Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Hola Todas! Estoy Vivo

I just got a facebook message from Lauren saying respond "alive" so I know you're ok! I have been so busy the past couple weeks and time seems to be flying by! The days seem so long and the weeks go by so quickly.

I have class four days a week and all my classes are in the afternoon. In the mornings we are on our own for breakfast so I usually make myself some coffee or tea and museli cereal or toast. Then I am trying to get into the habit of running in the mornings before class. Today I ran an hour and a half on the beach and it was a little overcast so no one was out there! It was soo nice and I found a bunch of sea glass! Then my room mate and I did yoga on our roof top terrace which was just amazing! I have plenty of time to shower and shop or walk around town and explore before lunch. Our lunch is much later than at home. We usually eat lunch around 2:30pm. From about 2pm till 5pm is the so called siesta. All the stores close and everyone goes home for lunch but no one really naps it is more about relaxing and spending time with your family.

After lunch I have class Monday through Thursday. On Thursdays I have a class before and after lunch so my madre here packs me a bocadilla (sandwich) and usually a piece of fruit (the pears are amazing)! Tomorrow we are having spinach empanadas and my friends Nika and Marlena are going to ride our bikes to the beach on our lunch break.

My classes are all at the University of Valencia and they are all an hour and forty five minutes long. In some classes we have a break half way through and we all go to the cafeteria to have a coffee, espresso, or a snack.

After class I usually have a little time to run errands before dinner. We eat really late usually around 8:30 or 9:00 pm. It is not a huge meal at lunch and a small meal at dinner like I had always heard. We have about the same size meals at lunch and dinner usually consisting of a salad, bread, maybe soup, "the main meal", and then usually fruit for dessert.

This Friday we are going to the City of Arts and Sciences. Valencia is famous for this part of town and most people who visit have pictures here because all the buildings are very futuristic looking. We are going to see an Imax movie, visit the museum, and go to the aquarium! I have actually already been there twice. Once because there is a discoteca inside called Mya, that we went to last weekend and was very interesting and fun. The other time was when I got lost biking and ended up there. It is about 40 minutes from my house walking so when I figured out where I was I took a cab home because I was already running late for lunch. Alot of peoples madres here will be very upset if you are late or miss lunch but mine is really sweet and understanding and she saved me a plate when I was really late.

Also this weekend I am going to the Bodies Revealed Exhibit with some friends. I am a little nervous but I have heard it is very cool and I guess it will be good preparation for anatomy lab. On Monday, one of my best friends here, Marlena, is turning 21! I am so excited for her! One of our Spanish friends is having a little party and going to take us to a good bar in town to celebrate!

Next weekend our entire group is going to Barcelona for the weekend! I am really excited because this is one of the places I thought about studying before I decided on Valencia. Also it will be great to get a feel for the city because in March my room mate, Caitlin, and I will be going back to run the Barcelona Marathon! We just officially signed up today after we finished booking our flights to Marrakech in Africa! Caitlin, three of my friends, and I are going to Africa for a weekend in February! I can not believe how close it is to Spain and I am very excited because I have heard such great things from everyone who has been before!

Muchas cosas.. (my teachers always say this - it means more things)

I have gone to a few intercambios (which is when people go to a bar to meet up and practice speaking spanish/english) I have met lots of Spanish people and it is a great way to practice speaking and learn new things about the city. I also signed up through my program for a one on one intercambio and I will hopefully be meeting with him some time next week. He has been busy the past week studying because, like all the other students in Valencia, he has exams. I can't wait to meet him because he told me he knows some cool places in the city we can go and it will be such great practice to talk one on one with a local.

Tonight is the first night I actually stayed in and didn't at least go out to hang out with friends. I think I really needed the rest! Plus I got a lot of travel plans in the works and in the morning Caitlin and I plan to get up early to go to the street market before class and to hopefully pick up some postcards. I received my first letter from my penpal in Texas (a girl in elementary school who is learning how to write letters is corresponding with me while I am in Spain) and it was so exciting to get her letter today!

I miss everyone so much but love it here more than anything and could not possibly be happier. I am surrounded by such a beautiful city and so many wonderful new friends! It is amazing how close we have all become in the past couple weeks. When I was talking to my two friends Lu and Lauren about how I needed to book my flight for the marathon they told me oh yeah we need to book our flights too. I was a little confused and asked then why they were going to Barcelona that weekend and they were like duh to cheer you one and take pictures why else!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Mi Primer Dia de Clase en España

I have been in Valencia for three days and it already feels like I have been here for a month! I already can tell I am more confident talking and learning lots of new vocab and phrases! My mama here is so great and patient with my spanish! She always tells Caitlin and I great new frases (phrases) that directly translated don't make sense in English. For example:

Me he quitado un peso de ensima: this is kind of like I am relieved or the weight has been lifted off my head! She taught us this when Caitlin found her keys that she had lost for a few days (they were in the couch).

No pasa nada: which is a great to use all the time just means no big deal or it does not bother me.

Se me han que pegado las sabanos: this means I can't get out of bed because the sheets are stuck to me but you would use it when you don't want to get up or you slept in late as an excuse.

and in class we learned una chuleta: which is a cheat sheet.

I have found that many things here just make more sense. For example shoe sizes are all the same for guys, girls, and kids. So a children's 30 is the same for a man and vice-versa.

Another thing is that bus drivers have cards that they have to put in there bus before they can drive and they have to stop like every two hours for a 45 minute break. So not only is it a law that they can not drive all night, but they literally can not start there bus if they haven't rested.

Something I noticed in Valencia is that when people are walking on the streets no one is texting and walking. If someone wants to send a text they stop and step to the side, write there text, and then continue walking. It just makes more sense so you aren't walking into each other.

Also we eat breakfast lunch and dinner at our casa but it is very popular to go to a cafe or bar in mid afternoon and between meals and have a beer and a snack either a empanada or tapas, ext. They don't really snack but they eat through out the day. At our house we sit down for dinner for no less than an hour. Tonight Amparro had both her sons over for dinner and we sat and talked for almost two hours! I honestly think the best part about this trip so far is that I get to have three vegan meals a day prepared fresh and always different! I will have to make a post dedicated solely to all the delicious food I have had so far!

Some funny things that have happened.. Today my room mate got us some te verde (green tea) and another tea that looked like it was good for your digestive system.. when she brought it home Amparro (my mama here) said ah what is this?!?! haha she got us laxative tea on accident! Our mom was like are you trying to lose weight haha! Also my silly room mate, that I adore more than anything, wanted to try one of my vitamins today. So I assumed she new they weren't chewable and I tossed her one..she bit into it, which had to have tasted so bad! She cracks me up and is so great to have as a roomie!

Today the two of us when for a run in the morning at el rio (it is where the river was way back when in Valencia when the city flooded. Then for some reason it all dried up so now it is like a park that goes from one side of the city all the way to the beach. I think Amparro's son told me it was six miles long so it is great for running. It also has lots of trees and fountains and flowers it is a very pretty place to run!
Today we went to the police station because she had to report her phone being stolen and all the police in spain are very guapo (handsome) and they all were so nice and helpful and when we were leaving they were in there cute little european cop car and they honked and waved at us! haha nuevos amigos (new friends)!

So much is going on and the days feel so long but tomorrow is my second day of class and I only have one at 3:30! I am very lucky all my classes are after 10 am and I only have class monday through thursday!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Natalia de Nashville esta en España

Hola Todas!

I am finally settled in my new home in Valencia, Spain!! I arrived in Madrid a few days ago with the group and made so many new friends from all over the country. I started to practice my spanish in the city! Madrid is huge and the girls from NY and New Jersey said it is very similar to NY city! We stayed in a very nice hotel and enjoyed lots of tapas (free food when you order drinks) and also went to a seven story club called El Capital where the Spaniards party until seven en la manaña!!! I ran by myself in Madrid and felt very safe en El Parque de Retiro, which was beautiful and full of people walking, running, playing futbol, ext. We also visited two museums, El Museo Nacional del Prado, where we saw lots of paintings from different artists including Grecco and El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte de Reina Sofia, which was my favorite. There were lots of paintings and sculptures from Picasso and Dali too.

Yesterday we went to Toledo which is a beautiful old town that has una castilla (castle) and beautiful old cobblestone streets which reminded me a lot of Rapallo, Italy! We had a nice tour of the city and stayed the night there before heading to Valencia. At dinner I attempted to order a vegetarian sandwich that had tuna on it and accidently asked for a sandwich sin pescadoras (fishermen) instead of pescada (fish) haha I foresee many mistakes such as this in my future.. the language is difficult to speak A. because of nerves and B. because it is hard to remember what is what but I think I am already getting better!

Today we had a four hour bus ride to Valencia which was nice to see the country side and talk with my new amigos! When we arrived the families were all outside the bus and our group leader said he would call our names off to introduce us one by one and guess who was the very first one.. ME! I was so nervous I was shaking a little, but my sweet VEGAN roomate, Caitlin, came with mi madre de España, Amparro, and they both are so amazing! After dropping off my luggage the three of us walked to a store near by where I got some champú, conditioner, dark chocolate, and some oat milk (which I have never tried). Valencia is very big and I have a feeling I will probably get lost a few times before I am comfortable but it is absolutely beautiful with palm tress lining the streets, I am literally in heaven here!

When we got back from our walk I unpacked and Amparro made us dinner. So far the food in Spain has just been so-so but tonight was AMAZING! We had a huge salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, black olives ( the olives are sooo good here) and then we had couscous that she cooked with thyme topped with this mixture of beans (they are called aluvias not frijoles here) onions, peppers, and I don't even know what else but it was sooo good! Then for dessert she had chirimoyas, which I had asked her about on our walk and then she happened to have them so we got try them today (she is the best). They look like an avocado on the outside and then when you cut them open they are white with lots of hard black seeds. They taste like a sweeter version of a mango so basically I was in heaven!

Also we have two Italian women living with us for the week who I think are taking class or something not really sure but they were so talkative and funny. At dinner all we talked about food so I was muy contento! The Italian women gave Caitlin and I these mini pears they got at the market because they kept going on about how they were so delicious and had better sabor (flavor) then the big pears (which I think the regular pears are delicious so I can't wait to try the mini one). Then Caitlin and I had some vino tinto (red wine) and I finished unpacking. Our room is so small but very cute and has a huge window overlooking the futbol field of my school, University de Valencia! Im hoping to post pictures but I haven't taken many or uploaded them to my computer yet! Oh and everything in Europe just makes more sense.. for example when taking a picture you don't say cheese you say patata (potatoe) because you are making a smile during ta-ta opposed to an awkward face on chhhesse! Plus me gusta patatas y no como queso jaja!

Tomorrow I have my placement test and get to choose my classes for the semester and plan on going for a run with one of my friends to explore the city! If any wants to skype me while I am here we have wifi at our house (pronounced wefe here haha) and my name is natalie050490 and also if you can get apps I have heytell and a great one called whatsapp that is free texting on wifi that only cost 99 cents for the app and it works great (but if you get i have a spanish phone number so I will have to know you have it and send you an invite so let me know) also if you want my international number I can imessage and ichat for free on wifi and if you want to pay international rates I get free incoming texts and calls (not sure how much it would cost you). So far I feel like I have been very well connected to America and I am so excited for tomorrow to explore mi nueva ciudad! I miss and love you all!
una besa grande,
Natalia