So we get there quite early in the morning, jump in a cab to get to our hotel, and drop our bags off until we can check in around 1pm. Also, I was going through my documents I needed to send off to apply for a scholarship to dental school, and realized that I never printed off my CV. I spot a printer behind the check-in desk and ask if I can use it just to print 2 pages. The man is very nice about it, and so now I have everything ready to be sent off. The deadline to have everything postmarked is by 5pm TODAY. So our first objective was to find a post office! Well, we found the place that everyone told us was the closest one…walk in, and are told that this is just the mailing center, that we need to go around the corner to send something off. so we do find it, send it off, and YAY! relief. dad and I had been working SO hard to get all that done, so it was nice to get it off our shoulders.

Afterward, we decide to go wander toward the center, and we spot the MASSIVE Cathedral of Sevilla (biggest cathedral in Spain and apparently the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world). We happened to get in for free because mass was taking place (since it was Semana Santa, there is at least one mass every day), but unfortunately could not go up the tower (also known as La Giralda…at the time it was built it was the largest tower in the world). Construction of the cathedral started in 1402 and continued until the 1500s.

Later, we walked along the Rio Guadalquivir and saw the Torre del Oro (Gold Tower), built in the 1200s to control access to Sevilla. It also served as a prison in the middle ages and a place to store all the gold the Spanish stolen from the Americas! – also a possible origin for the name. There is debate as to how the name came to be because the tower also used to be covered in gold tiles

Next we passed by the Plaza de Toros (bull ring), but there was a MASSIVE line due to the bullfight that day, so we couldn’t get inside. We then accidentally found part of the University of Sevilla – what used to be the science building but is now the language, history, and geography building. It is like a castle in itself…Actually, before it was even a University, it was a tobacco factory which the King own and supplied a ridiculous amount of cigars to all of Europe (can’t remember how much but it seems like at least half). If you’re into Opera – fun fact! Carmen was filmed here and she worked as one of the cigar rollers in the factory. The tobacco factory was converted into a University building in 1953.

Not far away from the University (and after dodging a bunch of gypsies…no joke) is the spectacular PLAZA DE ESPANA! All I have to say is that it kick’s Madrid’s Plaza de Mayor’s booty. by a lot. It is a huge half-circle and the epitome of Moorish-Spanish architecture, with a nice fountain in the middle and 2 arched bridges that go over the MOAT! haha. and you can ride boats thru the moat when the weather is nice! Also, it has tiled alcoves on the lower walls which represent every region in Spain.

Daddy and I have already seen a lot considering we have not even checked into our hotel yet! So we start heading back to the hotel and spot a “buffet libre” for the same price as a Menu del Dia, so decide to go drop off our things, get cleaned up, then get some lunch! I expose daddy to the wonderfulness that is Tinto de Verano (wine + some sort of carbonated lemony water)…and he goes on to ask, “so it’s like a wine cooler?” I respond that wine cooler has such a bad connotation, but that technically, I guess that’s what it is. He still liked it tho! Sometimes it is too hot to drink vino tinto, and that is where tinto de verano comes in.

On our way back to the hotel, we run into our first procession! Keep in mind that we had no idea what to expect, and so we learned throughout the whole experience. First we see the pointy-hooded people, and one gave me a piece of candy! Later we hear music coming from the left (they were walking to the right), so we thought maybe the music would eventually go by us. Then we hear the music to the right of us, and decide to go follow it! It was so powerful and moving with the horns and the drums. See the fotos for pics…I am going to try and upload videos later but this is a new thing for me so we’ll see how it goes.

We later realize more or less how the processions work and people involved. So each church has a different float for every day of Semana Santa, starting on palm Sunday until Easter Sunday (I believe), with things like the kiss of judas, last supper, and the crucifixion in between. They each leave their church at a certain hour (after noon) so that they are spread out, and have a planned route throughout the city. By our 2nd day in Sevilla, we realize that you cannot avoid the processions at night even if you want to! Also, each church is represented by a “cofradia” which is basically a religious club. They all wear more or less the same outfit, but have different colorings and symbols and whatnot. Also, the people who hold and carry the float are called “costaleros” and have their own outfit which are basically black knee-length short type things (think liederhosen without the pee flap), a white t-shirt, and what looks like a rolled up towel on their head that flows down their back (not rolled up like a turbin). So the processions go sort of in this order: cofradias, float held by costaleros, horns, drums…many times with family members of those in the procession interspersed.

So that is a procession in a nutshell. It took a while to figure the whole thing out honestly!

The next day we meet up with Victor at Plaza de Espana, then head to a nearby park before we go to lunch. Dad and I want to see the Alcazar, which Victor had already been to, so we go there and decide to meet up again with Victor later. The Alcazar is a royal palace in Mudejar-style architecture, and the upper levels are still used by the royal family. There are no little ropes to guide you around like some places, so we had some difficulty figuring out where we had and hadn’t been, but in the end I think we saw everything. There are numerous patios and nice gardens…I only know a little bit of the history, so if you are interested, there is always google!

By the end of all this, daddy and I are pretty tired so we go to the hotel for a siesta. Later, Victor and his dad pick us up (a little late because a lot of the roads were blocked for the processions), and they take us on a car ride around the city! woo! This is acceptable to daddy and me because we were not trying to go through the narrow cobble-stone streets like we saw many cars attempt to do, but we went on a loop around the city and got to see the river at night, plus the Plaza de Espana right before it closed for the night. And Victor’s dad (Jesus) took us to one of his favorite beer and tapas spots! We got prawns (which Victor said were the first prawns he’s ever liked), ensaladilla, some dried fish things (can’t remember what they were called, but the were good), and some mussels. Victor and his dad do not know much english, and daddy can pick up a few Spanish words, so I had a blast being the translator it’s honestly really fun to know what’s going on on both sides, but sometimes hard to switch back and forth…I kept finding myself speaking spanish to dad and english to victor, hahaha

After some pool (jesus is AWESOME at pool), they take us back to our hotel and we get some sleep before our train ride to CORDOBA in the morning!

well we had a little difficulty getting there actually, because chelsea thought it would be simple to buy tickets the day of at the machines in the RENFE station, just like she had done when going to Toledo some months ago…but no. welcome to spain, where nothing is efficient nor makes sense. Honestly, isn’t the purpose of a high-speed train defeated if you must wait >1 hour to buy the ticket…and not possible to buy it from a machine in the train station. DUMB DUMB DUM!

well that is a whole story in itself, but i will spare yall my sanity. in short, we took the ‘cercanias’ to another station, which connected us to the regional train (as per the advice of the ticket vendor…who said it would be the next fastest thing to the AVE). liar!!! he apparently did not sell us the whole ticket to segovia, just the ticket to the other station…because while we were on the 2nd train, the conductor came around, we gave him our tickets, and he proceeded to shake his head and say “esto no es valido” which means “this isn’t valid”…ugh. i tell him that we honestly didn’t know, because we talked to the guy at the ticket booth (and it wouldnt have been possible to buy a ticket at the other train station because the line there was even more ginormous than at the first), and blah blah blah..but honestly, we didn’t know! and then i thought he said “entonces, cuarenta” = “well then, 40 euros” and i was like “40???” …but then he said “no, doce cuarenta” (12.40), they sound so similar! i thought for sure he was gonna charge us a ton extra, but he didn’t, yay!…still took 2 hours to get there tho

anyway, once we got there, we had to figure out that we needed to take a bus to the main part of town. that was not too bad, but by this time it was 2pm and we were hungry! so we wander around a bit until we see a sign for a really good deal on the menu del dia. we search out the place and it ends up being a nice family-run restaurant…they give us a WHOLE bottle of wine with our meal, and we end up getting asparagus with some sort of cream as our first course, and i get salmon and daddy gets pollo (chicken) as the 2nd. also we got arroz con leche as our dessert, and everything was sooooo good! also, i talked to this guy who was sitting at the table next to us, as he seemed to come there a lot, and he gave us really good directions to our next destination. the alcazar!

On the way to the Alcazar, we end up stumbling upon the “plaza mayor” and the cathedral on the way, so a pleasant surprise! the cathedral is HUGE, gothic style with a nice courtyard, and is “widely considered Europe’s last gothic cathedral.” Preciosa.

Alcazar is a term which means more or less “castle-palace,” and I think it is a moorish/arabic term from when the moores (not candace’s matt type of moore) invaded spain. It was originally an Arab Fort and in the shape of the bow of a ship. We climbed the tower (which has an EXTREMELY narrow staircase), and the view from the top was amazing! we got some nice shots of the cathedral with the snow-capped mountains in the background. lovely!

we hung around for a bit and had some wine before heading to the aqueduct. we had not prepared ourself for the sheer size and majesty that is the aqueduct of segovia! it was built in either the 1st century AD or the early years of the 2nd century! and it was still in use until recently due to the wear and tear from heaters and automobiles…boo! Segovia and the aqueduct are now considered a World UNESCO Heritage Site, and therefore consciously preserved and maintained true to their original form.

Daddy and I were smart and bought our return tickets when we arrived, so we caught the last AVE back (we loved every minute, and so later glad we decided to catch the last one). The AVE is SO fast. wow.

well that entails most of our segovia adventure. This wednesday, Alex and I are going to Stuttgart, Munich, and Tubingen (u with the 2 little dots over it) to visit our friend Lisa! very excited and I will be busting out the very little german that I know. good thing almost all germans speak practically perfect english!

So what happened was…I was checking my gmail one day, and lo and behold, Boston University has sent me an email saying that I am invited to an interview, which is scheduled in 2 weeks. Ack!!!!! I wasn’t expecting to hear anything from them considering how late it was in the school year, but I frantically contacted my parents and dad sweeped up a direct flight from Madrid–>Boston and found a hotel closeby to the Medical Campus. Nice. Thanks dad! also I find out the next day that Hannah and Adam are coming to meet me up there too! woooooo!

Due to all this short-notice, I actually had to cancel a presentation I was supposed to be doing that week, but that turned out okay. I flew to Boston on Thursday because I didn’t want to miss my Wednesday classes (especially Biochem), but the flight went very smoothly and I got to the hotel without a hitch. Hannah and Adam get to Boston a few hours later, and we all immediately pass out.

My “interview day” is scheduled from 9:30-3 the next day, so I get my suit on (and my scarf…still really cold in Boston) and head over to the BU Dental School with Hannah and Adam, thinking that they would be able to go on the tour and everything with me. So we walk to the third floor, and see a few twenty-somethings with nametags sitting around an oval table in a conference room. Apparently family is not supposed to come with you on these things, but we had no way of knowing that. We say Ciao to each other and Hannah and Adam decide to tour the Sam Adams brewery (apparently in a not-so-pretty part of town) while I am getting a tour, info session, interview, and financial aid session. The tour was great and all of the staff and students were so welcoming and you could tell that they were really proud of their school. There is no faking that. On top of that, the atmosphere was comfortable and laid-back, which is my preference in a learning situation or just generally speaking. I also really like the program at Boston because of how they split up the school year, no block exams (usually just have one a week so you can focus on the material, DEFINITELY how I learn the best), and the APEX and externship programs.  The APEX program is at the end of year 1 and during the summer of year 2 for about 10 weeks each and is designed to be quite flexible in terms of your individual interests as well as location. You can choose to work with a dentist in any part of the nation (I think Canada too) and you basically make it whatever you like. In my case, I could work in a dentist office in the SE or at least where there is a significant hispanic population. Also, your entire 4th year is working in the clinics and you do an externship for part of the time…for the externship, you will usually be in a public health situation such as a Health Department, VA Hospital, etc…again, you have some say in terms of location and in this situation, you ARE the dentist instead of working under one.

So anyway I am STOKED. Need to stock up on my winter wardrobe like Candace and Matt had to do.

Hannah, Adam and I celebrated for the rest of the day. We found a nice wine bar and ate at Legal Seafoods for dinner.  My first time eating a proper lobster! It was an experience for sure.

The next day we had more time to do some sight-seeing, so we took the DUCK tour where you ride on what used to be a military vehicle and is capable of running on land or water! Our driver was hilarious too, had a STRONG boston/italian accent, and told us lots of fun facts as we drove around. We splashed into the Charles River and sailed under some bridges and got to see MIT and part of Harvard. After the Ducktour, we followed the “Freedom Trail” which was made to help tourists (who don’t have Garmins) to see all the historic sights, and is denoted by a red line through town. We also stopped to have a beer in America’s oldest bar/pub That night, we had some nice tapas and went to go see Jimmy Fallon in the theater district! SO funny and lots of fun!

It was cold and rainy on Sunday, so nothing worth mentioning. We were all supposed to fly out that evening anyway. My flight went smoothly (thank God…I had class the next day at 11:30am), but Hannah and Adam’s flight didnt go so well…they had to catch a flight out of Boston the next day, but at least they are okay!

I apologize for the lack of detail in the post…i’m so far behind on my blogs! 1 down, 4 to go…still have to post about Segovia, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada. And then I’m going to Stuttgart and Munich, Germany at the end of this month! My life…insanity. but fun

By the way, SO proud of my tarheels! woooooooop!!!!!!!!!!!!

To see all the cows of Madrid, their names, and where they are located in Madrid, see the website below!

http://www.cowparademadrid.com/tabid/509/Default.aspx

Also this week, Alex’s friends from NC who go to NCState (boooooooooo…hehe nah jk…i only really despise duke) came to visit! So we had many adventures with Ryan and Dusty including a picnic in front of the Palacio Real (how many people can say they can do THAT any day they please), a botellon and walk around Parque del Retiro, Tapas crawl, and a day trip to El Escorial and Valle de Los Caidos.

El Escorial is a monastery located in a pueblo named after itself, about 45 km (28 miles) to the NW of Madrid. It is a huge complex that was (is??) a monastery, art museum, archaelogy museum, and boarding school. Also, all the Kings and Queens since Carlos I (since about the 1500s) are in tombs there in the “Pantheon of Rulers.” We were looking at the dates and a lot of them died when they were about 30! There is also a section of kids and babies who died. The design inside is really quite simple, which is why they have art all over the walls I presume. Not allowed to take pics inside tho

I always read in history books how people were a lot shorter back in the day ( I suppose due to a lack of certain nutrients), but you never really think about it until you go to somewhere like this where someone tall like Dusty actually has to duck to go through the doorways! It made me giggle every time. However, there are 2 metro stations in Madrid that I know of (Plaza de Espana and Sol) that have at least 1 VERY short tunnel. It always think of Gene Morehead and the bright flags they put on the church arbor so that tall people would remember to duck.

El Valle de Los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen) is about 8 miles North of El Escorial and was built by Franco (the dictator of Spain from 1947 until his death in Madrid in 1975) to honor those who died in the Spanish Civil War. The cross you will see in the pictures is the tallest monumental cross in the WORLD, and the basilica underneath is also one of the largest in the world. The basilica was literally dug out of solid granite on the side of a mountain, and although this was constructed in the 1950s, the limestone ceilings are already leaking water and have some funky stains on them. Nonetheless it is cool, if not pretty creepy. By the way, Franco’s grave is here too! Ironically, 15 people are said to have died constructing this structure. On the walls in the Basilica are tapestries depicting the apocalypse, which is also pretty creepy. But the highlight for me were the archangles. SO massive and amazing. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside this basilica or El Escorial (not even without flash!)…Dusty managed to sneak in a pic of one of the archangels but it’s not the best. We went to the giftshop afterward but their postcard of the archangels were just not up to par.

Ok well I am extremely busy…UNC is playing Dook tonite, so Alex and I and another friend from UNC who happens to be in town are all going to an Irish Pub near Sol to watch the game, since that is our only means of doing so…and I am sacrificing my guaranteed senior UNC/Duke ticket to be in Madrid, so I WILL watch it. Last game of the season and then it is MARCH MADNESS.

Also, I have a presentation in my animal behavior class at the end of march on cannibalism…and Lee is coming from England to visit and we will be seeing the sites in Madrid and taking a little trip to Granada! Hopefully I will post after all that I miss all of yall but I am doing well and having a great time. Besitos!!!!!!! Disfruta las fotos

So Alex and I went with our German friend, Lisa to Valencia since she is only in Madrid for 1 semester…sort of a saying goodbye trip/celebration that exams are over/Valentine’s holiday for all of us singletons. Well we researched everything we wanted to do, and planned it all out…now only if the weather will cooperate…vamos a ver.

so POR SUPUESTO (of course), there is always some sort of problem on the journey. in our case, it was the buses. we bought our tickets online to leave fri morning at 10am. we get to the bus station and can’t find a bus that leaves for valencia at 10! there is one that leaves at 10:30, but that is clearly not what our ticket says. we ask around and no one seems to know…meanwhile, lisa apparently forgot to set her alarm clock and so only our calls from the bus station woke her up. A few minutes before 10am, we find the information office (which is SO not conspicous) and they tell us that we can hop on the 10:30 bus…good for lisa who is in transit to the bus station via taxi! so she gets to the bus station a few minutes after 10, and we see the 10:30 valencia bus pull up. I show the driver my ticket and he looks at it, very puzzled. He tells us we have to wait because we don’t have the right time on our ticket and apparently everyone else has an assigned seat…so we have to wait till everyone boards and then see if there are extra spots available. so it’s sort of “lo que sea”…whatever. we get seats and it’s no problemo (just wait until the coming back on the bus story)

4 hours later…we arrive in valencia and take a taxi to our hostel (and thus discover how CHEAP the taxis are in valencia…compared to madrid and barcelona). Our hostel is called the Red Nest Hostel and it is AWESOME in many ways. great location, international (and friendly) staff, clean, and awesomely designed! only 18 euros a night, so that was good.

we then head off to our first destination, the cathedral, which is between the Plaza de la Virgen and the Plaza de la Reina (they like their women in Spain). I am thoroughly enjoying the whole atmosphere (we see a man feeding the pigeons and there is SO MUCH greenery everywhere. LOVELY!) We walk around exploring the “plazas mas conocidas” (most known plazas) and also walk to the shopping district. We see the Banco de Valencia, Oficina de Correos (Post Office) and a HUGE  flower market on the way. Later, we head back to the hostel and try to find somewhere to go “por la noche” (for the night…not too late tho…chelsea needs her sleep). After a massively failed attempt to find “La Rincon Latina,” we end up at “La Cuenca” which is supposed to have really good “Agua de Valencia”…this is Valencia’s drink apparently, and it is made of orange juice (zumo de naranja) + champagne (cava) + vodka + sugar. my opinion? good, but too sweet for more than one drink. and expensive! but of course you have to try everything once. as they say…when in rome……..

we actually end up meeting this bar hopper group there, and follow them to one other bar. but i was sort of ademant about sleeping, so that was our 2nd and last bar.

next day! so a little bit of history…valencia used to have a river running through it (actually, the river sort of hugged the northern and eastern sides of valencia), but after 2 devastating floods, they decided to damn it up. The bridges that ran over this river still exist tho, and they turned the river bed into a massive garden/public area! The gardens get nicer the closer you get to the “Ciutat de las Artes y Ciencias”, but even farther away, they serve as great public football fields and places where you can run and walk your dog. it’s really a priceless amenity.

Off the gardens there are also impressive buildings like the “Palau de la Musica” (Music Hall), complete with fountains, palm trees, and surrounding columns. In addition, there is the “Museo de Bellas Artes” (Museum of Fine Arts) and it has a blue dome roof, which I found exciting. The gardens themself were lovely. Palms and fountains and bridges galore. Perfect for Valentine’s Day! Our ultimate destination was the “Torre de Serranos” which was part of the wall (muralla) that used to surround Valencia, and you can go up in it for free! So of course we did! I liked the narrow little arrow slits they used to aim at the baddies. You know, they say that Madrid is one of the “greenest cities in Europe” but Valencia has SO much more greenery and i LOVE it. It is also a much more manageable size than Madrid. We were all surprised at how close things were compared to where they were on the map..our scale is distorted. Also, in Madrid, every metro stop is like a different world…In Valencia, I feel like it is more continuous (probably mainly because it is smaller…plus lots of palm and orange trees) even though it is still the 3rd largest city in Spain. I could totally live there. it is so CLEAN and no graffiti either!

Despuesssssss (after), we walked to (more or less) the city center where the “Mercado Central” (Central Market) is. OH MAN. I thought the market in Barcelona (La Boqueria) was cool. In my opinion, this market blows La Boqueria out of the water. It is so pretty and open and colorful inside! There is plenty of room to walk between the stalls, although it gets crowded right before siesta because everyone is buying what they want to eat for lunch (same for the supermercados in Madrid). Also, you should know that for the more popular stalls, you should get a ticket (with a number) and then come back later because the wait is quite long! I just wanted some strawberries! I think we just went at a really busy time. But it is a beautiful building.

After this we were really hungry, and of course it is un REQUISITO (required) to eat paella valenciana (say: pie-EH-yah), so we found a sitio right on the Plaza Ayuntamiento and chilled there for a couple of hours and enjoyed the sound of the massive fountain…thennnn we took a little siesta. After waking up, we headed to the “Barrio del Carmen” which is apparently the heart of nightlife…not really clubs, but they have a lot of cools bars and people there. Well the scene is certainly there but the drinks are not cheap! It was good to walk through there at least. Again, I wanted to have a good night’s sleep because I knew we would be leaving early the next morning for the Ciutat de Artes y Ciencias. Dios…this thing was featured on the front page of wikitravel.org while we were in Valencia!

So this Ciutat de Artes y Ciencias…they call it a “city” because it is really like a world within itself! It is a complex of buildings that includes a science museum, IMAX (hemisferico), oceanografico (sort of like a sea world…HUGE), and art exhibit. The Oceanografico was amazing…it featured wildlife from different ecosystems (por ejemplo: temperate, wetlands, arctic, mediterranean…etc)..unfortunately this was the only day it decided to rain……but we also saw 2 movies at the IMAX…it is pretty much like the one in Charlotte, but without the cool intro at the beginning. In Charlotte they have the bottom lit up in a soft bluish purplish and then when the show is about to start… “WE HAVE THE MOST ADVANCED SPEAKER SYSTEM, BOOM BOOM BOOM” and they light up all the ginormous speakers that are behind the screen. and it’s awesome. but they didn’t do that in valencia, which is a shame because that little part makes the experience 10x cooler. but anyway, we saw a film about this guy whose dad died climbing the most dangerous mountain in the alps…and he goes on to face his fear! the next one was about the “deep sea’ which was narrated by kate winslet and johnny depp and even cooler considering we had just seen a lot of those creatures in the oceanografic! very informative, color, interesting, entertaining…and i can’t believe how they get some of those shots. Just like in Planet Earth. Amazing.

So on the way back, we get to the bus station well ahead of time…and i am in the front of the line handing my ticket to the driver as soon as he opens the door…apparently i am in seat 2, cool. alex and lisa come on next and they are in 1 and 3…nice. but THEN what happens is that 3 other people are assigned the exact same seats as us! joder! he tells us not to worry, and we know it’s not our fault, but we also remember what happened on the way over. there must have been a glitch in the system. so in the end, we just had to move a row back to 3 empty seats but the driver was so confused!…and we were nervous of course. but we made it!

Alright I am done blabbering. I just finished my first week of 2nd semester and I am loving my classes so far! I will probably update on that next week. That is a whole interesting topic within itself. Well I love all of yall! *waves!!!* besitos a todos! disfruta las fotos (enjoy the fotos!)

Luckily there is only an hour difference between Spain and England and the flight is about 1.5 hours, so I didn’t have to face the jet-lag problem…just the whole getting-over-being-sick thing. Thanks to the midnight blue walls and black-out curtains in the guestroom, I’m pretty sure I slept 10-11 hours almost every night. It was wonderful.

The first day I landed in Inglaterra, we went for a walk through Shoreham and saw some festive houseboats! The most interesting houseboat looked like something straight out of Barcelona…crazy colors and designs and it has a BUS on the side of it (see pics). Also there is a picture of the huge pebbles that make up the beach, ouch! Plus, I was introduced to the English invention of ‘beach huts,’ which are basically tiny storage units along the shore which hold your beach chairs, etc…apparently you can catch Brits sipping on tea inside when the weather is nice. They are ridiculously expensive, and a little odd. The ones in Shoreham are white, but I’ve seen pictures of really colorful ones as well. Oh yea, and Aussies have them too!

The same day, we drove by Lancing College (www.lancingcollege.co.uk) and had a look inside the Chapel, which is breathtaking! The downstairs looks totally different than the main floor too. We also swung by the Shoreham airport, which is the oldest airport in the UK, and many people learn how to fly here…Plus they have airshows!

Next up was mostly Christmas festivities We went to the Christmas Eve service at the Henfield Anglican Church, and it was basically the kids who put on the whole show. Every year they tell the Nativity story, and the congregation sings songs sort of in-between scenes.

By the way, English people sing different tunes of some of the best Xmas carols!!!!!!! The ones we sang that were different were : It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and…there was another one, but i can’t remember at the moment…here are examples of the different tubes on youtube

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

American version w/ Allison Crowe

English version – Pipe Organ

– American version – Pipe Organ

O Little Town of Bethlehem

– English version – Vienna Boys Choir

– American version – Organ

Ok so that’s that…Another English Christmas tradition that I never knew existed are Christmas crackers. They are about the size and shape of an empty toilet paper roll wrapped up in shiny paper with two twisted ends…You are supposed to cross your arms and have the end in each hand, sharing with your neighbor, then PULLLLLLLLL! They actually do make a cracking noise when they open, and each one of them contains a paper crown, a joke (always corny), and a little prize. Examples of prizes that I got were a miniature deck of cards and a tiny comb. They are fun and it’s always interesting to go around the table and hear how bad the jokes are.

There are many scrumptious benefits of an English Christmas as well (minus the Christmas pudding, hahahaha). This was the first time I had ever tried mulled wine which is basically wine (usually red I think) which is blended with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and clove (for example) and served warm (yum!!!). You can buy it premade or spice packets to make it yourself. There are two main desserts served around Christmas time. One I am familiar with (mom says because her family makes it) it what we call “mincemeat pie” but I prefer the less offensive-sounding English way of saying “mince pie”…I think they used to used to use meat somehow to make them, but these days they are just filled with fruits like apples and raisins. The other dessert eaten at this time of year is called “Christmas pudding” (pudding = dessert) and it’s this dense mound of cake with dried fruits, nuts, and SOAKED in Brandy (and vodka). Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the Christmas pudding, but this rich dessert is lit on fire just prior to serving (reason for the vodka) and served with Brandy Cream. I tried it, but I think I would have liked it better if I could have tasted anything besides the Brandy, haha. It is strong! You get a little buzz after eating a couple spoonfuls of that stuff.

So on Christmas morning, we had Champagne, but some people make what Americans call ‘mimosas’ (champagne and orange juice), but the English call it “Buck Fizz” hehe. No idea where that one came from. Also, it is typical to have a starter, the main course, and then Christmas pudding. The Gills, however, found that to be wayyyy to filling in previous years, so we spaced it out throughout the day. After opening presents, we had our starter of smoked salmon with prawns and “rocket” (=arugula)…haha, another funny word that I have no idea where it came from. It is also a must to watch the Queen’s address which comes on at 3pm. She talks (very generally) about the past year – she talked about soldiers and the economy mostly – and it lasts about 20 minutes. So we had our proper meal after the Queen’s address which consisted of turkey, brussel sprouts, roasted potatoes (all VERY traditional), red cabbage, stuffing balls…and probably other things…it was all sooooooooo good! kudos maria!!!!!!!!

I know I keep talking about “traditional English Christmas things,” but there are a TON that I didn’t know about. Another one is Pantomimes. People go to them around Christmas/New Years time and it is basically like an interactive play, in that the audience is expected to participate. The one we saw was a professional production in Crawley and it was Aladdin (in 3D!!!!). There is always a “baddie” in every panto, and the audience is supposed to boo and hiss when he/she comes out. The baddie in our particular play was quite entertaining and he was probably my favorite character. They also make a lot of jokes and references to current events, the local area, and pop culture…Hence I missed about half of them…And some of the songs I didn’t know either, oops! But it was still fun

On New Years, Ryan, Maria and I all went to their friends’ the Shepherd’s house. Andy Shepherd is a pilot like Clive, and Lise is Norwegian, so a foreigner to England like Maria! Lise was also the first female infantry officer in Norway! woo!!! Anyway, their son Tom is about my age, so we had some fun adventures around town. We went for a walk around the remains of Knepp Castle and I saw wild pigs for the first time! and 3 little piglets that were sooooooo cute and furry! There was also a HUGE herd of deer (with about half being bucks with enormous antlers)…I actually saw two of them battle with their antlers like they do on the Discovery Channel, hehe. so cool! We also took a trip to Brighton one day and rode this ride on the Pier called “The Booster.” If you ever go to Brighton, ride this ride. It looks intimidating and scary, but it’s really not that bad. You get the best view of Brighton when the other car is loading and you are sitting sooooo high. It’s a shame we couldn’t get a camera up there! Do it in the evening too when all the lights on the pier come on. amazing.

On my last day in England, Clive, Maria and I took a day trip to Portsmouth, which has a bunch of cool things like proper “Pirates of the Caribbean” style ships (google: HMS Victory), a University, a Submarine Museum…and it is still a hopping port. The Isle of Wight is just a stone’s throw away and they have ferries going to Bilbao, Spain regularly.

Overall, I had an AWESOME time in England and can’t WAIT to go back! I already miss everyone, but it was SO good to be there for Christmas break. i loved every bit of it Well I will leave you all with a list of translations (English–>American). BESOS!!!!!

boot = trunk (of car)
bonnet = hood (of car)
revising = studying (estudiando)
peckish = slightly hungry
cheers = thanks (gracias)
torch = flashlight
trousers = pants (pantalones)
pants/knickers = undies
jumper = sweater (sueter)
rag it = floor it
garden = yard
cinema = theater (cine/teatro)
film = movie (pelicula)
rocket = arugula
aubergine = eggplant (berenjena)
plaster = bandaid
cutlery = utensils

feel free to remind me of the ones i’ve forgotten! there are TONS

]]> http://merandall.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/xmas-08-english-style/feed/ 0 merandall http://merandall.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/post-coming-soon/ http://merandall.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/post-coming-soon/#comments Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:50:26 +0000 merandall http://merandall.wordpress.com/?p=648 ]]> Once wordpress decides to start behaving, I’ll have a new post for yall. It’s almost done, just having ‘technical difficulties’

For now, enjoy this video made by my roomie of our awesome SNOW in madrid that we had today! I’m saying “esta nevando!!!!” (=It’s snowing!!!!). and according to Hector, who has lived in Madrid his entire life (and he’s in his 30s), it has NEVER snowed like this before.

Every Christmas in Madrid, there are many “mercadillos” around the city, with the most famous one in Plaza Mayor. They mostly sell Christmas decorations, Nativity scenes, things of this nature. Boy was I ill-prepared for the mercadillo experience. All around Sol there are vendors selling neon-colored wigs of every style imagineable (including afros!) and SOOOO many people bought one and were WEARING them around! Other people had reindeer antler hats, and all these other crazy things you can put on your head. Haha, Spaniards have NO shame. Also, there are these guys all around Sol who you will hear before you see them, selling these little do-dads you put in your mouth, and it makes this CRAZY loud…annoying…noise. haha. well a bunch of people had those too. it was a mad-house. shouldve gotten some pics!

On another note, I am not a tall person. I’m 5’3 (I think the average US woman is 5’4), but Spanish girls/women are TINY…i feel normal if not sometimes tall here. it’s awesome. they also have no hips or buts, so finding jeans here is a bit of a challenge to say the least. and i have to wear a M/L in most things ????? what is that??

So just finished packing most of my things for Inglaterra!!!!!! I’m SOOOO excited! Haven’t seen the Gills in a while and I’ve never been to their new house either. Oh and apparently Phillipa will be living with a family in the North of Spain for a while, and she’s only been taking Spanish for a year, so she wants some help, which I’m happy to give! Hopefully I’ll get some good pics like I do on all of my adventures, so get excited for that blog post! haha. I fly back January 5th, so it should be sometime after that. so FELIZ NAVIDAD y ANO NUEVO a todos!!!!!!!! Talk to yall in 2009!!!!!!

Also, people trying to learn english always say how the ‘verb phrases’ are really hard like ‘turn on = encender,” “turn off = apagar,” “go up = subir,” “go down = bajar,” “to have fun = divertirse,” but there are a MONTON of verb phrases like this where in spanish they just have a word. There is one exception to this that I’ve noticed and it’s “to stand = estar de pie” which literally translates to “to be of foot.”

Well this week I can say I’ve done something I’ve never done before…I went to an awards show!! The biggest and most important one in Spain. They have a radio show similar to Weekly Top 40 called “40 Principales” and so every year they have an awards show, which you can vote for online, for all the normal categories (best artist, best album, best solo artist, best song…etc) but they also gave awards to the best artist of every Latin American country! This doesn’t include the Caribbean islands. It was a TON of fun, even though I didn’t know all of the songs…I could sing along to some of them. I have pictures from my camera and the website below

Last night, Real Madrid played Barcelona (AKA Barca), so Alex and I went to our normal bar which is literally on the corner of our street, so a hop away…plus they have the cheapest beer and best tapas…last time we went there, they had a huge projection screen with the game on, but apparently there was a dinner party that night in that room so we had to stand at the bar since I am not feeling so good and the smoke plus standing was not helping, we headed back to the house and watched the rest with Julia and her novio Hector. Too bad Madrid lost 2-0 right at the end, but oh well…Barca is ranked a good amount higher anyway. By the way, I am pretty damn sure that the smoke at the Premios (Awards Show) is what triggered it because I was feeling perfect before then and you know, most people were smoking, and it was an indoor arena, so NO ventilation. ugh…and it is a sinus infection sorta thing…i dont think i will ever get used to cigarrette smoke, so that is one thing I like about America better than Spain, there you go.

Bueno, soooooo, I just got back from Barcelona on Monday morning…I’ve had class every day since then so I haven’t had time to update because there are a MONTON of fotos…actually, I still don’t have lisa’s fotos (which include La Rambla and Guell Park), but I will post those once I get them.

So I will go in order (mas o menos). First of all, we flew RYANair, an Irish company which is SUPER cheap…it cost us 12 euros round-trip, but they have this weird rule that you can’t check in online if you’re not an EU citizen, so it costs 10 euros to check in at the airport, and another 10 to check in a bag…we definitely needed a bag since we were going for 5 days. Also, they fly us to Girona which is about an hour north of Barcelona, but they have a very organized bus system that leaves about every 10 mins to and from Barcelona (21 euros round trip)…all in all, much cheaper than the train and much less travel time than the bus.

So we get to the bus station, and there are these stairs we have to go up with our bags, and WHAT is the first thing that happens to me??? I turn around, and there is this gypsy/Romanian-looking chica trying to put her hand in my purse!!!!! So I slapped her hand and yelled SO loud at her (it was just instinct)…then she ran away…luckily she didn’t get anything, and it never happened again, but welcome to barcelona, right? sheesh. i noticed that there are not near as many police-people in barcelona as madrid…maybe because it is not tourist season? no se. but we have a friend who is a cop in barcelona and he says that there is a really high demand for police there.

anyways, so once we dropped off our bags at our AWESOME apartment (thanks to the tio of alex), we went for a walk down the boardwalk. we could see the port from our window! so at the port there was a cool statue of a lobster, a golden fish, some tall rascacielos (skyscrapers…one of which looked like it was floating, goooooo engineers!), proper boats….among other things.

that first evening, lisa and i took a nice siesta until my catalan friend ‘elies’ called me. he brought us maps and lots of touristy info about barcelona…showed us where everything was on the map, it was great! then he took us down Las Ramblas (which I don’t have too many pics of at the moment…i think lisa has them…), but we saw the Plaza Real and all the christmas lights…also, he showed us where the boqueria is so we could buy groceries for thanksgiving the next day! the boqueria is i think the best market i’ve ever been to. it’s very open, fresh, and has a TON of variety. it’s quite famous for all of these things.

the next day we saw the barcelona cathedral, which was cool, but it is not the highlight of the city. also, we went to the boqueria, which was an event within itself. i was the director of the thanksgiving dinner because we knew we were having boys over, and therefore needed to make a plentitude. we made green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, a mixed salad with pecans and cranberries, and pavo (=turkey)…it was a huge success!!!!!!

on friday, we explored the western part of the city including the estadio olympico (olympic stadium), museo nacional de arte catalunya (MNAC), the magic fountain, and the castle on top of mount montjuic to see an amazing view of the city! originally we wanted to take the ‘teleferico’ (which is this cable car that takes you from port vell to mount montjuic), but when we got there, they told us that it wasn’t running due to bad weather conditions…at first we were confused, but then we walked down to the beach and saw the GINORMOUS waves. there were a ton of surfers out, and i have never seen waves so big in person! apparently someone died that day because of the waves :/

saturday was full of all things gaudi! unfortunately, it cost 16 euros to go inside casa battlo, but we got pictures from the outside! also, it was raining on and off that day, so we decided not to pay to inside ‘la pedrera’ because apparently the rooftop ‘terazza’ is the best part. nonetheless, we went inside the sagrada familia and up the tower! SUPERGUAY! and very windy on the top up there, but wonderful views of the city and the cathedral itself. despues, we went to park guell, which apparently was not very popular when gaudi first built it, but it is also very interesting just like the rest of his work (modernism)…park guell includes the famous mosaic-style lizard (you can find a miniature form in every tourist shop in barcelona)…i think lisa got a pic of it, so i will have to post that one later

our last day in barcelona we went to CAMP NOE (which madrilenos hate…their rival…almost as big as UNC/Duke…but not quite ) so camp noe is the stadium for FC Barcelona (fc = futbol club), and is the largest stadium in europe and also boasts a 5-star rating!!! …by whoever rates the stadiums. also, we got to check out the picasso museum which is AMAZING. picasso actually lived in different parts of spain during his life including madrid and barcelona, so there are paintings of parque del retiro and las ramblas and things…this museum in barcelona is apparently the most comprehensive collection of his work, and he was still alive when it was created, so he even donated a huge amount of his private collection to the museum. i have so much more appreciation for picasso now. all of his work is SO different and i think the fact that he got famous so early in his life let him have more creative freedom, but he tried out so many artistic techniques not only style-wise but using different instruments and methods…and i only wish i had a fraction of his creativity. just wow.

so that is the short and skinny of our grand adventure to barcelona! enjoy the fotos!!!!