1. The Birds - there are a hell of a lot of birds flying around. Like in the movie The Birds. They don't land, they just go around and around. It's weird and kinda creepy.
2. The Bread - it's not good. anywhere. and you have to ask a waiter to bring it and they sometimes charge you. In the US you can judge a restaurant by how good their bread is. Not here.
3. The Bread, part II - they don't put butter on anything. You have to ask for butter on your bread. It's weird.
4. Salads - they don't use salad dressing here. Every table has a thing of oil, vinegar, salt and pepper on it and that's what you put on your salad. You can't even buy it in a local grocery store. People here obviously don't like salad dressing or butter.
5. Water - everyone hoards water here cause i guess there's a shortage. i'm tired of labeling water bottles. and asking for tap water from a restaurant is a chore.
6. Peanut Butter - it's expensive. i guess they don't like anything on their nasty bread.
7. Air Conditioning - stores don't have air conditioning. don't ask me why, but a lot of them don't.
8. Freezers - i guess it's not uncommon for people to not have a freezer.
9. Refridgeration - these people must have something against cold things, cause they don't particularly like their refrigerators cold. So no really cold milk or juice. or ice, cause there's no freezer.
10. Water Pressure - was expecting it to suck. really is pretty good. the hostal I stayed at in Ibiza had fantastic water pressure.
If I think of more I'll add.
7.18.2010
IBIZA!! and How European Airports Suck
Just got back from Ibiza, and oh man was this an exciting trip from beginning until the end. My muscles are so sore! But let's start from the beginning.
First I went to class the day we left, and got back to find out that we had less than an hour for everyone to make sure they packed everything and leave for the bus. Apparently the 3:30 bus out of Salamanca was the only one we could catch. So everyone hurried up and packed (I did it the night before) and we left to catch the bus. We weren't able to take an express, so we stopped in the most random villages on the way to Madrid airport. Most of the scenery was countryside and really dilapidated houses.
Once we got to Madrid we had to take two subways to get to the airport, because the people who bought the bus tickets didn't realize they needed to buy them for Madrid AIRPORT, not just Madrid. But we got there in time and went to check-in. But the flight was overbooked because they had to change to a smaller plane, so me and one other kid in our group, Josh, had to get bumped to another flight. Three desks later and a hell of a lot of waiting, we got a flight that left 15 min before the other flight(so one at 9:15pm and one at 9:30pm) and $125 euro back (more than what we paid, btw). However, we found out that BOTH flights were delayed, ours until about 11pm and the other until about 1am (it ended up leaving at 2:30am). So we waited around the airport for a bit, got on the flight for 45 minutes then touched down in Ibiza (yes, we probably could've walked there faster, or at leats taken a boat and gotten there sooner). We decided to take a taxi to the hostel.
When we got there, we had to pay for the entire room(s) up front, so we split the $246 cost and said we'd get everyone else to pay us back when they got here. They ended up, instead of giving us two five person rooms, getting two two person rooms and two three person rooms. The rest of the group got there around 4:00am and we all went to bed.
Later that morning, we can't find half of our group members because they already left. We find out afterwards that Josh had to get a hotel because he couldn't stay in the hostel and two of the girls couldn't stand no air conditioning (because they were so spoiled in our hostel with the also no air conditioning) so they just left without letting us know. This began the major drama of the trip, which ended in everyone feeling resentful towards them, them having a key to our room and kept entering without our permission (and basically refusing to give it back to us), and me having to basically bully them into paying their share of the hostel rooms.
But besides that, we had a fantastic time. The first day we bought a quick breakfast at the 22 hour supermarket below us, and bought tickets to a boat to take us to Playa Pinet. Apparently the beaches next to us, in San Antonio, aren't that great. The one we went to though was really nice. The water was pristine, and there were three bars/restaurants to choose from. They had paddle boats, kayaking, jet skiing and tubing. We just relaxed for most of the day, tanned, went in the water, then got back out and enjoyed the sun. We all went tubing as well, which was exhilarating. The boat driver kept trying to throw us off of the tube - he said he was just doing his job. It was a lot of fun and really exciting. That night we got KFC/Pizza Hut for dinner. It was cheap and we all kind of wanted a taste of home. We walked around and people watched that night.
The next day we went to a different beach, Cala Grassio. The beach was hidden among a bunch of rock formations, and while walking from the boat to the beach we saw some guys jumping into the water from a cliff (at least 15-20ft high). We asked them how deep the water was and if it was safe, and then just literally dove in. It was exhilarating and so much fun. One girl even climbed up the face of the rocks! Again, more relaxing at the beach, but a little less this time since the sun takes a lot out of you and we were all pretty tanned at this point. When we got back we booked spots on this awesome 90 minute boat ride.
That night we walked along these tents they had set up outside of our hostel that were selling jewelry and other little knick knacks. Two girls got henna tattoos on their feet.
That morning we packed, checked-out, had a quick breakfast and went for our boat ride. It was basically what they called a "Bladerunner jet" you can watch a video of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgEKOUDfDi0
We went to this island called Es Vedra, which according to our tour guide is the third most magnetic spot in the world, kind of like the Bermuda Triangle. Whether or not it's true idk. Apparently the rock also creates interesting colors at sunset or twilight, which is why a lot of hippies moved to the island a couple of decades ago. It is also said, by Nostradamus, to be the only place on Earth that will still be here when it ends in 2012. There's also a legend that it is the tip of the lost civilization Atlantis.
While on the boat tour we also ran into a pack (school...group...herd?) of dolphins. It was really cool and apparently abnormal for this time of year in Ibiza. One of them even swam alongside the boat for a little bit. It was really really cool. After that we went swimming in the middle of the Mediterranean. The water was so beautiful, almost a turquoise color. They gave us face masks to use and we were able to see all the little fishes underneath us.
After that we hung out for a bit and then caught a bus back to the airport. That was also a trip and a half. We wanted to see if we could get on an earlier flight, but no go. We ended up waiting at the airport for five hours before we could finally check-in (poor planning again) and then find out that our 12:20am flight is delayed until 5:30am.(We DEFINITELY could've swam/walked back faster) Most of us tried to sleep for a little bit at the airport, and we were given free dinner and breakfast, but the airport was freezing, three people weren't feeling well, and it was not a happy time. When we finally got to the airport we found out that the bus directly from the airport to salamanca didn't leave until 1pm instead of 8am like we thought. (we went through three terminals to figure this out) So we had to take the metro again back to the bus station, buy tickets for the bus and hop on (we finally caught the 9am bus back).
When we got back it felt like the Promised Land. I napped for five hours and here I am! Have to catch up on homework, journal entries, and find some dinner!
First I went to class the day we left, and got back to find out that we had less than an hour for everyone to make sure they packed everything and leave for the bus. Apparently the 3:30 bus out of Salamanca was the only one we could catch. So everyone hurried up and packed (I did it the night before) and we left to catch the bus. We weren't able to take an express, so we stopped in the most random villages on the way to Madrid airport. Most of the scenery was countryside and really dilapidated houses.
Once we got to Madrid we had to take two subways to get to the airport, because the people who bought the bus tickets didn't realize they needed to buy them for Madrid AIRPORT, not just Madrid. But we got there in time and went to check-in. But the flight was overbooked because they had to change to a smaller plane, so me and one other kid in our group, Josh, had to get bumped to another flight. Three desks later and a hell of a lot of waiting, we got a flight that left 15 min before the other flight(so one at 9:15pm and one at 9:30pm) and $125 euro back (more than what we paid, btw). However, we found out that BOTH flights were delayed, ours until about 11pm and the other until about 1am (it ended up leaving at 2:30am). So we waited around the airport for a bit, got on the flight for 45 minutes then touched down in Ibiza (yes, we probably could've walked there faster, or at leats taken a boat and gotten there sooner). We decided to take a taxi to the hostel.
When we got there, we had to pay for the entire room(s) up front, so we split the $246 cost and said we'd get everyone else to pay us back when they got here. They ended up, instead of giving us two five person rooms, getting two two person rooms and two three person rooms. The rest of the group got there around 4:00am and we all went to bed.
Later that morning, we can't find half of our group members because they already left. We find out afterwards that Josh had to get a hotel because he couldn't stay in the hostel and two of the girls couldn't stand no air conditioning (because they were so spoiled in our hostel with the also no air conditioning) so they just left without letting us know. This began the major drama of the trip, which ended in everyone feeling resentful towards them, them having a key to our room and kept entering without our permission (and basically refusing to give it back to us), and me having to basically bully them into paying their share of the hostel rooms.
But besides that, we had a fantastic time. The first day we bought a quick breakfast at the 22 hour supermarket below us, and bought tickets to a boat to take us to Playa Pinet. Apparently the beaches next to us, in San Antonio, aren't that great. The one we went to though was really nice. The water was pristine, and there were three bars/restaurants to choose from. They had paddle boats, kayaking, jet skiing and tubing. We just relaxed for most of the day, tanned, went in the water, then got back out and enjoyed the sun. We all went tubing as well, which was exhilarating. The boat driver kept trying to throw us off of the tube - he said he was just doing his job. It was a lot of fun and really exciting. That night we got KFC/Pizza Hut for dinner. It was cheap and we all kind of wanted a taste of home. We walked around and people watched that night.
The next day we went to a different beach, Cala Grassio. The beach was hidden among a bunch of rock formations, and while walking from the boat to the beach we saw some guys jumping into the water from a cliff (at least 15-20ft high). We asked them how deep the water was and if it was safe, and then just literally dove in. It was exhilarating and so much fun. One girl even climbed up the face of the rocks! Again, more relaxing at the beach, but a little less this time since the sun takes a lot out of you and we were all pretty tanned at this point. When we got back we booked spots on this awesome 90 minute boat ride.
That night we walked along these tents they had set up outside of our hostel that were selling jewelry and other little knick knacks. Two girls got henna tattoos on their feet.
That morning we packed, checked-out, had a quick breakfast and went for our boat ride. It was basically what they called a "Bladerunner jet" you can watch a video of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgEKOUDfDi0
We went to this island called Es Vedra, which according to our tour guide is the third most magnetic spot in the world, kind of like the Bermuda Triangle. Whether or not it's true idk. Apparently the rock also creates interesting colors at sunset or twilight, which is why a lot of hippies moved to the island a couple of decades ago. It is also said, by Nostradamus, to be the only place on Earth that will still be here when it ends in 2012. There's also a legend that it is the tip of the lost civilization Atlantis.
While on the boat tour we also ran into a pack (school...group...herd?) of dolphins. It was really cool and apparently abnormal for this time of year in Ibiza. One of them even swam alongside the boat for a little bit. It was really really cool. After that we went swimming in the middle of the Mediterranean. The water was so beautiful, almost a turquoise color. They gave us face masks to use and we were able to see all the little fishes underneath us.
After that we hung out for a bit and then caught a bus back to the airport. That was also a trip and a half. We wanted to see if we could get on an earlier flight, but no go. We ended up waiting at the airport for five hours before we could finally check-in (poor planning again) and then find out that our 12:20am flight is delayed until 5:30am.(We DEFINITELY could've swam/walked back faster) Most of us tried to sleep for a little bit at the airport, and we were given free dinner and breakfast, but the airport was freezing, three people weren't feeling well, and it was not a happy time. When we finally got to the airport we found out that the bus directly from the airport to salamanca didn't leave until 1pm instead of 8am like we thought. (we went through three terminals to figure this out) So we had to take the metro again back to the bus station, buy tickets for the bus and hop on (we finally caught the 9am bus back).
When we got back it felt like the Promised Land. I napped for five hours and here I am! Have to catch up on homework, journal entries, and find some dinner!
7.13.2010
Spain won the World Cup!
Again, it's hard to update everyday. Nights are busy and tiring, and there's little time during the day. I haven't even been keeping up with the daily journal I have to write in for class.
Friday we had class, unfortunately, but my teacher is really awesome so it wasn't a big deal. Mostly we're still doing review of concepts and a lot of grammar. I personally feel like I need to work on my vocabulary; the grammar comes easy to me but it's hard to communicate when you don't know the words for things.
After class on Friday I went with Chrsitina and we went looking for a pair of yellow shorts for her for the game on Sunday. I ended up buying some really cheap jewelry, which was awesome, and a white skirt from H&M for 3 euro.
The Italian food Thursday night was fantastic! I had some of the best tortellini in my life. It sucks that our restaurant isn't a good representation of what Spain has to offer in terms of food. Last night one girl even got food poisoning from some mystery meat she ate and she had to go to the hospital. Good thing I don't eat meat.
Saturday we had our trip to Segovia. The town was absolutely gorgeous, and the castle was amazing. I took so many pictures. The castle is on a hill, it reminds me of the one in the Harry Potter movies. We ended up having some sangria there and it was awesome - Segovia is known for it's wine and the aquaducts. The aquaducts are huge. Pictures don't really show you how big they are.
Sunday we went to this quaint medieval town called La Alberca in the mountains. I felt like I was in a storybook or a fairytale. All the buildings were really old and there was flowers everywhere, and a lot of the walls had moss on them. Apparently the mountain water there is so clean they have little fountains where you can drink from or fill water bottles with. It was so cold! We ended up eating in this little restaurant overlooking the mountain view, and the food was really good. We made sure that we got back in time for the game. We went to a bar and even though we got there more than an hour early, we ended up sitting on the floor next to the screen and speakers cause there were no seats. It didn't matter though, just watching the game in a bar filled with Spaniards was amazing. Everyone was nervous with anticipation for what was going on. And when Spain scored in the final minute of overtime, oh man the place exploded! Since the internet sucks here I can't upload any of my videos, but I have one of the whole bar singing a song after they won the game.
Friday we had class, unfortunately, but my teacher is really awesome so it wasn't a big deal. Mostly we're still doing review of concepts and a lot of grammar. I personally feel like I need to work on my vocabulary; the grammar comes easy to me but it's hard to communicate when you don't know the words for things.
After class on Friday I went with Chrsitina and we went looking for a pair of yellow shorts for her for the game on Sunday. I ended up buying some really cheap jewelry, which was awesome, and a white skirt from H&M for 3 euro.
The Italian food Thursday night was fantastic! I had some of the best tortellini in my life. It sucks that our restaurant isn't a good representation of what Spain has to offer in terms of food. Last night one girl even got food poisoning from some mystery meat she ate and she had to go to the hospital. Good thing I don't eat meat.
Saturday we had our trip to Segovia. The town was absolutely gorgeous, and the castle was amazing. I took so many pictures. The castle is on a hill, it reminds me of the one in the Harry Potter movies. We ended up having some sangria there and it was awesome - Segovia is known for it's wine and the aquaducts. The aquaducts are huge. Pictures don't really show you how big they are.
Sunday we went to this quaint medieval town called La Alberca in the mountains. I felt like I was in a storybook or a fairytale. All the buildings were really old and there was flowers everywhere, and a lot of the walls had moss on them. Apparently the mountain water there is so clean they have little fountains where you can drink from or fill water bottles with. It was so cold! We ended up eating in this little restaurant overlooking the mountain view, and the food was really good. We made sure that we got back in time for the game. We went to a bar and even though we got there more than an hour early, we ended up sitting on the floor next to the screen and speakers cause there were no seats. It didn't matter though, just watching the game in a bar filled with Spaniards was amazing. Everyone was nervous with anticipation for what was going on. And when Spain scored in the final minute of overtime, oh man the place exploded! Since the internet sucks here I can't upload any of my videos, but I have one of the whole bar singing a song after they won the game.
7.08.2010
Muchos Cosas para Hacer
Lo siento, I know I haven't updated in awhile. I've been incredibly busy with things to do, and trying to get some sleep, that I haven't been able to find the time. On top of that, the internet here is very very slow, muy lento, and it's hard to get a lot done in a short period of time. I'll try not to ramble on here as I recap the last four days.
Monday was the placement test. I got into the third level, intermediate, with another member of my group. Today another girl transferred into our class whose in our group as well. I really like our teacher. She's animated, happy, funny, young, and keeps the class light. It's mostly reviewing the different tenses right now. She hasn't given us much homework, so knock on wood that it stays that way. Some people have a lot more homework than we do. Especially those in the advanced classes. Even though we're not technically learning new grammar, you learn just by speaking and listening. In class it's taught completely in Spanish. We get a ten minute break and a half hour break for coffee or a tapa. Monday night a lot of us went out to the bars. We stopped at La Chupeteria to get our favorite shot, then to the Irish Rover. One of the girls works there and she gave us free drink cards. Not that the drinks are a lot anyway.
Tuesday we stayed in and relaxed because we knew we would be out and about for the game the next day. Class is at 10, ends at 2, then it's lunch, a nap or whatever, dinner, etc. We do a lot of walking around and checking stuff out. I have yet to buy a watch, since siesta is during the hours after class and all the stores close. Tuesday we did go out after five and we bought jersey's and face paint for the next day.
Wednesday, or yesterday, we had a walking tour of the city. If you can imagine walking for two hours in almost 100 degree weather, that's what it was like. By the end I felt like I was on the verge of heat stroke, which I used as an excuse to get some mango ice cream. The ice cream is amazing here, close to gelato. So many different flavors and they are all over the place. It's hard to resist when it looks so delicious! and cheap, a small ice cream is about 1,70 euro. The tour was beautiful. I took about 80 or so pictures of the beautiful buildings and sights. We got to see the famous churches in Salamanca, and a statue of a bull that had been there since the Roman era, probably 100 BC.
After that, we changed and went to la corta igles for the semifinals. Spain won 1-0 against Germany. Afterwards the streets were insane. So many people celebrating, honking their horns, flying flags. Some people even had little fireworks that they kept lighting in the streets. We went to the plaza mayor, which was packed, for something to eat afterwards and hung out.
We also decided that many of us are going on a trip for a weekend to an island called Ibiza. It's absolutely gorgeous there. Mostly we're planning on going to the beach and relaxing, which we're all really excited to do.
Today, we went to class, and wanted to buy a watch. It's very hard to travel without a watch. But, because of siesta, the store was closed. So we ate a quick lunch and went to the pool. It was a short bus ride away and the pool was pristine looking. They don't allow cameras or I would have taken a picture. We relaxed, took a swim and cooled off. Now I'm back here. We're planning on going out to eat tonight, get some Italian food which I'm incredibly excited about. Although the restaurant where we get our food from is fine, it gets a little boring sometimes and is definitely not a great representation of the Spanish cuisine.
Adios para ahora.
Monday was the placement test. I got into the third level, intermediate, with another member of my group. Today another girl transferred into our class whose in our group as well. I really like our teacher. She's animated, happy, funny, young, and keeps the class light. It's mostly reviewing the different tenses right now. She hasn't given us much homework, so knock on wood that it stays that way. Some people have a lot more homework than we do. Especially those in the advanced classes. Even though we're not technically learning new grammar, you learn just by speaking and listening. In class it's taught completely in Spanish. We get a ten minute break and a half hour break for coffee or a tapa. Monday night a lot of us went out to the bars. We stopped at La Chupeteria to get our favorite shot, then to the Irish Rover. One of the girls works there and she gave us free drink cards. Not that the drinks are a lot anyway.
Tuesday we stayed in and relaxed because we knew we would be out and about for the game the next day. Class is at 10, ends at 2, then it's lunch, a nap or whatever, dinner, etc. We do a lot of walking around and checking stuff out. I have yet to buy a watch, since siesta is during the hours after class and all the stores close. Tuesday we did go out after five and we bought jersey's and face paint for the next day.
Wednesday, or yesterday, we had a walking tour of the city. If you can imagine walking for two hours in almost 100 degree weather, that's what it was like. By the end I felt like I was on the verge of heat stroke, which I used as an excuse to get some mango ice cream. The ice cream is amazing here, close to gelato. So many different flavors and they are all over the place. It's hard to resist when it looks so delicious! and cheap, a small ice cream is about 1,70 euro. The tour was beautiful. I took about 80 or so pictures of the beautiful buildings and sights. We got to see the famous churches in Salamanca, and a statue of a bull that had been there since the Roman era, probably 100 BC.
After that, we changed and went to la corta igles for the semifinals. Spain won 1-0 against Germany. Afterwards the streets were insane. So many people celebrating, honking their horns, flying flags. Some people even had little fireworks that they kept lighting in the streets. We went to the plaza mayor, which was packed, for something to eat afterwards and hung out.
We also decided that many of us are going on a trip for a weekend to an island called Ibiza. It's absolutely gorgeous there. Mostly we're planning on going to the beach and relaxing, which we're all really excited to do.
Today, we went to class, and wanted to buy a watch. It's very hard to travel without a watch. But, because of siesta, the store was closed. So we ate a quick lunch and went to the pool. It was a short bus ride away and the pool was pristine looking. They don't allow cameras or I would have taken a picture. We relaxed, took a swim and cooled off. Now I'm back here. We're planning on going out to eat tonight, get some Italian food which I'm incredibly excited about. Although the restaurant where we get our food from is fine, it gets a little boring sometimes and is definitely not a great representation of the Spanish cuisine.
Adios para ahora.
7.04.2010
Mini Tour, Giant Mall
So today was nice and laid backish. We had a small breakfast, mostly croissants, toast, that sort of thing. They have this amazing chocolate and white chocolate spread that rivals nutella for amazingness. We had a short walking tour of where we had to go tomorrow morning to take our placement exam, and where the Colegio de Espana is. They're very old buildings, and the building that the college is in was built in the 16th century. Then we walked to the plaza mayor and they told us which ways to go for certain things. Then we went for lunch and I had my first paella (no meat for me though) and it was incredibly delicious. Very rich. Most of the food at the restaurant that we're eating at is very salty, however.
Then we went back to the hostel and a few of us went back to the mall where we had watched the game and went shopping. I bought a few simple shirts since I couldn't really find anything that fit me nicely. Usually we'd have much more shopping options in the streets surrounding the hostel, but on Sunday's most everything is closed. We did find a supermarket that was in the basement of the mall and I got some fruit and little things to eat while I'm here. The mall wasn't really like a usual mall, it was almost like a gigantic macy's with different designers having different sections all around the five or six floors of the building.
Now I'm back, after sitting out eating strawberries and reading on the balcony. We're eating around 8, and have a meeting to talk about information we need to know (buses, stamps, etc) and the plan for tomorrow, and then i'm pretty sure i'm just going to relax. Last night we went out and had a few drinks. One of the girls who was with us even won a booty dancing contest and got 30 euros!
Then we went back to the hostel and a few of us went back to the mall where we had watched the game and went shopping. I bought a few simple shirts since I couldn't really find anything that fit me nicely. Usually we'd have much more shopping options in the streets surrounding the hostel, but on Sunday's most everything is closed. We did find a supermarket that was in the basement of the mall and I got some fruit and little things to eat while I'm here. The mall wasn't really like a usual mall, it was almost like a gigantic macy's with different designers having different sections all around the five or six floors of the building.
Now I'm back, after sitting out eating strawberries and reading on the balcony. We're eating around 8, and have a meeting to talk about information we need to know (buses, stamps, etc) and the plan for tomorrow, and then i'm pretty sure i'm just going to relax. Last night we went out and had a few drinks. One of the girls who was with us even won a booty dancing contest and got 30 euros!
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