Advertisement
Published: September 14th 2008
Hola Amigos!
First hopefully this blog will not be too boring for all of you, but if you want to unsubscribe go right on ahead and it won't hurt my feelings-- I swear! I thought I would use this as a tool, mainly for me, to keep up with my travels. I'm going to try to update it weekly, but that all depends of course. And seeing as how all of you know me, you all know that my posts will pretty much be speratic. Oh well, se la vie.
ARRIVAL
So getting to madrid was all kinds of "fun". Lets start with things breaking: T-1 week my laptop camera, T-1 day my cell phone email, on the plane my iPod, when I got here my laptop camera AGAIN. Now most of my issues are resolved but that was stressful. Oh and here is a tip for anyone travelling: do not watch emotional movies (PS I Love You) on transatlantic flights when near your peers: if you cry they will think you are sad about leaving... or that's what I've heard 😊
When I finally got to my house I found it to be a HUGE apartment building on a fairly busy street next to the river. I had no idea it would contain my beautiful room complete with a balcony, views of the river, el Palacio Real (the Royal Palace, really one of many) and El Campo del Moro (it's kind of like a park). Of course the best part of my house is my family. There are three people here, my señora (Trinidad/ Mari), her husband (Alfonso) and her sister (Juana). I love them all already and Mari and Alfonso have taken to calling me "hija" (daughter), although I'm not sure if it's because they really like me or if it's because "Meredith" is almost impossible to say with a Spanish accent haha.
FIRST FEW DAYS
I definitely went through a culture shock when I first got here. Despite what I had heard, it seemed as if everyone was moving at the speed of light. I quickly had to learn how to ride the metro (it is like being part of a secret club, all in code) and get around by myself. Spanish food was an adaptation that I am still going through since feeding in MASS QUANTITIES is a sign of love in Spanish culture. I think I best described it when I said that I was being fed so much it was like being a pig, fattened up to send to the slaughter. After a quick convo with the program director saying that I simply could not eat all that I was being served and was not trying to be rude, the problem was fixed and I am now back to consuming my usual american only-so-gigantic amount. School was basically boring because we went through days of orientation and I found myself oddly amused/excited that I understood everything being said but yet had to sit through it being repeated over and over for those who did not. I was impressed by myself for my use of the language, although I certainly have a long way to go. To any of my Spanish professors who read this, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Soon enough it was time to pack up and leave Madrid for our first trip...
GALICIA
Galicia is the northwesternmost province of Spain located above Portugal. It is known for being very green, cold and rainy with a climate similar to Ireland. It also boasts some of the best untouched coastline in all of Spain with borders on two sides. It definitely lived up to its reputation. We left on a Wednesday for A Coruña, the northern capital of the province and spent about two days there. It was FREEZING and I was certainly not prepared for the weather change (it has been over 90 in Madrid). Even so it was simply beautiful and resembled Ireland much more than the images I had of Spain. We were able to see many interesting monuments such as el Torre de Hércules, the worlds oldest functioning lighthouse. We also went to the small town of San Andrés de Teixido which was right on the coast and also allowed us to visit Garita de Herbeira, which is the tallest cliff in all of Europe. While in A Coruña we were also taught how to dance like a true "gallego" which was entertaining to say the least. From A Coruña we travelled to the southern capital of Santiago de Compostella, the trip which was highlighted by a guided tour through el Catedral de Santiago, a mecca for pilgrims. After Santiago we were free to explore Galicia as we wanted and some friends and I headed south to Vigo, a small town on the water. We spent the weekend here relaxing and shopping, and even managed to find a very entertaining Roman festival.
ANDALUCIA
We got home late Sunday night from Galicia and left early Tuesday morning for Andalucia, the southernmost province of Spain. What a climate change. From the cold and rain, to the HOT and sunny, Andalucia is the typical Spanish experience. We arrived at Granada after our 5-hour bus ride and toured the city on foot visiting la capilla real (home to the tombs of los reyes catolicos, Ferdinand and Isabella), la Alhambra (bascially the Spanish version of the Taj Mahal and SOOOO beautiful), los jardines generalife and los palacios nazaríes (both connected with la Alhambra). From Granada we travelled southwest to Sevilla and the first night went on a boat tour of the beautiful (and exceptionally clean) city before hitting up the world's greatest flamenco expo. The next day we were fortunate/unfortunate enough to learn some flamenco before going to los reales alcazares (another royal palace, older and smaller than la alhambra). On our last day we toured la catedral and saw the tomb of Christopher Colombus before leaving on a bus for the coast, a place called Tarifa. If I could live anywhere in Spain, it would have to be Tarifa. Renowned for its kite-surfing (which I did NOT feel the need to try) it is basically the cutest little beach town. We stayed at a really cool moroccan-style inn and had the good fortune to be there during la feria which was basically the spanish version of a carnival. The next day we took a ferry to Morocco (via the Strait of Gibralter) which I can only describe as an experience. It was definitely more good than bad, but not even walking through the shop at JR Motorsports could prepare me for the Moroccan male heckling haha. Nevertheless we saw some cool stuff (like a 600-year-old tree) and got a stamp on our passports. The next day it was time to head back to Madrid.
WHAT'S NEXT
So that brings me to tonight where I am frantically getting ready for my first day of class tomorrow. I'm both excited as well as nervous but I'm sure everything will be fine. Either way I'm glad to finally be back in Madrid with my feet underneath me and no immediate travel on the horizon. I will try to update this blog with pictures tomorrow when my internet is faster, but for now I love and miss you all!
Love, love, love,
Meredith
Advertisement
Tot: 0.316s; Tpl: 0.02s; cc: 6; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0706s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Bella s Mom
angie kippenbrock
I am so jealous!!!
Sounds like you are having an awesome time - cannot wait to hear more and see some pictures. Be Safe and Have Fun!