España: The First Two Weeks

Hello all!

This semester, I am studying abroad with an independent study abroad program called “CEA,” or Cultural Experiences Abroad. I arrived in Madrid on August 29. First of all, after having missed my flight in Dublin and racing to try to make the welcome dinner on time, CEA was so warm and welcoming. They were clearly excited to have me there and were eager to talk to me about my trip and our upcoming semester. It was so nice to feel accepted and loved right off the bat! I quickly forgot about my stressful day of travel.

To give you some background, I, along with 11 other students, am participating in an Early Start program with CEA, where we have 3 weeks of intensive language training to basically hone our skills before regular classes begin. The normal semester begins on September 23. I’m taking classes at CEA’s “Global Campus,” with other students in my program. However, we have professors from a Spanish university that will come in and teach.

A picture to break up the words:


Jumping in the Plaza Mayor

Right now, I’m only in one class (9 – 1:30 everyday), the intensive Spanish course. Once the semester starts, I will have 5 classes: International Business (English), International Marketing (English), Architecture and Painting in Madrid (in English – we go the Prado and other museums/sights in Madrid and learn about their history, etc.!), Spanish for Business (in Spanish), and Advanced Spanish (language course – also in Spanish). The classes work out well because I’m getting six hours towards my Business/Economics major and am finishing up my Spanish minor.

Anyways, on Friday, August 29, we had a welcome dinner and stayed in a hotel. Saturday was orientation day at the Global Campus, and on Saturday night we moved into our housing.

I’m living in a home stay with a couple – Carmen and Jesus Ortiz. Carmen (la señora) is just like a mom. She has made me feel so at home and cares for me so much, even though she’s only known me for a week and a half! I had heard that her marido (husband) was a chef in his day, so I was excited for some pretty good meals. It turns out he really isn’t into cooking any more, though, but that’s okay – we still have great meals (one time we had oysters for lunch!). Carmen runs around doing all this stuff for us, and I feel a little sorry for her, because Jesus doesn’t help her much! It makes sense, I guess: we were talking in our Spanish class here how Spanish society is very male-dominated.


My "señora," Carmen, and me


El marido de Carmen, Jesus (Carmen's husband, Jesus), and me


Cati, the dog that has made my stay much more "home-y!" She's so small that she can't jump onto the bed by herself so we have to help her!

On Sunday we took a tour of the city on a tour bus, mainly to get acclimated with Madrid.


The famous "Metropolis" building in Madrid


La Plaza Mayor

A girl in my program, Cynthia, and I spent the afternoon at Parque del Retiro, which is like New York's Central Park. On Sundays, though, Retiro is teeming with madrileños (those from Madrid) relaxing with their families and friends, performers, and paddleboats on the estanque (pond) in front of the majestic Alfonso XII statue. It's a very authentic Spanish experience.


In front of a fountain at Retiro -- not the Alfonso XII statue, though! It looks like the fountain is coming out of my head. [Insert some witty comment here]



We also saw in Retiro the beginning of a 10 km race called "The Human Race." Apparently, cities all over the world were doing the race on the same day. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people, all wearing the same red shirt! It was crazy.



Monday we had our oral placement exams. There are two levels of the intensive class, and since I’ve taken Spanish, I was placed in the Advanced level. The course then started on Tuesday, September 2. It’s actually a challenging course, which is awesome. We practice and learn about relevant cultural norms, expand our vocabulary base, and delve deeply into grammar, which is vastly interesting. Parts of the class remind me of the Linguistics class that everyone and their dog took last spring at Wheaton. I didn’t take it, but I felt like the people in that class learned a lot about how and why words are formed. It is really interesting, especially with the Spanish “lisp,” or the zeta (pronounced thay – tah). I love the zeta! However, you can only “lisp” certain consonants. For example, gracias would sound like gra – thee – ahss, not gra – thee – ath.

Another thing I love about Spain Spanish is the word vale (pronounced bah – lay). It’s roughly translated as “okay” and is used for any and everything. “¡Hijos…a cenar! ¡Vale!” or “Children! Let’s eat! Okay!” is a common exchange between Carmen and the two of us living in the home stay (actually, it’s an apartment).

That leads me to my housemate! Her name is Carolina, and she goes to USC. Don’t worry, everyone, she lives in a different room! But we do share a bathroom – scandalous! In all seriousness, though, it’s been such a blessing to have someone my age that also speaks English in the home stay. I have an actual roommate coming in a week and a half, but until then I have an empty bed in my room!


My house/apartment-mate, Carolina, and me

Tuesday, September 9, was a Spanish holiday. In Spain, when there is a holiday on a Tuesday, schools take the Monday before the holiday off as well. This is referred to as a puente, or a “bridge.” Thus, it made for a four-day weekend! Some people in my program and I decided to take advantage of this and go Valencia, a Spanish coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea, while it's still warm enough. It was so relaxing and wonderful – we spent a lot of time at the beach (la playa) where I got a (temporary!) henna tattoo and a beach massage. The beach massage was quite an experience because the “masseuse” didn’t speak Spanish or English. We resorted to communicating the price and time of massage by drawing the numbers in the sand – it was quite an experience! I’m not sure the massage was up to par, but it was nevertheless relaxing and fun. We also got to swim in the Mediterranean Sea – the waves were nice and big, so it was fun to run and jump in them.

Valencian beach, Malvarossa, on the Mediterranean Sea

Sam and me -- we love palm trees!

My scandalous (and temporary) henna tattoo

Massage on the beach!

We also got to know the historical city of Valencia, which was at one point the capital of Spain. Also, paella is said to have originated in Valencia, so we were sure to try to some paella de marisco, or seafood paella.

Paella de marisco

Valencia from atop the Miguelete, the 154-ft. Gothic tower attached to the Valencia cathedral

A very thin building -- it holds some sort of record! Just look at the dark red part...

Classic Spanish refreshment -- a horchata! They were so good that we had almost finished them before we remembered to take a picture! We had just gone on a 2-hr. long walking tour of Valencia, so they were delicious. Traditionally served with a donut, to be dipped in the horchata. Horchata is a cold milky-like drink that tastes very sweet.

Other highlights include making it to a salsa club on Saturday night, going to market (where I tried a Valencian orange, but they are out of season so it was not good), and going to an aquarium called L'Oceanografic. The aquarium’s dolphin show, set in Europe’s largest dolphinarium, put Shedd Aquarium’s to shame. See the pictures below – it was neat, and all in Spanish! Definitely a new experience.

Dolphin show at L'Oceanografic in Valencia

Back to Madrid.

Since there are only 12 of us in the Early Start program, we’ve really bonded as a group. It’s nice because we have our own little community and have become friends. I’m also looking forward to attending my first church service in Spain on Sunday. The first Sunday I was here, we took a bus tour with my program, and last Sunday, I was in Valencia! Through some contacts, I’ve found a church called Amistad Cristiana, or “Christian Friendship.” Hopefully I’ll meet some Spanish people (it’s not as easy to meet locals as it might seem!) and be able to attend the church regularly, even get involved. We’ll see what God has in store for me, but for now, I’m taking it one step at a time and am looking forward to Sunday!

This upcoming Saturday is a huge party in Madrid called La Noche en Blanco. Literally translated, it means “the night in white.” However, as it is a Spanish idiom, it can be translated as “the awake night.” It’s a celebration of…well, I don’t really know what they’re celebrating (it’s Spain, everything’s a celebration!)…but it goes from 9 pm Saturday night until 7 am Sunday morning. All the museums in the city are open and free (notably, El Prado, La Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen) all night long. All over the city, there will be concerts, dances, performances, raves, parties, art exhibitions, games, film screenings, and anything else you can think of. I’m looking forward to it, but will definitely be taking a siesta on Saturday and Sunday afternoons!


Domestic study abroad!

I have been able to see some of the sights of Madrid, but I’ve been taking it slowly because I do have four months! We’re going some places as a part of my program together (El Prado, El Palacio Real, Segovia, Toledo, Sevilla, and Cuenca), so that is really nice. Today I went on a walking tour of Madrid and got further acclimated to the city. Madrid’s long history is hard to keep straight, but I think I have a loose grasp on it, and I’m sure I’ll have it down by the time I leave!


Today before the walking tour in Plaza Mayor

Just some more pictures from around Madrid:





Posting pictures to this blog takes a long time, so when I have lots of pictures to share, I'm going to upload them to Picasa Web Albums and Facebook. But I'll be sure to provide links to pictures in upcoming blogs.

Until then, you and I live in the grace and mercy of the one and only Jesus Christ our Savior! Keep it real.

UK and Ireland Trip (a little late!)

Grace and peace to all in Christ from the beautiful city of Madrid, Spain!

I hope you are all doing well. I apologize for my lateness in updating my blog – it’s been a crazy first two weeks in Madrid! In this post I'm just going to talk about my UK/Ireland trip, and in the next one I'll talk about Madrid!

So, I left the States on August 20 with a high school friend, Julie. We are both studying abroad this semester in Madrid and decided to travel around before our programs started on August 29 (me) and September 3 (Julie).

We first flew to Madrid, dropped off our luggage in the consignas (storage lockers) in the Madrid airport (my first experience in Spain – it was exciting, even empowering, to be able to communicate without problem to the luggage storage people! You know, it’s the small things…). We waited in the (massive) Madrid airport for a few hours before flying to London.

In London, I especially enjoyed attending a gorgeous evensong at Westminster Abbey (and St. Paul’s the next day), where I got to discuss a little theology with a Church of England priest after the service. It turns out the Westminster Confession was written across the street from Westminster Abbey, as a break away from the Church of England in the 1500s. He stressed that the teachings of Calvin and Luther were inconsistent with the teachings of the Church of England. Even though the Church is technically Protestant (because Henry VIII broke away from the Vatican), it is ideologically more Catholic than American Protestant – say, Reformed. Interesting!

Julie and me in front of Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

I love this picture. I didn't photoshop it or anything -- London is just naturally very gray and frankly, dreary. After visiting London, I understand the song "Foggy Day (in London town)!"

I also got the chance to see Les Miserables on London’s West End (both Julie and I had forgotten how depressing of a musical it is!) and take a tour with the famous Beefeaters at the Tower of London. We also managed to fit in the British Museum, Buckingham Palace (although the Changing of the Guard was not happening the day we went!) the London Eye (like a big ferris wheel overlooking London), and the National Gallery, where we had high tea – delicious!

Houses of Parliament

View from the "London Eye"

London's Jubilee Walk at night

The next stop was Bath, from where we took a day tour from of Stonehenge, the Avebury Stone Circle, and two adorable Costwold villages, Lacock and Castle Combe. I was expecting to be less than impressed with Stonehenge, but I actually enjoyed it very much. It’s quite amazing how, without any form of modern technology, these people moved 5-ton stones all the way from Wales!

Stonehenge

Castle Combe ("coom"), a small Cotswold village

Traditional Cotswold cottage -- gorgeous!

Also, Bath is a site of ancient Roman baths (hence the name). I loved walking on the same stones that saw the Romans 2,000 years ago. If only walls could talk!

Roman baths in Bath, England

We then made it up to Warwick (pronounced warr-ick) Castle, near Birmingham. It was a little touristy, but so much fun. We enjoyed watching a trebuchet show, climbing along the walls of the castle, and listening to small British children. I officially love listening to foreign children talk, except Spanish children because the 3-year-olds are better at Spanish than I!

Jumping, with Warwick Castle in the background!

"Ah! It's almost as scary as actually being in the Middle Ages!!"

After 5 nights in England, we made it over to Ireland for 3 nights. Our first stop was Cork. The first day in Cork we took a bus down to Kinsale (kin-sale), a charming seaside town on the southern coast of Ireland. We took a 45-minute hike along the coast up to Charles Fort, which was a military built in the late 1600s and used until the early 1920s.

On the hike to Charles Fort -- you can see the fort in the background

Looking from Charles Fort into the Kinsale harbor

We got a short history from a worker there before hopping around the walls of the 400-year-old fort. It was right on the coast, so it was beautiful! I decided that it would be a good idea to roll down this big hill (a family looked like they were having fun!). I failed to realize, however, that it was a muddy mess at the bottom. So, of course, I became a muddy mess and had to walk all the way back to Kinsale and then ride the bus back to Cork in muddy jeans/sweatshirt! Fortunately, there was a washing machine at the hostel and we were able to get all the mud out.

After foolishly rolling down the hill!

Back in Cork, we enjoyed the pub scene, took a tour of the Cork jail, walked around the campus of UCC (University College Cork), where my cousin, Ian, attended for a semester, went to an art gallery, and then picked up some noodles/sauce at the local market to cook our own food back at the hostel that night.

Pretending to be a prisoner in the Cork City Jail ("Gaol" in Gaelic, or Irish)

Just a cool street in Ireland


UCC, or University College Cork, where Ian went to school


UCC front gates

That night, we had the wonderful opportunity of seeing a traditional Irish dancing show entitled "Dancing thru the Ages." It was astounding. I was floored by the ability God has given these people to dance so quickly, precisely, and masterfully! The music was wonderful and traditional and the dancers were just a joy to watch. Everyone in the show was just a master at their respective talent, and it was an unforgettable Irish experience!

"The Firkin Crane," where we saw the "trad" (traditional) Irish dancing show

The next morning we hopped on a bus to Dublin. I only had an afternoon there, so we hit the two highlights: Trinity College and the Guinness Storehouse. Trinity College was really interesting – we took a short tour of the campus from a student tour guide (he was quite humorous!) but didn’t go in to see the Book of Kells – for an extra 7 euro just to see the book, we figured we could look at a picture!

Mid-walk at Trinity College, Dublin

We also made it over to the Guinness Storehouse, where Guinness beer is made. It was a wonderful museum, quite interesting, and at the end we went to the “Gravity Bar,” which is a circular room with all windows that overlooks the city of Dublin. We had a fantastic view of the Wicklow Mountains and the rest of Dublin.

View from the Gravity Bar on top of the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin

Temple Bar area, center of pubs/nightlife in Dublin, last night in Ireland

The next morning, I woke up 54 minutes before my plane was scheduled to depart from Dublin to Madrid. I don’t know why I didn’t wake up to my alarm! After a stressful cab ride to the airport (where I completely perpetuated the cab driver’s stereotype of Americans – stressed, in a rush, etc.!), I ended up missing the flight and having to take the next flight later that afternoon. It actually worked out well because I got to spend more time with Julie in Dublin, and I ended up missing only about 3 minutes of the very beginning of my program’s welcome dinner in Madrid. Funny how God works those things out, eh?

"May God grant to the living, grace, to the departed, rest, to the church and the world, peace and concord, and to us sinners, eternal life." -- Inscription on outside wall of Westminster Abbey, struck me as profound