Becoming Toledano: Josh's Adventures in Toledo, Spain

The end of an era...

2007-12-13T21:41:00.001+01:00

I promised myself I wouldn't stat crying while writing this entry. I'm already starting to break that promise...

The is the final entry I will post in here from Toledo, Spain. This is the final time I will be writing while sitting in the Fund Lab, typing on my half faded keyboard, retelling my adventures and what it is like to be abroad. This is the beginning of my last 36 hours in Spain that won't be spent in an airport.

It's so amazing the change a person goes through abroad. I still remember that first day here. I had no idea what to expect, everything was foreign and new. I had no clue about where things were, I had to concentrate so hard to listen and understand people, and honestly, I was scared to death of the upcoming semester. I was thrown on a bus, trudged through a city with my bags, in the middle of a sea of 90 other people feeling the same way, and then thrust into the home of a family I had never met. I wondered if the three months would go quick enough.

But then I started to get to know Toledo. I got to know my family. Each day became easier with the Spanish. Each day held a new adventure. there were ups and downs, and Spain and my host family became a true home. I overcame the language barrier, and my family got to see my personality. I made so many amazing friends and met so many wonderful people. Yes, there were so many lows and many battles with homesickness and people I just didn't get along with, but that's normal, that happens anywhere. The highs were amazing and the experiences I have had are enough to cherish for a lifetime.

The most amazing part of this experience was not the traveling, by far. The most amazing thing was the daily life, becoming integrated into the city and culture. Becoming a regular at a local tienda. Going to a bar with friends and having the bartender know your drink order. Seeing patrons in the street from the library and saying hi. Coming home everyday at 2:30 to eat lunch and 10 PM for dinner with your host family. Random 2 AM Döner Kebabs. Talking with your host brother after dinner. Working at the library. Running across town to catch an AVE or across Zoco to catch the 6. My amazing host family who I love and will miss forever. These little daily things that occupied my last three and a half months made my experience what it is, gave body and soul to my abroad time.

Tonight was graduation at la Fundación Ortega y Gasset Toledo. It was a nice little ceremony, and we all got diplomas. There was a line of professors at the front of a room, and when your names was called, if a certain professor wanted to personally give you the diploma, they got to, and then you shook their hand (for males) or gave them a hug and dos besos (woman). My internship teacher gave me mine. However, I still continued down the line and also huged and dos beso'ed my grammar/convo teacher (an amazing professor), and Yuki, one of the coordinators here. The diplomas were read off in two parts, which was also neat. The majority of students were read off in the first part. Then some students were called second. Earlier in the day the faculty met and discuss which students excelled the best/profited the most from the experience. I felt very honored, because I was called in the second group of people.

We then had a buffet, it was nice to get to say bye to all my friends, and my host mom got to be there too. There was lots of pictures and a few tears. This experience was amazing!

So now for my recommendations to students thinking about going abroad. Do not think about money. Do not worry about any fears. Do not worry about host families, or language, or friends, or missing anything at Ripon (or whatever university you are from). Do it. Just do it. Go abroad. Experience everything you can, take in every moment, and savor every piece of your experience. It is worth it 100 times over. I have learned so much this semester, about Spanish, about culture, and mainly about myself. I know this entire entry I have sounded like a cliché, but it is all the truth. It will be worth.

I feel so blessed for my time here, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It will be very hard to get on the plane and leave Spain (even though I am going to Belgium before the States), but I know I am ready to go home, and I know I will return. Three and a half months is not long enough. It is a good start, but long enough.

Tres meses no es suficiente. Quizás una vida entera. Quizás…

…Voy a echarte de menos España, ¡sin embargo voy a regresar tan pronto como puedo! Voy a dejar una parte de mi corazón aquí para siempre. Besos.

¡He acabado!

2007-12-10T20:41:00.000+01:00

So I have a lot to catch up on! As you read from Andrea's post, I have been on two different trips so far. Segovia was gorgeous, and we got to see the famous aqueducts that were built by the Romans in the city as well as the Segovia Castle that was the inspiration for Mickey's castle in Fantasia. The next weekend, Andrea and I went to Zaragoza, which was originally a Roman city and is filled with ruins. As well as Fluvi, the mascot of the Water Expo next year. Please, go to google images and search Fluvi...he is fantastic!

Since then I've been concentrating on seeing more of Toledo, being that this is where I live right now and all. In the last two weeks I went to a bunch of museums in town. I got to see one of the Greco's most famous paintings, "El entierro del Conde de Orgaz,” which is in the Iglesia de Santo Tomé. I also have gone to the Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca, which was beautiful and really showed the mixture of the three cultures that is so visible in Toledo. It is completely built in with Arabic architecture, but is a Jewish Synagogue, and now has a Catholic altar in the front. It's gorgeous. Another amazing place was the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which has a beautiful church and one of the most wonderful claustros, or inner patio areas, that I have ever seen.

I've also done a lot of walking around the city, have had the chance to see all of the walls and Roman bridges, as well as ruins of the old Roman baths. It is amazing at how much there is to see in Toledo, and the best part is you can get to it all by foot!

Things are really starting to get in the Christmas swing. The mall is completely decked out with lights, as are most of the streets in the city. In Zocodover they are currently constructing the Belén, or nativity scene, for the Christmas. According to our coordinator Yuki, they also do a live Nativity with real animals and everything soon!

It is fun to try a lot of the Christmas foods as well. There are three specific Christmas foods in Spain: Mazapan, Turrón, and Polvorones. Toledo is famous for its Mazapan, which is a candy made of Almond Paste and sometimes egg york and a sweet glaze. They are a bit squishy and an interesting texture to eat. Turrón literally translates to nougat, but isn't like what you find in 3 Musketeers bars. The traditional Turrón is made of Almonds and honey, and you can get is soft (Blando) or hard (Duro). Nowadays, however, there are many varieties, including chocolate, cinnamon, fruit flavored, and vanilla turrón. Polvorones are interesting. They are like little cakes, but are very dry and crumbly, but very sweet. They are very soft to eat, and the proper way to eat them in Spain is to first crush them in your hand and then eat all the powder at once. One of our professors told us the joke that a "true Spaniard" can put an entire polvorón in their mouth and then say the word Zaragoza. It is impossible!

In other news, my name is now Jeac, like in French. I went to get my hair cut, and when I made the appointment, they wrote my name down as Jeac. Funny, but not as good as Jazz.

Also...Classes are done! On Monday I finished my last exam. I am feeling pretty good and feel no matter my grades I have learn "un montón" about the language and culture, and feel a lot more comfortable with my Spanish. On Thursday we get our grades. We actually go to our professors one last time and talk to them all, get certain things handed back, and then have a closing ceremony. It's pretty cool, but I know a lot of kids find it weird to go see their professor again to get their grades. The fun part is my host mother is coming to the ceremony!

Last night, my host mother and I went to Cine Club, which is where the show a movie every Tuesday night in the Teatro de Rojas. The main reasons I went were to spend time with my mom while I can and to see the theatre. It is absolutely gorgeous! It is all old architecture and everything is beautiful. The movie wasn't that good, and I was afraid to say anything, but then my host mom whispered over to me that this was one of the worst movies she ever saw. That made me feel good.

Well, now I am off to go see a few more museums and the Catedral in Toledo, and then who knows what!

Andrea´s Entry!

2007-12-05T18:19:00.000+01:00

¡Hola!
Josh is letting me invade his blog, so here´s my update:
Basically, I am loving my life here in Spain, and I´m really sad that we only have a week and a half left. My family here is really nice, I´ve made some amazing friends, classes have been going well (even though this week has been extremely stressful for everyone with finals and essays), and I love how much I´ve been learning about both the Spanish language and culture. I´ve also been enjoying the traveling that I´ve been able to do while here.
Two weekends ago, Josh and I went to Zaragoza together. Initially we were planning on visiting Sevilla, but a last-minute change of plans took us to Zaragoza. I didn´t know anything about the city, but I´m really glad we went. After a lot of walking, Jaaaazzz (that´s what I call him now - long story) and I finally found the center of the city and things to do. We visited the castle Aljefería, two cathedrals (which were both amazing), and the Roman forum. On top of all that, we managed to do some shopping and serious turrón/chocolate-consuming (mmmm). We were also highly amused by Fluvi, this mascot for an upcoming water expo that was EVERYWHERE throughout the city. Overall, the city (and especially the Plaza de Pilar) was really beautiful, and it was a nice day trip.
However, on the way home, our train ended up being delayed a half hour... which caused a lot of stress, because we knew we had to catch the last bus back to Toledo at midnight. This meant I had another experience running through Atocha (I tend to have bad luck with public transportation). Thankfully, we were able to catch a taxi to the bus station and avoid being stranded in Madrid for the night.
Three weekends ago, we had an excursion to Segovia with the Fundación. It was another really beautiful city. Another castle, another church, the aqueducts, lunch (surprisingly not chicken and fries- cow and fries this time), and some time for shopping. And that was our last Fund excursion.
Last weekend I went to Barcelona, but Jaaaaazzz didn´t go, so I won´t talk about it on his blog. It was wonderful.
Anyway, Jaaaaaazzz and I are both looking forward to our week of traveling Europe before heading back to Wisconsin, but it´s also going to be really sad to leave España and this amazing experience behind.
Hasta luego....

Córdoba, Cumpleaños y Christmas (hey, Navidad doesn't dtart with a 'c')

2007-11-13T18:47:00.001+01:00

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!

The things people will say...

2007-11-08T13:50:00.000+01:00

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...")

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!)

Goings on...

2007-11-07T19:22:00.000+01:00

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.

I left my heart in A Coruña...

2007-10-17T14:24:00.000+02:00

This past weekend, I got the opportunity to do a bit of traveling without the Fund to a place farther than Madrid. Jenny (a girl from Minnesota) and I decided earlier in the week to head to A Coruña, in the northern 'state' of Galicia (the part of Spain above Portugal). IT was amazing, but the epitome of a whirlwind tour. Due to a higher than average amount of homework that weekend, we decided to make the trip shorter. We loaded a night bus Thursday night, got in at 5:30 AM the next day, went non-stop all day, and then boarded another bus at 10:30 PM Friday night to return to Madrid Saturday morning. Although it was quick, it was amazing!

Arriving there at 5:30 am was interesting, since it was an hour before we were supposed to get there. Knowing nothing would be open, Jenny and I decided to try and find the Torre de Hercules, an ancient Roman lighthouse which is the oldest lighthouse still functioning. However, it took us a bit to walk there, since we had to cross the whole city and the signs kept pointing us in awkward and roundabout directions. That, and we think we got lost because we used the "A Coruña at Day" map instead of the "A Coruña at Night" map. :-P

We eventually made it to the tower just in time to see something completely worth the cold: a sunrise over the Galician 'fjords' and the Atlantic ocean. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen, and definitely set a good tone to the day. Then, at 9 AM the tower finally opened and we climbed to the top, which gave an amazing view of everything. From there, we checked out a sculpture garden (with Celtic menhires), and a compass rose featuring 8 Celtic based languages (In Galicia the speak both Castellano and another language called Gallego, which has a mixture of roots and sounds somewhat like Portuguese) .

After that, we went to Casa de Hombre, which is a science museum dedicated to the Human Being, and then stopped off at the beach to wade into the ocean a bit (by then the temperature had risen from 12º C to 21º C). We ate lunch at this quaint pizza place, and I ordered the Galician Special (Shrimp and Mussels!) with some white wine...it was fantastic! We then went to the Casa de las Ciencias (House of Science) which had an entire floor of Physics hands-on activities (nothing like mixing the two majors, no?) as well as a Planetario. Having had astrophysics, it was fun to watch because I got to hear the difference in pronunciations and some of the names of stellar objects. Yeah, I know, I'm a geek...

After the planetarium we had dinner at a restaurant that was in the middle of a roundabout, which was interesting get to. Because seafood is so cheap there, I had some more (a shrimp Omlete!). After that we walked around the city and spent 2 hours walking back to the bus station, but it was so well worth it! We were a bit sad returning to the train station because all the shops we closed due to it being a holiday that day, but lo and behold! In the bus station there was a newsstand (so I could buy a newspaper with articles in gallego) AND a souvenir shop. Thusly we returned to Toledo very happy! I took loads of pictures, and once I get them uploaded I will share them with vosotros!

Since then the week has been pretty ordinary (well as ordinary as a week can be in Spain). I went to the mall Monday and bought two Spanish CD's (La 5ª Estación and Carlos Baute's newest one). Other than that it's been homework because midterms are coming up. That, and I don't get a fall break...¡qué pena!

Right now I am waiting at the Fund for some random 3 o'clock meeting to start. Now, I have been trying to stay positive about fund stuff, but this is yet another time I am going to have to skip lunch (the most important meal of the day) with my family to eat the food here :-( and attend some meeting that most likely will be another waste of time. I did not elect a homestay to have to skip lunch at home and spent my entire day in the Fund...kind of irksome if you ask me...I also already know I have to skip lunch another time next week for some random meeting about my internship...grrr...

Oh well, at least I am enjoying my experience and taking everything in...mainly because I have began to find the root of what is really making me feel bad here...but that's for another day...

A long time coming...

2007-10-09T10:19:00.000+02:00

As a disclaimer...I am on a computer without English spell check, and I suck at spelling....sorry!

Yes, it has been a long time since I have updated, this I know. And, boy, do I have a lot of things to tell vosotros! One of the main reason I haven't updated in two weeks is because the first week of my absence was plagued with really bad homesickness. I was getting very frustrated with some of the things going on at my school, and this just triggered a cascade of emotions that I think were just waiting to be released. This is normal, of course, in the situation I am in, so far from home and for so long. I was missing a lot of my friends from RipCo and dwelled on the fact the I was cut so out of the loop. After about 5 or 6 days of feeling minorly crappy, however, I snapped out of my funk and got back to having an amazing time here. The funny thing is, never during this period did I get the sensation of hating Spain or feeling as if I couldn't comunicate. Instead, it was frustration with other students or with my program.

Now, I know 5 or 6 days probably doesn't seem long to people reading this back home, but when you are in a study abroad program, and live and breathe and eat and sleep entirely within the program and the program is all you have, the ups are amazing and the downs are terrible. One day can feel like a week sometimes, and other times a week can flash by in a second. It's a strange sensation to have time fluctuate like this, but after a while it becomes like second nature. The days I was not doing so well felt like they lasted forever, but now that I am better everything is continuing to go by so quickly. In this way one learns to cherish the time here.

After my little funk, two weekends ago I went to Madrid on my own (the AVE high speed train only takes 25 minutes to get to Madrid from Toledo and leaves often so it is super easy to get there). I spent the entire day walking the streets, going to stores, sitting in parks and watching people go by, and just having a nice day to myself, with no other Fundación students. It was a nice and well-deserved break and I think was one of the major things that helped me get over my frustrations and homesickness. I have fallen in love with Madrid. It is such a wonderful and beautiful city with so much culture. I love the Gran Vía, which is one of the busiest and most important streets. It is basically the "down town" of the historic section and everything is close to it. Strangely, one of my favorite things to do in Madrid is ride the Metro and watch people, a veces trying to understand bits and pieces of conversation to improve my listening abilities (hey, we were told in MaxSA that eavesdropping is not bad if for educational purposes!).

The week since then has been fairly good. Lots of homework, but nothing I can't handle. I feel fairly well prepared when it comes to writing and speaking, especially after having Voces Españolas I y II with Prof. Reed (those two classes really helped my with speaking and writing literary ideas) as well as Composition with Prof. Guevara-Geer (this class helped me be able to write papers and cohesively put ideas together in a paper in Spanish). Now, when I am handed an assigment for a three page paper or 5 minute presentation, I am confident in my abilities to achieve the minimums and even excede them. Our department at Ripon is fantastic, and I really can see this after removing myself from Ripon and putting myself in a situation like this.

This last weekened was fantastic! We had our long excursion with the Fundación to Ávila and Salamanca in Castilla y Leon. Avila was beautiful, but we only spent Friday morning there. We saw the cathedral and walked on the walls of the city, which are amazingly preserved. From the walls we also got to see the monastery of Santa Teresa (misticismo!), and I also got to buy Yemas, which are egg yolk mixed with sugar until they are spongey. We then made our way to Salamanca (on an absolutely gorgeous mountain road). Friday night, all of the Fund kids went out to a few discotecas and had a pretty good time. I was also lucky because I got two really cool guys as my hotel roommates.

Saturday we went to the Cathedrals (the new one is built into the old one), the University (very famous and very beautiful), the House of Shells (which is now the public library, where we learned it is common to put libraries in old historic sites as it ensures their upkeep), and two convents (one for men, one for women). Everything was amazing. We had a free night and most of us walked around the city and went shopping.

Sunday we got some more free time, as well as we had to fend for ourselves for lunch. Ram (a friend from Notre Dame and one of my hotel roommates) and I found this really cool restaurant that had the most amazing fresh orange juice and fantastic pasta, and for Spain standards was very cheap. We then made our way back to Toledo. It was a fun weekend, but boy, was I tired afterward.

So there you go, my last two weeks all in one entry! It's Tuesday now, so I am at work at the library, work with the same guy I referenced in the last entry. He turned on really loud annoying music a little bit ago, but the other girl working turned it down and barked at him (I love her). However, she has now left me alone with him and he turned it right back up. I guess this is another lesson, that everywhere you will find coworkers you don't like. He also has left me alone right now, and the phone is ringing and I don't know how to answer it, and I have a line of people needing cards, which I don't know how to process yet. C'est la vie. Until next time!

UPDATE: My coworker finally came back from the bathroom after about 7 or 8 minutes, which he went to knowing we had a line for cards needed. Strangely, he reeks of tobacco from the bathroom...hmmm....strange...

Working for the man...

2007-09-25T12:17:00.000+02:00

Now that I just checked-in an erotic thriller DVD...

Today's my third day on the job at la Biblioteca Regional de Castilla-LA Mancha (yeah, I get to update from work), and it's been quite different from the first week. During the first week I worked with some really awesome ladies, and today the women I worked for were really cool too. However, then there is the one guy I have had to work since starting. For the last half hour, I was stuck alone with him...uf! He's rather impatient and quite mean, and he doesn´t have the same politeness that the other women have. He also appears pained when he has to listen to me, answers me bluntly and coldly, and when I ask how to do something he just doesn't because it appears he can't be bothered to teach me. Dude! If you don't teach me, how am I ever going to learn. He's the first person I haen't liked here, and am so happy when he takes breaks. Another thing that bothered me was that he left me alone for about a 5 minute period. I'm not supposed to be left alone because a lot of times there are lectores (borrowers) who I can't understand or things, like issueing new library cards, I don't know how to do yet. I don't think the others like him too. For example, as soon as he left on a pausa de fumar (smoke break), the woman I was working with quickly snapped off his music and gave a universal face of extreme annoyance...I simply responded "de acuerdo" (I agree). Loli, another woman, has come back to work from her breakfast break, so it's not as bad now because I can ask her questions and she is really nice about things.

Other than grumpy man, I cannot complain about this job. It's fantastic, I am meeting a lot of people (including native Spaniards, International students, and immigrants) and learning a lot of Spanish. Well worth putting up with grumpy men. C'est la vie...

I will not use a Ricky Martin song to title this entry...

2007-09-24T12:02:00.000+02:00

...but the last weekend really did seem like 'la vida loca' (forgive me, please). The fun thing about classes and shedules here is that the weekend technically starts on Thursday, so every weekend is a three-day weekend!

On Thursday night the Fund held a welcome dinner for the 13 new arrivals from the University of Chicago. While they are at the same institution as us, they do not attend the same classes as us because their school is on a quarter system. It´s interesting to have new faces after two weeks of getting to know everyone already here. A small group of Chicago kids went out with Amy and I on Thursday night, and it was a pretty fun time. We called it an early night however because they were tired and expectedly so. After all, it was their first day here.

On Friday a few friends and I went to Luz del Tajo, the mall just outside the city. It was pretty cool, with lots of fun stores and an Eroski, which is like a Spanish Wal-mart, but much better. While at the mall, I bought a bolso (the closest translation into English would be 'man-purse', and hey, they are all the rage here :-P), a new belt, a nice new dress shirt (only €9.90!) and a CD by an artist named Diego. I wanted to see a movie but there really wasn´t time so we will return to go to the cinema. We then went to a discotheque on Friday night and had fun but ended up leaving early (around 2 AM) because a glass dropped on the dancefloor.

Saturday began dull with homework, but ended amazingly. As I was walking around Toledo a few weeks ago I spotted a poster with the image of one of my favorite bands, La 5ª Estación. It turns out they were coming to Toledo, so I searched the internet and found tickets for the show! Andrea, Amy and I went with two Minnestoa friends (Sarah and Christy) to the concert on Saturday. It was awesome. I stood in the pit while the others took seats in the back and I danced and jumped to the music among a swarm of Spanairds. And when the song "Me Muero" was performed, I sang along just like the rest of the crowd. The lead singer was really awesome and talked to the crowd quite a bit and the band was so full of energy. I slept well that night.

On Sunday Andrea and I fulfilled one of our key duties as future Spanish teachers -- we attended a corrida, or bullfight. It was a novice night in Madrid, so it didn't cost as much to get in but was still an awesome show. I thought the fight would have been a lot bloodier and that I might not be able to handle it (me+blood=bad), but it was okay. Of the three novices, the guy originally from Spain won the ear (still trying to figure out exactly how the logistics of a bull fight work). It was also fun because it was the first time ever that I got to take the AVE, or high spped train, and then I got to take the bus back from Madrid to Toledo. Overall, it was a fun and packed weekend!

The First Ever Josh´s Adventures in Toledo Photo Post!!!

2007-09-19T17:36:00.001+02:00

So, it's been a little while since i last posted, and people say pictures are worth a thousand words...so here come a couple thousand....(Note: I´m mainly doing this because none of the computers at the fund are cooperating with me and my desire to put these pictures on facebook...)

Last Friday, our program had an excursion to Madrid. Here are the fruits of that trip:

El Palacio Real (The Royal Palace)

Me in front of the Palace (The person taking the picture didn't quite understand I wanted the entire fountain behing me in the picture...)

The front of the Palace from the courtyard (The Royal Family is not at the palace at this time, if they were, there would be two flags flying...they tend not to live here often, we learned)

Around Madrid
It's don Quijote and Sancho Panza!

Downtown Madrid

Museo de Jamón (Museum of Ham): Yeh, lots of ham on the walls, also a restaurant in which our program ate lunch. And guess what we ate... chicken

Downtown Madrid Bus Driver doing Sudoku while driving his route...

Me, posing with Garcia Lorca at Casa de Libros...mainly becaus I love "La casa de Bernarda Alba." There is a similar picture of Andrea with Emilia Pardo Bazán, but I decided not to post that one, for various reasons...

Around Toledo
Me posing with don Quijote in Toledo!

Patatas Deluxe, not you ordinary French Fries...nummy!

Best. Photo. Album. Ever.

The following images were taken from el Torreón, a classroom at the top of the Fund:

The City of Toledo

Al Alcanzar (Also where I work)

La Catedral in Toledo

So, now you got to see a bit of what I see everyday!

Clases clases clases

2007-09-13T11:14:00.000+02:00

Today I had my first meeting about my internship at the library. Now, I should explain something first. The library I am working at isn´t just the old library, it is also the head library of all of Castilla-La Mancha (basically the most important and largest library in the 'state'). It is such a beautiful library, with so many books and movies, and its on the 8th floor of the Alcanzar (see post below) so it has a wonderful view of the entire city. From what I gather I am going to be working as what we would call a circulation associate in the US (you can tell I grew up in a library since I know the actual names of the jobs). I will also get to help out some with children´s programs.

Classes are pretty cool too. I think the MaxSA class I was dreading will be really fun because it's taught by one of the three student coordinators, Yuki. Yuki is a very awesome person, she´s from Japan but speak fluent Spanish and pretty good English and is fantastically full of energy. She really made last night's class pretty fun. My grammar class is a little below my level, but as a future teacher it will be a nice review of everything as well as I talked to the professor and see said I can use the compositions to improve on my higher level grammar. Phonetics is also going to be fun because I´m going to pick up the 'cothina' accent. Finally I have Conversation, which is fantastic because it only has 7 people!

Anywho, I have to go now, because we are going to go get Youth Cards...€5 AVE trips to Madrid!

Don't forget your toothbrush

2007-09-11T12:15:00.000+02:00

Amy, Me, Andrea, and Chelsea in TOLEDO!

No seriously, don´t forget it. I did. And I went to la farmacia this morning to buy one....and now have €3 less in my wallet. It's crazy because that's like over $4 in US currency, but oh well, now I will have clean teeth!

Things have been continuing to be amazing here. Yesterday we took our placements exams, and apparently I did fairly well. We also got our classes and I'm extremely happy with my schedule, which is a little different from what I had originally picked. I have Advanced Grammar, Advanced Conversation, Spanish Phoenetics (for the cothina accent), and a Maximizing Study Abroad course that the University of Minnesota is FORCING us to take (just to warn you, I am still very bitter toward the University of Minnesota, but the program itself makes up for it). I also received my internship assignment yesterday. I will be working at the local biblioteca (library)...which isn't just any library...it's this:
I will be working in what is called the Alcanzár, one of the largest and most beautiful buildings in Toeldo. Al Alcanzár used to be a Roman palace in the city of Toledo and was renovated in the 1500's. Later it became a military academy, and then was used as a stronghold in the city during the Spanish Civil War.

Anyway, that´s all from now, I'm going to do a bit of shopping before lunch!

Otra día que va...

2007-09-09T18:12:00.001+02:00

Ah, another day has passed in the wonderful land that is Spain. Last night was Saturday, and I called it an early night after hanging out with friends for awhile in the Casco Historical. By early, of course, I mean I returned home at 2 AM, and of coarse was the first person back (yes, even mi madre stayed out later than me). My problem is that my body has had so much to adjust to. There´s the time difference, the new diet, the new atmosphere/altitude, and the new sleeping schedule my body is screaming at me as if I kicked myself in the stomach and was curled in a ball in the corner. I want to sleep a lot because I´m pretty sure I still haven´t caught up from the plane and while the food is amazing, my stomach doesn´t quite recognize it. I guess these are the immediate trials one goes through, but once I adjust all will be well. Yesterday Amy and I spent the afternoon exploring Toledo a bit and picking up some tapas. We stopped at a little cafe called Enebro where you can get free tapas with any drink order, which is a major rarity nowadays. I got the tinto del verano, which is wine and lemonade mixed together. It was pretty good, but definitely hit me hard due to the heat. I wound up with a headache, but lots of water and dos aspirina helped that out. After that we went around the city and sat down on a staircase and people watched for awhile. This was fun because it gave us a chance to talk a bit about home as well as observe some of the culture of Spain (I swear, watching people is not a creepy as it sounds!). There were familias and amigos, and almost any combination you could think of. Later we met up with Andrea and Chelsea and spent a night on the town. After making sure Andrea and Chelsea would be able to get home (tip to future program users-- if you live somewhere where you need to take the bus, learn the name of your stop, and the stops around it IMMEDIATELY) we walked around a bit and stopped at a small bar called O´Brien´s. Now, I must admit I feel a bit guilty about this choice because it was a place where you could easily fall into English because the staff all speaks it (in order to give the feel of an Irish pub), but we did our best to speak Spanish as much as possible. After a short stay there we went to one of the local plazas and watch the end of the Festival de Jazz, which has been running all week. It was a pretty cool festival with good music and lots of fun people. Unfortunately we didn´t get to see much because we just caught the end. Then we decided it would be good to do an experiment...how does Spanish McDonald´s compare to their conterparts in the US? Let me tell you, they are 1000 times better. The burgers taste fresh and, oh, not made of soy product, you can order fries that are actual potato wedges, and you can also order beer. I didn´t order much at Micky D´s because I was already feeling a bit sick and my headache had returned, so I was ready to make my way back home. Overall though, the night was enjoyable and I got to see a whole bunch more of my new home! ¡Me encanta Toledo!

¡Estoy aquì!

2007-09-08T12:55:00.001+02:00

This morning the alarm clock rang at 8:45. Like usual, I rolled over to turn it off. However, as I rolled, suddenly there was no bed under me. You see, my bed here is a little less wide than mine at home, but hey, it woke me up pretty well.

Other than the bed mishap, everything else here is going well -- amazingly well. The flight wasn´t too bad and I got a tiny bit of sleep. And even though I am petrified of hieghts, I managed to gaze out the window as we landed in Madrid, which was my first ever glimpse of European soil. From the airport, vans picked us up and brought us to la Fund. The unfortunately was an accident on the highway so it took longer than usual, but that was okay because it just meant we got to talk me and see more of the way to Toledo. Andrea and I met two girls from St. Norbert who are also going through U of M, Amy and Chelsea. There´s really cool and it seems like the four of us got really close. Much like Andrea and I they both are doing homestays because they see it as much more valuable than stay in the dorms. While on the bus we found out that homestayers were going to get there families tonight, which is contrary to what we had found out back in the States.

At La Fund we had a tour of the building. It´s fairly quaint, but I would see myself going stircrazy if I chose to live here. The classrooms are on the same floors as dorm rooms and everything...however because I am living with a host family I have the variety of sites so all is well. The coolest part of la Fund is the aula (classroom) at the top of the monastery (btw, my school is a remodeled monestary which is absolutely gorgeous). There are stairs in the aula that lead up to an amazing observation deck where you can see so much of Toledo.

Then we got our family assignments. I was so excited because my family lives in central Toledo, which itçs rare because only 1/7 of the population lives there and are mostly elderly. However, I lucked out and happen to live a mere 4 minutes by foot from the Fund, which makes me happy since I did not bring my computer and have access to the labs now. My family is fantastic. It is mainly mi madre, whose name is Blanca. She´s really nice and has hosted before, so knows what to expect. I have a wonderful room, a little bigger than a Ripon double room, to myself. It has a desk overhead and desk light, closets and two beds (okay, don´t understand the two bed thing but que serà serà). The house is fantastic -- it´s the entire second floor (primer piso) of a building and the living area wraps arounf a patio, where the family dog livee. I also have older siblings. My sister is a little older than me and is studying in Madrid. She is really sweet but doesn´t live at home. My brothers are 27 and 29 and live at home. Carlos works in a local discotec and also is really nice. I have not met the other brother Ricardo yet because if I understood correctly is a visiting Ukraine right now. That is one of the hardest things to combat, country and city names. Some of them are much different in Spanish.

Today we had a tour of Toledo and I have learned one thing, the cure for a fear of heights is to live in Toledo. I have noticed heights that used to scare me are getting much easier. The city is gorgeous and I have learned on the tour that I live 30 seconds from the largest and most important plaza in Toledo, el Zocodover. I didn´t no this last night when mi madre brought me there to withdraw dinero, buy a phone card, and recharge minutes on my mobile, which soon I will figure out how to get us people to use.

Well, that´s pretty much it for now. Classes star Tueçsday and Monday we have level exams, I´ll let you all know hoe those go!

It's all becoming real suddenly...

2007-08-15T06:12:00.000+02:00

Today around noon I was making myself some Ramen for lunch when there was suddenly a loud knock on my front door. Peaking out of my window, I saw the Fed Ex truck outside my house. I rushed to the door, signed for the package, and ripped open the envelope. Inside was my passport, but it wasn't the same as it was when I surrendered it earlier this summer to the Spanish Consulate. Now it had the last thing I was waiting for to make my Spain semester official -- my Schengen Student Visa

And that's when it hit me. In 22 days, I will be landing in a country I have only ever read about. I will travel in vans across a country upon which I have never gazed, I will be moving into my new home for what will be almost the next four months. Toledo, Spain...here I come!

It began becoming real because everything I need to get to go I have gotten. I have acquired my passport, am accepted to the program, am classified as a University of Minnesota and Ripon Student, got my travel check-up, bought the plane ticket, and now have received my visa. All that's left is to pack and to actually get on the plane...and I am so excited.

Last winter when I started my application process, I thought I would be petrified of going when I reached this point, but it is quite the contrast. One thing that really puts me at ease is knowing another person who is going on the same program as me -- my friend and fellow Riponite Andrea Worden. Andrea and I have gone through the entire application process together and have helped each other at each step. We've even started planning excursions all over Spain and the rest of Europe. Knowing that I have that person I already know really gives my a sense of comfort, and I think that our preexisting friendship will really help us abroad. Especially since we have made a pact only to speak Spanish to each other and not defeat the purpose of going abroad.

The program I am attending is called the International Program in Toledo, and it is offered by the Learning Abroad Center at University of Minnesota to Ripon students. The program is great from what I have read so far, really focusing on teaching language and culture to non-native speakers as well as native speakers from other parts of the world. At the school, which is called la Fundación Ortega y Gasset, there will be a mixture of nationalities and native tongues, which just adds to the excitement for me. I've signed up for three classes at "la fund": Spanish Phonetics, Advanced Problems in Spanish Grammar, and Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Art in Toledo. I also have applied for an internship in Toledo, which I get assigned to after an on-site interview. My three choices were internships at the local library, an outreach group that teaches English, and the tourism bureau.

While in Toledo, student can choose to live in dorms at la fund or to stay with a host family. Andrea and I have both chosen homestays because it is an opportunity of a lifetime to live with another family in another culture. It is a wonderful way to get to know other Spaniards as well as a resource because the family will know the city and country so well. Also, it forces us to push our level of Spanish as far as we can and will really help us grow and improve on the language. We are recommended to bring gifts for our families, and I already have mine planned out. I have purchased them two books: Wisconsin 24/7 (a photo collection of pictures submitted by real people all over the state) as well as a picture collection of Lake Michigan Light houses (since I am from Two Rivers and spent my entire life on the shores of Lake Michigan). I will also be purchasing them a gift box of Wisconsin cheese.

Well, this entry seems to be getting long enough, so I will end it here. I'll try to post more information on Toledo before I leave, otherwise you'll get to learn all about the city as I live there!

Hasta luego!
Josh

The Countdown Begins!

2007-08-08T22:26:00.000+02:00