Two pence none the richer. 12/7-12/8

One night in London, one full 24 hours.
Not many people can say they've done that so i feel pretty cool about it.
Our main goal was to see the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. We flew in at night and mostly searched for our hostel; that's never a problem though because in our hunt for YHA we were able to see a nice part of the city and figure out the metro system too.
After dinner and finding the place we settled in and went to bed shortly thereafter with the intention of waking up early to head off to the exhibition. We had heard quite a bit about how long we would have to wait in line and how unlikely it would be for us to get in, so we started waiting in line around 8amish, and the doors opened at 10. Waiting paid off and we ended up being able to see the exhibition which consisted of sketches of faces and hands and a lot of detailed mathematical work that can be seen incorporated in Leo's "Last Supper."

I, unfortunately, had gotten a little too used to traveling alone and forgot to make sure that Isa knew where I was... so we got separated at one point. I'm not good at not roaming around, and in museums I feel like it's easy to get lost but you always know you are in a museum. So I wasted a little bit of our time with that, which I was apologetic about.
We were able to quickly see some of the art in the portrait gallery, and move onto other things we wanted to see as well.

Big Ben was more like Little Ben. The name is overcompensating.

We got to see the British Museum and take a good look around there as well. There was tons to see and very little time to do it, so aside from walking around and glancing at what we could, the two museums were the main focus of the trip. It was a nice taste of what I would want to come back and see later on in my life. But a day is fine with me because the Pound is killing us in the exchange market, so I spent a good chunk of money for a one day visit.
Two pence none the richer.

To Amsterdam, (11/30-12/3) Brussels (12/3-12/5), and beyond!

Did you know the Amsterdam, Netherlands is in Holland? I had no idea. I supposed I may have had some kind of notion, but when I stepped off of the plane in the Amsterdam airport and saw signs saying "Welcome to Holland" I panicked that I perhaps got on the wrong plane and ended up in the wrong country. It only took me a couple of minutes to figure out.

And I figured everything out on this trip. For the first time in my life I traveled alone with no plans to meet anyone I knew, and with no knowledge of the city (or country) I was going to. Aside from a couple of museums and sights I wanted to visit, I had no expectations and was on my own time and schedule. I absolutely loved it!
It was night time when I arrived in Amsterdam, and I had no idea how to get to my hostel, so I went to the information stand in the airport and asked them a cheap way to get where I was going. Everyone in Amsterdam speaks English, that was really helpful. I think it's the second language next to Dutch (or Flemmish if you wanna be old school).

For those who don't know me too well, I get lost rather easily, and when I have a map I check it every couple of minutes because I know my instincts usually take me in the opposite direction that I desire. Well, not this time! I made it to my hostel alive and by 10pm or so. I checked into a room with 19 other beds numbered and lettered bunkbeds. Luckily 15 of the beds were empty, and so it was not too loud the first night.

After I settled I went out and walked around to see this Amsterdam culture that so many people are always raving about. You hear "Amsterdam" and people immediately think cannabis, prostitution, shrooms, and all of those other interesting things that are legal in Amsterdam. Everyone always fails to mention how amazingly beautiful the city is, especially in the winter with its Christmas lights and winter carnivals out everywhere. There was one at Leidse Plein, near where I stayed, and it had stands for food and an ice skating rink. Such a fun atmosphere! So I walked around the bridges and the canals in the cold weather before I decided to get to bed.

While I was in Amsterdam I toured the house that Anne Frank and her family hid in during World War II. It's called Anne Frank Het (Anne Frank's House), but it was an office building, not really a house if you think about it. I saw the bookcase that hid the door to the attic they lived in. Some things that surprised me were how well kept some of the original things are. Amsterdam was originally built within a walled city so the stairs are extremely steep and winding. A very dangerous atmosphere for old people, or people in a hurry. I saw stairs like this in the old houses like Anne Frank's house, and I also visited Rembrandt's Het, where I saw the studio he used to work in and some of his original works are there as well. When I was there the mayor was there celebrating with a bunch of people because they finally got an original Rembrandt to return to the house. Unfortunately the museum guard would not let me join the festivities.

When I walked to the Rembrandt house it was like fate because there was a flea market all along the canal that I was following (canals are a great way to know where you are in Amsterdam). And there was also a bagel shop that made homemade cream cheese, man oh man do I miss bagels with homemade cream cheese. Can't wait for my NY bagel when I get to JFK airport. HEAVEN! Anyway, so shopping and bagels to start that day, what a great start.

During my visit I went to the van Gogh Museum of course! I snuck as many pictures as possible. None of the museums in Amsterdam allowed pictures, so that was a little disappointing. I got yelled at in the National Museum for taking pictures, RIGHT before I go to the Night Watch by Rembrandt. I got a good amount of pictures though.

I met a lot of cool people while I was in Amsterdam. It's such a laid back atmosphere that being alone made it easier to meet new people. I went to the same coffeeshop a couple of times and the bartender started calling me his little sister and insisted that we take a picture together. There is where I met a group of Germans, a group of Italians, and a group of Northern Irish chaps. The Irish guys I hung out with a lot that weekend and they were great company. It's easy to lose track of time in Amsterdam.
Overall, that was definitely one of my favorite trips that I've been on in my life, and I hope I can go back some time, maybe with friends next time.

Winter Wonderland

Also, banana juice is awesome, and its basically all I drank when I was in Amsterdam.

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Seeing as it was a very long weekend and I had been willing to miss a couple of classes for the traveling cause, I went from Amsterdam to Brussels for a couple of days to see what that city had to offer.
Brussels was beautiful! It was almost impossible for me to find my hostel, so for the first day I didn't go to the hostel. I just roamed around following really big crowds of people through narrow blocked off streets that were covered in Christmas markets. There was Belgium classics everywhere like beer, chocolate, and waffles. I tried all except the beer. I didn't see the big deal. I came a cross a winter festival that was Greek themed where I made friends with the guy working the Metaxa stand. I passed St. Hubert shopping center, and did not buy a single thing (proud of me!). St. Hubert is all old and expensive shops anyway. Right next to it though is like the college student version of a St. Hubert. A little shopping center that covers ONE block but manages to hold over 200 shops inside. HEAVEN!
All i really bought in Brussels was a Christmas hat though. With Christmas music everywhere, and ice skating and such a wintery atmosphere, how could I resist!

Holiday Market next to my hostel

Brussels got lonely really quickly though because literally all there was to do was go shopping and walking around. I saw the whole city really quickly.
I went to a flea market, and came across an Orthodox church in the middle of Sunday service, which was an amazing coincidence. So of course I went to church.

I also went to see the museums they had, the National Gallery is I think around 5 museums. The Modern Art Museum was under construction, so only a small sample of the museum was on display in the Ancient Art Museum. It was easier though because those were the two museums I wanted to see anyway. I saw lots and lots of art by Flemmish artists that I had studied. It was very cool.
But mostly I walked around, ate, drank, and kept to myself on this trip. Definitely a downplay from Amsterdam, but it was good to relax and lay around doing nothing or watching Dutch television before finishing my work for the semester. Good to be stress free... or dangerous to not have a goal. Depends on how you look at it I suppose.

Belgium Waffle!

Advice for Belgium, travel around and see the country. I was only there a day so that's why I didn't go to Bruj or any of the other beautiful cities I've heard of. I don't think Belgium has cities that you should stay for more than a couple days in. Everything closed pretty early in the area I was in, even the enormous Holiday Market that my hostel was next to. It had an enormous ferris wheel and all kinds of exciting things to do.

Day Trips to Toledo 11/25 and Santiago de Compostela 11/26

We are running out of time for trips in our semester which is ending soon. Day trips are necessary. Our last day trip will be to London! Yes London for a day. We are going specifically to wait in line for hours and see the da Vinci exhibit at the National Gallery. Hopefully we get in and hopefully we will find time to see other things as well.

Last weekend we went on two day trips. The first was a NYU funded trip to Toledo, Spain. Toledo is just outside of Madrid and was only a short drive away. Once we got there we walked around the old city with guided tours of synogogues turned mosques  turned churches over time. Seems to be a dominating theme in the cathedrals of Spain. At least in the once Moorish states. Then after looking around a lot we had a couple hours to get lunch and shop around. I picked up my usual shot glass and a postcard, but that's about all.
Toledo was covered in fog when we got there in the morning, and it was briskly cold, but later in the day the fog cleared, the sun came out, and I fell asleep on a park bench.

Next we went to Santiago de Compostela which is in the northern Galicia region. Isabela and I had not been to Galicia on our journey, and now that we have the only part of Spain that we are going to have to leave out is Bilbao, unfortunately. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is a famous pilgrimage sight for Catholics, which is why we ended up there. I had never heard of it until Isabela told me about this long journey from France to Spain that pilgrims travel and end at the cathedral in Santiago. It was beautiful there, and we toured every part of the cathedral. We even got to make it to a mass. During mass an Italian bishop was visiting and it was also a feast day. Since these two things were going on there was a little ceremony swinging a giant censor above the alter. We saw a smaller version of the one normally used, but it was enormous nonetheless. Probably the size of a toilet. I know its a bad comparison but that's the only universal description I could give to give you a good idea of what I'm talking about. So for about 10 minutes the censor was dramatically swaying across the alter attached to a rope hanging from the ceiling. It was very cool. Even though I'm not Catholic, or a pilgrim, I can appreciate it just as well.
Santiago was also interesting because it was our only day trip that we took a flight for. We woke up at 5am to leave the house and get to the airport, went straight to the cathedral once in Santiago, saw everything we wanted and had time to go slow and relax as well, then we caught a cab back to the airport and back to Madrid by 8p. Long day, but worth it. :)

Florence, Italia! 11/17 - 11/20

This will be brief, I'm sorry I've been behind with my adventures, but only a couple more to go and then I am done for the semester! Sadly.
I also heard that I have some blog-fans in Manchester's Milne Travel Agency! Shout out to you loyal readers! Love you Pam :D

My first trip to Italy was fantastic! The pasta wasn't as marvelous as I was hoping, but I guess pasta isn't really much to be desired when anyone can make it well if they tried. The gelato though, was definitely something we ate at least once or twice a day.
Our first night we walked around quite a bit, and explored. We ended up at a dance/show type gig where we stood and listened to the Italian jokes and singing. While the last act was singing the rooms tables and chairs were cleared out and it quickly turned into a club-like atmosphere. We had no idea what we were walking into and the smoke in the air was bothersome so we didn't stick around for more than a couple of hours.

I snuck lots of pictures of art on this trip. No pictures were allowed anywhere we went inside. I could snap plenty of the fake David's outside the Uffizi Museum. The Uffizi Gallery had amazing Renaissance artwork that I had studied, and like I always say, the more you know before you go the better you like the show, cause you know. I've never said that before but it sounded nice, and it rhymed. Rhyming things are nice.

The Uffizi was very cool with its Botticelli, da Vinci, Michaelangelo and whatnot. After that the boys went their own way because they have no patience, and the girls and myself headed to the Duomo. Santa Maria del Fiore (The Duomo) is one of the largest Catholic Cathedrals in the world, and it was designed to be THE largest originally. It was beautiful inside and I enjoyed looking around very much. I just love visiting churches in general, and other places of worship. There's God in all of them and its cool to see how other people worship compared to what I grew up knowing.

My family and I headed to the Acaddemy Gallery where the David statue by Michaelangelo stands. No pictures allowed, but the rule didn't go over too well with me. :X Just gotta be sneaky about it. Only once in all of my traveling has someone actually asked me to delete a picture I had taken, but a lot of times they have asked me to shut off my camera. I can do that of course, because I had already taken the picture I wanted. I don't get why pictures arent allowed without flash, it makes no sense to me.

We ate a lot of long and fulfilling meals while we were in Italy. For my brother and I it was our first time in Italy and so we didn't really have any expectations, and I had seen all of the sights I wanted to see. Everyone else had already traveled Italy and seen everything so it was really up to where my brother and I were dying to go.

One of our nights in Italy we went to an opera "The Marriage of Figaro." Now, everyone who has heard one opera song in their life has heard the Figaro song that I know nothing about... You know... FIGAROO FIGAROO FI_GA_ROOOOO! This opera was not that. It was about adultery and trickery and whatnot. Quite funny actually. It was my first ever, and I loved it! If I understood Italian it would not have been as cool because it all sounded so beautiful without understanding. The opera was in a evangelical church and it was quite quaint. I'm glad it was in a cold church instead of a big opera house like I kind of expected, it was more homie. My mom said that most operas shes heard of or seen in Italy are all in small venues like that. Friendly and personal.

One thing we definitely did a lot of... We shopped a lot on the streets in Italy. The leather was so cheap compared to everywhere else I've been in Europe. We shopped so much that I have lost most of my desire to buy any other things in Europe. Seriously. And that is an important statement because it is coming from the lady who has gone from one purse to 12 in her 4 month stay in this Western world! 1 to 12. Think on that for a second. I should get rid of some of them... BUT THEY'RE ALL SO PRETTY!
Anyway, shopping in Italy was like going to Morocco, where all of the stores give you a good price. But when you're among tons of good prices you always want better prices, so bargaining down is necessary.

Tips to good bargaining:
1) Never take out your money, and always keep small bills separate.
2) Check every nook and cranny for mistakes the creator may have made on the item
3) For every mistake you find tell them you want a discount
4) Never make an offer first.
5) Always go maximum half the offer that the seller gives you, and move from there. But sometimes you just know what something is worth, so you can go with your gut too.
6) Never change your price. Always make the vendor lower his/her price first.
7) Only go up in price an eighth of what you started. Vender wants 100, you offer 50. Vendor offers 90, you say 60. Don't change your price too much because then the vendor knows you're easy.
8) Always compare the item you're bargaining to the same item somewhere else. "You're selling this for $20? The guy over there is selling for $10."
9) If the vendor isn't having it than fiddle your fingers and leave the store very slowly, no one selling something likes to see money walking out of their store.
10) Be playful with the vendors. If you are nice and pretty you will get better prices. Many people do this for a living but its also a game of bluffing, like playing poker for a living.
11) Most importantly, NEVER bargain when you aren't 100% positive you want something. If you are a good bargainer, the vendor will lower the price and you'll have to buy at that point. Why waist 10 minutes bargaining for something you don't really truly want anyway? Oh yeah, cause its fun. At one point in Italy I annoyed a vendor so much with my lowballing that he gave me a bag for free. Oh, I forgot to count that... 13 purses.

We were treated wonderfully in Italy, and everyone was very friendly. Our lovely travel agent sent some wine to my parents' room and we felt right at home with all of the wine and food we absorbed in our short weekend.

Gratzie Italia.

Prague and Family! 11/11 - 11/13

With the weeks of school winding down, everyone has ten times more work than normal, EVEN ME! Not really though. I always give goals to myself and once they're on the list I have to get them done otherwise I feel like I have a lot hanging over my head. So the goals I create feel like homework and can stress me out just as easily. One might ask "jeez Yasmin, why create these goals then? Golly." Well, I don't usually intend to make goals they just happen. If I have to go to another part of town to work on a project that I've started because I thought it sounded like fun, that means that I can't just drop it and finish it later when I'm home and have no homework. Once it starts it doesn't end. Sometimes thats good, but other times I wish I had an off switch so that I didn't care an I could just take my time doing whatever I wanted.

Among the work I  had to get started this weekend, my family was in Madrid for 5 days! I only was able to give them my nights and show them the apartment once, but otherwise it was a good amount of time. Dancing in Joy, going out to eat (of course) and introducing them to some of my friends was really nice. I feel more myself with them even though we hardly ever get along.

This past weekend we all went to Prague! In case you didn't know, Prague is AWESOME! It was so beautiful, even when the sun wasn't out or it was too cold to bare, the houses looked like a Christmas land, and everything felt really traditional. We saw stuff I didn't know existed,  ate food that was so much better than in Spain, and we went to all kinds of museums including the Prague Castle, the Museum of Young Art, and the Gallery of Art. I thought the Young Art was the most interesting, and the 4th floor out of the 7 floors in the Gallery of Art was probably my absolute favorite. It had all kinds of impressionist, post-impressionist and cubism art that I had studied before so of course I was more interested because I knew what was going on. Interpreting art is always interesting but I'd rather learn about it in a classroom I think.

I was most excited to see the St. Cyril and St. Methodios Church that is one of the only Orthodox churches in Prague. Cyril and Methodios were brothers from Greece who grew up with a mother speaking Slavonic to them. They served the church and were missionaries. Essentially the pioneers of Christianity in ALL Slavic countries like Ukraine, Russia, Belarusa, Lithuania, and so on. Not to mention I have read a lot about them and their explorations and conflicts with the Pope and whatnot. Christian history fascinates me. Unfortunately the church wasn't as spectacular as I hoped, we couldn't even go inside! :( I just wanted to sit a minute in a Greek Orthodox church. That is the first thing I'm going to do when I arrive Sunday night December 18th in Manchester! Can't wait! I can have religion without church but I still miss the church atmosphere a lot.

At one point Isabela and I wanted to see a museum that the rest of my family wasn't too interested in, so we headed in our own direction. That was one of my favorite parts because we walked along the river and over the Charles Bridge. Even though it was cold, it was worth seeing the sights.

I'm gonna keep this one short because I really for the most part write these blogs for my family... and they were with me! haha

I tried different foods, of course, that's how my family vacations. It's nice though because it reminds me to slow down which is something I forget about. We didn't walk around as much as usual but I got some one on one time with everyone individually and it was really great for me even though my family and I can butt heads sometimes. Overcoming the tension and being happy together is just a challenge that makes our good times even more wonderful.

It's funny because my mom is the peacekeeper, and she is a Gemini. The rest of us buttheads and ironically my brother and I are both Scorpios and my dad is a Leo... interesting how all of those horoscopes seem to play their roles. Not that I believe in that stuff or anything...

Parlez vous francais? 10/28- 10/31

I can see how some people might think of Paris as a romantic city. The city of love. It is a romantic and beautiful place to be. It's also the city of overly priced food, unforgettable world renowned art, and of course where there is art there is great history.
Isabela and I flew to Paris-Beauvais airport. It is an airport which, although its namesake is deceiving, is not in Paris. After waiting for our hour-late shuttle, it took us another 2 hours or so to get underneath the Eiffel Tower. That was our first stop and where we met up with Lais and Magda.
The weekend began quickly, and ended suddenly. I was hoping my chiropractor and his magic hands would have helped hold me together for the whole weekend but by the time the days were ending I was worn out and by our last day in Paris it was hard to do anything. I think I stuck it out pretty well though. We arrived in the afternoon on a Friday; walked around the Eiffel Tower and saw the NYU Paris campus. We enjoyed a lovely dinner out for my birthday, and had relaxing nights every night.

Saturday we went to the Musee du Louvre! AMAZING! I was disappointed that a lot of the rooms I wanted to see weren't open, but what I did get to see amazed me. I was running around drooling, taking pictures of all of the different artists I had studied like; Gericault, Delacroix, da Vinci, Donatello, Titian, Carracci, Rubens, Gentileschi, Reni, Louis David, and so so soooo much more! In just a couple of hours too! I loved it so much that when I returned to Madrid I wrote an email to my first art history teacher and raved all about it. Even though I don't remember everything I've learned about art, and I certainly don't know that much after a couple of classes, I still feel appreciation and respect for it in a way that makes me excited to keep learning or to see in person what I've already learned about. I definitely could not be an art history person though... museums can get boring after a couple of times; at least to me. Not to mention I have an awful memory. It's just a cool thing to be a part of.

That night we went to an authentic Cuban restaurant. It wouldn't have been difficult to get to if the Paris metro hadn't suddenly quit working. We had to take three trains to get back just because one metro line decided to die.

The next day Isabela, Magda, and I went to Versaille. Versaille was really cool but it was not as impressive as I thought it would be. The gold leaf everywhere was amazing, and the ceiling paintings in every room felt like someone worked on it like the Sistine Chapel... in every room. I saw copies of portraits I had studied of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette; and then realized that I had already seen the real thing the day before in the Louvre. I saw the bedroom chambers of dead kings and queens, which was creepy. Every room had a different color theme so looking down the corridor over the crowds of people I felt like I was looking at a rainbow. I walked through the Hall of Mirrors. The mirrors reflect the arches of the windows that overlook the grand garden outside. We didn't get to walk through the gardens or see the water show unfortunately, but maybe if I ever go back I will make a point to. It was amazing to be there knowing the process of how it was built and by who. I'm pretty sure we stood in the center of the same court where King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette were beheaded.

Later I went to the Musee d'Orsay and saw even MORE art that I had studied and fell in love with like; Renoir, Monet, Manet, Cezanne, and Van Gogh. It's amazing to me how much my appreciation for art has expanded over the past couple of years. I went into my Western Renaissance to Modern Art History class thinking that I was only taking it for a history credit, and I left with an enthusiasm for art that I didn't have before. That's what happens when you understand things I guess. I doubt there are many people who would get excited about an early 16th century painting of a woman with no eyebrows and an indistinct background, seated in the center with arms folded and half her body not there... unless they knew that the painting they were looking at was THE most famous painting in the world by Leonardo da Vinci. Not that I know much, cause I don't, but what little I do know makes the experience cooler. -- After seeing the museum I walked to a bridge that had hundreds of locks attached to the fence rail. They were locks of love. People come and write their names, poems, hearts, and lock them on the bridge over the Seine River that runs through Paris. One lock I found said "Sealed like a  lock is the love I bear, never to part of this I swear. The only keys to break these ties, into the Seine never to rise." If I didn't read that I would have never known that the river's name.  I looked it up because I thought it meant something in French. Nope, just a river.

I'd have to say my favorite part of the trip - if I had to choose out of all of the amazing things we did - would be our last night in Paris when Lais, Isabela, and I went to see the Eiffel Tower at night when it lights up and sparkles. I enjoyed my first French crepe with nutella and banana on it, we took a lot of pictures, and then we walked underneath the Tower to the other side where there was a park of people sitting in groups drinking; a lot like the Madrilenos do in parks. I laid on the grass looking at the Eiffel Tower, and I just had a moment to relax my mind and my body. It reminded me a lot of nights at home with my best friend Laura; sometimes when we didn't drive out to the river to sit on top of my car and look at the stars, we would just lay in the middle of the street at night looking up and talking about our lives and different things that would cross our minds. I don't think I have missed home so much being here as I did while I was looking at the Eiffel Tower; which is interesting to me since #France #EiffelTower have absolutely nothing to do with home.

When we left the park we walked back under the Tower to head to the metro and eventually bed. Just as we were leaving the park, the police came to clear everyone out, because just like most places in the world being at parks after a certain our or drinking in public, isn't really a legal thing to do. We went on our way without anyone even asking us to leave. After heading in our direction I noticed that my phone was missing. I immediately new that I had left it on the grass in the park. I left Isabela and Lais and ran to the park, which was now completely fenced off. I looked around to see if the police were watching, and when I felt the coast was clear I hopped the fence, and used Lais's phone to shine on the grass and call my number. Just as I spotted my phone a police officer yelled something at me in French. I ran to the fence, and bent it down so that it was easier to hop over. I thought that the police officer who was yelling at me would chase me or something... or I just didn't want to have legal problems in a foreign country, so I sprinted back to where I left the girls and we headed on our way. It was only trespassing but run-ins with the law is always exciting; that also reminds me of New Hampshire.

Our last day in Paris was Monday, and we returned to Madrid late that night. That day Isabela and I went to Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle Chapel. Notre Dame was breathtaking just as the other chapels we have been to. It was more breathtaking than the catedrals in Spain, with the exception of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. Inside we sat for a while in the pews.
I took the opportunity for further reflection and prayer; as I am not so frequently able to go to my own church while abroad. I've adopted the Catholic church as a good replacement for prayer-emergencies haha. Afterward we followed a tour led by a man who used to be a professor in the United States.


He explained to us the history of the images outside of the cathedral and every intricate detail in the stone. Unfortunately, Isabela and I ran out of time and had to leave before the tour ended so we could get to Sainte-Chapelle, where I saw the most amazing stained glass I have ever seen. My mom's obsession with stained glass rubbed off on me a little and I just felt amazed and hurt my neck from looking up so much. The light was beautiful when shone through the glass.

Once returning to Madrid I realized that every journey I've been on to different places has taught me something about myself. The things I learn about myself aren't always bad or good sometimes they're just habits that people point out to me or things that I say all of the time. Tijuana, Mexico taught me about patience. Beius, Romania taught me a little bit about understanding and inner strength. Sosua, DR taught me about growing up and moving forward. Every place has taught me something, and all of them have taught me bits and pieces that I have tried to put together along the way. I learn about all of these things everywhere I go, but every trip still seems to have its dominating theme. In Paris I started to learn how to let go of things that I tend to hold onto. Self-awareness isn't really any good unless you do something with what you're aware of.

A weekend in Madrid!

Since we've been here in Madrid I haven't really spent much free time in Madrid. I'm not bummed about it or anything because we've been traveling all over the country and Europe! But it has been nice to have time to slow down and walk to different borrows of Madrid to take pictures or walk around, shop, or just sit outside at a cafe drinking sangria and reading. I've been able to explore more parks and neighborhoods, different cultures within Madrid. La Latina seemed pretty ghetto, and also had a big Muslim community. I happen to be exploring on Friday which is an Islamic holy day, so I saw everyone leaving their mosques. Chueca, everyone knows, is the gay neighborhood. Walking up and down the streets I saw gay pride flags hanging everywhere and couples of all kinds holding hands and being affection. Public affection is pretty much the norm in Spain, and it's not just holding hands. Often when I walk through parks there is at least one couple with the boy sitting down and the girl sitting on top of him with her legs strattling him and his hands all over her ass. I'm sure it sets a lot of pressure and standards for young Spaniards. I've come to think of it as, Spanish people just love a lot more passionately and don't care about who sees. That's nice.

I've explored GOYA a little bit, it's not that far from where I live. When Isabela was in Spain a week early she stayed with a woman who lives in that area, and I've visited her a couple of times with Isabela. The neighborhood is so much more tranquil and full of older people too; at least more than our neighborhood. Chamberi is a mixture of people, and I'm pretty sure we live next to the loudest ones in Madrid. They have no sense of time either so in the middle of the night we're banging on the walls for them to be quiet. Mostly Isabela though because her bedroom is right next to the noise source; but it can be heard throughout the apartment.

Last night I went to Fuerza Bruta with my friend Lindsay and it was so much fun! I had no idea what to expect but as soon as we got there the beats were bumpin and different color lights set a great atmosphere. We went into a mosh pit of people who were ready to enjoy the dance/water/performance art spectacular. Going with Lindsay was great because she worked on the set in NY so she told me where to stand to get the best view and we both just had a great energy for the show. The end was probably my favorite part, because it rained on us (inside the show) and we were just dancing and having fun. I love dancing in the rain. It reminds me of home.

I've also gotten back into drawing, which I don't think I'm as good at it as I used to be but it's just relaxing. It would be great if I could find some interesting ceramics to paint because even though that's something I'm definitely not good at, it's sooooo relaxing to me and I can enjoy it for hours upon hours.

I also went to a bullfight. NEVER AGAIN! It was interesting, but the fact that someone created a sport out of killing animals slowly and painfully, kinda makes me want to puke. The bull takes at least 20 minutes to charge a man with a colorful cape while people are stabbing him with special swords for points until finally the matador comes out and with one swift stab of a sword is supposed to kill the bull. Well, matadors can suck sometimes and they need to stab the already bleeding to death bull, at least a couple of times. Then once the bull is dead they cut off his horns and tail tie him to horses and the horses drag him out of the arena. The bulls I saw were younger than 2 years old, so they were a lot smaller than the normal sized bulls, but still very big. If a matador sucks at stabbing the bull and the knives fall out the entire arena boos. It was appalling, but interesting nontheless to see that part of Spanish culture. In the picture, those things the man without the cape is holding are what the knives-for-points look like. I don't know what the correct name for any of these things are. I don't care enough to find out, but there you go.

Anyway, we have another weekend here in Madrid before we travel again, to Paris! When we're in Paris we're staying with our friend Lais and Magda is going to come from Germany too! It's going to be a great little reunion. Next weekend is the weekend before my midterms but I am hoping to still go out and meet people and enjoy myself. I'll just bring my notecards with me. Dancing in the club with Spanish flashcards wouldn't be awkward would it? Or drinking at a bar while reading about Caravaggio's greatest works? That's not strange...

With all of this exploring and hanging out with different people, I am really FINALLY starting to love my time here more than I had before. I don't think that Madrid is any big deal compared to other places I've lived, but there's so many great things I could do with it. Thank God for all of these blessings and great friends I have to support me and love me through thick and thin. I hope my parents know how much I appreciate all of the hard work they've contributed so that I could have all of these blessings.

Barça 10/7 -10/9

Friday morning Isabela's mom flew in and shortly after I woke up we were off to the airport for Barcelona. First of all, combining my knowledge gathered while in Barcelona and before that in Valencia, I must say that Catalan is one of the weirdest languages ever. They use this letter a lot - ç - which I think makes the "shh" or "ss" sound. They also spell with these letters - gü qü - whereas Spanish doesn't really do that too often. While searching around we were looking for plazas and calles but instead we found plaças and carrers.

The first thing we did when we got there was walk around looking for our hostal. The hostal was really nice for a hostal, I expected something like the hostals we had seen on other trips, but this one was more like a hotel. That was nice to have our own room together instead of staying with strangers who get in at 5am and don't speak your language so when you ask them to turn the lights off or be quiet they just look at you doe-eyed.

In Barcelona we rushed around seeing all that we could in the short time we were there! We went to Gaudí's Casa Batlló, Casa Mila la Pedrera, and we spent a lot of time looking around the most amazing Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia is still under construction and already stands about 120 meters tall right. Once the the Jesus Christ tower if built it will stand 170m tall as its final height, thats 558ft. Apparently it should finish being constructed in my lifetime, but it's still so beautiful without the finishing touches. It can be seen from almost any hill in Barcelona I think, it felt that way at least. Here are some pictures of the Sagrada Familia! I can't wait to go back when I'm an older lady and see this place finished, that is definitely something I hope I can do in this lifetime

If you can picture this being taller than the photo makes it, that's what it will be in the future. The cranes couldn't even reach the height

The picture above isn't so good, but it's the best I have. On the right you'll see a panoramic photo of the ceiling inside the Sagrada Familia. It was the only way I could capture it all at once.

Seriously, I don't think I have ever seen anything so beautiful. The first day we were in Barcelona we went on a bus tour to see everything all at once and then the next day we went on a Gaudi walking tour where we saw a lot of Gaudi's work and finished at the Sagrada Familia. The tour took us around the Sagrada Familia with awesome information about how each side has a purpose and a meaning down to the T! Then when the tour was done we had lunch and went inside the Basilica where we saw all of this amazing architecture. I have never seen a church like that before in my life. Gaudi was both crazy and a genius.

We walked a lot on Saturday, but not as much as Isabela and I normally walk I think. I've gotten pretty used to following her exploring methods. I always get lost and am in pain for some health reason, and Isabela is always knowing where we are and rearing to go on the next adventure. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep up, like the old lady that I am. I'm proud to say my feet have become pretty adjusted and I can follow her lead with a skip in my step now. Besides it's so much more fun when we see everything on her lists that she has everywhere we go.  I never have a list or do research, I don't even know what there is in a lot of places that we've been or plan to go. I had never heard of the Sagrada Familia before coming to Spain, who would have thought. I'm so culturally deprived! But I've also never traveled this much for pleasure before. I usually like to travel with a goal in mind, like volunteering or doing something for the community. Usually I feel guilty when I'm traveling for fun because tourists, other than contributing to the economy, don't really do much good for the local environment. Our trips are also not really like vacations for slowing down and relaxing, they are high speed, full of lots of things to do and see and not very much time to do it. If people could be tourists like we have been than everyone would only need two days in every city in the world. We always manage to see everything we want in a whole city within just a weekend.

While we were in Barcelona we went to the National Museum at night where we saw an amazing water show and had dinner. The water show was probably longer than we thought because we were told it started at 9p, but that was when it finished. Luckily we were early to the "9p" show and had plenty of time to enjoy it, and relax before heading in for the night. This was also where everyone went for the Sensation White party. It's a party where everyone wear's white and there's paint being thrown around. I don't really know much about it. As we were leaving we saw seas of people dressed entirely in white coming in and out of the metro, and busses. It was cool to see that many people matching.

Overall I had a great weekend with Isabela and her mom, just as I expected I would. It's been so nice this week having a mama here, even though she's not my mama. There's just something about mamas that is so calming and refreshing. The other day, Isabela's mom and I went to explore Retiro park and we came across a couple of gardens full of beautiful flowers and one garden specifically for different kinds of Roses from all over the world. I got some good mama advice about slowing down and relaxing more than I do. The whole day made me miss my mom. My mom has a garden and would love to walk around with me for hours and give me advice about life. I can't wait until November when I get to see her and my brother and dad when they come visit and take Isabela and I on a couple more adventures. Having a mama here also made me realize that Isabela and I take really good care of each other. I knew that before, but I didn't realize we're both so motherly towards one another. That's the great thing about living with someone that you love like a sister; there's always family close by.

Soul Searching in Berlin 9/29-10/2

This past weekend Isabela and I went to visit our friend Magda in Berlin. I have to say Berlin and Morocco are tied for my two favorite trips so far. Morocco because it felt good to be getting down to my roots by being around Arabs, and Berlin because well... Magda was there, but also because I've never been to Germany and there is so much history that I love from that country. I would like to go to Germany and Poland and see a lot of the places I've read about during the Holocaust and learn some Slavic languages while I'm at it, but I don't foresee that happening in the near future.

The three of us, along with Magda's friend Lindsey and some of her other friends too did all kinds of tourist and non-tourist things. Lindsey was super nice and treated us like we were long lost best friends, so I was happy to see that Magda has someone like that with her while she's abroad. She even made us sangria for before we out for the night, like a Madrid welcome to Berlin present haha. We all had a lot of fun together.

The first night Isabela and didn't get to Magda's apartment until around 1:30 am! Seeing her at the airport was like a breath of fresh air after all that traveling, so sitting on the train wasn't so bad just longwinded. The plane was late, and the train from Schöenfeld Airport to Magda's place took quite a while. Isabela told me that schöenfeld literally means beautiful field, so its ironic that perhaps where there was once a beautiful field there is now a cemented lot of planes.

After getting to Magda's we took about 20 minutes to change and go out to the German nightlife. The bar had music like a disco and people were dancing but it was more like just a bar. I thought the setting was very grunge and cool, it reminded me of the movie Uncle Buck when the niece is in the middle of the woods with her boyfriend and everyone's drinking beer and theirs a trash of fire in the background with a dimly lit atmosphere. It was like that. It was a lot louder though and there were people dancing. I even had a spontaneous dance-off with a drunk Canadian woman who could actually probably out-dance me any day. I also experience my new favorite beer called Augustener, and learned that German beer in general is one of the only beers I would ever drink.

After the bar Magda and Isabela and I headed towards getting falafel around 4am, when we were suddenly stopped on the street by a girl poking her head out of a bar with a DJ (and not very many people) and she yelled in English "Hey it's my birthday! Come in!" We all looked at each other really quickly and said why not, and went into this stranger's birthday party. They gave us free beer and took pictures with us. I don't remember the girls name, or anything much after that, but she was from Sardinia, Italy and lived in Berlin. I talked to her in Spanish since most Italians can understand Spanish, and she just responded in English. It was cool. Her brother and his friends were visiting and they were all celebrating together. Her whole crowd was pretty drunk, and the boys were a little bit sketchy. At one point, a drunken and seemingly homeless man walked in and just held up his arms in the doorway like he just scored a touchdown and was walking into his party. It was probably the funniest moment of the night, but he was kicked out.
After leaving and getting falafel, I face planted on Magda's floor and fell asleep.

The next day we woke up kind of late, and started cramming in the sites we wanted to see. We went on tours of the museums on Museum Island. We saw Renaissance art, Egyptian art, Islamic art, and some really old stuff from the Stone Age. I thought the Islamic art was the best. After museums, which I was happy that Magda came along too even though that's not really her thing, we went to get some food, and we relaxed for a while before heading out for the night and meeting up with our friend Ryan who was visiting from Prague. There was a big group of us that went out to the bar that night because Ryan had a group of friends he knew from Prague and Berlin. We hunted for food longer than we should have because its hard to find resolutions in big groups, but eventually we had eats and settled into a bar. After the bar we came back to Magdas and I passed out again. The nights were really cold and the days were like they are in Madrid, warm like summer. Apparently its supposed to get colder there very soon, so I was glad we weren't visiting later in the semester instead of the time we chose.

It was kind of funny because, I am a person who is always hot, so I would wake up in the middle of the night hot and sweaty and look at Isabela who is wearing layers of clothes and bundled up in a blanket.

Saturday, we woke up and got ready to go on a 3 or 4 hour walking tour. Magda didn't want to come, and I don't really blame her. She lives there and does all of that stuff probably all the time, so if I were her I would have gone back to bed. Isabela and I trucked onward seeing Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, Brendenberger Tor (Brandonberg Gate), the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, and a parking lot that is built over where Adolf Hitler's bunker was that he killed himself in. We saw lots and lots of things and our tour guide gave out a lot of information.
The Holocaust Memorial was made very interestingly too. Every person could create their own opinion of what the blocks of cement lined in files and all different heights might mean. I felt like they were tombs, and when I went to the center where the tallest blocks were I felt like maybe it was meant to feel like you were in the Jewish ghetto. I'm not sure. Our tour guide pointed out that one of the rules of the memorial is to not step on the blocks, but if you are standing along the outskirts there are blocks that look like tiles as part of a sidewalk so its very easy to unknowingly break the rules; maybe it has something to do with humanity.
After the tour ended we met up with everyone, walked around a market, and went to lunch before taking time to rest and going out one last time.

Our final night was a girls night, Lindsey, Magda, Isabela and I all went to this club because it was free entry and we each had 3 free drink tickets. We walked in, and it was dead empty. We got there early to get in for free so it was only 11:30ish. The DJ was playing redundant techno music, and we fooled around a little but when we were ready to leave we ended up in another room. In this room there were double the people and there was a different kind of music playing. We kept going into the next room and the next room and we realized we were in a labrynth of rooms each playing different kinds of music. Finally, we ended up going between the hiphop/reggaetone room and the 80s/90s room until we decided to call it a night.

Some things about German men; They are mostly full of themselves and can be rude because of it, they pee anywhere and everywhere they want, and they are extremely rude and blunt when trying to pick up girls. Obviously that is according to how I experienced Germany, but it seemed to ring pretty true. In Spain guys smile, lick their lips, even whistle sometimes... but in Germany, they say "allo vant to fack." And while walking along streets guys would just stand next to each other with their junk out peeing like dogs, on buildings and trees. Isabela and I even saw a guy peeing next to the construction site for a church in the middle of the day with people walking all around.

I had a lot of opportunities this weekend to sit back and observe and take in my surroundings, which I think was good for me to slow down and reanalyze the way that I rationalize my experiences in my head. One night the three of us read information for our horoscope signs, as well as to see what our compatibility with each other would be. Even though my Scorpio sign sounded like a deranged, jealous, and passionate person who might become a killer; it was overall kind of accurate, just very extreme. I don't think I could ever be that violent. Anyway, it was nice to know that the three of us were compatible friends because otherwise it might have spoiled something by giving us preconceived notions.

Sunday we woke up really late, but had enough time to see some interesting things. We went  to the German version of Madrid's El Rastro market. It was like a bunch of thrift store and yardsale type stuff in a field. We walked around and I got a vintage leather backpack for 5 Euros. I guess it's not really vintage because they sell them everywhere, but it was cheap and looked old because it was used. For all I know it could have been around since the war! Maybe I'll create some kind of imaginary story for it to make it sound even cooler.

I learned a little bit of German. Hello, goodbye, can I have a beer, I love you, excuse me, and I'm sorry, tramp, this is good, and I think those are all of the phrases I've learned. I also learned that if I say things in a deep angry voice, quickly, and with a German accent, than I am kind of already speaking German. Magda even taught me how to read German a little bit, so I would ask her random questions about how to say stupid words. It was fun, I think I love the language a lot and it would be really cool to expand on that. Das ist ein gute idea. (According to google some of my German accented English is correct in German. What can I say... Ich ben gute.)

Overall, I had an amazing time and I can't wait until we see Magda again when she comes to visit in Madrid, maybe even before that when we all go to Paris.

Andalucia 9/23- 9/25

This past weekend our school took us on a trip to Córdoba and Granada, both are cities that are in the southern and famous Andalucia: Andalucia is known as containing countless historical sights from back when the Moores came up from Africa and took over at a time when Islam was becoming prominent in the area, and it is also known for its Flamenco dancing and beautiful fans (you know, for waving when you´re hot).

There was a lot of driving, about 12 hours to go down to Granada, where we slept, and back to Madrid on Sunday. On the way to Granada we stopped in Córdoba to see an old Mosque that was adapted into a Catholic Church, La Catedral de Córdoba. We walked around, and looked at the amazing arches. Since the semi circle has significance in Islam there were hundreds of semi circles all over the place. The use of light was different too. In the center of the mosque is where the Cathedral was added on and there was a lot more constant light coming in from the ceiling there, than anywhere else in the building. The building was added onto I think 4 times over the centuries, until it remains as is.

After lunch we went back on the bus and headed to Granada where the tours and driving ended, and we had a lot of free time. A group of us went out to dinner and bars, and it was alright. Big groups are hard to organize since everyone wants something different and no one wants to make a decision at the fear or being bossy. I much rather a small group of people, and of course I love one on one time. I don´t think I could ever really get to know someone in a big group anyway. After some wine with fanta in it, and some beer with fanta in it we called it a night (I don´t remember the names I´ll figure it out). The schedule started early and I think my sleep is way more important than going bar hopping. Not to mention, everything closed surprisingly early in Granada.

The next day we devoted 3 or more hours to seeing La Alhambra. La Alhambra, from what I understand, is a mosque, and a series of palaces from a long time ago... probably the 1400s or 1500s or something. Isabela is the one who always remembers all of this information, I could listen to it all day and only really take away a little bit. Something that I definitely wont take away was the beauty of it all. The use of light and the reflection of the light on the water outside. Everything looked like it would take years to construct. There were Arabic phrases all over and the walls were all decorated and carved. There was a part that was added on by King Charles V that looked like ruins and I had a lot of fun making echos when I stood in the center. I think I even recorded my echo for a couple of seconds so that I dont forget how cool it sounded.

After seeing La Alhambra the school took us to a fancy lunch that took about 3 hours. We ate really interesting things, and I drank all of the wine which I thought was pretty delicious. We took pictures and just hung out, when after we broke up into groups and I went on a walking tour to La Plaza Nueve, where all of the shops lined the streets and the people were a lot younger than in the other part of the city we were in. As soon as I got back to the hotel room I crashed. I was debating whether to go out or not that night because I felt exhausted and as though I had a lot on my mind that it would have been better if I kept to myself. But, I didn´t keep to myself because a group of people were going to see Flamenco dancing, and I thought that would be an experience I definitely had to have in Andalucia let alone while in Spain. We went out and the dancing was very cool and intense. There was a lot of emotion in the faces of the dancers and singers, and I felt like it was definitely a good decision to go and not miss out despite my reservations.
Afterwards we had a quick tour and went to see La Alhambra at night, which was breath taking. I tried to get away from the group for a minute so that I could just sit quietly and enjoy it and breathe a little. I feel like a lot of the time that I´ve been here I´m holding my breath. I´m not sure why that is because I definitely don´t feel as anxious as I did the first weeks I was here, but for some reason it happens. SO breathing was good for me.

After that we called it a night. The next day we saw the tombs of Fernando and Isabela which is part of the Cathedral that we toured the day before after lunch. The work on the marble sculptures was absolutely amazing. I can´t believe a person can create something like that. We werent allowed to take pictures in the church which was too bad, because I would have had a million of them otherwise.

Shortly after the tour we hopped on the bus and continued our journey back to Madrid.
Overall, I saw a lot of cool stuff that I don´t remember what they are but I know they are beautiful, and I experienced a lot of revelations about myself that I´m hoping to move forward with.

I was able to go to liturgy today for the first time since I´ve been in Spain, and the church service was in Russian, Greek, and Spanish. It was hard to follow the Orthodox service and a lot of things were very different, but I loved it and I hope that I will be able to go back again more often. I need to get my life on better schedules so that I dont keep holding my breath. Mom gets it. haha My life has felt anything but normal lately, and I don't know if it has anything to do with where I am and who I'm with or if it just so happens to be the time and place for me to learn a couple of life lessons. As always I am trying to improve but its hard to meet people who have the patience to give me time and a chance to give more of an effort. I often feel a little bit like pieces of home are the only things keeping me sane. I talk to myself more and more. Myself and I have become good friends, and its becoming more common that myself is the only person I can talk to about what I want to express in a way that doesn't feel as judging. I may be my worst critic but at least I expect it.
Thank God for good health and a beautiful life full of adventures; Andalucia was definitely one of those interesting adventures and it was certainly beautiful.

There are pictures of the trip on my facebook if you're interested! I've finally posted pictures.

This picture was one of my favorites from the trip.

Cuando en Marrakech 9/16-9/18

My first trip to Africa was amazing, and way too short! After arriving at the Marrakech, Morocco airport we were greeted by a well dressed man, wearing delicious smelling American cologne. He was a holding a sign for our Riad (hostel) so that he could drive us to the old town, Medina, and show us where we're staying. We asked to be picked up from the airport because the reviews online of the Riad said that everyone gets lost trying to find their own way. We got to the center of Medina, which is called Plaza Jamaa El Fna, where all of the markets and places that are normally swarmed with tourists and locals were almost deserted, not including the orange juice stands. Around 7:20am Moroccan time we arrived in the square, which was around 9:20am in Spain. We had woken up at 3am in order to catch our 6:30am flight, and because of the time change we arrived in Morocco at 6:30am too. It's weird to take a flight that didn't actually exist in time.

Our driver stopped the car and got out to greet a small group of men, kissing them 4 times, twice on each cheek. The man running our hostel was one of them, and his name was Hakim. After introducing us, we parted ways with our driver and Hakim escorted us through the curvey streets, stopping at a market to get Chinese green tea, and then back to our hostel. He gave us all kinds of tips, and while making us tea he told us that it is tradition and if anyone lets you in their home and does not make you tea than you are probably not in a good place. There's a picture of him pouring our tea. He locked away our passports for safekeeping and gave us a map, circling and explaining all of the important landmarks. He advised us to shop on Saturday instead of Friday, that way we can tell him what we wanted to buy and he would tell us a reasonable price for it. Bargaining is a big deal, and most people get ripped off. Isabela and I didn't have much of a problem with that though, because apparently I yell and get really scary when bargaining. One of the shop owners told me that I'm almost as hard as his wife and that he wants me to work for him. All of the sellers speak at least three languages. We heard English, Arabic, Berber, French, Italian, Spanish, and probably other languages too. Some even German. We had all different languages thrown at us because shop owners wanted to lure us in. We spoke Spanish or French mostly, and my Arabic cheat sheet wasn't too helpful because my dad's Arabic is not the same as Moroccan Arabic.

After having tea we napped for an hour and went out to explore. In the square there was a place to get food, so we grabbed food at a restaurant overlooking the square. It was my first time using napkins when I had to go to the bathroom. It was also my first time paying to use the bathroom. While we were eating the prayer calls were made from the minarets surrounding the city and everyone who was a "good muslim" (as Hakim told us) rushed to the Mosques for prayer. We watched people scurry out of the markets, because Friday is a Holy Day of worship. Fridays for Muslims are like Sundays for Christians. We were lucky to observe from the balcony of the restaurant where we ate. I also learned that if you are working and don't stop for prayer than it was excused and you are not necessarily a bad Muslim, you are just working. Maybe that's just the way Moroccans do it.

Afterwards we walked the entire Medina, and part of the New Town (which is much more modernized). We were trying to find a museum in the New Town, when a man on a motorbike drove up to us, told us it was closed, and asked us to follow him to a real Berber shop. He said he worked at a hotel, and he wanted to show us a real Berber's shop back in the Medina, and he would get us a cheap taxi too. Since we were lost, a cheap cab was nice. We paid 10 Durham (1.10 USD) to get back to the Medina and follow the man to the Berber shop. We stuck close, and I got a little nervous since there were no tourists around, or people for that matter. When we arrived at the store, it was just like everyone else's store and we had already said we were just looking so we peaked and left and continued getting lost, even though the man who took us there was a bit disappointed.

A couple of hours later we found our way back to the hostel and sat and had tea with Hakim and a German traveler that we befriended named Dirk. We talked for hours about all kinds of things, and Hakim helped me learn the difference between Classic Arabic (my dad's version) and Moroccan. I didn't know that there was such a thing as Classic Arabic before, so it was a great little lesson in my own culture. I learned all kinds of new phrases and things to say in the markets for the next day when we shopped. After hanging out for a while Dirk, Isabela, and I went to get falafel and chwarma. I was a little bit disappointed because I expected it to be the best chwarma that I've ever eaten, but I suppose even Americans can make hamburgers and french fries that aren't that good.

We walked around the Plaza in the Medina where snakes were being enchanted, there were giant markets of food, and circles of people surrounding entertainers with stories, music, or games. There was smoke every where and it was extremely crowded. There were different kinds of carnival games like putting a donut on a string over a soda bottle, or a group of men played drums! I was able to film some of it, and you can see a picture here too. Moroccan soul!


Dirk kind of took on the role of our protector, making sure no one touched us or bothered us. He defended us in the market if someone tried to grab our arms to show us something, or tried selling to us in a harassing way. We cursed at a guy in Arabic, and a lady hissed at us like a snake. It wasn't a noise I could ever mock, it was so real, I thought maybe it was a snake. The three of us then returned to the hostel where outside a boy selling things at a shop asked us "for the 4th time" if we would look in his shop. We talked for a little bit and he was very nice, but we told him that we would look in his shop the next day since it was already getting late. He gave us a little Moroccan parting gift that smells really nice and is like a small branch. Upon returning to the hostel we sat with Kamal, the other man running the hostel with Hakim, and hung out with him, his friends, and Dirk. We moved to the roof and stayed talking for a little while before calling it a night.

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On Saturday, we had paid to take a tour of different parts of Marrakech including the Berbers, foods, the Atlas Mountains, and of course camels. Kamal took us to meet his friend Moustafa who we met the night before, and we got orange juice and met a Spanish couple named Elena and David who went with Dirk, Isabela and I on the tour. While driving for a little bit less than an hour, Moustafa cranked up the techno music in the car, at 9am, and we were on our way. I was wide awake and excited for the day!
The Berber house was where we stopped to get hot tea and bread with honey, butter, and oil for breakfast. It was delicious!

They showed us where everything is cooked and how traditional Berber's live. The woman, Malika, who gave us food and tea was very warm and smiled and joked a lot with Moustafa in Arabic. The Berber house was made of clay, and mud and it looked like it was hundreds of years old. Moustafa explained everything to us in English because Elena was the only one who couldn't speak English very well. It was interesting to hear about how Berber women do not ever leave the house, they stay home and take care of the babies, and cook. If the women need anything the men go and get it. Berber is also a completely different language than Arabic and along with Arabic it is the national language of Morocco. The two languages were declared just this year too, but there is still mostly Arabic and French everywhere.

After the Berber house we stopped at an herb lab that is run by the government. We got a free tour of all of the different plants and how they can naturally help different health problems. I bought a lot of tea, and lotions that I can't wait to bring home to my mom! Everything smelt so beautiful!
After that we stopped on a bridge that went over the river, and we walked across it. It was scary for me because I am scared of heights and all I am walking on are branches held together by wires. But it was also very cool!

Then finally we made it to the Atlas mountains! It took us an hour to climb the rocks up to one of the waterfalls. Isabela and I stuck our feet in and it was freezing cold! All of the sights and hiking was so much fun! I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, because I was never much of a hiker. It reminded me a lot of New Hampshire, because in New Hampshire I would always climb around and explore while I was growing up. Hiking down from the waterfall was a lot faster, and the rocks were slippery sometimes so I would just slide down. We stopped at a couple of shops on the way down and I bought a traditional Moroccan tea pot to bring home and make tea the way that Hakim taught Isabela and I to do it, Moroccan style. The only reason I was able to get the pot for the cheap bargain price I wanted was because Moustafa told the man in Arabic that we were engaged and it was a wedding present.




We then headed back to the car along the river, and it rained a little bit. The mountain was cool, beautiful and I enjoyed it so much! On our way back we got to go on camels for just 20 minutes, but it was amazing none the less. I had to get on a latter so that I could climb on top of my camel. Once I was up there I felt like I was really tall, and like I had been doing it my whole life. Everyone was having a great time. The only downside was that along the path that we rode the camels there was trash everywhere, and it wasn't really a pleasant sight to see.

We also stopped for an early dinner/late lunch on the way back. We had traditional Moroccan salad, kouz kouz, chicken tangine, and beef and vegitable tangine. Tangine is a kind of traditional Moroccan food where you cook the meet on top in a pot, and the meat is heated by a pot below it that is cooking vegitables and water. It takes about two hours to make, and it tastes very good and Moroccan, but not spicy.

My parents will love that picture. ^

I fell asleep on the car ride back and then the three of us (Dirk, Isabela, and I) went straight to shopping before the markets closed! We got bags, tea cups, shoes, all kinds of fun things and at good bargain prices. I'm a little bit proud of my bargaining skill. Afterwards we went back to the hostel because Moustafa was supposed to pick us up to go to his Riad to hang out. We made tea and realized the pot was leaking, so Hakim rushed out to get it fixed for us before we left the next morning. He was so nice! He said he would give us our money back if he couldn't get it fixed. We ended up having tea and going to bed after a long day instead of going to Moustafa's Riad. It was the most amazing experience I think I've had abroad during the semester, and I am looking forward to every experience getting better and better as we go.

Isabela is an amazing explorer, travel buddy, and sister! I had so much fun on this last adventure, I really hope I get to go back to Morocco some day. Maybe I'll even be able to have enough time to tour the Sahara next time. Maybe I'll even prep my parents enough to come with... ;)

Spanish Culture Vs. New York Culture

Today we had a wellness workshop, which wasn't actually about wellness at all. It was all about culture shock and different experiences we've had since being here that have required cultural adaptation.
One main thing that comes to mind is that I have yet to see an elevator in this city. Apparently some of the students have small elevators and there are manners that go along with that, like you must greet the other person in the elevator otherwise it is an insult. Isabela and I don't have that problem since we are always walking up our 5 flights of stairs every day. I'm getting good at it, but it depends on the kind of day I'm having. I'll probably never drink too much knowing that getting back up to my apartment would feel like climbing Mount Everest. That should make my parents feel pretty good.

On the metro the older Spaniards always stare, and I have gotten quite good at staring back. According to Isabela I am actually a little bit scary. I stare down the person looking at me, and sometimes I need a quick break but then I get right back to it. One older man mistook it as a sign that he should hit on me, but otherwise I am just part of the culture! I feel a little bit like I am being challenged to a staring contest everytime I am on the subway. It's okay to blink, but you can't smile, you can't even show that you might be happy. I find myself staring at people by accident now. I'm getting in the habit of staring at people for minutes without looking away. I hope that doesn't freak people out when I get back to the states. One time I was being stared down by a middle-aged couple. They were arm and arm, unhappy faces, just staring me up and down. It's hard to grill two people at once, so I focused on the woman and tried to make a face like I'm a threat. Does she really not care that her boyfriend is also staring me down?

I also learned a couple days ago that the hand symbol that people make for rock on \m/ something like that... well that symbol means that you are being cheated on by your significant other. The reason being that during the times of the vikings, they would take off their pointed viking hats at the door whenever coming in, so if there was already a hat there, that means your woman is sleeping around. My Spanish teacher says that its as bad as giving the middle finger. I asked her if you're supposed to say a phrase with it or something like, "TU MADRE!" \m/ She said that would be pretty sufficient.

The ham thing I've already written about and I'm getting used to it, just not really eating it. Sushi here is the best ever though! I didn't even start liking sushi until I got to New York this past year. Actually, I didn't start liking sushi until the first time I went out to get sushi with Magda and Isabela in East Village. Apparently, even though Madrid is in the center of the country fish always comes straight to Madrid before it is exported to the coasts. It must be some kind of inspection or factory thing, but the fish here is extremely fresh. A place must really suck if you can't get good sushi.

I've been trying to find bagels. Bagels aren't a thing here. I even went to a bread store the other day (Paneria) and they didn't have bagels. Our cultural coordinator looked up some info and sent it to me, so I'm looking forward to having my little taste of home. The different foods here are hard to remember the names, but they are very good. There are some drinks that we were told to try, and some kind of blood sausage, patata tortilla for breakfast, all kinds of different cultural things.

Also, people here are much more rude, but its just a cultural thing. It's weird to say "please," "thank you," and "sorry" as often as Americans do. People don't care so much about that here. Spaniards are very blunt people. The rude people remind me of New Yorkers. A big difference though, is that even though this is a big city no one is ever in a rush like in New York.

Something that I find strange is that I hear English music everywhere. I was on the bus this morning and Shakira came on, and it's a song that I know in Spanish but it was playing in English and I didn't know the words. Really? This is Spain! Can you please play some Spanish music? Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, Pitbull, all of them are played here a lot, but in English and not Spanish. I don't understand.

It's hard to get used to siesta time, too. I haven't napped during siesta at all because I am usually either at school or on my way between school and home, which is usually when I want to go to the market. Why would I want to walk up 5 flights of stares just to walk down and up again? Basically, every time I am ready to go to the market I can't because it is closed during siesta and I have to wait until 5:30 or 6 before I can get food to cook. Not to mention, by the time I get home and feel like napping it is around 4 or 5, and if I nap then I will be up all night. My nap schedule is so off!

I'm looking forward to the culture shock once we get to Morocco this weekend. My good ol'friend Andrew Calivas sent me a good long list telling me things to look out for and be wary of . He's such a good guy. He told me all kinds of things to expect or stay away from, as well as fun things that I should try to do! So helpful. It's like having my own personal wikitravel Guide. I can't wait!

Viva la Vida en Valencia 9/9 - 9/11

My first weekend trip outside of Madrid brought myself and Isabela to Valencia, Spain. Valencia is known for a couple of things; first, it is the birthplace of Spain's famous paella. I insisted on trying the paella while we were there, so on our very last day we went out to lunch and I got to try it. Having tried paella in a couple of different countries, I was not very impressed. Unlike Mexican paella, the rice was very wet and soggy, which I'm told is the opposite of Costa Rican paella too (something I think I would love). I ordered the Valencian paella which I think just means that it has meat in it and a bunch of saffron. I wished there was cactus in it for some reason, Mexican cooked cactus is so delicious.

The second thing that Valencia is famous for is the language that they speak. Now, commonly they speak Spanish, but Valencian's also speak Catalan, which is kind of like a derivative from Spanish and Latin. It's considered a romance language, and although a lot of Valencian's can speak it, you more commonly just see it on street signs and other old parts of the city, but everyone speaks Spanish for the most part. It was a little confusing at first when we were trying to find our hostel using street signs that said "calle", and not the Catalan word for street which is "carrer" or instead of "avenida" for a road, it is called a "carretera." Luckily Isabela has a compass-brain and can direct us out of anywhere we go simply by knowing which way is North. I could never get lost following around a personal compass... except for the one time when I did get lost and roamed around streets going all over trying to find our hostel. Then when I did show up at the hostel I found Isabela sitting on a stoop laughing at me, it was admittedly pretty funny.

The hostel we stayed at was a lot like a dorm. We had a room with four other strangers, from around the world. A french girl trying to find a place to live while studying abroad in Valencia, and a couple of girls who we think were Polish because they were speaking Polish. Part of me thinks they were just speaking Polish so that we couldn't understand because one of the girls screamed in her sleep in Spanish every night, which I think if you're Polish that is not a normal language to have sleep-talking fits in. The view from our hostel window was very nice, even though the heat felt deadly. I thought for a second that it was June in the Dominican Republic, instead of September in Spain.

Our first day, we woke up at 4am so that we could figure out how to get to the airport, since the metro is closed until 6am. We took a cab to a bus stop, and waited for the bus. We had never done it before, and I get nervous easily when it comes to being late for important things, so to ease my worries, instead of waiting 30 minutes and (in my head) cutting it close to our 7:30am flight, we took a cab again to the airport. Next weekend we will probably plan the bus better. The flight to Valencia took 35 minutes. I don't even think the flight reached altitude.

After getting to Valencia, Isabela wittingly navigated us to our hostel from the metro, through plazas and following very interesting directions that used landmarks like "turn right at the caja madrid" or "if you're by a fountain you're going the right way." When we got to the hostel we were very excited to get going but I was borderline hallucinating from exhaustion, and I fell asleep in the hostel's computer room while Isabela explored what to do in Valencia. Not only did the hostel have a computer room with free access, but it also had three floors of dorm-like rooms, community bathrooms, and a big kitchen where you could get paella and sangria every night. The first night there it was like there was a  big party in the kitchen, there was loud music and people drinking and talking in all kinds of different languages.



After my 20 minute nap, Isabela and I went to an old river that no longer exists and has since been reconstructed into a long park. We followed the park for about 40 minutes in the hot sun, until we reached the several buildings which make up La Ciudad de Las Artes y Ciencias (The City of Arts and Sciences). La Ciudad holds a science museum, opera house, and the largest aquarium in Europe! We paid for a pass to explore everything. Most of our day was spent in the aquarium looking at penguins and beluga whales, or walking through tunnels with different fish, sharks and eels all around us.

Our passes included a dolphin show at the end of the day, and we explored a Marvel Comics exhibit in the science museum that I know my brother would be jealous of. We walked around life sized statues of the Hulk and Captain America, and colored pictures of super heroes at a childrens area for coloring. The buildings  themselves looked like they were constructed to make one big fish, if you look at the picture, the opera house looks like the head of a fish.

This year La Cuidad was hosting fashion week in Valencia, and so we, by chance, got to explore where all of the models were being dressed, or getting their hair did, and we even got discounts at one of the shopping booths because it was the last day and so some things were on sale. When we were exploring we saw a naked girl getting her entire body painted like a dragon, that was really cool. I've never seen anything like that in person, just on TV.

The next day we spent 5 hours at the beach! I got a great tan, and a burn, and it was nice to absorb all of that yummy Vitamin D. It was Isabela's first time at the Mediterranean Sea, and I thoroughly enjoyed dipping my toes in the same Sea that has so much history and is connected to so many other countries that I love. People are just always topless or only wearing speedos. Europeans are way less self-conscious than Americans. Being naked at the beach in the U.S. is definitely not P.C.

Afterwards we went on a free walking tour of Valencia where we learned about history and saw many beautiful churches and learned about the local drink called Horchata (Orxata) which I got to drink the next day. It tastes like coconut juice of some kind.... but everyone is supposed to make their own opinion of it according to our tour guide.

The next day we slept in and went to Catholic mass at the cities largest and most beautiful church. I didn't see any Goya paintings inside, though we were told that there were. The altar was adorned in old paintings and gold. It was beautiful to look at and aside from the Creed or the Lord's Prayer, I didn't follow much of the service so I just stared around a lot. I wished that I could go to a Greek church for liturgy, I have yet to do so. But I imagine going to a service and praying at all is a lot more pleasing than not going to a church of any kind, so it was nice to get my fill of prayer in during  a service. Below is a picture of the alter, I snuck it real quick before the service started.

We walked around and saw some cool sights before heading back to the metro and to the airport to complete our journey.

I realized on our weekend that I need to learn how to relax a little more. I am always worried about something or thinking "okay whats next." In silence, I talk instead of enjoying the sounds around me. I know that's normal for most people, but its something I'd like to change. Sufficed to say, I enjoyed the sights and laying on the beach and seeing the aquarium for the first time since I can remember. I also thoroughly enjoyed doing all of these things with Isabela, but that is nothing new.

Now my parents can know all about my exploring of the eastern coast of Spain. I'm sure it will not be my first time out there, since we are planning on going to Barcelona when Isabela's mom visits, but it was a great ice-breaker for traveling and flying in Europe!

More to come after we go to Morocco next weekend.

Two Weeks In

The first two weeks of my life here in Madrid have flown by with ease, and I have loved most of my time here. I must admit that I can't imagine my life here being anything but ordinary without Isabela as mi compañera de cuarto (roommate). I feel as though our little adventures have been different compared to what the other students have in mind. We don't go out clubbing and drinking every night, give us a good bag of homemade popcorn and some wine that cost 1 Euro at the mercado around the corner, and we are good.
Since Isabela loves the outdoors so much, she has been encouraging a lot of meandering around that I probably would not have done on my own. Most of the time, in any country I'm in, I just want to sleep all the time. Instead, we've gone out for the best sushi I've ever eaten, wondered the streets at night just trying to find a metro not caring how lost we are or what time it is, and we cook for each other a lot, which is nice, saves money, and simply makes it feel like we have a home here. Food is so important in comfort and culture. The sushi here is seriously amazing. I could just order a California roll at every sushi place I go and it will be something different every time, and it will be delicious every time.

Today we went to a lake in Madrid and tanned while listening to Spanish music and watching people kayak around the fountain in the center of the man-made-laeke. The lake was more like a very big pond, hardly a mile in diameter, and easy to walk around. It was comparable to Jamaica Pond in Boston, or Dorus Pond in Manchester.
We enjoyed a nice lunch and walked through several parks and streets, not knowing where we were, hoping to find where we wanted to go. When Isabela was on her pilgrimage 3 weeks ago she said that she walked by a river and that there was fish and a dame, and it was just beautiful to look at. We searched far and wide for her to show me, and we found an end of the river that was almost opposite of where we intended, but was beautiful none the less.

Not realizing how long our roaming took, we hurried home to change so that we could go out for 1 Euro sangrias... only on Wednesdays. Unfortunately the people we planned on going with had to cancel, and so Isabela and I decided to go out the two of us anyway. We went to a restaurant and had wonderful and lively conversations over sushi and a bottle of wine. I could never get bored with her.

On our way back home we saw a small stand doing henna tattoos, and we chose to get a little something. After only a glass of wine or two, most people lose their nerves, especially when it comes to nerves about speaking another language... so we chatted with the people running the stand. Isabela dove into the conversation talking about about where we were all from and just little typical things like that. We ended up getting the same butterfly henna, and the lady told us to wash it off in 20 minutes.
After our own little photo shoot in the subway, we were home and tried washing off the henna and it pealed right off! Nothing stuck on like it was supposed to! What a waste of money. The experience was nice... but that was kind of disappointing.

This has been a typical day. We hardly ever go directly home after classes, and I don't nap as much as I normally do when I have a relaxed schedule like this. After tomorrow our schedules get really busy on the weekends! All of September we have wonderful trips planned! This weekend to Valencia, next weekend to Marakesh Morocco, and the last weekend in September we're off to Berlin to see Magda and all that her new home has to offer! I'm really excited for that last one. I haven't seen Magda in over two months, and I've never been outside the airport in Germany either. I have a lot to look forward to, and I hope that these experiences are as relaxing and inspiring as I have heard they might be. More to come on the trips once they happen. In the mean time, it's time for me to get to bed.

Adapting! Living the Spanish dream!

MY INTERNET WORKS! Finally! Mac hookups are very different in Europe than PCs are in Europe, so our landlord came out of his way to help us hook it up, and for me to finally pay him and everything.

Today was a kind of scavenger hunt in the city. Madrid is a lot like New York City to me sometimes. Maybe not the Plazas or anything, but the city is very crammed together and it feels very similar. Our school would be in the Brooklyn of NYC, and I would currently be in the East Village of Madrid, not necessarily according to the East side of the city, but where I am is very similar to a residential East Village in NYC.

Everything here is extremely expensive compared to what I originally thought it would be. I bought shoes to go out because the ones I have gave me enormous blisters after 3 hours of sitting down in them. 

Isabela and I are big bargain hunters, and only on things that we need or are we willing to splurge. We got into the club for free last night, and its a very tourist club so we met a group of people from Syracuse school in New York, and a guy from Minnesota who was studying abroad. We all exchanged numbers and are hoping to meet up again, because branching away from our group is important too. It ended up being Isabela, myself, and our friend Maria who went out dancing.

Today when I was separate from Isabela I ate lunch with a group of kids that I am still getting to know, and they are nice. So after lunch I decided to go my own way and I walked around for 2 hours. I walked the "Broadway of Madrid" or la Gran Via, and looked at how expensive it would be to go see El Rey de Leon (The LIon King) in Spanish on Madrid's Broadway. A little too expensive, but it would still be cool to splurge on that at some point, we will see.

APPLES HERE ARE DELICIOUS! Isabela and I are friendly with the lady who works at the fruiteria around the corner. When we went we bought TONS of vegitables and fruits, for not as much money. The fruit that is fresh and organic here is normal, so its not as expensive in some places. We've been going to the supermercado around the corner to buy most of our things, but that doesnt have everything we want, so we need to find another place. It's hard to find black beans in this city!

The streets here are hardly streets. The more tourist of an area I am in the less it feels like there are streets. We can walk anywhere, and all of a sudden there will be a car, and I will realize that I have been walking in the middle of the street. People walk where ever they want and cars just have to deal with it, or honk their horns.

The metro station closes at 12am! ITS SO EARLY! I'm used to having 24 hr service in NY or 1am service in Boston. So when we left the club we took a cab.

Leaving our apartment seems so exhausting for me, and its only because we have to walk 5 floors up to get back in. My butt is going to be rock solid by the time I leave here. All of the hills and walking that we do! Ugh, its exhausting to think about, but fun to explore!

We've started taking the bus to and from school instead of the metro, because that way we can see the city and sometimes its even faster than the metro because we just stay on the same bus, there's no transfer.

The current plan for this month is the school's weekend getaway will take Isabela and I to Granada and Cordoba, which is a 6 hour bus ride and has a lot of art and history that we will be able to see. I know I am not a museum person, but when I am with Isabela it is different. She has such a wide-eyed fascination with art and history, I've never seen true passion for something like that. When we saw Guernica by Picasso in person at the Museo de Reina Sofia here in Madrid, it was so big and powerful and beautiful that I almost wanted to cry. I could have stared at it for days. It's bigger than a story tall. Maybe a story if you have high ceilings. No pictures were allowed but I snuck one from my phone. It was great. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then google Guernica and Pablo Picasso. It's THE most famous painting of Spain and Spanish history. 

We also saw a lot of Dali artwork. Isabela's passion for all of these things makes me so much more excited about it and I have been learning to appreciate it a lot more because of that. The only thing I don't like about museums is how long we have to stand for, and we've been standing and walking so much lately that it doesn't take a lot for my feet or back to hurt. Once classes start I will have an infinite amount of downtime and everything about my lifestyle right now will alter ever so slightly.

Spaniards put ham on everything. It's annoying, and starting to get a little gross. They overuse their pig. I ordered a sirlion tapas, which is like a mini sirlion for a couple of Euros... and it was sirlion PORK, not sirlion like we know it back home. Carne de Vacca (Cow) is extremely rare and expensive to find here. There are stores all over the place called Museos de Jamon. It literally means Ham Museum... and it is not a butcher necessarily, because it specializes in pig only. THAT is how much Spaniards like ham. Usually a side comes with a beverage when you get a good deal and the side is almost always protuitto on a piece of bread with some oil on top.

Today when I was walking around alone, I walked for a couple of hours and saw shops and markets that were out in some of the plazas. I took only a couple of pictures because I didn't want to be too touristy. Some people are either fascinated with me being from the States, or they are disguisted with me because I am American. It's a toss up. I met a lady when I was shoe shopping and I asked her if she liked my shoes. I told her I need a mom, and my mom isn't here. I think that helped her understand that I appreciated her opinion.

I also saw a guy playing instruments in the subway. He was alone but had almost an entire band set up. Similar to the way people play music for money anywhere else in the world on the street or in the subway. He had a hand drum just sitting there while he played his flute. I watched for a minute and a man walked by and banged on the drum, but the musician didn't get upset. So I took that as a sign that he wouldn't be upset if I asked him if I could play with him. I asked if I could and he obliged. I got to play an African drum in a Spanish subway with a guy I didn't know! I played for maybe a couple of minutes until the real drummer returned. I shook his hand and thanked them both, and went on my way with a smile ear to ear. Playing instruments is something that feels very homie to me, and that added interest of playing in the subway with a stranger made it even more exciting.

Then I came home and Isabela and I talked for a little bit. When we are apart for even a couple of hours, after getting back together we have to discuss everything that happened. Almost like a married couple we are constantly (subconsciously) making sure we are on the same page and we feel similar and think similarly about a lot of things so it's nice. We even are getting to the point where we are craving the same foods at the same time, or thinking the same thing. It's so nice to have someone like that. It is like having a boyfriend or a husband here... someone who is connected to all of me and understands what I am about even without communication.