Last Saturday, Andrea, Amy, and I took a trip to Córdoba, a city farther south than Toledo. The weather was fantastic and everything was beautiful. I was on an earlier train than the girls, so before they got there I visited the diputación, which is a converted (and gorgeous) monastery as well as I went to an archaeological site where and old Roman palace had been unearthed. The ruins were quite awesome, and the lady was really nice at the small museum. It was weird to travel out of the Castilla region to Andalucia, because they have a different accent down there. Certain letters, such as s and r, are cut off at the end of words and they say cosina instead of cothina. It was quite fun.
Once the girls got there, we tucked into some lunch (fried squid and shrimp tortilla! YUM! I love it!). We then attempted to go see the Mezquita, but it happened to be closed. It was fine though because I was able to take plenty of pictures from the outside. We then found the Calle de las flores and a very beautiful Patio cordobese which are just gorgeous! After that we took a horse and carriage tour of the city, which was very beautiful and allowed us to see a bunch of sights very efficiently (which was good, as my feet had not completely healed from a long day a few weeks prior). After that, I headed back to Madrid and ultimately got back to Toledo at 2:30 am...and immediately passed out in my bed.
Monday was also a very interesting day, mainly because it was my 21st birthday. Now, in the US we know what a 21st birthday means, but in Spain I was legal to drink from the moment I walked off the plane. Due to this there was no pressure to have to drink, which I was actually happy about. Instead, a few close friends and I had a small party at the local Döner Kebab and got some helado. Andrea and Amy surprised me with a bunch of presents (I love my friends!) including the Spanish version of 20 Questions, the small electronic game where the ball guesses what you are thinking of in 20 questions. It is addicting, and my Spanish mother is in love with it as much as me.
Another fun thing has been that I have been getting closer to my older host brother. Why suddenly, you may ask? Because he just bought a new computer, and I tend to be a bit computer savvy, and he is not so much (they were not as plentiful when he was in colegio). The last few days I have been helping him set up everything, teaching how to do things, and even setting-up his Wi-Fi printer (which they pronounce wee-fee, and now so do I out of habit). It's been really cool getting to talk more with Ricardo when doing this, and I think he sees more of my personality now because at first I was too worried about communicating that my personality couldn't show. Now that I am more comfortable with my language and my surroundings things are getting a lot better. Too bad there is only 1 month left!
In other news, when I return to Ripon, I will be an RA! This is what I love so much about Ripon College. Although I am half a world away, I am not left out of the loop. I was able to apply to be an RA from here (the phone interview was so fun because I got to hear so many familiar voices from home all at once!) and not once did I feel like I had an extra burden put on me because everyone worked with me. It has been the same for registration, which really impressed me, since I had a minor change to what I originally planned (then again, I feel like I'm slightly more tranquil about some things since coming to Spain). I also liked that Ripon sent me a giant packet, including all of the College Days thus far, a bunch of brochures of happenings on campus, and ... PRESSED LEAVES! That was the most exciting part, because fall doesn't look like fall here...I kind of miss Door County for that.
Also, I never thought of this, but Spain doesn't have Thanksgiving, which means after All Saints' Day, the next holiday Christmas. Today, while walking to the Fund, I noticed Zara, the clothing store, has a Christmas tree up and a city worker was hanging up Christmas lights around Zocodover. So exciting! I love Christmas. Even my host family was talking about it!
This weekend we're going to Segovia, so I'll get to write about that soon. Until next time!
08 November 2007
The things people will say...
When you are taking normal classes, you get a chance to amplify your vocabulary mucho. However, there are somethings you never think you will learn...but when you live in the language, you do. Due to this, I now present Josh in Toledo's very first:
Top Ten Things You Never Think You Would Need to Translate (or shouldn't attempt)
10) "Estás afuera de control" ("You are out of control" -- very bad translation)
9) "O Dios Mío...niños son niños en cualquiera cultura...demasiado energía...demasiado..." ("Oh my God...children are children in whichever culture...too much energy...too much...")
8) "Ella está en el baño o está comprando pan, no estoy seguro cual. No recuerdo que me dijo. Uno u otra..." ("She is either in the bathroom or buying bread, I'm not sure. I don't remeber which she told me. One or the other...")
Top Ten Things You Never Think You Would Need to Translate (or shouldn't attempt)
10) "Estás afuera de control" ("You are out of control" -- very bad translation)
9) "O Dios Mío...niños son niños en cualquiera cultura...demasiado energía...demasiado..." ("Oh my God...children are children in whichever culture...too much energy...too much...")
8) "Ella está en el baño o está comprando pan, no estoy seguro cual. No recuerdo que me dijo. Uno u otra..." ("She is either in the bathroom or buying bread, I'm not sure. I don't remeber which she told me. One or the other...")
7) "¡O Madre Mía! ¡Él está tirando el loro! ¡Y no sé por qué!" ("Oh my gosh! He's throwing the parrot! And I don't know why!")
6) "Yo regresé a las dos y media....la segunda dos y media...anoche" ("I returned at 2:30...the second 2:·30...last night"...oh the joys of Central European Summer Time)
5) "Me gusta bailar como una panda. Me pone feliz. Cuando el mundo es triste y hay mucho para hacer, solo podemos bailar." ("I like to dance like a panda. It makes me happy. When the world is sad and there is a lot to do, we can only dance.")
4) "¡Comes demasiado carne! Vas a morir" ("You eat too much meat! You're going to die!")
3) "Come el pudím. No hay nada en el pudín para controlar tus pensamientos. Cómelo. El pudín es bueno..." ("Eat the pudding. There is nothing in the pudding to control your thoughts. Eat it. The pudding is good.")
2) "No son calamares, es Jesús Cristo" ("They are not squid, it's Jesus Christ")
"Calamares Cristo?" ("The Squid Christ?")
1) "Creo que el perro vomitó y ahora está comiéndolo..." ("I believe the dog threw up and is now eating it..." -- Jarra, the dog, is really super fantastic!)
07 November 2007
Goings on...
First and most importantly, there is something I must say before I can tell you any of my latest adventures...it's really important...
HI MRS. WORDEN!!!!!!!!!!
OKay, now that that is out of the way, I can continue with the last two weeks!
Two Fridays ago the Fundación had another excursion and we went to Ácala de Hernares, which is to the Northeast of Madrid. Ácala de Hernares is home to one of the oldest universities in Spain, which we got to tour. It was really a fun time, and I was surprised at how many of the authors who had attended there I actually knew and had read. It brought the University more life in my mind to know who all went there.
After the University we visited the birth place of Cervantes, the author of don Quijote, as well. Andrea and I got a nice picture with the statues of Sancho Panza and Quijote himself (Sancho was mine, all mine) and we got to see what the inside of a house looked like so many years ago. It was a pretty awesome experience. We then got so free time and walked around the city, which is cool because it had random modern art everywhere.
The next week was pretty typical, going to classes and, oh yeah, midterms. Which will explain my absence in my blog for such a long time. I totally overstudied for a lot of my exams, mainly because I assumed they were going to be more in depth and cover a broader range of material. But overall they were fairly fácil and he sacado buenas notas.
This last week however, I did get to thinking, and realized something amazing about my experience here. After two months, I have realized that my automatic responces and immediate thoughts have become more natural in Spanish. When I wake up, I think 'ducha' instead of 'shower' (and other Spanish words I don't think I will put in a blog, but just remeber, 8 AM comes early in Spain). When chatting with friends online or on the phone, I randomly burst out with 'vale', 'madre mía', or 'bien bien'. Hahaha has become jajaja. I answer my host family immediately now, without processing what they say and I can write up a Spanish paper much faster, as I know longer think in English while writing. To me, I feel as if I am closer to truely being bilingual. In high school, my teacher (who has given my so many great strategies that I still find myself using today) explained to us that learning another language was like having a door in your mind. There would come a point where that door just swung open and your thoughts becames bilingual, your reactions became bilingual. You became bilingual. I think that being here and communicating I have found that door and I have opened it. It no longer scares me to call the train station to ask a question or ask for something in a store. It is wonderful.
And now that I just justified my time in a Spanish speaking country, let's talk about this last weekend. Thursday was All Saint's Day here in Spain. To most traditional families this meant going to the cemetary and remember their loved ones who have passed away. For the younger generation this means an extra day to travel during a puente. Andrea and I seized this oppurtunity, hopped a plane, and went to LONDON! It was a pretty cool time. I got to eat some fish and chips in front of the Tower of London, see Tower Bridge, go to the wax museum, and went shopping at Harrod's. It was an awesome time. Andrea really enjoyed the wax museum, and she had the great idea of hopping a Double Decker bus tour as well! And I was the only male she talked to in depth the entire time we were in London! Just so you know that, Mrs. Worden ;-)
However, going to London, I experienced something slightly interesting. I was extremely homesick-- for Spain. I didn't compare everything to the US, instead, I went "I prefer this in Spain" or "This is this here, in Spain it is different." And while I enjoyed my time, I could not wait to return to Spain. It's interesting and makes me wonder what it will be like returning to the USA...
Since then it has been classes and having fun little excursions around Toledo. I realized that my time here is dwindling so I have started buying gifts and filling out the postcards I bought so long ago to send people in the US. It's fun running around Toledo comparasion shopping in the souvenir tiendas, and gives me an extra amout of Spanish practice! This weekend I will probably be heading to Córdoba, so that will be fun.
HI MRS. WORDEN!!!!!!!!!!
OKay, now that that is out of the way, I can continue with the last two weeks!
Two Fridays ago the Fundación had another excursion and we went to Ácala de Hernares, which is to the Northeast of Madrid. Ácala de Hernares is home to one of the oldest universities in Spain, which we got to tour. It was really a fun time, and I was surprised at how many of the authors who had attended there I actually knew and had read. It brought the University more life in my mind to know who all went there.
After the University we visited the birth place of Cervantes, the author of don Quijote, as well. Andrea and I got a nice picture with the statues of Sancho Panza and Quijote himself (Sancho was mine, all mine) and we got to see what the inside of a house looked like so many years ago. It was a pretty awesome experience. We then got so free time and walked around the city, which is cool because it had random modern art everywhere.
The next week was pretty typical, going to classes and, oh yeah, midterms. Which will explain my absence in my blog for such a long time. I totally overstudied for a lot of my exams, mainly because I assumed they were going to be more in depth and cover a broader range of material. But overall they were fairly fácil and he sacado buenas notas.
This last week however, I did get to thinking, and realized something amazing about my experience here. After two months, I have realized that my automatic responces and immediate thoughts have become more natural in Spanish. When I wake up, I think 'ducha' instead of 'shower' (and other Spanish words I don't think I will put in a blog, but just remeber, 8 AM comes early in Spain). When chatting with friends online or on the phone, I randomly burst out with 'vale', 'madre mía', or 'bien bien'. Hahaha has become jajaja. I answer my host family immediately now, without processing what they say and I can write up a Spanish paper much faster, as I know longer think in English while writing. To me, I feel as if I am closer to truely being bilingual. In high school, my teacher (who has given my so many great strategies that I still find myself using today) explained to us that learning another language was like having a door in your mind. There would come a point where that door just swung open and your thoughts becames bilingual, your reactions became bilingual. You became bilingual. I think that being here and communicating I have found that door and I have opened it. It no longer scares me to call the train station to ask a question or ask for something in a store. It is wonderful.
And now that I just justified my time in a Spanish speaking country, let's talk about this last weekend. Thursday was All Saint's Day here in Spain. To most traditional families this meant going to the cemetary and remember their loved ones who have passed away. For the younger generation this means an extra day to travel during a puente. Andrea and I seized this oppurtunity, hopped a plane, and went to LONDON! It was a pretty cool time. I got to eat some fish and chips in front of the Tower of London, see Tower Bridge, go to the wax museum, and went shopping at Harrod's. It was an awesome time. Andrea really enjoyed the wax museum, and she had the great idea of hopping a Double Decker bus tour as well! And I was the only male she talked to in depth the entire time we were in London! Just so you know that, Mrs. Worden ;-)
However, going to London, I experienced something slightly interesting. I was extremely homesick-- for Spain. I didn't compare everything to the US, instead, I went "I prefer this in Spain" or "This is this here, in Spain it is different." And while I enjoyed my time, I could not wait to return to Spain. It's interesting and makes me wonder what it will be like returning to the USA...
Since then it has been classes and having fun little excursions around Toledo. I realized that my time here is dwindling so I have started buying gifts and filling out the postcards I bought so long ago to send people in the US. It's fun running around Toledo comparasion shopping in the souvenir tiendas, and gives me an extra amout of Spanish practice! This weekend I will probably be heading to Córdoba, so that will be fun.
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