Well, that's it for my Summer European Adventure. Pictures are on facebook.
It was an awesome time, and I learned a lot. I met a lot of great people, and ate a lot of good food. I also managed to lose 10 pounds - freakin' sweet.
Thanks for your interest and for taking the time to read about my travels. I have lots of stories still, which I will be glad to share via email or on the phone - or even better in person. Call me up!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Last Week
I can't believe it's already my last week in Europe. In exactly one week I will be back home enjoying the comforts of my couch, my shower and my bed. Not to mention my husband. I am ready for it. It's been a great summer, but I'm tired and homesick. I'm over Europe.
Don't get me wrong, though, Europe has been awesome. I have had a wonderful time, and I've met some cool people and seen some cool things. As the ever-observant Cooper says in the movie "Eurotrip," - "They've got really old stuff here." I've got some great pictures and some good memories. I couldn't ask for more.
On top of that I got 8 credits - all of which apply towards my specification of International Law, so that's pretty cool. I took some interesting classes and some not so interesting.
This past weekend was pretty cool too. We drove to Narbonne - a southern beach in France, and swam in the Mediterranean Sea. The drive was beautiful - we passed all sorts of vineyards, and sunflower fields, and saw really old buildings. At the beach there was a Sunny Delight promotion going on - they were releasing two new tropical flavors, so they were giving out free samples. But even better, there was a DJ at the beach spinning some good music. After every song he would extol the virtues of Sunny Delight. Sometimes he would freestyle and rap about it - "Sunny Delight, everything gonna be alright!" It was great.
The beach was beautiful and the sand was so soft. The water was fantastic - nice and warm and extra salty which made it easy to float in. The only complaint I had was the wind. It was so freaking windy. When I got home that night I washed my hair twice to get all the sand out of it. It took 6 q-tips to get the sand out of my ears that night. The next day it took another two q-tips per ear. But it was worth it.
After the beach we drove to Carcasonne. There is a really old, really big castle there. There were a lot of cool shops and things to look at there. There was a torture museum and a jousting show. It was pretty cool. Then we took the scenic route home and drove past even more vineyards and sunflower fields. We stopped at one sunflower field and took some pictures. Freaking sweet. But we only used someone else's camera, so I've got to get the pics from him.
The plan for the week is to live cheap. I've got some food to eat in my room. There are a couple events this week that will include free food, so that's cool. On Wednesday we're taking a field trip to the Pyrenees mountains. I think the trip also includes a visit to a cheese factory and a mohair factory. So that should be interesting - and random. Thursday is my Human Rights final and my last IP class. That means we'll be going out for our big final bash on Thursday night, which should be fun - I think I'll get really dressed up - cuz why not? That leaves Friday for packing.
My plane leaves here for London on Friday evening. I will be staying in London for the weekend, and my trip home to LAX is on Monday, August 3. I'm not sure what I'll do in London this weekend. I heard there's a legal tour that I can do, but it may only be available on weekdays. I think I'll just walk around and maybe find a park to hang out in, eat in pubs and just chill. It will be nice.
I don't feel especially clever or witty right now, so I think I'm going to end this. Here's to Europe!
Don't get me wrong, though, Europe has been awesome. I have had a wonderful time, and I've met some cool people and seen some cool things. As the ever-observant Cooper says in the movie "Eurotrip," - "They've got really old stuff here." I've got some great pictures and some good memories. I couldn't ask for more.
On top of that I got 8 credits - all of which apply towards my specification of International Law, so that's pretty cool. I took some interesting classes and some not so interesting.
This past weekend was pretty cool too. We drove to Narbonne - a southern beach in France, and swam in the Mediterranean Sea. The drive was beautiful - we passed all sorts of vineyards, and sunflower fields, and saw really old buildings. At the beach there was a Sunny Delight promotion going on - they were releasing two new tropical flavors, so they were giving out free samples. But even better, there was a DJ at the beach spinning some good music. After every song he would extol the virtues of Sunny Delight. Sometimes he would freestyle and rap about it - "Sunny Delight, everything gonna be alright!" It was great.
The beach was beautiful and the sand was so soft. The water was fantastic - nice and warm and extra salty which made it easy to float in. The only complaint I had was the wind. It was so freaking windy. When I got home that night I washed my hair twice to get all the sand out of it. It took 6 q-tips to get the sand out of my ears that night. The next day it took another two q-tips per ear. But it was worth it.
After the beach we drove to Carcasonne. There is a really old, really big castle there. There were a lot of cool shops and things to look at there. There was a torture museum and a jousting show. It was pretty cool. Then we took the scenic route home and drove past even more vineyards and sunflower fields. We stopped at one sunflower field and took some pictures. Freaking sweet. But we only used someone else's camera, so I've got to get the pics from him.
The plan for the week is to live cheap. I've got some food to eat in my room. There are a couple events this week that will include free food, so that's cool. On Wednesday we're taking a field trip to the Pyrenees mountains. I think the trip also includes a visit to a cheese factory and a mohair factory. So that should be interesting - and random. Thursday is my Human Rights final and my last IP class. That means we'll be going out for our big final bash on Thursday night, which should be fun - I think I'll get really dressed up - cuz why not? That leaves Friday for packing.
My plane leaves here for London on Friday evening. I will be staying in London for the weekend, and my trip home to LAX is on Monday, August 3. I'm not sure what I'll do in London this weekend. I heard there's a legal tour that I can do, but it may only be available on weekdays. I think I'll just walk around and maybe find a park to hang out in, eat in pubs and just chill. It will be nice.
I don't feel especially clever or witty right now, so I think I'm going to end this. Here's to Europe!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Baguettes
Ode to French food:
J'aime pain au chocolate.
A lot.
Un Sandwich au baguette
Is the best yet.
Quiche Lorraine
Is nowhere near plain.
Beacoup de choses sont délicieux et savourex.
A propos de rien do I say "eh."
Chere nourriture Francaise, Je t'adore.
Je veux more.
Alright, enough silliness. You get the idea. I am eating and eating and eating here. I can't help it. Yet somehow every time I put on a pair of pants, they feel bigger. My belt has run out of holes to use. My bras are too big. It's kind of awesome. I have been running here and there and doing some other exercising, but besides those there are two reason I think I am losing weight.
First, I walk everywhere. I probably walk 2-3 miles a day, and on weekends it's more like 5 or 6 miles a day. But more importantly, I think it's the quality of the food I'm eating. I may be eating a lot of bread and cheese and butter (in the form of croissants), but the stuff I'm eating is fresh - no preservatives. All ingredients are fresh, never frozen or put in a can. I'm eating a lot of fruit and the stuff I'm eating is simple. There's not a lot of salt or fat. But somehow it tastes fantastic.
I remember feeling this way last time I came to France too. Things I normally didn't like I was eating on a daily basis - like cantaloupe. I love it here. In the US it's bland and watery. I have discovered that the stuff here is a little different, and isn't shipped to the US, because it wouldn't make the trip. So that explains that. But also in France I like cheeses I don't normally eat, and I eat fruits and vegetables I don't normally love.
I'm not going to sit here and claim that everything I'm eating is perfect. The pain au chocolate is divine, and I eat it every few days. I have also eaten at McDonald's here. It's really good - it tastes like real meat here! But the fries taste the same. Plus there are these kabob places that sell shwarma that are divine. But on the whole, I'm eating healthy and wholesome. And cheaply - that's the main thing I love. I am going to try to eat this way in the US when I get back, but I'm not sure I can. I'm not sure Vons sells the same type of yummy baguettes.
As far as what I've been up to besides eating, there hasn't been a whole lot. I took last weekend pretty easy. I had a paper due on Monday for my music law class, so I worked on that. We went to a public swimming pool on Sunday because it was super hot. When we got there, the boys couldn't go in the pool, because there is a rule that boys have to wear tight bathing suits. Trunks and board shorts are not allowed. So if they want to go back, they have to buy tight European bathing suits. I felt bad. The other rule is that anyone who wants to go in has to wear a swim cap. It's kind of irritating, but I understand that rule at least. It felt nice to get in the water. I may go back this weekend.
Monday night there was a big potluck dinner at Professor Peeler's place. It was great. There was so much good food. A group of us pitched in and made enchiladas - Mexican food in France. They were a hit.
Tuesday (yesterday) was Bastille Day - the French equivalent of the 4th of July. Nothing was open - including school, so we had classes in Professor Peeler's living room. Luckily there were plenty of leftovers from the potluck (but no enchiladas), so we ate lunch there. Then we took naps in preparation for the evening's activities. We got up and went to Debbie and Dale's apartment to have a little celebration, because it was Debbie's birthday yesterday. Then we grabbed some food on the way to meet one of our French classmates who had the scoop on the evening's festivities.
She took us to a bar that looked like a pirate ship inside. It was decorated with pirate flags, stuffed parrots, nets, shells and various other nautical items. They were playing Bob Marley and they sold a bunch of different rums. You could get rum in any flavor you could think of. Instead of getting a shot of rum, I pitched in with a couple and we got a bottle of some delicious rum concoction. I think it was rum, mango juice and cinnamon - those were the main flavors anyway. It was delicious.
After the bar, we made our way to the city center where there was a huge concert going on. We got there just in time to see the fireworks. It was really cool. There were sooo many people there. Miraculously we ran into Professor Peeler and some friends there. The fireworks were pretty good. I posted the last minute or so of them down below. The grand finale was pretty good, but nothing like the grand finale in Rock Springs, Wyoming. You think I'm being funny, but I'm not. Rock Springs has a really good fireworks show.
Today after class we had a tour and lecture at the Labor Court here in Toulouse. It was full of fun facts like this: there is no at-will employment in France. Every job has a monthly salary and an employment contract. Fascinating. The guy who spoke to us was really nice, and I managed to appear interested the whole time.
Tomorrow we're taking a 2 hour bus ride to some medieval city, and we'll get the chance to take a boat ride on an underground lake. I'm really looking forward to that. My camera battery is charging.
Teresa is making her famous fried rice tonight. I can't wait. For now I think I'll finish reading my book (my pleasure book - do you really think I'm reading for class?), and then it will be supper time. And I bet home-made fried rice in France will taste better than it would in the US - I could lie and say it's because of the ingredients, but really it's just because I'm in France. Everything tastes better in France.
J'aime pain au chocolate.
A lot.
Un Sandwich au baguette
Is the best yet.
Quiche Lorraine
Is nowhere near plain.
Beacoup de choses sont délicieux et savourex.
A propos de rien do I say "eh."
Chere nourriture Francaise, Je t'adore.
Je veux more.
Alright, enough silliness. You get the idea. I am eating and eating and eating here. I can't help it. Yet somehow every time I put on a pair of pants, they feel bigger. My belt has run out of holes to use. My bras are too big. It's kind of awesome. I have been running here and there and doing some other exercising, but besides those there are two reason I think I am losing weight.
First, I walk everywhere. I probably walk 2-3 miles a day, and on weekends it's more like 5 or 6 miles a day. But more importantly, I think it's the quality of the food I'm eating. I may be eating a lot of bread and cheese and butter (in the form of croissants), but the stuff I'm eating is fresh - no preservatives. All ingredients are fresh, never frozen or put in a can. I'm eating a lot of fruit and the stuff I'm eating is simple. There's not a lot of salt or fat. But somehow it tastes fantastic.
I remember feeling this way last time I came to France too. Things I normally didn't like I was eating on a daily basis - like cantaloupe. I love it here. In the US it's bland and watery. I have discovered that the stuff here is a little different, and isn't shipped to the US, because it wouldn't make the trip. So that explains that. But also in France I like cheeses I don't normally eat, and I eat fruits and vegetables I don't normally love.
I'm not going to sit here and claim that everything I'm eating is perfect. The pain au chocolate is divine, and I eat it every few days. I have also eaten at McDonald's here. It's really good - it tastes like real meat here! But the fries taste the same. Plus there are these kabob places that sell shwarma that are divine. But on the whole, I'm eating healthy and wholesome. And cheaply - that's the main thing I love. I am going to try to eat this way in the US when I get back, but I'm not sure I can. I'm not sure Vons sells the same type of yummy baguettes.
As far as what I've been up to besides eating, there hasn't been a whole lot. I took last weekend pretty easy. I had a paper due on Monday for my music law class, so I worked on that. We went to a public swimming pool on Sunday because it was super hot. When we got there, the boys couldn't go in the pool, because there is a rule that boys have to wear tight bathing suits. Trunks and board shorts are not allowed. So if they want to go back, they have to buy tight European bathing suits. I felt bad. The other rule is that anyone who wants to go in has to wear a swim cap. It's kind of irritating, but I understand that rule at least. It felt nice to get in the water. I may go back this weekend.
Monday night there was a big potluck dinner at Professor Peeler's place. It was great. There was so much good food. A group of us pitched in and made enchiladas - Mexican food in France. They were a hit.
Tuesday (yesterday) was Bastille Day - the French equivalent of the 4th of July. Nothing was open - including school, so we had classes in Professor Peeler's living room. Luckily there were plenty of leftovers from the potluck (but no enchiladas), so we ate lunch there. Then we took naps in preparation for the evening's activities. We got up and went to Debbie and Dale's apartment to have a little celebration, because it was Debbie's birthday yesterday. Then we grabbed some food on the way to meet one of our French classmates who had the scoop on the evening's festivities.
She took us to a bar that looked like a pirate ship inside. It was decorated with pirate flags, stuffed parrots, nets, shells and various other nautical items. They were playing Bob Marley and they sold a bunch of different rums. You could get rum in any flavor you could think of. Instead of getting a shot of rum, I pitched in with a couple and we got a bottle of some delicious rum concoction. I think it was rum, mango juice and cinnamon - those were the main flavors anyway. It was delicious.
After the bar, we made our way to the city center where there was a huge concert going on. We got there just in time to see the fireworks. It was really cool. There were sooo many people there. Miraculously we ran into Professor Peeler and some friends there. The fireworks were pretty good. I posted the last minute or so of them down below. The grand finale was pretty good, but nothing like the grand finale in Rock Springs, Wyoming. You think I'm being funny, but I'm not. Rock Springs has a really good fireworks show.
Today after class we had a tour and lecture at the Labor Court here in Toulouse. It was full of fun facts like this: there is no at-will employment in France. Every job has a monthly salary and an employment contract. Fascinating. The guy who spoke to us was really nice, and I managed to appear interested the whole time.
Tomorrow we're taking a 2 hour bus ride to some medieval city, and we'll get the chance to take a boat ride on an underground lake. I'm really looking forward to that. My camera battery is charging.
Teresa is making her famous fried rice tonight. I can't wait. For now I think I'll finish reading my book (my pleasure book - do you really think I'm reading for class?), and then it will be supper time. And I bet home-made fried rice in France will taste better than it would in the US - I could lie and say it's because of the ingredients, but really it's just because I'm in France. Everything tastes better in France.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Just France
Get it? It's like the Lady Ga Ga song - "Just Dance," only I switched "Dance" with "France." I think Europe has made me funnier.
I'm having a pretty good time here in France. The language is coming back to me in full force, and I can have actual conversations now - not just order something at a restaurant or pay for something at the store.
Everyone's here now and classes have started. Having been here a week before everyone, I am one of a couple designated tour guides, so I've lead some expeditions to the electronics store and the housewares store. I've also introduced everyone possible to the glorious pastry world of France - specifically to Pain au Chocolate. Yes, it deserves to be capitalized. I could probably write an entire long blog about Pain au Chocolate. Maybe I will someday.
Classes here are much more serious and require a lot more attention and preparation than my classes in Spain. Which kind of sucks because I have a bunch of papers to write for my Spain classes, and they're all due within the next week.
It's kind of a weird juxtaposition. Everyone who is new to Europe is all excited and ready to go out partying every night. I've been here for almost 6 weeks (already!) and I'm mellow. I just want to hang out. I'm over the novelty of it. And I'm feeling a little stressed out by how much work this is turning out to be. In addition to all that, I'm homesick. I miss my husband. I miss my bed and my things. I miss US grocery stores. I miss Target.
Having said all of that, I am also really enjoying France. This is where I wanted to come most. I love Toulouse - it's a beautiful city. I didn't know until I'd been here a few days, but Toulouse is nicknamed "La Ville en Rose." It means "The Pink City." At night when the sun is setting, the entire sky is pink. The color in the bricks used around here mixed with normal sunset conditions makes the entire sky this dark pink that is so amazing. The architecture is amazing, and there are several really really old churches nearby. I think our school building was built in the 1600s. My school is older than the United States.
I love going out into the town and hearing people speak the language. I love that so many people sit in the park. In US parks there are a couple of benches here and there. Here the sidewalks in the parks are lined with benches. People love to just go relax and sit outside and enjoy the fresh air (even if it is sweltering), and the company of friends. No one is in a hurry - they want to enjoy life as much as possible. Americans want to enjoy life too - we just need to be stimulated constantly. Our enjoyment is in fast rides and extreme sports. When "relaxing," we need to be watching TV, online and listening to music all at once. The French don't need all of that.
Now, having said that, don't think I'm going back to the US and canceling my cable - no way! I'm losing it here without TV. I don't know what's happening in my favorite shows, I don't know what new shows are out, and I don't know what movies are out this summer. (I do know that Harry Potter is coming out in a week or so.)
All in all, I'm having a great time in France. I miss my husband and I miss my home, but I am soaking up France - much more so than Spain. Spain was pretty and interesting, but I didn't love Spanish culture or the Spanish atmosphere the way I love France. I may be predisposed to think that way because I speak French, and have been here before, but that's the way it is.
Bon Soir!
I'm having a pretty good time here in France. The language is coming back to me in full force, and I can have actual conversations now - not just order something at a restaurant or pay for something at the store.
Everyone's here now and classes have started. Having been here a week before everyone, I am one of a couple designated tour guides, so I've lead some expeditions to the electronics store and the housewares store. I've also introduced everyone possible to the glorious pastry world of France - specifically to Pain au Chocolate. Yes, it deserves to be capitalized. I could probably write an entire long blog about Pain au Chocolate. Maybe I will someday.
Classes here are much more serious and require a lot more attention and preparation than my classes in Spain. Which kind of sucks because I have a bunch of papers to write for my Spain classes, and they're all due within the next week.
It's kind of a weird juxtaposition. Everyone who is new to Europe is all excited and ready to go out partying every night. I've been here for almost 6 weeks (already!) and I'm mellow. I just want to hang out. I'm over the novelty of it. And I'm feeling a little stressed out by how much work this is turning out to be. In addition to all that, I'm homesick. I miss my husband. I miss my bed and my things. I miss US grocery stores. I miss Target.
Having said all of that, I am also really enjoying France. This is where I wanted to come most. I love Toulouse - it's a beautiful city. I didn't know until I'd been here a few days, but Toulouse is nicknamed "La Ville en Rose." It means "The Pink City." At night when the sun is setting, the entire sky is pink. The color in the bricks used around here mixed with normal sunset conditions makes the entire sky this dark pink that is so amazing. The architecture is amazing, and there are several really really old churches nearby. I think our school building was built in the 1600s. My school is older than the United States.
I love going out into the town and hearing people speak the language. I love that so many people sit in the park. In US parks there are a couple of benches here and there. Here the sidewalks in the parks are lined with benches. People love to just go relax and sit outside and enjoy the fresh air (even if it is sweltering), and the company of friends. No one is in a hurry - they want to enjoy life as much as possible. Americans want to enjoy life too - we just need to be stimulated constantly. Our enjoyment is in fast rides and extreme sports. When "relaxing," we need to be watching TV, online and listening to music all at once. The French don't need all of that.
Now, having said that, don't think I'm going back to the US and canceling my cable - no way! I'm losing it here without TV. I don't know what's happening in my favorite shows, I don't know what new shows are out, and I don't know what movies are out this summer. (I do know that Harry Potter is coming out in a week or so.)
All in all, I'm having a great time in France. I miss my husband and I miss my home, but I am soaking up France - much more so than Spain. Spain was pretty and interesting, but I didn't love Spanish culture or the Spanish atmosphere the way I love France. I may be predisposed to think that way because I speak French, and have been here before, but that's the way it is.
Bon Soir!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Barcelona Trip and Last Week of Spain
Barcelona was really fun. The pictures are up on Facebook already, so check them out!
We got into the Reus airport late, because our flight was delayed. That messed up all our transportation plans to get into Barcelona, because all the trains and busses had stopped running for the night. We flew into Reus (an hour and a half away from Barcelona), because it was tremendously cheaper, and there was a flight directly out of Santander. So we had to pile into taxis - costing us around 35 Euro each. Ouch. But we finally got there, checked into our hostel, and were ready to go eat.
One of our group had already been to Barcelona in the past led us to this fantastic Mexican restaurant. The food was yummy, and it was made even better by the fact that we were starving. But, as are all things in Barcelona, it was expensive. Some people in our group went out to some bars after that, but my roomates and I went home so that we could get up early and see as much as possible on Saturday.
Saturday morning we got up, ate at the hostel, and hit the town. There is a major street in Barcelona caled Las Robles (I think that's how you spell it). We walked all up and down that street. There are street vendors, souvenier shops, and street performers. The performers are all dressed up in costumes, and they'll do funny or scary things if you give them money. I didn't give anyone money - there were enough other people there paying.
There was a huge rugby match planned for later in the day, and all the fans for both teams were out in full force. They were dressed in Rugby jerseys (is that what they're called? Anyways, they were wearing the Rugby outfits the players wear), or at least in the colors. One group of fans were all dressed as the Vegas Elvis - a white jumpsuit with a giant patch for their team sewn on the back. Then we saw a sea of people coming at us in their yellow jerseys. There was one family of three walking in the opposite direction with the other team's jerseys. When the two groups met, the little kid in the small family screamed the Spanish equivalent of "Your team sucks! My team is number one!" Since it was a little kid, there was no riot, but it prompted the yellow sea of fans to sing and chant and dance - you could hear them long after we (and the kid) were past them. Crazy Rugby fans may almost rise to the level of Football Hooligans in London.
We saw some other great stuff too - we went to a shoe museum, the Picasso Museum, and to the city Cathedral. They happened to be having mass there when we went, so it was really cool. Every Saturday night after mass, there is a band that plays out on the front steps, and all kinds of people gather there to do a traditional dance - everyone standing in a circle and dancing together. It was really cool. I got some videos of it.
After that, we decided it would be wrong to be in a city right on the Mediterranean Sea, and not at least set foot in it, so we headed to the beach. By now it was almost 7 p.m., but we went anyways. When we got there, we found the rest of our group all there - drinking Absynthe and swimming. So, we ran and jumped into the Sea. It was so warm and nice. I wished I had spent all day there too. But in the end I'm glad I saw the things I saw. I sort of wanted to try the Absynthe, but it wasn't the "real" kind, and I'm not drinking black licorice flavored anything if it's not authentic absynthe. So I didn't. My trip to Europe isn't exactly following the Eurotrip movie, but that's ok. I'm having a great time as it is.
My camera died while I was at the beach, so I don't have any pictures of us going out dancing that night, but it was fantastic. We all got really dressed up, and I even wore heels. We went to a club called Catwalk, and they played great music - a lot of hip hop - none of that electronica stuff Europeans love so much. We got there around 1 am (early for Spain), and we left around 5 am. I think I danced for a solid four hours straight. My hair was so sweaty and my beautiful dress was drenched, but I had a fantastic time. I drank a little sangria before going out, but managed to only spend the 20 Euro cover charge at the club plus a little for a bottle of water there. It was so fun.
We went back to the hostel and slept for a couple of hours before we got up and had to check out and get to the airport. It was so great. I would love to go back, though. Barcelona is huge, and one full day is not really enough time to see everything. I didn't even go to the biggest, most famous landmark - the Sagrada Familia. It is a chathedral designed and build by Gaudi. And I'd like to go to the Gaudi museum and the Parc Gaudi. But next time I go, I'll be prepared for the expense.
The last week of Spain was pretty fun too. We kept saying that we were going to make the most of it and go to the beach every day and go out every night, but we were all getting a little tired. We had a group field trip on Tuesday, and we went to some other old city and then up this scary, windy, narryow road (really scary in a bus) to a mountain. Then from the top of that mountain, everyone took a gondola up to the very top where there was still snow and excellent views of the countryside. I didn't go, because I didn't think it would be worth it - it was expensive to take a 4 minute ride up to the top, take some pictures and come down. Besides, by now I was getting really tired of going everywhere in a big group. I wanted to relax and have some quiet. So I stayed down and read my book. Professor Peeler stayed down too, because he's afraid of heights, and it worked out well, because we had a long conversation, and I think we bonded.
Then Wednesday was overcast, and we were all studying for our Music Law final on Thursday. Thursday we didn't go to the beach, because we were taking a final all afternoon. But Thursday was the last day of classes and finals, so we all went out Thursday night. We went dancing again (I love Europe for this), and got silly. At one place we went to, they played some old-school 90's club songs, and we had a dance circle. I did an awesome running man, and got cheered. It was fun. Then later in the evening, someone told me I had some serious dance moves, and I felt awesome.
We spent Friday packing and hanging out. Some people left on Friday. Those of us who didn't leave went to the Irish Pub one more time and played Monopoly in Spanish one more time. Then I lost Monopoly in Spanish one more time. Our bus to come to France didn't leave until 9 pm Saturday, so we spent that day finishing packing, cleaning up our apartment, and relaxing. It was sad to leave there on one hand, but on the other, I was ready.
I almost felt like I was ready to just come home. I was tired and I was burned out - hanging out with a group of people all the time is exhausting. I just wanted to be home, with Mike cuddled on the couch watching movies. It's the most comfortable happy place I know. I still want to be there, actually. But now that I'm here in France, I'm getting pretty excited about this program. I think I won't be as social this time - even though it's mostly a different group of people. I think I will stick to myself more, go off by myself more. My French is improving drastically. Today I bought a fan from a guy who spoke absolutely no english. (The fan was a necessity - it's mid-90's here already, and it's not even July.)
The first person from the France group is arriving tonight. She was on the Spain trip with us, but she didn't take classes - she got a job. She speaks Spanish really well, and she interned for credit at a law firm in downtown Santander. But now she's going to be taking classes with us here. I'm taking only two classes here in France, but they are each two credits: International Intellectual Property and International Human Rights.
Well, I've gone on long enough. Goodbye Spain adventure, hello France adventure!
We got into the Reus airport late, because our flight was delayed. That messed up all our transportation plans to get into Barcelona, because all the trains and busses had stopped running for the night. We flew into Reus (an hour and a half away from Barcelona), because it was tremendously cheaper, and there was a flight directly out of Santander. So we had to pile into taxis - costing us around 35 Euro each. Ouch. But we finally got there, checked into our hostel, and were ready to go eat.
One of our group had already been to Barcelona in the past led us to this fantastic Mexican restaurant. The food was yummy, and it was made even better by the fact that we were starving. But, as are all things in Barcelona, it was expensive. Some people in our group went out to some bars after that, but my roomates and I went home so that we could get up early and see as much as possible on Saturday.
Saturday morning we got up, ate at the hostel, and hit the town. There is a major street in Barcelona caled Las Robles (I think that's how you spell it). We walked all up and down that street. There are street vendors, souvenier shops, and street performers. The performers are all dressed up in costumes, and they'll do funny or scary things if you give them money. I didn't give anyone money - there were enough other people there paying.
There was a huge rugby match planned for later in the day, and all the fans for both teams were out in full force. They were dressed in Rugby jerseys (is that what they're called? Anyways, they were wearing the Rugby outfits the players wear), or at least in the colors. One group of fans were all dressed as the Vegas Elvis - a white jumpsuit with a giant patch for their team sewn on the back. Then we saw a sea of people coming at us in their yellow jerseys. There was one family of three walking in the opposite direction with the other team's jerseys. When the two groups met, the little kid in the small family screamed the Spanish equivalent of "Your team sucks! My team is number one!" Since it was a little kid, there was no riot, but it prompted the yellow sea of fans to sing and chant and dance - you could hear them long after we (and the kid) were past them. Crazy Rugby fans may almost rise to the level of Football Hooligans in London.
We saw some other great stuff too - we went to a shoe museum, the Picasso Museum, and to the city Cathedral. They happened to be having mass there when we went, so it was really cool. Every Saturday night after mass, there is a band that plays out on the front steps, and all kinds of people gather there to do a traditional dance - everyone standing in a circle and dancing together. It was really cool. I got some videos of it.
After that, we decided it would be wrong to be in a city right on the Mediterranean Sea, and not at least set foot in it, so we headed to the beach. By now it was almost 7 p.m., but we went anyways. When we got there, we found the rest of our group all there - drinking Absynthe and swimming. So, we ran and jumped into the Sea. It was so warm and nice. I wished I had spent all day there too. But in the end I'm glad I saw the things I saw. I sort of wanted to try the Absynthe, but it wasn't the "real" kind, and I'm not drinking black licorice flavored anything if it's not authentic absynthe. So I didn't. My trip to Europe isn't exactly following the Eurotrip movie, but that's ok. I'm having a great time as it is.
My camera died while I was at the beach, so I don't have any pictures of us going out dancing that night, but it was fantastic. We all got really dressed up, and I even wore heels. We went to a club called Catwalk, and they played great music - a lot of hip hop - none of that electronica stuff Europeans love so much. We got there around 1 am (early for Spain), and we left around 5 am. I think I danced for a solid four hours straight. My hair was so sweaty and my beautiful dress was drenched, but I had a fantastic time. I drank a little sangria before going out, but managed to only spend the 20 Euro cover charge at the club plus a little for a bottle of water there. It was so fun.
We went back to the hostel and slept for a couple of hours before we got up and had to check out and get to the airport. It was so great. I would love to go back, though. Barcelona is huge, and one full day is not really enough time to see everything. I didn't even go to the biggest, most famous landmark - the Sagrada Familia. It is a chathedral designed and build by Gaudi. And I'd like to go to the Gaudi museum and the Parc Gaudi. But next time I go, I'll be prepared for the expense.
The last week of Spain was pretty fun too. We kept saying that we were going to make the most of it and go to the beach every day and go out every night, but we were all getting a little tired. We had a group field trip on Tuesday, and we went to some other old city and then up this scary, windy, narryow road (really scary in a bus) to a mountain. Then from the top of that mountain, everyone took a gondola up to the very top where there was still snow and excellent views of the countryside. I didn't go, because I didn't think it would be worth it - it was expensive to take a 4 minute ride up to the top, take some pictures and come down. Besides, by now I was getting really tired of going everywhere in a big group. I wanted to relax and have some quiet. So I stayed down and read my book. Professor Peeler stayed down too, because he's afraid of heights, and it worked out well, because we had a long conversation, and I think we bonded.
Then Wednesday was overcast, and we were all studying for our Music Law final on Thursday. Thursday we didn't go to the beach, because we were taking a final all afternoon. But Thursday was the last day of classes and finals, so we all went out Thursday night. We went dancing again (I love Europe for this), and got silly. At one place we went to, they played some old-school 90's club songs, and we had a dance circle. I did an awesome running man, and got cheered. It was fun. Then later in the evening, someone told me I had some serious dance moves, and I felt awesome.
We spent Friday packing and hanging out. Some people left on Friday. Those of us who didn't leave went to the Irish Pub one more time and played Monopoly in Spanish one more time. Then I lost Monopoly in Spanish one more time. Our bus to come to France didn't leave until 9 pm Saturday, so we spent that day finishing packing, cleaning up our apartment, and relaxing. It was sad to leave there on one hand, but on the other, I was ready.
I almost felt like I was ready to just come home. I was tired and I was burned out - hanging out with a group of people all the time is exhausting. I just wanted to be home, with Mike cuddled on the couch watching movies. It's the most comfortable happy place I know. I still want to be there, actually. But now that I'm here in France, I'm getting pretty excited about this program. I think I won't be as social this time - even though it's mostly a different group of people. I think I will stick to myself more, go off by myself more. My French is improving drastically. Today I bought a fan from a guy who spoke absolutely no english. (The fan was a necessity - it's mid-90's here already, and it's not even July.)
The first person from the France group is arriving tonight. She was on the Spain trip with us, but she didn't take classes - she got a job. She speaks Spanish really well, and she interned for credit at a law firm in downtown Santander. But now she's going to be taking classes with us here. I'm taking only two classes here in France, but they are each two credits: International Intellectual Property and International Human Rights.
Well, I've gone on long enough. Goodbye Spain adventure, hello France adventure!
Monday, June 29, 2009
I Parled a Bit Today
While sitting here without internet last night, I wrote this:
I finally made it to France. I promise I will write very soon about Barcelona and my last week in Spain, because there are some stories to tell. But right now, the France thing is in my mind and I’m excited about it.
We (my roommate, Teresa, and I) took a bus from Santander to Barcelona which took about 9 hours overnight (sucks, but saves a night of lodging costs). The bus left at 9:00 p.m., and I managed to stay awake until about midnight. Once it got dark (around 10:30) it was much more difficult to stay awake. I slept on and off for the rest of the night. We got into Barcelona around 6:30 a.m. Then we went into the bus/train station and had breakfast.
We got on another bus from Barcelona to Toulouse around 9:00 a.m., and got here around 4:00 p.m. We took the most expensive 1 mile taxi drive ever, and got to our dorms. After a little searching around we figured out where we were supposed to go, and got our keys. My conversation with the woman behind the counter weas half in elementary French and half in elementary English. She must have thought I was so dumb.
But we figured everything out eventually, and we unpacked and got situated. Then we went to dinner at a pizza place (because apparently no one needs to eat out at restaurants on Sunday nights. No one needs to do anything on Sunday nights apparently – the cyber café was closed as was every store we passed.
As far as internet goes, it’s still a little up in the air. The woman who checked us in did not know how we could access the wi-fi here. She said there wasn’t any. But when I turned on my computer, it found a wireless network, but I need an id and a password. Hopefully I can get that tomorrow. UPDATE: There is no wireless internet access here in our dorm rooms. So I had to go to an electronics store today and buy a cable, because there is actually internet access in the rooms - only you have to get it from the wall.
I don’t have class until next week. I plan to spend this week catching up on blogging, exploring the city and writing all my papers for the Spain session. Teresa is going to go to Germany and Amsterdam, which is where my other Spain roommate is staying right now. I guess they’ll meet up there. They were both good roommates, and I wouldn’t have wanted to room with anyone else there, but it will be really nice to have my own room here. It will be nice to have a week to chill out and unwind alone. Plus I want to test my mettle - a week alone in a foreign country will do that.
My French is pretty rusty, but I think it will come back quickly – especially being alone this week. I was able to get us around pretty well today, and I think I’ll improve quickly. It’s really fun being here. As soon as we were in France today, I just felt happier. I’m more comfortable here than Spain – probably because I’ve been to France before. I can’t wait to find a bakery to get some pain-au-chocolate. I can’t wait to find a creperie. I can’t wait to be understood by someone who speaks French. While on the bus, I kept looking out at the countryside and thinking of the movie “French Kiss.” My favorite lines:
Kate: “What’s that face? You don’t think it’s beautiful here?”
Luke: “Pshhh. I was born here.”
Kate: “You were? But this is so beautiful and charming.”
Luke: “Ah oui, it was too beautiful for me. I had to leave.”
I know it’s lame, but I’m thinking of going to bed soon. It’s only 8:30, but nothing’s open anyways. I can’t get online, and I hardly slept last night. We’ll see how it goes.
Now with internet in my room, I am writing the rest of this post.
This morning I went to an internet cafe for awhile, where I caught up on emails, and chatted with a few people. Then Teresa left for the train station, and I came back to the dorms. I found someone in the office, and she is the one who told me how I could get internet here, and what kind of cable to buy, etc. Then I went out on my adventure to find the cable.
I went for a really long walk in all the wrong directions, but it was pretty fun. I got to know the lay of the land pretty well. Now I have plans about what I want to go out and see tomorrow. I finally found the store that sells cables (a Best Buy type of store). Right outside of it was a patisserie, where I promptly bought a pain au chocolate and a bottle of water.
I took the metro (which I was able to master rather quickly) back to my stop. Right outside of the stop is a park with lots of benches. I sat down on a bench and enjoyed my pastry. I found a newspaper nearby that no one was reading, and in it were movie times. I may try to check out a movie here - if it's not too expensive. Then I started walking back to my dorm, and on the way I passed a little store.
I got some necessities and some diet coke and some frozen quiche for dinner tonight, and then came home. When I got here there was a note under my door from Teresa, who couldn't get on the train she wanted so she is leaving later tonight. So we went back out because she was hungry (so was I - pain au chocolate is wonderful, but not especially filling, and it was 1:30 pm by now and it's all I had eaten all day). We got roast beef sandwiches on baguettes, and sat in the park some more.
Now I'm "home," enjoying my internet and my room (which isn't too too hot). I will play around online a little more, and then I think I'll work on one of my papers. There is a kitchen down the hall where I can use a microwave and/or oven to make my quiche later. It's been a bon jour.
I finally made it to France. I promise I will write very soon about Barcelona and my last week in Spain, because there are some stories to tell. But right now, the France thing is in my mind and I’m excited about it.
We (my roommate, Teresa, and I) took a bus from Santander to Barcelona which took about 9 hours overnight (sucks, but saves a night of lodging costs). The bus left at 9:00 p.m., and I managed to stay awake until about midnight. Once it got dark (around 10:30) it was much more difficult to stay awake. I slept on and off for the rest of the night. We got into Barcelona around 6:30 a.m. Then we went into the bus/train station and had breakfast.
We got on another bus from Barcelona to Toulouse around 9:00 a.m., and got here around 4:00 p.m. We took the most expensive 1 mile taxi drive ever, and got to our dorms. After a little searching around we figured out where we were supposed to go, and got our keys. My conversation with the woman behind the counter weas half in elementary French and half in elementary English. She must have thought I was so dumb.
But we figured everything out eventually, and we unpacked and got situated. Then we went to dinner at a pizza place (because apparently no one needs to eat out at restaurants on Sunday nights. No one needs to do anything on Sunday nights apparently – the cyber café was closed as was every store we passed.
As far as internet goes, it’s still a little up in the air. The woman who checked us in did not know how we could access the wi-fi here. She said there wasn’t any. But when I turned on my computer, it found a wireless network, but I need an id and a password. Hopefully I can get that tomorrow. UPDATE: There is no wireless internet access here in our dorm rooms. So I had to go to an electronics store today and buy a cable, because there is actually internet access in the rooms - only you have to get it from the wall.
I don’t have class until next week. I plan to spend this week catching up on blogging, exploring the city and writing all my papers for the Spain session. Teresa is going to go to Germany and Amsterdam, which is where my other Spain roommate is staying right now. I guess they’ll meet up there. They were both good roommates, and I wouldn’t have wanted to room with anyone else there, but it will be really nice to have my own room here. It will be nice to have a week to chill out and unwind alone. Plus I want to test my mettle - a week alone in a foreign country will do that.
My French is pretty rusty, but I think it will come back quickly – especially being alone this week. I was able to get us around pretty well today, and I think I’ll improve quickly. It’s really fun being here. As soon as we were in France today, I just felt happier. I’m more comfortable here than Spain – probably because I’ve been to France before. I can’t wait to find a bakery to get some pain-au-chocolate. I can’t wait to find a creperie. I can’t wait to be understood by someone who speaks French. While on the bus, I kept looking out at the countryside and thinking of the movie “French Kiss.” My favorite lines:
Kate: “What’s that face? You don’t think it’s beautiful here?”
Luke: “Pshhh. I was born here.”
Kate: “You were? But this is so beautiful and charming.”
Luke: “Ah oui, it was too beautiful for me. I had to leave.”
I know it’s lame, but I’m thinking of going to bed soon. It’s only 8:30, but nothing’s open anyways. I can’t get online, and I hardly slept last night. We’ll see how it goes.
Now with internet in my room, I am writing the rest of this post.
This morning I went to an internet cafe for awhile, where I caught up on emails, and chatted with a few people. Then Teresa left for the train station, and I came back to the dorms. I found someone in the office, and she is the one who told me how I could get internet here, and what kind of cable to buy, etc. Then I went out on my adventure to find the cable.
I went for a really long walk in all the wrong directions, but it was pretty fun. I got to know the lay of the land pretty well. Now I have plans about what I want to go out and see tomorrow. I finally found the store that sells cables (a Best Buy type of store). Right outside of it was a patisserie, where I promptly bought a pain au chocolate and a bottle of water.
I took the metro (which I was able to master rather quickly) back to my stop. Right outside of the stop is a park with lots of benches. I sat down on a bench and enjoyed my pastry. I found a newspaper nearby that no one was reading, and in it were movie times. I may try to check out a movie here - if it's not too expensive. Then I started walking back to my dorm, and on the way I passed a little store.
I got some necessities and some diet coke and some frozen quiche for dinner tonight, and then came home. When I got here there was a note under my door from Teresa, who couldn't get on the train she wanted so she is leaving later tonight. So we went back out because she was hungry (so was I - pain au chocolate is wonderful, but not especially filling, and it was 1:30 pm by now and it's all I had eaten all day). We got roast beef sandwiches on baguettes, and sat in the park some more.
Now I'm "home," enjoying my internet and my room (which isn't too too hot). I will play around online a little more, and then I think I'll work on one of my papers. There is a kitchen down the hall where I can use a microwave and/or oven to make my quiche later. It's been a bon jour.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
More Photos and Weekend Plans
I spent the entire afternoon organizing photos and posting them on facebook. Check them out!
I'm going to Barcelona this weekend! We've got a big group going - 16 people. It's cool, but could be annoying. I'm going to spend some time this evening looking for cool things to do there for cheap. I'm assuming there will be museums and maybe a walking tour that will take us past all the cool sights. I'll report everything awesome that happens - which will probably be a lot. I'm excited.
Apparently there is a shoe museum there for only 2 Euro. I can't wait!
I'm going to Barcelona this weekend! We've got a big group going - 16 people. It's cool, but could be annoying. I'm going to spend some time this evening looking for cool things to do there for cheap. I'm assuming there will be museums and maybe a walking tour that will take us past all the cool sights. I'll report everything awesome that happens - which will probably be a lot. I'm excited.
Apparently there is a shoe museum there for only 2 Euro. I can't wait!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Weekend Adventures
This has been a fantastic weekend. I'm going to be honest - I haven't been having the greatest time. I tried to cover it up, but Bryan totally called it. Spain is difficult to get used to. The food isn't very good (I was surprised to find out), and it's really inconvenient to do anything. Plus, I was sick for so long, and unable to really function or enjoy things.
But this weekend my outlook has changed. The food is still bland and uninteresting, but I have been having so much fun anyway!
Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the beach around noon. Someone brought a volleyball, and we played for about an hour. Then we went swimming for awhile. The water is cold, but it was so hot it didn't matter. The water seems saltier than the ocean in California, so you float more. There are waves, but not crushing waves, so it's just really relaxing to float.
After sleeping for awhile on the sand, we went inside. Then we decided to rent bikes and go for a ride. We rode up to a nearby lighthouse. Along the way, we found a really great view of the beach we always go to, and we discovered a private beach. (BTW, all the beaches here have signs that say "No Nudismo," but there are topless women all over the place.)
Once we got up by the lighthouse, we decided to get a beverage and enjoy the view. It's on really high ground (as lighthouses are prone to be), and we could see ocean and cliffs all around us. There was also a little field right by the cafe we were at. In the field there were two large bales of hay. Courtney and Tara (two of my classmates at Whittier, and here) decided to run out into the field and jump on the bales of hay. We were taking pictures and video, and then all of the rest of the people in the cafe became interested. They started taking pictures too, and then two Spanish guys ran out and jumped on the hay too. It looked really fun, and just as I was about to run out and join them, a guy with a tracter drove into the field and made a beeline right for the hay bales. He didn't look to happy. Everyone jumped off, and the tractor guy took the hay somewhere else. It was hilarious.
Then we went out dancing last night. The music in the clubs is mostly techno, and almost all the songs are American songs. It's really fun. Last night there must have been a costume party somewhere, because we saw a ton of people dressed really funny - in striped jail outfits, a chicken suit, a guy in a body suit with a female Baywatch bathing suit on and big stuffed boobs... Craziness.
But today was the most fun. We went to a ropes / obstacle course. There were ladders up into the trees, rope and wooden plank bridges, rope swings, and ziplines. It was so much fun. It took us about 3 hours to do all 5 courses, and we had a blast. I was so tired, and I almost didn't go. I'm so glad that I went. There will be a lot of pictures on facebook soon of the weekend's events (and some other Santander pictures), but in the meantime, here's a video of me on the rope swing.
But this weekend my outlook has changed. The food is still bland and uninteresting, but I have been having so much fun anyway!
Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the beach around noon. Someone brought a volleyball, and we played for about an hour. Then we went swimming for awhile. The water is cold, but it was so hot it didn't matter. The water seems saltier than the ocean in California, so you float more. There are waves, but not crushing waves, so it's just really relaxing to float.
After sleeping for awhile on the sand, we went inside. Then we decided to rent bikes and go for a ride. We rode up to a nearby lighthouse. Along the way, we found a really great view of the beach we always go to, and we discovered a private beach. (BTW, all the beaches here have signs that say "No Nudismo," but there are topless women all over the place.)
Once we got up by the lighthouse, we decided to get a beverage and enjoy the view. It's on really high ground (as lighthouses are prone to be), and we could see ocean and cliffs all around us. There was also a little field right by the cafe we were at. In the field there were two large bales of hay. Courtney and Tara (two of my classmates at Whittier, and here) decided to run out into the field and jump on the bales of hay. We were taking pictures and video, and then all of the rest of the people in the cafe became interested. They started taking pictures too, and then two Spanish guys ran out and jumped on the hay too. It looked really fun, and just as I was about to run out and join them, a guy with a tracter drove into the field and made a beeline right for the hay bales. He didn't look to happy. Everyone jumped off, and the tractor guy took the hay somewhere else. It was hilarious.
Then we went out dancing last night. The music in the clubs is mostly techno, and almost all the songs are American songs. It's really fun. Last night there must have been a costume party somewhere, because we saw a ton of people dressed really funny - in striped jail outfits, a chicken suit, a guy in a body suit with a female Baywatch bathing suit on and big stuffed boobs... Craziness.
But today was the most fun. We went to a ropes / obstacle course. There were ladders up into the trees, rope and wooden plank bridges, rope swings, and ziplines. It was so much fun. It took us about 3 hours to do all 5 courses, and we had a blast. I was so tired, and I almost didn't go. I'm so glad that I went. There will be a lot of pictures on facebook soon of the weekend's events (and some other Santander pictures), but in the meantime, here's a video of me on the rope swing.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Catch Up
I've been in Spain for a week and a half now. It's high time I wrote down what I've been doing.
Classes are going pretty well. I'm a little disappointed in the Narcotics and Terrorism class. It has mostly been an overview of international law in general. It's good, because I have never had a class in international law, and it's good to learn the basics of how it all works. But we only talked about narcotics trafficking one day. Tomorrow is the last day of that class. It was a two-week class for one credit. We are having a final exam sometime next week. My professor for this class is really cool. He's a Judge in Orange County, and has been an attorney in Vietnam, and in the U.S. He's so cute and funny. Tomorrow we are having class at his apartment, and his wife is going to make us all lunch. It's been nice.
The other class I'm taking right now is International Sports Law. We have mostly been focusing on the Olympics, because that's the biggest portion of international sports law. But we've also been talking about all other kinds of international sports competitions - tennis, soccer (oops, I mean futbol), and whatnot. This class is for the entire four weeks, but after this week we're getting a new professor. For this professor we are writing 2 papers - 4-5 pages each. They are to be opinion papers, so that's awesome.
Next week I start my third and only other class for Spain: Music Law. I'm interested to see what that will be all about.
The food here in Spain is pretty good, but it's a little on the bland side. Everywhere you go, they have the same stuff. It's kind of expensive, though. My roomates and I have a kitchen in our room, so we've been doing a lot of cooking to try to save money. We've made pasta, chicken, quesadillas, tacos, more pasta, etc. It's been fine.
I'm finally on a decent schedule. It's so hard to get used to the schedule here. Everyone goes to work around 10 or so. Then at 2 p.m. it's siesta, and everything is closed for 2 hours at least - except restaurants. Then everything is open again until 8 or so. Then restaurants open for dinner at aroun 8 or 9. You can't get dinner before that. Night clubs don't open until midnight at least. It's strange.
Most days we get up around 8 and eat breakfast. We get to school at 10 and I go until about 12:30 every day. Then we come home and eat some lunch. If it's nice, we go to the beach. If it's not we take a nap. Then we have dinner and most nights everyone goes out. Wednesdays are designated social events with the professors and all students. Last week we went somewhere and got tapas and sangria. This week we had a group tour of two old cities nearby. It was pretty cool.
One night last week we went out for the birthday of one of my classmates, and it was really fun. But we didn't get home until after 4. Groups have gone out several nights with the same type of schedule, but I'm old, so I only went out late the one time.
Not only am I old, but I have also been sick. I finally figured out how to say cough syrup in spanish (thanks Mike!), and I've gotten some. I finally slept well last night and didn't wake up coughing.
Our apartment is pretty nice, and the beach is right across the street. So, life here doesn't suck. I'm slowly getting my pictures organized, and they'll be up on facebook soon. Viva Espania!
Classes are going pretty well. I'm a little disappointed in the Narcotics and Terrorism class. It has mostly been an overview of international law in general. It's good, because I have never had a class in international law, and it's good to learn the basics of how it all works. But we only talked about narcotics trafficking one day. Tomorrow is the last day of that class. It was a two-week class for one credit. We are having a final exam sometime next week. My professor for this class is really cool. He's a Judge in Orange County, and has been an attorney in Vietnam, and in the U.S. He's so cute and funny. Tomorrow we are having class at his apartment, and his wife is going to make us all lunch. It's been nice.
The other class I'm taking right now is International Sports Law. We have mostly been focusing on the Olympics, because that's the biggest portion of international sports law. But we've also been talking about all other kinds of international sports competitions - tennis, soccer (oops, I mean futbol), and whatnot. This class is for the entire four weeks, but after this week we're getting a new professor. For this professor we are writing 2 papers - 4-5 pages each. They are to be opinion papers, so that's awesome.
Next week I start my third and only other class for Spain: Music Law. I'm interested to see what that will be all about.
The food here in Spain is pretty good, but it's a little on the bland side. Everywhere you go, they have the same stuff. It's kind of expensive, though. My roomates and I have a kitchen in our room, so we've been doing a lot of cooking to try to save money. We've made pasta, chicken, quesadillas, tacos, more pasta, etc. It's been fine.
I'm finally on a decent schedule. It's so hard to get used to the schedule here. Everyone goes to work around 10 or so. Then at 2 p.m. it's siesta, and everything is closed for 2 hours at least - except restaurants. Then everything is open again until 8 or so. Then restaurants open for dinner at aroun 8 or 9. You can't get dinner before that. Night clubs don't open until midnight at least. It's strange.
Most days we get up around 8 and eat breakfast. We get to school at 10 and I go until about 12:30 every day. Then we come home and eat some lunch. If it's nice, we go to the beach. If it's not we take a nap. Then we have dinner and most nights everyone goes out. Wednesdays are designated social events with the professors and all students. Last week we went somewhere and got tapas and sangria. This week we had a group tour of two old cities nearby. It was pretty cool.
One night last week we went out for the birthday of one of my classmates, and it was really fun. But we didn't get home until after 4. Groups have gone out several nights with the same type of schedule, but I'm old, so I only went out late the one time.
Not only am I old, but I have also been sick. I finally figured out how to say cough syrup in spanish (thanks Mike!), and I've gotten some. I finally slept well last night and didn't wake up coughing.
Our apartment is pretty nice, and the beach is right across the street. So, life here doesn't suck. I'm slowly getting my pictures organized, and they'll be up on facebook soon. Viva Espania!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Photos
I'm posting some photos from London on Facebook. Hope you have a Facebook account, otherwise, you won't get to see them! I still have a few more to post, but it's getting pretty late.
I made it safely to Santander, Spain - not without some travel stress. We flew small airplanes and small airlines, so there were some difficulties - not to mention language issues. My Spanish is pretty terrible, but I can say a few key phrases - enough to purchase food and find my way around. A couple people here speak Spanish really well, so they help out when necessary.
We got here yesterday evening. Teresa, one of my roomates, had attempted to ensure we'd be able to check in a day early, but there was a misunderstanding, and they thought only she was going to check in a day early. Brian, my other roomate, and I thought we'd have to sleep in the park across the street. Apparently it's a very busy weekend in Santander. It's a resort town, and there is a big military festival here. The King of Spain was in town today, so that's kind of crazy. Anyways, we were able to work everything out, and 6 of us crowded into a room last night. It wasn't completely comfortable, but it was better than sleeping in the park!
I woke up kind of sick this morning. I had a seriously sore throat, and my body was achy. I think all the running around has gotten to me. Plus, we've been sleeping with windows open, and I've been around a lot of people smoking lately. I'm exhausted, and still trying to adapt to the time change. I spent all of my time in London running around and trying to squeeze in as much as possible. But I took some medicine, and I feel a lot better. I had a good meal today, and I took a nap.
We were able to switch to our permanent room, and I've unpacked and everything. I'm all settled. It feels nice. We had orientation tonight, and it was nice. There was food and drink, and it was cool to meet everyone. There are some people from other law schools here, including a guy from Willamette, so that's cool.
It turns out that tomorrow is a holidy of some sort in the town, so there's no school. It's awesome, because I'm so tired. But it also gives me more time to do homework. Also, Prof. Peeler (way cooler in Europe) has organized a bus tour of Santander. It will be nice to see more of the town. We should be done around noon, so that leaves plenty of time to go to the beach, relax and read our assignments for Tuesday.
I haven't really taken any photos of Santander yet, but I plan to soon - especially on the tour tomorrow. I'll also post some pics of my room and stuff soon. Meanwhile, it's almost one a.m. I opted not to go out with everyone tonight because I was so tired and wanted to go to bed early. So much for that happening.
I made it safely to Santander, Spain - not without some travel stress. We flew small airplanes and small airlines, so there were some difficulties - not to mention language issues. My Spanish is pretty terrible, but I can say a few key phrases - enough to purchase food and find my way around. A couple people here speak Spanish really well, so they help out when necessary.
We got here yesterday evening. Teresa, one of my roomates, had attempted to ensure we'd be able to check in a day early, but there was a misunderstanding, and they thought only she was going to check in a day early. Brian, my other roomate, and I thought we'd have to sleep in the park across the street. Apparently it's a very busy weekend in Santander. It's a resort town, and there is a big military festival here. The King of Spain was in town today, so that's kind of crazy. Anyways, we were able to work everything out, and 6 of us crowded into a room last night. It wasn't completely comfortable, but it was better than sleeping in the park!
I woke up kind of sick this morning. I had a seriously sore throat, and my body was achy. I think all the running around has gotten to me. Plus, we've been sleeping with windows open, and I've been around a lot of people smoking lately. I'm exhausted, and still trying to adapt to the time change. I spent all of my time in London running around and trying to squeeze in as much as possible. But I took some medicine, and I feel a lot better. I had a good meal today, and I took a nap.
We were able to switch to our permanent room, and I've unpacked and everything. I'm all settled. It feels nice. We had orientation tonight, and it was nice. There was food and drink, and it was cool to meet everyone. There are some people from other law schools here, including a guy from Willamette, so that's cool.
It turns out that tomorrow is a holidy of some sort in the town, so there's no school. It's awesome, because I'm so tired. But it also gives me more time to do homework. Also, Prof. Peeler (way cooler in Europe) has organized a bus tour of Santander. It will be nice to see more of the town. We should be done around noon, so that leaves plenty of time to go to the beach, relax and read our assignments for Tuesday.
I haven't really taken any photos of Santander yet, but I plan to soon - especially on the tour tomorrow. I'll also post some pics of my room and stuff soon. Meanwhile, it's almost one a.m. I opted not to go out with everyone tonight because I was so tired and wanted to go to bed early. So much for that happening.
Friday, May 29, 2009
London Day Three
Just a quick note about today before we spend all day tomorrow traveling to Santander, Spain. We spent a couple hours hanging out in Hyde Park - reading newspapers, taking pictures, listening to iPods, and I did some sudoku. I have to say that the 5 star difficulty sudoku puzzle wasn't that difficult. The Brits have us beat at the literary level, but not at sudoku.
Then we went to dinner, and I finally had fish and chips. It was fine, but nothing special. It tasted the same as in the U.S. But it did come with a grilled lemon and some peas. Then we had a pint and took the tube to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey again to take pictures at night.
While there, a man asked me to take a couple of pictures of him with Big Ben and the Parliament buildings behind him. Being the good, kind person that I am, I took two mediocre photos of him. Then he offered to return the favor. I shrugged and allowed him to do so. The result was my favorite photo of the trip so far:
Goodbye London. See you in August.
London Day Two and Three
Day Two of London was even more awesome than the first. For starters, I was awake and feeling good.
We started out with a free English breakfast from the hotel - fried eggs, "bacon" (really like ham), a bangar (sausage) and beans. Plus toast and tea. MMMMM. I gotta say that I really like British food. I've heard it said that English food is not that great on the culinary scale, but I like it. It's good comfort food. For lunch I had Cottage Pie - basically pretty much like shepard's pie. For dinner we had Italian food - pasta with pancetta and mushrooms in a creamy sauce for me. Awesome.
After breakfast, we hopped on the tube and went to Wimbledon. We didn't take a tour or even go in the museum, because centre court was closed, so there wasn't really a point. Instead we got to go inside and see a couple of the fields, and we hit up the gift shop. I saw the cutest tennis outfits for my future kids, but I refrained.
Then we got on a train and took a 30 minute ride to Hampton Court. This was the castle that King Henry VIII loved most. It was huge. There were tons of beautiful gardens, and a lot of rooms were set up to look like they would have in his day. There were kitchens, the queen's rooms, King Henry VIII's rooms, the Georgian rooms (King George I and II), and did I mention the gardens? We went through a maze made entirely of bushes. It was cool. To top things off, King Henry VIII himself was walking around the grounds getting ready for his wedding later in the day to Kateryn Parr. I never did see her, but I got a picture with King Henry VIII. It was really cool. There was also a lot of art - paintings of a lot of royalty, tapestries, and paintings on the ceilings.
After Hampton Court, we stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant nearby. Halfway through our meal we spotted our first spider. By the end of the meal we'd seen several more. It was kind of creepy. Poor Teresa thought she had spiders on her all the rest of the day.
We took the train home, and rested a bit before we went out later. We went to Leichester Square (kind of like Times Square), and walked around a bit. We then ate a late supper, and then went to a pub. We stayed there til closing (around midnight), and then went on to this Irish bar that had a live band on one floor, and dance music on another. It was pretty cool. We met some people, but just generally had a good time dancing and being goofy. By the end of the evening, we were all pretty inebriated, and got home around 4 a.m. Then I called Mike. Skype is awesome.
We got up late this morning - around 11ish. Teresa and I went to get bagels, and I also bought some postcards. Then we came back and ate and chilled a little. Then Brian still wasn't up, so we went to get Teresa a new bag so that her suitcase isn't so heavy for the flights to Spain. Then we came back and woke him up. There's not much else we really want to do or see here, so this afternoon, I think we'll just go to Hyde Park and sit and relax - maybe read, etc. I still haven't had fish and chips (shocking, I know), so I plan to eat that tonight.
Time is going by so quickly here - it kind of sucks. However, I'm ready to get to Spain and get unpacked and settled. I'd like to spend a little time relaxing. Plus I got emails with all the homework I have to get done. So, it's sad to be leaving London tomorrow morning, but also, it will be nice to go get settled.
Once I get to Spain, I'll post pictures from London on Facebook, and maybe a couple on here. Later!
We started out with a free English breakfast from the hotel - fried eggs, "bacon" (really like ham), a bangar (sausage) and beans. Plus toast and tea. MMMMM. I gotta say that I really like British food. I've heard it said that English food is not that great on the culinary scale, but I like it. It's good comfort food. For lunch I had Cottage Pie - basically pretty much like shepard's pie. For dinner we had Italian food - pasta with pancetta and mushrooms in a creamy sauce for me. Awesome.
After breakfast, we hopped on the tube and went to Wimbledon. We didn't take a tour or even go in the museum, because centre court was closed, so there wasn't really a point. Instead we got to go inside and see a couple of the fields, and we hit up the gift shop. I saw the cutest tennis outfits for my future kids, but I refrained.
Then we got on a train and took a 30 minute ride to Hampton Court. This was the castle that King Henry VIII loved most. It was huge. There were tons of beautiful gardens, and a lot of rooms were set up to look like they would have in his day. There were kitchens, the queen's rooms, King Henry VIII's rooms, the Georgian rooms (King George I and II), and did I mention the gardens? We went through a maze made entirely of bushes. It was cool. To top things off, King Henry VIII himself was walking around the grounds getting ready for his wedding later in the day to Kateryn Parr. I never did see her, but I got a picture with King Henry VIII. It was really cool. There was also a lot of art - paintings of a lot of royalty, tapestries, and paintings on the ceilings.
After Hampton Court, we stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant nearby. Halfway through our meal we spotted our first spider. By the end of the meal we'd seen several more. It was kind of creepy. Poor Teresa thought she had spiders on her all the rest of the day.
We took the train home, and rested a bit before we went out later. We went to Leichester Square (kind of like Times Square), and walked around a bit. We then ate a late supper, and then went to a pub. We stayed there til closing (around midnight), and then went on to this Irish bar that had a live band on one floor, and dance music on another. It was pretty cool. We met some people, but just generally had a good time dancing and being goofy. By the end of the evening, we were all pretty inebriated, and got home around 4 a.m. Then I called Mike. Skype is awesome.
We got up late this morning - around 11ish. Teresa and I went to get bagels, and I also bought some postcards. Then we came back and ate and chilled a little. Then Brian still wasn't up, so we went to get Teresa a new bag so that her suitcase isn't so heavy for the flights to Spain. Then we came back and woke him up. There's not much else we really want to do or see here, so this afternoon, I think we'll just go to Hyde Park and sit and relax - maybe read, etc. I still haven't had fish and chips (shocking, I know), so I plan to eat that tonight.
Time is going by so quickly here - it kind of sucks. However, I'm ready to get to Spain and get unpacked and settled. I'd like to spend a little time relaxing. Plus I got emails with all the homework I have to get done. So, it's sad to be leaving London tomorrow morning, but also, it will be nice to go get settled.
Once I get to Spain, I'll post pictures from London on Facebook, and maybe a couple on here. Later!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Travel, and London Day One
The trip went really well. In fact, I think it was the smoothest, least problematic trip I have ever had. I had an aisle seat on both flights, and an empty seat on the other side on both flights. My suitcase was almost the first one off of the plane, and I had no problems getting to the hotel from the airport - despite the necessity of changing lines on the tube. Then as soon as I got out of the tube station, Teresa and Brian had just gotten there to meet me. Perfect.
I will be flying Air Canada again in the future. I watched 5 different movies on the flights - for free. I watched: "Yes Man," "Marley and Me," "Doubt," "Easy Virtue," and some Canadian Film called "One Week." All good. However, I was disappointed that the song "One Week" was not on the soundtrack to the movie "One Week." It's a Canadian Film, and the Barenaked Ladies are a Canadian Band. I know the theme of the song is completely different from a story of a man who finds out he has cancer and takes off on a motorcycle trip across Canada, but there should have been some way to work it in.
Here's a picture of my passport with its first two stamps - one for Canada (in the Toronto airport), and one for London.
We got a bagel for breakfast, and then I set up my stuff at the hotel. It's a really small room, but who cares? It's basically just a place to keep all of our stuff while we're out, and a place to sleep.
We got ready, and headed out for a walking tour of London. We started at The Tower of London. We actually went in, did the whole tour. It was awesome. This is where Anne Boleyn was killed - along with many other people who crossed paths with King Henry with VIII. There were many rooms showing how the tower rooms used to be, the torture devices used, the Tower as it had originally been built, and the history of everything the Tower has been used for. Apparently there was a peasant revolt in the 1300s, and part of it was destroyed. There was also a big exhibit of life during King Henry VIII's reign - the jousts, the battles, the court, etc. There was also an exhibit of all the crown jewels. It was beautiful.
After a couple hours at the Tower, I was beginning to feel sleepy. I hardly slept on the trip over here, because I was so excited, and I didn't sleep at all before we went out, so I was running up on 20 hours with little sleep. So we took a break and had some lunch - I had a fish sandwhich and fries. Mmmmm. Then we moved on.
We walked several miles along something called The Queen's Walk. It takes you past most of the famous London sights. We passed The Globe Theatre, but we weren't allowed in, because they were rehearsing for a play. Total crap. Then we walked past the Tate Modern Museum, The HMS Belfast, a bunch of museums and theatres, as well as the London Eye Wheel. That's when we got to the good stuff - Lambeth Place, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.
Lambeth Place is the place where the Archbishop of Cantebury lived. It's across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament in order to signify the separation of Church and State. There is nothing so awe-inspriring as the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. It's an amazing building. Westminster Abbey is beautiful also. I'll have to do some research about what it is used for (we didn't go inside), but I'm pretty sure that coronations happen there, and I think Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married there.
We kept walking after all of this and passed the Calvary Museum, where some guards were on horses outside the place. I got some cool video.
Not far away from there is Buckingham Palace. It was kind of gaudy. All the gates were guilded, and extremely ornate. But it was really awesome. The guards weren't changing, but they did some marching around. They were far away - like way behind the closed gates. I kind of expected them to be outside of the gate, but I suppose that happens only at the changing of the guard.
So after 7 hours of walking and touristing, we came back to the hotel. The plan was to rest a little, then go out to a pub to watch the Manchester United v. Barcelona "football" match. But we wanted to go early to be sure we could get a table, so there wasn't a lot of time. So, I didn't go to sleep. Now I was running on 28ish hours with no sleep. We went out, got our drinks, and started watching the game. I was pretty lucid for the first half of the game, but 2 and a half pints later, and still with no sleep, I was toast. I don't remember any of the second half, and I barely remember walking home and getting into bed. I think I fell asleep while I was peeing before bed. Teresa had to knock on the door of the bathroom.
I slept well - for 11 hours. Then we got up and had a nice English breakfast (baked beans anyone?) at the hotel. The plan for today is a little uncertain as of yet. We still want to see Hampton Court and Wimbledon. I've decided not to go to Chatsworth to see the Jane Austen House, because it turns out that it's a 3.5 hour train ride each way. After getting to Chatsworth, you have to get on a bus for a half hour to get there. That means 4 hours of travel each way - which means a total of an hour or two there. It's not really worth the time and effort. It will have to wait for my literary tour of England.
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Night Before
My plane leaves in less than 12 hours. My bags are packed (except for deodorant that I'll need in the morning). My documents are in order. I'm ready.
My first stop will be London. I'll be there until Saturday, when I'll be flying to Santander, Spain where I'll be spending most of June. Then I'll be moving on to Toulouse, France for all of July. I will get back to London by August 3rd, which is my flight home.
But I'm having mixed emotions. This is a really long trip - I'll be gone for more than 2 months. I'll miss Mike. I'll miss my apartment and my bed. I'll miss my friends. I'll miss Mike.
It's always a little nerve-wracking going somewhere new. I've never been to London. I've never been to Spain. I've never been to Toulouse, although I have been to France. I have big plans. It seems so insufficient to say I'm so excited. I am excited. But I'm a lot of other emotions too (as per usual).
All of my summer adventures will be posted here, along with photos and videos. Hope you all have a good summer too!
My first stop will be London. I'll be there until Saturday, when I'll be flying to Santander, Spain where I'll be spending most of June. Then I'll be moving on to Toulouse, France for all of July. I will get back to London by August 3rd, which is my flight home.
But I'm having mixed emotions. This is a really long trip - I'll be gone for more than 2 months. I'll miss Mike. I'll miss my apartment and my bed. I'll miss my friends. I'll miss Mike.
It's always a little nerve-wracking going somewhere new. I've never been to London. I've never been to Spain. I've never been to Toulouse, although I have been to France. I have big plans. It seems so insufficient to say I'm so excited. I am excited. But I'm a lot of other emotions too (as per usual).
All of my summer adventures will be posted here, along with photos and videos. Hope you all have a good summer too!
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