Slightly Concerned about My Sense of Fashion for When I Come Back

I was window-shopping a few days ago when the thought suddenly occurred to me that I have adopted European style. I mean, I don't look at things here and go "what would I wear with that?" Now it's like, "oh yeah, textured tights, ballet flats, 2 gold rings, and white jacket all would go with that dress." God, this is going to be such a girly blog, sorry guys!

What I'm worried about is... is any of this in style in the United States? I'm pretty sure if I wore some of the things I wore here, I would stick out like a sore thumb in the USA. I'm wearing stuff here that I'd be like "naw, too intense" in the US. It's kind of like dressing like the pictures in the fashion catalogs. Leggings with shorts, scarves, oxfords (YAY,) and floral print are all really in style here right now, but I dunno. I'm just going to have to hope I don't look like a tard when I go back.

Speaking of going back home, I have 48 days left!!? I have this really strange mix of emotions when I see that. It's going to be terrible and tragic to leave Spain, but awesome to come back and see all the people I've missed so much. And then eat Buffalo Wild Wings. Really though, it's such a short amount of time, and I'm going to be spending at least 3 weeks of it traveling, which is definitely cool beans. So I have to hurry around Madrid, crossing various things off my European bucket list and trying to study for finals all at the same time!

By the way, I've got plans to visit Krista in Paris next weekend! :) I'm so excited! I'll end up in the city of lights on Thursday night and will spend Friday and Saturday in France. We might even go see Monet's gardens, which have always been a childhood dream of mine to see. I remember learning about them in Mr. Corsello's art class a long time ago, and I was just awed, so seeing them in real life will literally be a dream come true. There's one to cross off my LIFE bucket list!

That's all I've got for now! I've been studying a lot lately, which is pretty boring to blog about, so I'll work on doing some interesting things this weekend :) See you all later!

Ariel

Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh

Ok, first off, I'm sorry for the terrible reference in the title of this post...!!! I just had to fit it in here somewhere :) Which means that last weekend, I went to Granada!

Granada is, like everything else in Spain, absolutely beautiful. But Granada has its own unique characteristics that make it very different from anything else I've seen. First of all, it's situated in this little valley in between all these awesome mountains, but it's actually warm there. It was a little strange to see snow-capped mountains but only need to wear a light jacket, but hey, I'm not complaining!! And, the entire town is built around this giant hill. The hill was sort of like a giant nature reserve/forest, which is really refreshing since I've been living in the concrete jungle for 4-ish months.

The things everyone's GOTTA see at Granada are the Alhambra and the Catedral/Capilla Real. We saw those and went shopping in the Arab quarter, and got tea too! :) But I'm getting ahead of myself, I have to talk about the Alhambra first!!

The Alhambra was built in the 14th century by the Moors and conquered by Ferdinand and Isabel in 1492 (yep, the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue!) So, not only is this place gorgeous, but it's rich with history, too. This was the place were Isabel told Columbus she would fund his expedition across the ocean...awesome. The level of detail in the palace is just insane, it's like almost every surface has intricately carved stone. Even the elaborate wooden ceilings are still intact, so that was really impressive too.

The gardens were even more impressive (although Sevilla is still my favorite, don't tell anyone.) There were hedges and so many roses, and amazing fountains and pools...I was in heaven. I mean, sitting under the shade on an ancient Moorish terrace, looking at the snow-capped mountains in the distance is probably as close as you can get to paradise for me.

By the way, if you were wondering, I haven't changed at all:
OH MY GOSH AND DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE BEST PART? THERE WAS A BABY KITTEN THERE!! A BABY KITTEN!!!!! I'm sorry for shouting but IT WAS SO ADORABLE!!!!! IT MEOWED THE CUTEST LITTLE MEOW AND IT WAS SMALLER THAN THE PALM OF MY HAND and oh I have pictures of it:

So yes, my day was made, the Alhambra was amazing, and OH nerd alert! The fort at the Alhambra really seriously reminded me of this fortress in one of the Zelda games, and I felt really weird thinking that at the time. Actually that happens a lot here in Spain, like in Sevilla, I was in this garden and almost laughed out loud to myself because it reminded me so much of the castle gardens in Zelda 64. And yeah don't even get me started on the castles/churches! Ok nerd alert over, I promise.

The next day we visited the Cathedral and Royal Chapel, aka the place where THE Ferdinand and Isabel are buried. I even got to see their caskets...uhh yeah, that was a little weird. But the cathedral is just beautiful! For example:

Yeah, geez, they don't mess around when they build churches over here. The picture on the bottom is almost all solid gold, too.

I don't know if I can cram any more pictures into this post, oh man. I wish I could put all of them here because Granada was so beautiful and photogenic! I'm working on finding a website where I can just put all of my photos (I need to back them up anyway) so I'll put it on here when I figure that out, for anyone who's interested.

Anyway, I'm off to bed, and stay tuned for more! This week is the Festival of San Isidro, Madrid's patron saint, and it's pretty much a huge deal here. There's stuff going on all week, including the Madrid Symphony Orchestra playing a free concert in the park. Oh heck yes I'm in!

Besitos, miss you all!!

Ariel

(PS besito = little kisses :] )

Pancakes!! And Other Randoms

I ATE PANCAKES TODAY!!! I know it's retarded to get excited about something as silly as pancakes, but oh man, it definitely made my day!! I just had to share that right away because I am so excited!! Today started off good because of the pancakes (of course) and also because I got an answer correct on my Thermodynamics quiz this morning. To put that into perspective, Thermo is really hard here and like 15% of the class passed the exam and a 40% was the average score. So getting 1/3 on a quiz is really awesome!

I have some more randomness to talk about, actually. The first random thing is...it's allergy season! Hooray! Haha, I have not been able to stop sneezing in rapid-fire succession. This morning I sneezed 24 times in a span of like 3 minutes before I finally gave up and got a kleenex out of my bag. I thought I would be safe in the heart of Madrid since there's not so many trees, but I forgot about wind, so there you go. It's more annoying than anything, don't worry. So, today I get to go on an adventure to the pharmacy because I'm a little tired of having to buy a new box of kleenex every 5 days!

More randomness: I saw the musical Chicago the other week! It's playing on Madrid's "Broadway" more or less, and I thought it was too funny to pass up. Of course, it was all in Spanish, but I actually understood a lot of it. I would just sometimes get lost with the song lyrics. The set was great, and the tickets were really cheap too. The weird thing was, you had to pay 1 euro for a program, so I ended up not buying one...I always lose them anyway!

Finally, last Friday I went to Toledo again with Kruse! We explored the Cathedral, lots of old chapels, and some very old synagogues. The whole city feels really traditional: narrow cobblestone streets, cute little shops selling things from pincushions to swords, and really nice architecture. And the building interiors were even better. The cathedral is absolutely beautiful, and the ceilings in the synagogues were just incredible. My camera died after a few photos, but I did manage to take a few.

OH my gosh! I forgot, the best part of the day was when Kruse and I went and stood on this old bridge from the 14th century and looked over to the Tajo River. There was this little waterfall down there, and I was looking at it, and all of a sudden THERE WAS A FISH JUMPING UP THE WATERFALL!! So Kruse and I started watching and there were all these fish, attempting to jump up this little mini waterfall, and it was the cutest thing I've ever seen! I know I'm easily amused, but it seriously made my day. Unfortunately I don't have evidence of this because my camera had died an hour earlier, but it really happened, I swear!!


Random synagogue ceiling picture:
Aw man, I always unintentionally make these so long. Anyway, I'm off to go visit the pharmacy and read some articles for my Spanish Culture class. Hasta luego!

Ariel

Catcalls...in Spain!?

Spanish men have a notorious stereotype for being really...um, flirtatious. And it's kind of true. I can't really be completely sure because I'm mostly around engineers all day, and that drastically changes the stereotype. But, for the most part, if a guy wants you, you'll know! That being said, catcalls are sort of normal here. And now that I'm wearing sundresses, skirts, and cute, summer-y outfits, they've pretty much multiplied.

Wolf whistles happen a lot. The first time it happened I was confused and was like, "what? Me??" But then I realized I was the only girl around, so yes, it was for me. After that, you just learn to ignore the various types of whistles. Still weird, though. I thought this stuff only happened in movies or cartoons!

Another common word has been "guapa," which translates to "beautiful," "good-looking," or "sexy." The first time I heard that, I almost laughed out loud to myself because it was so amusingly similar to catcalls in English. Like, the most common phrase that uses "guapa" translates to "hey, sexy!"

The weird part is, these are directed at me, and it is SO BIZARRE. I dress pretty conservatively too, so it's like, "what the heck dude, I'm wearing a turtleneck today!!" It sure makes you feel awful sometimes, though. I haven't gotten anything really dirty yet. But still, some of the looks they give you make you just want to go home and take a shower because you could practically SEE their thoughts! Ugh...

Either way, the best way to avoid it is to button your cardigan up all the way and ignore any "anda guapa" 's til you get to school. I can't let it bug me too much because it's just the way things are here! ...And, actually, it's one of the only things I won't miss about Spain.

More to come later about Kruse's and my trip to Toledo! We got gelato and saw fish jumping up a waterfall, so that tells you about how epic it was. Miss you all!

Ariel

Life Lessons, Learned in Spain

I've been thinking lately about what I've gained from studying abroad and choosing Spain. I used to worry because studying here is putting me back another semester at U of I, so I'll graduate in 4.5, if not 5 semesters (depending on how the Aerospace classes work.) But I figured out that what I've changed in ways that would not have changed if I had stayed in the USA. So, I came up with this list of ways I've grown.

The first thing is independence! Ohhhh my gosh, independence. If I thought I was independent at U of I, oh man was I wrong! I don't know if I can describe it correctly but, to me, Madrid, Spain is the real world. Not that college in the states isn't the real world, it's just so pre-structured for us. Right now, everything is up to me. I have to figure out which metro tickets I need, pay my bills, book my own hostels, figure out how to get to other cities I want to visit, and the list goes on and on. It's so hard to explain it, but I have so many more responsibilities here, and I'm okay with that :)

Courage. I didn't have a lot of courage when I came here. Actually, I was kind of scared of everything and I just didn't realize it until later. Two months ago, if I had seen a crowded Spanish bar with no free tables and only standing room at the bar, I wouldn't have gone in. But I've learned to just go stand up at the bar and order something. Some of the most delicious tapas I've ever had were at bars like that! I don't have to muster up the courage anymore; I just do it. And, it was really intimidating and scary at first to ask a store clerk something in Spanish, but now I've learned to swallow my pride and just ask in the best way I can. If I get confused about what they say, I can just ask and there's nothing lost. Overall I've just become a braver person. Haha, well, that's not to say I would go bungee-jumping off a bridge or something, (not exactly my cup of tea,) but I know I'm much, much more courageous.

Strength. Somedays, it feels like the world is out to get me, and it would be easy to just sit down and cry and whine. It's okay to cry sometimes, but then you wipe your tears and move on. Like, there will always be mean people that make me feel sad that I have to talk to on a daily basis, but I've grown to be a lot more resilient to the things they say. Now I'm a lot stronger when it comes to the things those people say, and I don't take it seriously or let it affect me anymore. I will just say very generally that this was a hard lesson to learn for me, and if we've been talking, you'll know what I mean. But, now that I'm getting stronger, it's so much easier to get over the sad, frustrating moments in life, and that makes me a lot happier.

The most important lesson I've learned is to be positive all the time. If something bad happens here, it's easy to let it ruin my day, but come on, I'm studying abroad in Europe! Nothing should be able to ruin my experience. So, I always think of something positive about the situation, no matter how bad it is. Actually, doing that always makes me feel a lot better, and then I forget about the bad things before I even know it! I'm definitely going to keep it up when I come back to U of I. It makes me feel like a whole new person sometimes.

So, those are the biggest lessons I've learned here! Sorry this was such a sappy self-discovery blog, but I mean, I hope someone reads this and reconsiders studying abroad if they weren't going to before. Like, not only have I had the coolest experience living, studying, and partying in Europe, but I've learned some really awesome life lessons too. I'm coming back a different person!

Semana Santa

So many things to update on!! I've been so busy for the last few weeks studying for exams like a nut. I mean, if you think Thermodynamics and Circuits would be hard to understand in English, try it in Spanish!! Yikes! I had my last exam Wednesday morning so now I can finally relax, thank goodness.

I still haven't explained my Semana Santa ("Holy Week,") even though it was forever ago; it was amazing and memorable. I went with my aunt and uncle to Sevilla, which is famous for its processions during Holy Week. We also took a day trip to Cordoba and visited Italica on the way out of Sevilla, finally ending the trip in Toledo.

First of all, I think Sevilla has got to be my favorite out of all the Spanish cities I've visited. It was just beautiful, quaint, and just so perfect all around! Since it's further south in Spain, it was warmer there, and there were orange trees everywhere, especially planted along the street. During Holy Week, the orange blossoms were finally blooming, and oh my gosh, I have never smelled a prettier smell. It's hard to describe, but it definitely didn't smell like an orange. It was more like this gorgeous, sweet floral scent, the kind that gets carried on the breeze so you smell it everywhere you go. So the city smelled beautiful, and it looked beautiful too. All the buildings and narrow streets were so authentically awesome; definitely something you don't see in Madrid.

Altogether, I explored the cathedral (3rd largest by volume in the world,) the Alcazar, the Alcazar Gardens, the riverwalk, and all kinds of little streets and places. I even saw a flamenco show. Kruse was there for a few days so we met up and went to the cathedral and belltower together, and wow, those were amazing. I even went to Palm Sunday mass in the cathedral and I understood everything!! The cathedral is home to all kinds of incredible things, like the tombs of Cervantes (author of Don Quijote) and Christopher Columbus, yes THAT Christopher Columbus!!!! It was amazing, but now I go around comparing other incredible churches to it...woops.

The best part, which I've already kind of talked about a little, were the gardens of the Alcazar. I could have spent days there, and I'm not even kidding about that. If you know me, you know I love flowers and gardens, and this was just heaven. Right now I'm holding myself back from putting like 100 pictures here on my blog, because I really want to! On Tuesday, I had the siesta time free to go wherever I wanted, so I explored the entire garden and got to sit on a bench on this beautiful terrace and just think. There is no better feeling than that, let me tell you.

Cordoba was amazing too. Their Mezquita, an old old old cathedral, has been there for at least a thousand years! I got to try Gazpacho there (a cold soup) and it was really good.

One of the coolest parts of the trip was Italica, or the old Roman ruins outside of Sevilla. The Romans founded it in about 206 BC while they were conquering various other Iberian cities, and the modern Spanish city close to it, Santiponce, has been excavating it for the past 230 years. We got to see the amphitheater, incredible mosaic floors, the old public baths, and so many more incredible things. I am absolutely in love with archeology so you can imagine how cool I thought this was!

Overall, it was an awesome break. I'm leaving out so many details because I feel like I write novels for every blog! Keep an eye out for pictures on facebook and another blog this week. See you all later!

Ariel

PS, Today is April 25th, the perfect date! It's not too hot, and it's not too cold, all you need is a light jacket! ;)

Adventures in El Escorial

I'm still in Sevilla, but I found some internet again to update you guys! I have a lot to add since I missed 2 weeks of updates.

Let's see, where did I leave off? I got back from Las Fallas on a Saturday night, so my Sunday was free. Luckily, I'd heard that Matt the Mellophone was in town for the weekend! Matt is studying abroad in Sweden, but he decided to come visit Madrid and stay with Colin, yay! It was really great to see someone else from U of I in Spain. So we all decided to explore El Escorial, an old monastery/palace in another part of town.

I got a lot of pictures of the outside and a few of the gardens from afar, since pictures weren't really allowed inside. Ahem, but I did manage to get a few, ahem. Anyway, this place was huge! The Cathedral was the most impressive part. I've only seen churches that big in movies or video games, never real life.

The rest of El Escorial was filled with paintings, antique furniture, and different exhibits about the construction. Oh yeah, and...a mausoleum?! I couldn't believe the kings of Spain lived here with all the former kings of Spain just resting in peace in the basement, more or less!! There were a heck of a lot of tombs and corridors to other tombs. We found one room with a huge circular tomb with 60 different spaces for people to be buried, and I believe 47 of them were...ummm, occupied. (This is so weird to talk about...) The sad part was, it was in a room that was entirely dedicated to the burials of the royal children who never made it past puberty :( It was really interesting, but really morbid at the same time. Jesus H, if I could barely handle this, how am I gonna handle the crypts in Palermo!?!

Um, let's move away from the crypts... The rest of El Escorial was beautiful. We found a gorgeous painted ceiling in one part and snuck some pictures :o)

It took a long time to tour the whole place because it was so big. My favorite part was at the end when we saw the library!!! The books were all handwritten in latin, in calligraphy!! If you know me well, you know I love books and I love writing in calligraphy so this was pretty much heaven on earth for me :) They even had one book of hymnals, and all the scores were handwritten in calligraphy; it was just the coolest thing. The books were all hand-bound too, and all the illustrations were drawn one-by-one. They were just beautiful. I really didn't want to leave, but we had missed lunch and it was already 4, so we left after that.

I'll be back one day to explore the gardens since we didn't get to. Recently, I've been finding out that I'm kind of in love with European gardens. Kruse and I explored this garden in Sevilla the other day and I just would not shut up about how cool it was...woops. The picture here is of the gardens in Sevilla because they are so gorgeous and I just had to share a picture! I've been there twice and am considering visiting again, if I have time. Entrance is free for me because I'm a student so I can just visit whenever I want.

Anyway, I'm making a shopping list of gardens I want to see before I go back to the US, and I'm gonna try to work on being a little less awed when I visit, but we'll see how that goes ;)

See you all later!
Ariel