Andalusia y Semana Santa Parte 1

Monday-Wednesday was our group trip to Andalusia - southern Spain and basically the last strongholds of the Arab world in Spain. Our trip also coincided with the first half of Semana Santa (Holy Week), thus making it extra special.

The bus to Andalusia took about 6hrs with a break in between, driving through what I think was La Mancha, thus the occasional windmills. Not to mention the home region of Almodovar as well.

Day 1 Granada - absolutely the last Arab fortress and stronghold in Spain. They had lived in Spain for 800 years until 1492 when they were pushed out by the new Castillian kingdom, thus allowing Colombus to sail the ocean blue. The city is no doubt ancient but also FULL of character - graffiti, hills and mountains, tiny curving streets, tea houses, and what I think are hippies. They sure have some good falafel and kebab. Not to mention the beautiful tour of the cathedral we had. Almost makes me want to be catholic.....Nevermind.

Day 2 Alhambra - before we made our way to Sevilla, and after our awesome continental breakfast at the hotel, we spent a few hours on top of a hill at the Alhambra the last Arab fortress, from which the view of the city and even the Sierra Nevadas (the other one) can be seen. At this point I should direct you to pics that are (or will be) on Facebook, because it was truly gorgeous. But at any given place I've been on this trip, I have to say that no matter how many pictures I take, none of them will ever do the real thing justice. It is, just so very immense and cool.



2nd stop Sevilla - Formerly the gateway port for ships arriving from and going to the New World. Here we had another tour of the the Alacazar, the royal palace of both Muslim and Christian influence during a time of co-existence between the two. We also saw, if only for 15 minutes, the Plaza de Espana the next morning. Again for both of these places, words are not sufficient. What I can say is the the processions in Sevilla are INSANE. Already about 30-40 walk away from the hotel, it took us 3hrs to find our way back because of the literally thousands of people in the streets at night following the processions, constantly confusing us and cutting us off. I used to think they were cool...not so much anymore

Day 3 Cordoba - the only thing really to see here is the Mosque/Mezquita, the mosque so large and beautiful the Christians decided to leave the foundations in-tact and just add to it.

On the whole the trip was well worth it. The history so very rich and the sights like none I've seen before, all in a span of 3 days. PLUS a few extraordinary finds that totally made my trip, such as seeing a couple singing "Volver" flamenco style (a la Penelope Cruz's character in Volver) in Cordoba, and some other very special find...



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I can go home now.

El Tigre y La Fontana de Oro

Bar hopping all night until the morning, churros con chocolate in the early morning, and more until the 6am Metro home - that is the infamous Madrid nightlife. So of course we had to do it at least once...in the first week.

We waited until about 11pm to head out and redeem ourselves from our failures the first night and get drinks/dinner at El Tigre. It was super crowded. Drinks were huge but came with basically endless tapas that were pretty good. More people joined up later on. While ordering at El Tigre there were 2 very tall and loud women (possibly transvestites) being quite obnoxious, saying things like "Este bar es para putas, solas putas!" Meanwhile the people around us would just tell us "Estan locas." The trannies then got into a bit of an argument, but still stayed until by the time we left so they had a good time. Next stop whatever bar we heard was cool.

La fontana de oro. Whose name also could have been McKinley's, or Finnegans, or Finbar's cuz it looked straight up like an "irish" pub, just like any of the given pubs around every corner. Music was pumpin, very Euro not heavy on the beats. The hardest song was probably Black Eyed Peas "Pump it." So many people, so many creeper guys trying to hit on all the girls. Again, we stick out like sore thumbs - a group of Americanos dancing in a bar where not that many people are wildly dancing...

4:30am - At this point some people have drifted away. I decided to stick around with the roommates until we left for churros. This is also when the excitement wore off and I just observed, and tried to stay away from the random drunk guys.

International Encounters - several people we encountered throughout the night included 2 guys studying here from Mexico, a few asianos studying in Bristol but really from UC Berkeley, A random middle aged, and very opinionated, man from Tel Aviv, some people from northern Spain also studying nearby. I'm continuing to find endless diversity here, which I appreciate, for certain.

5:30-ish: Chocolateria San Gines was definitely packed. We sure weren't the only ones who pulled an all-nighter and decided to end it with some churros, which were again very delicious.

6:45 - Heading back to the apartment, all I wanted to do was shower, sleep, and later figure out how to get the smoke smell our of my jeans and jacket. All in all it was an interesting night. But one that definitely is not meant to be repeated on a regular basis.

Random details

I realize that my blogs have been suuuuuper detailed. Sorry if it seems boring, but yeah that's what I do - I observe people, things and details I find interesting. Here are a few that I think are worth commenting on:

Groups, most of us have been traveling in groups, packs if you will. The afternoon at the Plaza Mayor was crazy. Nothing says "turistas que no saben nada" like a group of 20something jovenes with backpacks, looking around trying not to get lost. We also tend to pack an already crowded place where the workers/servers have to serve everybody. Seriously, people must hate us.

Speaking of groups, I've been floating around a bit, trying to talk to different people. Roomies are good and we generally hang together, but hopefully I'll get to know other people in the group better and get to do stuff with them.

The other day I walked to Citibank to withdraw money, BY MYSELF. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was the first time since being in this huge yet wonderful city. One small step down the street, but one giant leap for my adventurous spirit.

People are at least semi-fashionable here. Apparently people go all out at the discotecas, but I Haven't seen for myself yet. Its been chilly but everyone's got pretty nice jackets, and I'm glad I brought a couple of my fave ones.

Spaniards must love the Beatles. Not a day goes by that I don't hear someone playing a Beatles song somewhere, mostly the estaciones. Either that or they're just pandering to a more international crowd. Either way, my dad would be very pleased.

The people pandering in the estaciones. Typically guys with some sort of musical instrument. The guy at our estacion kinda has karaoke machine and he just sings. Not bad though. Los mejores: Guy with the harp - A HARP. That is legit. Also, one man sitting and playing the violin beautifully while another woman (his wife?) holds the music piece for him to read. :)

Tan bellisima y emocionante

Not gonna lie, jet lag has been taking a little bit of a toll on me. Sleep has been irregular and so has my appetite. So although I want to be super excited, negative thinking starts to creep on in.

And then came the Calle Mayor. We had a walking tour today with the people from ACCENT center, our program center, of cheap deals and of the center of Madrid. EL CENTRO. Around the Palacio at 0 km, from which everywhere else in Madrid is measured from (i.e. 5km, 15km).

The Calle Mayor is a the main street. It's super busy and full of different shops. Further down the Plaza Mayor, completely gorgeous despite the gray weather. The area is pretty much where everything is, shopping, food, the market, the famed Rastro flea market, cines, museos, the list goes on. With so much to do and a beautiful place to do it in, there's no way you'll have nothing to do. Despite my temporary blah-ness, I was reminded that this is Madrid, and there's nothing blah about it.

The area is also tourist attraction, so street vendors and panderers are expected. Best ones: A puppet guy controlling John Lennon, Jimi Hendriz, etc marionettes dancing and lip-syncing to songs. A guy sitting on a chair in a costume of a little man playing guitar on a stage - I know, hard to imagine but pretty clever.

* TO ALL MY FATTY FRIENDS AND FAMILY - this section is for you!
We all went to eat lunch at a tiny place recommended to us - La Campana, where we ordered bocadillos de calamares - calamari sandwiches. Add a squeeze of lemon and some kinda-not-really hot sauce - like butt-uh! 2.30 Euro
Next stop Chocolateria San Gines - very cute kinda hidden cafe. 14 of us ordered churros con chocolate, mi primera vez. Churros - lightly crisp on the outside, soft on the in. Chocolate - literally like good melted chocolate, thick, and justa little bitter. I finished the whole cup and could have drunken more. 3.50 Euro and so worth it.

Soy una nerd

Today was the first day of class. I didn't think I'd be too excited about it, but they seem pretty cool thus far.

Of course the cinema class is going to be my fave at this point. And being the Film Studies major, I'm already the go to person whenever the profesora mentions a film: "Laura, tu has lo visto?" But I don't mind, since chances are, I probably have seen it.

Our literature professor is gonna make us work. But he's what I like to think of a passionate, animated, European professor of literature that thinks the literature of HIS own country is better than all others. Still, he's pretty entertaining.

Jamón, Jamón. For lunch we had sandwiches, apparently I was the only one willing to try the Jamón serrano, cured ham like prosciutto which again, is everywhere. Pretty good, a little salty but also cheap.

Weather is strange here. Partly cloudy with random bursts of rain. You go in the Metro and its raining. Come back out, its done. Que pasando?

Tonight the apt. girls split up in search of food. Judy, Danielle and I decided to drop by pizza place next to our building. We started up a conversation with a the guy working there. 25 years old, from Morocco, and his name is Bashir. Apparently Spaniards have trouble saying his name (bah-cheer instead of bah-sheer) Maybe he'll get to be a new local friend to say hi to on out way to school.

Dia 1

Getting in at about 9pm-ish Madrid time, I finally got to my new/old apartment and met a few of my housemates. There's 6 of us total, all girls, all UCD undergrads, with 1 bathroom. We'll see how that plays out. Other than that, we all seem pretty agreeable with each other and ready to experience this city together.

The Metro. Our transportation, schedules, practically our lives will be depending on this subway system, which thankfully is cleaner and more efficient than BART. Everyone uses it, and no wonder because the streets are tiny and semi-crazy. But before heading to orientation we grabbed some breakfast on the way.
*First meal in Spain - 1 slice of Tortilla (like a quiche, egg cooked with potatoes, probably onions) and bread. Not phenomenal, but good.

Orientation was hours long, informative, and I probably forgot many things. Hopefully I'll remember the details as they become relevant to my life...

10pm-ish (I think) we head out for a late dinner as we are told most Spaniards do to the Gran Via, pretty much the oldest and most major street of Madrid. Literally - the Great Street.

Our attempts at the famed El Tigre tapas bar failed us. It was closed :( But that didn't stop us from wandering about aimlessly through the brightly lit and full streets around that part of Gran Via.

Encounters:
People of all ages/races/ethnicities literally are everywhere at 10-11pm at night
Museo del jamón (Yes, the museum of HAM) famed, recommended and was seen in Pedro Almodovar's Carne Tremula
Hookers are EVERYWHERE. Just chillin', waitin' around. Apparently one tried to grab one of the guys with us and take him somewhere o_0 But I will say this, they are pretty fashionable and classy lookin' hookers.
Walking around on of the smaller streets, I saw a closed Sari-Sari store (Filipino convenience store) <3
Decided to hop into a bar, hoping for food but there was none. BUT there was spanish karaoke. In between singers, they played American classics such as Funkytown :)
Slot machines, in any given bar, cafe, or a shop of slots
Passing by a plaza, I spotted a group of Pinoys, possibly tourists, maybe OFWs. Dang we really are everywhere

Took the metro home at about 1ish. Interesting first night to say the least.

Note: Sorry I don't have pics yet. I haven't been taking out my camera with me, for fear of it getting JACKED. Pero no te preocupes, I will try to gather pics I'm in on Facebook, and start taking my own soon!

Todo estará bien

So I'm splitting my flight/s into 2 posts cuz the last one was too long, and also skipping the Lisbon part. Not that it wasn't nice, but I was there for less than 1hr, not much to say except the view from above for the first time sparked interest in me to actually visit it.

Finalmente! I was on my plane directly to Madrid, arrival 7:30ish. At this point I was too tired to be freaked out/excited like no other. Keep in mind that during this perilous journey of mine one the of the things that kept me from breaking down and crying, besides numerous attempts to distract myself with whatever was around me, was by repeatedly thinking "Everything will be okay."

As the captain announced our landing in Madrid, I stared out of the window next to me. The sun was setting behind mountains and tall buildings, as the smaller ones disappeared into the the orange-colored sky. This was it. My home for the next 2 1/2 months. Eso es. Ojala que estará todo que yo imaginé.

El vuelo del infierno

Okay maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't pleasant either.
Getting ready for Madrid, and flying/traveling by myself was not the best thing to experience. And hopefully, that'll be the worst part of the whole thing.

I'll save the details of teary goodbyes for another time. I will say though that the whole experience was quite surreal. I haven't been on too many planes before, and when I have, it's been with other people of course. Not to get too profound and existential, BUT living next to SFO airport all my life I've grown accustomed to the planes flying over ahead. Just seemed so strange to me that I was about to be on one of those planes heading towards a far away place, and staying for quite a loooong time.

After a 10 hr flight with many people, random thoughts/fears, and watching "Up in The Air" up in the air ;) I landed in the hellish labyrinth that is Heathrow airport. I got my luggage, was told to go to a different floor, to another floor to take a train to a different terminal, up 1 floor, back down to the 1st floor, through many a-hall way and then finally arrived at my gate to Lisbon, Portugal. I don't blame the Bend It Like Beckham girl for breaking from her fam traditions, probably cuz they work at Heathrow, and who wants to work in hell?

Introducciónes: About the blog

What in hell am I doing?

That pretty much sums up my thought process as I was waiting in SFO for my flight and for the rest of my way into Madrid. Hence the title: A girl on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

On my first flight, 10 hrs long, I had a lot of time to think to say the least. One realization about myself that I already knew but just then hit me like no other: I DON’T LIKE CHANGE. I don’t like new things and adjustments; getting to know people is awkward, figuring out new places is scary, appearing like a know-nothing is embarrassing. I don’t like new. Hell, I even like old MUSIC and new covers of old music, that’s how much I don’t like brand new/changed things. That all being said, the most I can promise this one thing to myself and to everyone who was so excited for me to be here – I will try.

The reason for this blog is two-fold: For all those folks at home who want to keep up with my aventuros and stay in touch, and for my own personal memorías, as a reminder and proof that I made at least 1 dream come true.

So if you read this blog o’ mine I hope you find it entertaining at least. But in exchange I ask for 1 thing – no judging! I can only do so much.

Entonces, leen, disfrutan y muchisimo gracias por todo :)