Musings of an American Abroad

Frighteningly, I am half way through my time here in Barcelona. I haven't been homesick at all, just people sick. I know that by the time May rolls around (which will come sooner than I think I'm sure) I won't want to go home. So far, I have traveled a lot, taken tests, learned about culture and language, met new people, expanded my world view. But here are some of the littler things and random musings:

I think Spanish children may just be 5,000 times cuter than American children. I might just steal one. Ok, well if I can't steal a child, I might just steal a puppy, because there are tons of cute ones of those too.

Spanish food is surprisingly bland. I was expecting spice and OLE OLE! but they like their mild paella and custards

I feel really cool and cosmo riding the metro, but I actually prefer to walk. People think I'm crazy but I usually walk at least 5 miles a day.

Americans should wear scarves more often. I have bought an embarrassing amount of them and feel naked without one now.

I'm nervous that I will return to America a huge jerk due to the influence of big city life. Walking down the street, people are in their own little world listening to their ipods with their "I dare you to even smile at me" face. There's not usually tipping at restaurants or customer service, and I miss the Midwest friendliness.

I may also return to America weighing 300 pounds. Please be my friend anyway. I am addicted to Spanish chocolate and all of its products, especially Nutella (which goes best on everything) and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate here is literally chocolate that is hot, like a melted candy bar, so thick you eat it with a spoon. So good, and enhanced all the more by dipping churros in it.

I am now a smoker. Not by choice. Second hand smoking here is equivalent to smoking 5 cigarettes a day.

Spaniards have dinner around 9pm. I don't know if I will ever adjust to that.

Parking lots do not exist in Europe.

I don't care for all the globalization and tourism here and at times wish I were the only American.

It is considered rude to not have both of your hands visible at the dinner table.

I am in love with cafe con leche and all of the cafes hidden in little streets.

I aspire to be a wine-o and Euro fashionista.

All of my travels have only inspired me all the more to see the world and made me realize how much more I have to see. At the end of my trip, I will have been to 7 countries, but will have barely scratched the surface.

So far, I have taken 1,212 photos.

Often having to figure out things on my own and in a different language, I feel much more confident and independent.

Although I am living in Spain and with a host family, I am not magically fluent like I thought I would be, but am trying.

Things I miss the most: my guitar, Mexican food, grass, driving with music and the windows down.

I love Barcelona!

Life Lately

Hello friends!

Didn't want you avid readers out there to go a week without hearing from yours truly. I feel like whenever I update this thing, it has to be with big events or fabulous trips, filled with photos and witty remarks. Sometimes though, even in Spain, we simply have our routine and live life day to day.

This week is study week, and so I don't have anything as crazy as Carnival to report on (although I have not been the least bit studious). We don't have class this week in order to have time to prepare for midterms and go to a set of academic conferences (ug). The "academic week" is concluded with a trip to Navarre, a region in the north of Spain, which we are leaving for tomorrow. My whole program is taking a bus trip through the region, stopping in little cities along the way. There are 500 students in my program, so we'll see how it goes! With all my time off this week, I thought I would be determined to get a jump-start on studying and paper writing, but instead I have been enjoying sleeping in, wandering around town, and accidentally buying things.

Last weekend I had some special visitors! Jill and Jessica, sorority sisters and former roommates.

I played tour guide, and we hit up all the big sites on Friday and Saturday--Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, took a cable car to the castle on top of Montjuic, Las Ramblas, Gothic Quarter, Port Vell, everything! We were certainly tired by the end of it all. I'm fortunate to have so many friends studying abroad right now because we can travel together and I can go visit. At the end of my program, I plan on visiting Jessica and Rome for a week.

Miss and love you!
Elizabeth

Carnival Craziness

Last night was Carnival, the Spanish version of Marti Gras, but 10,000 times bigger and crazier. The only way I can really sum up Carnival is "crazy." The big party and parades were celebrated in Sitges, a town half an hour outside of Barcelona. The premise is to eat, drink, and be merry before the start of Lent, and to do so in the most ridiculous costumes imaginable.

The night was a series of interesting and crazy (like I said, all I can say in crazy) events, starting from when I first left my house. I was running late to meet my friends because my host mom was snapping pictures of me in my Carnival outfit. Thus, I had to run down streets and ride the metro looking like this:

We crammed onto the train to Sitges along with 5,000 of our closest friends, and certainly saw some characters. We were entertained by a group of guys making a beat by drumming on the seats and walls. Once we got there, there were so many people trying to get from the station to the street!

There was every costume imaginable: guys dressed as girls was popular, politicians, a football team, a bunch of grapes, a group of people who were Tetrix, various animals, the Joker; anything went! Bars were overflowing with people dancing, and the streets were jammed with fun-havers and parades.

Getting back onto the train, I thought I was surely in a herd of animals, as everyone stampeded once it arrived. There were far more people than train space, and it was quite the miracle that we got on. I had to take the first train home (which was 2:30am, very early night for the Spanish) because I had a midterm the following day! Yikes. After waiting for an available cab, I finally climbed into my bed at 4am, to got up a few hours later to go to class. The midterm went great! Maybe I should place social obligations before scholarship more often!

Now that the hoopla is over, it is the first day of Lent. I'm actually about to leave for Ash Wednesday mass. I hope you all take some time to think about what you want to do and who you want to become these next 40 days. Know that I am thinking and praying for you all, and please send some prayers my way too :)

Sevilla and Cordoba: I Might Just Move There

This weekend, I traveled with my program to Seville and Cordoba, which are in the South of Spain. I have already seen so many fantastic places and traveled a lot, but Seville may just be my favorite yet (if I had to choose). To me, Seville did just say "Spain," it showed it with character and charm. Narrow cobble stone streets housed flamenco dress shops, little cafes, tapa bars, with peach and white colored buildings and orange trees absolutely everwhere. Also, there is something to be said for Southern hospitality, even in Spain, and the city's people were just as charming as its streets.

Because I went on the trip with my program, it was nice to be able to show up and have everything all planned out for me. I was able to take interesting tours and learn much about the city and Spain's interesting religious history and situation. Spain's history has been characterized by tension, conquests, and persecutions between Christians, Jews, and Muslims, with the Spanish Inquisition as the most obvious example. Many of the churches were build right on top of mosques. We saw some unbelievable churches, one of which included the tomb of CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. My favorite part was probably when we climbed up to the bell tower of the Cathedral. We had a view of the whole city.

On Saturday we took a bus trip to Cordoba, which is two hours out from Seville. Besides the sweet Moroccan mirror and tapestry I bought, the highlight of the trip was seeing the Cathedral/Mosque there. It was so crazy/awesome! It was literally a church AND a mosque. I had studied it in my Art History class at TU, so it was really neat to see my text book pages come to life.

Saturday night, it was back to Seville, where we went out for a flamenco show. The dance and music was full of emotion, and flamenco tells a story of love, betrayal, passion. Check out video on my Picassa. Just follow the photos link.

We topped the trip off on Sunday with a visit to the royal palace, Reales Alcazares. All I have to say is I want to be a Spanish princess so I can live there! There was an interesting mix of Muslim architecture, although it is a palace for the Catholic kings, who still use the palace today if ever they are in Seville. The day ended in Placa Espana, which was beyond beautiful of course. Interesting fact: Seville and Kansas City are sister cities, and the Kansas City Plaza is modeled after Seville. I was certainly proud to be a Kansan, but I must say, I would choose Sevilla over KC!

'Ello There!

Time for a massive update! Obviously, I have not been the best blogger, so when I finally come around to doing it, I have way too much to tell about! Since I last posted, I have been to London, Seville, and Cordoba. I'll being with a post on London. My Uncle Alan, Aunt Jennifer, two adorable cousins Emma and James, and my Uncle R.D. live there, so I had all the more reason to visit. I hadn't seen Emma and James in about three years, and they are certainly getting taller, smarter, and more hilarious. They have adorable British accents and are a constant source of entertainment. James, who is 7, challenged me to a game of chess (he is in chess club at school), and he certainly gave me a run for my money. Emma (who's 9) and I shared a room. The morning after my arrival, apparently she was just waiting in bed staring at me enthusiastically, until I woke up. I think she sang some songs to try to wake me up, but as you know, waking up in the morning is not so easy for me. He's a snapshot of Emma, James, and me in China town, where we ate lunch on Saturday.
Saturday was relaxing, and it was nice to take the touring easy and have family time. We went to the Banqueting House, which none of us had been to before. It was a place of where royals had their fabulous social events and dances, but much of it was destroyed with the Great Fire of London. The Banqueting Room remains, which had very impressive paitings on the ceiling. King Charles I was beheaded at the Banqueting House when the people wanted to overthrow the monarchy, and Oliver Cromwell came to power. Oliver Cromwell was buried in Westminster Abbey, but not for long, because once the monarchy was properly returned, he was dug up and his head chopped off! English are charming, eh?

Sunday we spent at Hampton Court, a palace built by King Henry VII, who is most remembered for his six wives, many of which did not get to keep their heads. Apparently, when the English get angry, they take it out on the person with an an axe. I last went to London when I was 16, and Hampton Court was one of the favorite places I saw, so I wanted to go back. It is an interesting mix of Tudor and Georgian style, as when William and Mary moved in, they had to add on their own parts. At the palace, you can see the kings and queens apartments, the royal gardens, the Tudor kitchens, the king's many weapons, and much more. The weight of history at Hampton Court blows my mind, and it's crazy to think that I have walked in the very place of kings and queens, and even seen their bed chambers!

Monday, I was off on my own to explore the town before I had to head to the airport. I squeezed in as much of the city as I could, and covered some serious ground in a matter of hours. I started with a brisk morning walk to Buckingham Palace and through St. James' Park

Went to Parliament Square to say "cheese!" with the rest of the tourists in front of Big Ben and the Thames River.

Toured Westminster Abbey. I think Westminster Abbey is so interesting and absolutely gorgeous. Kings and Queens are buried there, with elaborate tombs in fantastic rooms, complete with stained glass, gold glitz, and detailed ceilings. In "Poet's Corner," many English writers are buried, such as Jane Austin, Kipling, Hardy, Chaucer, Tennyson, Dickens. Westminster also houses the tomb of Charles Darwin, and a memorial to Isaac Newton. I could go on and on about how gorgeous Westminster is, but saying "gorgeous," "fabulous," and "amazing" doesn't really describe what you see. Although no photography was allowed inside, I was a rebel and took some shots. My Picassa album to all of my London photos are linked to my blog, so click on the link to see them all.

After Westminster, I headed to the Tower of London, although I did not have enough time to tour the inside. I guess I'll just have to go back to London! Instead, I went up Tower Bridge and saw an exhibition on its history. I got a great view of the Thames River.

Returning to Barcelona Monday night, I sea of school work awaited me, and I've been up to my ears in it ever since. I trucked through a midterm, quiz, and two presentations before heading to Seville on that Friday, only to have to magically produce a six page paper on the political unrest of Spain in March 2004, due at 9am the following day. Definitely did not get much sleep last night!

Viva la Vida

Hello Everyone! Sorry I have been so out of touch the past two weeks. I have been so busy living the life I neglected to update my blog. Things have certainly been fantastic. The weekend before last, Uncle R.D. came and visited me. I enjoyed playing tour guide; plus it's always good for met to see more of the city too. We enjoyed walking around the Gothic Quarter, the ancient part of the city,

looking at lots of ham (and eating some too),

going out for tapas, seeing Paleau Guell (another work by Gaudi), and the Paleau de la Musica, all of which I had yet to see so that was great. It was good to see a friendly face as well, and be fed :). We went to a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the old part of town, and I'm sure it had been there for over 500 years. We ordered an assortment of hams, tapas, and cheeses. The waiter told me "you sure eat a lot."

The following week, Nikki and Whitney (friends from TU who are studying in Vienna) came to visit Barcelona and me. I got to once again play tour guide (someone should really hire me) and I was estatic to see my dear friends. Next month I plan on returning the visit and go to Vienna! In just two and a half days, we lived the Barcelona life to the fullest and saw nearly all the major sites. We went to Parc Guell,

climbed a mountain,

walked all the way to the sea,

and had the energy to hit the clubs until the wee hours after enjoying some paella, tapas and wine (which we bought from the store for 94 cents).

Before we knew it, it was time to go to the airport to head to MADRID! There, the wonderful Emily (who is studying in Salamanca) would receive us from the hostel with open arms and lots of squealing. It was my first time staying in a hostel and it was so great! There were fellow study abroaders, trouble makers, and venturers from all over the world. Sketchy showers and "why is there a guy in sleeping in the next bunk?" beside, it was fun to eat and hang out with people from Australia to France. We cooked for ourselves most of the time (I hope you are catching on by now that this is all really just about eating), and were proper tourists, such as seeing the Royal Spanish Palace, lots of beautiful parks and fountains, El Prado art museum, and eating churros. My favorite part was seeing El Retiro Park, where we spent all day Sunday before begrudgingly heading back to the airport. At El Retiro, there was every form of street performers imaginable, from a puppet show, to a brass band, to a crazy guy juggling. Enamored couples rowed on boats you could rent to go across the lake.

This weekend I am traveling to London! I am looking forward to seeing my uncles, aunt, and cousins. Last time I went I was 16, so I'm excited for a fresh perspective. Although I travel on most weekends, week days have been pretty quiet. I have been keeping up with classes (which are a bit more demanding than I would prefer) and taking it all in day by day. I have been missing things and people, but I am so happy here and absolutely in love with the city. I updated my picassa photos, so click on the photos link on the right side of my blog to view them!

Happy Valentines Day!

How Do You Say "Please Don't Give Me a Mullet" in Spanish?

Well it was time to chop the beast. Shampooing with harsh water and stepping into a cloud of cigarette smoke every day, I could deal with my hair no longer. Looking at the hairstyles of Spanish girls my age, you can imagine my anxiety to get my hair cut, however. Definitely did not want to sport the Euro-mullet.


After googling "Spanish haircut vocabulary," I prepared myself with key words such as "capas" (layers) and "recorte" (trim) and "peinar" (hairstyle). After class, I marched into the walk-in salon a few blocks from my apartment before I could change my mind. The lady who cut it was very nice, and having a normal hairdo herself, must share my disgust for the mullet. Shampoo, cut, and style, it all went just the same as in America. The tricky part was the communication, but it all worked out just fine. I cut off about 4 inches and I love it!