En el extranjero

So, as I enter my third-to-last week here in Spain, I thought I would compile a list of things I've learned from my experience. I'll continue adding to it as I think of things. I've learned:

• How to shove seafood down my gullet and keep it there.
• How to bailar el chiki-chiki (dance the chiki-chiki). (videos: original or versión de Alec y Miguel).
• How to relax a little about scoolwork (aka, how NOT to make a 20-page, color-coded study guide for each class OR how to write a blog entry when you should be studying for a final).
• How to identify an auténtica maravilla (authentic marvel): first look for the bóveda (vaulted ceiling), then locate the arco de medio punto (mid-point arc), and then listen to the endless arguments between Arturo, esteemed professor of art history, and Angel, esteemed professor of theater with a secret concentration in architecture?
• How to live with two teenage girls: don't. (Seriously, Mom and Dad, I'm so sorry.)
• How to survive family gatherings -- especially when it's not your actual family: accept the beverages that you are handed, especially when they are vermouth, beer, and irish coffee... or wine, vodka con limon, and mojitos... or any combination thereof.
• I wish I hadn't known what conejo (rabbit) meant before I ate it, because it is delicious, but it still reminds me of Thumper.
• How to leave your life behind to go live 3,000 miles away for 5 months. Just kidding. No I'm not.
• How to write cheesy blog entries about what I've learned from my experience.

Quote of the week:
(Actually from a while ago)

Australian girl in Malaga: "And our flat was so small that a midget couldn't swing a tiny cat in it!"

So, sorry it's been a while, to those of you who care (just Dan, probably). This post is just for you!

So since I last posted, I had my Semana Santa (Holy Week) vacation in Marbella, on the southern coast of Spain, with the best person ever, Matty K. We chilled around Estepona and Marbella and also traveled to Tangier, Morocco and Gibraltar. It was a ton of fun, and I miss the beautiful weather and relaxation! View photos here.

After that, I spent three weekends in Alcala and this most recent one in Malaga, conveniently close to Marbella. The weather was poor, unfortunately, but we met some great people in the hostel: a young Australian couple, a 22-year-old Canadian girl, a 20-year-old Irish girl, and a 30-something Swiss man. We visited the Picasso museum, had some great food, went out, and enjoyed the best parts of the city that you can see when it's raining!

The thing that struck me the most about that trip, though, was how these two young girls -- the Canadian and Irish girls -- had just decided to set off on their own to travel the world. I was so impressed by their ability to just hop on a plane and begin a long, unplanned vacation around Europe, all by themselves. That takes a strong, flexible person -- a much stronger and more flexible person than the one who settles down in a country on a pre-determined program for several months. I thought I'd really taken a risk, but it just doesn't seem to hold a candle to the one they are taking!

It also makes me wonder: has this trip changed me? The Canadian girl was telling me all about her semester abroad in Thailand and how it had changed her perspective on the world, and even some things about her personality. She was more independent, more well-traveled, and more worldly in general. I know that this experience has changed me in some very obvious ways, but I suspect I'm going to feel it even more when I come home. (Note to self: read up on reverse culture shock.)

For you math experts out there, since I'm here for 19 weeks total, there are fewer than 6 left. Thus, my trip is 68% over, aka, more than 2/3. Weird, huh? It seems like it's going to go so quickly from here on in: we have another weekend here in Alcala, one in Sevilla, one in Alcala, one in San Sebastian, one in Alcala (studying for finals), and our final weekend! Then we're home on June 1st. I can't believe it.

Well, if it doesn't all pass by in a blur, I'll post again.

Quote of the week:
Angel Berenguer, again: "Los dibujos de ninos son asquerosos. Horribles. Mi nieto me dibujo un retrato y su madre y mi esposa le dijeron, 'Is good!' y yo dije 'No. Is no good!' Me pinto muy gordo."

(Translation: "The drawings of children are disgusting. Horrible. My grandson drew me a portrait and his mother and my wife told him, 'Is good!' and I said, 'No. Is no good!' He drew me very fat.")

No, seriously. The past two weeks weren't that interesting anyway, save for an awesome trip to Extremadura and a bout of food poisoning from a kebab (although no one wants to admit that the kebabs could be dangerous. Me neither, friends. Me neither).

But, since this entry was such a gyp (that phrase now seems profoundly offensive in a country full of gypsy heritage), I will at least give you some links to photo albums. I can't get the embedded album software to work right now and I'm too lazy (I mean... busy?) to fix it, so use these instead:

Barcelona (2/22-2/24)
Extremadura Part I (2/28)
Extremadura Part II (2/29-3/01)

Now, seriously, I'm going to the beach.

This might, in fact, be the case. I'm starting to think it is, but since I can't be sure, I'll just give you guys the hard facts and you can make your own conclusions.

My attempts to learn Spanish: possibly working.

• So, two weekends ago when I was home sick with the flu, I took up a little project. I decided to introduce the Spanish word vale (okay) into my verbal diet. Since then, I've used it approximately every 5 seconds in conversation, making it the best Spanish word I've ever known/the most annoying to everyone who has to listen to me say it.
• My hermanita, Raquel, told me that I was somewhat decent at speaking Spanish when I arrived, as compared with previous students staying with 'Duli. But, I think that's false, since I pretty much didn't say anything for the first week.
• I was proficient in yelling at a 14-year-old ladrona (thief) as she tried to lift my digital camera out of my bag in the Madrid bus station. I was all kinds of angry, so my first response was to yell (in English), "WHAT THE HELL?!" and grab my camera back from her. However, regaining my composure and reaching deep into my well of Spanish knowledge, I then said "Que haces?! LADRONA!" ("What are you doing?! THIEF!")... and threw in a "jodate!" (go... well, I'm not translating this) for good measure.
• I spoke to a professor, once. I don't want to make a big deal out of it but yeah, it was PRETTY AWESOME. Still haven't talked in class yet. But shut up, what do you know.
• Sometimes I think in Spanish, but I still don't dream in it, so I've got a ways to go, eh?

Other developments

• My madre has started willingly feeding me lactose since it hasn't been a problem to date. But I mean that in the "hey, my madre has done a complete 180 and is now feeding me plates of cheese" kind of way. But I mean THAT in the way that it's not a typical plate of cheese, but it's an actual HEAPIN' PLATE composed entirely of CHEESE melted over small, nearly negligible pieces of meat. As a point of reference for those Emma girls out there, it very much resembles cheesy goodness. She is not playing around.
• Went to Barcelona this past weekend. Now know how to say sales (REBAIXES!) and bank (CAIXA!) in Catalan... even though I took advantage of neither. Yeah, so, that's a pretty big deal.
• Sorry this post is short -- we're actually leaving Madrid for Extremadura at 8am, meaning I have to be up at freakin' 6am to get to the bus in my barrio (neighborhood), to get to the train in Alcala, to get to the bus in Madrid. Now you understand. Also, my madre was just real cute and packed me an entire package of cream cookies for breakfast. I mean, it's an important meal.
• And, I'm going to bed.

Quote of the week
Angel, professor, describing the lax legal system in Spain: "Si quieres cometer un crimen, te recomiendo hacerlo en Espana." ("If you want to commit a crime, I recommend that you do it in Spain.") He continued to make sure that we knew we could commit at least 3 murders and still peace out of jail in a few years. And we can beat our women.

So, on the 7th, we all went to this workshop on how to deal with culture shock, adjustment, etc. It was good fun (and the only program event in English!!), and I learned a lot. So now I'm going to share with you the ways in which I am attempting to deal with culture shock by adjusting.

How I'm assimilating

• Poorly.
• JK, Mom.
• You know you think I'm funny, even if I gave you a wee heart attack.
• Making Spanish friends. Well... kinda. I made one Spanish friend who will be coming to Tufts for the full year next year, but I'm not entirely sure she's into me. The girls and I went to dinner with her and she seemed to enjoy herself, but at the same time, she's a whole 2 years older than us (it's rough, I know), and doesn't like to giggle as much. Still, I like her, and will try to get in contact with her again. Hopefully more Spanish friends, like Juan, the buho (night bus) friend, to come.
• Becoming a "conocida." This means becoming someone "known", like a regular. It was suggested we become regulars at places like restaurants, cafes, etc so that we feel that we have places we know and love where we are known and loved. Along those lines, we've gone to some of the same restaurants and try to get along with the wait staff. Mostly, though, I feel like a "conocida" at Curvas, where the trainers and the ancianas (old ladies) are very friendly.
• The trifecta:
  • Eat. Trust me, there is no lack of this in Spain. My madre makes a delicious, large lunch every day, and I'm pretty into it. I complement that with a small breakfast, a moderately sized dinner, and usually two small meriendas (snacks) between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. But, I also like postres (desserts), which are delicious here. Also, menu del dia (menu of the day), when I'm not eating lunch at home, is a miracle: a beverage, bread, two main dishes, and a dessert for less than 10 euros.
  • Sleep. Yeah, I do a fair amount of this, too. My madre joked about how, now that I have class, I might have to be up at the madrugada (daybreak, early morning) once in a while.
  • Exercise. I did the math and it seems that I usually am walking for about 1-2 hours a day. Also, Jordan and I love Curvas. End of story.

Ways that I'm still culturally offensive

• I eat on the run. Look. I'm sorry that I was running late for class, and that it was 11:45 AM and all I'd eaten since 9:30 was a clementine, but I am going to eat that snack on the street. Ok? I can't eat it in class, I don't have time to eat it in the house, and I will not have myself suffer through a 2 hour class with pangs of hunger, you VJOP (Very Judgmental Old People).
• I wear workout clothes... to the gym. This does require me to walk for approximately 5 minutes down the street in non-street clothes. I recognize this. However, I am not going to put on real clothes, walk to the gym, do whatever, and then change BACK into real clothes, come home, take OFF those clothes to shower, and put them back on. False. I know you think I'm traviosa (naughty) in my bright red pants, but it's Valentine's day, and I do what I WANT!
• I am still pale and American. Fact.

Other facts

• Nope. Cat's name is definitely Kiara. Don't ask me; sometimes they call it Mina!! I think Mina might be the name for all cute, small animals, cause Virginia definitely called her friend's puppy Mina, too. It's like... cutie? Or baby?
• Classes are good! I'm taking 4, 3 of which are at the University of Alcala and 1 of which is with the program center. I'm taking "Historia del Cine" (History of Film), "Espana del Siglo XX a traves su Teatro" (20th Century Spain through its Theater), and "Dialectologia de Espana" (Dialects of Spain). The class with the center is "Civilizacion y Teatro" (Civilization and Theater). No classes Monday or Friday = 4 day weekends.
• Traveling begins not this coming weekend, but the next! The girls are heading to Barcelona for a long weekend of funtimes.
• Feliz Dia de San Valentin! (Happy Valentine's Day!)

Quote of the week
It was a tough call, but it has to go to our cultural adjustment lecturer who, mimicking her Spanish husband's first taste of American baked beans, exclaimed, "Those are sweet beans!!"