OH Cordoba!

So apparently it is impossible to do nothing when you have just moved to a foreign country...at least not for me anyways. After spending a few hours doing nothing I got bored lol and decided to try and track down a few more things we were missing the the apartment. I was successful on finding a few things...and a few more...and a few more haha. I have literally gone shopping for the last 4 consecutive days...and still haven't found everything I need (want) here. Actually there are a few more things that I NEED, like a toaster over or indoor grill even more preferably! We will see what I can find and how long it takes (considering I tried to buy a wall calendar today and found out that is actually impossible and that not even their BIG store here doesn't even have any...haha GREAT!)

I've also been on a candy binge for the last few days -I have a stash in my drawers in my room :) Now the stash is about half full lol...I think its about time to reload.

Well lets get back to more important stuff...like the shopping extravaganza. So yesterday (wednesday) I met with Carlos' mom (she's so great!) and her friend. We first went to breakfast...in a cafe/gas station...and it was actually just like a normal cafe. Not like the horrible idea of McDonalds/gas station in the states lol (well at least in bellingham)...that's just my opinion though. I had the typical Spanish breakfast- media tostada with tomate and jamon picado (the same thing I had when I went to Cordoba last week, there a pic in a previous post), cafe con leche and FRESH SQUEEZED orange juice!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm officially in LOVE with Spain...as apparently fresh squeezed orange juice is pretty typical here. All I can say is yum.

The reason we actually went to this cafe in particular was because a lot of the other places were closed. Why...you may ask? Because on Sept. 29 2010 (wed) was the Huelga General in Spain. All it is, is a general strike (huelga=strike) all over Spain. From what I've been told the strike happens mostly just to show that Spaniards are angry about their situation right now regarding jobs, the economy and what not. So basically it meant that a lot of places were closed, people didn't show up for work and kids skipped school. When we walked around there were actually quite a few places open and tons of people walking around (probably taking the day off). There was nothing crazy that happened in Lucena but it was a different story in the big cities like Madrid. We watched the news at lunch (3pm-ish) and it show people setting some stuff on fire, mobs of people preventing cars from getting through and people waiting for hours at the bus stations because buses had stopped coming through. Just what a strike SHOULD be like, right?

Well, to continue the story, after breakfast we stopped by the market. This is a market that happens every Wednesday and its similar to a flee market where everything is cheaper than typical store prices...they sell clothes, shoes, some spices, candy, fabric, purses, and other accessories. I will probably be there every Wednesday... :) I ended up buying some olives, a purse and shoes...all for under 25 euros (Did I mention I love it here???).  There are definitely some bargains here- you just have to look for them. I'm planning on going back next Wednesday for sure as I need some clothes and shoes to add to my *limited* selection and my new found friend from Ireland will hopefully be joining me as well! (Long story short- she's living in Lucena also and we met when I was trying to get my student ID card in Cordoba)

Now moving on to more FUN stuff! Today I went back to Cordoba...in hopes of getting my student ID card. I left the apartment at 7am to get there for a "9am" appointment...which of course means I waited in a room with all the over 20 people who had appointments for 9am as well (this was nothing new to me...the same thing happens in the states too). When I eventually got called in the woman took my paperwork (by the way- they are actually really nice...much more so than any state worker that i've met in the states) and pretty much handed me a piece of paper to take to the bank...because you have to pay them (through the bank) for them to process your documents. I also had to get my photo taken...which was a hilarious picture, so much so that I took a picture of it for you all to see.

They did give me some paper to keep with me...but I still have to return back there in a month (not totally sure what for) to finish up the process. This is why I'm deeming the Comisaria Figueroa as my second home...I can't seem to stay away lol. After spending the morning at the police station (thats what the Comisaria Figueroa pretty much is) I spent a few more hours hanging out in Cordoba...where I continued my shopping binge (mostly apartment stuff though), hung out with some birds and took random pictures of people and their small dogs. I also stopped at ate at a restaurant call "Canadian" which had super good food- although I'm not sure why the name is what it is since there was nothing "canadian" on the menu. Once again I ordered the "menu" of the day (for only 7.50 euro) and once again it was WAY too much food. I think I've learned my lesson now about ordering the "menu del dia"... I have to say though, the food was good so I'm not regretting ordering it too much lol. I ordered salmorejo (its like gazpacho but a little different...and delicious!), pollo en pepitoria (chicken drumsticks cooked in a red sauce with bell peppers) which came with a side of fries and for dessert...FLAN!

After eating about 5lbs of food I wobbled over to the bus station where I took a bus home. I was so exhausted that slept the whole ride back...and came back to my apartment to find out one of my roommates was going to move out- that night (tonight). Apparently they had an opening at a school in her hometown (about 30 min from here) so she decided to do that. So now I'm not sure how this is going to work but I'm just going to hope for the best. We're just going to ask around and it sounds like my roommate may know someone else looking for a place so, again, I'm going to hope for the best! There's not much else I can do. Plus I'm too exhausted from today to do much else lol. Tomorrow I start school SO...I will let you all know how that goes! And I will finally know my schedule yay! I love schedules! Ciao.

Well...

Today I have declared to do nothing. Well, pretty much nothing. I may go out later and buy a few more things for my room but that's about it. Reason why- I'm pretty sure this kind of day won't be happening again lol. After I get my schedule I can start planning trips around Europe. Since I will also be having 3 days weekends, aside from the holidays, I'm planning to go visit different cities in Spain at least 2 of the 4 weekends every month. I'm sure I will get exhausted...but that's the point right? Time to put couchsurfing.com to the test!

Calle Montemayor y queso (Montemayor street and cheese)

This weekend was full of excitement. I went to a cheese festival, got a cold and moved into my apartment! Of course I will expand a little bit on each of those but before I do, I just want to point out that I changed a few things on my blog page so please look around and check 'em out! There are now little boxes below each post so you can "check off" your reaction. I can edit what they say so please give me feedback as to what may be some other fun check boxes. Also don't forget to feed the fish (on the right side of the page)- they are hungry all the time...

Ok lets start with Saturday morning:

At around 10am I met up with my, now, 2 roommates. They are two girls who will be going to school where I will also be helping/teaching. They're new to the town also so we should be just about on the same page for that and they're only a few years younger than me...so maybe they can teach me the "hip lingo" hahaha. When we met up in the morning we went directly to go look at apartments. Since they're new to the area we had to ask where the first one was. The people told us that particular place was far but they were renting out a "flat," as they say here, right there. Within 5 min the owner showed us the place which had 4 bedrooms and it was ok but not great. We then (within another 10 min after looking at the first place) walked around the corner, literally around the corner, and looked at another place. It was a 3 bedroom apt with 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room- EVERY ROOM furnished. We decided on that place because it was nicer. So basically within an hour and a half I met my roommate for the first time and we found a place to live...not bad huh? Check out the pics of the place- its pretty big...especially for less than 350 euros!

After already feeling accomplished from finding an apartment I had to get ready to go to the CHEESE FESTIVAL! I met up with one of the teachers I'll be working with at the school to go to the festival 
with her and her family. We drove about 30 minutes to get to Zuheros (pronounced like swea-ros, with a Spanish accent of course), which is a VERY small town, but apparently very touristy from what I'm told. It was absolutely beautiful and even had a castle. The festival was packed with people! We had to buy little tickets to try the different samples of cheese...and wine- yum yum. There were tons of different kinds, even one that was brown because it had aged about 5-10 years- it was so old it was SPICY and killed about 1/4 of my tastebuds! Definitely an experience! We tried tons of different types from smooth and creamy to hard like parmesan and all were great (some a little much for me but oh well!). My favorite had to be queso a la plancha which is just a milder white cheese that they throw on the grill for a little bit. It really reminded me of greek food, which is probably why i liked it so much. There were multiple others that I also liked as well but I ended up just coming home with one. I don't typically eat fancy cheeses so it probably will even take me months just to finish this ONE. I have no idea what the name of the cheese I brought home with me is but it has a pretty strong flavor and its a harder cheese- I think it'll go great on salads. And actually the woman who I went with got it for me which was so nice of her. Everyone here has been SO nice and just welcoming me into their lives...something I definitely need since I didn't know anyone here previously.

After eating tons of cheese, even the very potent brown one,  we walked around the town a for a little bit. There was a beautiful view of the fields if you passed through a residential area (well i guess the whole town is residential) and then of course the castle was great to look at. We didn't get a chance to go inside because it was closed (for siesta) when we were headed out. Even the walk the the car had beautiful views- since its a small town there are NO parking lots so most cars had to park among the olive trees  or on the side of the road.

After the festival we headed to a friend's house for some drinks. Their house was so beautiful and they even had a pool! I'm even jealous. We (the teacher, her husband and son, the son's girlfriend, the friend and husband and me of course) all sat outside and talked for hours about random things and enjoyed some tea and little pastries :) I tried my best to relax but I had a cold (which started the day before) so I looked like I had horrible allergies because I couldn't stop blowing my nose. Within an hour my eyes couldn't stop watering...lol which becomes very awkward if you can't describe to someone that you have a cold. The teacher even gave me a stash of tea because I didn't have any at the apartment- I love the people here. Around 7 or 8pm I headed for the apt I was staying at and just relaxed the rest of the night. Good thing I did because today I feel a TON better.

So today was the first day that I actually had NOTHING to do. I've seriously been non-stop, pretty much, since I arrived- which has been great but a little exhausting. Today I slept in until 11am :) and it was great. I also decided that I didn't want to be completely unproductive so I moved my bags to the new apartment- which is actually across the street from where I was staying for the last few days. I'm settled in for the most part now, I just need some hangers and a few misc. items but everything is pretty much here. It's nice to just be able to unpack my bags and know whats inside! I took some pics of the place before I unpacked so feel free to check those pics out too. The next few days should be pretty relaxed as I don't have anything to do until Thursday...when I head back to Cordoba, AGAIN...and school starts Friday. I'm planning to learn how to grocery shop here, now that I have a fridge. It's really funny how I have to relearn how to do everything here because I feel like I'm 15 and helpless even though this is so easy at home. Luckily I've been getting a ton of help from everyone so I haven't made any really awkward mistakes...yet. I will try to make a good reputation for us Seattlites.

Dear Ben,...

This post is dedicated to answering some questions my brother had. Ben- if you have more, ask! Of course everyone else can ask questions too! In case you didn't read his post/comment to me here it is:

more more i wanna know more! what does it smell like? how is your air? where are the trees?? isn't there ancient stuff there?? all I see is new, and modern its more modern than here at home! maybe I've got to see for myself. are you teaching yet??

I know that Carlos was able to answer a few of the questions (thanks!) and so I will try to also write in some comparisons.

So let's start with the smell...there are tons. Everything good and bad- like a very direct woman who just lays everything out on the table when you meet her. I would say in a ten minute walk around town you will smell everything from trash (from the trash bins) and dog pee to amazing smell of freshly baked bread and cologne/perfume from people passing by. In the states you get a little bit of this because everything smells different there too, of course, but this is more extreme. I absolutely love it. Oh and also you should know many of the old men here smell like B.O., I guess not much different from the states either lol

Trees- here they have mostly olive trees. There are a few small trees here and there but mostly for decoration around the town. The whole town is surrounded by country and that's where all the olive trees are. There are also grape vines, of course, too...for the delicious wine :) I actually haven't even tried a glass of wine yet, just a drink called tinto de verano (lemon fanta with wine to top it off), so I will have to get back to you on how that tastes. So basically the landscape is VERY different than the West coast landscape that you're used to.

Old stuff :) There is PLENTY of history here even just in this small town. Carlos, a new friend from Lucena, showed and explained some of the history to me. I don't know that I want to write it all out here but basically it used to be a jewish town (versus most of the surrounding towns were Muslim) and has now been converted into a Christian (Catholic) town...although I'm not sure how many years ago this was. I would definitely recommend you look up Lucena on Wikipedia if you have time: Wiki-Lucena.

Buildings- I don't know that I would say these buildings are modern but I suppose they do look very different and in pretty good condition. Even the new ones have a similar style to the older ones. I will make sure to take more pics but the pictures do the buildings, and town, no justice. They are beautiful and they streets are great because there are skinny ones, like the "typical European" look and then there are also big streets for more traffic. The sidewalks are also fun because they're pretty skinny so most people just end up walking in the streets. I'm told the ones here are in pretty good condition in comparison to those in other towns of similar size. I think there's just such a difference in architecture between what we see in the states and here that is impossible to compare.

I will make sure to take plenty more pics so you all can see the town and all that's here. If I could figure out how to do panoramic pics with my camera I would...we will see if I can figure it out or not.

I'm going to be starting school next Friday (Oct. 1). So between now and then I will move in somewhere (I'm meeting with a possible roommate tomorrow and I have back up plans if that falls through) and get my student ID card. Please wish me luck with this because this will be my 4th time going to Cordoba in the last week to try to figure this out- hopefully it will be my last! Be on the look out for more pics! I will add them very soon!!!

OMG I just want to unpack my bags

Well, first of all, let me just say I love Spain. The only thing I haven’t loved is going to Córdoba (about an hour by direct bus route) three times since I’ve arrived here to get my student ID card and not getting anywhere!!!! Long story short, I’ve had to go to a specific police station (I found this out by going to multiple "wrong" police stations), then get on the list to come back (basically make an appointment but I still have to wait in line when I arrive), and now I have to return next week because I don’t have an address and without one they won’t process my ID card. I have to get this card to be able to stay here 9 months otherwise I would have to come back after 3months.

I’m also extremely ready to have an apartment! People in Lucena have been great and one of the teachers is letting me stay with him for a few days but I hate intruding on his space. Not having a place is now a constant stress for me (although this should be ending soon) even if I don’t actively think about it. I can understand why people say “home” is so important. It gives you a sense of calm when you have one…and when you don’t, well, RELAXING is out of the question. I don’t know how people who actually don’t have a home do it- I would probably just become numb (mentally).  That being said- I should have an apartment within less than a week. I’ve been waiting to see if theres anyone living here that wants to share an apartment with me, that way I will be able to practice my Spanish all the time. I have one person to call tomorrow and if that situation doesn’t work out…well I have my back up options. I’ve already looked and 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and they’re pretty cheap. I’m really trying to find something *cheap* but livable because I will probably be traveling a lot of the time. I have already found some cheap options so please everyone cross your fingers or send prayers that this will all happen SOON…like tomorrow lol!

I have about a week until I start working at the school, so the plans until then…

1.       1. go to a cheese festival this weekend (I know you’re jealous!)

2.       2. move into an apartment

3.       3. get my student ID card

4.       4. learn how to shop in the grocery store by myself and where to buy the best foods

5.       5. practice speaking in Spanish!!!!

I will let you know how all of those things go of course. Oh and I’ve kept saying that its super hot here but guess what…today is RAINED! I was in Córdoba most of the day and it was pretty wet there- I loved it and it reminded me of home lol. We will see how quickly the weather changes here…Now I’m off to bed to rest up for another day! I will post some pics I took today in a few days.

Random

These are just random thoughts I've forgot to add to all my posts.

Random fact 1: EVERY dog in Lucena is seriously smaller than my purse. I mean at this point I've seen plenty of dogs in the town and all of them (except one I saw yesterday) are "toy" dogs and I have no idea why. I'm guess it's easier since a lot of people live in smaller houses or apartments...or maybe it's just the fashion here??

Random fact 2: No one picks up after there dog so you constantly have to watch out for dog poo lol.

Random fact 3: All the TV over here is American TV dubbed over is Spanish (with exception of some cooking shows, Reality shows and Soap Operas). Its very odd to watch the dubbed programs though because the voices of the people have no emotion and they always sound the same. Its like there is only one man and woman who dub TV shows in Spanish lol. I really need to get my online TV working! I don't plan on watching much but I'm addicted to Desperate Housewives so that is a MUST.

I hope you enjoyed the random facts of the day! Also to comment back to Ben's comment earlier- I will take some pics of people but as of right now I have like no friends and its super awkward to randomly take pics of people lol. Also make sure to click on my photo albums/slide shows...it will take you to my albums where you can look at all the captions and even see bigger sizes of the pics!

Please keep your comment coming! I enjoy reading what you write and your opinions. If there's anything you want to see (like weird food or fashionable people) just let me know!

3 days = lots o' stuff

So this is a forewarning: This will be a very long post because I have 3 days of stuff to cover :) I will just break it down for each day to make it easy.

SATURDAY:
So I went to Córdoba in the morning to try and take care of the whole student ID issue. Of course when I got there they told me I needed to go to a different police station so I’m planning on heading back tomorrow (Tuesday) because they weren’t open on Saturday. I already figured something like that would happen so I decided to explore the town a bit. I absolutely LOVE Córdoba. It’s the first city I’ve actually explored in Spain and since I love cities in general it’s not surprising to know I loved this one too. The night before I had Google mapped (on street view) where I needed to go so that was a big help in making sure I didn’t get lost. By the way- I highly recommend doing this (using Google maps on the street view) for anywhere new you travel to if you want to avoid getting completely lost.

Anyhow I was hungry, as always lol, and I stopped by a café with outdoor seating. I had seen people eating these pieces of bread with some sort of topping so I asked for one as well (and was able to choose from a variety of toppings) and a coffee with milk. Here’s a pic of the food which is just a piece of bread with olive oil,  tomato and ham (pan con tomate y jamón picado):

I slowly enjoyed my food trying to act like a true Spaniard. Mike (my boyfriend) has been trying for months to get me to eat slower but I have been stubborn about it lol…up to now. After getting some food and a dose of caffeine I wandered around more, making my way to a drawing store (papelería) to buy a drawing pad and a little notebook to write down all the words I don’t know and other notes. I also wound up walking through a street market type thing in the middle of town and purchased a dress, sandals and necklace (pics in my photo album) all for about 16 euro…not too bad. The rest of the time I just enjoyed the sun (it was about 86 degrees!), walked around and took pics just to make myself look extra touristy ;)
After I returned to Lucena (by the way the bus ride to and from is beautiful) I didn’t feel as if I’d done enough shopping so I walked around and window shopped for a bit…and later found myself actually INSIDE another store buying some shirts and a belt. I’m trying to fit in here but it’s hard when all my accessories are either in the States or lurking at the bottom of my bag and since I haven’t unpacked yet it makes it difficult to find anything.

 There was a big event going on that night in the large open area of town, it’s in front of the church. By night time the area was full of people. There was even a wedding that night, which I figured out because the recently married couple was riding around town in a horse carriage followed by cars honking their horns in celebration. As all of these events were going on I decided to stop by one of the restaurants for bite to eat. I didn’t recognize anything on the menu…once again…so I asked and ended up getting a half portion (which is still huge and is probably for 3 or 4 people…for a snack that is) of the Surtido Ibérico which is a plate of cheese and meats. The day basically ended there and went back to the hostel. On the way back I past what is probably my favorite store:

If you can’t tell this store is selling lingerie and baby clothes…apparently a good combo. Apparently this is common here as per what Esther (the coordinator of the language program for the school) told me. Maybe they should consider this in the states… lol.

SUNDAY:
This day was pretty mellow minus the fact I woke up at 3am here and couldn’t go back to sleep. I think I’m JUST starting to adjust to the schedule. When I finally got out of bed I walked around again- I’m trying to make sure I explore the town a little more each day. I probably walk about 30min-1hr or more just walking and exploring the town. I decided to start my day off on a good note, since my emotions have been running rampant, and have some sugar for breakfast. I purchased a torta con queso which kind of like a combo between cake and cheesecake. They wrapped it up so pretty and it just looked so good I almost didn’t want to eat it…but of course I did.

I don’t know if you noticed this unifying theme...food…but being the foodie that I am, I am forced to love the food and share it with you to the best of my abilities. I promise if you visit here you can actually try it and not just stare at the pics!

I wanted to enjoy the day and admire the town so I sat down, with all the old ladies and old men (seriously those were the only people sitting down outside), and decided I would draw a little bit. The buildings here are beautiful and complicated, old and new…I can just stare at them and enjoy.
After spending about an hour sitting and drawing I headed to Caramba (the first place I ate in Spain- it’s a local sandwich shop). It was pretty busy there so I sat at the bar- that’s kind of all there is though- and ordered a beer. This was the day I tried my first Spanish paella! They were just serving little plates of it for free…I think there was some sort of festival or holiday and that’s why. It was good although I want to really try the stuff with all the seafood and what not (this one was only rice, red pepper and pork- I think). I spent a good two hours or so at that place because the people are super nice, it’s owned by a family and they also run the place, and are very easy to communicate with. That was pretty much all that took place because the rest of the day I spent in the hostel organizing my music- itunes hates me- and talking on Skype.

MONDAY (aka today):
Today was fabulous. I keep finding myself smiling so hard and randomly laughing. People probably think I’m crazy although I do try hard to laugh out loud when I’m NOT passing people in the street lol. There are just things that happen here there that are so funny to me. For instance, when I walk into a bar/restaurant or even clothing stores (I’ve only been to one so far) they are playing current music styles…from the US. Why I find it funny is because basically no one speaks English here so I’m guessing they have no idea what the words are saying. I guess people just want to fit in so they listen to Black Eyed Peas and Rihanna because it’s “cool.”

Today I kind of had an agenda…I had to meet Esther (who organizes the program at my particular school) at the school at 11am where she tried to help me find an apartment. I’m planning on looking at a few tomorrow but I was also offered to possibly room with another girl, who will be attending the school, and it that doesn’t work one of the professors has a place I can rent for 150euro! So things are finally beginning to shape up which I’m SO happy about.

Esther and I left the school and she showed me around a little bit. I have already explored so I knew most of the areas she showed me. We ended up picking up her kids at school and I went with her back to her house. Her kids were great and were even teaching me Spanish words that I didn’t know. I ended up staying for lunch…which was DELICIOUS!... and I enjoyed it a lot also because I finally had people to eat with! The food was really basic but sooo good. The meal included noodles in chicken broth (it may have even been homemade broth because it had such a rich flavor), salad (lettuce and tomato) in a vinaigrette, pork covered in breadcrumbs and fried, bread and melon. I hung out with the kids a little longer but started getting pretty tired so I went to the hostel and took a long nap.

I find it funny because now, even though it’s been less than a week, every time I talk with someone in English I’m thinking in Spanish most of the time. I have no clue what’s it’s going to be like after 9 months! Luckily I do have to speak English at the school…otherwise I might forget it lol. Seriously though, I’m pretty sure I would.

To top off the night I went to the restaurant where I had the meat and cheese plate (surtido ibérico) and ordered ensaladilla rusa. I’m not completely sure what it all includes but it’s kind of like an egg salad but chopped into smaller pieces and has potato, peppers and peas in it. They also brought me out a common appetizer- olives! Oh and my new favorite *non-alcoholic* drink is Aquarius, it’s basically lemonade but tastes like it has a ¼ of the sugar and I’m told has more vitamins.

Ok well since this post is about the length of a novel I will stop here. I have a few more busy days ahead of me before school starts. Tomorrow I’m off to Córdoba again for my student ID and I will meet with a girl from CA who’s traveling, then move my things to a co-workers place and I will stay there for a few days until I move into a place. I will also be meeting with a guy who I met on couchsurfing.com and is from Lucena (actually the only person on the site in Lucena). So until then, chao!

I.E.S. Juan de Aréjula

Today I started off the morning with a limited selection of food since I have no refrigeration in the hostel. I purchased (last night) some olives with pepper things in them, bread, banana and oranges which I ate this morning as my breakfast. After that exciting meal I went to the police station to try to take care of my VISA extension. For some reason today was the day I was having trouble speaking Spanish, which if you didn't know, is kind of difficult when you are living in a city where everyone pretty much speaks Spanish only. I was able to get myself together a little bit, enough to function for the day at least lol. As I fumbled my way through my Spanish at the police station they told me they couldn't give me the student card I need (which is the extension of my VISA) and that I need to go to Córdoba. So I guess it may have been better to go to Córdoba first but everything happens for a reason right?

After going to the police station I headed over to the school that I will be working at (I.E.S. Juan de Aréjula) to let them know I’m here. They were actually beyond helpful and are going to help me find an apartment, assuming that I don’t find one in the next few days. The woman who’s coordinating the program (Cultural Ambassadors- the reason I’m here) for the school told me the funniest thing though. I mean I know I’m helping teach English at the school so this shouldn’t be surprising but she told me I’m only allowed to speak English whenever I’m at the school (unless I’m talking to the principal who doesn’t speak a lick of English except for “welcome” ) lol. I’m thinking that I am truly going to be bilingual at the end of this experience.

The director of the program, I forgot her name!, also told me a little bit more about the program since all I knew was that I’m supposed to be at the school on Oct. 1^st and I will be working 12hrs/week. Apparently I will be working with the teachers to help them with their English. I will be helping them with the lesson plans in English and also practicing conversation with them. There are 3 subjects that I will be helping with, the only one of which I remember is Sciences because I was thinking about how much I hate science lol. I’m absolutely in love with my situation right now because it just reminds me that God has a sense of humor.

After the school visit (oh! And it’s a high school) I went back to the hostel. It was in the middle of siesta (when everything closes in the middle of the day) and my hostel was closed L If only I could read I would have seen the sign that says ring the bell in 3 languages, including English, to get in when the door is closed- of course I saw this sign later. Like I said though, everything happens for a reason…I ended up walking around Lucena to explore a bit more of the town. It’s actually a decent size and there are tons of shops for everything. I ended up stopping by a grocery store that was open and wandered inside. I keep wondering if people think I’m stealing stuff because I carry my gigantic purse with me and just look around and don’t buy anything lol. The store looked the same as in the states except they have a HUGE isle for meat. It’s about the size of 2 isles in the states but it’s mostly fresh meat, not like prepackaged. I didn’t buy anything because they didn’t really have individual sizes and (like I said earlier) I have no fridge yet.

I kept walking and was feeling hungry so I stopped at a tapas bar where people smoke indoors stillJ. I asked for the menu, which I soon found out doesn’t actually mean a physical menu but rather a 2 course meal deal with a few selections that they read to you (at least at this place). First they brought me out some fried sardines as a starter, literally 2 whole fish battered and fried…eyes and all! Because I’m in Spain I plan to try almost everything and they were surprisingly good. The next thing I ate was “huevos camperos” which were SO good. It’s just a fried egg, peas, jamón serrano (look it up if you don’t know about it!), cheese and this red sauce. It was so different and so delicious so I plan to try that one again for sure- I seriously ate the whole thing and I was full half way through. Even though I was full I had one more dish coming which was “revuelta de la casa” which was not so much a favorite. Its another egg dish, but this time scrambled, with asparagus (that looks and tastes like green peppers), jamón serrano, garlic and mushrooms. The mushrooms were very different tasting and actually what I didn’t like so much, that, and I was already kind of “egged” out from the last dish. I don’t even know how to describe the difference in the mushrooms but at first I couldn’t really figure out what they were because they tasted so different even though they looked like mushrooms. I think I would have liked it better if I had some hot sauce to add to it! Haha Oh I miss my hot sauce!

I still haven’t adjusted to the “Spanish” schedule so  I just came home and took a long nap after the food- I must have had the itis (The Boondocks reference- why haven’t they made the “Itis” restaurant yet??? I would be there daily). My day has not changed much since then but tomorrow I’m heading to Córdoba to try to get that ID that I need (I’m just hoping they’re actually open but we’ll see). So until then, ¡hasta luego!

FYI- if you haven’t noticed I’m in love with lol-ing because I laugh at everything and feel I should share that with you. If you aren’t aware of what that is, either because you are my parents or have never texted someone, “lol” means “laugh out loud” and I use it incessantly whenever I write so hopefully you can deal with that.

the beginning

After months of waiting...I'm finally in España! I've already met people at every location I’ve stopped in (both plane rides, the airport, the hostel and both cities) and had some great conversations. I met a girl from the same program as me as well so I'm planning on visiting her when I start traveling! I'm off to a good start.

Last night was my first night in Spain. I arrived around 9 or 10pm and I had just spent about 12 hours flying + a few hours of layover time so I was a little bit out of it. After getting off the plane in Malaga I had to take a bus to the hostel. Finding the bus station and getting on the bus was easy, the difficult part was trying to figure out which stop to get off at and where to go after. There were a couple guys on the bus (one from the states and the other from Denmark) who were also looking for a hostel so we all walked in circles together trying to find the one I had reservations at. I was lucky they were there because one of them helped me with my bags (which totaled at least 70lbs!). To say the least, it took a little while and definitely looked like typically dumb Americans. Once we finally found the hostel it was booked so the guys had to find another one so I'm so glad I booked mine the day before.
I got to meet my roommates and hang out for a little bit but I was tired and went to bed around midnight. My roommates were French (2 girls) and Australian (1 girl). It was really interesting trying to communicate with the French girls because one spoke some English and they both spoke a little Spanish- Spanglish was definitely involved every time we spoke. My other roommate from Australia had been traveling for a while and still has a few more months left so we’ll see if we meet up again. Before I left Malaga this morning my Australian roommate and I walked through the market briefly to grab a few things but I do plan to go back and explore more thoroughly when I’m not carrying 70lbs of stuff! Lol

This morning I took a bus from a stop near the hostel to the bus/train station. From there it was only another bus ride (similar buses to Greyhound) for about 1.5 hrs to Lucena. I ditched my other plans and decided I would just go to Lucena find a hostel. Luckily the town is small and I found a hostel no problem. This place is really nice too since it costs the same as the last one I stayed in except I have a room to myself, a TV, my own bathroom & shower and AC- which is MUCH needed here, at least until I acclimate from the cold Seattle weather ;) It’s been a busy day every after I arrived…I’ve already looked at 2 apartments, ate a bocadillo (sandwich) and purchases Spanish toiletries. Tomorrow won’t disappoint either since I have a few errands to run including extending my VISA and maybe looking at another apartment. Keep checking me out here & I will make sure to keep you updated.

Birthdays and unpacked bags

There is officially less than 2 weeks until I leave for Spain. So far I, with the help of my mom, have figured out where I will stay when I get there. My travel in Spain will start in Malaga (where my flight lands), then bus it to Cordoba, after I have to find another bus to Lucena. Then I will be trying to figure out where to live- that should be fun haha. I'm basically ready for anything to happen at this point so I will just have to go with the flow and start living like a true Spaniard.

Well, while I'm still in the states I will update you on that. Life has been a little busy in Seattle getting ready to leave and still celebrating events. I'm currently focused on a friend's birthday coming up in a few days so still haven't made a packing list yet...I'm hoping to get that done before I leave however ;) In addition to the birthday planning I have been distracted by the BEST music festival in the Northwest- Bumbershoot. All the films, comedy shows and music we saw was great. The list of people we saw perform includes: Jay Electronica, Fresh Espresso, LMFAO, Greta Matassa Quartet, Vienna Teng Trio, Hole, Weezer; stunt show by Circus Una; comedians Chris Hardwick, Morgan Murphy and Jamie Kilstein (who also ended up passing us later in the evening and giving us some food vouchers). We also viewed the arts, including Counterculture Comix, Portrait Challenge, Seattle Street Biennale 2010 (amazing graffiti art), The Bumbershoot piece, Sounds Human and saw the best of the Northwest High School film festival, which actually really impressed me, and some other short films. We also ate some good good food (I love the piroshkis) I can definitely say we had a FULL day. This week is going to be just as full trying to get everything done- I love being busy.