Yay for Tourism!

I had a long weekend, so my host family took me to Madrid for 4 days! I had a great time being a total tourist, and I got to see Segovia, Toledo, and Cuenca.


Segovia!

It’s about an hour north of Madrid, and we stopped in the mountains to go sledding! I was freezing, but we had a good time. Before Segovia, we visited a little town that’s home to an old royal summer palace. It was awesome to see the grounds covered in snow!

The town of Segovia has a 2,000 year old Roman aqueduct running through the town; it looks like they just finished building it. We walked around the old town, and went on a tour through Segovia’s castle… apparently this castle was one of Walt Disney’s inspirations for the Disney Castle!

The next day, we walked around Madrid… I love that city!

Holy Toledo!

Apparently, Toledo used to be the swords-crafting capital of the world… so of course there were all of these awesome sword shops lining the streets. Although some had cheesy movie replica swords, others actually had original swords from the 16th century! We tried some mazapan, which is a delicious Spanish dessert. It’s a great thing that I’m not allergic to almonds, because almost every dessert involves them in some way.

Cuenca!

Although not as famous as Segovia and Toledo, Cuenca is known for its “hanging houses.” These buildings, some of which date back to the 14th century, are built just over the cliffs of a canyon. Unfortunately, the day we went was about 40 degrees and raining, so I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I could have. We ate lunch at a cute little Spanish restaurant, and I ate pig’s ear! It was actually really good, although a bit fatty. My host parents were afraid that I wouldn’t eat it if I knew what it was, but I told them I’ll try anything. They then suggested that I try pig’s blood one day, which is apparently a delicacy. That might be pushing my limits, but what the heck; I’ll probably have a taste.

Random anecdotes from the past few weeks:

-Last Saturday, I went with another American exchange student, Eva, to go see the new Harry Potter movie. Though it was dubbed in Spanish, I understood about 99% of the dialogue! It was funny to hear the Castilian ‘lisp’ instead of British accents, and I think I prefer watching movies in their original language.



-I got my haircut! I was nervous (especially after my mom’s German perm story), so I just asked for a trim, but everything went well! I was honestly frightened that the lady would misunderstand me and chop off all my hair or something… crisis avoided.


-It’s so cold! I’ve been drinking a lot of tea and wearing mittens and slippers indoors. Consistent 40 degree temperatures are something I am not used to, but people are telling me that I need to wait until January until it “actually gets cold”… uh oh. On the bright side, this means there is snow in Madrid! I’m going to Madrid next weekend, so I hope the snow stays.

-This past Thursday, as I’m sure you all know, was Thanksgiving. Spain doesn’t have a similar holiday, but a Rotary member invited Eva and I for a delicious dinner instead. It was weird not being with my family and eating turkey and pumpkin pie. I’ve had to explain to several people what Thanksgiving is and why it’s a holiday; upon hearing about the feast with the Pilgrims and Indians, my friend said in all seriousness, “ I thought the Pilgrims killed the Indians.” I told her, “No, no, that was after they taught the Pilgrims how to survive…”

More to come next week about my 5 days in Madrid!

10 Things

Aside from my wonderful host family, here are my 5 favorite things about Altea:
   1. The Mediterranean Sea (it's bluer than the sky, so gorgeous)
   2. The plaza and old church
   3. Spanish food! Specifically flan, chorizo, and Spanish tortilla
   4. White buildings + flowers + cobblestone streets + blue skies = postcards
   5. Harry Potter in Spanish! It's good practice, plus it's great to read about "Quien-usted-sabe" and "Dumbledore"

And, to be honest, here are the things I miss most about my home (not including friends and family)
   1. Mexican food. Seriously. I have a perpetual craving for Celinda's chips and Chipotle burritos
   2. My car, or rather, just being able to drive myself around
   3. English movies! So much is lost in translation, and watching National Treasure without Nicolas Cage's voice just isn't the same...                                                                                              4. My high school (I never thought I'd say that!). I miss the football games, teaching style, and huge student body, but I do love studying only classes I'm interested in here in Spain!
  5. Singing. Not that I was ever a fantastic singer, but I miss just being able to sing to my iPod in my room, without fear of thin walls and disturbing the neighbors.

So far, I've been in Spain for a little over 2 months, and my exchange is going really well. I'm making friends and though I'm not fluent yet, I can understand a lot more now.

Madrid!!

So. I’ve neglected my blog for over a month. Shame. From now on, I’ll try to write more regularly.


This past weekend, I went to Madrid with a friend to visit my host sister, who’s studying in a university there. I had a fantastic time, and now Madrid is tied with London for my favorite city in the world! (Second place: Rome, Third place: New York). Here is an overview of the trip, complete with some pictures:

Friday: Mariajo and I take the bus to Madrid after school. For some reason, I neglect to pack jackets heavier than a sweater.

Saturday: Maria (my host sister), Mariajo, and I go sightseeing. We walk all around the city, and I fall in love with Madrid’s history, beautiful buildings, clean streets, complicated Metro system, and horrible weather (45 degrees Farenheit + rain).

Plaza Mayor:

Me: so, is everything really old, or is it just made to look old?

Maria: This is Europe. Everything is really old.

 

Me in front of the Palacio Real

Catedral:

Spanish McDonalds!

Cibeles:

Notice that I was freezing, so I went shopping and bought a winter coat! (The shopping in Madrid is fantastic, though expensive. Everyone on the streets, including men, dresses as if they’ve just stepped out of a magazine… Not just cute jackets, but cute jeans, scarves, boots, and accessories to match. <3)



After a full day of walking, we go out later that night. It’s the night before Halloween, and we see some pretty crazy costumes! In America, girls tend to dress “cute” on Halloween, but here, the goal seems to be having the scariest costume.



Sunday:

After I sleep in and go to a cyber café to submit some college apps, we take the Metro to a famous dance theater, Teatros de Canal. Mariajo is friends with a professional ballet/tango dancer, and he is able to get us tickets to see that night’s performance of “Wonderland.” Fantastic!! Also, he introduces us to the choreographer/founder/owner, Victor Ullate, who is apparently very famous in Spain. Because it’s Sunday, all of the stores are closed; this wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that we have no food in the house… we end up making pasta haha.

Monday:

We take the Metro to Madrid’s beautiful park, El Parque de Retiro, which is where Spanish royalty have spent their leisure time over the past four or five hundred years. For me, el Retiro is even more beautiful than Central Park. We buy fresh bread, and eat sandwiches (bocadillos) on the grass.

Because we leave el Retiro a little too late, and because we overestimate the Metro, Mariajo and I miss our bus back to Altea. To summarize a long and stressful ordeal that includes sprinting through the Metro with all of our luggage, a journey that takes 4 hours by car takes us a grand total of 15 hours. We arrive the next morning at 9am, and then, good student that I am, I go to school.



If you ever have the chance to visit Europe, definitely come to Spain. And once you’re in Spain, stay at least two days in Madrid. I didn’t have the chance to see the El Prado Museum, but I’ve heard it’s fantastic. When my host family and I go to Madrid for the holidays, I’ll tell you all about it!

School in Spain

I’ve been a little busy, and it’s been a while since I’ve blogged :/. So, to compensate, this post is nice and long, and has some pictures of Altea.



I’ve made it through the first full week of school! Overall, I’m really enjoying everything. In Spain, kids begin to choose their career path as early as age 15, when they decide if they’d rather study math/science or history/literature for the rest of high school. Because I’m in my last year of high school and have chosen the humanities route, none of my classes involve math or science!! For those of you who know me well, this is a major benefit. This year, I am studying: Philosophy, Castilian, Universal Literature, English, History of Art, Economics, French, and History of Spain. I am interested in all of my classes, and the teachers seem nice. Also, I much prefer waking up at 7 with a 4 minute walk to school, instead of last year’s waking up at 6 for a 25 minute drive :).


Lots of people have asked me if all my classes would be in Spanish, and I’ve said “yes.” However, the true answer should be, “not really.” The city in which I’m living is located in the Valencian region, which has two official languages: castellano (Spanish) and valenciano. Valenciano is incredibly similar to Spanish and French, but it is in fact a language, not a dialect. Although everyone speaks castellano, street signs are written in valenciano. Also, school is taught in both languages… this means that some of my teachers prefer to speak and castellano, while others teach in valenciano. Thus, about half my classes are in Spanish, and the other half are in valenciano.
Examples: old town; sp: pueblo antiguo; val: poble antic
name: nombre, nom
what’s your name; cómo te llamas; com et dius


Valenciano is similar enough that I will understand it once I’m fluent in Spanish, but it’s different enough that I can only understand 30% of it right now.


Aside from that, school isn’t very hard, and I’ll be completely fine once I can understand everything. Yes, I’m making friends, but it’s been a major adjustment moving from a school of 2,800 kids to one of 400. My last year’s junior class had 742 students; my senior class in Spain has less than 40!

Here are some pictures from around Altea:

The view from my bedroom window, facing away from the sea

10 Observations about Altea

1. Everything happens later. During weekends, breakfast is at 10-11, lunch is at 2-3, and dinner is at 9:30-10:30.

2. ½ of the town is Spanish, and ½ are tourists, specifically British tourists who are easily distinguishable by their sunburns and excess pounds (both money and weight).


3. There is a beautiful plaza (say: platha) full of cobblestones and outdoor restaurants right next to the old church that has a wonderful view of the sea.


4. Everything is smaller: houses, cars, streets, stores…


5. People actually do take siestas after lunch. Fantastic invention.


6. Surprisingly, the “th” accent doesn’t bother me at all, but it is proving to be incredibly difficult to imitate. Only soft “c” and “z” sounds are pronounced “th”, but I either want to say it all with an “s”: “Si, soy de Valencia,” or say it all with a “th”: “Thi, thoy de Valenthia.” I generally revert back to the Mexican pronunciation (s) so that people won’t think I have a lithp.


7. Cities with “al” in their name (Altea, Alicante) have some sort of a Moorish background


8. It is common for house doors to have one big doorknob in the center. This, combined with large meals and generally shorter people, makes me feel like I’m living in Hobbiton. Awesome!


9. When you meet someone, you air-kiss first the right cheek and then the left, except if you’re a boy meeting a boy, and then it’s a handshake or something.


10. I love it here.

My First Full Day in Spain!

Yesterday was fantastic. My luggage did not get lost, and my host family met me at the airport. Our hour long drive from Alicante to Altea was not awkward in the least; they are very welcoming and kind, and I was able to understand most of what they said to me. Right now, I understand and can speak with about 75% perfection, which is much better than I was expecting. My four years of Spanish have paid off! On the other hand, I have not yet attempted to use the ‘vosotros’ form, nor have I tried speaking with the Castilian “th’ accent. So far, my fear that life with the host family would be awkward has not come true. My host sister Maria (17) took me around Altea, and, Andres (6) told me all about different animals, especially bats. Our (translated) conversation went like this:


Andres: and this is the vampire bat… and this is the tubular nosed bat… and this bat is so ugly that it doesn’t have a name…
Me: Andres, why do you like bats so much?
Andres: Porque de Batman!

So cute. For my exchange, the location and host family could not be more perfect.

The Beginning

Well, after a year of preparation and extra classes, I am finally in Spain! Right now, I am sitting in the Madrid International Airport waiting to board my last flight to Alicante.          
              

These past few weeks and months have been a blur; it was surreal to realize that I wouldn’t see my family, home and friends for 9 months, or ever come back to Mission Viejo High School. Sad thoughts, but for me, this experience in Spain will be more than worth the separation. So, after a fantastic goodbye party, I left at 5 am for LAX and have been traveling since then.

I’m a little nervous about having to speak solely in Spanish, especially during the first few months, but I’m feeling a little better about it after having met Graciela. She’s an Argentinean woman I met on the plane who speaks no English. We talked in Spanish for about 20 minutes, and in the middle of the conversation, I suddenly realized that, although no English had been spoken, I was able to understand and respond very quickly, with few mistakes. I think after a month, I’ll be completely fine in everyday conversation.
Right now, before seeing Altea and before meeting my host family, I am feeling mostly excited, but very tired and a little nervous as well. Although my host family and I have communicated through facebook and email, we know very little about each other. I really hope that this year will be a fantastic experience for both the family and for me, and I am so thankful for this wonderful opportunity.

As of now, my goals for this exchange are:
-to become fluent in Spanish
-to live like a local, not a tourist
-to make great friends
-to become more independent


We’ll see how it goes.


My biggest fears are:
-that I will have no friends in school
-that I will be unable to understand the schoolwork
-that life with my host family will be very awkward


As the year goes on, I’ll address, evaluate, and possibly change these goals and fears. Wish me luck!


**I really did write this in the airport, but I didn’t have internet connection to upload it until my 2nd day :)