An American Student in London

(Part 1 of 5 detailing my vacation to London)

Last week I woke up at 6:30 in the morning to catch my flight to London. It was not enjoyable to say the least. I had to make sure that everything I would need for the next six days was crammed into my backpack and then I left for the airport. I didn't have any hassle checking in or going through security, but unfortunately my flight was delayed for half an hour because they did not have enough room in the cabin for everyone's bags to fit in the overhead compartments, so they had to put them below (why this took 30 minutes is beyond me.)

I arrived late, and missed my bus, but was fortunately able to catch the next one out. After a short while on the bus, I realized that it was driving on the opposite side of the road. I knew that that would happen, but it was still surreal to experience. I tried to imagine myself as the driver and how everything would be backwards from what I was used to.

When I reached my stop, I had to walk through Hyde Park to reach my hostel. Even though I got *slightly* lost, it was worth it because I got to see more of the park, which was absolutely gorgeous. At the hostel, I was able to meet two girls from Canada who just began a five month backpacking trip around Europe, and had a nice conversation with them.

Before long I was off to meet Laurel, my friend who is studying abroad in London, and I headed to the tube station to catch the train. I already knew that my trip was going to be costly because the conversion rate from dollars to pounds is awful, but MAN is the underground expensive. It costs nearly two pounds (around $3.20) for a single ride, and honestly, it isn't worth it. In my opinion the tube is much too slow and has too many random closures for that price.

I met up with Laurel and she brought me to a pub where I had my first taste of real English food: fish and chips with a pint of ale. It was much better than what I was expecting, considering the stereotype that British food is flavorless. It was also nice to have REAL ketchup compared to the weird imitation that they have in Spain. We talked for awhile at the pub, catching up on what has been going on and commenting on the culture shock. Then we walked around the area to look at the Christmas lights (yes, they were already lit, I think because they don't have Thanksgiving as a buffer-holiday between Halloween and Christmas.) The lights were very pretty and some of them shimmered in a way that WASN'T irritating.

After walking around for a bit and making plans for tomorrow, we said goodbye and I returned to my hostel. I decided to hang out in the lounge where I joined two girls from Australia and two guys from Germany in a card game before eventually going to bed. I was exhausted and sleep that night was much appreciated.

La gran mezquita de Córdoba

On Saturday I visited Cordoba with my medieval art class to see the Cathedral of Cordoba. It was originally the Great Mosque of Cordoba, but was converted into a cathedral by the Christians during the reconquest of Spain.

Simply put, it is absolutely incredible. Though I will try, photographs and words cannot do this building justice. When I first entered, I was literally stunned by how massive the place is, even though I had seen pictures and had studied it in class I was unprepared for its scale. The most distinctive feature of the mosque are the signature red and white horseshoe-shaped arches that span the entirety of the inside and seem to continue for an eternity.

The most striking feature, however, has to be the cathedral itself and how different it is from the rest of the building. Constructed right in the center of the old mosque, it seems impossibly tall compared with the (relatively) low ceiling of the rest of the building. The clash of architectural styles is very interesting because one can distinctly tell which parts were built by the Muslims and which by the Christians.

Outside, there is an equally impressive courtyard where palms and orange trees grow. They are irrigated by an ingenious series of channels, which in turn are fed by a fountain at the center of the courtyard. Rising above this is the Christian bell tower, which was built on the same spot where the minaret used to stand. As I approached the mosque, I could hear the deafeningly loud tolling of the bell as it signaled noon, but as I rounded a corner and saw it for the first time, I noticed that the clamor was originating from only one of the many bells. I was left to wonder what great noise would have been produced had all of the bells rung at the same time.

El año sin Halloween

Halloween is one of my most favorite holidays, and this year I'm missing it.

Not that they don't have Halloween here in Spain, but it has a distinctly different vibe to it. Whereas back home there are haunted houses, costume parades/contests, and decorations for the whole month of October in preparation, Halloween here is mostly an excuse to wear a costume when you go clubbing. There was a story on the news tonight showing grade-school kids in their costumes and decorating pumpkins, and I think they go trick-or-treating, but there are remarkably few reminders that the holiday is 2 days away.

It is sort of depressing because of how much I enjoy getting in the spirit of Halloween. Honestly, when else can you put on bloody make-up in order to make little children scream in terror, and NOT be arrested for it? I also throughly enjoy seeing the creativity that others put into their costumes. Last year I saw both a LEGO man and a guy with a playable NES strapped to his chest, it was awesome. Those "wow" moments when you are throughly shocked and excited by another person's costume are part of the fun of the holiday and why I love to dress up.

In local news, I went to the Prado art museum today because it is free in the evenings. The works showcased there are absolutely incredible. I am usually not a fan of art museums because I generally don't care what the artist has to say, but the painting at the Prado just pop stunningly off of their canvases.

Tomorrow I am taking a day-trip with my art class to Cordoba to see the Great Mosque there. It is supposed to have extremely beautiful architecture and I just hope that the weather is nice so that I can take good photos.

T es para "té"

And tea is for me.

Every Tuesday and Thursday I have a 3 hour break in-between my classes during which I have to eat lunch and commute between campuses. However, this doesn't remotely fill the time, so I spend a lot of it at the large public park, el Parque de Retiro. It is incredibly relaxing to walk around on the many paths, lie on the grass, or have a bite to eat at the cafe.

Back in the States I am always running around to get to another appointment, whether it be class, choir, swing dance, or homework, it is difficult to find free time. And when I do have time to relax, it usually doesn't line up with when my friends are available. Here it is nice to just be able to sit with friends, drink coffee or tea, and have a conversation with each other.

One of the sentiments shared by many of the other students traveling with me is that it will be incredibly difficult to adjust to the hurried pace of life and especially the rushed schedule of DePaul. I want to be able to simply sit outside (not during the winter, of course) sipping on tea and not worrying about my next assignment or how I will find time to spend with my overworked friends.

My friends at DePaul call the little moments of relaxation they have "Sanity Time" because it helps to keep them sane amidst the stress and pressures of school, but when I return, I just want to call those times when I can relax "Everyday Life."

Felicitación. Esta historia es el final feliz.

Congratulation indeed. I didn't die after all.

This weekend excursion to the city of Cuenca was amazing. We departed from Madrid via bus early Friday morning and arrived aproximately 2 1/2 hours later. We began by visiting a local park and went on a hike among the rock formations. It was incredible and I was reminded of my time in the Boy Scouts. Much fun was had by everyone as we climbed all over the rocks.

After that, we checked into the hotel (which used to be a monastery) and ate lunch. The food was great (ham of course) and the restaurant was very fancy; I had one glass of red wine and one of white wine (preferred the white.)

Afterwards, we took a tour of Cuenca and visited both the Cuenca Cathedral and the Museum of Abstract Art. The cathedral was absolutely beautiful and because the sun was setting it made the stained glass shine brilliantly. The art museum was also fun, although many of the other students very vocal about their distaste. My favorite room was the "white room" which had four windows which captured the nearby cliffs as if they were paintings.

The next morning we awoke to extreme cold. As noted by one of the girls on the trip, it was the first time year that we could see our breath. There was concern amongst us that the cold would put a damper on the days' activities: horseback riding and cliff-jumping. By the time we arrived at the adventure base to pick up our horses/wet-suits the sun had risen higher as well as our spirits. I squeezed into a wet-suit and we took a short drive to the river.

The water was, predictably, freezing cold, and although the wet-suit protected me somewhat, water was still able to seep in especially near my hands. Our two guides started us off by having us hop off small rocks and slide down short rapids to get a handle on it. After each jump we floated downstream to the next one where we climbed out at jumped again. Soon, though, we were leaping off rocks ranging between 25-40ft in height. Honestly, it was terrifying, and I had to psych myself up for a couple of seconds before each of the jumps. I would not say that it was dangerous though. I don't like heights and I don't like being cold, but the river canyon was absolutely gorgeous. Had it been a stifling summer day, I think that I would have enjoyed it better, but by the end I was shaking uncontrollably and happy to get back to dry clothes.

By and large and all in all, I had a wonderful time in Cuenca. The city is beautiful, the landscape is breathtaking, the river-sports are insane, and I would love to return one day.

Mañana procrastinar

It's been a couple of days since my last post, so I guess I should write one now...

This past weekend a group of us went to a jazz club here in the city. It was incredible (if a bit too smoky.) The music reminded me of some of the songs I dance blues to back in Chicago and I really wanted to just grab a girl and start dancing. Unfortunately 1) it was not a dance club, and 2) I do not know if anyone at the club even knew how to dance blues. I really want to go dancing here to show off my Chicago-skills and to pick up a few Madrid-moves, but I have no idea where to go or who would want to go with me (one of the reasons to go social dancing is to socialize, after all.)

I also went to the National Museum of Natural Sciences hoping to see some dinosaur skeletons, but to my severe disappointment that gallery was closed. I got to peek past the construction wall and I saw that they had an impressive collection, but I was still frustrated because I couldn't see them up close.

Otherwise I've just been wasting too much time not doing homework (sorry Mom and Dad) but fortunately tomorrow is a national holiday so we don't have any classes and I can try to get it done then.

This upcoming weekend we are traveling to Cuenca and I am going to go cliff-diving. If I die, I want it in my will that all my friends and family have to each eat a pinecone.

My Schedule

Some of you have been asking for my weekly class schedule to know when the best time to chat/skype. Here it is with both the local time with Chicago time in parenthesis. As a reminder, Spain is seven* hours ahead of Chicago, so when it is noon here it is 5 in the morning in Chicago, and when it is noon in Chicago it is 7 in the evening here.

*I am not sure if daylight savings time will throw this number off.

MONDAY

3:00-5:00 (8:00-10:00) Written Comprehension and Expression

5:00-7:00 (10:00-12:00) Oral Comprehension and Expression

TUESDAY

10:00-12:00 (3:00-5:00) Art and Architecture in Medieval Spain

3:00-5:00 (8:00-10:00) Grammar and Practice

WEDNESDAY

3:00-5:00 (8:00-10:00) Oral Comprehension and Expression

THURSDAY

10:00-12:00 (3:00-5:00) Art and Architecture in Medieval Spain

3:00-5:00 (8:00-10:00) Grammar and Practice

FRIDAY

3:00-5:00 (8:00-10:00) Written Comprehension and Expression

In addition, I'll give you the times we eat here in Spain.

BREAKFAST

8:00 (1:00) Usually just 2 pieces of toast with butter, jelly, and fruit juice. Honestly, not the best way to start the morning.

LUNCH

2:00 (4:00) The biggest meal of the day. My favorite so far was the paella, but one of my roommates hates seafood so I doubt we'll be getting it again. Sadness!

DINNER

9:00 (2:00) Similar in size to lunch back in the States. In my opinion it is served much too late because my stomach is eating itself by the time dinner rolls around.