A lot has happened!

It's been a busy week! We are already in our 4th week of classes--that is just so hard to believe!

Last week I went to "Intercambios" for the first time. Every so often here at the university they have nights where students who are learning Spanish can come and speak with Students who are learning English. All of the Spanish-learners sit on one side of the table, and the English-learners on the other, and then you speak for four minutes in English and for four minutes in Spanish. After four rotations, there are refreshments and you can mingle with whoever you'd like, and a lot of people exchange numbers or e-mail addresses with the people they conversed with so that they can meet again for coffee or something and continue talking. I was really nervous about it at first, but I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I talked to five different people, and it takes away so much anxiety to be speaking to someone who is also learning and making mistakes. It's also interesting to hear the reasons why they are learning English--they all told me that here it is critical to know English, because it is the language that so much of the world is using now. They thought it was funny, though, when I told them how valuable it is in the U.S. to learn Spanish.

This Saturday I went with a group of friends to Toledo, and it was a lot of fun. The bus ride to Madrid is about two hours, and then from Madrid to Toledo is a little less than an hour. We had a lot of layover time, but that's when bonding takes place! I think I might have liked Toledo better than Segovia--it was EXTREMELY hilly and all the roads were very steep so it was hard on the knees, but other than that I just liked the layout and the scenery and the buildings...and really everything about it. While it was still relatively touristy, I thought it was less tourist-oriented than Segovia. The only dissapointment was that the Casa Museo de El Greco (where El Greco lived and where many of his paintings are displayed) was closed so we weren't able to see it. We did, however, go to another museum where some of his paintings were displayed, and they were pretty amazing. We got back to Valladolid around 2:30, and although we were all exhausted, it was totally worth it. The pictures are up on Webshots!

Yesterday I ate octopus for the first time, and then got sick, so I think that I will not eat octopus anymore. Everything else though is going well. Katie, Ashley, and I leave for Brussels on Thursday morning and we couldn't possibly be more excited. It seems like we've been planning it for so long, and now it's here all of a sudden. We will be in Brussels until Saturday night or Sunday morning, and then in Amsterdam until Tuesday morning. There are so many things to see in so little time! I can't wait to write about it!

Hope all is well with everyone! :) Hasta luego!

Segovia!

Ay, what an amazing day! We had our first school trip today to Segovia, which is about 1.5 hours from here by bus. It is a beautiful little place and I took so many pictures! (They will be on webshots as soon as my laptop finds a good wireless connection!)

In Segovia we saw incredible aqueducts, we went to a very old and beautiful little church, to the Cathedral of Segovia, and to the Alzcazar Castle. The Cathedral was gigantic--very beautiful and very moving. The Castle was also breathtaking...after all, it is amongst the castles that inspired Cinderella´s castle at Disneyworld! We also did some shopping at some very cute stores--I bought postcards, a bracelet, a very pretty necklace, and a new scarf! All in all, it was a successful day.

Back in Valladolid, things are going well. I have been having some trouble with my knees but all in all, life is good. I am acquiring a taste for beer and lemon/lime soda (coming from Wisconsin, I feel like that should be easier than it is!) but I definitely prefer the hot chocolate--it´s thicker than pudding! And it´s served in bars! Definitely more my style!

Next weekend I am headed with some friends to Toledo, and then the weekend after that I am spending a 5 day weekend in Brussels and Amsterdam with two wonderful friends. I will keep everyone updated!

Pictures will be posted soon! Hasta luego, and GO PACKERS!

a bit of an update

OK, so first of all--my pictures on Webshots (the link posted below) now have captions, in the form of comments I wrote on them. I couldn't figure out how to go back and make captions once the album was created! But anyway, they are all explained now.

So, one week has already passed! It was a slow week, but I have a feeling that now the pace will pick up and time will begin to fly. This week was a lot of settling in and finding a good routine, but now the weekend trips will begin (we go to Segovia on Saturday), our own traveling will begin (our first "vacation" days are February 4th and 5th), and life will be busy. As of right now, I am planning to go to Amsterdam and Belgium on those vacation days. It is the weekend of Carnaval--or Mardi Gras, as it's better known in the U.S.--and instead of going to the Canary Islands where all the festivities are, we would like to go other places instead.

I have eaten many interesting things this week--calamari being one of them. Many times I have no idea what I'm eating, but it tastes good, so I just don't ask! I worry that if I know what some of it is, I won't want to eat it anymore! So far, my favorite meal is breakfast, and my favorite food that my mom has made is a fried ham and cheese sandwhich. Very tasty. On my way to school I pass a lot of pastry stores that are just opening for the day and they smell SO good, but I have yet to stop at one. There are so many new foods to try!

Well, that is all for now. A little boring, but I have a meeting with a professor visiting from UWEC at 1:50.

Hasta luego!

Pictures!

They don't have captions yet, but here they are!

http://community.webshots.com/user/seuberaj

Finally, a working computer!

So here I am. Spain! I have been here since Sunday and am finally starting to feel like myself again! The flight and all of the traveling it took to get here went pretty smoothly, my luggage ws with me at the end and I was somehow still awake after a good 30-some hours!

I live with a host family--a mom, Leonisa, and a dad, Nicar. They are older and retired, and they have a daughter, a son-in-law, and a grandson who live in a different city. They don´t go out to often, so mostly they are just at home cooking, cleaning, and watching telenovelas. :) It had been hard for me to get used to the meal times, we eat breakfast around 8, lunch at 2 or 2:30, and dinner at 8. I get very hungry! It has not, however, been hard to get used to the built-in afternoon nap!

My classes started today--we are divided into groups and there are probably about 15 people in my group. We will have classes all semester with this group, and we will also take trips on weekends with them, to other cities and to major landmarks or historic sites in the region. On a typical day, I will have class from 9:30 until 2ish, and then once a week I will have class again from 4 until 5 or 6. My professors seem very nice and approachable. As far as I understand, they teach only foreign students, so they are used to all the troubles we are facing.

My time is running out on this internet cafe computer, but once I have my own laptop up and running with the wireless at the university, it should be more convenient to update. I hope all is well in the U.S., or wherever you may be!

48 Hours

In just 48 hours, I will be en route to Spain. My first flight leaves from Appleton at 11:45 on Saturday morning for Atlanta, and then we will leave Atlanta for Madrid at 6:55. Right now I am most of the way packed (but still have several loose ends to tie up), and am thankfully keeping my nerves pretty much at bay. Saturday will be tough, but then hopefully the excitement will kick in.

I can't wait until I am able to write all about Valladolid--where I am living, who I'm living with, and how wonderful Spanish life is! :)