La Dolce Vita

Che bella giornata in Roma...
What a lovely day in Rome today! Of course, all of the true Romans are still walking around with sweaters and/or large winter jackets. I tried, but 70 degrees Fahrenheit is just too much - so I took my coat off, but the long sleeved shirt is keeping me warm. How's Ohio?
But really, Rome is such a lovely city. I'm still getting used to the craziness that is Roman driving and public transportation, but it's all just a part of the cultural experience. In case you don't know, crosswalks are optional here - and you really only ever see tourists waiting for the green light. Everyone else just steps out in traffic because they know that the drivers will stop - or at least slow down significantly. My American mind doesn't completely understand why this system is seen as more efficient, but I also don't really know why it is okay for the professor to take a 15 minute cigar break...before he starts class. This is my third week of classes, and I'm almost to the point that I can keep up with the professor's lecture as I take notes - how exciting! I'm only taking four classes this semester, but when added to the classes that I took in Spain, it will end up equaling a full semester. In my free time (before homework and term papers set in) I have been wandering around the city. Once you begin to know Rome, it is much more approachable as a group of smaller towns (which is what it was originally) rather than a big city.
One of the rules of Rome today is that no building can be built higher than San Pietro (St. Peters of Vatican City), so there are no skyscrapers to be found. It is just neighborhood upon neighborhood, each with its own sights, its own traditions, and its own culture - what fun it has been discovering them! I'm not a professional yet, but I'm working on it. For example, I have four go-to gelato shops in four different neighborhoods in Rome. What else does a girl need to know, anyway?
My two favorite places so far are the Vatican (Piazza San Pietro) and the Trevi Fountain (which gets its name from the tre vie, or three streets, that meet there). The Trevi Fountain is just one of those places that you see in every Roman movie that becomes 100% more real once you are there to witness it. The last time I went was with Marie, who is also a student at UD and is living with the Italians at our residence.

The Vatican is literally around the corner from my school (and two blocks down the street), so whenever I have an hour to kill (which is long enough that I want to go somewhere but not quite long enough to go very far) I go to Piazza San Pietro and tourist watch. Somehow it is so much more satisfying to watch tourists with their maps now that I usually don't need one anymore. I've gotten to the point that I can guess where they are from just by their mannerisms and what they are wearing. The Vatican is probably one of the most visited sights in Rome, and I find it super interesting to see people drawn from all over the world to this one place that means so much to me as a Catholic. It's also a great place to just go hang out for an hour or two.

Other daily events would have to include food. Yes, I'm almost a gelato expert (I have four favorite shops across the city) and can also spot the difference between good pizza and tourist traps, but I'm also loving Italian oranges. They aren't shipped from a long way away, and they are called blood oranges - for the most part, like American oranges, but with a hint of red and about 5 times more juicy. Mom, you'd be so proud - I eat one every day.

Rome is great and all, but one of the other great parts about it is that it's close enough to a lot of interesting places, so we can take day trips. This past Friday, about half of Rome went on strike - including a number of schools, firefighters, and all public transportation. Since we couldn't do anything in the city anyway, Marie, Amanda and I (all from UD - Go Flyers!) went to Assisi. It was a great day trip, full of clean air, open countryside, castles, and Medieval art - and of course, a lot of saints (Saint Francis, Saint Clare...). Overall, it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the life in the city, and Assisi is such a beautiful little town - we all loved it.

As I finish up this post, I'm going to share a little story from earlier today. I originally sat down in a park right beside Castel Sant'Angelo to write this blog because it has been such a beautiful day. The park that I chose is relatively unvisited by tourists and is below street level, so most of the sounds from the street are also lost in the trees. I was online and a friend called me on skype. While Greta and I were having our conversation, a little two-year-old Italian waddled over to where I was sitting. I looked at him for a little bit, and he looked back at me, and ended up wanting to watch what I was watching. So I continued my conversation for a little while, but was soon joined by his older sister and his mother, all three of which had just arrived from Venice for three days in Rome. After a short and somewhat awkward conversation between all of us, the family went on their way. This sort of thing happens every day - not necessarily with toddlers, but with everyday people who just want to learn about everyone else. It's why I'm here, but it's also pretty cool when the feeling is mutual!

Early tomorrow morning, I fly to Ireland to visit two friends from UD. I'm sure that when I come back, I'll have more to share with you. Until then, ciao!

Adios Salamanca, Ciao Italia!

Well, so much has happened since my last post, that I'm not exactly sure where to start...so we'll start with my weekend trip to Madrid. After spending two days there, the only (single) word that I can think of to completely describe this city is alive. Yes, all of the things I got to see and experience were beautiful, especially in a country like Spain that is still enjoying its democracy (since the death of Franco in 1975) to its fullest, including taking a city-wide vote on what color to paint the Plaza Mayor. What do you think of the result?

And maybe it was due to the fact that it was Valentine's Day weekend, but everywhere I went, there were people out just enjoying the day, the weather, and each other's company in general. (This was much easier to witness and be a part of after I figured out the metro system and where my hotel was.) Saturday was pretty much filled with a pleasant walk through the city guided by the one and only Rick Steves - well, his book anyway. In between all of the famous monuments, plazas, and historical sights, I also saw a lot of, er, interesting people. On every other corner I found someone with an accordian, an interesting talent, or people like this guy:

And after a relaxing night at the hotel, Sunday was dedicated to museums - places that had discounts or even free entry on Sunday, a free bag check so I didn't have to carry my bag all day, and shelter on a cloudy and somewhat colder day. How perfect. I was impressed with the Reina Sofia (modern art), but decided that the Prado is more my style. I only gave myself two hours for each, but ended up leaving the Reina Sofia a half hour early, and was glad that I did. You could spend two days in the Prado without seeing everything, so I can't fully express how little two hours seemed once I got inside... I spent my last few hours walking down one of the main streets of the city, Gran Via, before having a picnic lunch in one of the larger plazas. What a lovely end to a lovely weekend.

The last week of my stay in Salamanca was rather bittersweet. I was so excited to go to Rome, but at the same time so sad to leave the friends I had made in Spain. However, we topped of my last week with oh so many fun things, including a paella (traditional Spanish dish with rice, seafood, and meat) for 20 people. It was served in three of these huge pans and was delicious.

Yes, the bill was 260€, but when you consider the number of people in our group, that's not too bad. And we demolished all three of them, so we got our money's worth. The next day (Friday), I got the result from my final exam - and I did quite well. Apparently, all of my professors loved me enough to let me pass. That night was the last night out with everyone, so we spent some time wandering around the city before we went out dancing (literally) all night long. There's nothing quite like getting back to the house at 7:00 and getting up at 9:00 to catch a bus. Here is where I'd like to say never again, but I can't actually promise that...so I'll just say here's to Salamanca and my friends there, who I miss so much already!

And yes, I have been in Rome since Saturday. I am living in a community of Italian students who are here to study at one of the many universities across the city. What I didn't fully understand before I came was that it was founded and is run by a branch of the Vatican, so having the Cardinal in charge of the place over for dinner is apparently no big deal. My roommate is very sweet, as are all of the girls who live in the building (there is a separate building for the boys), and some of them are also a little crazy. For example, I may have just spent 10 minutes riding in the elevator with three of the girls singing the (American) National Anthem. We have a very old woman running our side of the residence (we all call her Professoressa) and she has already decided that I am "la più bella", but I've pretty much decided that's only because I'm the only blonde in the building. No joke. I have had some time to wander around the city and eat some gelato, but most of this week has been filled with all sorts of paperwork for school, for the city of Rome, and Italy in general. Because of this, I'm looking forward to the chance to actually have free time after classes start!

It's not the best picture of me, but after walking around for hours, we happened to enter the Vatican just as Mass was starting. So of course, we went to mass, then waited until after dark to take our pictures. Not a bad decision, right?

So, until next time...or a dopo

Another Two Weeks Already?

¡Hola por otra vez! For those of you (unlike Jean) who haven’t been checking my facebook page three times daily over the last two weeks, here is a long-awaited update. I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but even though I feel completely accustomed to Salamanca, not a day goes by when I’m not surprised by something new. Like the reactions of everyone in the city the one day we got a little bit of snow. One thing you should know is that Salamanca is a university city, and a place where many students flock from across Spain and across the world. Therefore, at this time of year, you will find many Spaniards, but also a good number of Brazilians, Chinese, British, Americans, Dutch, Germans…and the list never stops. (Although my father would be happy to know that of these students, only 35% are male, and 65% are female.) For those students who have never seen snow in their lives (hard for us to imagine, I know), looking outside at 3:00am on a Friday morning and seeing a snowfall was cause for celebration. At the time, I was in a discoteca with some friends and, along with everyone else, we grabbed our coats and rushed into the street so that everyone could take at least 57 pictures of this “once in a lifetime event.” How peculiar.

These last two weeks I have spent a lot more time with people from school, um, out and about the city (at all hours of the day…and night), and because of this have been spending less time just wandering around. However, I did get a chance to take some post-dusk pictures at the southern limits of the city. Want to know how beautiful they are?

Although many people are pretty focused on how unbearably cold it is during January and February, I would describe this 20 minute walk refreshing – any Ohioan can handle this without a problem. I also skipped one of my afternoon naps (which, believe me, was a really big deal) in order to get a few pictures closer to the end of last week of the city in the sunshine – because of the type of rock that most of the buildings are constructed of, Salamanca basically glows in the sunlight. I hope you appreciate this contrast on the side of the main University building - it is absolutely stunning to witness.

Food: I love it. Okay, so I loved it even before I came to this country, but it is so much fun to just order something on a menu and see what you get (good thing I’m not as picky as I was when I was younger). Not only have I eaten an array of paellas, but I’ve also had my first Turkish food (introduced by a few friendly Turks), churros and tapas, but also an interesting concoction called “arroz alla cubana,” or Cuban style rice. A fairly simple dish to prepare, arroz alla cubana is a basic staple in many of the restaurants here – start with a small mound of rice, place a fried egg (sunny-side up) on top of the pile, and season with tomato sauce. Yes, that’s it. It’s not my favorite, but I’m getting a little used to the eccentricity (or rather, lack of) of this meal.
As I’ve mentioned before, don Quijote (my school) gets new students every week, but this also means that we have friends who leave every week as well. While this gives us a good excuse to celebrate Salamanca every weekend, it’s also a little like constantly living in transition. I have made quite a few friends, but have also seen a few leave. However, it is very common for a group of us to go out for tapas (similar to hors d’oeurves) after our evening class – especially when we go to a place where the tapas are free with the purchase of a drink. One of these evenings, I was at a bar called Murphy’s with the Turks and a girl from England when one of the Turks turned to the couple next to us and started a conversation. Within minutes, we were talking with Carlos and Julia as if we had been speaking Spanish our entire lives…and it’s moments like that where I can really see how I’ve improved in only three short weeks. After the next half hour or so had passed, we all exchanged emails so that we could meet for dinner someday – if we get it to work, I’ll let you know how it goes!

The amount of “Americanisms” that I see everywhere is also pretty incredible – from the songs on the radio (including “Born in the USA.” Think about that for a second) to the presence of Burger King (where sundaes are called “Sandys”) to the movies on television and in theatres and, most importantly, the Super Bowl. To celebrate this great American event, I joined forces with one of the few other Americans that I know here to introduce a group of Latinos and Europeans to the wonderful world of [American] football. A bar that is extremely popular with the international students was playing the game on a projection screen, so we took our crew of about 10 to the Irish Rover. Apart from explaining the sport in three different languages, not getting to see any of the commercials, and trying to decipher what the Spanish commentators were saying about the game, we really enjoyed ourselves. Oh, and we didn’t actually watch the whole game, because in Spain it didn’t start until midnight, and we decided that two hours was long enough. However, we did get most of the rest of our group to stay for a half hour, which Ian and I decided was a pretty great accomplishment.

That’s pretty much the news from across the Atlantic. It has been warming up during the day recently, even reaching temperatures around 70F (during which, of course, fur coats are still commonly seen in the streets) so people have really been enjoying the sunshine and the (somewhat distant) promise of spring. Don’t worry, I’m sure that it will come your way sometime soon – after all, Phil didn’t see his shadow! (And yes, I had to research Groundhog Day to explain this great American holiday to my class. Imagine that one for a good laugh.)

The Things I´ve Gotten Used To...

Well, I was planning on posting another one of these before the week was over, but because so many of you have been bugging me about it for the last few days, this post has moved up priority-wise. And if I’m tired in class tomorrow, I’m going to blame it on those of you (ahem, Aunt Pam) who pressured me into staying up to make sure I got this done.

It’s still a little hard for me to believe that I’ve already been here for almost two weeks! As is always the case for me, time has flown. I’ve become used to many of the cultural differences here, as well as the city of Salamanca itself – so much so that I can get around most of it without need of a map…and I’ve figured out how to find my way back when/if I get lost without the helpful guidance of square blocks. Most of the daily life here revolves around the weather, as the people complain about the cold every single day (whenever it gets below 0 Celcius, or 32 Fahrenheit) and mealtimes, which occur every day around 8:30, 2:30, and 10:00, with tapas (snacks) in between if necessary. My schedule is slightly different, as I have a 20 minute walk to my classes that begin at 9:00 (or whenever everyone finally shows up…sometimes around 9:20). Therefore, I usually eat about half an hour ahead of the rest of the country, and I’ve become even more addicted to my cup of coffee every day – if not two cups. Five days a week I have class with four other girls (two from China and two from Brazil) for four hours with a half hour break between our two different classes. After these classes, I come back to the “casita” (little house) that I live in with Rosa, my host mom. By this time of the day, she has already made my bed, done my breakfast dishes, and is making my lunch (and did I mention that every Thursday she also does my laundry?). We eat and chat together, and when I try to help her clear the table, she firmly says no and tells me to go rest – because I got up so early and have been studying so much grammar that I surely need a nap. So I take one – but only because she insists. Then I usually have free time to walk around and explore, go shopping, or find someplace with wifi and use my computer (which I can’t really do at the apartment because there is no wifi).

Over the last week, I have spent a lot of time finding so many interesting things (old and new), which is so easy to do in any historical town in Europe. For example, every other day or so I walk by the cathedral, which is a beautiful old enormous European-style church, but never understood why I saw so many people clustered around the door on the southwestern side. Upon further inspection, I found this on the side of this church from the 1600s – an astronaut?  Yes, an astronaut. Apparently, when this tiny little section of the exterior was being cleaned at the end of the 1900s, someone decided that there ought to be a piece of the 20^th century on the exterior of the cathedral – and there it is! I also have to walk through the Plaza Mayor everyday (poor me) to get basically anywhere, and it is probably one of my favorite places in the entire city, along with the cathedral and La Casa de Lis, which is pretty much the only building in the city that isn’t built of or at least covered with ¨piedra,¨ or sandstone.   

Someone rich enough to do what they wanted with their house once lived here and had the entire façade of the building made with a breathtaking pattern of stained glass, but now it is a small art museum of all sorts of interesting things – toys, dolls, paintings, jewelry, ceramics, pottery, and glass. I spent about two hours admiring everything in here, but especially enjoying the scenic view of the Río Tormes through the glass. After this free time, I go back to don Quijote  for another hour of class, 

and after eating I either go out to the discotecas or bars (Salamanca is a university city, after all) or use the time to catch up on homework. Apparently I’m a pretty mild student, as I only go out 3-4 times a week (every Monday and Saturday, and Thursday and/or Friday) to various places around the city – my favorites are the Irish Rover, La Chuputería, and Camelot, if any of you are familiar with the ways of the Salamantinos. The problem with going out every night is that Spaniards don’t actually frequent these places until after midnight, as they don’t usually eat until 10:00. Therefore, by the time I get home and to bed, it’s basically time to get up for classes again. Good thing I have my afternoon naps!

Did I mention shopping yet? At this time of year, every shop in the city (and the country) is having a huge sale “las rebajas” on everything that isn’t part of their new collection. When I mean huge sale, I’m talking entire streets of stores with most of their products priced 70% off. (In case you’re wondering, yes, I am my mother’s daughter and almost started drooling when I saw this for the first time.) Needless to say, I now have two new comfy shirts, a great pair of sunglasses, and an entire outfit (dress, earrings, bracelets, and necklace) for a grand total of 22€ (about $28.60). For you 4-Hers, it’s really too bad that I can’t compete in Frugal Fashion this year. I’m also really glad that I have a wedding to attend this fall so that I could have a good excuse to buy that 5€ dress that I didn’t actually need.

This time of the year is when the least number of international students come to study at the language institute, so I’m studying with a pretty small group of students. Therefore, the weekend excursions that the school puts together usually don’t have enough students to actually make it worthwhile to rent the bus, but we were fortunate enough to be able to go to Toledo this past weekend. Although I absolutely hate walking around with a huge group of tourists, I did learn a lot of really interesting things about this city. The most interesting (or so I thought) was the obvious presence of so many different religious groups that have historically not cohabited well. In Toledo, there are large influences and mixes from Judaism, Islam, and Catholicism – from synagogues to mosques to churches to churches that used to be mosques and churches that used to be mosques (I think you get my point).

  There are also great displays of swords and ceramics all across the city – two of the other things that Toledo is known for. 

After a long day of walking around and exploring the city (as well as getting lost once or twice) it was almost refreshing to see the bridge of San Martín, where we were to meet the bus that was going to take us back to Salamanca. 

This week, I’ve mostly been busy with homework since we started learning a whole new way to use the conditional and subjunctive tenses – and for those of you who have studied Spanish, I hope you can understand why I’ve been studying so much. I still haven’t quite figured out how I tested into an advanced level (B2), but for the first time, I feel challenged by this material – which I like. A lot. In spite of all of my studying, I of course made time in my schedule for my Monday night trip to the Irish Rover with some of the other girls who are studying at my school – they are from Holland, England, Germany, France, and Turkey – and I’m planning on going out with some Brazilians tomorrow night. The great lengths that globalism has brought us may never cease to amaze me! If we get enough people to sign up, this weekend’s excursion is to Madrid…but I’ve also heard that a certain visitor from Portugal may be coming to Salamanca sometime in the next few weeks, and of course I’m looking forward to that! I hope this is enough to keep you happy at least for a little while… ¡Hasta luego! 

What a Journey

I've only been out of the US for two days, and I already have enough stories to write a blog. Of course, the troubles I had to go through to get this far deserve a blog in and of themselves...

What a day. Why would I ever want to buy a plane ticket that takes a person that backwards? From Columbus to Dallas to Madrid was bad enough, but when we got to Barajas [Madrid], there was too much fog (niebla) to land. And to make it even better we didn’t have enough fuel to just hang out waiting for the fog to move. So we went to Barcelona to refuel. I had considered going there while in Europe, but that wasn’t exactly the conditions under which I wanted to do so. (To give you an idea of how out of the way that trip was, Madrid is exactly in the middle of España, Barcelona on the very eastern side of the country, and Salamanca, the city in which I am staying, on the far western side.) Therefore, we landed in Madrid 4 hours after we were supposed to. I was just hoping I still had a ride at this point because I had arranged transportation through don Quijote (the language institute where I am studying) to la stampada de autobus (bus station), then take a bus to Salamanca, where another driver from dQ was to drive me to my new home for five weeks.

I pretty much did all I could to avoid a panic attack when I couldn’t find my driver (who was supposed to be outside the baggage claim holding a piece of paper with my name on it), and decided to go find a phone so that I could call dQ and figure out what to do. I spent probably around 5€ trying to get the thing to work – that was sooooo much fun – before I walked around one more time and found my two bodyguards, er, drivers, that is. (This is where all of the prayers you all sent my way came in handy - I'm pretty sure these two were angels. They were that helpful.) Apparently a blonde girl (wearing tennis shoes, carrying her own luggage, and towering above most of the other women) who keeps wandering around is fairly conspicuous in this country, so they figured out who I was. Then, they took my luggage to the car and bought me lunch. Sorry mom, but at this point I had all but forgotten the snacks you had packed for me and was starting to get lightheaded from hunger. Between my broken Spanish and their broken English, we were somehow able to make pleasant conversation while waiting on another student to arrive from Korea. Between my English and their Spanish, we were also able to help a few other people figure out where they needed to go as they got off of their planes…what an interesting language-filled day. Remember the bus part of this trip? Yep, this other student requested personal transportation directly to Salamanca, so I got to share the ride. Hurray for getting a personal tour guide (and getting to sleep in the van without worrying if I was going to miss my stop).

My host mom is a sweetheart who lives in probably the cutest little flat in Spain. She lives alone, and I think she’s really happy to have some company. Perk #2 – I thought I was going to have to share a tiny little bathroom with two other students, but I’m the only one living here right now (besides Rosario, obviously). For some reason, I’m really loving the fact that I’m getting a little more than I paid for – but once the international fees are taken into account, I think that it probably evens out. We went for a little walk around the city, she showed me where my school is, and gave me a brief history lesson. (I was able to understand and respond to most of it. Who knew I had those kinds of skills?) Salamanca is such a quaint and beautiful little city, and I really think I’m going to love it. On my walk to school every day, I have to walk past places like the "Shell House" (la Casa de las Conchas) 

and through the Plaza Mayor, one of the largest and most well-known Plazas (like a town square) in Spain.

 Today, I knew I had to email my parents, at least, to let them know that I made it safely, so after I slept for 13 hours (and was teasingly scolded by Rosario for being lazy and sleeping until 11:00) I went to find a café where I could use their wifi, as the flat I'm staying in doesn't have internet access. All I have to do is buy a coffee (café) for 1,40 euro, and I can stay as long as I want to. Since I've been sitting here, two Americanos sat down next to me and they are speaking in English - I'm already so used to all of the Spanish that it sounds foreign to me. How odd!

 Well, it's about 2:00 here, and it's time for me to be headed back for lunch (it's going to take a little longer for me to get used to the schedule of daily life around here) and for another pleasant and unceasing conversation at my Spanish home.
I apologize if this first blog is all over the place, but I'm pretty sure that the caffeine I have consumed from my first Spanish coffee has entered my bloodstream twice as fast as the American coffee, so I'm feeling a bit jittery. Until next time...hasta luego!