Hello all!
I know it's been awhile since I last posted. Life has not changed too much. Classes are going well. On Monday and Tuesday of next week we do not have school because Tuesday is a holiday in Andalucia. Many of my friends are travling to other places during this time. As of now I am not going anywhere, but we'll see what mischeif I can get into. Today I signed up to volunteer with Residencia La Milagrosa, a place where children can come and get help with their homework. I'll be tutoring one day a week starting the first week of March. The lady who runs the program seems very nice and I'm excited to get involved. I also met with my intercabio for the first time. An intercambio is a Spaniard (or in my case, an Italian woman who speaks fluent Spanish and moved to Granada to marry her boyfriend) that I meet up with to practice my Spanish. In turn, I get to help her with her English. She is very nice and I think she is going to be able to help me a lot with my Spanish. Over the past two weeks I've gotten to skype with a lot of people. It's been great to talk to so many friends from Ohio State and also the lovely Mackenzie Touby. Funny story...but first some background context. On Monday night I skyped with my friend Maddie Gutkoski. I decided to do so in the kitchen in an attempt to not bother my roommate who was sleeping. Later that night I was going skype with the guys from the West campus action groups. Seeing as how there was a little bit of time in between each skype session, I decided to look over a couple of class notes for a few minutes while I waited. As I was doing this, my host mom's niece entered the kitched, gave me a weird look, and promtly left to return to the living room. This bring us to Tuesday evening. It was then that I was attempting to skype with Mackenzie. Again, trying to be a nuisance to my roommate, I decided to look for another place in the apartment to talk with Mackenzie. Seeing that people where in the kitchen and the living room, I decided to pop a squat in the foyer, which was as usual, not lit. Suddenly my host mother appears and begins "yelling" at me (please, note, the following is a translation from the actual conversation that occured in Spanish):
"Jamie-son, why do you choose the wierdest places in the house to study? I know you were studying in the kitchen last night. Why do you do that? You have a desk in your room"
Me:"Uhhh...what? No, I'm not studying. I'm talking to my cousin on skype."
Mom:"Ok. But last night you were studying in the kitchen. Why?"
Me:"I wasn't studying in the kitchen last night. I was using skype last night, but I didn't want to bother Chris because he was sleeping."
Mom:"I know you were studying last night. My niece saw you. You have a little light in your room that way your can turn off the big light so the other person can sleep. Why don't you use it?"
Me: "I was looking at a few notes from class while I was waiting for my friends to get on skype. I promise I wasn't just studying in the kitchen. I was using skype."
Mom:"Ok. I just want you to be comfortable and if you need something I want to ask me."
After that whole ordeal that Mackenzie had just witnessed, my host mom proceeded to walk away. It was thefirst experience I had with my host family not understanding the things I do (or at least, the first time they've voiced their concern). Looking back, the whole dialogue was really hilarious and at the end it was really sweet for my mom to tell me that she just wanted me to be comfortable. It made me feel like I'm not just a visitor.
All in all, I've had a great two weeks here in Granada despite catching a bit of a cold. I'm loving that I'm becoming a bit more integrated into life here, especially since I've been feeling really detached from the country and its people. I'm going to sign off for now, thanks for reading friends!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
2.16.2012
Hey all!
In my last post I talked about my classes. After tomorrow I will have finished the first two weeks of the semester. All of my classes are going well so I definitely have that to be thankful for. Last weekend ISA (the program I'm studying with) took us to Ronda and Malaga. Both cities were really pretty. I also enjoyed using the showers in the hotel. Unlimited hot water, heck even five to ten minute showers with hot water are something I definitely took for granted in the States.
On Sunday, I finally got a chance to attend church, and actually found the hotel where the Sunday service is held. Everyone there was really nice and I'm definitely going to go back. The service is held at 6:30 in the evening which is nice because it allows me to hang out with people on Saturday night without having to worry about what time I go to sleep. The only downside is that I left after the service had gone about two and half hours-I didn't want to miss dinner at 9:30!
In other news, I finally feel like my host family is opening up more, which excites me. My host family is really nice so I'm really looking forward to getting to know them more over the next few months. Yesterday I spent lunch discussing politics with my host mom. It was awesome to have an extensive conversation in Spanish, something I haven't done since this summer in Venezuela.
Well, that's about all I have for this post. Hasta luego!
In my last post I talked about my classes. After tomorrow I will have finished the first two weeks of the semester. All of my classes are going well so I definitely have that to be thankful for. Last weekend ISA (the program I'm studying with) took us to Ronda and Malaga. Both cities were really pretty. I also enjoyed using the showers in the hotel. Unlimited hot water, heck even five to ten minute showers with hot water are something I definitely took for granted in the States.
On Sunday, I finally got a chance to attend church, and actually found the hotel where the Sunday service is held. Everyone there was really nice and I'm definitely going to go back. The service is held at 6:30 in the evening which is nice because it allows me to hang out with people on Saturday night without having to worry about what time I go to sleep. The only downside is that I left after the service had gone about two and half hours-I didn't want to miss dinner at 9:30!
In other news, I finally feel like my host family is opening up more, which excites me. My host family is really nice so I'm really looking forward to getting to know them more over the next few months. Yesterday I spent lunch discussing politics with my host mom. It was awesome to have an extensive conversation in Spanish, something I haven't done since this summer in Venezuela.
Well, that's about all I have for this post. Hasta luego!
Observations of Spain
The following are a few of my observations from January up until this point. Some may have been mentioned already in other posts, but I'm attempting to create a cumulative list. Enjoy!
1)Wi-fi is pronounced wee-fee.
2)Bangs are really popular for girls.
3)Guys dress very metro-sexual.
4)Skinny jeans are a very popular fashion trend.
5)Everyone smokes. To me it is interesting that Spaniards are more worried about the affects of taking a couple pills of ibuprofen than they are about the long term affects of smoking cigarettes.
6)There are many churches here, but the people that I have encountered so far are not very religious.
7)The siesta is quite prossibly the best invention ever.
8)Chocolate con churros is a close second.
9) Street signs are small and very hard to find. Sometimes they're just missing altogether.
10) Many Spaniards spend their free time in bars talking to other people. They drink more, but binge drinking and all-our drunkeness are seen as ugly.
11) Tipping in restaurants doesn't exist except in cases of exceptional service. Waiters are paid an actual salary and taxes are also inculded in the prices.
12)Eating and drinking in class is not acceptable.
13)Spaniards party hard and party late...or early, depending on how you look at it.
14)There are dogs everywhere. In many cases they are better dressed than I am.
15)Olive oil is used on everything. In general, food here is much more healthy. I can definitely tell a difference (for the better) in how I'm feeling. Spaniards enjoy the natural taste of foods and use little salt and pepper. Also bread is better here. I'm going to have to spend more money to buy higher quality bread in States.
1)Wi-fi is pronounced wee-fee.
2)Bangs are really popular for girls.
3)Guys dress very metro-sexual.
4)Skinny jeans are a very popular fashion trend.
5)Everyone smokes. To me it is interesting that Spaniards are more worried about the affects of taking a couple pills of ibuprofen than they are about the long term affects of smoking cigarettes.
6)There are many churches here, but the people that I have encountered so far are not very religious.
7)The siesta is quite prossibly the best invention ever.
8)Chocolate con churros is a close second.
9) Street signs are small and very hard to find. Sometimes they're just missing altogether.
10) Many Spaniards spend their free time in bars talking to other people. They drink more, but binge drinking and all-our drunkeness are seen as ugly.
11) Tipping in restaurants doesn't exist except in cases of exceptional service. Waiters are paid an actual salary and taxes are also inculded in the prices.
12)Eating and drinking in class is not acceptable.
13)Spaniards party hard and party late...or early, depending on how you look at it.
14)There are dogs everywhere. In many cases they are better dressed than I am.
15)Olive oil is used on everything. In general, food here is much more healthy. I can definitely tell a difference (for the better) in how I'm feeling. Spaniards enjoy the natural taste of foods and use little salt and pepper. Also bread is better here. I'm going to have to spend more money to buy higher quality bread in States.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
2.8.2012
Summary: London=Awesome. The hostel we stayed in=not so awesome... but it could have been worse. Classes have started. I like them for the most part. Be sure to read for more details.
Many of you have been eagerly awaiting a new post telling of my adventures in London...so here it is! London was definitely an adventure for sure. My friends and I took the bus to Madrid and camped out in the airport over night in order to be on time for our flight at 8:30 in the morning. We flew via Ryanair which is one of those smaller airlines that offers cheap flights. Let me just say this: their checking-in and boarding process is probably one of the dumbest thing I've ever experienced. I think I had my passport/boarding pass checked 10 times. Anyways, we arrived in London, ate lunch, and went to get our London Passes. The London Pass is around 90 pounds (I think) and allows you to get into many tourist attractions and sites such as cathedrals, museums and galleries, landmarks, etc without further admission fees. It also gives you a travel pass for the city. Our goal was to get as much use out of the pass as possible, and it was a success. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but I do that we saved money by not paying for each attraction individually. In four days we went to
Many of you have been eagerly awaiting a new post telling of my adventures in London...so here it is! London was definitely an adventure for sure. My friends and I took the bus to Madrid and camped out in the airport over night in order to be on time for our flight at 8:30 in the morning. We flew via Ryanair which is one of those smaller airlines that offers cheap flights. Let me just say this: their checking-in and boarding process is probably one of the dumbest thing I've ever experienced. I think I had my passport/boarding pass checked 10 times. Anyways, we arrived in London, ate lunch, and went to get our London Passes. The London Pass is around 90 pounds (I think) and allows you to get into many tourist attractions and sites such as cathedrals, museums and galleries, landmarks, etc without further admission fees. It also gives you a travel pass for the city. Our goal was to get as much use out of the pass as possible, and it was a success. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but I do that we saved money by not paying for each attraction individually. In four days we went to
- The British Museum
- St. Pauls Cathedral
- The London Zoo
- Westminster Abbey
- London Tower
- The London Tower Bridge (Yes, London Bridge and the Tower Bridge are two different things)
- 3 art galleries
- A river boat tour
- the show Chicago
- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (I'm dying to see a show there now. I guess I'll have to go back to London again some other time!)
- an outdoor market
- other stuff that I'm probably forgetting at the moment...I should really get better at journaling or keeping mementos.
I would love to recount each day, but again, there is too much to be said in a mere blog post. I loved London and despite the high prices throughout the city, it's a great place. London even decided to give me a taste of home with some snow on our last night in the city. This snow unfortunately caused many delays at the airport the next day, as our flight back to Madrid was delayed by over six hours. This caused us to miss our bus back to Granada, so we were forced to buy all new tickets and didn't arrive home until 3 am. Needless to say, I was not the happiest camper the next morning when I had to wake up for my 8:30 class.
This brings us to our next topic for this update! I have now started my actual semester classes for which exams will end on May 24th. I had four classes on Monday, which was quite a feat for me after traveling practically non-stop through London and arriving home so late the night before. I liked all of classes, and even found that I'm probably going to like a class I didn't really want to take beforehand. I had a literature class on Tuesday, but after going and realizing the professor is a complete jerk, I have dropped the class and switched to a history of Spain course. I will attend this class for the first time tomorrow, and I'm hoping that I will like it better.
The classes I'm taking are as follows:
- Islamic Culture in Spain (But technically, Islam didn't influence "Spain" because Spain wasn't a country yet)
- Oral and Written Production. Called POE, it's basically a class where we learn to speak and writing skills. The teacher calls me "Santi" which is short for Santiago. Let's just say the teacher has trouble saying the name "Jameson."
- 18th Century Literture. The teacher is hilarous and frequently asks us if we hate her when she throws a bunch of material at us.
- Civilation and Culture of Latin America. I'm pretty interested in this subject so I'm eager to learn. Professor is nice, but has a pretty thick accent.
- History of Spain:Modern Era. Haven't gone to this class yet. Wish me luck!
Well friends, I think that is all for tonight. I must get my beauty rest for my 8:30 class. Looking this good is hard work. If you have any questions about London or my classes, please write a comment. I would love to share more about each of these experiences with you! Hasta luego!
Jameson
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