictures in the
museum, but I sketched one of the guides and I'll stick a photo of
that on next.
I walked down Calle del Prado debating whether to give in and go sleep
or visit another museum (it was about 13:00 by then). When I ran into
a Museo de Jamon y Queso, I decided lunch was next. I got a "picnic"
- a ham sandwich, a bottle of water, and an orange for 2€, which I
ate sitting outside the botanical gardens across the street (which
Emily and I visited 9 years ago this month!).
Feeling a little revived, I walked to the Museo Reigna Sofia. I was
really tired by then, so I walked through most of it in an intolerant
blur, but I did see Guernica (the reason I went to that museum), and
it was stunning in person, as most great art is.
3:00 and back to the hostel. I checked in and took a 2 hour nap.
I've told myself I'm not allowed to sleep again until at least 8:00,
so I'm trying to figure out what to do in the meantime. I mean, sure,
Spain is at my feet; but I'm hitting that grumpy phase of exhaustion
where nothing sounds good.
Except maybe some Spanish hot chocolate.
Typing this entry via iPhone has taken up a nice chunck of time,
actually. 1.5 hours until bedtime!
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Europe! Day 1: Airports
I know the picture isn't very exciting, but I am indeed at the
airport, waiting for a few hours for the flight. Whoo!
In a bit, I'm going to hunt me down some lunch to take on board and
some Paradise cookies because they're delicious.
I didn't sleep much last night- about 4 hours, probably less. I'm
hoping that will translate to my being able to sleep on the plane, but
past experience begs to differ.
It's raining here.
I don't think I will be able to blog as much as I did in NY, since
I'll be using international rates, or with the lengthy entries like I
did in Russia, since I'm not bringing my laptop. I did promise my
mother I would post some sort of signal that I'm alive each day. That
may appear on Shot-a-Day more often than here, but I'll try to hit
both. The link for S-a-D is on the right, by the way.
Okay, typing by iPhone is tediously slow. I'm going to read some more
of Europe 101 (yay Rick Steves!).
More later!
airport, waiting for a few hours for the flight. Whoo!
In a bit, I'm going to hunt me down some lunch to take on board and
some Paradise cookies because they're delicious.
I didn't sleep much last night- about 4 hours, probably less. I'm
hoping that will translate to my being able to sleep on the plane, but
past experience begs to differ.
It's raining here.
I don't think I will be able to blog as much as I did in NY, since
I'll be using international rates, or with the lengthy entries like I
did in Russia, since I'm not bringing my laptop. I did promise my
mother I would post some sort of signal that I'm alive each day. That
may appear on Shot-a-Day more often than here, but I'll try to hit
both. The link for S-a-D is on the right, by the way.
Okay, typing by iPhone is tediously slow. I'm going to read some more
of Europe 101 (yay Rick Steves!).
More later!
Monday, June 01, 2009
The Last Midnight
I did the dishes; took out the trash; ran to the bank and the post office; purchased everything I need; sat on the phone with AT&T to set up international stuff; cleared my trip with the bank and credit card company; paid my bills; made, printed, and copied my complete itinerary; redid the contents of my iPod and iPhone; and packed everything into a purse, a small backpack for the plane, and my suitcase which weighs in at... 30 pounds! (Most European airlines have a 20 kg weigh limit (about 44 pounds).)
Oh, and I also (finally) realized that I'm going to be in Spain. And Prague. And Greece. And Turkey. There! Getting sunburned, seeing the sights, riding in a hot air balloon; walking on Greek dirt, seeing Turkish moustaches, waking up to calls to prayers, gone for four weeks THERE!
And it's not even midnight yet.
I'm off to bed. As soon as the video I decided to upload at the last minute finishes.
Oh, and I also (finally) realized that I'm going to be in Spain. And Prague. And Greece. And Turkey. There! Getting sunburned, seeing the sights, riding in a hot air balloon; walking on Greek dirt, seeing Turkish moustaches, waking up to calls to prayers, gone for four weeks THERE!
And it's not even midnight yet.
I'm off to bed. As soon as the video I decided to upload at the last minute finishes.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
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