These Dolphins Speak Spanish!---Valencia

Hola amigos,

I suppose it's about time I told you about my trip to Valencia 2 weekends ago with the girls. :)

Well, on Friday I got up earlier than I had since I got here, 5:15 am! Yikes! After sluggishly getting ready, I called a taxi all by myself (woo! haha) and had him pick me up and then pick up my friend Megumi who was semi-close by. After an hour bus ride to Madrid, we took the most crowded Metro ride of your life! I'm pretty sure about 5 random people (besides the girls) got to second base with me, that's how crowded it was; we were smushed up like sardines. Next we took a 3 1/2 our train ride (which was actually quite nice, I chatted a lot with Erin and Anna), and then we finally arrived in sunny Valencia! 65 degrees F! Woo!

We then checked out our hostel which was legit! Very colorful :) And though we weren't supposed to eat or drink in our rooms, I broke the rules and ate the soggy but still tasty bocadillo (sandwhich/biscut) with tomato, cheese, and olive oil that my host mom mad me the day before (she's so sweet). We walked around a bit, enjoying the wonderful weather, and happened across an awesome candy store and GELATO...I had coffee-flavored, and it was glorious. We also passed one of the coolest signs I've ever seen...the street we were on was "Colon" from Christopher Columbus, and the sign read "Colon Fluid." LOL...Ironically though, I was the only one of our group who laughed at it!! Where's their sense of humor? Haha it's O.K. though, I told my sister later and she's making a copy of the picture. :) After taking many candid photos of Erin and Amy we had a quick rest at our hostel (we had walked around a lot!), and then headed out for dinner at an Italian restaurant. We decided that this will become a tradition in our weekend trips, because our first experience in Madrid was such a marvelous one, and we just love Italian food!

So, Saturday was, to say the least, INCREDIBLE!! Although Megumi was sick and could not join us for this day, which was super sad :( ...but it was still a fun day, besides having our tri-lingual friend with us :) ...We ate at Starbucks for breakfast and headed for the famous "Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias" museum but were a bit side tracked but a lovely park on the way. Erin and Anna picked illegal oranges (and they didn't even taste good!), we took some pretty epic High School Musical jumping pictures, and watched old men drive toy boats on a pond...it was sweet. We finally made it to the museums in the late morning (we walked all the way there, quite a trek!) and let me tell you, it seriously was the coolest place on earth!!!! And we only went to 2 buildings out of 3! The first was the science building that was filled with all these cool and interactive things, like an energy section and one just about the body. For instance, in the energy/electronics one you could sit across from your friend and talk into a microphone; it would delay your voice, and then you had a switch where you could slide it back and forth to make the voice slower or faster. There was also this dark room where you stand in front of a wall, strike a pose, and a weird camera takes a picture of your silhouette that lingers for about 10 seconds...that was my favorite :) ...there were also some cool things in the body exhibit like being tested for your balance and doing fake surgery! Yeah! Let's just say I am very easily amused, so this place was like the ultimate playground...plus it was educational! Woo! I wish I could take my future classrooms there...

Anyway, after the fantastic science museum we headed over to the aquarium/zoo, or as Erin likes to call it, the "Oceanarium." We saw penguins dancing, walruses getting frisky, and a wonderful dolphin show! It was amazing! They trained the dolphins to flip the trainers up in the air and pedal backwards and flip over ropes, it was just so cool! And then Erin pointed out the most amazing part of it...she said, "OMG, these dolphins speak Spanish!" And I realized holy cow they do, since of their commands are in Spanish! I like it. :) I also think this would be the perfect job for my sister because she can use her Spanish and Zoology knowledge to train dolphins! Plus it's in a climate she'll tolerate :) Regardless, the Las Artes/Ciencias was the most fun I'd had since coming here, it was that impressive.

Well, after our adventures there we met up with some girls from SNC studying here which was so nice to see familiar faces, though I'm sure they were annoyed when we started mainly talking in inside jokes (that tends to happen a lot). Regardless, I hope they had fun. The next morning we headed to, can you guess it?--Starbucks! That apparently is another tradition in the making...and next we headed to the beach to stick our feet in the Mediterranean and catch up with some more friends from school studying there. It was very nice, though let me tell you, that water was cold! Worth it though :) After that we rushed to the train station with about 5 minutes to spare, and headed home!!! In all, FANTASTIC weekend, I LOVED Valencia, and though my heart is in Toledo, I think I would have like studying in Valencia as well.

O.K. well I see I'm starting to write a novel and I'm sure it's not very exciting anymore, but I realized I hadn't written in a week so I thought I better get on that! Hopefully the next blog will be more thought out but not so delayed! lol

Hasta luego amigos!!

The 7 Wonders of Spain

So yes, I'm pretty horrible at this blog thing, but I haven't written in a while because I know my posts haven't been the most exciting. So those of you that have followed along despite the lack of intense fight scenes, romantic escapades, and glorious revelations, thank you. And after inspiration from a new friend here, I've decided to try and spice things up a bit. Because after all, just telling you what I've done in Spain is definitely not enough to keep you interested, and it certainly doesn't give the impression that I'm having "adventures" over here. So, let's try and move this blog up from the level of a bingo night at the old folk's home to the excitement of a Real Madrid soccer game!! Then again, I hear those bingo nights can get pretty intense...

While listening to my American music (which is pretty standard here) and thinking about my time here, a few things come to mind that I've been wondering about. And so if you were expecting a post about 7 grand sights of Spain, you are mistaken. Instead, I'd like to tell you about a few things that always leave me scratching my head.

7. Dog Poo

Yes, dog poo. It's weird here, and EVERYWHERE, in case you were wondering why I'm mentioning it. The streets are continuously being cleaned, but I'm still finding myself checking my shoes every time I get to my destinations. Also, the poo is orange. Yup, orange. I understand the dog food is probably different here, but orange? Why the heck is that? What are they feeding these dogs? I'm curious.

6. Bugs

O.K., I generally am alright around bugs, but the other night during dinner I saw the biggest freaking cockroach of my life! And my host parent's reaction? Just something like a "oh" or "oops; " one stomp of my host mom's foot and that pest was gone, but let me tell you, I was flipping out a little. I had never seen very many bugs here in Spain so far, so seeing that huge one has got me wondering what other little lovelies I'll run into here this semester. I'll try to stay positive, but I'm starting to realize why it's important to wear slippers all the time.

5. Trees

Alright, so I know I've been here for a few weeks now, but for some reason I never noticed the funky trees on my way to school. So to my surprise, I looked up one day, and see these birch-like trees that have little balls hanging off all of them. At first I thought they were decorations, but sure enough, they're connected! I've tried doing some researching for this particular vegetation, but have not yet been successful. Ever since then, I've been very intrigued by these mystery trees, and I'm going to try and get to the bottom of this. Still, I'm convinced each ball contains a speck of a whole new world of little beings, just waiting for a giant friend to come along and change their lives. :)

4. Mullets.

Why? WHY?.....'nough said.

3. Old Men & Buses

Another thing I'm confused about...buses (schedules) and the old men who wait for them. For one thing, I feel like as much as I try to keep up with the bus schedules, I still never have any idea when the heck they're coming. There's one bus that has exact times it's supposed to come, but then again, it's Spain, so time means nothing. :) Lucky for me, I have 3 different options for buses going to and from town, but it seems like I'm always getting to the bus stop at the wrong times. I go there early and there's no one there, and then right before the bus comes, tons of people show up! It's like they have a sixth sense! Or maybe they've just had a lot of practice. Either works. :) ...and either way, I need to somehow obtain this knowledge! But anyway, I wait for these buses, and there's often an old man sitting there waiting too (apparently they don't have the sixth sense everyone else does). These men always like to talk to me, and they mumble a lot so of course never have any idea what they're saying. --I've become a pro at the smiling, nodding, and saying "si" method for communicating-- I often wonder if they know I'm completely oblivious to what they're saying or if they actually think I'm following along. No matter what, it's always a bit uncomfortable for me, and I heave a sigh of relief when the bus comes. It's alright though, I just hope they haven't been talking about something weird, so I don't keep agreeing with them that Franco was the good 'ol times or that all the gypsies live in Poligono (my friend's neighborhood...I have heard this though! lol) or something like that haha.

2. Smoking, Hills, and Health!

Honestly, how do they do it? With the intense hills and cobblestone streets that make up Toledo, I really wonder how SO MANY people here can smoke! And then live so long! Seriously, there are a lot of elderly people here in Toledo, and they can still make it up the mountainous terrain of Toledo's "streets" fairly easily. I mean I know they must have the lung capacities of whales or something from all the hills, but I would think the smoking would pretty much counteract it. Who knows? They must have some sort of health secret that they aren't telling the rest of the world. I must discover it and make my fortune! Really though, if people didn't smoke here I think they'd last forever. Perhaps that's why Spain has thrived for so long.....

1. Man Purses

The man purse. Or, as others like to call it, the satchel. It has become a popular topic in the world recently, and it has got me thinking whether they are a fashion statement or simply a bad life choice! I had never really had an opinion about it before, but after listening to my new friend Megumi try to convince her boyfriend to let her get him one, I became more interested. After all, she did have some good points. Where are guys supposed to put their cameras? Their purse! She also tried to inform him that they can be very stylish, and that she could even get black leather, that's really masculine. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in convincing him, but I assured her that he just needs some time to think about it and come to his senses. She assured me she'd probably buy one for him anyway, no matter what he says. haha. In the end, I think Megumi won that battle, and yay for her. As far as the man purses go, I'll leave that opinion up to you. Just something to think about.... :)

So there you have it, 7 things that have been running through my head here in Spain. Of course there are still random things I wonder about, like no dancing at disoctecas? Weird. Also, I just want to say right now that not listening to my music for the first week was a major FAIL on my part! I had forgotten the effect it has on me! I think I would have felt better sooner, because once I started using my iTunes again, I began to relax and feel like myself again. Yay :) ....and don't think it's bad that I'm not listening to music in Spanish, because 75 % of the music here is 80's pop and Beyonce. True story. Also, I'd just like to say that I am meeting so many new people here, and I love it so much. They all have such great personalities and different stories to tell of their lives, and I think it's one of my favorite experiences of this semester. I'm very grateful to share all of this with them, and I can't wait for more adventures!!!

Hasta luego amigos!