Granada, tierra soñada por mí....

I am seriously becoming an extremely bad blog writer (blogger?).  I guess if I get that job I applied for, being a professional internet commentator on important political and social events (so a glorified blogger), I would have to step up my game!  However, I have applied to about 16 jobs using Blue Hen Careers and other related databases which is suppose to help/ almost guaranteed me a job or internship.  Sadly, after poling other users of this “Oh so prestigious software” I’ve found that no one I know has ever landed a job using it.  Great, I suppose that was a wasted afternoon. A quick message: ANDERSON COOPER, IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN HIRE ME AS YOUR INTERN!.. I’m the girl with the weird name and the less-than-impressive resume.  I’m very good at getting coffee, and playing with dogs.  Also, I know how to read, and I watch CNN on the occasion if I’m in a hotel and they don’t have E!.

Enough digressing, no one wants to hear about my depressing view of the job market, so, off to my London adventures.  I would have to say that London, and England in general is a utopia of some sorts.  The people are super nice, the city is so rich with history, and public transportation is easy to use! (Unlike New York when all you have is Uptown or Downtown, I’m not from the city New York; please give me some street names which explains what Downtown is.  If I’m in Soho where the numbers stop, HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO KNOW?!) Although the first night getting there are an adventure of all adventures.  We get ready to take the bus, to the other bus to the bus station, to take a taxi to the airport.  Now all of that was easy.  Once in the airport it already felt like I was in England.  I later learned that Malaga, the city in Spain, is like the equivalent to Cancun for the UK.  After braving the Burger King and Pizza Hut line (They really didn’t have many choices) our flight had been posted and we proceeded to the gate.  Upon arriving late, we realized we are basically the last few in the line, and as if it couldn’t get any worse, we were flying Ryanair. 

A brief explanation and warning on Ryanair.  DON’T DO IT.  Really, it’s not worth it.  You are only allowed one personal item, so either a roller or a purse, not both.  Not holding a purse is the equivalent of not wearing a shirt.  I felt so naked and like something was missing at all times.  Then, they make you cram your carryon into a metal death trap that is so small, not even plastic bag with three shirts could fit.  Finally, you have to take it in and out yourself.  I’m pretty sure that once your bag enters said metal death trap, the Ryanair people press a button to make it clamp down on your bag so you can’t get it out.  So they have to charge you 40 euro to check your bag.  Fortunately, my bag passed the test (Probably thanks to the wonderful luggage designers at Guess) But my friend wasn’t so lucky, and had to watch 40 euro go down the drain.  Ireland, I know you’re in an economic crisis.  Aren’t we all?  But do you really have to be as greedy as possible?  Be like Southwest, they are doing great!  You also get a free drink.  Take a gander at their business plan, please. 

After enduring the game show of the Ryanair flight where they tried to sell you everything they possibly could, and the guy sitting next to me who talked for the whole 2 hour and 40 minute flight, we were finally in London.  We exited the plane as happy as clams to discover we needed our passports stamped.  Well, that was annoying.  After being interrogated by the less than pleased customs man, we could finally grab our bags and find the train!

Finding the train; struggle one.  Okay, well maybe it wasn’t that hard to find but it was hard for me personally to purchase the ticket.  My parents who always think ahead like to save the extra money from other countries we’ve visited incase we visit again.  My father brought me some extra pounds and I planned to use them to buy this train ticket into the city of London.  I approach the desk, and am greeted by a nice lady that sounds exactly like my grandmother! (Shout out to Esme! J ) She told me in the most pleasant voice with a smile on her face that my ‘bank notes’ are no longer accepted cause they are too old.  At first I was confused by bank notes… I didn’t have any bank notes; I had bills, cash money, or cabbage. Then it came to my attention later that they are called bank notes (says so on the top of the bill, whoops.  England- 1, Ignorant American-0.  So I had to run upstairs back into the airport to get my money exchanged to find myself running into yet another problem.

‘What?! You can only exchange 100 pounds?!’  Now what am I going to do with 100 pounds in London of all places?  Buy 3 Cadberry bars and a bottle of room temperature water? (Because cold water is a pound more!) ‘Listen Sir, I’m an American.  An American tourist, a poor helpless girl.  I need to pay for my hostel in cash tonight.  That’s 90-some pounds in cash.  I need you to exchange more.’  As he smiled he expressed to me that couldn’t sleep if he sent a young girl to forage her way through the streets at this time of night, so he exchanged all my pounds, and didn’t even take out the service charge.  God Bless the Queen!

After buying the tickets we jump on the train and endure the 45 minutes train ride to Liverpool St, London; where we then had to find another bus.  After asking around and just kind of winging it, we hopped on our bus, without having to pay, probably because we looked pathetic, to ride another train.  However, after we scrambled and bought other train tickets, we stood on the empty platform for a few minutes.  It reminded me of a Law and Order scene where someone was going to jump out and push me on the tracks.  Although, now I know that would’ve been ineffective, because there were no trains for the rest of the night because it was too late.  We were screwed.  Alone in London with no sense of direction at 1:30 am.  We finally found some drunk and fellow lost people looking for a cab.  They flagged one down for us and we got in hoping that this would be our ticket into our nice bed.  After getting in the cab and telling the man our address, he turns to us and expresses that we picked the worst cab driver in London, and he doesn’t know this area at all.  Excuse me sir, but if you don’t know the roads of London, why in god’s name are you a cab driver, like really?! After driving around in the dark for a while (metaphorically and literally) mind you, his meter is still on even though he’s lost.  We finally make it there and get our rooms.  We thought our trouble was over for the night, but that was just the beginning. 

Upon entering our room we discover that there are people in our beds already, asleep.   Well of course they are asleep, it’s about 2 am on a Thursday.  We tell the manager about our discovery, and to our dismay, he wakes up the other people in our beds, shouts at them, and attempts to change the sheets himself while me and my friend are standing there awkwardly.  After many apologies to the two girls who’s sleep we disturbed we finally hit the hay and secretly prayed that they wouldn’t leave with all our belongings in the middle of the night to get back at us.  After all, I need that hair straightened to survive, heads would roll if it was gone in the morning. 

The next morning we were awoken by the sound of a tornado, no wait, make that a blow dryer.  A blow-drying session that lasted no shorter than 40 minutes.  Although it was a great alarm because we were able to get up and start the day.  I started out the morning with a traditional English breakfast, which consisted of two eggs, toast, baked beans with mushrooms, sausage, and bacon.  Needless to say, I was energized for the day.  We went on a walking tour and learned a lot about the city.  Including a few funny stories about people breaking into Buckingham Palace.  After the tour we took advantage of teatime, with those adorable cucumber sandwiches, and visited some free museums! 

We headed to a pub afterwards but realized that nightlife in London was way different than nightlife in Spain.  In London everyone went out to pubs after work, where in Spain the majority of people are out at 3 am.  After visiting the pub, we went back early for a good night sleep, and for the fear of getting stranded with no public transportation working.

The next day was filled with another walking tour of Old London, and some fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding in order to sample the local cuisine.  By this time we were getting a hang of the tube system.  The final day we spent at open-air markets.  My absolute favorite thing in the world! So many worthy impulse purchases, but they were all worth it!

The time in London was lovely, however soon it was time to travel back to Spain with a final straw, Ryanair tried to con me into checking my bag, alas it didn’t work, and soon enough I was in home sweet Granada. 

This past week in Granada had been full of rain.  Down pours of rain, and I thought that it never rained here.  There was no much rain that our trip to the Alhambra was rained out.  I guess there’s always next time to see it!  Also i got food poisoning, can't wait for American food cooked by Halina herself.  In other news, I have midterms this week and next week!  Yikes, better hit the books.

Oh also. I’M GOING TO FRANCE. I’m loving this Eurotrip thing, can’t I just do this forever?

Ciao! 

A MUCH NEEDED UPDATE.

Wow, so I haven’t written anything in such a long time!   I’ve been so busy there has barely been anytime to breath or rest.  So I guess I shall start with fall break:

My experiences with cab drivers is just getting weirder and weirder. As I’m waiting for my cab on the corner of calle sederos everything is quiet, its cold, and I’m not even seeing the occasional drunk people loitering on the streets. A cab soon pulls up blasting some epic instrumental music as if we were going into battle to fight the Romans. So that was the first thing that threw me off. The second was that while I was sitting in the cab the smell became familiar. It was the smell of some parties I went to in high school. It took me a while to realize, but when I did it hit me like a ton of bricks and now I’m thinking that this cab driver may or may not be drunk. Or drunk yesterday. Or in the near past. The smell of black and milds and cheap vodka lingered in the cab as I prayed I would just get to the airport in a timely fashion. Finally I arrive. In one piece. At the airport. Which is STILL closed.  The line won't open until 10 minutes before I board. Ohhhh spanish peopleee… at least this time I was at the Granada airport in 15 minutes.. not that bad.

 

 Once the trip actually started, fall break was amazingly fun!  I started off the trip by heading to Frankfurt, the industrialized yet pleasant city in Germany.  My boyfriend showed me a good time, like always by first heading to the last weekend of Frankfurt’s version of Oktoberfest.  I believe this was a warm up to the real Oktoberfest, but nonetheless it was crazy.  After three of the largest beers I have ever seen, I was speaking fluent German (or at least I thought I was) 

So happily nervous to drink that whole thing. 

Marvin and I

The rest of the stay in Germany was more laid back.  It consisted of watching Law and Order SVU and eating pizza at any chance I could get.  This made the first part of the trip a solution to the much-needed break and relaxation after finals.  After a few days in Germany, my boyfriend and I hopped a train AND bus in order to make our way to Prague, Czech Republic.   The journey was long, but the bus part of the tripped reminded me of the Megabus rides to New York City.  Except driving through the Czech and German countryside was surprisingly duller than driving on the Jersey Turnpike.  At least on the turnpike I could understand the signs and where I was.  On the Prague bus with Marvin dead asleep next to me, the only thing I could do to entertain myself was count how many Polish license plates I saw (8).

Marvin, Papa, Madre, and I in Prague!

Finally we arrived in Prague (or how the Czech say it, PRAHA) and not only was I excited to get off the bus, but my parents were also waiting there for me!  They looked the same and I was glad.  My father sporting some brightly colored jacket that he assumed was a shade of dark blue, and my mother dressed almost exactly like me.  It was comforting to know that even though a month and a half went by they still acted the same.  My father asking the cab driver a bunch of questions and my mother telling him to be quiet.  My dad trying to tell jokes to the Czech people who clearly have no sense of humor and my mother still telling him to be quiet.  Oh, it was like being at home once again.  We arrived at our hotel, the lovely and infamous Courtyard Marriot Flora, where the bed was the best bed I slept on in Europe.  We just had a quiet night in.  Ate some Goulash.  Discovered that Goulash is disgusting, and then went to bed.  The next morning we were to go on a 6-hour tour of the city starting at 9. 

The hour of 8:30 am could not feel any earlier.  After hauling our own asses out of bed Marvin and I soon discovered that my parents weren’t even up yet.  We almost missed our tour!  But luckily we didn’t, and this day it wasn’t raining, so the city didn’t look at depressing as the first time we saw it.  However it was freezing.  The wind chill made it so much worse and I was not used to this weather after warm Spanish weather.  Our guide during the tour was interesting.  He was a former history professor and treated us all like his students.  He’d catch me spacing out during his twenty-minute tangents and ask me to pay attention.  But after a while it was a bit funny.  The tour was nice.  I learned a lot of this about Prague that I never even wanted to know.  How basically all of their designs of their buildings are copied off of every other European country.  The church is like the one in Germany, they have a mini Eiffel Tower, the architecture is from France and Italy.  The only thing that seemed to be original was Kafka and walk to school from his house. (But even he was a German Jew, so not even Czech).  The city was beautiful.  It came into it’s own when I saw the brightly colored buildings and the fancy cobblestone streets.  After the tour that seemed to last forever, we walked around the city a bit more and enjoyed the rest of the evening. 

The church in Prague that in just like one in Germany.

            Other activities that we did was go to a symphony, where every single person besides Marvin and I were over 50, and half of them fell asleep halfway through.  However, it was nice to hear the music in the Municipal building and in Prague that has such a rich culture for classic music.  We also had the best dinner at this one place close to our hotel.  Grilled foie gras and duck and tuna, it was great food for such a little place, with remotely no one inside. 

Prague overview

            The trip to PRAHA and the rest of fall break was great, however it had to come to an end, and of course, school had to start.  Luckily my parents were able to talk time off and come stay with me in Granada for a week.  The new classes I am taking are literature, art history, and Spanish history.  Art history looks like it will be interesting since we go on many trips with the class to explore the architecture of Granada.  Also, the professor happens to know a song with everyone’s name in it.. and proceeds to sing to us when he calls role.  So I get to listen to an Azoulay song for a bit right before I am called on to read.  History is slightly painful.  I like the subject, but all the classes are 2 hours long and this professor talks straight through it.  At least the other ones add 5 minute breaks half way through. 

            I finally got to eat some amazing food with my parents being here! Jamon all day long! I took them to the Arabic district, the many shopping districts, and we also had a spa day, which completely wiped me out.  It was much needed relaxation.  Also, this past weekend it rained the whole time in Spain, which I didn’t even think was possible!  Now the parents are gone, and I’m pretty sure I’m getting a bit sick. 

            Gotta rest a lot this week and prepare for London this weekend! Hopefully there won’t be too much schoolwork!

Until next time fans! 

Peace out Granads, see yah in 10 días!

Sorry for the lack of posts, but this week was finals week and I just finished taking all of my tests and now it’s time for fall break! The plan is to head to Germany for a few days, then meet my parents in Prague with Marvin for a bit until they come back here with me to Spain!

So on the Spain front: We ate pizza.  Nothing weird on it, just pizza. It was probably the best meal I have ever had while in Spain; a sure gift from the gods.  These past days haven’t really been all that interesting, just studying and not having fun.   Experienced the University of Granada Library.. it was two rooms.  Hugh Morris Library really puts this one to shame. 

While packing for fall break, I realized that all the clothes I have are black navy white or gray.. so I decided to go shopping with my foot on the mend.. and I bought things that are navy and black. Fail.

I kinda wish I had more interesting things to talk about, cause right now.. I don’t. Perhaps after fall break I shall surprise you all with tales of another world filled with mystery, scandal, and romance. But probably not.

Adios muchachos y AUF WIEDERSEHEN!

Crip walkin' all day long.

What better way to get the full Europe/Spain experience than to experience their socialized medicine in hospital form?  Unfortunately I had the chance to do such a thing.  The other night I went out for some innocent drinks and dancing.  While on the dance floor some girl large girl steps on me with her massive heal.  Now why couldn’t it be the average Spanish girl? The 5’1 girl who weighs 90 pounds? But no, it had to be a taller larger girl who slams down on my foot without even noticing she stepped on anything.  During the rest of that night my foot hurt, but it didn’t seem so serious. 

Vale, the next morning I wake up and I literally cannot walk.  I’m limping (or doing the crip walk.. ha.ha.ha.) and by the end of the school day the pain is so terrible I decide its time to see that doctor.  However, I guess doctors take siestas also? And nothing was open so I had to wait at the emergency room.  After an hour there I finally get an xray and it is determined that no bones are broken! (yay!) Although, I am instructed to wear a compression sock and take pain medication till it feel better.  So far it’s still the same. Except for this weekend I have decided not to do anything (besides all the studying and projects I should be doing)  so that I can rest and hopefully be able to walk up to full speed by next week. form  Or at least by fall break.  Oh and the cool thing is I got to keep my xray! Feet are ever more disgusting in bone form

I had a make-shift Rosh Hashanah.  Other girl and I bought apples and honey and sat in the park in order to celebrate the Jewish new year. I guess it was better than nothing, and the weather was nice, so it made for a lovely afternoon.  ALSO. I book a trip to London! The only thing left we need to find is a hostel! They we’re out of Spanish speaking land and back to people who speak good old English!

I am SO excited for fall break.  I am visiting Prague with my boyfriend and parents.  It is one of the cities I’ve always wanted to visit! I hear that the architecture is gorgeous and the beer is great and cheap! That’s all I need to enjoy a perfect city.  I am surprisingly looking forward to the brisk weather.  I can wear my trendy circle scarf I brought from home! Also, it will still be Oktoberfest in Germany! So I’m also very excited for that.  And to see my parents, I miss the organized chaos and save-my-face pillows. 

More on the Spain front; I have exams and projects due before break and at least I’m almost finished with the project.  I wanted to walk to H&M today and get the 9 euro dress I bought in other colors, but I guess my handicap is protecting my wallet.  Oh and today for dinner my host mom gave us 6 slices of bread oozing the mayo.  I really need some pizza, or a wiener schnitzel, or something that’s not my mother’s cooking.  She means well though.. since my foot was hurting me she invited me to watch NCIS in Spanish with her while I put my foot up.  It was a good time and I think she is a very sweet lady. 

Tomorrow is Sunday so that means more rest and nothing open.  Hopefully I can construct a killer project for Tuesday’s presentation, and not eat anything with mayo. Please no more mayo.

Vamos a la playa, a mi me gusta bailarrrr

This weekend the whole group went on an excursion to Nerjas, Almuñecar, and Alpujarras.  After hearing a few horror stories about the bus rides there, and how curvy the roads were I was a bit apprehensive before starting the trip.  Although the ride home was a bit vomity, the rest were not very bad at all. 

We first arrived at Almuñecar and had a short walk around the town and the castle.   Then we drove about 20 minutes to Nerjas and visited the caves.  It reminded me of the caves in Guatemala, except this time there was a path and I wasn’t slipping to my death every 15 seconds.  After the caves, everyone was starving so we all went to our buffet lunch.  I suppose the good thing about buffets is that you can get as much food as you want (or that might be a bad thing) But the real bad thing is that the food isn’t really that great, and its sort of a mystery… However, in the end there was ice cream, so I guess it was a good experience. 

After the lunch, everyone was forced to shove his or her buffet-fresh bodies into bathing suits and hit the beach! The beach we went to was small and had no sand, just little rocks.  We were able to get a spot, however the only spots left were by the toilets, it didn’t matter because the scenery was so beautiful.  And swimming a bit and talking with other members of the group, it was time to go to the hotel and get settled in.  I took the longest shower of the month, hands down.  It was the loveliest shower.  Big enough to turn around in warm water, not freezing cold and not boiling hot.  I didn’t have to hold the showerhead AND my towel didn’t smell like mildew! It was great.

After the glorious shower, we had yet ANOTHER buffet dinner.  These buffets were getting out of hand. Too much food.  My roommate and I considered going out afterwards, but after sitting down for a few, no one was really into it, so we stayed in and enjoyed a 4 euro bottle of wine. 

The next  day we set out for Alpujarras which is a town located way up in the mountains.  There, we ate lunch and took a walk in the countryside.  The walk was beautiful, but I couldn’t help but notice that there were tons of crickets hoping all over the trail.  Landing all over me.  I think nature knows I’m not a big fan so it sends the attack of the crickets to make me appreciate it.  After the walk we headed towards the bus for the ride home.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I must have passed out on the bus because I woke up and it was my stop! So I climbed out the bus and schlepped my bag home. 

School these past two days has been interesting.  We learned about terrorism in Spain and the unemployment problem.  The programs that Spain has in order to deal with unemployment do not function very well and usually leave the Spaniards with temporary jobs that are degrading and with long and harsh hours.  the agency is called E.T.T. and in class we watched a funny video about them that is a popular song and clip in Spain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-qiEPk61pw

The video is basically saying that the jobs the people receive are garbage and in the end the man giving out the jobs gets fired and has to use the system himself. 

On a more uplifting note, I bought two dresses. 10 euro a piece! Wooo. AND lemon sorbet. It’s been a good day.

I hope the rain in the east coast isn’t too depressing!..It’s sunny and 80 degrees here.. hehehe.  Hasta luegoooo.

Tengo, Tengo La Camisa Negra..

The weather is finally cooling down a bit.  Now instead of it being 97 degree everyday its only 82.. phew…

The first test of the season wasn’t that bad, I’d have to say it was fair.. but honestly this whole test thing came as a big surprise.  I sort of thought I wasn’t in school, then I sit down at some desk and it gets real.  I think I did okay though, so its all good.  Following our test, the majority of the group decided to go to the bar that night for a few drinks.  The bar we went to was an Irish pub, and tonight, surprisingly filled with Irish people.  I think Irish people are just a crazier version of the English, because they were getting rowdy.  Dancing on stools, mooning people, so personally I decided to leave and get some rest for the next day of school.

What we are learning now is kind of interesting.  Mostly because class is filled with youtube clips and movies of dances and songs.  We learned that the flamenco music and culture is still present in Spanish media today, although now it is modified with different backbeats and such.  I don’t think the music is too bad, maybe my Moorish gypsy side is coming out.  I really want to see some sort of play and soccer game while I’m here.  I’m thinking La casa de Bernada Alba by Fredrico Garcia Lorca, but when I looked yesterday the theater was no longer playing it L I shall research this further and see if I can witness some real Spanish futbol!

Oh also yesterday I finally found sushi! The gods came down from the heavans and presented me a lovely, yet expensive, sushi restaurant.  I think that was the best meal I’ve have since I’ve been here.  I must have a low mercury level because I have never craved a type of food that bad.  Although I wish it was Katana with all their special rolls… ah okay, I’m making myself hungry again. SUBJECT CHANGE

Juanes never gets old in Spanish classes.. will there be a day where one year we I wont hear Juanes in a class rooom setting.. I hope not, because it was a big blast from the past and smile on my face.   And he be looking FINE with that short hair, its better than his La Casmisa Negre days. I honestly believe that listening to Jaunes is the most effective way to learn Spanish. 

Here you go, you won’t be disappointed:CLICK HERE FOR JUANESSSSS.  See, wasn't that great?

Today I saw some little booths set up by the fountain and I think I’m going to go check those out now.. Hopefully they aren’t closed!

 OH and also. IT RAINED HERE FOR A BIT.   So weird. 

Heading to the beach and moutains this weekend with the whole group!  I still need to pack for the two different elements, comfortable walking shoes and beach gear. I heard the trip there is very curvy in the bus. .. I must find a bag..

And finally as parting words: A Spanish moment of zen:

George Clooney.. AND a puppy. Can life in Spain get better? 

Hola Germanyyyy.

Finally have some Internet! Hopefully the new router that my host mom bought will work a lot better! This weekend in Germany was great! It was nice to see my boyfriend and a country that actually has current technology.  After seeing Germany again it occurred to me how far behind Spain is in technology. 

But anyways, Germany was beautiful as always.  I spent two days at my boyfriend’s father’s house in the countryside, and the train ride there was amazing as I got to see the black forest and a lot of different German architecture.  Also experienced spaghetti ice cream.  It sounds weird but Marvin let me taste his and it was actually an amazing concept.  It’s ice cream in the shape of spaghetti with strawberry sauce to represent the tomato sauce, and white chocolate flakes to represent the cheese.  Amazing idea, thanks to the Germans who think they know Italian food!

The best thing about Germany though was the pizza we got at the train station.  Can’t even explain how much I missed pizza.  And there it was, ready for me to consume! After the long weekend with the boyfriend it was time to head back to Granada.  The other thing I’ve noticed is that all Iberia flights are late.  Like no matter what. My flight back to Madrid landed the same time my next one to Granada was suppose to take off, since it was an hour late.  So there I was hauling ass to switch terminals and get to my other plane, and by the time I get there sweaty, out of breath, been sprinting with my luggage for 20 min, that plane was late too.  And I ended up having to wait another hour for that Iberia plane to arrive.  I guess the Spanish are always late. 

Getting back into the swing of things at school was tough.  I didn’t speak a lick of Spanish all weekend and it was strange to have to go right back into it.  But after sitting through class and watching La Sexta, where they have 5 minutes every hour showing George Clooney accompanied with romantic music, I was beginning to understand again. 

I have my first test tomorrow, so I guess its time to study, Instead of enjoying the beautiful warm weather of Granada. Boo.