Smile, It's Good For You

Today we left Madrid early in the morning and went to Toledo. The city is a lot more classical looking than Madrid, our tour guide said that the first people that settled here dated all the way back to the year 4 BC. It was breathtaking: the older buildings and all the gothic architecture were amazing. We did more of a walking tour today than we did yesterday so we are all beat beyond imagination. The city was worth it though, we saw so much history here, primarily a lot surrounding the three different religions. I learned that there is a huge monastery in Toledo which Queen Isabela I commissioned to be the burial site for her and King Ferdinand II, but after they conquered Granada, they decided to be buried there. The monastery took 270 years to be completely built, which is such a long time for a building like that. The details were so intricate, like it was amazing to see how much work went into this building. The primary church in the monastery was covered with the coat of arms of both Aragon and Castilla y Leon and we could see F’s and Y’s everywhere for Fernando and Isabela (which was originally spelled with a Y). There was also so many Muslim and Jewish influences, it was amazing to see the mixture of religions. 

I am so excited to be here, I wish we could just keep travelling Spain and not have to go to school. We had a huge meeting at 6:30 to talk about classes and living with our host families and I am getting more and more excited. The group is bonding a lot more, me and my roommate are getting really close. Her name is Kyra and she’s from Colorado. She’s super sweet and we have a lot in common. Dinner today was awesome, we all sat together and were practically cracking jokes the whole time. A lot of people are homesick, but honestly I’m not. Ya it sucks that I’m not with my family, but this is such a great experience for me. I haven’t been on my own like this ever, so it’s nice to be independent for once. I am missing a lot of people back home, especially a certain someone who I have seen a lot over the course of May. I probably miss him the most out of everyone because he has been such a rock for me these past couple of weeks and the fact that we have been inseparable has not helped. Definitely can’t wait to see him when I get back, the Skype dates help but I definitely miss him muchisimo.

I had paella for the first time today and it was DELICIOUS! We also went out for drinks after dinner. Spaniards are legal at 18, so we are all able to drink out here. The program doesn’t have a policy against drinking they just want us to have control. Binge drinking is not a big thing over here, so we don’t want to be those Americans making a fool out of ourselves at the bars. My friends have mostly been drinking beer and today we had mojitos and I had a Bacardi Limon, which is half a wine glass of Bacardi and Lemon Fanta. It was sooo strong, I’m glad I didn’t drink all of it or I would have been out. All in all, loving it here and I’m really excited to see where these next couple of weeks take me!

Hasta luego Toledo!

jo <3

Today has been such a great day! It’s only 3:45 but it’s already been wonderful. Wake up call was at 9 and we had to be in the lobby at 10 for our excursion, so I woke up a little earlier and went and got breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. The breakfast was SO good, literally one of the best breakfasts I’ve had while abroad. Espresso, orange juice, fruit, pan dulce, and scrambled eggs YUMMY!! I wore my black dress today with the tiered skirt and a red rose in my hair, looked like such a Spaniard it’s not even funny.

Once we all got to the lobby, we went to the Museo del Prado, which is an art museum two minutes from the hotel we stayed at. The museum took my breath away: it was a classical art museum, meaning we saw works by Goya, El Greco, Velasquez, Morillo, and many more. The art was stunning: we saw the history of Spain through the different paintings, sculptures, and architecture. My favorite had to be all the works by Velazquez, his painting skills are phenomenal. All the royal portraits he did took my breath away. The tour guide was really nice and really informative, she explained a lot of the history behind the paintings and the artists themselves. It was also a great experience for me because a lot of the paintings we saw I was already familiar with because I had already studied them at school. What caught me by surprise was how differently people see these pieces of art: it was cool to see the different interpretations. For me, it was great seeing that the way I learned about these paintings was different from the way the actual museum saw it so that was great to see the different lights the works could be seen in. I definitely felt more educated after the tour, and I’m grateful that I had previous experience because I was able to appreciate the art that much more. Actually seeing these paintings in real life instead of in a textbook or on an overhead projector made me realize how beautiful the art actually is.

After the Prado, we had a little break before we went to our next museum, the Reina Sofia. This museum was more contemporary art, so we saw a lot of Picasso, Dali, and Miro. Dali was definitely my favorite, the surrealism was wonderful to look at. I liked the first museum better because it was more classical art, which I’m into, but the second museum was also great. I saw the Guernica, which we spent over a month studying in one of my Spanish classes. Again, I was able to fall in love more with the painting in real life than the picture I saw in class. The picture didn’t do it justice at all, the painting (more like mural) was astonishing. The anguish and desperation were that much more pronounced, and again the interpretation of the artwork was so much different than what I learned in class.

After that, we were allowed free time for the rest of the day because this is our last night in Madrid. I really wanted to see a bullfight while I was here, and as it turns out there is one tonight at 7 a little outside of the city. We’ll have to take the Metro but I’m super stoked. The whole group is going too, so that will be fun bonding for all of us. I’ve always tried to get my parents to go every year when we’ve been in Portugal, but we never go because my mom feels bad for the bulls. Yes, bullfighting can be cruel because the bulls are killed for sport, but it is also really entertaining. The majesty behind the actual killing is kind of beautiful, and you can’t come to Spain and not see a bullfight, it’s a part of their natural heritage.

I’ve started to get to know the other students a little better, and everyone is so nice. They all come from everywhere, mostly states out West, but I’ve been able to find stuff in common with everyone. There are two kids from the DMV area, so it was cool to talk to them about back home. All in all, I’m really happy to be here. It’s been beautiful out: hot but nice. The breezes help and even the nights haven’t been too cold. We didn’t really go out yesterday, so tonight we’re going to try and go to a local bar since it’s our last night here. Tomorrow we travel to Toledo and spend the whole day there, and then Tuesday we travel to Escorial and then to Salamanca. I’m excited and nervous to start my classes next Tuesday, I have to place Superior to get credit back home. To say I’m not nervous to live with my host family is a lie: I’m terrified that I won’t like them or I’ll do something offensive. Honestly I think I’ll be fine, just overreacting as usual. Well, we’re meeting in the lobby soon to head to the bullfight so I’ll leave it here for today. 

Loving Madrid,

jo <3

Hey guys, I know I haven’t posted in a while but I figured I should start posting daily because I’m in another country!!!!!!! I got accepted into the first summer session of ISA’s summer program in Salamanca, Spain and I just arrived here today! Spain is beautiful, and even though I am extremely tired from the flight, I still can stop and appreciate how truly beautiful this country really is. My program is spending the first couple of days in Madrid so that we can tour the city, you know tourist stuff, and then it’s off to Salamanca to start classes. We take our placement exams on June 4th if I’m not mistaken and then start classes the next day. I’m super stoked to be here, it sucks being in a new place without knowing anyone but I’m starting to make friends with some of the people in my program. It’s taking me awhile because I’m so shy around new people, but I think I’ll be ok. I’m nervous about my classes: I know I have a firm grasp on the language, for the most part, but I’m still worried you know? I paid all this money to come study here, I really would like to do well. But, to say that I’m not super excited would be a lie. I love travelling, especially to Europe, so I feel like while this may be an “academic” vacation, this could be just as good as a regular vacation. The Euro will be taking place while I am here, so that should be entertaining to watch. Of course, I’ll be rooting on Portugal, got my jersey in my bag just for that reason. Well, my fingers are cramping and we have a meeting soon with the directors, so I shall leave it here for today. I’m going to try and write everyday, I want to stay away from Facebook and Twitter as much as I can because I want to take in this entire experience. It also will help me not miss home so much, which I surprisingly already do despite the fact I’ve only been here half a day.

Looking forward to one of the greatest experiences of my life, 

jo <3 

can not wait for the Olympics!!!!!!