It’s hard to believe that it’s been a little over one year since I began my semester abroad in Spain. The memories, the people, the food, the adventures… I could go on and on about how amazing my time in Madrid was the best of my life, but I’m sure you get the picture. I’ll make this post short and sweet, but just wanted to give a huge shout out to all of those who made the time abroad so special! Besos!
We may or may not be slightly dysfunctional – going delusional on the last day in Granada
Saying goodbye leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth, that I usually only reserve it for funerals. In my half-glass-full, eternally optimistic world, it’s always “see you later,” or as the Spaniards say, hasta luego. When I told my typical Tuesday/Thursday lunch spot that it was my last time eating there, upon walking out the door, they waved and said, “hasta luego, otra vez” – indicating that I would surely be back to their tiny vegetarian nook nestled on the edge of El Viso. There was no hesitation, no question that I would be back, if not tomorrow, the following day, for another piece of their most scrumptious, not too cream-cheesy, carrot cake. She was the closest thing I had to a señora while abroad and always greeted me with a warm smile. We often got lost in translation, and resorted to pointing and hand motions when all else failed. Instead of getting frustrated with me, she would treat me with an extra large piece of torta. She asked about school, helped me with on more than one occasion with my grammar, and even kept the doors open past normal closing time so I could finish an essay, but perhaps what I’ll look forward to seeing again most is being a regular again in a place that isn’t my home. So until then, hasta luego.
It seems I’ve caught an extreme case of “Hemingway” – I have been spending all of my free time in cafés, and parks and empty hotel rooms writing away about my enchantment with this foreign land. My love for writing has only gown fonder, as my life has only gotten more interestingly complex. Sometimes I can’t help but think I was born to write and photograph everything around me. Since coming to Spain, it has become second nature, and I often find myself stopping to write something down or snap a photo of yet another spanish monument.
The past few weeks have been an utter whirlwind – midterms, Fallas, friends visiting, and of course the anticipation of Spring Break. March has passed by quicker than you can say ¡rápida! and it scares me to death that my time here is more than halfway done and I haven’t even accomplished half of what I want to do. Hopefully the two weeks of Spring Break will help me complete my spanish to do list.
Before arrive in Madrid, I made a list of 20 things I waned to experience, festivals I wanted to visit and passport stamps I wanted to collect – similar to my “20 Things Before 20” list. here’s what it includes:
Fallas Festival, Valencia Spain – DONE
Spanish Soccer Game – DONE (Bonus – El Clásico)
Go to a flamenco show
Go to Italy
Go to Czech Republic
Go to Portugal
Go to Barcelona, Spain – DONE
Go to San Sebastián, Spain
Go to Sevilla, Spain
Go to Granada, Spain – DONE
See a Spanish Bull Fight
Travel by train – DONE
Go to the Prado and see some art – DONE
See the “Guernica” by Picasso – DONE
Play fútbol with some locals – DONE
Try paella, sangria and chocolate con churros – DONE
Travel Solo – DONE
Go wine tasting – DONE
Ride a moped
Achieve Spanish Fluency
And while I have achieved a vast majority of the items on this list (& so much more) I cannot help but feel incomplete and void of any sense of accomplishment in crossing things off. I feel when you’re abroad there is just so much going on that it’s impossible to achieve everything – but I’m determined (and pretty much refuse to go back to the US) until I cross off everything on the list.
I decided to go back to live blogging and record our school trip to Granada and Córdoba in Andalucía in the south of Spain. NYU Madrid pays for each student to go on one of three trips: Andalucía, Extremadura and Portugal or Valencia. We all chose Andalucía because we all planned on going to Portugal on our own and wanted to go to Valencia for Fallas – a five day long festival in March. Luckily for us, almost all the girls in our group got on the trip so it’s perfect!
12:15 PM – Friday February 15
This morning we were up way too early (at 6:20) to arrive at school by 7:45 and be on the bus by 8. After a quick ride on the Cercancías (similar to the Metro North in the city). As soon as we got settled on the bus we were all passed out – what can I say, we all need our beauty sleep! Two hours later we stopped for café con leche y pincho de tortilla, shortly before entering into the autonomous region of Andalucía. It is the largest region in Spain in regards to population and surface area. Today we will get into to Córdoba around 1:30, grab a quick bite to eat at a Cafetería then head to the Mezquita and Jewish Quarter.
Though Córdoba is rich in its Arabic and Jewish history, we will only be staying a short while before heading to Granada (home to the famous Alhambra).
I’m in dire need of another nap before we arrive so that’s it for now.
– MP
5:37 PM Friday February 15
Córdoba
We are once again back on the bus, except this time headed to Granada. Though my legs are a tad tired from all the exploring, I am sad we are leaving Córdoba after only a few hours.
Córdoba – the old capital of Andalucía – is most commonly known for the Mezquita – a mosque that was converted into a church in the mid fifteenth century. Though the highlight of our trip to this city was La Mezquita, I found some other neat places here. As soon as we stepped off the bus, professors pointed out cute and quaint cafeterias to hit up across the bridge; fortunately for me, my friend Derrick and I were not hungry which gave us a few hours to explore while everybody sat around and ate.
Another Street Performer
We set off to the north east part of Córdoba, completely unaware to what we would find. Before we knew it, we were in the heart of a residential area composed of ancient arabesque architecture. White marble, double entrances and Arabic writing greeted us around each twist and turn – it made me only want to go explore Arabia more. 15 minutes later we stumbled upon ancient roman columns from the 1st century. I was less than impressed by the ten foot tall fences surrounding the site and vowed to Derrick to get an aerial view of the historic site. I must have inherited my sense of adventure from my grandfather, because before we knew it, we were on the roof patio of some social security agency. There were breathtaking views of all of Córdoba (along with the columns), but unfortunately we weren’t able to enjoy them for long, as we were kicked off by some worker. Thank god a bright smile and the phrase, “Ohh no sabíamos, lo siento. Somos Americanos” works wonders and gets you off the hook here in Spain. That one was for you Grandpa.
View from above
The sun began to eat down on our backs so I pulled out my ray bans and we continued on our way, unsure of our next destination. A beautiful park, complete with water fountain and miniature mosque was next up on our adventure. Kids were running and riding their bikes up and down the orange tree lined path as their parents chased them down. We definitely were no longer in the touristy part of the city. As we exited the park, we decided to head back towards La Mezquita because we needed to be back thirty minutes later and still had to score some lunch. Derrick and I ended up making a circle and found the starting point of our adventure and grabbed some bocadillos (sandwiches) before our tour – bocadillo de chorizo for him and a bocadillo de tortilla for me. Yum!
Words, nor my numerous pictures, do any justice to any of the monuments I have visited since being here, especially La Mezquita. The amount of detail inscribed to each column is unreal. I could not even imagine how hard it would have been to work on this Mosque-Cathedral. La Mezquita is a very unique piece of architecture, seeing as it was originally a Muslim place of worship, that was later converted to a cathedral. I have never seen quite the fusion between East and West as I did today. Crosses found their places next to Arabic phrases which were placed among ancient Christian Relics – to say it was a sight to see would be an understatement.
La Mezquita
La Mezquita
Following our Mezquita visit, our guide María, walked us through the Jewish Quarter. The synagogue we stopped at was nothing more than a 2 story room with a seven tiered menorah on the Southern Wall. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t very impressed with the size nor details of the structure both here and in Segovia.
One more quick snack break and we were once again on the bus. Two hours till Córdoba.
-MP
12:57 AM Saturday February 16
We made it to Granada! Though I slept the whole way, I was so happy to just crash on a bed in the hotel room I shared with Alinah and Jess.
Not much has happened since I last wrote, except we went out to dinner. Grace, Hannah, Lindsey, Taylor, Alinah, Jess, Matt, Sacha, Will and I ended up a small tapas bar about ten minutes from our hotel in downtown Granada. The city itself isn’t that big, but it does boast the largest college population in the country. Though its a ton of fun to go out in large groups, it is rather difficult to chose a restaurant at 10:30 at night that will accommodate a group of ten. Next time we’ll be sure to have a more solid plan before venturing out into the cold. Luckily the place we dined at was able to put to tables in the back together. I wasn’t terribly hungry so I split croquetas and a plate of jamón y queso with Will, which ended up being perfect. After some great conversation and finishing our food we set back towards our hotel. We have to get up early tomorrow for our visit to La Alhambra, so that’s all for now!
So things aren’t quite exactly the same here. I could go on for days about the things that are different: the food, the way of life, the language… but I’m pretty sure you already knew that. One of the most striking (and unfortunate) differences, however, would be laundry. It is the only thing I have to complain about, and it’s not even that bad – just very inconvenient and something I’m not entirely used to yet.
Back in New York, I’m spoiled during the season because the equipment room does all my soccer laundry and I barely wear anything but my sweats anyways. Out of season, I utilize the laundry room in the basement of the dorms but end up doing my laundry once every few weeks anyways. At home, I try and do my laundry, but most of the time my mom comes by and starts a load for me. Here in Spain, it’s a little bit more of a process.
First of all, we don’t have a dryer. Yikes. I’m aware that most countries use clothing lines and drying racks, but I guess it never crossed my mind when moving to Madrid that I wouldn’t have one at my disposal. When I finally decided to dry my clothes, it a) took three days to dry and b) everything was super stiff (ughh). Second, our washer fits about two pairs of jeans and a couple of t-shirts. To do the amount of laundry I normally do in New York, it takes about 2-3 times longer (minus the drying time) – it just makes doing a load of clothes that much more appealing (note the sarcasm). Third, we find ourselves doing laundry so much more because we are practically living out of a suitcase here for the next five months and go through clothes that much quicker.
Case in point. I hate laundry in Spain. I need to find a dryer pronto.
To say that I’ve been having a blast since I’ve been here would be a complete understatement.
To say that time has passed by quickly would be a complete and blatant lie – it has gone by in the blink of an eye.
I’ve been here a month and it’s mind-blowing to think of all the things I’ve done, the places I’ve seen and the people I’ve met. To put things in perspective I’ve listed my top 20 things I’ve done.
I think my computer hates me. Not only is it freaking out because of a proxy I put on it, so we can watch Hulu, but I just uploaded about 800 pictures from this weekend. Simply put, this weekend was picture perfect (minus my fourth roommate Alinah being in Portugal).
From Brussels to Brugge
On Saturday morning, the boys and us met up in Grand Place after a quick breakfast waffle (notice a recurring theme?) before heading to the Brussels train station. Much to our surprise, we were able to get roundtrip tickets for the five us for €50 which only made our day better. After trying to decode some French signs to catch our train, waiting half an hour and changing tracks we were on our way to Brugge.
Headed to Brugge
The hour and a half train ride through the beautiful countryside took us to the North West part of Belgium. It felt as if I were riding back in time, as I saw numerous dirt roads, small towns, and ancient buildings throughout the trip. When we finally arrived, we walked towards the tallest landmark we could see – the cathedral. The first fifteen minutes of our journey it appeared as if Brugge was just a quiet town with not much going on – man, were we wrong. We ended up walking through multiple plazas, through two cathedrals, and finding a main street with stores similar to that of SoHo in New York.
Kev, Meg, Erin, Jess, and Sam
Brugge is a small, very rich, super photogenic place that kept me enchanted all day. After finding the canals throughout the city, we ended up taking a million pictures of the swans that are unique to the water system, the deeply rooted buildings, and walking along the waterway – it was absolute perfection (despite the flurrying of snow).
Kev and his girls
Roommates on the water
Around 2:30 we began to get hungry so stepped into a cute little restaurant, Petit Maxim that looked affordable and had a menu du jour (menú del día). I ended up ordering Pâte, a country omlette (without mushrooms) and the chocolate mousse for dessert. Both Sam and Kevin ended up getting the Pâte, Flemish Stew and a side of warm applesauce, which was absolutely divine.
A Brugge-ian Country Omlette
Out of my comfort zone – trying Pheasant Pâte
Once we finished our Belgian lunch, we continued to walk around but headed back towards the train station. We once again passed a cathedral and decided to enter. Much to our surprise, a mass was going on and we stayed a bit – even though we couldn’t understand a word out of the Dutch priest’s mouth. It was interesting to note that the churches in Brugge had a tribute to victims of sexual assault (because of Catholic Priests) – I had never seen that before.
Before we knew it we were back at the train station chasing down a train. We were all exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep on the hour train back. Luckily for us the train back to Brussels was pulling up to the platform as soon as we walked up. Much to my dismay, I was unable to pass out, but I did unexpectedly find a creative filters feature on my DLSR which kept me busy the whole train ride (below is my favorite picture from the day).
The most faithful dog I ever did see
I bet you can’t guess what we did as soon as we got back to Brussels. Yup – you guessed it – got some waffles and fries for dinner and then rested at the hotel before heading back out with the boys. Once we finished our scrumptious snacks and got ready, we met Sam and Kevin in Grand Place. Sam had noticed a cool “Rock”bar on the way over and said we should check it out. Turns out the bar was home to the Local Hells Angels crew and we stuck out like a sore thumb. We were out of there and headed to Delirium faster than you can say AC/DC.
Twins
Our night at Delirium was hilarious to say the least. As the only Americans in the bar, we ended up singing every word to every song and encouraged everybody to join in. I was a witness to my fair share of dance battles (remind me to take brush up on my European dance moves when I’m back in Spain). We spent another hour in the village and then decided to part ways after we got some frites – the boys had an early flight and we were just exhausted.
Our Favorite Friterie
Somehow Jess, Erin, and I wound up at a tiny café eating gyros wraps and found ourselves taking pictures with the owner before heading back to our hotel. We had a great last night in Belgium to say the least. The next morning we were up super early and walked past Delirium to head to the airport. Though our stay was less than two days, I felt like I had known the city for ages.
Making friends while making Halal Food
Once we got to the airport, we made one last ditch effort to find waffles. We proceeded to fail miserably and opted for the much healthier smoothie stand instead. While waiting for our flight, I spotted the Spanish National Rugby Team walking around. Little did we know that they’d be on our flight. Luckily for me, they sat right in front of us and we became immediate friends (sort of, not really, well you get the point). To say it was an awesome way to end an amazing weekend would be an understatement.
The first and last lines of my college application essay read:
“I am a planner, a mapper, a person who needs each and every second to go according to plan… I became spontaneous. I now live by the Latin phrase Carpe diem– meaning ‘seize the day’.”
Though these lines are referencing my ACL tear back during high school, this most definitely applies to Wednesday night. Jess, Erin and I had just finished our visit to Museo del Prado – the most famous art museum in all of Spain – when our friends, Sam and Kevin, asked us if we were doing anything for the weekend. Though we were planning on heading South to Cadíz for Carnevale, nothing was set in stone. They told us they had gotten cheap flights to Brussels, Belgium and invited us to come along. Though Belgium had never crossed my mind as a destination, I was eager to get out of the country – Spain is awesome, don’t get me wrong, I just had a little bit of cabin fever.
That night we booked our tickets for Friday morning (tomorrow) and a cute little hotel on the north end of the center of Brussels. Spontaneity at its finest? I think yes.
Just a little bit excited
I’m so beyond excited to get another stamp in my passport, go on my first adventure without plans, and just travel for travelings’ sake. I don’t know what awaits us in Brussels, except for cold weather and delicious waffles, even so, Los Chupitos are taking on Belgium and Belgium best be ready.
I’ve been walking past the Santiago Bernabéu stadium everyday for the past two weeks, simply imagining, dreaming, and wishing I knew what lay within the confines of the large gates. The hundreds of thousands, if not millions of fans have witnessed players who’ve laced up their boots, taken the field, and gave it their all for ninety minutes, but that number dwindles when you solely count the number of fans that have witnessed a Real Madrid and FC Barçelona game, El Clásico.
The view from our seats
Luckily enough, I got to be one of those fans. YES. You read that right, I got tickets to El Clásico. Granted it was only the Semi Final of the Copa del Rey, which is a trivial and unimportant game in the grand scheme of things, but hell ya I’m went to a Real-Barça game! I’m one of those people who firmly believes that money cannot buy you happiness, but let me tell you… money can buy you tickets to El Clásico and thats pretty much the thing right next to happiness (in my book anyway).
It was all a dream
As a soccer fanatic, I cannot even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve dreamt of seeing this match being played out. Just ask any fútbolista what the biggest rivalry in soccer is and they will say, without hesitation, Real-Barça. The hostility towards each other stems from a very long and violent political history (as do most inter-city club rivalries in Spain). I for one, was surprised by this, as I always viewed sport as a means to unite people, not to divide them. Quite honestly, I think that’s why I’m a sports management major – because I’m infatuated by the way sports transcends so many social and political issues!
The only time I’ll pose with a Real jersey
Flash back to Wednesday morning. I rolled out of bed, threw on my beautiful sea foam green Barça jersey with Lionel Messi’s number 10 on the back, under my long sleeve black NYU Soccer shirt. I grabbed my zip up, knowing that If I were to walk around the stadium in any Barcelona gear, that I’d be immediately shunned and given the nastiest stares you could imagine. The two hours of class could not go fast enough, as all I could find myself thinking about was the intense rivalry I was about to witness. Luckily enough, my Blogging Spain professor was a Barça fan (a rare find in Madrid) and spent half the class talking about the game and the history between the clubs.
Rockin the Barca jersey and hat
I grabbed a quick lunch and then headed over to a friends apartment near the stadium to do some homework and get ready for the game. Of the ten or so of us girls, I was the only Barcelona supporter (obviously) and one of two people who knew what was actually going on. Though it was somewhat comical to me when girls were asking who won after the game (it was a 1-1 draw), I was happy I was able to introduce them to the soccer world.
The Girls
We walked over to the stadium about an hour prior and I was in complete soccer heaven. Thousands of people crowded the streets, vendors sold merchandise to fans, and policeman blocked off the streets surrounding the stadium. I wore my jersey proudly, embracing the fact that I was the enemy, knowing that anything I did or said would be amplified, not only because I was an American, but because of the colors I wore across my chest. I got spat at, sworn at (numerous times) and told to “get my papers and go home” by many Madridistas throughout the game, but nothing took away from the fact that I was living my dream of going to the greatest soccer rivalry on the planet.
With some of my people
I know for one that I cannot do the game justice but I wish I could share the moments with everybody.Flags were waving. People were singing, chanting, whistling, screaming their lungs out. The unforgettable smells of the jamón y queso bocadillos and the stench of cigarettes filled the stadium. The piercing sounds echoed in my ear drums for hours after the game. You could FEEL the emotions evaporating off of peoples faces when I flashed a smile at every Real fan I passed by. They were disgusted. I was on cloud nine – too excited to even be mad at their “Puta Messi” remarks.
The game itself was not everything I was expecting. A 1-1 draw is not horrible, but in the world of soccer, a tie is practically the same as a loss – and I hate losing more than anything! In addition, Messi had been averaging 1.53 goals a game and recently scored 4 goals on Sunday so I was very excited to see him juke out some keepers, however he was largely absent from the game. Fábregas scored, and as an Arsenal fan in the EPL I was very excited for the old captain to score. I also had been looking forward to seeing Iker Casillas (my favorite male professional goalkeeper) play, however this past week he had surgery on his hand after the Valencia game where his own player stepped on him. Despite having Diego Lopez in goal for Casillas and slew of athletes recovering, Real Madrid proved to be progressing. The best part of the game itself, and perhaps what made me most excited is when my roommate Erin repeated to me, “Barça’s passing is amazing” – and quite honestly it made me smile. Even a complete non-soccer-fan could see the beauty that lies in the crisp passes between Iniesta and Messi.
In my element
Wednesday was a dream come true. And everyday when I walk past the Santiago Bernabéu stadium I will no longer be imagining, dreaming, and wishing I knew what lay within the confines of the large gates. I will know. I will know why that stadium, El Clásico, and the beautiful game of fútbol is so important to the people of Spain.
I hope your day is going as awesome as mine. I’m currently finishing up my last class of the day, Blogging Spain. Yes, I know that it does not sound like a real class, but I promise you that it’s actually pretty hard and not just about blogging about my experience in Spain (though that’d be a pretty awesome class). I’ve received a lot of feedback and questions (mostly from my parents and their friends) about going to school, so I felt it was appropriate to finally describe a normal day in the life of Meg in Madrid.
Our cute little yellow school house
Mondays and Wednesdays I usually wake up around 9:30 and am out the door by 10 to get to my 11AM class. On Tuesday and Thursdays I’m up around 7:45 for my 9:30 class – honestly it’s nothing compared to my NY sleeping schedule. My only complaint thus far about living in Sol would have to be the long commute to school – 10 minute walk to the Sol Metro, 2 trains, and a 10-15 minute walk from Santiago Bernabeu to our Calle Segre campus takes about an hour total depending on if the trains are on time or not.
I was incredibly lucky that I got my first pick with classes and scheduled everything back to back so I wouldn’t have to wait around campus for awkward periods of time. On M/W I have ‘Cultural History of Spain’ and ‘Blogging Spain’ and on T/TH I am enrolled in ‘Critical Approaches’ and ‘Spanish for Commerce’. Though I cannot say I’m completely infatuated with my classes as I was with my Sports Management classes in NY, I am enjoying the selection (even if they are completely in Spanish and I’m lost in translation about 70% of the time).
Check Out the beautiful moon
After class for two and a half hours a day, I head back to our apartment in Sol, grab some food, sit down on our lovely couches (pictures coming soon) and pretend to do homework. I usually proceed to get cabin fever and head out for a run.
Sidetracking a bit, but tonight I went for one of the most amazing runs of my life – though it was a brisk 42 degrees, it felt like it was a cool and comfortable 65. I found my heart rate monitor and watch, ran for a good 45 minutes down around Puerta del Sol, up Gran Vía towards school. I began around 9 PM, just when the moon balanced perfectly between the buildings and sat in the mystic midnight black sky. I desperately wish I had ran back and grabbed my camera but my legs and body were exhausted from a long day and I plopped back down on the couch – I know my iPhone won’t do any justice to the beauty in the Madrid sky.
Another beautiful run
Since settling into our apartment, the four of us have been trying to cook more at home, so around 8-9 we usually grab dinner and try and start back on our homework. This past week our meals consisted of a lot of pasta, bread and cheese (channeling our inner European goddesses) but today we swore to go the grocery store and get some chicken and healthier food for this upcoming week.
The End of Gran Vía
After a few hours comprised of a healthy dose of Facebook and homework, I jump into the shower and try to get to bed by a reasonable hour.
Hope that provided a comprehensive overview of a day in the life, until next time!
