Wow. So I've been procrastinating. I planned on writing this a week ago, and not today. Plus, I have sooo much homework to do.
So I'm going to try and make it short of what I did last week.
On Monday, I went grocery shopping at the Carrefour, and picked up food for the week. The day after that was Bastille Day in France. Me, my group, and some other people from the residence went to a nearby beach to watch the fireworks go off. You could see the neighboring ones in nearby Cannes. The fireworks show was not much to behold though; ones in the US are much more impressive.
On Wednesday, I went to Antibes and skipped out on this cooking class that Christiane, our program director, had planned for us (more on her later). Antibes was fun. Saw a Picasso museum, the town, the beach, and got to hang out more with Silvia (spain), and Viola (italy).
Thursday, we had another conference to learn about different wines. It is really unnecessarily long. We seriously learn about the tongue, different scents, and some really technical terms about wine. Worth the experience, but it might have been more worthwhile to have spent those 2 hours roaming the streets of Nice.
Friday, I realised I have tonsillitis...great... So I skipped class and mailed my postcards (finally), went to see the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and caught up on some French vocab. Croissants are definitely comfort food.
Then on Saturday, I woke up early to go to Cannes with other people from the university. We got to Cannes, climbed to the chateau, saw a museum, and took a boat to the Ile St. Marguerite (an island off of Cannes). We ate lunch there and saw the prison where the Man with the Iron Mask was held. The excursion description was misleading, however, because it implied that we were spending the day in Cannes (the city renowned for its famous film festival) and not some, you know, deserted island. As a result, me and the Belgians decided to head back to the mainland on an earlier boat. We walked around, got an ice cream, did some shopping, and met up with everyone else to return to Nice.
Sunday was a recovery day for me. My dad told me to go to the pharmacy to get some antibiotics, but the one closest to me was closed and I was not feeling up to going on a city-wide search for tonsil medication. So I just kicked back like the Chinese and drank some ancient herbal remedy, more commonly known as green tea.
Monday was just a usual school day. Woke up at 7. Brushed my teeth like crazy to get rid of all those nasty tonsil bacteria germs from my mouth. Ate some cereal, got dressed, packed lunch sandwich, and met everyone downstairs at 8 to catch the bus to the Faculte des Lettres. Class started at 9. Worked on some writing exercises, break at 11, class out at 12 for lunch. I finally picked up some antibiotics, which cost me, get this, 2 euros. Class resumed at 1:30 for Spoken French elective where we watched clips from a movie, Noelle Perna. After class, returned to the residence and took some more recovery time.
Finally Tuesday. (That's today). The antibiotics are kicking in and I'm feeling a little better. Can't wait til it's easier to swallow. Episodes of Smallville and SYTYCD (Jeanine Mason from Ransom has made it to the Top 8!) have been keeping me company during my illness.
I think I've been sick, like, 4 times in Europe. I'm quite the sickling. Might want to stay away. Just kidding. But seriously...
ALRIGHT. Now I am making promises that hopefully aren't empty. I will update between now and Friday. And sorry for making this longer than I said I would--it's hard to cover a week's worth of information in a couple of paragraphs.
A plus tard,
-Michelle
Friday, July 17, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Second Week flew by
So this week was really eventful.
On Monday, I went to class. I had grammar from 9-12 and then my francais parle (spoken french) workshop from 1:30-3:30. Between classes every day I eat lunch at the beach. Alex met me at the school and she stayed at the beach until my second class was over. Then she, Jared, and I went to the Chagall museum. You can see pictures here. That evening, I was supposed to have a welcome dinner at another university location, but we couldn't find it, so Alex and I went back to Vieux Nice (where I live) to eat dinner and give her time to pack. She left around 9pm.
On Tuesday, same deal with class, but after school, we had salsa classes. They were terrible in comparison to Spain so I left early. I went shopping at the Monoprix in Place Garibaldi to buy a notebook and some other stuff. Then, finally, I uploaded some pictures!
The excursion to Villefranche was that Wednesday. It was pretty, but not much else. There was a chateau, a small church designed by Jean Cocteau (famous french architect), and of course, the beach. The beach there was much more crowded than Nice's though, and I prefer the one near us. After the excursion, me, Tess, and our nice Belgium friends from the school walked around on a shopping street near the train station. The "soldes" in France began on July 8th, so all prices on clothing, shoes, everything are greatly reduced. How convenient for my wallet!
I felt as though I was at school for an eternity on Thursday. That afternoon, the school had planned an "oenologie conference," so that we could taste different wines, cheeses, and learn how to distinguish certain flavors from others. The girl sitting to my left, Alexandra, was super obnoxious. She basically kept asserting the answers when she was obviously French and had done this before. On my right, I sat next to Silvia, a friend from Spain. We made plans to go to the beach on Sunday. After the oenologie, I went back to Segurane, the residence.
Our group director had emailed us that on Friday she would take us out for "happy hour." Apparently, she's retarded. Several group members attempted to order alcoholic drinks, and she was like, "oh no, bien sur que non." Well, if you're going to invite us for happy hour, make sure to include that we know you mean mock-tails.
Saturday and Sunday, I spent a combined total of--wait for it--8 hours at the beach. Sunday was much more fun though, hanging out with Silvia, Tine, Peggy, Barbara, and Jared. We spent forever just floating around in the crystal-clear Mediterranee.
I'm now quite dark.
One more thing...... No class tomorrow because it's Bastille Day! 14 Juillet!! Going to the beach tonight to watch fireworks. :)
A toutes mes amis! I promise to update more frequently!
-Michelle
On Monday, I went to class. I had grammar from 9-12 and then my francais parle (spoken french) workshop from 1:30-3:30. Between classes every day I eat lunch at the beach. Alex met me at the school and she stayed at the beach until my second class was over. Then she, Jared, and I went to the Chagall museum. You can see pictures here. That evening, I was supposed to have a welcome dinner at another university location, but we couldn't find it, so Alex and I went back to Vieux Nice (where I live) to eat dinner and give her time to pack. She left around 9pm.
On Tuesday, same deal with class, but after school, we had salsa classes. They were terrible in comparison to Spain so I left early. I went shopping at the Monoprix in Place Garibaldi to buy a notebook and some other stuff. Then, finally, I uploaded some pictures!
The excursion to Villefranche was that Wednesday. It was pretty, but not much else. There was a chateau, a small church designed by Jean Cocteau (famous french architect), and of course, the beach. The beach there was much more crowded than Nice's though, and I prefer the one near us. After the excursion, me, Tess, and our nice Belgium friends from the school walked around on a shopping street near the train station. The "soldes" in France began on July 8th, so all prices on clothing, shoes, everything are greatly reduced. How convenient for my wallet!
I felt as though I was at school for an eternity on Thursday. That afternoon, the school had planned an "oenologie conference," so that we could taste different wines, cheeses, and learn how to distinguish certain flavors from others. The girl sitting to my left, Alexandra, was super obnoxious. She basically kept asserting the answers when she was obviously French and had done this before. On my right, I sat next to Silvia, a friend from Spain. We made plans to go to the beach on Sunday. After the oenologie, I went back to Segurane, the residence.
Our group director had emailed us that on Friday she would take us out for "happy hour." Apparently, she's retarded. Several group members attempted to order alcoholic drinks, and she was like, "oh no, bien sur que non." Well, if you're going to invite us for happy hour, make sure to include that we know you mean mock-tails.
Saturday and Sunday, I spent a combined total of--wait for it--8 hours at the beach. Sunday was much more fun though, hanging out with Silvia, Tine, Peggy, Barbara, and Jared. We spent forever just floating around in the crystal-clear Mediterranee.
I'm now quite dark.
One more thing...... No class tomorrow because it's Bastille Day! 14 Juillet!! Going to the beach tonight to watch fireworks. :)
A toutes mes amis! I promise to update more frequently!
-Michelle
Monday, July 6, 2009
First week on the French Riviera
I arrived in France with my dad on the 29 of June and saw the beautiful city of Nice for the first time. The beach runs all across the city--from the airport all the way to the old city. We spent the night in a nice hotel on the coast and familiarized ourselves with the area and nearby walking streets. Definitely ate some excellent french cuisine.
My program here began the next day on the 30th...or so I thought. My dad and stepmom, Esta, went with me to the Carrefour (grocery/anything-you-could-possibly-need-ever store) to pick up some essentials and food for my apartment. Unlike Salamanca where I lived in an open residence with students walking in and out of my living areas, my apartment in France is all to myself. It's bittersweet. On one hand, I have complete privacy, my own fridge, and own bathroom, but on the other hand, it can get quite lonely sometimes.
Abroadco is much less structured than API. Whereas my on-site director in Spain, Maria, had only one job--working for API--the program director here, Christiane, lives in a city an hour away (Grasse), has another job teaching at a school there, and neither plans nor explains anything to us. Lucky for me, Nice is a city with great public transportation and very easy to navigate.
On July 1, I went to take my placement test at L'universite (Faculte des lettres). Despite not having had the directions via bus (and another bus) explained to us, me and the rest of the abroadco-ers found the school with time to spare. The test placed me in niveau B1 or Group 6, which is a pretty advanced level. Surprisingly, many people who have come here speak practically no French.
The first few days of class were pretty chill. We had no excursions planned because the universite coordinators wanted to give us a chance to become accustomed to the city. However, most of my time was spent at the beach after school--a 2 minute bus ride on the 22.
Then, Alex Goodman came to visit on Friday, which motivated me to get a move on things to do in Nice. On Friday night, I showed Alex the clubs in Vieux Nice on Rue de la Prefecture. We went to bed semi-early because we couldn't find my friends in Wayne's--a hang out place. On Saturday, the university planned a free tour of the city and the chateau, so Alex and I went to that before hitting the beach. That night, we went bowling to celebrate the fourth of July. What better way than with an American pasttime? On Sunday, we woke up early and met up with Jared, a guy from my group, to visit the Matisse museum north of where I live. The museum was nothing spectacular, but it awoke memories from my childhood when I saw a painting that my mom had in my first house. After that, we strolled down to the Promenade des Anglais--the main street that goes along the beach--and watched the last 50 meters of le Tour de France. And yes, Lance was sporting his signature yellow, thank-you-very-much. :] We went to the beach for a little bit after that, and then went back to my apartment to rinse off and relax a little.
Today, I let Alex sleep in while I was in class in the morning. She met me at the school and then we sat on the beach during the break in between my class and my first atelier, an elective of spoken french. In the class, we learned how to text in French, which is surprisingly more intricate and complicated than one would think. It was very interesting. After class, Jared, Alex and I went to the Chagall museum, which wasn't free, but it did have excellent audio guide explanations included with our student price. Who knew that Chagall was so fond of biblical references?
Well, that's been my journey so far here. Tomorrow there are optional salsa classes that I signed up for. Hopefully, those dance classes in Salamanca served me well.
Enjoy! I'll be home in 23 days :)
-Michelle
My program here began the next day on the 30th...or so I thought. My dad and stepmom, Esta, went with me to the Carrefour (grocery/anything-you-could-possibly-need-ever store) to pick up some essentials and food for my apartment. Unlike Salamanca where I lived in an open residence with students walking in and out of my living areas, my apartment in France is all to myself. It's bittersweet. On one hand, I have complete privacy, my own fridge, and own bathroom, but on the other hand, it can get quite lonely sometimes.
Abroadco is much less structured than API. Whereas my on-site director in Spain, Maria, had only one job--working for API--the program director here, Christiane, lives in a city an hour away (Grasse), has another job teaching at a school there, and neither plans nor explains anything to us. Lucky for me, Nice is a city with great public transportation and very easy to navigate.
On July 1, I went to take my placement test at L'universite (Faculte des lettres). Despite not having had the directions via bus (and another bus) explained to us, me and the rest of the abroadco-ers found the school with time to spare. The test placed me in niveau B1 or Group 6, which is a pretty advanced level. Surprisingly, many people who have come here speak practically no French.
The first few days of class were pretty chill. We had no excursions planned because the universite coordinators wanted to give us a chance to become accustomed to the city. However, most of my time was spent at the beach after school--a 2 minute bus ride on the 22.
Then, Alex Goodman came to visit on Friday, which motivated me to get a move on things to do in Nice. On Friday night, I showed Alex the clubs in Vieux Nice on Rue de la Prefecture. We went to bed semi-early because we couldn't find my friends in Wayne's--a hang out place. On Saturday, the university planned a free tour of the city and the chateau, so Alex and I went to that before hitting the beach. That night, we went bowling to celebrate the fourth of July. What better way than with an American pasttime? On Sunday, we woke up early and met up with Jared, a guy from my group, to visit the Matisse museum north of where I live. The museum was nothing spectacular, but it awoke memories from my childhood when I saw a painting that my mom had in my first house. After that, we strolled down to the Promenade des Anglais--the main street that goes along the beach--and watched the last 50 meters of le Tour de France. And yes, Lance was sporting his signature yellow, thank-you-very-much. :] We went to the beach for a little bit after that, and then went back to my apartment to rinse off and relax a little.
Today, I let Alex sleep in while I was in class in the morning. She met me at the school and then we sat on the beach during the break in between my class and my first atelier, an elective of spoken french. In the class, we learned how to text in French, which is surprisingly more intricate and complicated than one would think. It was very interesting. After class, Jared, Alex and I went to the Chagall museum, which wasn't free, but it did have excellent audio guide explanations included with our student price. Who knew that Chagall was so fond of biblical references?
Well, that's been my journey so far here. Tomorrow there are optional salsa classes that I signed up for. Hopefully, those dance classes in Salamanca served me well.
Enjoy! I'll be home in 23 days :)
-Michelle
Monday, June 29, 2009
Côte d'Azur
Hey everyone,
I arrived in Nice, France today after landing in Milan, Rome to drive here. More to come later.
<3
Michelle
I arrived in Nice, France today after landing in Milan, Rome to drive here. More to come later.
<3
Michelle
Friday, June 26, 2009
Last day in Salamanca
WOW This trip has gone by so fast. I didn't post as much as I would have liked, but most of the school days were about the same, with a couple differences in between. I'll go through my normal routine for you.
8:00: Alarm goes off
8:30: finally get out of bed and eat quick breakfast
8:45-9:00: Walk to class on calle zamora, through the plaza mayor
9-11: Grammar class with begona
11-12: Clase de historia espanola
12-1: Clase de literatura espanola e hispanoamericana
1-2ish: Clase de cine espanol e hispanoamericano
2:15-2:30: walk back to the residence
2:30: lunch cooked by our house mom Nane (she also does our laundry)
Now here's where the plan's can change up:
2:45- go out on the terrace and tan/ walk around the city/ shop on calle de los toros / play volibol at the complejo deportivo / go swimming at the public pool/ watch tv/ look for episodes of so you think you can dance on youtube or surfthechannel (jeanine mason from ransom is a contestant)/SKYPE/ other miscellaneous activities.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I taught English to Miguel and Olga at 4:30, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I went to Salsa classes at 7:30. The volunteering was great and both of the kids were adorable. It was definitely a valuable experience. The salsa classes were a lot of fun, too. Now I no longer feel so incompetent. :]
At night, a lot of people would go out, but nightlife in Spain never starts before 12:30, so by that time I was generally too tired or lazy to. I accompanied friends to the plaza once in a while, but didn't really get big into the whole going out scene.
And now, before I even realize, my dad is in town!! Yesterday, he arrived in Madrid, and he should be in Salamanca around 4 p.m. I'm so excited to see him, and I also ran out of money, so it's kind of a necessity. Love you, dad!
In the next few days, I'll be transitioning from Salamanca to Nice, with a hint of Italy stirred in there somewhere. As much as I have loved studying the culture here, I can not wait for the next half of this summer journey.
A tout a l'heure!
-Michelle
8:00: Alarm goes off
8:30: finally get out of bed and eat quick breakfast
8:45-9:00: Walk to class on calle zamora, through the plaza mayor
9-11: Grammar class with begona
11-12: Clase de historia espanola
12-1: Clase de literatura espanola e hispanoamericana
1-2ish: Clase de cine espanol e hispanoamericano
2:15-2:30: walk back to the residence
2:30: lunch cooked by our house mom Nane (she also does our laundry)
Now here's where the plan's can change up:
2:45- go out on the terrace and tan/ walk around the city/ shop on calle de los toros / play volibol at the complejo deportivo / go swimming at the public pool/ watch tv/ look for episodes of so you think you can dance on youtube or surfthechannel (jeanine mason from ransom is a contestant)/SKYPE/ other miscellaneous activities.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I taught English to Miguel and Olga at 4:30, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I went to Salsa classes at 7:30. The volunteering was great and both of the kids were adorable. It was definitely a valuable experience. The salsa classes were a lot of fun, too. Now I no longer feel so incompetent. :]
At night, a lot of people would go out, but nightlife in Spain never starts before 12:30, so by that time I was generally too tired or lazy to. I accompanied friends to the plaza once in a while, but didn't really get big into the whole going out scene.
And now, before I even realize, my dad is in town!! Yesterday, he arrived in Madrid, and he should be in Salamanca around 4 p.m. I'm so excited to see him, and I also ran out of money, so it's kind of a necessity. Love you, dad!
In the next few days, I'll be transitioning from Salamanca to Nice, with a hint of Italy stirred in there somewhere. As much as I have loved studying the culture here, I can not wait for the next half of this summer journey.
A tout a l'heure!
-Michelle
Monday, June 15, 2009
Galicia y mi Cumpleanos!
I've decided to switch things up and go backwards chronologically.
Little did I know that my friends, Andrea, Marissa, Nadia, and Rose would surprise me with a birthday cake in the residencia!
After dinner, I took a shower.
We got back to the residencia around 9 p.m., just before dinner.
Spent 5 hours on a bus coming back from Santiago de Compostela, a town famous for religious pilgrimages, but nothing else.
Took a short bus ride to Santiago de Compostela after checking out of Hotel Justo in Sanxenxo, Galicia.
Woke up at 8 am to get breakfast before checking out of the hotel.
Went to bed around 1 am.
Ate dinner at a pizza place near our hotel.
Okay, so I'll admit... I wrote this post about two weeks ago. Writing backwards chronologically confused me too much to continue.
Other things I remember about the trip were a boat ride we took to eat mussels, and hanging out on the beach. It was pretty much just a weekend of rest, but still fun to see northern Spain.
Back to School and volunteering!
-Michelle
Little did I know that my friends, Andrea, Marissa, Nadia, and Rose would surprise me with a birthday cake in the residencia!
After dinner, I took a shower.
We got back to the residencia around 9 p.m., just before dinner.
Spent 5 hours on a bus coming back from Santiago de Compostela, a town famous for religious pilgrimages, but nothing else.
Took a short bus ride to Santiago de Compostela after checking out of Hotel Justo in Sanxenxo, Galicia.
Woke up at 8 am to get breakfast before checking out of the hotel.
Went to bed around 1 am.
Ate dinner at a pizza place near our hotel.
Okay, so I'll admit... I wrote this post about two weeks ago. Writing backwards chronologically confused me too much to continue.
Other things I remember about the trip were a boat ride we took to eat mussels, and hanging out on the beach. It was pretty much just a weekend of rest, but still fun to see northern Spain.
Back to School and volunteering!
-Michelle
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sala, Clases y Segovia
Don't get too excited, but.......FIRST SALA(MANCA) POST =)
So, in one word, Salamanca is awesome. It's a pretty small city, and almost everything is in walking distance to the resi(dencia)--the dorm. Nearby, we have a 24 hour store, which I'm fairly certain is its real name, and a Kebab shop. Also located roughly 10 minutes walking distance from the Plaza Mayor. Overall quite a nice location for a resi.
I have my own room with a balcony, a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. Advantages: same floor as kitchen, dining room, and lounge. Disadvantages: thin walls so the floor gets cold. We also have a huge balcony/terrace for tanning. I like it.
Classes started last Tuesday, June 2, and I'm in el nivel superior, the superior level, el nivel de perfeccionamiento, what you will. I had pretty much expected to not learn anything, because I speak Spanish pretty fluently and my written grammar is near flawless. However, my teacher has some sticks up her ass, and sees a concrete difference between very vague past tenses. It's pretty retarted. In any case, I just play along and pretend she knows what she's talking about.
My classes are 2 hours of the grammar, and then three 1-hour electives: Spanish history, Spanish literature, and Spanish cinema. I like the cinema one the best, obviously. Classes go from 9 am - 2 pm every day, with a couple coffee breaks.
After class on Mondays and Wednesdays, I've volunteered to teach English to a little boy named Miguel who lives in a house on Calle del Arco, a nearby street in the center of town. Today was my second time going there. The family is really nice, and both Miguel and his sister Olga were adopted from the Ukraine, so naturally, they both have nice blond hair--an oddity in Espana. The parents, Marta and Emilio, are both really nice and intelligent, a nurse and doctor, respectively. I feel I'm using too many commas, sorry.
On Tuesdays and Thursday, I've been going to dance classes at 7:30 pm with a group of people from my group. That's been fun even though I'm sure I'll never get the pasos right. Que pena...
In other news, this weekend I went to Segovia with the group. Nothing is really spectacular about Segovia. Highlights include a Roman aqueduct, and the fact that it was yet another place where Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together harmoniously. That is, until they were forcefully expulsed during the inquisition... Surprisingly many tourists for there not being much there.
Well that's it for now, pictures of Segovia will be up soon. :)
-Michelle
So, in one word, Salamanca is awesome. It's a pretty small city, and almost everything is in walking distance to the resi(dencia)--the dorm. Nearby, we have a 24 hour store, which I'm fairly certain is its real name, and a Kebab shop. Also located roughly 10 minutes walking distance from the Plaza Mayor. Overall quite a nice location for a resi.
I have my own room with a balcony, a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. Advantages: same floor as kitchen, dining room, and lounge. Disadvantages: thin walls so the floor gets cold. We also have a huge balcony/terrace for tanning. I like it.
Classes started last Tuesday, June 2, and I'm in el nivel superior, the superior level, el nivel de perfeccionamiento, what you will. I had pretty much expected to not learn anything, because I speak Spanish pretty fluently and my written grammar is near flawless. However, my teacher has some sticks up her ass, and sees a concrete difference between very vague past tenses. It's pretty retarted. In any case, I just play along and pretend she knows what she's talking about.
My classes are 2 hours of the grammar, and then three 1-hour electives: Spanish history, Spanish literature, and Spanish cinema. I like the cinema one the best, obviously. Classes go from 9 am - 2 pm every day, with a couple coffee breaks.
After class on Mondays and Wednesdays, I've volunteered to teach English to a little boy named Miguel who lives in a house on Calle del Arco, a nearby street in the center of town. Today was my second time going there. The family is really nice, and both Miguel and his sister Olga were adopted from the Ukraine, so naturally, they both have nice blond hair--an oddity in Espana. The parents, Marta and Emilio, are both really nice and intelligent, a nurse and doctor, respectively. I feel I'm using too many commas, sorry.
On Tuesdays and Thursday, I've been going to dance classes at 7:30 pm with a group of people from my group. That's been fun even though I'm sure I'll never get the pasos right. Que pena...
In other news, this weekend I went to Segovia with the group. Nothing is really spectacular about Segovia. Highlights include a Roman aqueduct, and the fact that it was yet another place where Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together harmoniously. That is, until they were forcefully expulsed during the inquisition... Surprisingly many tourists for there not being much there.
Well that's it for now, pictures of Segovia will be up soon. :)
-Michelle
Monday, June 1, 2009
Barcelona, Spain
Wow! I've been doing a lot of traveling. I promise that the next update will be about Salamanca, but I simply have to talk about my weekend in Barcelona.
So five friends (Gokul, Nadia, Rose, Kathryn, Raieah) and I got on a bus in the afternoon to head to Madrid, where we could connect to Barcelona. We arrived in time to find a restaurant and watch the Euro Cup between Barcelona and Manchester United. Fortunately, Barcelona won, setting the stage for an amazing weekend there. At 1 a.m. we got on the bus to Barcelona, and arrived that morning around 9.
We were all exhausted since we didn't sleep very well on the bus, even though I did bring my blanket. Therefore, we were eager to get to the hotel: Hotel Abragio, or something. Six of us in one room the size of a cardboard box. A single bed. I took a nap on the floor.
When we all woke up, we threw on our bathing suits and headed over to Playa Barceloneta. A definite tourist beach, but the closest to us in walking distance. Got a nice tan.
After the beach, headed back to the hotel to shower and clean off sand. When all of us reconvened, we went to check out the Picasso Museum near the hotel. I never knew that Picasso was such a versatile artist. Apparently, he made pottery. The museum was extensive and featured some famous pieces like "the embrace."
Upon leaving the museum, we came across a road where people were crowded together on the sidewalks blowing horns, playing music, and waving flags for FCB-the soccer team. We weren't exactly sure what we were waiting for, but we played along and took a bunch of pictures of people flooding the street. Finally, we realized why. The champion team returned by bus. It was a parade!
We returned inconspicuously to the hotel in order to avoid being caught as 6 people in one room. The staff began to catch on since we kept entering in waves of 2, and all claimed that we already had the key to our room (customary in European hotels to leave the key at the front desk.)
The next day, we woke up and went down at different times to take advantage of the free included breakfast. Luckily we weren't caught.
That morning we decided to go to the Gaudi (spanish architect) museum, but I waited outside with Raeiah because we didn't want to pay to enter. After that we all decided to check out La Sagrada Familia, a famous cathedral. To our dismay, tourists were everywhere and the line was unecessarily long. We decided to wait until the tours had dissipated later in the day. We instead decided to head to Parc Guell.
Meanwhile, my friend Alex (Goodman), called me and agreed to meet at a nearby metro stop. She met all of my API friends, who we then split away from to catch up and check out the Parc on our own. Parc Guell was also designed by Gaudi and it was a great place to see a panorama of Barcelona. She and I ate lunch closer to La Rambla--the main street--after taking the metro to that area.
Alex and I didn't want to separate, so I got the best of both worlds by abandoning the sketchy hotel situation and going to live in Alex's apartment for the night. We went back to the hotel to collect my belongings, and returned once more to Alex's apartment where we watched a little bit of Zoolander. I also met her two roommates, one who happens to go to UF.
That night we partied until the sun came up and finally went to bed at 7:30 a.m. I set my alarm for 11:30, since my friends were checking out of the hotel at noon. Inevitably, that plan failed. I slept until 3.
Alex and I ate breakfast at 5 p.m. the next day, and then proceeded to meet back up with the API group near Playa Barceloneta. It turned out that they got caught at the hotel and were fined 50 euros, and almost got arrested (but weren't). At the beach, we watched some street performers play reggae and classic spanish music. The sun was just hot enough to keep us the perfect temperature in the breeze. The sailboats in the background were pictoresque.
Since we had nowhere else to go, we went and got our feet in the sand a little bit before grabbing dinner at a Telepizza. Somehow my backpack got stolen while we were INSIDE the telepizza, NEXT TO the ordering counter, UNDER my feet. These pickpockets are pros. If you're ever in Barcelona, be extremely careful.
Luckily, the only contents of my backpack were clothes, a blanket, toiletries, a necklace, suntan lotion, and my cell phone charger. I was fortunate enough to not have been robbed of any money, my passport, nor any of my electronics.
I filed a police report, but cases of stolen backpacks like this are virtually never resolved. I've just come to terms that I'm going to have to survive the summer without my reversible GAP skirt. :/
In any case, I found a replacement backpack for 9 euros. Gotta love China. You can see pictures of the trip here.
The next post will be about classes :)
-Michelle
So five friends (Gokul, Nadia, Rose, Kathryn, Raieah) and I got on a bus in the afternoon to head to Madrid, where we could connect to Barcelona. We arrived in time to find a restaurant and watch the Euro Cup between Barcelona and Manchester United. Fortunately, Barcelona won, setting the stage for an amazing weekend there. At 1 a.m. we got on the bus to Barcelona, and arrived that morning around 9.
We were all exhausted since we didn't sleep very well on the bus, even though I did bring my blanket. Therefore, we were eager to get to the hotel: Hotel Abragio, or something. Six of us in one room the size of a cardboard box. A single bed. I took a nap on the floor.
When we all woke up, we threw on our bathing suits and headed over to Playa Barceloneta. A definite tourist beach, but the closest to us in walking distance. Got a nice tan.
After the beach, headed back to the hotel to shower and clean off sand. When all of us reconvened, we went to check out the Picasso Museum near the hotel. I never knew that Picasso was such a versatile artist. Apparently, he made pottery. The museum was extensive and featured some famous pieces like "the embrace."
Upon leaving the museum, we came across a road where people were crowded together on the sidewalks blowing horns, playing music, and waving flags for FCB-the soccer team. We weren't exactly sure what we were waiting for, but we played along and took a bunch of pictures of people flooding the street. Finally, we realized why. The champion team returned by bus. It was a parade!
We returned inconspicuously to the hotel in order to avoid being caught as 6 people in one room. The staff began to catch on since we kept entering in waves of 2, and all claimed that we already had the key to our room (customary in European hotels to leave the key at the front desk.)
The next day, we woke up and went down at different times to take advantage of the free included breakfast. Luckily we weren't caught.
That morning we decided to go to the Gaudi (spanish architect) museum, but I waited outside with Raeiah because we didn't want to pay to enter. After that we all decided to check out La Sagrada Familia, a famous cathedral. To our dismay, tourists were everywhere and the line was unecessarily long. We decided to wait until the tours had dissipated later in the day. We instead decided to head to Parc Guell.
Meanwhile, my friend Alex (Goodman), called me and agreed to meet at a nearby metro stop. She met all of my API friends, who we then split away from to catch up and check out the Parc on our own. Parc Guell was also designed by Gaudi and it was a great place to see a panorama of Barcelona. She and I ate lunch closer to La Rambla--the main street--after taking the metro to that area.
Alex and I didn't want to separate, so I got the best of both worlds by abandoning the sketchy hotel situation and going to live in Alex's apartment for the night. We went back to the hotel to collect my belongings, and returned once more to Alex's apartment where we watched a little bit of Zoolander. I also met her two roommates, one who happens to go to UF.
That night we partied until the sun came up and finally went to bed at 7:30 a.m. I set my alarm for 11:30, since my friends were checking out of the hotel at noon. Inevitably, that plan failed. I slept until 3.
Alex and I ate breakfast at 5 p.m. the next day, and then proceeded to meet back up with the API group near Playa Barceloneta. It turned out that they got caught at the hotel and were fined 50 euros, and almost got arrested (but weren't). At the beach, we watched some street performers play reggae and classic spanish music. The sun was just hot enough to keep us the perfect temperature in the breeze. The sailboats in the background were pictoresque.
Since we had nowhere else to go, we went and got our feet in the sand a little bit before grabbing dinner at a Telepizza. Somehow my backpack got stolen while we were INSIDE the telepizza, NEXT TO the ordering counter, UNDER my feet. These pickpockets are pros. If you're ever in Barcelona, be extremely careful.
Luckily, the only contents of my backpack were clothes, a blanket, toiletries, a necklace, suntan lotion, and my cell phone charger. I was fortunate enough to not have been robbed of any money, my passport, nor any of my electronics.
I filed a police report, but cases of stolen backpacks like this are virtually never resolved. I've just come to terms that I'm going to have to survive the summer without my reversible GAP skirt. :/
In any case, I found a replacement backpack for 9 euros. Gotta love China. You can see pictures of the trip here.
The next post will be about classes :)
-Michelle
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Portugal
SO...I went to Portugal last weekend!
Initially I thought it was going to cost a lot of money, since I was traveling internationally, but we had some luck.
I found round trip bus tickets to Porto for 56 euros per person for me and two friends, Andrea and Marissa. Our plan was to stay with Andrea´s housekeeper, Isabel. We left at two in the morning from Salamanca's bus station to Porto, on the coast of Portugal.
We arrived there after a 5 hour bus ride from Salamanca. We took a taxi to the train station from the bus station for four euros, where we met Isabel, her daughter, Isabel, and her son-in-law Aderito. They showed us around Porto for a little bit before taking us to their town, Aveiro. We were exhausted from the bus ride, so they took us to their home and showed us where we would be sleeping.
I had hardly expected to have my own room, let alone my own bed. It turns out that Isabel was the most accomodating hostess ever. Not only did she provide housing in her four floor mansion, but she absolutely refused to allow us to pay for anything the entire time we were there. We had homecooked meals and traditional portuguese treats, including Bacalao, tripas, and ovos moles.
We took a nap before actually starting our day in Portugal. When we woke up around 2 pm Portugal time on Saturday, we went to lunch at the mall with three generations of Isabels. Again, Isabel I refused to let us pay for the buffet that she bought us--which was basically a three course meal where I tried fresh sardines. They were good.
Then Isabel III, the granddaughter, wanted us to visit the mall's pet store. (For those of you who know my puppy obsession, I had no objections). There were adorable puppies, including white labs and alaskan huskies. Aww...
Afterwards, Isabel I took Isabel III and Nicolas (grandson), and Andrea, Marissa, and I went with Aderito and Isabel II. We went to the river and took a boat ride through the city, which resembles Venice. When we finished there, we got in the car and were just getting tired when we made our next stop. We were at the beautiful Aveiro beach (the closest beach to Salamanca). There we walked down the pier and could see the entire Atlantic Ocean.
The walk woke us up a little bit, so we decided to stop for tripas, which are these portuguese waffle crepe things. Delicious. You can get them filled with chocolate, ovos moles, or some other options.
After that, we visited Isabel II's house, and guest house. Isabel II has her own hair salon in the house. It was really a fantastic place. Additionally they had a farm in the back of the house, with geese, sheep, bunnies, and a chunky chicken.
When we had seen their house, we returned to Isabel I's house for dinner. Outside, she had been grilling chicken and other meat for us to eat. It was uneccessarily nice of her. She simply refused any help. We sat down to dinner with the entire family and talked in a mix of Portuguese and English.
We were too tired to go out again, so we went to sleep, and woke up at 7 am to head back to Salamanca.
The trip to Portugal cost me 56 euros. I doubt to receive any greater generosity in Europe than I did in Portugal. Overall a very fun experience.
Pictures are here.
Barcelona this weekend!
-Michelle
We arrived there after a 5 hour bus ride from Salamanca. We took a taxi to the train station from the bus station for four euros, where we met Isabel, her daughter, Isabel, and her son-in-law Aderito. They showed us around Porto for a little bit before taking us to their town, Aveiro. We were exhausted from the bus ride, so they took us to their home and showed us where we would be sleeping.
I had hardly expected to have my own room, let alone my own bed. It turns out that Isabel was the most accomodating hostess ever. Not only did she provide housing in her four floor mansion, but she absolutely refused to allow us to pay for anything the entire time we were there. We had homecooked meals and traditional portuguese treats, including Bacalao, tripas, and ovos moles.
We took a nap before actually starting our day in Portugal. When we woke up around 2 pm Portugal time on Saturday, we went to lunch at the mall with three generations of Isabels. Again, Isabel I refused to let us pay for the buffet that she bought us--which was basically a three course meal where I tried fresh sardines. They were good.
Then Isabel III, the granddaughter, wanted us to visit the mall's pet store. (For those of you who know my puppy obsession, I had no objections). There were adorable puppies, including white labs and alaskan huskies. Aww...
Afterwards, Isabel I took Isabel III and Nicolas (grandson), and Andrea, Marissa, and I went with Aderito and Isabel II. We went to the river and took a boat ride through the city, which resembles Venice. When we finished there, we got in the car and were just getting tired when we made our next stop. We were at the beautiful Aveiro beach (the closest beach to Salamanca). There we walked down the pier and could see the entire Atlantic Ocean.
The walk woke us up a little bit, so we decided to stop for tripas, which are these portuguese waffle crepe things. Delicious. You can get them filled with chocolate, ovos moles, or some other options.
After that, we visited Isabel II's house, and guest house. Isabel II has her own hair salon in the house. It was really a fantastic place. Additionally they had a farm in the back of the house, with geese, sheep, bunnies, and a chunky chicken.
When we had seen their house, we returned to Isabel I's house for dinner. Outside, she had been grilling chicken and other meat for us to eat. It was uneccessarily nice of her. She simply refused any help. We sat down to dinner with the entire family and talked in a mix of Portuguese and English.
We were too tired to go out again, so we went to sleep, and woke up at 7 am to head back to Salamanca.
The trip to Portugal cost me 56 euros. I doubt to receive any greater generosity in Europe than I did in Portugal. Overall a very fun experience.
Pictures are here.
Barcelona this weekend!
-Michelle
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Madrid!
On my way to Madrid, I had to make a connection in London. For some reason, the pilot of my flight from the U.S. couldn't land the plane when we approached London for about 20 minutes, so we spent that long doing figure eights in the air while waiting for the control towers to approve our landing. Therefore, when we did finally land, I had to sprint, take a train and a bus, to get to another terminal for my connection. I arrived at the plane as the gate was closing.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my luggage. So I spent my first afternoon in Madrid with the close I had been wearing for 12 hours on two airplanes. I felt really sanitary. It was irrelevant, however, seeing as I just got to my room and fell asleep.
After my two hour nap, I woke up and went to orientation with the group in some hotel meeting room. We went to dinner afterwards--appropriately in a Chinese restaurant. API paid so I still hadn't spent a dime in Madrid at all. When we returned to the hotel, my luggage had been delivered. Phew!
Later that evening, the people in the Salamanca group all went out to a little place for cafe in the Plaza Mayor. It was good to get to know each other, even though it's likely that we'll all be in different Spanish classes, and we won't be living together. Regardless, they seem nice.
Today, API made our wake up call for 7:15 a.m., so by 8:30 we were on a bus to El Escorial, the burial place of all of the deceased Spanish monarchs. Imagine a circular room made entirely of marble, and lavishly decorated with golden highlights. It was actually probably more of a hexagon or octagon, and each side had three extravagant tombs. The bodies are only allowed to be placed in there once they have decomposed fully into skeletons. Ergo, there was a decomposition room as well.
The fact that El Escorial is the resting place of such famous monarchs in Spain is its most redeeming quality. The rest of it is not so special. It is a building made entirely of huge pieces of granite stone taken from nearby mountains. Additionally, it contains the second most important Catholic library in the world (behind the Vatican), whatever that means. Art inside features works by El Greco, Valasquez, and other lesser known Spanish artists.
We returned to the hotel in Madrid around lunchtime, and some people and I went to a restaurant and all ordered the Menu del dia, a menu very similar to Miami Spice. It is basically a three course meal, with three or four options for each course, all for a deal price. Overall a good choice if you want to try many things, but not spend much money.
Later today, the group is heading to the Museo Prado, which should be pretty cool.
That's it for now.
-Michelle
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my luggage. So I spent my first afternoon in Madrid with the close I had been wearing for 12 hours on two airplanes. I felt really sanitary. It was irrelevant, however, seeing as I just got to my room and fell asleep.
After my two hour nap, I woke up and went to orientation with the group in some hotel meeting room. We went to dinner afterwards--appropriately in a Chinese restaurant. API paid so I still hadn't spent a dime in Madrid at all. When we returned to the hotel, my luggage had been delivered. Phew!
Later that evening, the people in the Salamanca group all went out to a little place for cafe in the Plaza Mayor. It was good to get to know each other, even though it's likely that we'll all be in different Spanish classes, and we won't be living together. Regardless, they seem nice.
Today, API made our wake up call for 7:15 a.m., so by 8:30 we were on a bus to El Escorial, the burial place of all of the deceased Spanish monarchs. Imagine a circular room made entirely of marble, and lavishly decorated with golden highlights. It was actually probably more of a hexagon or octagon, and each side had three extravagant tombs. The bodies are only allowed to be placed in there once they have decomposed fully into skeletons. Ergo, there was a decomposition room as well.
The fact that El Escorial is the resting place of such famous monarchs in Spain is its most redeeming quality. The rest of it is not so special. It is a building made entirely of huge pieces of granite stone taken from nearby mountains. Additionally, it contains the second most important Catholic library in the world (behind the Vatican), whatever that means. Art inside features works by El Greco, Valasquez, and other lesser known Spanish artists.
We returned to the hotel in Madrid around lunchtime, and some people and I went to a restaurant and all ordered the Menu del dia, a menu very similar to Miami Spice. It is basically a three course meal, with three or four options for each course, all for a deal price. Overall a good choice if you want to try many things, but not spend much money.
Later today, the group is heading to the Museo Prado, which should be pretty cool.
That's it for now.
-Michelle
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Pre-Departure Considerations
Do I have everything? Academic Programs International, API, suggests that we bring no more than two duffle bags, a handheld and a backpack. I only have one duffle and it's not even full. I don't think I'm forgetting anything...
Current thoughts: My flight lands at 11:30 am in Madrid Barajas Airport and the pick up time with the resident director of the program in my terminal is at 2 pm. In the other terminal, the pickup time is 1. Should I figure out how to get to that terminal? I think it would save me some time from just sitting around in the airport.
They also told me to send them my cell phone number. Er, I don't have a cell phone for Spain yet. Remaining calm. That reminds me: I have to set up my skype account so that I can call U.S. cell phone numbers unlimited from the internet. If you are dying to talk to me, remind me in the comments, e-mail me your phone number (michelleidalo@gmail.com), and I'll give you a jingle as soon as I have wireless internet, either on my iPod Touch or computer.
I hope that I'm fully recovered from this cold by tomorrow afternoon. It would not be fun to fly congested.
Well that's it for right now. I'll update again when I get a chance.
Hasta Madrid!
-Michelle
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