Friday, March 30, 2012
Update
So I don't know how many of you noticed (i know aunt Kathy did) but yesterday was la huegla general in Spain, or general strike, where the whole country was supposed to go on strike. This is not the best situation to be on when you're an American student studying in a country that's going on strike but luckily we are all traveling and out of Madrid. So no worries. But we have been reading the papers and watching the news and it looked like yesterday everyone started a protest in la Sol but according to our friends fom Madrid it wasn't as bad as last year and it wasn't really a big deal. So there, nothing to worry about.
Besides that I'm in Helsinki right now and we just got back from Tallinn today. Northern/eastern Europe is very different from the Europe we've been traveling around but it's very interesting. We have plenty more to explore too.
To get here we took Lufthansa airlines. At first we had some issues with that because we happened to fly on the German strike day and as Lufthansa is a German airline there were a lot of cancellations and delays. So after we couldn't get a hold of anyone Monday night and had a stressful night back and forth on the phone we finally got a new flight Tuesday morning. Trying to do all that becomes much harder when you don't have a reliable phone and you're constantly getting recordings in Spanish. But alas we were off and can I say the Germans really outdo themselves with their airlines and airports. On the flight we got free food, an entire meal! And free drinks ( free food on both flights!) and in the airport they had free coffee! Just overall it was an amazing flying experience. On our flight from Munich to Helsinki we sat next to this girl about our age. Towards the end of the flight Alexis asked her about her bag and they started talking. She said she was from Madrid and was going to visit her brother who is studying in Helsinki. When we told her we are from new York she immediately said I love new york! Me, assuming she meant new York city like everyone else, kind of drifted from the conversation because I didn't really care, but then she said "yeah I studied in buffalo last summer I loved it!" that got my attention really fast. Turns out she studied at canisius college! This isn't the first time wwe've run into someone who has connections to home or knows someone we know. As far away as we are from home I feel like we're constantly meeting people who know people we know or are from the town over or some weird connection everywhere we go. Turns out its just a small world after all.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Holidays!
Hello!
I just thought I'd write a short little post because I probably won't be able to write anything again until Easter. We have our spring/Easter break this week and next week, yes that is a full TWO weeks!! plus if you count Thursday- Sunday of the previous week its 18 days of no class. This is the time we are all traveling a ton. My friends are going to Rome, Greece, Budapest, Switzerland, Prague, France, I don't even know. We all seem to be crossing Europe over the next three weeks each on our own adventure. My roommate and I will be going to Helsinki, Tallin, and San Sebastian. Really random, I know. We will be visiting my uncle in Helsinki, Finland for a week where we'll take a ferry to Tallin, Estonia for 2 days (I know, who goes there? totally awesome!). When we get back we are going to Pais Vasco, which is in the north of Spain, to San Sebastian where we have a hostel right on the beach. A nice, relaxing vacation.
For the past couple days we've just been chilling in Madrid as everyone starts to leave on their vacations. Actually right now there are only 4 of us left in Madrid, and after tomorrow only 3. I'm taking this time to go back and do some of the touristy things again, like go to the Prado and walk through the city. We've also been spending a lot of time at the park because it's been soooo nice finally. Even though it's been so warm Spain is a funny country. People don't wear shorts, and they like to wear their winter jackets when its 70F outside. I'm definitely getting used to all the stares I get when I walk outside in shorts and a tshirt from Spaniards who probably think I'm crazy (but really they are and they are going to overheat and pass out, so ha). Never ceases to entertain me.
Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and I will update you all about my fabulous break when we return. Besos!!
I just thought I'd write a short little post because I probably won't be able to write anything again until Easter. We have our spring/Easter break this week and next week, yes that is a full TWO weeks!! plus if you count Thursday- Sunday of the previous week its 18 days of no class. This is the time we are all traveling a ton. My friends are going to Rome, Greece, Budapest, Switzerland, Prague, France, I don't even know. We all seem to be crossing Europe over the next three weeks each on our own adventure. My roommate and I will be going to Helsinki, Tallin, and San Sebastian. Really random, I know. We will be visiting my uncle in Helsinki, Finland for a week where we'll take a ferry to Tallin, Estonia for 2 days (I know, who goes there? totally awesome!). When we get back we are going to Pais Vasco, which is in the north of Spain, to San Sebastian where we have a hostel right on the beach. A nice, relaxing vacation.
For the past couple days we've just been chilling in Madrid as everyone starts to leave on their vacations. Actually right now there are only 4 of us left in Madrid, and after tomorrow only 3. I'm taking this time to go back and do some of the touristy things again, like go to the Prado and walk through the city. We've also been spending a lot of time at the park because it's been soooo nice finally. Even though it's been so warm Spain is a funny country. People don't wear shorts, and they like to wear their winter jackets when its 70F outside. I'm definitely getting used to all the stares I get when I walk outside in shorts and a tshirt from Spaniards who probably think I'm crazy (but really they are and they are going to overheat and pass out, so ha). Never ceases to entertain me.
Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and I will update you all about my fabulous break when we return. Besos!!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
¿Por qué no, Dúblin?
Top o the mornin´ to ya! As you may guess this weekend I went to grand ole Ireland. Part of the reason I went was obviously for St. Patrbrick´s day but I also got to visit my friend Callan from UB, who´s studying in Dublin (free place to stay, yay!)
My roommate Alexis and I arrived in Dublin early Thursday afternoon. We were met at the bus stop by Callan and our other friend Katie who was visiting Callan on her spring in the states. After dropping our stuff off we immediately set off to the Guiness factory. The Guiness factory was really interesting and you get a free pint with each ticket! What a great way to start our trip off in Ireland!
Friday Callan and Katie went on a trip so it was just me and Alexis left to explore Dublin. We started the morning off with an American breakfast. This may have been the most exciting part of my day because I got to have waffles!!! You need to understand that in Spain all we have for breakfast is cafe and toast. That´s it. So when I had waffles I was in heaven. The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around the city of Dublin. Dublin is such a small city that I knew my way around by the first day. (As a side note, if I get anything out of this trip it´s that I am an all star navigator and can basically get you anywhere with a map and my superb internal sense of direction, just sayin).
Saturday was the day, St. Patrick´s day!! We got up early (well early for us Madrid people who never see the sun before 10am) and decked ourselves out in our St. Patrick´s day apparel and set off for the parade. We got there around 10:45am and it was packed even though it didn´t start until 10:30. We walked around until we found a decent spot behind some old people who happened to be really short/ leprechauns so we could see over them. I managed to weasel my way towards the front however by the start of the parade which was awesome because I actually knew people in the parade! What a random coincidence that my cousin´s dance team from Texas and my friend in the Notre Dame marching band were both in the parade the year I went to Dublin for St. Patrick´s day. Even though I didn´t get a chance to catch up with them it was really exciting to see them in the parade! The theme of the parade was science. It was kind of odd, actually really odd. Callan and I both agreed that we think the Buffalo parade is more ¨Irish themed¨ but this parade was still awesome, the costumes and floats were incredible.
Sunday Alexis and I went on a New Europe free walking tour. Now if anyone is traveling abroad I highly recommend these tours. I went on them in Sevilla and Granada as well. They are free walking tours, usually promoted by the hostels, that usually last about 2 or 3 hours and take you all over the city.
For me the best part of the trip was Monday when we went out of the city to Kilkenny and Glenalough in the Wicklow Mountains. Seriously everything in Ireland is GREEN!! It´s just like you imagined, and there´s cows and sheep grazing in the fields! We loved every minute outside of the city and wished we had done more but overall our trip to Ireland was grand! And I would love to go back.
My roommate Alexis and I arrived in Dublin early Thursday afternoon. We were met at the bus stop by Callan and our other friend Katie who was visiting Callan on her spring in the states. After dropping our stuff off we immediately set off to the Guiness factory. The Guiness factory was really interesting and you get a free pint with each ticket! What a great way to start our trip off in Ireland!
Friday Callan and Katie went on a trip so it was just me and Alexis left to explore Dublin. We started the morning off with an American breakfast. This may have been the most exciting part of my day because I got to have waffles!!! You need to understand that in Spain all we have for breakfast is cafe and toast. That´s it. So when I had waffles I was in heaven. The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around the city of Dublin. Dublin is such a small city that I knew my way around by the first day. (As a side note, if I get anything out of this trip it´s that I am an all star navigator and can basically get you anywhere with a map and my superb internal sense of direction, just sayin).
Saturday was the day, St. Patrick´s day!! We got up early (well early for us Madrid people who never see the sun before 10am) and decked ourselves out in our St. Patrick´s day apparel and set off for the parade. We got there around 10:45am and it was packed even though it didn´t start until 10:30. We walked around until we found a decent spot behind some old people who happened to be really short/ leprechauns so we could see over them. I managed to weasel my way towards the front however by the start of the parade which was awesome because I actually knew people in the parade! What a random coincidence that my cousin´s dance team from Texas and my friend in the Notre Dame marching band were both in the parade the year I went to Dublin for St. Patrick´s day. Even though I didn´t get a chance to catch up with them it was really exciting to see them in the parade! The theme of the parade was science. It was kind of odd, actually really odd. Callan and I both agreed that we think the Buffalo parade is more ¨Irish themed¨ but this parade was still awesome, the costumes and floats were incredible.
Sunday Alexis and I went on a New Europe free walking tour. Now if anyone is traveling abroad I highly recommend these tours. I went on them in Sevilla and Granada as well. They are free walking tours, usually promoted by the hostels, that usually last about 2 or 3 hours and take you all over the city.
For me the best part of the trip was Monday when we went out of the city to Kilkenny and Glenalough in the Wicklow Mountains. Seriously everything in Ireland is GREEN!! It´s just like you imagined, and there´s cows and sheep grazing in the fields! We loved every minute outside of the city and wished we had done more but overall our trip to Ireland was grand! And I would love to go back.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Feliz Cumple a Mi!
So this weekend my friend David and I had set our on a goal to find small Spanish bars that play live music. Luckily I have an awesome host brother who knows a ton of them. Thursday night we went to this place called Honky Tonk. Yes, Honky Tonk. We were confused too, especially when that night a cover band of the Beatles was playing. They were actually pretty good and we think we were the only Americans there (which we often like to be). Friday we hit up another bar called Barco where a Spanish rock band was playing called Ginko Balboa. I'm not sure if they were local but everyone seemed to know the band. Obviously it was all in Spanish so we really didn't understand the music but we had a really great time. We are hoping to find a couple more spots with live music before the end of the semester.
On Saturday a couple of us decided to go into the mountains north of the city for a little leisurely hiking. it was more nature walk than hike but it was fun to get out of the city for a day.
On Saturday a couple of us decided to go into the mountains north of the city for a little leisurely hiking. it was more nature walk than hike but it was fun to get out of the city for a day.
And then on Monday it was my 21st birthday!!! My host mom made a huge lunch for me! If you can see in the right corner that is avocado, chicken, a little bit of mayo, and cilantro. YUM!
Then of course because it was my birthday class was canceled so we went for a nice walk in Retiro because it was about 70F and the flowers are starting to bloom!
Best friends on my birthday! Thanks guys!
And now we're off to London tomorrow to go visit the sassy Callan Jackson and celebrate St. Patricks day!!! Vamanos a Dublin!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Friends, Fun, and Sun
The first thing I would like to say is that it has reached 70F here!!! I am so excited!
So this past week has been pretty chill. The only really crazy thing that happened was last weekend a famous Italian house dj duo came to one of the clubs in Madrid. Now usually house music and dubsteps not my thing, but all my friends were going and it was just a great time. There dj's were Crookers, Kill the Hipsters, and Mixtape (if anyone has any idea who they are) and I really enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. There were 10 of us that went and we had a great time. They literally spun until Sunday morning, meaning we ended up sleeping all Sunday afternoon. Oops!! But that's the Spanish thing!
The rest of the week was pretty chill. We had exams at the beginning of the week but luckily they were pretty easy. Last night we went to this chill bar that my host brother told me about. My friend and I were just looking for a bar that had live music and when I went to go google some options I came up with one and looked who was playing that night only to see that it was a cover band of the Beatles. So obviously we went there. They were actually pretty good, and it was a small place not really on the map or known by everyone.
Because it's been so warm we've all been spending as much time as we can in Retiro just laying out. The one thing I am so grateful about being here is that I actually have the time to just relax in the park. We'll go there for 2 or 3 hours and just sit and read, nap, listen to music, whatever. And even better, I'm walking everywhere now. We live the farthest out of everyone from most stuff so even to the park its about 40 min walk, but because it's so nice I don't care. I love how I for once have time just to chill and take the time to not worry about doing a million things.
So this past week has been pretty chill. The only really crazy thing that happened was last weekend a famous Italian house dj duo came to one of the clubs in Madrid. Now usually house music and dubsteps not my thing, but all my friends were going and it was just a great time. There dj's were Crookers, Kill the Hipsters, and Mixtape (if anyone has any idea who they are) and I really enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. There were 10 of us that went and we had a great time. They literally spun until Sunday morning, meaning we ended up sleeping all Sunday afternoon. Oops!! But that's the Spanish thing!
The rest of the week was pretty chill. We had exams at the beginning of the week but luckily they were pretty easy. Last night we went to this chill bar that my host brother told me about. My friend and I were just looking for a bar that had live music and when I went to go google some options I came up with one and looked who was playing that night only to see that it was a cover band of the Beatles. So obviously we went there. They were actually pretty good, and it was a small place not really on the map or known by everyone.
Because it's been so warm we've all been spending as much time as we can in Retiro just laying out. The one thing I am so grateful about being here is that I actually have the time to just relax in the park. We'll go there for 2 or 3 hours and just sit and read, nap, listen to music, whatever. And even better, I'm walking everywhere now. We live the farthest out of everyone from most stuff so even to the park its about 40 min walk, but because it's so nice I don't care. I love how I for once have time just to chill and take the time to not worry about doing a million things.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Procrastination at its best....
So i decided I'd write another post instead of studying for my midterms, procrastination at it's best. And yes I have midterms, I actually do a little work here and go to school. I know, I was surprised too. Anyways I have midterms on Monday so basically I'll study a little everyday until then. (yes that's really all I need to do here, this is not UB).
This week I think has been the turning point for weather in Madrid. What a lot of people here say is that they have 2 weeks of spring, then summer. This may be the 2 weeks of spring. Its about 60F here and I'm loving it. Dresses and tights everyday. Actually I've been wearing a lot of tights and shorts, I know that's weird but it's the European thing to do. I thought I'd try it and blend in with the natives, and it's surprisingly comfortable. I just want to know if its going to become popular in the US.
Anyways, since it's been so nice I've been running outside a lot. Tuesday I ran all the way to Retiro (the "central park" of Madrid). It's about 20minutes away from my apartment straight down a huge street in the city. People looked at me funny because like I said before no one runs on the street here but I just embraced it. I wasn't going to take the metro to go run.
Today, my friend and I found another park thats fairly large but a lot closer to our houses. For some reason we decided to kill ourselves with a workout today when we came across and empty futbol (soccer) field. We may have been slightly crazy when we decided to run up and down the bleachers and do line sprints and an ab workout. Not really sure what made us do that but a siesta for sure is in order after this.
Even though we have midterms next week, one of the biggest weekends will be this weekend for us. That's because this Italian DJ duo is coming to Madrid and DJing in one of the clubs here. I have no idea who it is, but everyone in my program is going so it's going to be a great time!
And my birthday is coming up soon!! soo festivities all around!
Well maybe now I should crack open a book.... or take a siesta.
This week I think has been the turning point for weather in Madrid. What a lot of people here say is that they have 2 weeks of spring, then summer. This may be the 2 weeks of spring. Its about 60F here and I'm loving it. Dresses and tights everyday. Actually I've been wearing a lot of tights and shorts, I know that's weird but it's the European thing to do. I thought I'd try it and blend in with the natives, and it's surprisingly comfortable. I just want to know if its going to become popular in the US.
Anyways, since it's been so nice I've been running outside a lot. Tuesday I ran all the way to Retiro (the "central park" of Madrid). It's about 20minutes away from my apartment straight down a huge street in the city. People looked at me funny because like I said before no one runs on the street here but I just embraced it. I wasn't going to take the metro to go run.
Today, my friend and I found another park thats fairly large but a lot closer to our houses. For some reason we decided to kill ourselves with a workout today when we came across and empty futbol (soccer) field. We may have been slightly crazy when we decided to run up and down the bleachers and do line sprints and an ab workout. Not really sure what made us do that but a siesta for sure is in order after this.
Even though we have midterms next week, one of the biggest weekends will be this weekend for us. That's because this Italian DJ duo is coming to Madrid and DJing in one of the clubs here. I have no idea who it is, but everyone in my program is going so it's going to be a great time!
And my birthday is coming up soon!! soo festivities all around!
Well maybe now I should crack open a book.... or take a siesta.
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