During the weekend of nov. 10-13, I went to Spain's most well-known province, Andulucia, where I visited my friend Joanna. Joanna is a friend from Beloit, but she's from Seattle and we both worked in Seattle last year as Ameicorps volunteers, so it is funny that we are now both in Spain, teaching English to Spanish high schoolers! It was really neat to visit another high school in a different part of Spain, and I enjoyed spending a day at school with her. The kids seemed excited, too, to have a visitor in class, and we played a question game which quickly got competitive. The kids in her small village (which is about an hour outside Seville) don't speak as well as my students, so she uses a lot more Spanish in her classes, which has both its advantages and disadvantages. Some of my students are still under the impression that I don't speak Spanish at all (the other teachers told them I don't so they wont try to speak Spanish and rather would be forced to speak English with me), but most of them know that I can understand their conversations. I think it is good for them to be able to ask me questions in Spanish, but to know that I will respond in English. So far, that is working quite well. I ran into two girls that are in my class in a store in Santiago last week, and as soon as they saw me they said "now we can speak to you in Spanish!" and they were quite excited about that.
While visiting Joanna, we spent 2 nights and days in Seville, exploring the beautiful city. I loved it. There was so much to see, and it is a very clean, historical place. The cathedral there is one of the largest in Spain, and also one of the oldest. It has a tower that you can climb, so we did this, and got a wonderful 360 degree view. The sun was shining the whole weekend, it was in the mid-70s in mid november...what a great feeling! We also spent a couple hours walking around a huge palace, which is in the middle of the city. I got to try to some tapas from that region, and of course we got a taste of sangria!
I feel a little guilty reporting this, but one of the other exciting things we did in Seville was go to Starbucks. The thing is, Coffee here in Spain is served in very small cups, and can almost never be found 'to go'. I am not a huge starbucks person, but I definitely miss walking on a cold day with a hot cup of coffee in my hand to warm me up! Needless to say, we went to starbucks all three days we spent in Seville...and I was quite pleased to get my coffee-on-the-go fix!
I will add more pictures as soon as Joanna sends them to me--I had to take pictures with her camera as I still didn't have my new one yet. Since getting home from Seville, I got mine in the mail, so I am thankful to be able to take pictures again!
This Thursday I am off again, this time to Madrid to visit my friend Johanna, who studies at the university in Madrid and is a friend of mine from Swedish summer camp. Joanna will also be in Madrid for the weekend, so I will get to see her again, too! I am thankful to have something fun to do for Thanksgiving, since I wont be able to celebrate it as normal. Oh-that reminds me, today in my English classes, I made all y students think about what they are thankful for (in true Thanksgiving spririt), and share at least 3 things with the class. I made them move their desks in a circle, and told them to imagine a huge feast was on the table in the middle. I think they all thought it was a little silly, but I was pleased to share some Thanksgiving traditions with these kids!
The trip to Madrid marks the beginning of quite the season of travel for me. Becky Luczak, my good family friend from Petersburg, will be arriving to visit me next Wednesday (Dec.1st) and we are going to take quite the trip, hitting Porto, Portugal, Aberystwyth, Wales (hi to Jordan Degayner!) and London. More about that soon...I am very excited for the next couple of months of traveling!
I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving this week, and know that I am thinking of you all! I am thankful for so much, and have been thinking about all the things for which I am thankful a lot lately. Above all, I am thankful for the friends and family that have been so supportive of my desire to travel and experience new places and experiences. Without the support and encouragement, I would not be able to have the courage to embark on crazy adventures such as this one. Thanks and love!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Pope comes to Santiago
It's been a couple weeks since I last wrote, but I figured I had better write today before I head to Seville (in the South of Spain) tomorrow. The last couple of weekends have been somewhat slow, with lots of rain and little to do. My flatmate, Maria, returns to her parents' house in another town in Galicia during the weekends, so I live on my own then. I have to say, I do not like living alone. I would prefer to have a lot of people around all the time...I am still adjusting to the quiet mornings and such. I was hoping to take a weekend trip last weekend, but many of my friends went to visit friends or home for the weekend (I can't imagine studying abroad, but going home not only once but TWICE during the semester...definitely not exactly the same experience!). This aside, I did get to see the POPE on Saturday!
Since I arrived in Santiago de Compostela, there have been signs up all over and people talking all the time about the upcoming visit from the Pope, on November 6th. It has been several years since the pope has been to Santiago, and especially since this year is a 'holy year', many people were very excited about this. On the other hand, most of the locals I talked to were not happy that the pope was coming, as there would be a lot of disruption to the city's normal feel due to this huge event. We've been watching a huge stage be built in the plaza in front of the cathedral, and all sorts of security measures were put in place the days leading up to the big event. Seveal huge screens were constructed in squares all over the city, because they were expecting such a large overflow from the main plaza where the pope spoke. I went out with some friends on Friday night, and the whole square had been evacuated and closed off to prepare for the morning. Many people were waiting outside all night to enter the plaza, even though the weather was not that great. It was quite something to see, for those who are catholic as well as those who are not.
A couple of friends and I decided to head out on Saturday in search of the 'papamobil', or Pope mobile, the crazy looking vehicle in which the Pope enters the city. We were able to get a pretty good spot just outside the main square of the cathedral, joined by some thousands of other onlookers and another couple thousand police. No joke--there were over 6,000 cops on duty throughout the city during Friday night and saturday! I have never seen so many police...not sure where they all came from, either! There must be a reserve of sorts for events or disasters that require such a strong showing. I am still without a camera, but I smapped a couple shots with my friends' camera, I will add them as soon as I receive them. The whole ordeal seemed somewhat over the top, and I can understand why most locals tried to avoid leaving their homes during the craze. However, I am glad I got to go and be a part of it--when else will I be living 10 minutes from where the pope gives a mass!
As I mentioned, tomorrow I will get my first taste of southern Spain, when I head to Sevilla to visit my friend Joanna (friend from Beloit), who is teaching English to high schoolers this year as well. The round trip ticket was only 40 Euros, or about $58 (and that is with a poor exchange rate!). Thank you, Ryanair! I will surely write another blog after the trip. That's all for now, hope all is well (and not too cold!) back stateside.
Since I arrived in Santiago de Compostela, there have been signs up all over and people talking all the time about the upcoming visit from the Pope, on November 6th. It has been several years since the pope has been to Santiago, and especially since this year is a 'holy year', many people were very excited about this. On the other hand, most of the locals I talked to were not happy that the pope was coming, as there would be a lot of disruption to the city's normal feel due to this huge event. We've been watching a huge stage be built in the plaza in front of the cathedral, and all sorts of security measures were put in place the days leading up to the big event. Seveal huge screens were constructed in squares all over the city, because they were expecting such a large overflow from the main plaza where the pope spoke. I went out with some friends on Friday night, and the whole square had been evacuated and closed off to prepare for the morning. Many people were waiting outside all night to enter the plaza, even though the weather was not that great. It was quite something to see, for those who are catholic as well as those who are not.
A couple of friends and I decided to head out on Saturday in search of the 'papamobil', or Pope mobile, the crazy looking vehicle in which the Pope enters the city. We were able to get a pretty good spot just outside the main square of the cathedral, joined by some thousands of other onlookers and another couple thousand police. No joke--there were over 6,000 cops on duty throughout the city during Friday night and saturday! I have never seen so many police...not sure where they all came from, either! There must be a reserve of sorts for events or disasters that require such a strong showing. I am still without a camera, but I smapped a couple shots with my friends' camera, I will add them as soon as I receive them. The whole ordeal seemed somewhat over the top, and I can understand why most locals tried to avoid leaving their homes during the craze. However, I am glad I got to go and be a part of it--when else will I be living 10 minutes from where the pope gives a mass!
As I mentioned, tomorrow I will get my first taste of southern Spain, when I head to Sevilla to visit my friend Joanna (friend from Beloit), who is teaching English to high schoolers this year as well. The round trip ticket was only 40 Euros, or about $58 (and that is with a poor exchange rate!). Thank you, Ryanair! I will surely write another blog after the trip. That's all for now, hope all is well (and not too cold!) back stateside.
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