What days we've had..

Wow.

That was a long two days past, and not a lick of time to recount it. Yet. Where to begin. Most logically, Thursday.

Thursday night the majority of us (save for only two people in our group!) went out to Ensanche for dinner at an "Italian" restaurant. Ensanche is a barrio of Alcalá that is quite far away from el centro...a good 20 minute or so bus ride. So one of our friends was dying for Italian food and saw this good place in Ensanche, so we loaded up in the bus and headed out. We get to this really ghetto looking place (really dark, full of graffiti and no one on the streets) called Ensanche. We wander around til we find out friends then head to this "Italian" restaurant. Okay, why do I keep putting Italian in quotes? Well...the only Italian thing about this place was that there was a sign board outside the bar/diner that had frozen pasta dishes on it. So much for sitting in low lighting drinking fine wine and overall eating food similar to Olive Garden than authentic Italian. Best part, they didn't even have their frozen pasta dishes. So it was frozen pizzas or sandwiches. I ended up getting a bocadillo de jamón serrano...probably the easiest sandwich to make, at least definitely from what everyone else ordered. And yet it came after the frozen pizzas and after the more "gourmet" sandwiches. Quite pissed. Although, I couldn't stop laughing at the hilarity of the whole situation. The whole premise. El porqué of why we were there in the first place. As one friend put it I have the worst luck in the world. I more or less agree. As she also stated later, asking how the dinner was, on a scale of 1-10, "The diner was a -5 but the experience was a 10." I completely agree. Everything about the meal was pretty high on the shit scale but the time we had more than made up for it. We had a better time than we would have had at a real Italian restaurant. The night was a success.

Madrid

Now this was a very exhaustive day as well. We left at 9am with 13 of us and the 3 remaining of us arrived back in Alcalá at 11pm. Our resident director led us on a tour of a small portion of Madrid for a while. We walked down el Paseo del Prado. Saw the outsides of: la Reina Sofia, el Prado, la Caixa Forum, el Congreso, el gobierno de Madrid, la Plaza de España, la Plaza Mayor, y la Puerta del Sol. It was a quick nearly running tour of the city. I loved how when we got to la Puerta del Sol, she told us to watch out for our bags because this was the most populated section of a city in the world for thieves to be (she didn't really back up this statement with data but we'll forgive her). And yet then she proceeded to stop our group in front of the government building, in the center of la Puerta del Sol and give us tourist information, clearly labeling us all as marks. Great job avoiding the thieves there...

Throughout this tour we stopped a few times for more than a minute to discuss and relax. With nothing but food on the mind I took out my bocadillo de tortilla that my host mother made for me. Her own mom's special recipe. It's so good. I got a bite into it before we had to get moving the first time. The next time we were all in awe at some statue (not sure why...believe it was Carlos III) so I grab my boca and just as I get it out of the foil...we move on and I have to pack it up. Finally we're sitting there watching some acrobats suspended high up above a plaza. I figure, perfect time to eat while everyone is taking photos. I get my boca out, unwrap the foil and I'm about to take a bite when we start moving again. So I quickly wrap it back up and throw it in the bag it came in (one of those long bags you get French bread in) and the bottom falls out and my boca hits the ground. Doesn't matter, it tastes so good and I was so hungry I ate it all later.

Ok, enough about food (although I got a whole other post just about my dinner I had in Madrid...). After our lunch, we all relaxed in the famous and extremely large Retiro park (think Central Park). We walked in a few feet (sorry, meters) and plopped ourselves down on a hill and rested up after our terrific walking adventure earlier. Some people actually slept, some were being productive, reading, writing. I had forgot my journal. For shame. I just sat and enjoyed the moment, trying not to think about how bad I had to pee and how there weren't any bathrooms around for miles. And taking photos. So as soon as I get those up I'll post them on Flickr and here. Retiro was fun but now it was time for some to head back to Alcalá. 

I head out with Maya and Armani to go shopping on Gran Vía, the ritzy, expensive street in Madrid. We didn't quite make it that far. First, we got lost, even with using a map. You see, the streets in Madrid and throughout most of Europe (and Boston as well, I'm told) don't make any sense. They didn't really have city planners back hundreds of years ago. So la Puerta del Sol is the center of the old city and all roads lead to it. It's all radial and not grid. Makes it very difficult to get anywhere. Plus there are no street signs, just engravings on the sides of buildings letting you know what street you're on. Basically, it's designed to get the traveler lost so they end up spending more money because they're hungry and thirsty and cranky because they can't find that damn Correos. So yes, it's very easy to get lost in Madrid, even with maps. However, knowing the language helps. I don't see how someone who doesn't speak Spanish could get by in Madrid. 

We at least made it to la Puerta del Sol where there were plenty of shops of which I believe led to Gran Vía. I'm convinced that if I had the money, I could buy my whole wardrobe at Sfera because it's completely awesome. Jackets, sweaters, shirts, pants, etc. They have it all and it actually looks good. After that I was determined to find a Correos (post office) and mail a package back to the States (guess which one of you will hopefully be receiving something in the mail in probably 2 weeks from now assuming it doesn't get lost...). In Spain, it's very easy to spot a Correos because they are bright yellow all over with very bright yellow signs sticking outside of the building saying "Correos." Yet I could not find a single one wherever our trek took us. I end up asking a police officer in the shopping district (no doubt looking out for those thieves that Cristina was mentioning so much about) and he told me that El Corte Inglés had one. What doesn't Corte Inglés have? 

I got to Corte Inglés, which has the be the worst place for a person with a headache because the whole place screws with your brain, it's a completely sensory overload. You seriously cannot think straight there, and that's exactly what they want. You can barely even find the exits. Seriously, if you visit Spain, go to El Corte Inglés and see if you don't develop brain cancer. I ran around asking various people where the Correos was, and I ended up in the parking garage standing in line for 15 minutes only to find out they didn't have the box I needed. However, the other Corte Inglés (muy cerca, so I was told) did have the right boxes. I spend another 20 minutes trying to locate this other Corte Inglés that for a moment I was sure didn't exist. Finally find it, go up to the 8th floor, find the tiny Correos desk, get everything ready...but realize to send the package would be pretty expensive. Not a problem, this was an important package. However, I only had 20€ in my pocket and they didn't accept credit cards. Where was the nearest cajero automatico I asked them...oh the basement? How fun. So I hop down to the basement then back up with money. We get everything set. I send the package...as if it will even arrive in the States.

A small el mundo es un pañuelo (it's a small world) moment: The clerk at the second Correos noticed my return address (IUIEN at Universidad de Alcalá). She was a secretary there just two years ago. Her name was Susana. I felt much better after talking to her (before I had been panicked, headached, and nearly drenched in sweat). A sigh of relief.

By this time only Monica and Kristine were left in Madrid, so I met up with them (after getting terribly lost again, only this time with dwindling minutes on my phone-- if someone was filming me from the Correos on to the Jamba Juice imitator where I met up with the girls, I imagine it would look a lot like Bourne Ultimatum). They were missing Korean food so we found a "restaurante coreano - barbacoa." The food will be detailed in another post but the time we had was tremendous. I love going out to eat, especially after a long and exhaustive day. Getting a bottle of wine and just relaxing, unwinding, letting the terrors and worries of earlier melt away over a good dinner with friends. Spain is still a very foreign country to me, but the friends I am making here are making the transition all the more easier. I'm finding a bit of comfort and warmth that I'd only usually find at home--here--4,160-some miles away, in Spain, among friends.

Y pasan los días

Beautiful thing about Spain is it's not weird to just up and head out to a bar after siesta. We spent most of the day in the Plaza again. This time, a bit productive. We did our homework for our grammar class for Monday. All of us together. I feel we're all starting to get more accustomed to each other, it's a good feeling that you're almost among friends as you'd be back at home. Makes it easier to cope with be estranged from you home country and friends.

Classes are boring, and tiresome. Nothing new. Can spilt nearly any Spanish word into syllables now though and all that fun stuff dealing with diphthongs. Get sick a bit at times, just thinking of the work that I have in front of me.

Food is improving, mostly by my own doing. Went to Carrefour today (a French owned Supermarket/Target type thing) and bought some French cheese. Looks and tastes a lot like Brie but isn't quite. Very creamy although the outside mold covering was bitter, of course. Brought it home to have my host mother try it. She seemed to like it, said we will be getting more of it then. Good news. Beats the manchego and cheddar we've had (I brought Wisconsin yellow cheddar which I detest). Win for me. Also had a bit of fish today at lunch, although only after I had nearly stuffed myself on bean soup and bread. Still, nice gesture. Breakfast wasn't too pleasant though. The milk has a habit of picking up the odor of everything else in the fridge. That includes manchego and chorizo. Then you heat it up in the microwave...it makes for one terrible tasting café con leche. Not a way to wake up in the morning.

I know it sounds a lot like I'm complaining but it's really not terrible here. I am enjoying it a lot, but I tend to feel the disagreeable and annoying stuff more interesting than the positive things. Nevertheless I will try to keep an even balance of "I can't believe this happened" and the "I love everything so much" crap.

Dinner in a bit. Still have some homework to do. It's so much harder to get work done here than in the States. There it's expected to finally get around to work because you're still at a big university with lots of resources and everyone else is very serious about doing work (usually). Not the same here. Everyone wants to be on vacation, which is sorta what this is like. No one is used to going to the library. The resources aren't as openly available and so then we end up sitting around and talking a lot and not really accomplishing anything. Today was an exception, to an extent. I got homework done for a Monday class but didn't touch the stuff I have due tomorrow. Not healthy. Then again, most things I'm doing aren't.

I fear my heart burn is coming back, and I'm not sure why. I thought the diet in Spain would cool down my heart problems but they seem to have worsened. Sat in class after a breakfast of galletas and that bad café con leche with the worst heart burn. Washed my hair this morning, seemed like more hair than usually came out. Fear I'm going bald, apparently because I don't get enough protein. Although beans should have a lot of protein, right? I would think so...but I still feel I'm severely lacking in my meat and dairy department. I miss the diet, to an extent, of the States. Even if I was eating poorly there I was getting sufficient protein and fat and sustenance. Here, I can't be so sure. Too much of anything, even bean soup, can be too much...

Still not dead. That's good.

New Photos

More on the Flickr page. Looks like the photos to the right are slowly being updated with new ones.

Who would have thought

Ugh, so second day of classes, and get this...they expect me to do work! And here I thought Spain was going to be a 9 month long vacation. Apparently I have to go to school, and on top of that, do homework. Just like back in the States! They are so advanced, I don't see any third world countries giving out reading assignments. Did you know they even have running water and electricity here? Who would have thought?

Let's keep track, starting now. Breakfast: microwaved, instant café con leche + dry galletas. Lunch: bean soup + pan. Let's see if that changes at all throughout the next 9 months. Although I've found myself dying for lentil soup for lunch nowadays (yes I count that as part of my bean soup regimen). I was walking home from class going "I really wish we have lentil soup and bread today instead of pinto bean soup and bread." Something is wrong. Lentil soup appears to be an acquired taste like beer or coffee. Curious as to what dinner is tonight...

Another day, another few hours sitting in the Plaza just charlaring. Bought books for classes (so if you see a 30€ charge from "Libería Diogenes" on the Visa mother and father it's for classes...). On Tuesday/Thursdays I have two literature classes. Introduction to literary analysis (the only course that counts as 224) and introduction to Spanish literature. So plenty of reading. Which is good, I suppose, since I like reading. But castellano antiguo (think Old English) is a chore to read. That, and anything Spanish poetry (they like to use those special words you don't learn in class). It will be a challenging, but rewarding, and worthwhile semester. At the end I may be exhausted (already am a bit) but the Spanish will be much, much better (¡Ojalá!).

Finished reading Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell today. Convinced me he's my favorite writer of the 20th century. Only read 1984, Animal Farm, and this, but his description of the horrors of fascism and just political bastards in general is so haunting and horrifying that I fear for the world we live in. Also makes me really wish I was around during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. I would like to think I'd be part of the POUM or International Column fighting Franco. Barcelona during this period sounds amazing yet frightening at the same time. When he first arrived in December of 1936, he describes a nearly fully socialist society where everyone is addressed in the informal "tu" form and there is no class. Everyone is happy and the economy actually functions. As he states, the closest the world might ever get to true socialism. Then he comes back in May when there was the infighting. The Communists and Socialists were both fighting against Franco but the Communists were gaining control of the Republican government (now headed out of Valencia). The Communist press (in and out of Spain) kept calling the POUM (the socialist party of which Orwell served in their militia) a secret Fascist group working for Franco. In May the Communist controlled Civil Guards seized the Telecomm station that was controlled by the Anarchists and for nearly a week it was the Communists versus the POUM and Anarchists (all three sides were AGAINST Franco) fighting amongst themselves, killing each other, while Franco and his troops were gaining strength on the fronts, where these men that were dying for no reason in Barcelona could have been used. The whole thing really turned out to be a mess and I can see why he ended up writing Animal Farm and 1984...most likely his time in Spain played a whole role in the writing of those books. Highly recommend picking up Homage to Catalonia if you want a gripping, non fiction, look at not only the Spanish Civil War but also the troubled world of politics...

Primer día de las clases

No mucho hoy. 

Went to classes. Más o menos bien. Grammar with Cristina (nuestra directora) looks to be a bit difficult at times, just due to the time and effort that needs to be put into it. Got this gigantic course booklet today. Only two classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Phonetics after that. Seems to be pretty interesting but anything that get even close to science scares me. We were talking about parts of the mouth and throat I've never even thought about before. 

School supplies are extremely expensive here. I bought a pack of liquid ink pens (mis favoritos) and they were nearly 5€. All the notebooks are lined like graph paper. And yet Cristina wants our composiciones on blank paper because it's easier to write straight, according to her... Also, hand written. Because Word is often wrong, she says. Will help my handwritten Spanish though, so that's fun.

Afternoons without class (M/W I get out at 12:30) can be boring. Or awesome. Try sitting in the Plaza for 2 hours. That's entertaining. I feel as though last week no one was around during the day but since yesterday the whole of Alcalá has filled up with people everywhere at all times of the day. Not sure if anyone actually works here. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Heck, I want to move here and just sit around and do nothing all day but eat. 

I'm excited. After meal after meal of sopa de judeas (bean soup) looks like I'll be finally getting some really good Spanish food for dinner tonight. Tortilla española. Although mi mama said that it wasn't the type you'd find in bars, that it was her mother's recipe. A bit scared. 

Was sitting in la Plaza today and had one of those outer body experiences that are so fashionable. I tend to like to zoom out of my head and look at where I am at any given time like a satellite. Zoomed all the way out and saw the whole of the Iberian peninsula. Then I zoomed in on Madison. And Milwaukee. I wonder how all of YOU are doing right now. Clearly I'm keeping you all well informed (and I promise I'll get more photos soon). But I want to hear from you guys, what are your adventures? Have any recent photos you want to share? Would love to see them. So, yeah, kinda miss yall a bit.

Epicurean Diaries Vol. 2

More of the good stuff.

Club Habana Ron

El Perro Verde was out of 43 and didn't have Ronmiel, so I ordered a rum and Coke. The waiter asked me which kind of rum since they had a lot. All I needed to hear was Habana and I ordered it. Sure enough, he comes out with a fifth bottle of Club Habana Ron "El ron de Cuba" imported from, yep, Cuba. Our usual waiter is quite nice and makes the drinks half and half, so it was quite the strong mixture. The allure of it being banned in the States was all I needed to enjoy it. As a rum, it was good enough. Spiced. Nothing terribly special about it but definitely wasn't cheapo stuff. Sells for about 11€ in the stores (for reference 43, which I am in love with, sells for the same).

Coca Cola (normal)

Simple. It just tastes better here because of the pure sugar cane and not the crappy high fructose corn syrup. Coke is my life blood. You can get a 2 liter or so bottle in the store for 1€ but less than half a liter at McDonalds (where everything is supposed to be dirt cheap) costs 1.65€.

Hamburguesa (McDonalds)

From the "Euro Ahorro" menú (Save Euros, basically our dollar menu). 1€ for the worst hamburger I've ever taken a bite out of (which is all I had). Didn't even order it. Just wanted a Coke but the cashier ended up tacking on a hamburger too. Idiot. The "beef" patty is about 2mm thick (invisible in US units). Definitely not ham nor burger. Nor food.

Capricho Francés (McDonalds)

So I fell for the advertising on a bus stop for this French burger on ciabatta bread. Looked delicious (but doesn't it always?). And only 1.75€ (when a Big Mac or a McRoyal Deluxe is around 5€)! So of course I was hungry after class today and it was still two hours away from lunch. Capricho here I come. After waiting for my burger for a good 10 minutes (note: there were no customers there, like everything else in Spain, even the McDonalds is ungodly slow), I nearly swallowed mi capricho whole in three bites. Very small, the same tiny tiny patty from my euroburguesa but with some lettuce and "French" sauce on it. Not horrible taste but the burguesa pretty much ruined it. And the size. Damn Europeans.

Domingos a la Plaza de Cervantes

Sundays in Alcalá, and I would assume the rest of Spain, are very subdued. Every one is still recovering from that crazy night in Madrid (a few friends returned at 8am today from going to the gay discos). Shops are all closed. Calle Mayor becomes the hot spot for gypsy and Asian tourates to display their cheap goods to the few foolish tourists who actually come out to Alcalá, to see what I'm not exactly sure. The restaurants are open on the street with I'm sure jacked up prices for the Sunday. 

Went to McDonalds because Monica and Kristine wanted to use internet (our normal café was closed). Ordered a Coke. Received a Coke and a hamburger. A very tiny, thin, not-really-sure-this-is-actually-meat hamburger. That cost 1€. The Coke (half liter) was 1.65€. Started a composition due in class tomorrow but was far too bored with that. Wrote half. 

So what do people do on Sundays besides sleep in and go to mass (la misa)? La Plaza de Cervantes. Parents bring their children, old folks come to smoke, and americanos like my friends and myself come to people watch. The children dance and play around the statue of Miguel de Cervantes and trade toys and make us laugh. The parents just sit lazily in the shade not really paying attention to their kids. The old men just chain smoke their cigarettes. We point out the hilarious things the children are doing and talk in English (Heaven forbid parents could understand us making fun of their children).

Watched this one girl, Inez, go from child to child basically stealing their toys (and making more than a few children cry). New toy comes, she's off to commandeer that one. We sat doing this in the Plaza for three hours. Yes, I can easily adjust to the Spanish lifestyle. Talk about lazy Sunday. Next time bring a bottle of wine or something and sit there and enjoy the afternoon. Spain is shaping up to be a pretty awesome place.

Tiempo para la cena.