Carnival in Cadiz

This weekend I went with a bunch of fellow students to Cadiz in the south of Spain for Carnival. Someone found a tour company that had a package that was seemed reasonable, bus trip there, hotel, breakfeast, etc.

One thing I hadn't thought about until I was on the bus was how long it took to get to Cadiz; 8 hours. It was pretty bad. In addition we did not get along very well with the other Americans that we split the bus with. It didn't help that the bus had to wait for a girl named Tanya for 20 minutes whenever we left anywhere. One of the girls in our group announced "I don't know who this Tanya girl is but I hate her." My sentiments exactly.

The hotel ended up being a 30 minute bus ride to Cadiz, which the tour company failed to mention. Also they failed to mention we had to pay for transport back to hotel at the end of both nights. How convenient...

The first night the company rented a small bar. It was mostly Americans and the drinks were overpriced. Though oddly Cadiz is empty the Friday night before Carnival, I guess they have to save for Saturday. On the bus ride back Stefan, our German accented tour guide, announced "Tomorrow is the de big parte, be ready parte people". He sounded like Hans Gruber from Die Hard, I loved it. Much to the annoyance of my fellow students, I proceeded to imitate him the entire weekend and for several weeks afterwards.

Another thing that was disappointing about the tour is that the bus left at 9 pm Saturday for Cadiz and we wouldn't get to see the parade or any of the city during the day. Plus Stefan had now began to channel Schwarzenegger and had announced that "The parte bus will leave at nine without you! We cannot wait for you!" Daytime activities for Saturday basically entailed sleeping all afternoon and eating delicious pizza. Though we did go to the beach.

The weather was overcast about 50ish degrees with a decent wind. For me this was not swimming weather, but two of my friends disagreed and proceeded to test the waters. After about 2 minutes in the water, they had reached the conclusion that it was indeed too cold to swim. There was also an impromptu soccer game, which I was to lazy and uncoordinated to take part in.

At about 8 we began to assemble our costumes for the night, mine was very creepy, and began to consume traditional drinks of Carnival. I am having a sneaking suspicion that pictures will emerge one day when I try to have a legitimate job. At least it got me the attention that I crave so much. There was also a little pep talk to my two roommates for the weekend that amounted to that I will leave them behind inorder to get back to bus that night inorder to get back to Madrid the next day. Though it was mostly a bluff and for my own amusement. By the time Stefan had began yelling "GET TO THE BUS!", most of us were feeling pretty good and ready to go.

When the doors of the bus opened, all of my dulled senses were treated to Carnival's essence. There were people everywhere with some of the most ridiculus and outrageous costumes I have ever seen. It really caused me to wonder what people would have worn if it was warm outside. This party made Halloween in Iowa City seem like an elementary school costume party.

Some things that really struck me about Carnival is how few police officers I saw, only seeing them in the square near the bus station. I was also amazed how I saw literally no fights or rude drunken behavior. Literally everyone was happy, singing, dancing and socializing in the streets. Towards the beginning of the night I saw all ages of people. My favorite is seeing an old man dressed as a blond woman just relaxing in a bar having a beer like it was typical Saturday night.

Everyone just brings their own alcohol and consumes it right there in the streets. Most of the bars, except for the ones right near the stage, were basically empty. I ended up indulging in a few 40's throughout the night.

In the main square right in front of the Cathedral there is a stage and various groups of extravagantly costumed Spaniards were singing very well rehearsed & sung songs. Most of these groups had bands with them. When these groups weren't taking their turn performing on the stage, they were performing out in the street.

It was truly an epic demonstration of mob mentality, though in a very good way. Its amazing how thousands of people out in the street together singing with drums & other instruments accompanying them can make you feel so welcome, as though they are there to entertain just you. I definitely got caught up in the celebration and joined in with mumbled singing/chanting.

The night before I had opted to take the group tour bus back at 4am. I knew by that time most people would have had enough of the party and I sure wasn't going to miss the bus back to Madrid the next day. For buying a ticket in advance to go back at 4am I took a lot of flack from fellow students, but I knew they would all be taking the bus back also. Whether they knew that yet was unclear to me. Sure enough though only one student, my roommate in the hotel, didn't take the bus. I couldn't help but revel as a result of my premonition coming true.

My roommate ended up staying out in the streets until 8am and some how managed to take the train back to the town we where staying in. He then walked for almost an hour to the hotel. He ended up calling me several times during his trek back, after forgetting both what town and hotel we were staying at. Luckily for him I am a somewhat decent friend and light sleeper. Upon arriving at the hotel, he went straight to breakfast buffet in his phantom of the opera costume. At 10am he got into the hotel room, slept for an hour and then we had to checkout. I christened him a legend of Cadiz and Carnival. He would soon pay for this title with a hangover to match his grand escapades. Though he did slept the entire ride back to Madrid... which was worse then the ride to Cadiz.

Overall it was one the craziest, most entertaining nights of my life.

Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so no pictures.

Toledo, Spain

After a long Friday night of experiencing the night life of Madrid, getting to bed at 5am, I awoke at 9am and announced I was going to Toledo for the day. My hostmom was very impressed and delighted that I was able to wake at 9, let alone go and spend an entire day walking around. The previous night there were 9 confirmations from fellow students that were attending. That day only four of us went ... Toledo is only for the strong.

Once again we took the amazing high speed rail system and quickly arrived at the breathtaking train station. The architecture was very Moor, or was it Moop? We decide to be a little adventurous and walk to the center of town. Of course I quickly cite my 4 years of service to the boy scouts and appoint myself navigator. I had failed to mention that these 4 years were all in elementary school and I never got my compass and general orientation badge. Surprisingly I managed to lead us in the exact opposite direction of the center, uphill nonetheless. We eventually found our way.

Toledo seems to be the definition of a Medieval city. Tiny, winding roads, old wall surrounding most of it and ancient buildings. It was amazing that a car could even fit between on the buildings and were surprised several times that cars we even allowed on certain streets. I was impressed with the sheer confidence the drivers had in these narrow pathways, though there were some very amusing three & four point turns.

A friend had recommended getting a map of the city, unfortunately we did not heed his advice. Most of the day was spent wandering around lost. Luckily this, for me, is the most enjoyable way to see a new, unfamiliar place and I always find interesting things that catch my eye.

One of things Toledo is famous for, like most medieval cities, is its Cathedral. We unfortunately didn't get the best view of it, and were deterred from entering by a 8 euro admission fee. This proved to be a mistake and I will have to return to see it.

Soon our stomachs began to voice their protest and we found a somewhat shotty, though cheap restaurant for lunch. We got what we paid for. The menu was actually three menus, a handwritten one of the typical Spanish cuisine found everywhere, and the other two were glossy, mass produced menus of Italian and Mexican food. I quickly convinced myself that the Italian and Mexican food just came in frozen crates with menus inside. I imagined that if I ordered a burrito and I would hear a microwave come on, with a ding five minutes later and he would come out with the food on a microwave plate. I just ordered off the handwritten menu. The food was ok and service was terrible. Literally the worst service I have ever had, he ignored us for 20 minutes and brought the bread out during dessert. I guess thats what happens when tipping is not customary.

One female member of our group, who will remain nameless, was very adamant about visiting the torture museum in the city. Literally she talked about going to see it from the second we got to the train station in Madrid. The museum took a while to find but when did it was pretty ... interesting.

It wasn't really so much a museum, as it was two floors of a building that I think used to house an art gallery. Surprisingly they had English versions of the placards accompanying the displays and the translations were not comical, much to my disappointment. The devices on display, on the most part, were crude reproductions of the devices they used during the Spanish Inquisition. When I say crude, I mean it looks like a middle school made them with his dad in their garage for his schools Medieval Fair. It made Medieval Times look like the real thing. The Iron Maiden was foam with metallic paint, it didn't even close.

The devices, at least conceptually, were real and very disturbing. It was strange to think about what kind of people were in charge of coming up with these devices. Equally disturbing was the fact that the people that were sentencing poor souls to these devices were 'respected' and high up members of society. Needless to say I was not interested in lingering.

One thing that caught my attention in the museum was the presence of a sort of medieval waterboard. I, in jest and poor taste, remarked that it should be in the Advanced Integration Techniques Museum down the street.

One thing that was very interesting was the description of the judicial process, or lack there of, of the time. Apparently once person or group was the judge, jury and prosecutor. You were not allowed to know the charges leveed against you nor was your 'lawyer' allowed to ask questions. Also during the trial allow of your families belongs were cataloged and held by the state. Often times they apparently auctioned off your things at discount rates to pay for your trial, which took years. If you were fortunate enough to be determined innocent, which almost never happened, you were left with nothing.

Afterwards we found the main square which was beautiful, but, much to my dismay, contained a McDonald's. No wonder Europeans hate us. Also one of the group members bought us marzipan, which she had been raving about like it was the best thing since sliced bread. Its some sort of sugary treat, apparently what she bought was not it. It was terrible, no one finished their pieces and she threw the rest away.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the city some more and taking pictures. Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery but my generous fellow students have allowed me to have theirs.

If you ever visit Toledo, see the Cathedral and bring a map.

A Great Night of Gastronomic Delights

This past week was birthday and I guess my host family likes me enough to have wanted to celebrate it. My hostmom, her son and his girlfriend took me out to dinner in the La Latina neighborhood of Madrid. Also in attendance was the girlfriend's father, who is visiting from Mexico. He was a very pleasant man and before I opened my mouth he asked me where in South America I was from. This comment along with all the other "You look like -insert random non-american country " comments amuse me greatly. The place we went to was cozy and very chic, with wine bottles all over the walls and really nice dark wood furniture.

When we receive the menus my hostbrother announced that I wouldn't be needing one and that I was in his hands now. I was very excited to have Spaniards picking out my food for me, especially because figuring out what all the ingredients are in a different language is one of the most difficult things while being abroad. Not to mention that I am a coward when it comes to trying new food. He proudly informs me will be having several courses of different types of food. I thought, "This is great, now I will be able to try a bunch of different things!" The following is a course by course description with links and pictures that do not belong to me, mostly from Wikipedia.

The first course was a type of gazpacho with ham, bacon and sliced boiled eggs in it. It is a dish typical of the south of Spain called Salmorejo. It was very good.

The next course was a fried pancake with tiny shrimp it it, called tortillita de camarones. It was absolutely delicious.

Then came out one of the more interesting dishes, pulpo á galega, which is boiled octopus served over boiled potatoes typical of Galicia. With a little prodding from my hostbrother, I tried and really enjoyed it. The following Wednesday I had it again with my intercambio(Spanish-Foreign Language Exchange partner).

The fourth course was an empanda with a Indian twist. My hostfamily proceeded to announce that there was curry in it and that it was spicy. When I tried it, I was a little disappointed to find that it was not spicy at all. Even with the somewhat mild flavor, it was very good.

Aside note, Spanairds do not enjoy spicy food and to get spicy food you really have to go to a Mexican or Asian style restaurant. Even then they definitely hold back the spices.

Next there was a dish that consisted of fried egg, boiled sliced potatoes and various types of mushrooms. I don't really like mushrooms and as a result I didn't really enjoy this dish. Maybe thats why I don't recall what its called nor do I desire to seek out link for a expert's description or the recipe.

The final dish was a sort of stew that came in a very traditional looking metal pot. Since I have arrived here I have really enjoyed the stews my host mother has made me and was eager to try a new one. I soon was enjoying the somewhat odd meat in this stew. It was very tender and had a very interesting flavour, it was somewhat familiar, yet oddly different. I also began to notice that my hostmom and her son's girlfriend were not partaking in this course.

I began to inquire about the type of meat and share with the group that I have never had anything like it. My hostbrother smirks a bit and begins to joke about how people from Madrid are a bit backwards in some regards. Then he informs me that the meat is actually cow stomach. I proceed to suprise myself and do not react in disgust. At this point I am somewhat enjoying the dish and have a little more. Then I began to think about what I am consuming and quickly decide that I am full. Its called callos a la madrilena, here is the recipe for the more adventurous chefs amongst us. Though I think the main ingredient may be a little difficult to obtain in some parts of states. Or maybe I just haven't ever had to seek it out.

In regards to the picture of this unusual dish, I can assure mine looked much more appetizing.

Finally the desert comes out. I forgot what it was called but it was amazing. It was basically a vanilla type pudding that was a bit thicker than normal with hardened caramel on top, I think. We completed the meal with an excellent desert wine. I think that was the first time I have had the privilege of enjoying a meal that consisted of more than two courses. These Spanairds sure know how to eat!

At the end of the meal there was something that reminded me very much of home and my family. The never ending battle of the check. Almost all the techniques I have seen with my father and my uncles use were utilized:

•The "Grab the Check Immediately from the Waiter"

•The "If you Don't let me Pay I am Going to Leave this Money Here"

•The "Cut the Waiter off Before he gets to the Table and Give him your Credit Card, ignoring the Bill Completely"

•The "Attempt to Stuff your Cash into the Pocket of the Person Who Paid"

Overall it was one of the best dinning experiences in my life. Great food, great conversation and good drink.

Mis cumpleaños en España

I had my birthday this past week. It was a pretty usual day for me, I just went to class and then trained that night at the local gym. I got home around 11:00 and usually my hostmom is up waiting to greet me and ask about my day.

So I walk in and announce my arrival with a 'Hola' and "¿Qué tal?". Instead of my hostmom enthusiastically greeting me like she usually does, I hear her boyfriend announce that they are in the living room.

When I walk into the living room I see she is laying on the couch in somewhat bad shape and very upset. Her boyfriend proceeds to tell me in Spanish what happened just a few hours earlier. I understand almost nothing and I have to get my dictionary. He ends up repeating the story slower and using simple words. This is what happened...

Apparently she was headed home from work and was getting off the bus when I man ran past her and tried to grab her purse. Luckily my hostmom had her purse firmly underneath her arm and tight to her side, and he wasn't able to grab it. Unfortunately she was pulled down to the ground and landed on her side. She was somewhat bruised but more shaken up from the incident.

Her boyfriend immediately determined it was Sudamericano, more specifically from Columbia. How he came to this conclusion I have no idea, but he was convinced that was where the culprit was from. Of course I have no idea how to respond to this story and this claim with 2nd year Spanish, so I just nod.

Then, between tears and being the trooper that she is, she instructs her boyfriend to warm up my dinner. The dinner table is in the living room and it created for a somewhat awkward eating experience for me. I proceed to announce that I received an A in my first Spanish class and this, I least I think it did, made her feel better. She also refused to let this trauma ruin my birthday and has her boyfriend then bring out a little cake for me. She didn't want any and I guess her boyfriend is trying to cut down on the sweets because he didn't have any either. It was delicious and I ate it for breakfast the next day.

Comidas en Mi Casa de España

Its been kind of strange here in regards to food. As anyone that has eaten at least one meal with me knows, I am a very picky eater. For God's sake I refused to eat salad until I was high school, and the only reason I started then was because of cutting weight for wrestling. Also I am too much of a coward to try new foods and often just eaten the same few dishes everywhere I go. Usually when I do try new foods its a result of me being so hungry that my will just breaks.

This time it took me about two weeks to break. I had mussels and clams for the first time in Paella and I really enjoyed them. This past week in cooking class I had salmon for the first time, it was ok. Hopefully my will in regards to not trying new foods will remain broken. After all one of my main goals here, as cheesy as it sounds, is personal improvement.

In regards to foods I actually eat, I find that in Spain things I barely ever eat in the States, I eat all the time here. Potato chips for example, I never really eat them but here I can't get enough. I think a lot has to do with the ingredients being fresher and less preservatives. Plus my intake of Coke has increased threefold, mostly to due to the real sugar that it is made with.

As for the food my hostmom cooks, it's all excellent. Part of this is that she is quite the cook and the other part is she caters to my likings. Not to mention she buys me snacks, which she is not obliged to at all in the housing contract. This past week I have eaten about 8 bananas over the past 5 days. We ended up running out and she went to the store to buy more. I guess she thinks I can't get enough of them because she came back with over a dozen.

Mistranslation at its Finest

So my hostmom has had tendinitis in her shoulder and her arm has basically been immobile for a few days. Its been kind of awkward as result. When she cooked me dinner these past few nights her niece or son have come over and she instructs them on how to make everything while she hovers over their shoulder in the tiny kitchen. Then the other night I made a little sling for her out of one of her scarfs. It was pretty fashionable and I think my Response to Emergencies instructor would have been proud.

One night in particular, around 8, I was about to head into the kitchen and she was seated at the table in the living room working on her laptop with her back turned to me. As I was walking by I thought she asked me to in Spanish to massage her shoulders. I thought it was kind of weird, but I though ok whatever, she is really nice so no big deal. When I go to and grab her shoulders she lets out this horrormovie style shriek. I guess what she really said was that she was going to go get a massage the next day. In summary I was really embarrassed and flustered, then I announced I was going to bed. It was only 8... I usually go to bed at 12.

We end up having a good laugh about it at dinner a couple of days later. So I guess she doesn't think I am super wierd or trying to strangle her.

Segovia

One of the first day trips I took here in Spain was to Segovia, which was half an hour northwest of Madrid. There was a solid group of fellow study abroad students going, about ten of us, and we took the high speed train. I was extremely impressed by the train, it was clean, comfortable and fairly cheap, about 18 euros roundtrip. Below is a photo of the train and mis amigos de la universidad.

Segovia is a typical medival town, narrow winding streets. The main things it is known for is its aquaduct, cathedral and castle. These kind of things excite both the engineer and history lover in me so this was going to be quite the trip. The bus for the airport took us directly to the aquaduct built by the Romans tens of hundreds of years ago.

When first saw the aqueduct I couldn't help remember what my uncle told me when I left Belgrade to visit Italy for the first time during my youth. "Take off your shoes and walk barefoot on cobble stones princes and paupers have walked on centuries before" Very loose translation. Though I never have done this, whenever I see something that men built centuries before and I realize how many people over these centuries have admired the same structure it always reminds me of that little speech. Also it really helps put in perspective how small and insignificant my life and works are in the grand scheme of things.

After taking a healthy amount of photos we ventured toward the Cathedral. Of course we had to ask for directions more than once but we ended up stumbling in the square directly in front of it. There the cathedral was in all its architectural glory. One thing that always gets me thinking is how long it took to build these monuments to god. I couldn't image working on something my entire life and knowing that I would never see it completed. Maybe thinking is just a result of the instant gratification lifestyles of today.

We proceeded to enter the cathedral to see what it held within. The craftmenship of these structures always fascinates me with all of the small detail work in the pillars and the tiles. Not to mention the sheer height of the ceiling and the engineering behind the structure. It was really have been something to see when it was completed. I can't image coming from your dirt floored, straw roofed home and attending mass in something like this. Also inside was typical religious sculptures and paintings. It was all pretty typical scenes from the bible and very graphic and dark. To be honest they all kind of creep me out.

With our tour of the Cathedral completed we headed for the castle, getting lost a few more times. Once again we stumbled out of a narrow residential street and the castle appeared before us. It was quite the sight to see. Before purchasing our tickets to enter, a few of us began to converse with an older gentleman who told us we had to go down to hill to drink in a view of the entire castle in its medieval glory. Also he claimed that that Cinderalla's castle in Disneyland was modeled off of this one. I was extremely skeptical of this, after all I sincerely doubt this man had ever been to Disneyland, let alone seen pictures of the castle. Anyway his comment amused me.

With tickets in hand we ventured into the castle. They had typical castle stuff inside, suits of armor, dusty tapestries, swords and other things. I being the skeptic that I am, doubted the authenticity of all of it, especially the stuff not behind glass. Luckily we had opted to pay extra to scale the stairs to the top of the castle for a view of the city. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

With all the major sites conquered, we had backed to Madrid. Overall it was, for me at least, the definition of a perfect day trip.

Arrival in the Homestay

Our second day in Spain was when we got to met our host families and go home with them. This must be what Oliver Twist feltlike. I already knew a little about my hostmom from the housing email. She has two children but lives by herself, her son lives in Madrid and her daughter in Granada. I was somewhat happy to hear she spoke no English, thus I would be forced to learn Spanish. Or I could just point at objects, make over exaggerated gestures & grunt.

To be honest I wasn't really nervous to meet my hostmom that day, maybe I was just delirious from jetlag and too little sleep. Though leading up to the trip I was somewhat nervious about what kind of family I would live with. I kept having a reoccuring thoughts of them having me make cheap wallets and souvenirs in a dimly light, dungeon-like basement with people yelling at me in Chinese.

When we meet it was kind of awkward, not to mention I hadn't spoken Spanish since finals week (about a month) but she seemed very nice. Soon we were off to my home for the semester. The ride to the apartment was pretty quiet, especially when I realized how much different speaking in a classroom is compared to an actual Spaniard. Its alot easier to have conversation in class when you have been studying the vocabulary and grammar leading up to.

With our arrival at the apartment, she proceed to show me everything and explain how it all worked. Things like the tankless water heater, how to lock the door, where to put my keys, how to turn off the lights, etc. Ofcourse she had to repeat everything over and over again. It was a strange feeling for me to have a middle aged women show a (somewhat) grown man how to turn off the lights, not to mention have to repeat it several times until I understood what she was explaining.

One of my main phobias is misinterperting semi-important directions, which is why I often ask my hostmom to repeat almost all directions. I think she thinks I am kind of slow, which is fine by me, it will give me an inch for when I do mess something up...

Overall the first day I think I managed to craft about a half dozen somewhat comprehensible sentences in Spanish. I ended up going to bed at 8 exhausted.

Its Time

After a bunch of people telling me to blog about my study abroad and travels I have finally caved. Though this blog is more a result of my fear of forgetting various adventures and incidences. Some of the most recent post will be retroactive things that have already happened, that I still remember and don't want to forget.