I'm going to DISNEY WORLD!!!

Ok, so this isn't Spain related, but I just had to share my good news! I applied in January for an internship with the Disney Company in Orlando, Florida, and I just got word this week that I've been accepted!! I'll be moving down to Florida on August 12th, and staying until January 2nd (or perhaps longer if I find that I absolutely love it and want to get a real job there)! I'm going to be participating in the Disney College Program, and although I don't know exactly what I will be doing while I am there, I know that I will be working with Attractions, so I'll be doing stuff with the rides. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get some cool assignment like the Jungle Cruise or the African Safari where I would get to do a monologue or something and be an actress as well! I do have to admit though, it is kind of weird to think that I am only going to be in Washington state for less than two months in all of 2009! Yikes!

Parque de las ciencias

Yesterday we went to visit the Parque de las ciencias, which is basically like the Pacific Science Center, with all kinds of exhibitions about the earth, physics, the human body, the history of science, etc. However the exhibit that we were most excited for was "Antartida: Estacion Polar"! It was this huge set up that was made to show what Antarctica is like--the animals, the temperature, the scientists that work there, what kind of work they do, their housing, clothing, etc. It was so cool! We got to go into this freezer that was set at -10 degrees Celsius, and they compared it to a warm day in Antarctica. We got to try on some cold-weather gear, and there was even this ENORMOUS block of ice in the middle of the room! It was really fun, and even though it was probably geared more toward children with all the interactive stuff, we certainly had a great time! =) There were a bunch of other cool things in the museum too, for example the Hall of Perception had a whole bunch of mirrors that were fun to play around with, and there was even this odd gadget that played with light to make two people's faces seem to mesh together into one! We had a great time, but we weren't able to see everything, so we are hoping to make a return trip sometime before we leave.


Snowmobiling! Apparently Jenn doesn't trust my driving skills!
Posing with a penguin!
Gigantic block of ice... brrr!!
Bree and I in our arctic gear. I was Kevin from England! =)
Playing on some swings outside
Up in the observation tower, looking over Granada
Creepy face-blending light trick!
Mirror fun!
Chilling with Einstein

Fui a la playa en febrero!

Yup, you read that right... I went to the beach in February! Crazy, right? I've now officially seen and waded in the Mediterranean Sea, which in my opinion is a pretty big deal! =) Last weekend some friends and I decided that we didn't want to let the glorious weather go to waste, so we talked their host sister (Paula) into coming with us to the beach. We were originally going to go to Almuñecar because Paula's family has a beach house there, but when we got to the bus station the bus going there was already full, so we made the spur of the moment decision to head to Motril instead. Of course, none of us had ever been to Motril, so we weren't even sure how we were going to get to the beach from the bus station, but we figured it couldn't be THAT hard! After a gorgeous hour long bus ride we arrived, and luckily for us there was a bus that went directly from the station to the beach. So convenient! The beach was quite pretty, but not the amazing white sands that you usually think of as Mediterranean beaches. We stayed there for a few hours, just taking in the sun, napping, chatting, and goofing around. Us northwesterners were all still in shock that we were sitting in our bathing suits at the beach in February! Of course, it was a little chilly sometimes with the wind, but it probably was similar to the weather we get in Washington in April or early May, so we couldn't complain! Pretty fun!

Bus number one of six for the day!
So excited for the sun and the surf!
Me, Jenn, and Paula
Monkey business... climbing trees.
Sunset on our way home



Taking in the sun!
I was attacked by the waves when I was wading!

Family dynamics

Our Mama y Papa took a vacation this last week to the beach in southwestern Spain, and it has been SO GREAT to have the apartment to ourselves! I mean, we don't really have it to ourselves because all of the kids are over here periodically to check on us and make us meals and stuff, and Zorayda lives here of course, but it has definitely been a good change of pace. It is kind of hard to describe, but the atmosphere is just so much more relaxed when they aren't here. I think that a lot of it has to do with the fact that even though the kids are around some of the time they all work and have other commitments so they aren't in the house ALL THE TIME, and we aren't the only thing that they think about. Mama y Papa, on the other hand, don't work and almost never leave the house, and Mama tends to kind of hover, which can get really old, really fast. Since she is such a hoverer, we tend to feel like we are being watched constantly, and that she is just waiting for us to slip up or something. I don't know, it is really hard to explain. Now, I'm not saying that they aren't wonderful people! Mama takes great care of us, is very nice, and we are very grateful! Their absence has just been a nice vacation for Bree and I as well! Who knows, maybe she will be more relaxed after getting away for a week.

It was also a fun week because we got to know Zorayda (our host sister) better, and we finally figured out that she doesn't hate us! We didn't REALLY think that she hated us, she just doesn't talk to us much and kind of just goes about life as if we weren't here most of the time. However we've gotten to talk to her a lot more this week and we've decided that she just is the kind of person that keeps to herself most of the time, plus she works a lot. But we got to have some pretty fun conversations with her and her novio (boyfriend), and she is really nice! All of the other kids are very nice too, and we love when they are around. Hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of them!

La vida diaria (daily life)

Even though I am not incredibly busy here, I've definitely been doing enough stuff to keep me busy and satisfied. Classes are going well, and I am loving the fact that Spanish professors don't give out much homework! =) I'm continuing to improve my Spanish skills (very slowly, but surely!), and I've got an intercambio that I meet up with once a week to chat. An intercambio is a language exchange where one person is a Spanish-speaker learning English, and the other is an English-speaker learning Spanish, and you talk in one language for half an hour, and the other for the other half hour. I actually don't really like my intercambio very much because he is significantly older than I am and we don't have very much to talk about. He also isn't much of a conversationalist, and talking to him is kind of like pulling teeth! I'm considering trying to drop the intercambio since it doesn't really benefit me that much (I would be speaking Spanish anyway!), but I'm not sure how that would work. We'll see!

Another activity that I just started last week was volunteering at a local colegio (primary school) called Colegio Carmelo. I help out in the English classes there, which I really enjoy. I am working with 13 and 14 year olds, and they are pretty fun to chat with. Plus I get to speak ONLY English while I am there! =)

I also got to experience my first Spanish theatre production. We went to see Federico Garcia Lorca's Bodas de Sangre, and it was interesting to say the least! I'm not really a huge fan of Spanish literature or theatre because it is often pretty out there and usually depressing, and this play definitely lived up to that expectation. However, it was very well-done even if I didn't really like the work itself, so that was a fun evening.

I've been filling some of my free time just walking around the city, and one weekend I was taking a walk with some people from our group and discovered this gorgeous path that goes for miles next the the little river that runs through the city. It is really popular and there were tons of families and runners and bikers out enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon. It is also a great walk because it takes you out of the city and into the countryside, which is a nice change of scenery. I think I will probably be doing a repeat of that paseo as often as possible!

Capilla Real y Catedral de Granada

On Valentine's day we had another group excursion, but this time we stayed in Granada. We got to go visit the Cathedral and the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). These building both date back to the late 1400s and early 1500s, and their construction was ordered by los Reyes Catolicos themselves, Fernando e Isabel (you know, the king and queen who sent Columbus to discover the new world?). They are even buried in the Capilla Real, and we got to see their tombs and coffins... crazy!! It really just boggles my mind to imagine that someone or something that old is still around to see. Living over here has made it so obvious how young our own country still is! We are really just an infant in comparison to the rest of the world. The cathedral was also pretty cool because it was designed to be enormous and filled with light, so there are lots of windows and the entire inside is painted white. It was beautiful, and I liked it a lot better than some of the darker cathedrals I've seen. Below are some pictures (of the cathedral only... no photography allowed in the capilla real)!

Giant choir book. It was made so big so everyone in the choir could see it!

Back to school

We're back in Granada now and we had our first day of classes on Wednesday. I have three classes on Mondays and Wednesdays (10am, 1pm, and 6:30 pm), and only one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays (1:15pm). Each class is an hour and a half, so I only have 12 hours of class each week... what a tough life!! =) I'm pretty sure the last time I had this much free time during school was when I was in kindergarten! I think I am going to like my classes, two of them in particular: Didactica de Espanol como lengua extranjera (Teaching Spanish as a foreign language), and Cultura Islamica en Espana (Islamic Culture in Spain). Not only are the subject pretty interesting to me, but these two professors are very dynamic and interesting to listen to. My other classes are Produccion Oral y Escrito (Oral and Written Production... basically continuing working on my Spanish skills), and Estudias de la Literatura Hispanica (Hipanic Literary Studies). The last class is only offered for students in my program and is taught by the professor from the Northwest (he is from PLU) that came with us. Unfortunately I've already taken a class that is basically the exact same thing (twice!), but I suppose that means it should be pretty easy!

This is my school where I get to study and come to class every day... aren't I lucky?
El Centro de Lenguas Modernas de la Universidad de Granada

Change of plans!

So I was originally going to go to a small town in central Spain called Cuenca with a good friend from Bremerton who is living near Toledo for the year, but unfortunately she got really sick and couldn't go anymore. Sad! Instead I decided to join my roommate in Madrid for an extra night. Little did I know that she is definitely not a planner (which is the complete opposite of me). We hopped on a bus back to Madrid, and once we got there, she had no idea where we were supposed to go in order to find the Mormon temple (my roommate is Mormon and wanted to go see the temple here in Spain and buy a Spanish Bible). After wandering aimlessly around the bus station for a while, I finally suggested that she call her Mormon friends back in Granada to get directions. Once she had done that, we were on our way! But there was more to come... she had planned on staying in the hostel sponsored by the temple, and when I had asked if I would be allowed to stay there since I am not Mormon and have no plans of becoming one she assured me that it would be completely fine. Riiiight... We finally find the temple and head over to the hostel, and they ask us for our names, our passports, and our recommends. Our WHAT? A recommend is apparently the thing that allows Mormons to visit the temple, and you needed one to stay in the temple hostel. So Bree proceeds to tell the desk lady that I am an "investigator," but that doesn't do anything except make the lady start calling local Mormon families to have us both spend the night! This is about where I called a halt to the whole thing. Not only did I not feel comfortable pretending to be a potential convert, but I REALLY didn't want to stay with a family under those pretenses. So I suggested that we call some friends from our program who we knew were staying in a hostel in Madrid and asked them to reserve a space for us at their hostel. WHEW!!! After that lovely adventure at the temple, we made our way back into the center of Madrid and wandered around a bit until we found our hostel, which was SO nice, if not a tiny bit pricey. However, it was worth it because Bree and I got a private room with our own bathroom so we could just veg out and relax. It was definitely a night that we can look back on and laugh about, but it was a bit stressful as it was happening!

On Saturday Bree returned to the temple for the morning and I wandered about Madrid for a few hours, planning on going to a few more museums. Sadly, they were either closed for renovations or else WAY out of my budget, so I just spent a very peaceful morning strolling about the city and taking in the gorgeous weather. That afternoon we went back to the Egyptian temple and went inside, which was pretty cool, and then caught the afternoon bus back to Granada. Overall the trip to Madrid and the surrounding cities was extremely fun, but we were very glad to be home!

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs... how cool!

This was our tub/shower in our hostel... it is the same size as the one in our apartment in Granada-TINY!
I'd never actually seen a skeleton key that worked in a door before. I was pretty excited!
Adorable Bulgarian lady who was playing violin in the Metro. Bree stopped to talk and we had a chat. She even played us a special song!

The maze that is Toledo

BRRRRR!!! Our day in Toledo (Friday) was FREEZING! We had to deal with rain, hail, AND snow, and we were out and about basically the entire day. However, we did get to see some cool stuff. We went to the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which was yet another pretty church. It was pretty cool though to go out into the courtyard and see the orange trees covered in snow! Not a sight I ever thought I would see! We also went to el Museo Sefardi, which was a museum all about Jewish history in Spain. It was a really old synagogue converted into a museum, and it was fascinating to learn about Jewish history in such a predominantly Catholic country. It was also interesting to learn about the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 from the Jewish perspective. It was really a very sad business. Next we headed to a museum of medieval torture devices... yikes! It is kind of horrifying to see what the human imagination can come up with. If only all that creativity was put to better use!! However, the torture museum is particularly relevant to Spain because the instruments were almost all used during the Inquisition, which was a HUGE deal in Spain. It was a little bit funny though because the guy who was working the front desk turned on some extremely dramatic opera music the second we walked in the door... just to heighten the dramatic effect I guess! It was kind of entertaining. Our last stop of the day before heading to lunch and the bus was the Cathedral, but we were just going to see the outside. While we were there taking pictures, we started talking to this Spanish man who told us that there was a workshop just down the street where craftsmen handmade all sorts of jewelry and other things in the famous Toledo style. We were interested, so he took us to go check it out, and it was so amazing! The craftsmen were working with 24 carat gold thread... seriously, it was as thick as a piece of thread, and they were making these intricate designs in jewelry, plates, etc. And we got to watch! It was definitely a stroke of luck that we ran into that man. It actually turned out that he was one of the craftsmen but he was on his break. That is why he knew so much about the craft and so we got our own personal tour guide! On our way to meet up with the bus after going to the workshop, we discovered that the streets of Toledo are a complete labyrinth. Seriously, they are nearly impossible to navigate! It is a really good thing that I am so good with maps and that I have a ridiculously good sense of direction (thanks Dad!) or else we would probably still be wandering around the streets of Toledo. The friends I was with were very thankful that they had me! =)


La ciudad de Toledo
Don Quijote y Sancho Panza... made completely by hand!
The girls with our guide.
Explaining the craftsmanship.
Watching the masters at work.
The Cathedral

Museo Sefardi in the old synagogue.
An orange tree with snow!
BRRRRRR!!!

Snow White's Segovia

Our Thursday was spent in Segovia, and I think that it is definitely one of my favorite Spanish cities. It is much smaller than Granada, and I just kind of like that smaller city feel. Not to mention that the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS, which made everyone really happy. We met up with Eduardo again, our tour guide from Madrid, and it turns out that he is actually a history professor in Segovia, and it is 'his city.' He showed us so many interesting things! The first stop we made was at the ancient Roman aqueduct. It was absolutely astounding that people could have built something so incredible so long ago and with so little technology! And the fact that it has lasted intact all these centuries... those Romans certainly knew how to do something right! After seeing the aqueduct we wandered through the old Jewish neighborhood. Apparently Segovia had a pretty sizable Jewish populations before the Catholic Kings expelled all the Jews from Spain in 1492. The last stop on our meandering tour was the Alcazar (Arabic word that means castle). This is actually the castle that inspired the castle in Walt Disney's Snow White! It was so beautiful and ornate... no matter how many castles or palaces I see, I never stop being impressed by their opulence! It would have been SO cool to live there! We had the afternoon to ourselves, so we made our way through the winding streets toward the Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral, which is an absolute work of art. Made with Gothic architecture, it is certainly worth seeing! We wandered around the open air market in the Plaza Mayor for a while and then made our way back toward the bus. That evening back in Madrid we were all a bit museumed-out (like my new word?) so we just stayed at the hotel and vegged... it was great! We even watched some Spanish game shows and understood them!

In the cloister of the Cathedral
The Cathedral in Segovia.


The street was called Calle de los descalzos which basically means Barefoot Street, so of course we had to oblige!

el Alcazar, the inspiration for Snow White's castle!
Ancient Roman aqueduct