Practica Fallas

Well this blog has kinda become my study break so here is another quick blog. I find it amazing how quickly I can type on page in English but how it takes me like 2 times as long to do it in Spanish… anyway this blog is going to be about my Practica which is kinda like a service learning internship with the fallas.

The Fallas are a huge celebration March 15-19th in Valencia. I really wish I could be here to see them so someday I will just have to come back! Anyway the celebrations started because the carpenters of Valencia all would burn there winter light holders on March 19th the feast of St. Joseph patron St. of carpenters. The celebration has since evolved into the burning of ninots which are life size figures made out of paper mache. The some of the fallas are huge. Think of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade floats and now imagine like one of those placed on every street corner and these things are ornate. The process that goes into making one is incredible. They design them on the computer, make molds for them then put wood strips to make the basic shape then they cover it with paper or other burnable materials then they sand them so they are smooth and then finally they paint and assemble them. The commission I was working with doesn’t make the huge fallas but they were working on smaller ones for children right now. Most of the time the fallas criticize current events in Spain and globally, when I visited the museum fallero there were ones of George Bush, Luis Zapatero (president of Spain), Juan Carlos (king of Spain) and many other people and things. Last year the commission I worked with did one that criticized the lack of parking in Valencia. The super small scale model looked really cool but the real one was all burnt up.

So basically the festival goes like this… March 15th all the different fallas (floats) are planted on street corners, in plazas and all over Valencia and the surrounding communities. On the 16th prizes are awarded for the best fallas in each category (determined by the amount of $$ spent) and there is a judging to determine which one ninot (doll) out of all the dolls will be saved from burning and put in the museum fallero, on the 17th there is a procession from all the different fallas commissions bringing flowers to put in front of the virgin in the plaza de la virgin by the Cathedral. The 18th is the “night of flame” and this means a huge fireworks display (my professor said it is like Disney fireworks quality if not better) which I would LOVE to see. During this whole time the entire city is just one huge fiesta and on the 19th St. Joseph’s day, is the burning when every falla and ninot (except the one chosen to be saved) are burnt. I can’t imagine what that has to look like, probably like the city is burning. In my practica I helped out with making some of the ninots for this year’s float which I would love to see painted but unfortunately won’t be able to unless I get some pictures sent to me. We’ll see.

This really wasn’t much of a study break since this is all stuff I have to know for my final. Oh well it was good review! See you all soon!

Rome Day 2

Today, we headed out for our hop on hop off tour of Rome. Just a brief explanation for anyone who doesn’t get it basically we were able to get on and off a bus at 17 different places throughout the city and while riding the bus you could listen to a tour about some of the stuff you were seeing and such. My speakers never really worked so I just took pictures.

Well we started the day at a Church Santa Maria Maggori or something like that and after that it was go go go! So much to see in Rome and only 2 days, not enough time at all but I was glad we had this tour because we really did get to see a lot. After we explored the church and plaza back to the bus. Next stop that I remember was the Coliseum complete with people dressed up like gladiators. We didn’t go in but It was still cool to just see from the outside and we did peek in and saw some of the inside. Also the area around the Coliseum contained other ruins like columns and I think some super old houses in the caves nearby but we didn’t wander all the way over that way.

Back on the bus again we drove past Nero’s circus. Which was another stop but we didn’t get off this time. Next stop that we did disembark on was a small Island with Basilica on it. It was great because the bridge and island were great scenery to get a picture and the church was cool too… lots of photo opportunities today! :) Back to the bus again and the next stop was a archeological dig site where they had uncovered what they were pretty sure were the remains of 5 different temples each built at different time periods. That was one of my favorite parts of the day. I don’t know why but seeing things so old is just not something that I see every day so it is pretty cool at least to me. The site was also a local adopt a cat site.
They seriously were all over!

After that next stop was St. Peter’s which we didn’t get off at (well I did just to get a picture of the bus) so we waited while the driver took his break. Next stop was the castle Sant Angelo. Again we didn’t enter in it but it was cool just to walk up to the bridge leading to it had 12 different angels on it each with some object of sin I think. Not quite 100% sure on that anymore… anyway back to the bus.
Next stop I remember was the Pantheon but before that we went and explored plaza navona which was a cool plaza with and Egyptian obelisk that was somehow related to Ramses. Yeah I don’t remember much more than that about it. Pantheon was great though so cool just to see. The inside was all redone by the Christians when they took over so it wasn’t a place for pagan worship and sacrifice. The floor sloped slightly so that liquids would run off. The inside and outside were both pretty impressive, and hard to describe. A picture is worth a thousand words so ask me to see pictures sometime!

Next stop I remember was the font de trevi or fountain of trevi. It was a pretty cool looking fountain again with an Obelisk in a plaza with some tents and such for shopping which we didn’t even stop at! We were on a mission to finish out tour before time ran out! Next and last stop I remember was plaza republica. Which had a fountain a church to go into which we did that was interesting because it had a bunch of stuff up about Galileo only problem was it was getting dark so picture taking got kinda hard. After that stop we went back to where we started and actually went to mass in the Basilica Maria Maggiore. We didn’t really understand a word but Alleluia and Amen but it was still cool to hear a mass in Italian. There was a lot more singing in the Italian mass than the Spanish but maybe that was just the church. After that more delicious Italian food and then bedtime because the day was exhausting! And tomorrow I was leaving to go back to Valencia. It was great to see my parents and Grandma and I can’t wait to see everyone in a week or so when I get home!

Sorry that the descriptions are so bad. Should have wrote when things were fresher in my memory. I do have about 450 pictures of just this day though so hopefully that will make up for the bad descriptions.

Vatican City

Rome!!! Italy!!! So much to say, too bad I am writing this like a month late. I probably won’t even remember half of the stuff we saw… but in my defense there was so much to see I honestly don’t even know if I knew what I was looking at half the time!

Well as I said in my last blog we left for Rome Thursday late afternoon and arrived Thursday in the evening with plenty of time to find our hotel, which was really close to the bus station luckily and someplace close by to eat. The first Italian food I had had in a long time! It was delicious. First night was pizzas mmm… so good. Anyway then it was to bed for us because we were getting up early to be the first in line to get into the Vatican tomorrow.

We weren’t the first in line but we only had to wait a little while. I was kinda chilly just because I have gotten used to the warmer temperatures of Valencia. (Bad news since I will be in snow covered WI in a week.) Anyway, soon we were entering into the Vatican museum which was amazing. So much history there it was amazing. It started with Egyptians and such and just kept getting more and more recent. It was really amazing! Anyone traveling to Rome I recommend it highly it wasn’t interactive and fun like other museums I have visited but there was just so much cool historical ancient stuff there. There was so much to see and walk through I can’t even remember it all. Raphael’s room was great and of course the Sistine Chapel was INDESCRIBABLE! I have a couple illegal photos from in there but really you have to see it in person to get the full feeling of awe! Everything about the room is ornate the painting and everything. That is where the cardinals elect new popes, it was crazy to be standing in a place like that and just looking around thinking of it.

Well after a full morning and most of the early afternoon in the museum we decided it was time to eat and then head outside to St. Peter’s Square and visit St. Peter’s Basilica. The queue for that was also rather long but as they are accustomed to massive amounts of tourist it was moving pretty quickly. We actually met and chatted with another American couple waiting in the line that had just finished a biking trip in Northern Italy (I think). They said it was beautiful which I don’t doubt.
Before we knew it we were through the line and walking up and into St. Peter’s Basilica. The inside was HUGE with so much to see. We walked around looking at all the art, crypts, statues, and just everything. The structure itself is also amazing. Gigantic columns, huge domes, everything so ornate… yeah… really indescribable. Anyway, we admired and everything for quite awhile it was really a cool experience. Later we visited the mausoleum where many popes and such were buried also some cardinals and a queen I believe. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of that but it was amazing just to see. And lastly for the day we climbed the cupola to get a great view of all of Rome. Dad and I took the stairs all the way and mom and Grandma took the elevator halfway and the stairs the rest. The stairs were interesting because the walls we sloping in since it was a cupola so I was leaning to one side the entire time with my upper body and then trying to walk straight… not a great idea and I didn’t even fall! The view from the top was absolutely spectacular! Which made the climb well worth it; we were also lucky because it was just about time for sunset so yeah just the icing on the cake!

After we met up again at the bottom we headed back to the Hotel and then to eat. More yummy Italian food tonight was pasta! Buenísimo! And then off to bed to be ready for another day of sightseeing!

Grandma mom and dad in Valencia

A shorter blog about my family visiting me in Valencia…

It was my midterms week so they kinda had to entertain themselves and I think that they did. The language barrier of course brought them a couple of adventures in restaurants and such but at least they got a great experience ;) Mondays and Wednesdays I have 3 classes so on those days they were really on their own until night.

On Tuesday we visited the beach yes the beach in October… for me it was kinda chilly but really it wasn’t bad at all and the water wasn’t quite as warm as I had remembered but it also wasn’t freezing cold like when I jumped into the Gilman’s pool to help get the stairs out last year in October or when we went swimming after cleaning up the beach front at the Emerging Leaders retreat in a lake last year in October. So I guess I can’t complain.

Grandma also really wanted to pick a wonderful Valencia orange and try it but she never got a chance. I have since tried now that they are in season and they are delicious and huge... bigger than my fist!

We also went to a Flamenco show that night which was my first Flamenco and it was really interesting but not quite what any of us were expecting. I think it is safe to safe we were expecting a girl in a pretty dress to be the dancer but that wasn’t what we got. We actually had a super sweaty man as the dancer. He was super good though, I couldn’t believe how quickly he was moving his feet! The music was really great too. The singer was amazing (I have been another show since and can compare) and the guitar… I just wanted to listen to it forever! So wonderful!!! Also completely indescribable, so I am not even going to try I have a video (I think) so just ask when I get back.

Wednesday night my host parents had invited them over to our apartment for a meal and just so they could meet. It was a super fun night and a delicious dinner. My host mom knows what I like so well that instead of a seafood dish she made a dish with cerdo (pig) just so I would eat it. It was delicious I still have to get the recipe (time is running out!) Most of the night I was translating back and forth between English and Spanish so that my family and padres could talk to each other. The fun thing about translating is you don’t actually have to be 100% sure about ever word because really the people you are translating don’t know what was said so you can just fill in the blanks of what you don’t know! My host padre recently told me that he can understand written English pretty well and I am sure some spoken too but he seemed satisfied with my translations. :)

Thursday was our last day in Valencia. Class in the morning for me and then we were on a flight to Rome! The next adventure!!!

Barcelona

Hello readers of my blog… if there are any of you left out there. I apologize for being so terrible at keeping up. I am about a month behind or more! But better late than never, hopefully you agree.

So first a quick update, things are crazy here. I can’t believe the time has gone so quickly it feels like the time has been going twice what it normally would. I have been engulfed in projects, papers, presentation and my soon to come finals! Plus some traveling and other fun experiences :)

Anyway, so I left off in Barcelona when my parents and grandma came to visit me. I think I can speak safely for all of us when I say that we had a great time even though we were only there for a day and a half. Friday night was a chill night because by the time we all met at the hotel it was basically time for supper and bed, especially for the grandma, mom and dad who had been traveling all day in planes and car. I will share though whether my parents like it or not, that they were more or less driving around Barcelona lost for I think nearly 5 hours trying to find out hotel. To illustrate my point we basically arrived at the hotel at about the same time but my flight didn’t get in until at least 5 hours later. So now I think we all know that it is genetics that gave me my bad sense of direction! Back to Friday night though, I can’t express in words how great it was to see some familiar faces which makes me really excited to come back home and see so many familiar faces! As I mentioned we basically just went to eat which was great because the family got to experience Sangria, a Spanish specialty that is delicious. For those who may not know it is wine that is mixed with some different fruit juices. Sounds simple and maybe it is I don’t know but it is really delicious! After dinner it was back to the hotel for a good night’s rest for all of us because we had an early morning.

Saturday, our only full day in Barcelona was busy one. We started the day with a tour to Montserrat, a pilgrimage sight in the mountains just outside of Barcelona. We had a great tour guide who spoke at least 3 different languages but for us only Spanish and English. Montserrat was about an hour bus drive away but for the entire hour there and back we were listening and learning while watching out the window as Barcelona passed us by. When we got there we were guided to the Monastery where it is tradition to touch the hand of the virgin of Montserrat. There also was a museum that we didn’t have time to enter and other things to see like statues and art. The view was also amazing seeing as we were in the mountains. One funny thing happened that I recall… I asked a lady to take a picture of the four of us and she complimented me on my English. So I guess I haven’t forgotten all my English yet!
After our tour we had lunch and then hit the town. We walked down the Rambla which is a street of small touristy shops and people standing all dressed and painted to the statue of Christopher Columbus because that was more or less my parents focal point as they attempted to navigate the streets of Barcelona and then we took the metro to the Palacio which is next to the Olympic grounds from 1992. We walked around the Olympic grounds; saw the different building where event were held and the spire that was the Olympic flame. Oh and I have to mention because it was beautiful that we were there at sunset so I think the pictures are pretty awesome! Then we headed to the Magic Fountain show, which was impressive. The water pressure and light of the fountain were programmed to change and such to with music and stuff. It is hard to explain. Hopefully the picture will help. After that we went back to the hotel for bed.

Sunday morning we woke up and packed and then left for church at the Catedral de la Sagrada Familia (the Cathedral of the Sacred Family). I could understand most of what was going on but I am sure everyone else was a little lost. (The mass was in Spanish).It is a really an impressive building. The outside depicts scenes from the bible and the inside which is still under construction and has been for like years and years and years. It is a must see for anyone who want to do some traveling! After that we had to check out of our hotel and we commenced our drive to Valencia. Which was actually quite easy... just one highway. Even I didn’t get us lost!
Hope you enjoyed this one. Hopefully I will be able to get a few more blogs up before I come home!

Hope you all are well and I am excited to see you soon!
p.s. sorry for all the rambling I am kinda tired…

Wales

I am almost done blogging about my fall break which was actually a month ago. Wow October was a super busy month! Anyway…

After visiting Maren I was heading to Wales to visit Kevin and Brit in Swansea for a few days. I arrived after a 5ish hour, completely uneventful train ride into Swansea station where I waited for a couple minutes for Brit and Kevin to come get me. First thing to do was to get rid of all my stuff so we went to the student village where they were living and dropped of my stuff in Kevin’s room. Then we headed right back into town to get something to eat and figure out something to do. We went to a Chinese place where we met up with 4 other friends. Kevin, Brit, Gilly and I then headed off to see a movie, UP which had just come out in theaters. Wednesdays at that theater are 2 for 1 night so that means cheaper! YAY!! It was great just to sit in a theater and watch a wonderful, funny movie without having to constantly concentrate on what they are saying so you understand. Wednesday was our low key night so after the movie we headed back to the student village where Brit went to her flat and Kevin and I to ours.

Thursday Brit and Kevin had some classes to go to and I had to do my laundry. I only had one small bag with me and there was no way to fit 10 days worth of clothes into it so I spent the morning doing laundry, and just kinda taking it easy which was really good for me because I was catching a cold. I have to say too that English tea is really good… although it really doesn’t seem that different. In the afternoon I went to the University to look around while Brit and Kevin were in class. I checkout out the garden and some of the cooler looking buildings and also talked to the student services to figure out my train to London and trip for the next day. When Brit finished with class we met up and went into town to do a little sightseeing/shopping and we met Kevin at Tesco the grocery store. I just have to say here that now I really appreciate having my host family because I don’t have to buy or prepare my own food! After shopping we went back to Kevin’s to make dinner (pasta bake) while watching the TV show GLEE.

Thursday night we were hitting the town! One of Brit’s flat mates Izzy came with too. Swansea for being a kinda small town has a surprising amount of night life and it was lots of fun too. Tonight we were headed for the dance club Oceana. We didn’t make it to Oceana but we still had a great time dancing in the other club that we stopped at. Since I am writing this blog like a month after it happened I obviously don’t recall everything but I don’t think we got home until almost 2:30am. It was a great night out!

For our next day we had made plans to visit Oystermouth Castle in Mumbles (yes that is the town name). We got to see the outside of the Castle but when we walked to the entrance we found out it was closed. Oh well so we walked a little of Mumbles and tried some fish and chips. I just had the chips which actually were unusually terrible. Kevin, Brit and Izzy all agreed that these were the worst chips they had ever had.

We also had planned to visit the Gower Peninsula, specifically Rhossili Bay and Worm’s Head. We took a bus out there which was lucky because they had extended their service to Rhossili until Christmas for just this year. I was super glad because it was beautiful and so much fun. We walked all the way out to the ocean but on the way we stopped to take shadow pictures, pretend like we were mountain climbers (or mountain goats), walk right to the edge of a cliff, and take some crazy pictures like handstands and such from far away (see posted pic with blog). And we stayed long enough that we were there for sunset which was absolutely STUNNING!

Then since it was my last night in Swansea we again went out for a night on the town; Brit, Kevin, Izzy and I. This time our mission was to tackle Wine Street, a pedestrian street with lots of restaurants, bars and general nightlife. Personally, I think we tackled it! I have no idea what time we got home (simply because it was a month ago) but I would guess around 3am but I do know that we all had a great time dancing in some of the different bars and singing in the street. (I did not participate in the singing, I was too cold). When we got back to the student village Kevin and I went our way and Brit and Izzy theirs. Kevin and I stayed up for another hour, we talked with his flat mates for awhile (apparently they liked me but I really don’t remember what I said) and then skyped with Bethany (Kevin’s girlfriend) and then I went to bed because I had a 9am train to catch and it was already 4:30.

Well I caught my train. Figured out the Tube in London (with the added bonus of construction on the route I wanted to take) and made it to the airport on time to find out my flight was delayed for over an hour. So I got to back to Madrid (an hour and a half late) and took the Metro to the bus station to get on my bus back home to Valencia and then got a cab to take me home since it was 5am and I had been traveling for almost 24 hours.

And thus ends my amazing fall break 2009! Thanks to everyone for letting me stay with you and showing me such a good time!

Manchester

My day trip to Manchester was fantastic. It was easy to get to and easy to find my way around. I stopped in the tourist information and told them I had a day to spend in Manchester and like 10 minutes later I was on my way with a map with the top attractions marked on the map.

First stop was the Manchester Art Gallery it was one of the more fun art galleries I have been to. It had a floor dedicated to more interactive displays of art and such. I of course checked out mainly that floor. I made my own stained glass art with a light display and pieces of plastic so the colors would shine through. I don’t think that I would make it as an artist... but it was fun nonetheless. Some of the displays were also musical which makes them super fun of course. There was one that looked like waves with fish jumping out that played music kinda like a music box. It was much more fun to be able to touch and move and play with all the displays.
Next stop and a must see was the John Ryland Library. This library was filled with old books of all sorts and other great stuff, like hieroglyphics, and a super old fragment from a bible, old printing presses, and lots of great books like a 1st edition of Darwin’s Origin of a Species. The building architecture was also amazing and something to be admired. I wouldn’t mind spending time just sitting and reading in that library! There was also history about how and why it was built which was all super interesting to me but I won’t bore you with the details 

After that the next closest building was the Manchester Cathedral. I am pretty sure I have seen more Cathedrals in Europe than ever before but they are always such amazing buildings with great art and architecture! This one was also wonderful because when I walked in there was a piano recital that I was able to listen to while I began exploring. I also met a man that told me where to find all sorts of info about the Cathedral. There was a really cool stained glass window that kinda looked like fire and also the angel stone. Which is just what is says a stone with an angel kinda sketched into it… I can’t remember the history of the stone but it was cool.

Nearby the Cathedral was the Chetham’s School of Music. Which I walked past and then happened to run into the same man from the Cathedral who started telling me how wonderful it was and that I should go in and check out the library and that it was free etc… He was really friendly and helpful but it was kinda funny that I ran into him twice (at least I think so). So I went in to see the library which is actually the only thing you are allowed to see which kinda made me sad cause I would have loved to just explore and hear all the music! I was slightly depressed for like 2 minutes when I saw like 10 year olds getting ready for a rehearsal, cause the school only accepts like 200 amazing musicians and these kids seriously could not have been older than 10. Anyway, the library was cool but nothing amazing. I was expecting a huge music library but actually the library is known for its collection of books of Jonah. Basically just more super old books!

Next stop was the Chinese Arts and Culture Center which was slightly disappointing. But on the way I passed Urbis which is actually I think a huge shopping mall but I didn’t stop to find out. There also was some cool modern art in just outside that I took a picture of. Anyway, the Chinese Arts and Culture Center seemed to be in the middle of a remodeling so the art was covered and it was small anyway so I didn’t really spend too much time there.

Next and last stop was the Manchester United Football stadium (p.s. football=soccer), which is actually a little outside of the city so I had to get on the metro to get there which was no problem because by now I am practically a pro at public transportation. The stadium was AMAZING and HUGE! I love how in Europe soccer is such a big thing. I took a tour of the stadium and got to sit in the seats where the players sit and I got to see the dressing rooms which all the jerseys and the family/interview/relaxation room. Then we got to walk out to the stadium the same way the players do with the music and everything which was fun. We couldn’t actually go on the field which was slightly disappointing but understandable since they had just planted new grass. I also toured the museum and saw all the trophies etc that they had won. They also had a plaque and wall dedicated to the tragedy that struck the team years earlier. A plane that was carrying the team crashed and about half of the team and many of the other passengers were killed. It was really devastating and sad. Overall, the visit was cheerful and really cool. I can’t wait to see the Valencia stadium, sometime this month I am pretty sure I get a tour and such! It’s going to be great!

England

Wow... I can’t believe it is already November! Sorry I haven’t had any recent blogs. My parents and grandma were here to visit and it was finals week so now I am going to be trying to play Catch-Up from almost a month ago! If you don’t remember I had just finished blogging about Ireland.

After Ireland I took a flight to Liverpool and a train to Lancaster where I would be visiting and staying with my friend Maren. I had a really great taxi driver to the Cork airport he was asking me about my “holiday” and talking with me about how it must be hard not to be close to my family. Then he started telling me about his family; he has I believe 8 children and one of his sons swam the English Channel to raise money for cancer because his wife and two of his son’s friends had recently died of cancer. It was just nice small talk and then when we got to the airport he told me I was lucky I was there early to avoid all the “queues.” The Liverpool airport was the John Lennon Airport so I passed the Yellow Submarine on my way out of the airport and all the signs said “Above Us Only Sky,” which I thought was pretty cool.

The bus took me to the train station (lots of modes of transport right!) where I purchased a ticket and got on the train to Liverpool. Liverpool and the English Countryside were beautiful and when I got to Lancaster 4 hours later Maren was waiting at the train station! I felt bad because I had to take a later train and had no way off letting her know so she was waiting awhile  On the way to campus where she was living I say some of Lancaster which is a nice smaller town and we went to Chinese food which was delicious because I had skipped lunch.

I really like the school that Maren is at. It kinda reminded me of Harry Potter. She was telling me about how they each have different schools (houses) that they belong to and that there is friendly competition between the schools (house cup) and that they each have their own area with a bar and lounge and basically it is just a nice place to hang out (house common room). We went over to her schools area to watch some British TV (they have way better commercials) and just catch up a bit.

The next day I took a day trip to Manchester but that is another blog…
And then all too soon I had to leave but on my way to see Brit and Kevin in Swansea I had an hour “layover” (I was traveling by train so I don’t think it is technically a layover) in Liverpool. So I saw all I could in that little time. I walked to the cathedral which was spectacular just to see from the outside and I walked by Chinatown. And I passed a cool looking church I think and other cool building that I didn’t have time to explore fully!

One sad thing... I never did get a picture of a stereotypical red phone booth :(

I kissed the stone and I liked it...

While visiting Cork my friends and I took a day trip to Blarney to visit Blarney Castle and do one of those stereotypical Ireland tourist things... Kiss the Blarney Stone. It was the perfect day for it too. The sun was shining and it was cool but not cold. It was like one of those golden days in fall that all you want to do is walk outside in the beautiful weather before winter sets in. Well luckily that is what we got to do.

We arrived in Blarney after a 45ish minute bus ride which was really cramped. My friends and I were standing and squished. It was really uncomfortable. The bus was always stopping and starting at the bus stops and stoplights so we were constantly being thrown backward and forward and to the side with every change in directions. Kirsten almost ended up sitting in this old mans lap! Luckily I caught her decided to be her seat belt until the man left and she took his seat. It was an uncomfortable but nonetheless interesting and funny ride.

Blarney is a really pretty place. For those of you who haven't seen it I would recommend it. It is hard to explain (like everything) but I think it was especially appealing to me because it was the most green I had been close to in like a month and a half! The stream, fields, flowers, waterfalls, trees, rocks, and castle were all beautiful.

Climbing Blarney Castle wasn't too bad for me. It was one of my not so clumsy days thankfully :) We started the climb and would take breaks to see rooms that came off of the stairway. When we got back on the stairs I would go out first and then let the girls pass me just that way if one fell I could catch them. The higher we got the narrower and smaller the stairs and passageway became. There were more than a couple times when I felt like I had to watch my head. But we made it no problem.

Next step kiss the stone. For those of you who don't know the blarney stone is said to bestow upon the kisser the gift of eloquence also known as the gift of gab. It also is located in the upper wall of the castle. So in order to kiss it you have to lay down on your back, scoot out, lean your head back and kiss it. There are two people there one to take a picture that you can later buy and the other to hold you so you don't fall. There also are handlebars to hold on to when leaning back your head to kiss the stone (a crucial part if you want to minimize your chances of falling).

Well my friends went first and I didn't think it looked to bad. But from there perspective it was terrifying simply because if you are shorter you are scooting out a little farther so your butt (I guess) may leave the castle floor. When it was my turn I was so ready to pucker up to that stone. Well I laid down, leaned back and in my excitement didn't even think about grabbing the handle bars (which if you recall minimizes your chances of falling) until the man helping was saying rather forcefully to grab the handlebars... so I did and I kissed it and later when we looked at our photos that they took I saw that I had a huge dorky smile when coming back up. LOL

After kissing the Blarney stone we walked around blarney for awhile and saw the caves and waterfalls and gardens etc. It was a great time. Oh and I found some play equipment... or at least that is what I used it for (see picture) Then it was time to explore the gift shop and head back.

Nothing is perfect!

Every good adventure has to have good times and bad. Well the start to this Cork adventure was probably the worst of my entire trip. Please bear with me as I set the scene… In Dublin a tragedy occurred that I did not mention; my cell phone ceased to function for reasons unknown which meant that now I did not only not know the time for flights and trains but also that I wasn’t able to call my friends in Cork to let them know what time I would be coming. (A pay phone also wouldn’t have worked because their numbers, of course, were saved in my phone.)

So I arrived in Cork at about 7:30, a little earlier than I expected and I knew the general direction that I needed to go to find my friend’s apartment and also the name of the complex. How hard can it be to find a large pink apartment complex? Well for me it proved to be about as difficult as dressing a screaming two year old in a pink tutu that is two sizes too small! (I imagine that would be difficult because I have never tried it.) Anyway, I wandered up and down the quay and surrounding area looking for the building. I asked about 10 people if they knew where it was (one was able to tell me to walk that way), rang at 2-3 different buildings that looked like they had potential to be correct (they weren’t) and finally stopped at an internet store to get my friends phone numbers off my facebook and tried to call them and also asked the store clerk if she could try for me in case I was doing something wrong. Turns out neither of us could get the numbers to work. (Later I realized that one of them had an extra number… but still don’t know what happened to the second.)

Now just to review… I am in Cork, with no phone and numbers that don’t work… I have a general idea of the building I am looking for but not the actual address or the number of the apartment. Bad planning on my part, YES I learned my lesson. Anyway, so I finally found a store clerk who knew where the apartment was after I walked another half hour following the strangers advice of “that way”. So I made it to the apartment building.

Next hurdle to overcome; I didn’t know what number was my friend’s apartment. So I rang at the reception, no answer so what other option did I have but to try another number. Well on my 4th try someone came to the door to let me in. Now I was in the apartment but still didn’t know which number I needed. I don’t know why but the number 23 suddenly stuck out in my head so I walked up the stairs and found door number 23 and knocked… no answer so then I knocked at 22 and an Irish man came out. I told him I had the wrong room and that I was looking for 2 of my friends… He told me there were American girls staying in number 21 across the hall. So I thanked him and tried that door and he was right, but they weren’t the right American girls. But they were able to help me. I told the girl that answered the people I was looking for and she called one of her roommates Lara who happened to be in my friend’s apartment for dinner. I finally knew what number (19) and was on my way I met Ellen in the stairway and the whole ordeal was over! Let’s just say I learned a lot about having a backup plan.

p.s. in case you are wondering about the picture I though a door was appropriate because if I basically had to knock on every door in Cork to find the right place!

Fall Break 09 Dublin

Sorry for the break from blogging…

As some of you may know this past week I did not have classes so I took the week to go visit 6 of my friends who are studying abroad in the United Kingdom. It was so wonderful to see some familiar faces and it was kinda a nice break to be speaking and hearing English again.

First stop on my 10 day holiday was Dublin. So after a bus ride to Madrid to get on my plane to Dublin I was off. Just a note never take taxis to and from the airport, I did but didn’t realize until I got there that I would have to pay a fee because I was getting off at the airport that was an unpleasant surprise for my wallet. I got into the Dublin airport at about 12:30 am. I had made the decision not to book a hostel that night because I figured I would be able to find one pretty easy. What I didn’t think about was how late it would be and cold… so I did find a hostel but in retrospect I think next time I will just book one in advance.

My hostel’s name was Paddy’s Palace and it was a pretty nice place, breakfast was included and the beds were warm and clean. I was in a shared room with 12 beds when I got there it was like 2 am and no one was there. I got ready for bed because after traveling for that long, even though I was mainly just sitting, I was tired. I had just climbed into bed and was almost asleep when my first noisy roommates came in. Shortly after that, all 6 of them were back for the night. They had been drinking so although they tried to be quite they had no idea how badly they were failing. I didn’t mind though because they were really funny to listen to. Needless to say I didn’t get too much sleep though because I was up early to sight see.

I only had one morning and early afternoon to explore all of Dublin which really isn’t a lot of time. I tried to meet with a free walking tour but couldn’t so I decided to just take the tour on my own which worked out well because I saw most of the things that they would have and was able to stop whenever I wanted. I toured the Dublin Castle which was a slight disappointment because it is more like a mansion than a castle but it was still cool to see. I also stopped in a few other places to explore a little. Oh and I almost forgot that it rained the entire time I was in Dublin but luckily I had packed my umbrella so I wasn't completely soaked.

Then I had to get on a train to Cork for my next great adventure…

Ciudad de las artes y ciencias

Before getting to the real point of this blog I need to pause for just one second to brag... It is about 75 degrees here and sunny! Hope everyone isn't freezing back in WI!

Anyway, this weekend I stayed in Valencia to do some more site seeing in this wonderful city and because this Thursday I will be leaving for the UK (Dublin, Cork, Lancaster, Liverpool and Swansea maybe London too)!

Friday we didn't have classes. So in the morning there was a organized trip (field trip) to the biggest aquarium in all of Europe (Oceanografico). Which is part of the Ciudad de las artes y ciencias (City of the Arts and Sciences) and happens to be like 20 minutes from my house. Yes, it was fantastic! We started our Aquarium visit with the dolphin show which was amazing. Dolphins really are smart and rather incredible animals. I almost wanted to change my career path (almost). After the show we explored all the different aquariums and walked through the underwater tunnels to see all the sharks, stingrays, fish, coral, walrus, seals, penguins and everything else under the sea! I was so glad that my camera had an aquarium mode on it so I could get some pictures! The diversity of all the fish is was really amazing to me. There were just so many different kinds, the aquarium had exhibits from all over the world, the Arctic, Antarctic, Caribbean, Atlantic, Pacific it was amazing! They also had a wetlands exhibit which included birds, turtles and some freshwater fish. It smelled bad but was cool because you could get super close to the birds since you were walking in there cage.

Saturday afternoon I went back to the City of the Arts and Sciences to check out the Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe (Science Museum) and the free gardens. The Science museum was so cool! It had really interesting science experiments that were interactive so you could actually try it them out which was amazing. I learned more about sound, the human body, space, natural science, global warming, and tons more. One exhibit that was super mega guay (super mega cool) was the Marvel Super Hero science exhibition. I decided that I wanted to take my future classes one field trips here because it was so educational and fun! (Which means I will not be a dolphin trainer after all) If anyone is planning on traveling to Spain this was great (a must see... especially for kids) and most of the exhibits were in English too :)

There are 2 more buildings that are part of the city of arts and sciences that I have left to explore. One is a Palace of Music which I am hoping to attend a concert in and the other is like a planetarium and IMAX theater!

Take 1

Hola!

I hope everyone who is reading this is well and if you aren't please read on because this should hopefully entertain you.

I think we have all seen movies where it is raining and someone is just trying to get home as quickly as possible huddled under their umbrella to keep dry and then a car drives past and umbrella is completely useless against the wave of water that soaks the poor person walking home.

Well guess what that was me today!

So today it is raining and has been all day (it is like 11pm right now) and when I left this morning I was prepared for the rain. I had my umbrella and my jacket and decent shoes that could get wet and still be ok. I made it to school just before it started raining so I was dry all day.

BUT...

On my way home from school it was drizzling out slightly but earlier in the day it was really coming down creating some large puddles. One of these such puddles was right at the edge of the crosswalk that I needed to cross. I was smart and decided to stand back some while waiting. Cars drove past and I was still dry so I figured I was ok. Then right as the light was changing so I could walk a car trying to catch the light goes zooming past a little faster than all the rest had been. Need I finish this sad tail. Yes I was rather wet but on the bright side I had the presence of mind to turn around so that my bag (which had my computer in it) would be dry still.

I hope if nothing else that this brought a smile to your face! Have a great day!

Sagunto

This is going to be a record... Three blogs in three days! Unheard of!!!

This weekend on Saturday I took a day trip with Katie, Christine and Kristina to Sagunto. It is a smaller town about a 20 minute train ride away from Valencia. took the 12:40 train (cause we missed the 11:40 one).

When we got there we decided the best things for us to do was to find a tourist info shop where we could get a map. Well that took longer than it should have, but I did get to ask for and receive directions in Spanish. I understood them really well too! :) After we had our map we sat down and ate our lunch.

After that we started our climb up the hill. Basically all the sights in Segovia are on the same road that goes up the hill that the city is built on. We stopped by a church but it was closed so we couldn't go in. Then we walked through the part of the town that is known for being the part of town where the Jews once lived. (There is a ton of history of this place...)

Anyway onto the more noteworthy stuff... The ancient roman theater was really cool. It caused controversy in the past because part of the really ancient theater was built... but when they did it they left some sections untouched so you could see the really old theater too. It was really well done. I would have loved to attend a production there I could hear what some people standing at the bottom were saying while I was standing at the top and they of course didn't have microphones. Really magnificent sound!

Then we went to the castle/ruins. They were super amazing! It was really cool to be in a place with so much history. I feel bad cause this is all so hard to describe. There was a huge wall running along the hill connecting one part of the castle to the other. A lot of it looked pretty open. It wasn't really a castle like a fairy tale castle at all though. I suggest looking at the picture.

After spending probably 2+ hours exploring the castle area we headed down to head home. One more interesting thing happened though. At the train station there was a confrontation between the security guard and a person. Not sure exactly what happened but when we went out the security guard was bleeding and the man was holding the club she used to have. Bad news! :(

Fútbol!!!!

Hello readers! This is a special day for you! Two blogs- two days... don't expect it all the time!

This blog as most of you probably know from the title (unless you know no Spanish at all) is going to be about the soccer game I went to on Sunday night!

Valencia versus Sporting (some smallish town in the north of Spain) 9:00 pm

Just an FYI... Valencia was favored to win this game because they are currently ranked as number 10 of the 20 teams in the premier league and Sporting is ranked as 18.

I arrived at the stadium at about 8:20 amidst the swarms of fans ready for the game. I found my friends who I arranged to meet up with and then we headed inside! Our tickets only cost 20 euro (about $30) so we obviously didn't have the closest seats. After we found our entrance gate which was basically right next to us (except we walked the wrong way and thus ended up walking around half the stadium) we walked up the winding path to basically the top of the stadium and found our seats.

After watching a little bit of warming up, the marching band (not great marchers), and an advertisement for the rodeo coming to Valencia the game got underway. I really can't give a play by play of the entire match but I have to say that the atmosphere of the stadium throughout the entire match was amazing! One section was devoted Sporting fans and the rest Valencia fans.

The first team to score was Sporting. The Valencia defense let a Sporting forward break away so it was basically one on one with the goalie. The next two goals were Valencia's. After that the game started getting rough three yellow and one red card later (all against Sporting) Valencia answered Sporting's goal with one of there own making it a tie game to end the half. Early in the second half Valencia scores another goal. At this point with a one person and one point advantage Valencia seems content to simply control the ball (which they had been doing most of the game) and run out the clock while looking for any great shot opportunities. Sporting was not to be counted out though. There defense really stepped up and did not allow many Valencia shots on goals. Eventually 3 or maybe 4 yellow cards later (all again Valencia this time) Sporting again get a lucky break on a corner kick to tie the game with like 4 minutes left! The last 4 minutes of soccer were intense on both sides but in the end the clock ran out before either team scored again. Final score 2-2

I am so glad I got to go to this game! Soccer is extremely popular and highly integrated into the Spanish culture! I can't wait to go to another game!

Hasta Luego!

Life in Valencia

Sorry to all my faithful blog followers for the lack of blogging… This blog is going to be about my life in Valencia.

Classes: As some of you may know I have 4 classes. I know I am going to learn a ton in all of them. My first class is Civilization and Culture of Spain. I am enjoying this class a lot. Professor Valle is really entertaining and we are learning about Spain in Spain and really it doesn’t get much better than that. (It helps that I enjoy history though.) I also am taking Latin American Civilization and Culture. This class has been interesting so far. Professor Jesús is really passionate about what he is teaching which is great but there are only 2 other students in the class which means I really need to know my stuff. This class also is at 5:20 pm… which I have decided is not the ideal time for learning. My other two classes are back-to-back with the same Prof… Profesora Mabel. First is a Spanish Cinema and literature class, which is interesting because we are watching Spanish movies while reading the texts they were based on to analyze them. I like it but the class is really demanding and also rather small (5 other students). My fourth class is Advanced Grammar and Composition. I am learning a ton in this class but I am also killing a ton of trees to do it. I must have made over 100 flashcards to learn the vocabulary and grammar so far! Overall I think it will be a challenging semester (but I will learn a ton!)

Other stuff to keep busy: Besides classes I have signed up for one club (soccer) and may be signing up for two more (theater and dances around the world) to keep myself busy plus a conversation partner and a practica… more to come on those since they haven’t really started yet! Quick story about the practica (which is similar to an internship), I received an email asking me to attend a meeting in profesora Mabel’s office. When I got there she started talking about the practica I was in… this came as a surprise to me since I didn’t attend the meeting and didn’t fill out the form. It starts next week we’ll see how it goes!

Random incident: Today someone stopped me on my way to school to ask me for directions. I am taking this as a sign that maybe I don’t look quite so out of place anymore! And I actually was able to give him concrete directions! Yay me!

Other stuff: I can tell I am adjusting to the weather here. It was about 70 degrees and I was seriously considering wearing pants because it was feeling kinda chilly out. Imagine when I get back to Wisconsin in December. I will be an icicle!!

For anyone who is interested my address is:
Bryant Scherer
Av. Del Puerto, 101, 29a
46022, Valencia España

Hope you all are well! Look for future blogs about my day trip to Segunto and the fútbol game I attended yesterday!

What I miss (other than people)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

The end

Madrid

This past weekend I traveled to Madrid with Kristina and Christine. It was a really fun and exhausting trip! Our bus left the station at 6am. So that means I was up at 5:15 to get there in time. I paid for a taxi because had I tried to walk I would have had to leave my house by no later than 4:45 and that just seemed to early! The bus ride was 4 hours long and we stopped once at a rest stop about half way through. I was glad we had an early bus because that meant that it was much easier to sleep on the bus!

When we arrived in Madrid the 1st order of business was to secure a place to stay the night. My first time staying in a Hostel this was going to be exciting! We checked out the first hostel that we though looked nice but it was full, luckily the person Christine sat next to on the bus had recently visited Madrid and stayed in a great hostel that she recommended to Christine. So we searched for that one well guess what it was full too. After that we just started walking up and down the street stopping at just about any hostel we could find asking for 3 beds. All said they were full! I wasn't panicked yet but we were getting slightly worried. Did you know Spain is the 2nd most toured country in the world? Well I didn't but after trying to find a bed I think I would agree. Finally after we had walked almost all the way back to the metro station where we started we found a hostel that had room for 3! We went up and found out that we would all be sharing a room that we could lock and we would all have our own beds. It was clean, we had our own bathroom and was really reasonably priced. We got lucky but I made a mental note to self... book hostels in advance if traveling on weekends.

After finding a room we headed to the park where we planned on eating out lunch. We didn't quite make it to the park, we stopped and sat on a bench outside the botanical garden really close to the Prado museum. After eating lunch we went into the botanical garden which was absolutely beautiful! So many different plants from all over the world. I took a really great picture of a rose and then disaster struck! My camera battery died. Not to worry I had a spare... back at the hostel. We continued walking through the garden and I decided I would just take pictures from Kristina and Christine. It really was a beautiful place, and I never knew there were so many different kinds of Cacti.

After we wrapped up in the garden we returned to the hostel so I could grab my spare battery and Christine could grab her student ID for discounts at places. We decided to head toward the Palacio Real (Royal Palace). On the way we walked past or through some plazas with wonderful statues and fountains. Cities really can be cool places if you don't mind living close to tons of people. Spain also really puts effort into keeping their cities clean everyplace we visited had people picking up trash all over and there were numerous garbage cans to prevent littering. (Just thought that was kinda cool and noteworthy)

Anyway, back to the Palace. I believe it is the 2nd biggest palace in all of Europe and it really is hard to describe. It was ornate, old and beautiful. We walked through the same rooms where royalty once lived (sometimes they still do, like when Hugo Chavez visited last week he stayed there) and it was AWESOME. The decorations, artwork, carpets and floors, ceilings everything was really amazing. Worst part was that we couldn't take pictures of the inside at all-and my words really don't do it justice. Sorry

After we completed our palace tour we went next door to the Catedral de la Almudena. I know I sound like a broken record but it too was extremely beautiful. Here at least we could take pictures! Everything about it was ornate and beautiful. Painted ceilings, a huge organ, stained glass windows, statues etc... Really really cool! I took some time to just sit, admire, and say a short prayer.

We then went to visit the Palace Gardens which were cool but not quite as cool as the botanical gardens before heading back to our hostel. On the way back we walked through more plazas and such doing touristy things like going into shops and we may have taken the long way (one wrong turn) but that was fine cause we saw more of the city!

By the time we got back we all kinda wanted a siesta, but I took the time to do my homework. After our hour break we left to find a good place to eat dinner which we found quickly but still took forever. We tried some really great authentic food. Paella (which I already had tried) and pollo con papas y chicaros (chicken with potatoes and peas) they both were excellent. Kristina and I also ordered Sangria (a punch with wine and fruit juices) for our beverage. It also was really good but after we had sat there for nearly 2 hours (they were huge) we decided we should drink the rest quickly, pay and leave. Kristina and I were in spectacular moods for our walk back! On the walk back we tried to find my friends Sarah who is studying about in Madrid to no avail because my phone ran out of minutes :(

Sunday we woke up at 10 and prepared to leave. We visited the Prado Museum (probably the best art museum in Spain) and saw tons of famous artwork by tons of people! The building was huge! We spent 3 hours there and I didn't even get to see everything! It was cool but I can only look at art for so long so we decided to leave. We then visited the Parque del buen retirado which is home to the Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace) which was cool. Saw some huge Spanish ducks and then watched 100 or so paddle boats trying not to hit each other in the "lake" there (it was more like a pond).

After that we found some lunch and walked to the bus station to head back to Valencia. Which was not the most fun ride ever. We were in the back where it was extremely warm (or at least to me= motion sickness?) and we got stuck in a traffic jam because there was a 4 car pile up on the highway. By the time we got back to Valencia it was 10:10 and the city buses stop at 10:30 so I had to hustle to my bus stop to catch it. Then since it was my first time on the buses I didn't realize you have to press the cool red button to get off so I took the bus 2 stops past where I wanted to and didn't get back to my house until almost 11pm.

Overall a great weekend!!!

Beaches and relaxation!

Peniscula was beautiful. Miles of sandy shores and a castle in the distance! It was a 2 hour drive on the bus but I took a short siesta and it was like we were there in minutes! I was kinda worried because in Valencia it was raining slightly but the rain subsided. It wasn't sunny either until the end of the day which actually I think was for the better because we were all more comfortable without the suns heat.

When we first arrived it was about noon so we all took out or lunches to eat on the beach. Then we took some time just to lay on the beach talking and such. Eventually I went for a walk down the beach with Sam and Carolyn and almost stepped on a beached jellyfish. When we got back a group of people were leaving to walk through the town so we went with!

The real highlight of the trip though was the Castillo de Peniscula (the castle). It was up on a hill overlooking the beach. The view was absolutely amazing! There was a lot of history about the castle to and they had a display room of information and stuff about the Knight Templar which was cool. There was also the torture chamber and some really cool art displays.

That night was my first night out in Spain! It was entertaining. We all tried one agua de valencia which was pretty good and then people did there thing from there. I was a little apprehensive cause i really didn't know where I was (we got lost on our way there) so I did not have too much to drink. Made it home safely at about 3am. Getting a cab was really difficult.

The next day was a lazy day for me didn't do much but I did become best friends with the little girl Juliet that was staying with us. We played games such as hide-and-seek needless to say she won hands down.

Now a short soliloquy about the food. I am proud to say that I have tried everything that has been given to me and am enjoying most of it! I have had pork, beef, chicken of the bone, tuna, potatoes, rice, veggies, fruits and tons more! The food I am most proud of eating is the seafood because I am not the biggest seafood fan. Nevertheless I have tried squid, shrimp, snail, tuna and an unidentifiable form of seafood that was actually quite delightful. The only thing i really didn't like was the salad with tuna which was bearable and the squid... much to chewy and fishy for my tastes!

I think that is all for now. Today I relaxed at the beach and got lost again but found my way without consulting my map! Maybe I am not doomed to be lost after all!


p.s. there is a leg of a cow in my kitchen... that is different!