Almodóvar

Pedro Almodóvar is not just my favorite Spanish film director, but is probably my favorite overall film director (yes, he beats David Lynch and Wes Anderson). The trailer above is for his newest movie Los abrazos rotos. (If you've never seen anything by him go out and rent/add to your Netflix queue either Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Todo sobre mi madre, or Volver--you won't regret it.) This past weekend I saw Los abrazos rotos and while it doesn't come close to breaking into my top three or four favorite Almodóvar movies, it was such and enjoyable experience because I am in Madrid! It is completely different watching an Almodóvar movie in Spain than it is in the U.S. I've seen a lot of the places that were shown in the film, I was watching it in Spanish without subtitles, and I was laughing along with my friend (and about half of the other people in the theater) to the references to Women on the Verge... I don't know--I guess this was just one of those little things that will end up being really memorable someday. (Also I am glad that I got to see it now because it doesn't get to theaters in the U.S. until October or something.)

Last week I also toured the Palacio Real and it was gorgeous, but disappointing because I could not take pictures inside.

Speaking of photos, here are some from my wanderings last week.

Oh and I'm going to Barcelona next week for Semana Santa, so expect a big update with lots of photos after that!

Long Weekend

I found out on Monday that we didn't have to go to school this past Thursday and Friday because it was Father's Day on Thursday (which apparently is a national holiday--things were closed!) and then they just gave us off on Friday because they probably figured no one would show up anyway. Thus I had a long four day weekend in the city because I was too lazy to try to throw together a last minute trip somewhere.

I'm glad I stayed in the city though because my care package from my friend April finally arrived with my new camera in it! However, the arrival of this new package meant that I had to deal with the Correos again. I had the package sent to the ISA office and they emailed me saying that they had a slip to give me to go pick up the package at the post office in El Corte Inglés. This slip informed me that I had to pay 44 euros to pick up the package because of import taxes or something. While I was not pleased that I had to pay this, I was still excited to pick up the package. I got to the post office and then the lady told me that getting the slip actually meant that the package was in the district...but the package wouldn't actually get to the post office until the next day, so I would have to come back and pick it up then. Dumb--I'm just not sure why they would give you a slip saying "come pick up your package!" only to tell you that it doesn't mean you can actually pick up your package. But the good news is that it was there the next day and it contained my camera and other wonderful things.

The arrival of the package was not the highlight of my weekend though. No, the best part of the weekend was going to the Madrid Zoo/Aquarium with my roommate Kathleen! We saw pandas, koalas, sea turtles, chimpanzees, and lots of other animals. It was a beautiful day and the zoo is in this huge park called the Casa de Campo so it was fun walking around there a bit as well. The only sad thing was that my camera battery died, so I did not get any pictures of the lions, zebras and giraffes, but I'll add those to the post when Kathleen puts her pictures up.

Click here for zoo photos.

Spring is blooming in the city!

Click here for more photos.

O Valencia!

This past weekend Rachel, Sonya and I went to Valencia and it was amazing. The city is on the Mediterranean coast and strikes a nice balance between being a beach town, a historic city, and a cutting edge cultural center. I really enjoyed it there and I think that if I lived in Spain permanently I would vacation there at least once a year. We visited at a good time because Valencia is gearing up for Las Fallas. Fallas is a celebration of Saint Joseph, which sounds a bit unexciting but it's not because it involves lots of fire and lots of noise. The different neighborhoods build these elaborate sculptures called ninots and then on March 19 they burn them! So we didn't actually get to see any burning, but we saw lots of other things.

Some highlights from the trip included:

La Mascletá: At two in the afternoon everyone gathered in the main plaza and there was a fireworks show! Now it may seem a bit foolish to set off fireworks when it's not dark out, but in this case the Valencians don't care about the pretty colors and whatever. No, the Valencians care about the noise. I seriously thought my eardrums might burst during the mascletá because it was so loud. Imagine packing over 100 fireworks in an area less than the size of a football field, surrounded by buildings and then setting them all off in less than 15 minutes...that's what the noise of the mascletá was like. It was so exhilarating though--everyone was there and the crowd just gave off this palpable energy that climaxed when the last rocket had sounded and we all broke through the barriers. It was amazing. (Later on we witnessed other fun things in the main plaza that you can see in the photos.)

The Beach: Valencia is right on the Mediterranean and even though the sea was cold, it was beautiful. Along the shore Valencia feels just like a little beach town and that is a vibe that I have not felt in a long time. I liked it.

The Aquarium: Honestly, all I can say about this is that it was everything I had hoped it would be. You have to check out the pictures! The architecture alone was beautiful! I got to see all sorts of fish, sharks, sting rays, beluga whales, walruses, penguins, sea lions, etc. etc. (no turtles though...sad). The best part was the dolphin show. I've always loved dolphins and they always amaze me with their intelligence. Going to the aquarium was by far the best part of the trip. (The aquarium was part of the Cuidad de las Artes y las Ciencias, which included the Museo de las Ciencias as well and that was pretty awesome too.)

We did so much in the two and a half days we were there, but those are the best parts. The only bad part of the trip was the Valencia Metro. In Madrid the metro is very easy to use, very efficient, and very quick (in other words, it is very un-Spanish hahaha). In Valencia the metro made no sense. Trains from two different lines would run on the same set of tracks, a line would just randomly split in two without changing numbers or colors, and if you missed the train you wanted it was like a 10 minute wait for the next one (in the middle of the day in Madrid the wait is never more than 4 minutes). So this is a warning--if you go to Valencia make sure you pay attention to what the particular train says about its destination; don't trust what you think the signs in the station are telling you.

Photos!
Day 1
Days 2 and 3
Oceanográfico

Valencia fun that has nothing to do with the trip I went on (well, that's not entirely true because I sang this song to myself almost all weekend):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbsHwuyfnnw

Happy Birthday Elena Maria!

It's my roommate (back in the U.S.), Elena Maria's, 21st birthday today! Because of this, it seemed worthwhile to mention that in Spain you can order beer at McDonalds or Burger King. What's very funny to me is that I rarely see Americans order beer with their food; instead the Spaniards are the ones walking around with these clear plastic cups of beer on their trays next to their fries and Big Macs. Anyway, that's just a random tidbit I thought I'd share.

(Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I'm going to Valencia this weekend and I will write a big update after that!)

So I'm finally speaking Spanish...

This is the week that I have finally gotten serious about speaking Spanish here. Yes, I know I'm six weeks (maybe seven) into my adventures (and it isn't like I haven't spoken any Spanish since I've been here), but I'll be honest, it's been pretty easy to get away with speaking a lot of English. This week though I've spoken more Spanish than I ever have in my life.

On Monday I went out with Sonya, Julie and Sonya's friend who is Russian, but would only speak to us and let us speak to her in Spanish. That was a solid two and a half hours of Spanish conversation and it was nice because while Sonya's friend's Spanish was really good, she isn't a native speaker so I didn't worry about sounding super dumb in front of her.

Then on Tuesday I sat next to a woman on the bus who had books that really interested me and I spoke with her in Spanish. She ended up being a professor of geography at my university. It's funny, and I don't know if it's because of the sorts of topics that I'm used to talking about in Spanish or what, but I'm much more confident when I speak about academic topics (like books, history, etc.) than I am when I speak about my personal life. Later on I played fútbol with some people from ISA and that was an interesting mix of Spanish and English. It was so much fun though. I've been sore for two days because I'm so out of shape (and also because I did this awesome slide-tackle sort of thing...on a surface like a tennis court), but I think fútbol day will be something I very much look forward to each week.

Yesterday (Thursday) was the best Spanish-speaking day. I went to this talent show at the ISA office. I don't really have any talents; I just went to watch. I got there at 5, when the email said it would start, because I really cannot bring myself to be Spanish and arrive late to things. I try, I really try. I tell myself that I will leave my house later and such, but I always get to everything on time. Anyway, I met these two Spanish girls there who came for an intercambio. The "rules" of an intercambio are vague, but the idea is that you practice Spanish with a native speaker of Spanish and they practice their English with you (a native speaker of English). I ended up talking with these girls (mostly in Spanish) for three hours. One of the girls, Esmeralda, thought I was funny because I was so "tactful" when I corrected her. She was like, "I might seem rude when I correct you; I can't help it--I'm Spanish." But I told her that Spaniards aren't rude, they're just very forward. (They are also very good at giving backhanded compliments.) Anyway, both of the girls were really nice and we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses so that we can go get coffee next week and continue practicing with each other. I'm jealous though--they say their English isn't very good, but if I spoke Spanish half as well as they speak English, I'd feel pretty good about myself.

Granada!

(Katie, me, and Kathleen)



(My new friend Katie and me at the Alhambra)

Wow. I just have to say right away that I had so much fun in Granada. It was an excellent weekend and I met some really fun people from ISA that go to the other university.

On Friday we left Madrid at 8:30 and then had a six hour bus ride to Granada (it's in Andalucía--in the south of Spain). I slept most of the way there. When we got there we settled into our hotel and then had some free time to explore the city. We all met together later that night and went on this crazy, twisty walk through the Albayzín which is a very old neighborhood in Granada. We saw this beautiful view of the Alhambra all lit up at night. But the best part was when we finally (after getting lost or something--I don't know, the directors did not seem very sure about where they were going) got to the espactáculo de flamenco. The flamenco show was amazing. It involved dancing, singing, clapping, guitar playing...It was just incredible to see how the whole body was used as an instrument and how each element of the show added something to the overall energy of the performance. The show was probably one of my favorite "cultural experiences" that I've had on my trip so far. After the show we went out for tapas and I had the yummiest pork and garlic sauce sandwich. Mmmmm. (If you haven't noticed I love eating and then talking about the deliciousness of the food later.)

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel (and they had real bacon! not Canadian bacon like they serve everywhere else--alas they did not have pancakes.) Then we saw the Alhambra. I've seen pictures of it before and I read about it before, but those could not compare to actually seeing it in person. The Alhambra is this fortress/palace/town that was built near the end of the Muslim rule in Spain. It is the perfect example of Islamic architecture. Granada was the last city to be re-conquered by the Christians, so when that happened the Reyes Católicos moved in. We were in the room in which Columbus asked for money to fund his trip to find his voyage to the Indies. (Usually I'm rather indifferent to the whole Columbus tale, but the history of the room felt pretty overwhelming--until my friends started cracking jokes about what Columbus would have said to the queen: "Yooooooo quierooooooo dineeeeeeerrrrrooo." Hahahaha--it was funny at the time.) Overall, the gardens and palace were gorgeous. If you only look at one set of pictures look at the set for the Alhambra.

In the afternoon Katie, Kathleen and I walked through the city until we found the Parque de Ciencias. Because I sometimes have the maturity level of a five year old I had so much fun. It was a hands-on museum and we saw this huge exhibit about the human body (I found out how much water weight I have--a lot). We saw an exhibit on Antarctica. We went though some butterfly gardens. I hyperventilated though the exhibit about venomous animals and saw like 20 (live) poisonous snakes, like cobras, vipers, mambas, etc., in tanks (I'm terrified of snakes; they are my biggest fear--I guess I watched Indiana Jones too many times when I was little). We did a lot of other things there too; it was well worth the five euro admission. If you're ever in Granada, whether you have kids or not, go there--it will bring out the small child inside of you.

Sunday morning we went on a walking tour around the city center and such. We went inside the gorgeous cathedral. We also went to the Royal Chapel and saw the tomb of the Reyes Católicos. After that we had a bit of free time before having to get on the bus, so we got some diet cokes and sat out in the sun in the plaza and watched the musicians and Pooh Bear, Pikachu, and the red Teletubby entertain people. It was the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon. Later we hopped on the bus and I did not sleep (well maybe for a half hour). Instead I took in the scenery and read. It was a very relaxing bus ride. Yet, after everything, when we got back to Madrid I was happy. I liked Granada a lot, but it was very small compared to Madrid and it just felt good to be back in the big-city vibe that Madrid gives off.

Photos:
Friday
La Alhambra (Saturday morning)
Saturday Afternoon
Sunday