So little time left, so much to do!!!

Busy is in understatement to describe my time here lately.  On the one hand, I'm loving getting to see and do as much as possible.  On the other, time is going by THAT much quicker.  I really don't want this trip to end.  The twinge of homesickness I spoke of in an earlier post is LONG GONE. Don't get me wrong, I still want to see my family and friends, but I'd rather them come here.  I 'm almost convinced that I was born in the wrong country... Any day now, I'm waiting on an e-mail from my parents telling me that they adopted me from a Western European country, but I look much too like my mom to ever deny her.

Basically, I'm picking up right where I left off on my last post.  We went to Sevilla (or Seville as it's known in English), on that Saturday.  The first thing I noticed there was how much hotter it was there than in Granada...and Granada is HOT!  It's so much hotter that while few houses have air conditioning in Granada, almost ALL have a/c in Sevilla.  Our tour guide told us that a/c was more important than the size of the kitchen...haha.  The town, as most I have come into contact with thusfar, was very quaint.  Everything was very old but kept up well.  Our first stop was at the palace.  It was really cool.  Some of the architecture was similar to the Alhambra, but Sevilla's palace had a lot more "Christian" influence, I'd guess you say.  We then visited the cathedral where some of the remains of Christopher Columbus are held!  I say some of the remains because since his death, his body has been moved several times.  Other cities claimed they have the actual remains as well, but Sevilla is the only city that has tested the remains to prove it.  After lunch we walked around a bit more and made the trek back to Granada.  That night our director took us to dinner.  It was SOOOOOO good to have a steak.  I really needed it.  On a side note, I've had an odd craving for Mexican food lately.  Anywho, after dinner we went to this huge park where apparently all the young folk in Granada go to drink on weekends before hitting up the discotecas.  There were at least a few hundred people there.  Craziness.

The next morning we hopped on a bus for a trip some of us signed up for through the school.  Our first stop was a town called Almuñecar on the Mediterranean coast.  There we explored an old Spanish castle.  Our next stop was the town of Nerja, also on the Mediterranean.  Here we got to explore Spain's largest cave and then went to the beach for a few hours.  I didn't swim, but I did stick my feet in the Mediterranean (that counts) and we climbed some really big rocks along the beach.  It was pretty sweet.

Tuesday we bought bus tickets back to Almuñecar for the Festival de San Juan.  The Festival de San Juan, from what I gathered, is basically when the Spaniards celebrate the summer solstice by partying the ENTIRE night.  Beach cities are very popular for this event and as we found out on the bus there, Almuñecar has one of the best in the area.  We got to the beach just before sundown (aka almost 10pm) and chilled.  Basically the festival is a designated night for everyone and their mother to party on the beach.  There was not a piece of sand left untouched.  Bonfires were everywhere as well.  People jumping over them left and right.  The festival must be close to the end of the school year as well, because many kids were furiously burning workbooks, notebooks, paper, anything school related.  It was quite a site.  This lasted literally ALL NIGHT.  It was very chill - just talking and hanging out.  Later in the evening we went and explored and found a techno rave-ish spot on the beach and danced there for a while.  It was pretty crazy.  My favorite part, though, was watching the locals get in groups and bang on drums and dance and sing their Spanish songs.  It was probably the biggest glimpse into the culture I've gotten on my trip so far.  I fell asleep in the sand for about an hour around 4:30.  It wasn't bad though.  The Mediterranean sand doesn't stick to your body.  It's more like finely crushed rocks than dirt. After I woke up we chatted a bit more then headed for the bus station around sunrise.  We got back to the house around ate and took a short nap before I headed off to class for the day!  An incredible night!

Amsterdam - land of "tolerance," wooden shoes, canals, and Argentinean steakhouses?!?

I left Granada last Tuesday and took a bus to Málaga for the evening.  My flight left for Amsterdam at 9:30 the next morning.  I stayed in my first hostel that night.  It was really cool.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Upon arrival, I was greeted by an Australian fellow who checked me in and showed me around.  It was the first time I watched television in English since I left Scotland in May!!!  Needless to say, I was like a kid in a candy store.  I woke up extremely early the next morning to take a train to the airport (2o minutes) and was on my way to Amsterdam!

Did I mention I have the coolest parents?  My mom flew over and toured Amsterdam with me!  How cool is that?!  Her flight got in earlier than mine, so I just met her at the hotel.  After I woke her up, we freshened up and went to explore the city!  Our hotel was just a short walk from the city center.  The temperature there was nice.  All you needed was a light jacket!  Much different from the boiling temperatures of Louisiana and Spain.  One of the first things we noticed about Amsterdam was the bicycles!  They're EVERYWHERE!  I read up on it, and apparently Amsterdam is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.  There is a bike path on every road..literally  They have a population of around 1 million people with about 465,000 bikes!  The Dutch are a healthy bunch I guess.  

Anywho, we grabbed some grub at a pizzeria close to Central Station then went to the Sex Museum on a whim.  I went to a Sex Museum with my mom....I know right?!  It was more about the history of sex, so it wasn't too awkward (plus it was literally next door to the restaurant).  After that, we walked around some more and got a glimpse of the infamous Red Light District during the day.  Coffeeshops, "adult" stores, and Argentinean steakhouses EVERYWHERE...I expected the first two, but I cannot find the connection between Argentina and The Netherlands.  There were so many of them!  haha.  We began to walk back toward the hotel after it started to sprinkle.  It seemed the closer we got to the hotel the harder the rain came.  By the time we got back to the hotel, we were both soaked (because, of course, neither of us brought umbrellas).  We looked like we had just jumped in a swimming pool.  So we decided to call it a night.  Mom slept for literally 12 hours that night.  Jet lag will catch up with you!

The next day, we slept in because there was a 90% chance of rain for the morning/early afternoon.  Of course, since we slept in, it didn't rain a drop all day.  We quickly made up for lost time though!  We went off for more exploring and ate breakfast at a Dutch pancake house!  We went and walked around some more and then went to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.  It was pretty cool, until some pirate looking man (that I thought was a wax statue) ran after me.  I don't think I've ever screamed that loud.  There were lots of celebrities too.  Some looked very real!  After that, more touring, etc.

Friday, we took a canal tour of the city.  This was really cool, because we got to see a lot of the city via boat!  The city was absolutely beautiful from the water.  We really got a great look at everything.  Thankfully, the weather was perfect as well.  One of the first things you notice about Amsterdam is the architecture.  The houses and shops along the canals seem like one long, continuous building, but each house is separate.  Though they are connected, they each have their own façade.  It was a hop on-hop off tour with a bunch of different stops.  First, we got off at Nemo, which is a hands-on science museum.  Next, we stopped off at Artis Zoo.  I hadn't been to a zoo since I was a child, so it was pretty cool.  After that, we rode around some more and then stopped off at Gassan Diamonds for a tour.  This was really cool, they even showed us some diamonds in case we wanted to buy...lol.  There was probably about $100,000 worth of diamonds just chilling right in front of us. Crazy.  For dinner that night, we ate at an Argentinean steakhouse...I had to see what the fuss was all about..delicious.  

 

Saturday brought more great weather so we decided to tour Amsterdam via bicycle!  They rented bikes out at our hotel, so that was pretty cool. The city was much cooler by bike!  We felt like locals...ha.  The only problem we had was with direction.  Our map was HUGE and most of the roads are, seriously, between 15 and 20 letters long.  And I didn't know that the letters "kjdrs" actually made a sound...but I guess they do in Dutch.  Luckily, everyone in Amsterdam speaks English.  I was actually surprised with how fluent everyone was.  We went to the Anne Frank House, but the line was too long and we kinda wanted to just ride bikes forever, so we kept going.  So we went to the Tulip Museum instead.  Holland (the province of The Netherlands that Amsterdam is located in) is famous for their Tulips.  At one point in Amsterdam's history, specific types of tulip bulbs cost 2 or 3 times more than some of the most expensive houses on the canals...a tulip bulb?!? We went to the Van Gogh museum shortly after.  An entire museum dedicated to Van Gogh's life and his work.  It was extremely interesting.  We got close looks at both some of his famous and lesser known works of art.  After, we went and took pictures at the HUGE I Amsterdam sign.  Seriously, each letter is over 6 feet tall probably.  Then we parked our bikes and walked around some.  Upon returning, Mom broke her key of her in bike lock, with it still locked.  I had to ride my bike all the way back to the hotel, get a new key, and ride all the way back to Mom.....so we could ride back to the hotel to return the bikes.  Honestly, it wasn't as bad as it seemed.  It gave me a chance to let loose and rip through the city.  After dinner, we went to check out a Jazz club a dear friend of mine recommended to me.  The club was Cafe Alto and we had a great time.  The Jazz band was really good and sang some familiar songs!  After, we walked back to the hotel, not before I got us REALLY lost.  I had us going in the complete opposite direction..but that makes it more fun, right?  We took one last walk through the Red Light District before calling it a night.  The only way I can describe the Red Light District would be to say that it's kinda like Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  Only bigger, with less bars and more sex shops, legal prostitution, and the smell of marijuana.  hahaha...so not really THAT much like Bourbon, but you get my drift.

Mom had an early flight the next morning, so that pretty much concluded our trip to Amsterdam.  My favorite part of Amsterdam is that I could go back for a week, and not do the same thing twice.  Even without the obvious, there is still SOOOO much to do in Amsterdam.  Countless number of museums and the city is FULL of history.  I may go as far to say that I'm in love with that city.  Incredible doesn't even begin to describe the experience we had there.  The city itself is like a breath of fresh air.  One of the most mellow places I've ever been.

My trip back to Granada, was not so smooth as my trip to Amsterdam.  My flight from Madrid to Málaga was delayed over an hour and a half - meaning I would miss the last bus from Málaga to Granada for the night...and I had class the next morning.  So, I had to stay in a hostel in Málaga and get up early the following morning to catch a bus.  I had set my alarm for 6 am so I could get to the bus station and catch the 7 am bus to Granada.  Well my Spanish phone wasn't working (at the time, I didn't know you have to put in a PIN every time you turn it on) so I had to rely on my iPhone to wake me up.  Only problem was that it was still set to home time (7 hours behind) and I forgot to set my alarm accordingly.  Miraculously, I woke up at 6:30, but I had to catch the 8:30 bus back.  I got back to the house at 11...I had class at 12.  After a fast shower, I got my phone to work, but the time was wrong.  I had absolutely no idea what time it was.  So I practically ran to school.  I was about 25 minutes early.  lol.

This past week in Granada has been great.  Nothing special, I just love it here...except for the lack of air conditioning, but I'm kinda used to it.  I've met some really great people, and we have the best time!  I don't know if I'll be ready to leave the city in just 12 days!!!  I've been taking every opportunity I can to do something that I haven't done yet.  I don't want to go to a bar or restaurant more than once, I only have 5 weeks here! It's hard to believe I've been in Europe for almost 4 weeks already!!  Seems like yesterday I was getting on the plane in Dallas.  Tomorrow, the LSU group leaves for a day trip to Sevilla (or Seville).  Then Sunday, there's an excursion through the University that takes us to explore some caves at the Mediterranean coast and then to the beach!  It's going to be great!  We have Thursday and Friday off of school next week, but I think I'm going to save a little money and stick around Granada.  I couldn't think of any place that I could go see for ONLY 3 days.  I need more time!!!

Trip with mom was great, now preparing myself for the one with Dad after the program ends!! Have I mentioned that I have the coolest parents?  I'm beyond blessed.  In all honesty, I'm living the life.  I don't have a job and don't have class until noon.  I'm in Europe with great people and the legal drinking age is 18!  What more could I ask for?!  Maybe some familiar faces from home, but they'll be sick of me soon enough!

Why doesn't anyone speak English here?!?

So I'm not really good at this whole "posting in a timely manner" thing...but I'm going to get better.  I promise.  After flights from Glasgow, I arrived in Madrid on May 31st!  The LSU group met in the airport and we took a bus to Granada (5 hour bus ride).  The scenery from the bus was very desert-like.  A few of us agreed that we were actually driving through Arizona. I slept most of the way, but our director woke us all up when we got to the mountains.  It was beautiful!  At that moment, as I looked from the bus into the rocky mountains that seemed to have no end, I knew that this experience was going to change my life.  I knew that I was in for a hell of a lot more than I signed up for, and couldn't have been more excited about it!

Our host mothers met us at the bust stop in Granada.  My two roommates (from LSU) were meeting us in Granada later, so it was just me and Rosa.  Rosa Perez Rodriguez...straight out of a movie.  She walked me to the house and showed me around.  As I got settled I realized I had NO way to communicate with anyone else in the group.  I didn't have a phone (international plans are OUTRAGEOUS), my computer was dead, and I wouldn't have roommates for another 5-6 hours.  So, I spent most of that evening reflecting and brushing up on my Spanish.  Speaking of Spanish, the language barrier has been a LOT harder than some of us imagined it would be.  I realize that I don't know as much Spanish as I thought I did.  And most people in Granada do not speak English.  Sometimes I feel helpless when I can't get across what I want to say and don't understand their reply.  It gets a little better each day, though.  Slowly, I'm beginning to understand more and my vocabulary is (very slowly) improving.  I only have trouble when I don't have my friends around.  Usually with two or three of us we can make out the sentence.  LOL.

Home life is pretty interesting.  We are asked to keep our showers to less than 1o minutes (not a problem for the guys) and are only allowed one per day.  Water is very expensive here, so the Spaniards are VERY conservative of their resources.  We are fed 3 meals a day by Rosa.  The food here is pretty good.  We've had a lot of soups, pasta salads, other salads, etc.  They use tuna A LOT here. And I like tuna, so that's okay.  Lunch isn't served until about 3 pm and dinner at anywhere from 9-1030 pm. That took some getting used to, but we all seem to be adjusting well.  For the most part, Rosa stays out of our way.  We don't really get much as much interaction with her as most of the others do with their families, but it's still good.  This seems to be her only source of income, so it's almost like we're guests in a hotel.  But like I said, still a good experience!

On our first full day in the city, my roommates and I went exploring.  Less than an hour into our excursion I heard, "LSU, huh?" from behind me.  I turned around to see an American man staring at my LSU vs. VT gameday shirt.  Turns out he graduated from LSU in 1996.  His wife, who was in a nearby store, was actually from Baton Rouge.  Talk about SMALL WORLD!!!  I'm over 3,000 miles away from home in a foreign country and I'm STILL meeting Tiger Fans.    I couldn't believe it.

That evening the group met up for a meeting with our director.  She walked us to the school where we'll be taking classes.  After that, we all went and got tapas.  Tapas (pronounced top-uhs) are small portions of food.  In Granada, if you order a drink, usually tapas come free.  Usually tapas include a few slices of French bread (depending on the number of people in the group) and something to put on top, whether it's crab salad type stuff, or pork, etc.  However, as a few friends found out, tapas can also be mixed nuts and gum drops!  The next day we had orientation.  After that, a few of us went and got pay-as-you-go phones!  They have been a lifesaver.  I'll still use Skype to call home, but for us to get in touch with each other, they have been a Godsend.  

Classes started on Wednesday.  They're going pretty well so far.  I have class from 12-1 and 1:15 - 2:30. We've explored the nightlife a little bit!  Our first outing was on Monday (the day after we arrived)...Apparently, Granada isn't really a happening place on Sunday-Tuesday.  But we still had fun though!  However weekends are a much different experience.  Most people don't arrive at discotecas (clubs) until about 2:30 or 3 am here!  If you leave at 4:30 am, people are STILL arriving.  The discotecas don't close until around 7 or 8 IN THE MORNING!!!!  I still have trouble believing this.  It's crazy.

Our first weekend,  we went and toured the city of Córdoba.  The city was beautiful!  One of the sites we visited included a Mosque, that 0nce Spain was taken BACK by the Christians, was converted into a Catholic church.  Very, very interesting to see both the Arabic and Christian themes inside the cathedral.  We had class Monday and Tuesday the next week than a break on Wed. - Fri.  I left for Amsterdam Tuesday night to meet my mom for a little vacation!  I'm actually in the Madrid airport on my way back to Granada now.

Also, I've experienced some unexpected homesickness.  Just a little twinge though.  Mostly, it's just that I miss everyone from home.  I feel like I'm missing out on something, but I'm NOWHERE ready to leave Spain.  So, maybe not homesickness.  I want them HERE!  hahaha.  I try my best to keep in touch and stay involved with everyone though, which could be part of the problem?  I have a good bit of free time during the day, and I'm no

t always with someone from the group.  Living in a city is much different from touring it.  It's not go go go all the time.  I'm not always busy running around.  When I take time to myself, I find that I do miss people and am ready to see them....not so much ready to go back...but kinda.  It's confusing I know.  I'm having an incredible time, I just wish I could be in two places at once.  

Overall, I'm absolutely loving Spain.  The weather is much like Louisiana, but not quite as humid.  We spend a lot of our time trying to figure out free things to do.  Everything is so expensive here.  The exchange rate isn't too bad (1 Euro = about $1.40), but cokes are like 3 euro.  That's $4.50 American dollars!!!  It adds up quick! There's a nice park close to most of our houses.  And a beer isn't too expensive, so we get tapas a lot.  Oh, and I almost forgot.  Siesta is from about 2:30 - 5 pm.  Most of the shops close and reopen.  It's like nap time built-in to your day!!  INCREDIBLE!  Going to catch my flight back to Málaga, then bus to Granada. Will be updating on my trip to Amsterdam VERY soon.  Stay tuned!

Life on the wrong side of the road

So I'm FINALLY getting the chance to update.  Not much Internet access for longer than 10 minutes in Scotland.  Anywho,  here's the story of my week.

I left Dallas last Sunday, layover in Philly, and arrived in Glasgow, Scotland early Monday morning!  Claire (our family friend) met me at the airport.  As we put my luggage in the back seat, I immediately opened what I though was the passenger door and stared at the steering wheel for about 4 seconds before i remembered how they drive in the UK.  I probably did this about 12 times in the first 2-3 days of my trip.  I stayed at her house in Port Glasgow, about 20 minutes outside of Glasgow. 

Getting used to the Scottish accent was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be.  First of all, the Scottish LOVE to talk and tell stories.  They also speak in a lower tone than in the US.  Almost what we would call a mumble (only sometimes though).  They also speak VERY fast.  If I wasn't paying close attention to the first few words, I'd end up getting lost in what sounded like a completely different language.  There were a lot of "excuse me's" and "come again's" from my side of the conversation.   But I got used to it quickly.  In fact, I found the accent to be very catchy.  Sometimes, on accident, I surprised myself in how I would pronounce a word.   I'd practice my Scottish accent (which is horrible) while Claire practiced her American accent (equally horrible).

Some other interesting differences besides driving on the wrong side of the road:  It's not uncommon for the hot and cold water to come from different faucets.  Where we, in America, would have a dishwasher, the Scots have a washing machine...for clothes.  No dryer.  Also the Scottish heat their plates before their hot meals.  Keeps the food warmer.  Also, there's no ice! Things are still pretty cold though. Apparently, this is common throughout Europe.  I guess I'm just sheltered.

When I arrived, they immediately fed me breakfast.  Claire had to work, so I hung out with her parents.  We went into the town.  Her parents went to mass (they go everyday) while I look around.  The weather was pretty overcast and chilly.  Since I packed mostly for Spain, the only jacket I had was my windbreaker we got for SROW this year.  The rest of Day 1 was pretty low-key.  I took a huge 3-hour nap to get over the jet-lag and Claire drove me around a bit that evening.

The rest of my week was incredible!  Tuesday brought strange weather with it.  It would rain, then the sun would come out, then cloud up for about 20 minutes...all within an hour.  It did this all day.  However, I got to meet a girl about my age named Roslyn.  We walked around the the neighboring town waiting for Claire to get off work.  After she did, we went and explored more.  We went hillwalking at an area they call "The Cut."  It was beautiful.  I use the word "hill" loosely in Scotland.  They are what we, in Louisiana at least, would consider mountains!  Our path led us along the sides of the hills overlooking the cluster of towns and the River Clyde.  The surrounding scenery was so green and beautiful.  The view overlooking the river was nothing but spectacular, despite the iffy weather.   After dinner we went for a drive.  We ended up in Houston!!  Houston, Scotland, that is.  We went to a little pub called The Fox and the Hound where I bought my first legal beer!  Not that I even got ID'd.  The beer was brewed right there in Houston so, naturally, it was called the Houston Texas.

Wednesday and Thursday brought on more adventures!  We went into Glasgow Wednesday afternoon and explored a wee bit.  Thursday Roslyn and Rachel (another girl I had the pleasure of meeting) took me back to Glasgow. We went to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum as well as the Glasgow Museum of Transport.  Very interesting!  Everything from fossils and statues of Elvis to double decker busses and motorcycles!

Friday, the weather was absolutely incredible!  Cloudless skies with temps reaching the 70s. we went to the Burrell Collection before heading off to Stirling.  Burrell was a famous collector in Scotland who, upon his death, donated all of his artifacts to be put on display.  Everything from Ancient China and Greek artifacts to Rembrandt and Degas paintings to ancient Egypt artifacts that dated back to almost 2500 b.c.!  After that we headed off to Stirling.  There, we saw the Castle of Stirling as well as some areas that were used for the filming of Braveheart.  The movie tried to use most of the actual locations of the battles while filming.  Stirling Castle was my favorite!  I slept kinda late this day, so we didn't get there as early as I had hoped.  We didn't go into the castle but we did accidentally go hiking around it!  There were a few paths we found, then a few more and eventually we made our own.  It was incredible.  So free and adventurous!  I didn't want to leave!  On our way back I decided to climb a random hill to the wall of the castle (or as close as I could get).  Luckily, no policeman came.  After a little more exploring we ventured to the Wallace monument (named after one of the characters in Braveheart, which is about the Scottish independence or something like that).  It was a steep walk up a hill to the top.  Come to think of it, ALL of Scotland was like this.  Nothing but hills; so different from flat Baton Rouge.  Anywho, after that we went and explored Loch Lomond (one of the only lochs with no spottings of the Loch Ness Monster) and then went home to catch my first Scottish sunset.  ps.  the sun doesn't set until about 10 pm!  After that we went to a local pub and chilled.  Ps. went to four or five pubs while in Scotland and never got ID'd.  However the 18 year old with us did....I felt old.

Saturday, my last day, brought back the same great weather!  We went to Edinburgh for the day.  By far my favorite part of the trip was climbing up Arthur's Seat.  It's a peak among a group of hills that overlooks the entire city.  The path up seemed pretty easy.  Too easy.  So Roslyn and I decided to make our own path.  We went around the back side of the Arthur's Seat and climbed the less traveled area.  It was so worth it!  I felt so alive, so empowered!  We spent the rest of the day walking the Royal Mile that leads to Edinburgh Castle.  It was closed by the time we got there, but oh well!  We finally made it home that night and I couldn't sleep!  Spain was the next day and it was all I could think about!  I got up at 4 am for my flight to Madrid to find that it was already light outside.  By 5 am the sun was up over the hills!  Crazy!

I had an absolute BLAST in Scotland.  I will never forget my experiences here and hope to return one day.  As sad as i was to leave it, I was more than ready for what awaited me.  Adios Scotland. Spain, HERE I COME!!!!