La Ultima de Oviedo

Pues, ¡hoy es mi ultima día en Oviedo! A las 19.30, el autobus a Barcelona salirá. Que extraño que estamos terminados de todo. ¿A donde fue el tiempo? Mi tiempo en Oviedo fue magnifico. Yo conocí muchos amigos nuevos, comía muchas comidas nuevas, y aprendía muchisimo Español.

Me encanta Oviedo, y todo de Asturias que yo ví este mes pasado. Antes de la programa, estaba muy nerviosa de hablando Español, y viajando en solo, pero Español ni viajando solo no son tan mal… Deseo que he hablado con mucho mas gente española y comía menos, pero está bien. Antes de visitando Oviedo, yo no tenía ningun idea a lo que puede esperar, y este mes, fue mejor que es posible para imaginar. Ojalá que una día en el futuro, es posible que yo volveré para visitar.

Hasta pronto, Oviedo :)

Fotos-- Semana Cuatro

Este semana, es imposible para compartir solamente una foto. Y eso es porque voy a compartir seis fotos.
1) el museo Guggenheim en Bilbao.
2) el hotel a donde nosotros pernoctamos en Bilbao.
3) La Playa de Concha, San Sebastián.
4) Un poco mas de media del grupo quien visitó San Sebastian. Hay chicos de Australia, Alemana, y los E.E.U.U. en este foto.
5) Una otra vista de la Playa de Concha
6) La puesta de sol en San Sebastián.

Semana Cuatro

Ya esta el cuarto semana... ¡Eso es loco! No quiero volver a los estados todavía, pero tengo suerte que tengo un poco de tiempo después del programa.

Este fin de semana, algunas niños de Utah y yo fuimos a Bilbao y San Sebastian. Vimos el museo Guggenheim, unos edificios y puentes magníficos, y pernoctamos en una hotel grande y bonito. Llegamos a Bilbao a las 5.45 h, y nunca de las tiendas eran abiertas. Por eso, y porque todos estamos cansados, nosotros nos descansado en un parque desde una hora, y después pasan por el ciudad. Saltan en una área de juegos cerca del museo Guggenheim hasta las 8.00 h. Después, íbamos al hotel y tomamos una siesta y una ducha y otra vez fuimos al cuidad, y visitamos el museo de Guggenheim.

La mañana siguente, tomamos un autobús desde Bilbao a San Sebastián. En San Sebastián, solamente tomamos mucho sol, y conocimos mucho gente del todo mundo. Ahora tengo amigos de Alemana, Australia, Texas, y unos otros lugares. El tiempo no era lo mejor, pero era bien. La ultima noche, unas amigos y yo subimos la montaña en el península y vimos la puesta del sol.

Cuando regresé en Martes, era muerta y me dormí para 12 horas. Me encanta este fin de semana larga, y el puente. La gente, la comida, y las playas todos son magníficos y me gusta todo muchísimo.

Semana Tres

Este semana, necesito escribir de my lugar favorito en Oviedo. Eso es difícil para decir. Quiero poner una foto de todo la ciudad, pero eso solamente es una respuesta obscura. Pienso que mi lugar es la terraza de mi apartamento. La vista es incredible, y puedo ver mucho de la ciudad (¡estoy escribiendo de la terreza ahora!). Aqui es tranquilo y puedo leer, o simplemente sentarme. Claro, hay muchas mas lugares en Oviedo, Asturias, y España que me gusto mucho, pero esta terraza esta mi favorito.

Carbayones

Vale, es una problema que tengo. Me encanta Carbayones. Son pasteles tradicionales de Asturias y están deliciosos. Si visite Oviedo, necesita comer uno... o diez.

Y ahora es la segunda semana

La segunda semana es terminado. ¿es loca, no? He tenido mucho divertido, y me comía muchas comidas deliciosos. Mi familia es incredible y cocine comida que es igualmente incredible. Mi mamá aqui cocine unas almuerzas y cenas deliciosos. Aqui en España, almuerzo es harina mas grande del dia, y Eva, mi mamá se hacerme comida calliente cada dia. Nosotros comemos muchas verduras y frutas, y tambien yogur y pollo. En este semana pasada, no hay nunca comida que no me gusta. Hay unas cosas que no me encantan, pero al mismo tiempo, no me odio.

Hoy, para la cena, Eva hico la tortilla de patatas. Era muy delicioso y simple. Solamente necesita como seis patatas, una cebolla, cuatro huevos, y un pellizco de sal. Nececita cortar las patatas y la cebolla mezcla los con el sal. Ponelos en una sartén con aciete y cocina. Despues de los patatas estan suave, pone en un bol, y mezcla con los huevos. Otra vez pone la mixta en la sartén y freír hasta los huevos estan terminados. Y es todo! Que simple, ¿no? Tambien, la tortilla de patatas es solamente uno de los cosas que me come aqui. Una otra cosa que Eva, dime era los patatas fritas y huevos. Freí los dos, huevos y patatas, y sirven. Eso es todo, y todos dicen que los niños pequeños le gustan.

Hay muchos mas comidas deliciosos y incredibles, pero no tengo mas tiempo para decirle. Los pasteles aqui estan mas mejor de los en el E.E.U.U. tambien.

¡Chao!

Foto Uno

En Madrid nosotros fuimos a el Centro del Sol, y vimos los protestantes aqui. Era muy guapo y hay cientos y cientos personas aqui.

La Primera Entrada de España

*This post is for class*

Ay. En este entrada, yo nececito escribir de una experiencia en España. Pero, yo tengo hacer aqui por seis dias y yo hacía mucho. Pasé como tres dias en Madrid, y yo experimentado mucho en esos tres dias. He comido muchas comidas nuevas, he vido muchas cosas y personas nuevas y diferentes, y he conocido personas nuevas. Yo pienso que mi dia favorita era el dia en que Linda, Kevin, Isac, y yo fuimos a el Parque de Retiro, y alquilamos una chalupa pequeña en la lago de Retiro. Al lado de la lago es un Monumento a Alfonzo XIII. El cielo era azul y el tiempo era perfecto. Nosotros sentamos aqui por trenta minutos y descansamos.

Despues de nosotros se terminados con la chalupa, nosotros compramos unos bocadillos de jamón serrano y nosotros comemos en el cesped. Esa dia tambien nosotros caminamos mucho, y tambien vemos mucho. No tenemos nadie de planes, y por eso es por que era mi dia favorita.

Buenas Noches

It's only 9 pm here, but mentally I am so drained. I'm still very excited about the next month, but it's going to be a long one. Here are some photos from the last couple days before I dive into dream land. Enjoy!

Royal Guards... mmmhmmm

Parque de Retiro

Otra vez + Kevin

aaand again. with Isac & me.

Bienvenidos a Oviedo, mi habitacion!

This is what the drive was like until we went through a really long tunnel just before Asturias. Then it was like the bus got pushed into a cloud. It was completely white and foggy the rest of the ride to Oviedo.

A coolio bridge we drove across just before the fog.

AY. What a day. Today I’m traveling up to Oviedo to meet with the rest of the group, and to meet my host family! Yipes! It has been one hell of a day, too. Want to hear the story? I bet you do… Here goes.. And if you don’t want to hear the story, here’s a picture you can look at.

This morning my group was planning on leaving our place at 8:30 and taking the Metro to the bus station where we would be bussing to Oviedo. So I of course, didn’t leave myself enough time to finish packing and everything, and so was about 10 minutes late (Sam and Taylor, if you’re reading this that’s pretty good, right?) and got downstairs and out the door just as the last of the group was leaving, so I was feeling pretty rushed right away. We get down to the metro with our suitcases, no problems, buy our tickets, and get to the train as it literally pulls into the station. We then got off, dragged our suitcases up some stairs, through a couple hallways, and down another three flights of stairs to the other train that also pulled into the station as we got there. Phew. Made it, smooth sailing, right? WRONG. The bus station and the Metro station are connected and so we didn’t have any trouble finding it, but couldn’t find where our bus was. All of us had pre-bought our bus passes, and most had printed off the confirmation, but two others and myself had forgotten. The three of us then went to see if we could get paper tickets, but the (very uninterested and curt) woman said that she couldn’t find any history of our tickets. “Nececitas comprar otra. Lo siento.” You need to buy a new ticket, I’m sorry. We pulled out our computers, SURE that we had tickets, but had complications of one sort or another. We three decided to go down to the bus and see if they would just let us on. The other two made it on fine, he had their passport numbers, but for some reason my number was nowhere to be found. The bus was supposed to leave at 10:00 sharp and it was 10:07 so the bus driver was freaking out. The bus was full and there was nothing I could do. SO, I went upstairs, bought another bus ticket for 12:00, and here I am. Sitting on the bus, two hours away from Oviedo. Everything worked out in the end, it was just really insane for a solid two hours. I’ll still have time to get into the city, find the campus, and have about half an hour to spare. I only wish I rhad known I wasn’t going to make the 10 o’clock bus so that I didn’t have to leave in such a rush. But what’s done is done, and I’ve had a chance to sleep, and breathe now so I can think straight again.

The drive thus far has actually been fantastic. I was worried that it would just be a boring ride that I would sleep through (which wouldn’t be bad either…) but it has been GORGEOUS! I slept the first hour so I couldn’t tell you where we are right now if I tried, but I do know that it looks like I just stumbled into a fairytale. There are rolling green fields on either side of the road, bushes with bright yellow blossoms line the sides of the road, patches of purple, white, red and yellow wildflowers dot the fields, and there are orchards and vineyards scattered throughout the country. We’ve passed several small hilltop towns that are absolutely picture perfect, and on the outskirts of every single town, is a castle. A CASTLE! I’m probably way too excited that I’ve seen four real-life castles now but jeez, we don’t have those in the U.S.! The cathedrals that we can see from the bus are equally as stunning.

Something even better than the fairytale-esque landscape and castles though is that there are fields filled with windmills and solar panels. When I woke up and looked out the window, the first thing that I saw was a rolling hill lined with windmills (I tried to take a picture, but it was pretty far out…). Then about 20 minutes later, I looked out the other window and saw more solar panels than I think I have ever seen in my life. I really would like to know how much energy they generate, because there were just so many of them. In the U.S. right now I know there are debates about alternate energy usage, and one of the main arguments against it is that windmills and solar panels especially, change the landscape. And this is entirely true. Solar panels aren’t the most attractive things to look at, and they’re rather all consuming in a landscape setting. But knowing how great they are, and what a difference they’re making in the environment makes up for their less than beautiful appearance. The windmills on the other hand, I find absolutely captivating. I can’t explain it, and it probably (ok definitely) sounds ridiculous, but I could watch a windmill turn for hours. I find them strangely calming I guess you could say. I don’t know, I like them a lot, and I REALLY like that Spain is using so many of them.

From what I can see, I think that Spain is eligible for one of the most gorgeous places on the planet. I’m probably just naïve in saying that, but seriously. Fairytale. Welp, compy here is at about 25% so I’m going to say hasta luego and take in some more of the incredible sights and take pictures as I can. If I can’t take some now, I’ve got six weeks to take a million. ☺

I made it to Oviedo, and am posting this from my new home! Will write more later (including fotos!)

Adios!

**THIS POST IS NOT FOR CLASS**

AY, buenas noches.

I slept like a freaking dead man last night. A ton of bricks couldn't have woken me up, well, I guess then I WOULD have been a dead man.. anyways, I slept really well last night, in a clean, comfortable bed. Which got me thinking about how great staying at this hostel has been so far. It's only been about two days, most of which I haven't been at the actual hostel for, but when I am here it's just so nice. The guys who run it are insanely cool, free breakfast is always awesome, and it has this incredible atmosphere, which I'm guessing a number of hostels have. What makes the deal though is it's secure. You have to be buzzed in every time, and there are lockers for all personal items. The bathrooms are shared, but it's expected that they are kept clean by each guest, and they are also cleaned by staff every day. The beds have crisp clean sheets on them, nothing fancy in the least but they're clean. This place really makes the trip that much better by creating a chill, comfortable atmosphere to come back to after a day of walking 20 miles like yesterday.

We left the hostel at about 9:45 and just started walking in a direction that we hadn't already been, walked along a bunch of little streets that were absolutely empty, and ended up at La Plaza de Indepencia where we stopped for sandwiches and drinks. Then a girl with us realized that she didn't have a memory card for her camera, so we walked back. Then we went back to a park that was close to the plaza where we had just been and wandered around for a bit looking at a street fair that only sold books, we walked past the Royal Palace, and a couple other plazas and sculptures that I didn't recognize.. but we took pictures! At the park, we walked some more, and then rented a small row boat at a pond and paddled around for a little bit. After, we had had enough of the water, we went and got bocadillas con jamon serrano (delicioso little sandwich) and ate them in the grass at the park. The whole thing was really great, super chill and it was just a really, very fun day. After the park, we walked around more looking for for the Museo Reina Sofia and we COULD. NOT. FIND. IT. (So we asked around and came back today.) After we gave up looking and were all exhausted, we came back to the hostel, hung out for a bit, went and bought churros, and went back to the hotel. The people I was with were going to take naps, and so I decided to hang out on my bed and read until they woke up and we went out again. Instead of reading though, I ended up passing out entirely at seven pm. I woke up at 2 am, seven hours later and realized what I had done. Oops. So I changed into my PJ's, went through the whole bedtime routine, and went back to bed. I didn't think I would be able to sleep anymore, but surprised myself and fell back asleep almost immediately and didn't wake up again until nine the next morning. At least I can say I'm caught up on my sleep though, right?

Today we got a late start because everyone had been out really late the night before (while I had slept), but we left the hostel to find a place for breakfast. There is a small fruit shop around the corner from the hostel, so we stopped in there and then went exploring. We Ate the fruit as we walked and then stopped at a small café for café con leche just outside of Plaza Mayor. It was really a beautiful part of town, with ancient buildings towering over us, and this quartet of young men in street clothes playing incredible classical music. Because it was a Saturday morning, there were tons of people milling about, both tourists and locals. The shops were packed, and there was just a great energy. It was a great way to start our last day in the city. After we drank our drinks, we paid and wandered around the city some more and went to see the Museo de la Reina Sofia. Because the museum is free after 2:30 on Saturday afternoons, we got lunch at a shop in a plaza out fron and waited. The Bocadillas at the shop were huge. I got a bocadilla con atún y pimientos and it was SO oily but SO good! That great sandwich followed by seeing so many incredible pieces by Alexander Calder, Picasso, Salvador Dalí and so many other artists made for a truly great day. My feet were dead by the time we were done, and to sit down felt great.

Tonight I also had to switch rooms at the hostel (because I forgot about booking a room for tonight originally), and my new roommates are ALL Canadian. One from Toronto, three from Quebec City, and one from BC. All are really, very nice and they’re all pretty funny. Tonight a bunch of people from the Oviedo group that are staying at my same hostel are going out to celebrate our last night in Madrid, so I’ve gotta jet.

Hasta Mañana!

P.S. Here’s the website for the Way Hostel. → Click Me!


**THIS POST IS NOT FOR CLASS**

Promised Photos

Hostel Bed... Pretty spiffy, right? And yep, you guessed it! I GET TOP BUNK!!

After a small siesta this afternoon, I snuck out to the Plaza Mayor for a cup of Cafe con Leche (FREAKING good, BTW). Is it even possible to drink out of a mug without dripping down the side?

Plaza Mayor, la bonita. Tons of tourists (claro), and really funny attractions. I spy with my little eye... a fat spiderman.

Y, por supuesto I documented my first ever solo, foreign, taxi ride. DUH.

Bienvenidos A España

WOWZERS. Yeah, today has been crazy and it's only 3:15. I'm wishing it was 9 o'clock so I could justify going to bed, though. I. AM. EXHAUSTED. I left Salt Lake International yesterday at 11:15 am, and arrived in Madrid this morning at about 10 am. We had a gnarly layover in JFK last night (but what else would you expect from JFK?) and I had a hell of a time trying to sleep on the plane to be jazzed about roaming the beautiful city of Madrid today. I'm anything but jazzed. All I want is to sleep and get caught up on everything today, and then explore tomorrow, and I'm doing everything in my power to stay awake right now.

So I made it to Madrid without problems, but only to the airport. Once in the airport, I ended up with the wrong group of people from the program and was headed to the wrong hostel, so I went back to find the other crew only to discover that they had JUST caught a taxi to the right hostel. So, I caught my own taxi, and had fun paying for that. My taxi driver was really awesome though, showed me where things were as we went, pointed me in the direction of good restaurants, and called me "Lady Estella" the whole way. "No problem, Lady Estella!" The only problem is I have no idea how to convert feet to kilometers, or Fahrenheit to Celsius. I asked if 18˚ was "calor" or hot, and got the response, "CALOR?! Noooo, 40˚ es calor! 18˚ es nada!" Whoops.

Then once I got to the hostel, I realized that I had forgotten to account for the fact that I would arrive the 19th instead of the 18th and didn't book a room for saturday night, but booked one for last night instead (that I still had to pay for...whoops again). Fernando (the cool spanish dude working the desk), told me that they were full that night and I panicked. Where was I going to stay?? What a rookie mistake... DOH! But then, he looked again for me and realized that (whoops on his part this time), there was a bed that was open. PHEW. So I still have somewhere to stay while I'm in Madrid. What a relief, eh? So here I am, sitting in the lounge of Way Hostel on Calle de Relatores, in Madrid, Spain.

I'm not sure that it's quite hit me that I'm here yet, but I'm sure it will once I wake up. Now I just have to figure out how to charge stuff, because I SWEAR Spaniards have a thing against electrical outlets. Once I figure out how to do that, I'll post the few photos I've taken, and I'll start taking more!

Tonight, at 19:45 I'm taking a TANGO LESSON! jajaja! And will take photos of that as well :)
That's basically my first couple hours in Europe. No bigs. I'll post as I get time, happy readings!




**THIS POST IS NOT FOR COURSE CREDIT**

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.

So this blog is supposed to be for class where I post once a week about my experiences and stuff in Spanish, but I figure it can't hurt to blog for everyone back home in between. So I'll clarify which is which, and if anyone reading this stateside wants to read my spanish posts, Google Translate will help get the point across :)

I leave in SIX days for Madrid, and I don't think I've ever been so excited for anything in my life. I'll be in Madrid for three days, and then I'm taking a bus up to Oviedo where we meet our professors and host families. I'll then be in Oviedo for five weeks where I'll be attending classes and really just living in Spain! After the five weeks, I'm not sure what I'm doing for a week, but probably taking a train around Spain and exploring the country. Then I fly up to London to meet my Mom and Grandma for a week! What a life, huh? Alright. Well, that's the plan, and the first post! Keep an eye out for photos and stuff starting the 19th (that's when I get to Madrid)!

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Post title is from Tao te Ching #27

Expectations

This summer is going to be epic. This first post is supposed to be in either Spanish or English, so I figured... why not Spanglish? Just kidding, I'll stick to Inglés for now.

I'm really excited for this summer. The five weeks that I spend in Oviedo will be incredible, and I'm hoping to really improve my Spanish speaking skills as well as really familiarize myself with the city. I am looking forward to making new friends within the program as well as Spanish natives. When I travel, I enjoy getting to know the place as the locals know it, and am really looking forward to living with a family who knows the city and will be able to help me get to know it as well. I'm nervous though at the same time. I haven't traveled to a foreign country, let alone on the other side of the world, on my own before. And will have so many questions that normally I would ask my parents, but will have to figure out on my own. And as much as my Spanish has improved, getting used to ONLY speaking Spanish will be a bit difficult. In the last meeting that we had, we were all talking about the schedule that the people of Spain generally have. THey get up, stay up late, and take a nap in the middle of the day. I got incredibly excited when I heard that, because I do that anyways, but not EVERYONE does that.

Wow, I can't believe that I'm really going to Spain! I've wanted to do a study abroad program in Spain for as long as I can remember, and the fact that it's really happening is awesome to me. Just WOW!

¡En veinte dias, seré en un avion, volando a Madrid, España!


**ESTA ES PARA MIS CLASES**