Wow, it has already been two weeks since my last post. Honestly, it hasn't felt like that long. I guess, to be cliche, time flies when you're having fun.
Because I haven't done a post in a couple of weeks, I figured I would do one right now since I can't concentrate on my homework. I don't really have anything in particular to right about, so I'll just give you a short summary of my past week and an update about school.
Day: Monday, October 10. My birthday. Day 11 of school. Approx. day 32 of school in Boulder.
Memorable moment of the day: Well, it was my birthday, so that in itself makes it at least somewhat memorable. But this one was obviously different than previous ones. First off, I turned 17, although the only thing that I can think of that that allows me to do is watch R movies in the theaters without an accompanying adult. The second, and bigger, difference was that it was my first birthday away from home and away from my parents, which was a little weird but did not make as big of an impact on me as I had expected. Other than the fact that people were wishing me happy birthday, the day was really not that different than any other day.
Day: Tuesday, October 11. Day 12 of school. Approx. day 33 of school in Boulder.
Memorable moment of the day: Honestly, I'm trying to remember what I did on Tuesday, but I really can't remember anything. If I were to guess, I would say I had an average day at school, and then went and hung out with friends and got back home anywhere between 8:30 and 12:00. But I really can't remember.
Day: Wednesday, October 12. National holiday in Spain (for Columbus). Approx. day 34 of school in Boulder.
Memorable moment of the day: I would have to say the most memorable moment of Wednesday was that I went out to pizza with my friends (there is a 40% chance that this actually happened on Tuesday, but I'm not positive). Eating out with my friends isn't that uncommon (probably happens once, maybe twice a week), but this happened to be the first time that I had eaten pizza that wasn't pre-frozen or pre-made since I left Colorado. I have to say it was pretty tasty. Me and two other kids split a group size pizza (the diameter was written down as 49 cm if I remember correctly) which had cheese, ham, and a spiced pieces of some kind of meat on it. The pizza was thinner than the ones that I'm used to in Boulder and, as far as I could tell, it lacked a tomato-based sauce under the cheese, but it was quite good. Actually, after thinking about it some more, I am about 85% sure this actually happened on Tuesday, in which case the memorable moment of Wednesday was that I spotted a praying mantis about 4 or 5 inches long in the backyard.
Day: Thursday, October 13. Day 13 of school. Approx. day 35 of school in Boulder.
Memorable moment of the day: Philosophy class. I had multiple epiphanies in this class. It started with the teacher asking some philosophical question to the class. Some of the class disagreed with the teacher's opinion on the question, so they started arguing over the question. At this moment, my epiphanies occurred. The first was an a-ha moment that was somewhat along the lines of "Wow, I actually enjoy philosophy." The second was more of a holy-shit moment that went like this: "Holy shit, I can actually understand a fair bit of what they are saying." These two thoughts made this the most memorable moment of the day.
Day: Friday, October 14. Day 14 of school. Approx. day 36 of school in Boulder.
Memorable moment of the day: When I first started thinking of writing this post this past weekend I had something to write about right here, but at the moment it has slipped my mind, so I'll take a break now and continue a bit later when I remember what it is...... It has been about 35 minutes, and it is still not coming to me. I guess it really wasn't that memorable, so I will go ahead and continue with the remainder of the posting:
Class Power Rankings (favorite to least-favorite):
1. English: This is my favorite class at the moment for a couple of reasons. First, it is the class that I am learning the most everyday Spanish in because much of the subject matter is words that you actually use in the average day, opposed to the other classes where the vocab is subject specific. The other reason is that some days it comes as a nice break from the constant Spanish as it allows my brain to relax a little.
2. Physics and Chemistry: We are currently on the chemistry part of the class, and I've always enjoyed chemistry as a subject. Also, I like the teacher, so that is a plus.
3. Math: It kind of drops off a little from the top 2 to the next few. I have to put Math at the top of the rest though because it is a subject that I have always enjoyed.
4. Philosophy: I don't really enjoy learning about the stuff in the textbook a whole lot, but it is an interesting class when we talk about subjects and questions which people aren't in agreement about.
5. Technical Drawing: The awe factor is starting to wear off, so this class sits in the middle of the pack. It has flashes where it is fun, but it is also a lot of work and can be extremely frustrating at times.
6. Sciences for the Contemporary World: This class has yet to make much of an impression, and so it is in this spot until further notice.
7. PE: It is PE. It is not extremely fun, but it isn't bad either, so it is here.
8. Industrial Technology: It is not a very fun class, and for now it is not very interesting to me, so it sits near the bottom.
9. Language: I never liked Language Arts in English, and Spanish is no different. It has just never been a subject that interests me, so it is last for now.
As I said earlier, there were no big events to update y'all on, but there is a brief look of how things are currently going. Till next time.
EDIT: It has now been roughly five hours since I couldn't remember what happened Friday, but good news - I have finally remembered. The memorable moment of Friday was that I had my first real argument with my host father. But my host brother was on my side, which was good. The thing that makes this event memorable in a good light though is the fact that the argument was over something simple and stupid - the length of the cycle of the moon. While Dani and I argued that a New Moon occurred roughly 28 days, Lorenzo claimed that it happened every 7 days. It's good to know that I have nothing real to argue about with my family. It's also good to know that my Spanish has come far enough that I'm able to have a argument. Anyway, just thought I would update this since I finally remembered.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
School: First Impressions
I have now completed my first three weeks of school, over the course of which I have been to school a whopping 9 days. This is do to the fact that there have been ongoing strikes by both the students and the teachers regarding school hours, teacher wages, and other things that people like to complain about in relation to school. I think that there is going to be at least one day this coming week where I won't be going to school, and the strikes have the potential to go on for the next couple of months, which would be great in my opinion.
Anyway, school is set up quite differently here than it is in the US. The first difference in school is the hours that it runs. Contrary to what you are probably thinking due to the fact that they are protesting the hours, the days are shorter here than in the US. Instead of going 7:30 - 3:00 (or whatever it has now changed to), we go 8:30 - 2:20. So instead of having 7 classes 55 minutes in length, we have 6 classes 50 minutes in length. And yet they are still protesting how long the days are.
The next difference is the schedule. At Boulder High, a student has 7 classes corresponding to 7 periods that they take every day in the same order each day. Here, we have 9 different classes, but only take 6 a day. The schedule is different each day of the week. For example, you could have Math, Philosophy, PE, Physics and Chemistry, English, and Industrial Technology on Monday, but on Tuesday have Math fifth, English first, Philosophy fourth, and not have Industrial Technology, Physics and Chemistry, and PE at all. You have each class a certain number of times each week depending on which track you are on. I am on a Sciences/Technology track, so I have classes relating to these subjects more often than I have classes such as English and Philosophy, but there is also a Humanities, an Arts, and I think some kind of Language-related track. Instead of rotating classrooms and classmates like in the States, you have a single group of classmates and a single room in which almost all of your teachers come to teach you in. The only exception are the periods where you have one of your two elective classes. During this period, the class splits roughly in half and usually goes to another classroom, where they combine with one other half-group. I just realized that I have yet to tell you what classes I am taking, so here goes:
The classes I have four times a week: Technical Drawing, Industrial Technology, Physics and Chemistry, Castilian Language, Math
The classes I have three times a week: English, Philosophy
The classes I have twice a week: Sciences of the Contemporary World, PE
In case you were wondering, the two electives I am taking are Industrial Technology and Technical Drawing, which are instead of Biology and Geology and Informatics, respectively.
The third difference is the grading scale. Instead of having A, B, and C as passing grades and D and F as failing in a letter-based system, Spain uses a number based system: 5 and above is passing, below 5 is failing. It is too early for me to tell if I like it more or to give you more specifics about it, but I'll let you know more about later on.
The last, and most obvious, difference is the language. Clearly, it is pretty much all in Spanish, which makes it a little more difficult, but it should get easier as the year progresses.
And now, my first impressions, class by class:
Math: Opposed to contrary belief, the Spanish do not appear to be more advanced than the US in math, at least that's my impression. In fact, the highest level of math I will be learning this year is roughly equal to the highest I learned last year. In other words, this year I will be taking roughly the same math class that I did last year.
Philosophy: Honestly, it is hard for me to have a first impression of this class due to the fact that I have little-to-no idea of what is going on in it. Philosophy is hard enough to understand in one's native language, but when you're just learning the language, there is little point in trying.
English: Before this year I never thought I'd say this, but so far English is my favorite class. Of course it is a British English, so it is not super easy, but it is easy nonetheless. But also, it is fun. The activities we have done have been fun so far, and it is kind of funny listening to all of the Spanish kids trying to pronounce different English sounds that they are not used to.
PE: It is PE. It is really not that different than in the States.
Industrial Technology: It is really to early to tell whether this class will be hard or not (although I am thinking yes), mainly because the teacher hasn't showed up more than 4 or 5 days (I think she broke her arm, but I'm not sure).
Technical Drawing: This class is going to be hard, but it will also probably be one of the classes I try the hardest in. So far it has been quite fun, but I don't know if this will continue or wear off, so we'll see.
Physics and Chemistry: Luckily, we have started out with chemistry, so it is fairly easy because it is review from last year, and the names of most of the units and elements are very similar to the names in English. I am expecting the Physics to be difficult because all of the Spanish kids are much more advanced at it than I am, but we won't be starting it for awhile and I should have a pretty good grip on the language by the time we do.
Castilian Language: This is basically a Language Arts class, but it is in Spanish. The reading level is, of course, advanced, so it is going to be one of my hardest classes. Luckily the professor has offered to work with me and give me easier assignments, so there is the chance that I pass this class.
Sciences of the Contemporary World: I am still not really sure what exactly this class is, but it seems like it will be interesting and not incredibly hard.
I know I haven't really said anything about the teachers, but that is because, for the most part, it is too early for me to tell if I like them or not. There are two that stand out to me though, but not because they are ones that I like. The first is the math teacher. She knows her material which is always good, but she is not very good at teaching it. Also, she doesn't like anyone talking if its not to her, even if it is to ask a neighbor a question, and as a result she has moved around roughly half the class. The last part also applies to the Philosophy teacher. I cannot say if the first part also does, because, as I have said before, I have little idea what is happening in the class. The thing that she does that I really despise is she starts off be spending roughly half the class asking random people to read the notes from the past couple of classes, which isn't too bad. What makes it bad is the fact that she interrupts roughly every three sentences to criticize the students notes, which is incredibly annoying.
Well, I am done for now. I have to start on my homework for the weekend, but am looking forward to what will hopefully be a short week.
Anyway, school is set up quite differently here than it is in the US. The first difference in school is the hours that it runs. Contrary to what you are probably thinking due to the fact that they are protesting the hours, the days are shorter here than in the US. Instead of going 7:30 - 3:00 (or whatever it has now changed to), we go 8:30 - 2:20. So instead of having 7 classes 55 minutes in length, we have 6 classes 50 minutes in length. And yet they are still protesting how long the days are.
The next difference is the schedule. At Boulder High, a student has 7 classes corresponding to 7 periods that they take every day in the same order each day. Here, we have 9 different classes, but only take 6 a day. The schedule is different each day of the week. For example, you could have Math, Philosophy, PE, Physics and Chemistry, English, and Industrial Technology on Monday, but on Tuesday have Math fifth, English first, Philosophy fourth, and not have Industrial Technology, Physics and Chemistry, and PE at all. You have each class a certain number of times each week depending on which track you are on. I am on a Sciences/Technology track, so I have classes relating to these subjects more often than I have classes such as English and Philosophy, but there is also a Humanities, an Arts, and I think some kind of Language-related track. Instead of rotating classrooms and classmates like in the States, you have a single group of classmates and a single room in which almost all of your teachers come to teach you in. The only exception are the periods where you have one of your two elective classes. During this period, the class splits roughly in half and usually goes to another classroom, where they combine with one other half-group. I just realized that I have yet to tell you what classes I am taking, so here goes:
The classes I have four times a week: Technical Drawing, Industrial Technology, Physics and Chemistry, Castilian Language, Math
The classes I have three times a week: English, Philosophy
The classes I have twice a week: Sciences of the Contemporary World, PE
In case you were wondering, the two electives I am taking are Industrial Technology and Technical Drawing, which are instead of Biology and Geology and Informatics, respectively.
The third difference is the grading scale. Instead of having A, B, and C as passing grades and D and F as failing in a letter-based system, Spain uses a number based system: 5 and above is passing, below 5 is failing. It is too early for me to tell if I like it more or to give you more specifics about it, but I'll let you know more about later on.
The last, and most obvious, difference is the language. Clearly, it is pretty much all in Spanish, which makes it a little more difficult, but it should get easier as the year progresses.
And now, my first impressions, class by class:
Math: Opposed to contrary belief, the Spanish do not appear to be more advanced than the US in math, at least that's my impression. In fact, the highest level of math I will be learning this year is roughly equal to the highest I learned last year. In other words, this year I will be taking roughly the same math class that I did last year.
Philosophy: Honestly, it is hard for me to have a first impression of this class due to the fact that I have little-to-no idea of what is going on in it. Philosophy is hard enough to understand in one's native language, but when you're just learning the language, there is little point in trying.
English: Before this year I never thought I'd say this, but so far English is my favorite class. Of course it is a British English, so it is not super easy, but it is easy nonetheless. But also, it is fun. The activities we have done have been fun so far, and it is kind of funny listening to all of the Spanish kids trying to pronounce different English sounds that they are not used to.
PE: It is PE. It is really not that different than in the States.
Industrial Technology: It is really to early to tell whether this class will be hard or not (although I am thinking yes), mainly because the teacher hasn't showed up more than 4 or 5 days (I think she broke her arm, but I'm not sure).
Technical Drawing: This class is going to be hard, but it will also probably be one of the classes I try the hardest in. So far it has been quite fun, but I don't know if this will continue or wear off, so we'll see.
Physics and Chemistry: Luckily, we have started out with chemistry, so it is fairly easy because it is review from last year, and the names of most of the units and elements are very similar to the names in English. I am expecting the Physics to be difficult because all of the Spanish kids are much more advanced at it than I am, but we won't be starting it for awhile and I should have a pretty good grip on the language by the time we do.
Castilian Language: This is basically a Language Arts class, but it is in Spanish. The reading level is, of course, advanced, so it is going to be one of my hardest classes. Luckily the professor has offered to work with me and give me easier assignments, so there is the chance that I pass this class.
Sciences of the Contemporary World: I am still not really sure what exactly this class is, but it seems like it will be interesting and not incredibly hard.
I know I haven't really said anything about the teachers, but that is because, for the most part, it is too early for me to tell if I like them or not. There are two that stand out to me though, but not because they are ones that I like. The first is the math teacher. She knows her material which is always good, but she is not very good at teaching it. Also, she doesn't like anyone talking if its not to her, even if it is to ask a neighbor a question, and as a result she has moved around roughly half the class. The last part also applies to the Philosophy teacher. I cannot say if the first part also does, because, as I have said before, I have little idea what is happening in the class. The thing that she does that I really despise is she starts off be spending roughly half the class asking random people to read the notes from the past couple of classes, which isn't too bad. What makes it bad is the fact that she interrupts roughly every three sentences to criticize the students notes, which is incredibly annoying.
Well, I am done for now. I have to start on my homework for the weekend, but am looking forward to what will hopefully be a short week.
Monday, September 26, 2011
El Yelmo
I was planning on doing a blog posting about school yesterday, but seeing as I had only had four days of it by then, it is probably better that I didn't have time to. The reason I didn't have time to was because I spent much of my day climbing El Yelmo, which is one of the taller peaks in the mountain range next to Soto. We left the house around 11:00 and reached the start of the trail by 11:30. Unfortunately, we weren't able to start hiking up the trail at a normal pace due to an unexpected event:
Surprisingly enough, there was a trail-running race coming down the trail that we were intending to hike up. Luckily, it was nearing the end by time we got there, so we only had to spend the first kilometer or so hiking in short bursts up the path and then jumping off to the side so that the racers could stumble by. Other than that, the hike was quite nice and fun, although it was quite hot and their wasn't a lot of shade. For the first part of the hike I was walking at roughly the same pace as my host family because I had my camera out and was snapping pictures, but once the hike got more difficult and rockier and I put away my camera, I ended up having to wait for them to catch up a few times. This was partially due to the fact that I walk at a slightly faster pace than them, partially due to the fact Esperanza struggled a little and had to slow down while going over some of the rocks, and partially due to the fact that Dani and Lorenzo took a wrong turn at one point. It took us roughly three and a half hours to reach the top, which was longer than I expected it to take. Obviously, the race slowed us down some, but the climb itself was a lot harder, but also more fun, than I expected. The last part was easily the hardest though.
The last part consisted of climbing roughly 200 feet up a crevice in which I usually couldn't square my shoulders with my hips due to lack of room (the third picture shows what is the widest part by far). These 200 feet took us just under 10 minutes to climb, partially due to the fact that we were having to pass packs to the person in front of us because we could not fit between the rocks with them on and partially due to the fact that I got stuck between the rock walls and couldn't move or maneuver for a minute or so. But, once we got to the top it was easily worth the trouble because of the views.
The first picture (the one with the huge bridge) features Soto del Real (the town I'm staying in) in the middle. As you can probably tell, it is a little dry here, but I've been told that it is much prettier after the rains during the spring, so I'm hoping that we can do this climb again then so that I can see the difference. If we do I'll make sure to post photos from these same angles to show you guys the difference. Overall, I really enjoyed this hike. I usually don't like doing anything other than sitting on the couch and watching American football on Sundays, but I enjoyed this hike a lot. Anyway, due to the time difference between here and the USA, the hike didn't cause me to miss any games. Unfortunately though, the games aren't televised here so I have to follow the Jets game from my ipod on espn, which gives my live play-by-play coverage.
Anyway, to finish off here are a couple more pictures. I'm hoping to do a posting about school this weekend, so you'll probably here from me then.
Anyway, to finish off here are a couple more pictures. I'm hoping to do a posting about school this weekend, so you'll probably here from me then.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Week One
Supposedly, the first week is supposed to be one of the most difficult, so I decided to keep track of what I did throughout the week:
Day one
1:15
I am now here. Honestly, I'm not sure how I am feeling right now. I think I am in a state of shock. It has really only just hit me that I am doing this.
1:50
Just finished unpacking, getting ready to have lunch. I think I have figured out how I am feeling - scared. I was thinking on trying to elaborate a little bit more regarding how I'm feeling, but I really can't.
3:20
Just had lunch. It was quite good. We had paella - it wasn't a very complicated one ( just rice and chicken) but it was very good.
8:50
Napped for the past five and a half hours. Feel like I should of tried to stay up and get to know my host family but I was exhausted and am still a little tired.
10:45
Just finished dinner. Again the food was very good. We had soup and fried eggs. I am quite happy with the host family i got. They are helpful, kind, and understanding of the way I am feeling right now. I'm going to bed again now - a plane ride in economy seating with a large lady in front leaning her seat all the way back does not allow one much rest, so it is catch-up time.
Day Two
1:15
Slept in a little bit (was woken up at 12:15) but was up in time for breakfast. During and after breakfast Dani (my host brother) and I watched motorcycle racing. It was more exciting than NASCAR but not nearly as exciting as a real sport. My host dad's family is coming over this afternoon. I'm expecting it to be loud and chaotic, and I'm not really looking forward to meeting them (having a bunch of Spanish people asking me question after question is not my ideal second day), but I'll see how it goes.
2:22
Met the family that was coming over. They are very nice and are talking slow enough for me to understand.
8:00
All of the family just left. While they were over it was quite fun. Lunch was a multi-course meal that was, as expected, very loud. Whenever they weren't eating they were talking. So, it was quite lively, and I found it very enjoyable. After lunch, we (meaning me, Dani, Julia (my host sister), three of the cousins, and my host dad's brother) played...
10:15
Sorry, I had to walk and then have dinner. Anyway, we played a board game called "Party & Co." It is somewhat similar to Cranium (for those of you that have played it) but with a slightly different way of winning. It was fun, but also rather difficult because it was all in Spanish. A little bit after we finished playing everyone left. My host family then took me on a walk around town to show me different parts of it. After that we had a small dinner and now I'm getting ready to go to bed. Overall, today was better (and easier) than I expected. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same.
Day 3
11:55
Somehow ended up sleeping 12.5 hours last night, which is somewhat strange seeing as I didn't feel all that tired when I went to bed. Anyway, everyone is gone right now except me, the maid, and Dani, whose asleep. So, I'm practicing my Spanish by reading Don Quijote. It isn't the most exciting or entertaining book, but the Spanish is simple and straightforward.
7:55
Didn't really do anything exciting so far today. I swam for a little while in the pool in the backyard and then went out for a little with Dani and his friends. The latter wasn't all that fun seeing as they didn't do much other than talk in fairly rapid spanish, which was a little difficult for me to understand. I think I have basketball practice at 8:30, but I'm not positive. Anyway, I'm not looking forward to it at all. I'm guessing that it is going to be difficult for me to understand what the coach is saying, so it isn't going to be very fun.
1:05
Going to bed now. Basketball was better than I expected. The practice consisted of an hour of conditioning, a half hour of dribbling drills, and a half hour of shooting and passing drills. It wasn't as hard as practices in the States, which was nice. After dinner, Dani and I watched a German movie on tv. I was extremely surprised by how well they dubbed it. It was much better than I expected, which is could because I hate watching things where the lip movements and the words don't appear to match at all. I had a very busy day today, so I'm expecting to sleep for awhile, but we'll see.
Day 4
12:55
Just got woken up. That was probably the shortest sleep I've had so far (only 11.5 hours). I'm not sure what we're doing today but hopefully it isn't much because I'm still kind of tired.
7:45
Haven't done a lot today. Around one thirty we went to a exhibit of photos of one of the concentration camps. Later this afternoon I went out with Dani and some of his friends. Other than that we've just been laying around relaxing.
Day 5
9:50
Having to get up much earlier today in order to go into Madrid. I don't really like getting up earlier, but I think going into Madrid will be quite fun and worth it.
10:10
Just finished dinner. Earlier today we went into Madrid. We picked up Lorenzo's brother Jose and went to a temporary museum exhibit called "Bodies". It is very similar to the Body World exhibits we have in the states, except the content was less specific and instead of meandering through and talking and seeing whatever they gave you one of those guided tour devices with headphones that took the user through eight different rooms all containing different systems of the body. Overall, it wasn't as good as the one in the States, but I still enjoyed it. After that, we went back to Jose's apartment and watched the Spain-Germany basketball game while eating lunch. We made a couple of brief stops (to get Dani shoes and to get me a prepaid phone card) on the way home. Once home, I left again in order to go to basketball practice, which wasn't good but also wasn't bad. I think I'm probably going to go to bed now because I think I have to be up somewhat early tomorrow.
Day 6
8:45
This is the earliest I've woken up so far. It is very quite. Looking outside my window, there are almost no cars out on the street. I'm thinking that this is similar to the time just before the sun rises at home - the earlier risers are up but none of them have really gone out yet.
3:15
Now in La Adrada, a town in Castilla y Leon. We are staying at the house of Esperanza's parents. A couple of Dani's cousins are also here. We just finished a large lunch. Earlier we went to the pool for a while, which was fun. We played a volleyball-like game in the pool and then a mini game of soccer on the lawn.
1:00
Went to the pool again before dinner. Part of dinner was a Spanish tortilla made Madrid style. It was amazingly tasty. After dinner we hung out with some neighborhood kids and played soccer under the streetlights. I also learned how to play a Spanish card game called "mus" (I'm pretty sure that is not the correct spelling) which I won at.
Day 7
2:15
This morning we went to a marcadillo, which was kind of a mix between a farmers market and a flea market - there was lots of fruit but there was also clothes and shoes and other little trinkets. From there we walked up to the castle and walked around it's walls for a little. After that we walked up into the mountains. We walked to a river and the rock-hopped down the bank. It was very fun and the river was beautiful. About two minutes into our walk back down, two guys in a jeep stopped and gave all six of us a ride down to the cars, which was really fun (it was like in the movies where there are a bunch of people all hanging off the sides of a jeep).
11:05
Heading back to Madrid in order to be able to go to our basketball game in the morning. After lunch we went up to a pool made by a small dam across a river. It was fairly crowded, but, because the water was so cold, there were barely any people in the water. There was an opening in the railing of the stone stairs along the side of the pool. It was about 12 feet up and we all had a good time jumping off of it. After we dried off, we took a walk up to a hotel/restaurant with a beautiful view of the valley. And now we are heading home.
Day 8
10:05
Just got up. I have a basketball game in 45 minutes that I'm not that excited for for two reasons. First, it is too early for my liking. Second, I don't think I can play because some form is having to be sent to the US in order for me to be fully registered, and that form was only sent two days ago. So, it will probably be fun and good to watch (so that I can see what type of plays and techniques the team uses), but I'd rather be sleeping.
1:35
Basketball was more fun than I thought it would be. We built a big lead early, so the rest of the game was quite fun. I probably got about 15 minutes of playing time, which wasn't too much but also wasn't too little. I didn't play great (4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal), but I didn't play horribly either. I'm going to go for a swim now because I am extremely hot.
11:30
Rest of the day was relaxing - I watched The Social Network in Spanish and then took a nap. Tonight, I went out with Dani and some of his friends. We hung out for a bit and then went to a pizzeria. Now I am going to bed because, despite my nap, I am still a little tired.
Overall, my first week was much easier and much more fun (as well as much longer) than I expected, which, in my opinion, is good.
Day one
1:15
I am now here. Honestly, I'm not sure how I am feeling right now. I think I am in a state of shock. It has really only just hit me that I am doing this.
1:50
Just finished unpacking, getting ready to have lunch. I think I have figured out how I am feeling - scared. I was thinking on trying to elaborate a little bit more regarding how I'm feeling, but I really can't.
3:20
Just had lunch. It was quite good. We had paella - it wasn't a very complicated one ( just rice and chicken) but it was very good.
8:50
Napped for the past five and a half hours. Feel like I should of tried to stay up and get to know my host family but I was exhausted and am still a little tired.
10:45
Just finished dinner. Again the food was very good. We had soup and fried eggs. I am quite happy with the host family i got. They are helpful, kind, and understanding of the way I am feeling right now. I'm going to bed again now - a plane ride in economy seating with a large lady in front leaning her seat all the way back does not allow one much rest, so it is catch-up time.
Day Two
1:15
Slept in a little bit (was woken up at 12:15) but was up in time for breakfast. During and after breakfast Dani (my host brother) and I watched motorcycle racing. It was more exciting than NASCAR but not nearly as exciting as a real sport. My host dad's family is coming over this afternoon. I'm expecting it to be loud and chaotic, and I'm not really looking forward to meeting them (having a bunch of Spanish people asking me question after question is not my ideal second day), but I'll see how it goes.
2:22
Met the family that was coming over. They are very nice and are talking slow enough for me to understand.
8:00
All of the family just left. While they were over it was quite fun. Lunch was a multi-course meal that was, as expected, very loud. Whenever they weren't eating they were talking. So, it was quite lively, and I found it very enjoyable. After lunch, we (meaning me, Dani, Julia (my host sister), three of the cousins, and my host dad's brother) played...
10:15
Sorry, I had to walk and then have dinner. Anyway, we played a board game called "Party & Co." It is somewhat similar to Cranium (for those of you that have played it) but with a slightly different way of winning. It was fun, but also rather difficult because it was all in Spanish. A little bit after we finished playing everyone left. My host family then took me on a walk around town to show me different parts of it. After that we had a small dinner and now I'm getting ready to go to bed. Overall, today was better (and easier) than I expected. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same.
Day 3
11:55
Somehow ended up sleeping 12.5 hours last night, which is somewhat strange seeing as I didn't feel all that tired when I went to bed. Anyway, everyone is gone right now except me, the maid, and Dani, whose asleep. So, I'm practicing my Spanish by reading Don Quijote. It isn't the most exciting or entertaining book, but the Spanish is simple and straightforward.
7:55
Didn't really do anything exciting so far today. I swam for a little while in the pool in the backyard and then went out for a little with Dani and his friends. The latter wasn't all that fun seeing as they didn't do much other than talk in fairly rapid spanish, which was a little difficult for me to understand. I think I have basketball practice at 8:30, but I'm not positive. Anyway, I'm not looking forward to it at all. I'm guessing that it is going to be difficult for me to understand what the coach is saying, so it isn't going to be very fun.
1:05
Going to bed now. Basketball was better than I expected. The practice consisted of an hour of conditioning, a half hour of dribbling drills, and a half hour of shooting and passing drills. It wasn't as hard as practices in the States, which was nice. After dinner, Dani and I watched a German movie on tv. I was extremely surprised by how well they dubbed it. It was much better than I expected, which is could because I hate watching things where the lip movements and the words don't appear to match at all. I had a very busy day today, so I'm expecting to sleep for awhile, but we'll see.
Day 4
12:55
Just got woken up. That was probably the shortest sleep I've had so far (only 11.5 hours). I'm not sure what we're doing today but hopefully it isn't much because I'm still kind of tired.
7:45
Haven't done a lot today. Around one thirty we went to a exhibit of photos of one of the concentration camps. Later this afternoon I went out with Dani and some of his friends. Other than that we've just been laying around relaxing.
Day 5
9:50
Having to get up much earlier today in order to go into Madrid. I don't really like getting up earlier, but I think going into Madrid will be quite fun and worth it.
10:10
Just finished dinner. Earlier today we went into Madrid. We picked up Lorenzo's brother Jose and went to a temporary museum exhibit called "Bodies". It is very similar to the Body World exhibits we have in the states, except the content was less specific and instead of meandering through and talking and seeing whatever they gave you one of those guided tour devices with headphones that took the user through eight different rooms all containing different systems of the body. Overall, it wasn't as good as the one in the States, but I still enjoyed it. After that, we went back to Jose's apartment and watched the Spain-Germany basketball game while eating lunch. We made a couple of brief stops (to get Dani shoes and to get me a prepaid phone card) on the way home. Once home, I left again in order to go to basketball practice, which wasn't good but also wasn't bad. I think I'm probably going to go to bed now because I think I have to be up somewhat early tomorrow.
Day 6
8:45
This is the earliest I've woken up so far. It is very quite. Looking outside my window, there are almost no cars out on the street. I'm thinking that this is similar to the time just before the sun rises at home - the earlier risers are up but none of them have really gone out yet.
3:15
Now in La Adrada, a town in Castilla y Leon. We are staying at the house of Esperanza's parents. A couple of Dani's cousins are also here. We just finished a large lunch. Earlier we went to the pool for a while, which was fun. We played a volleyball-like game in the pool and then a mini game of soccer on the lawn.
1:00
Went to the pool again before dinner. Part of dinner was a Spanish tortilla made Madrid style. It was amazingly tasty. After dinner we hung out with some neighborhood kids and played soccer under the streetlights. I also learned how to play a Spanish card game called "mus" (I'm pretty sure that is not the correct spelling) which I won at.
Day 7
2:15
This morning we went to a marcadillo, which was kind of a mix between a farmers market and a flea market - there was lots of fruit but there was also clothes and shoes and other little trinkets. From there we walked up to the castle and walked around it's walls for a little. After that we walked up into the mountains. We walked to a river and the rock-hopped down the bank. It was very fun and the river was beautiful. About two minutes into our walk back down, two guys in a jeep stopped and gave all six of us a ride down to the cars, which was really fun (it was like in the movies where there are a bunch of people all hanging off the sides of a jeep).
11:05
Heading back to Madrid in order to be able to go to our basketball game in the morning. After lunch we went up to a pool made by a small dam across a river. It was fairly crowded, but, because the water was so cold, there were barely any people in the water. There was an opening in the railing of the stone stairs along the side of the pool. It was about 12 feet up and we all had a good time jumping off of it. After we dried off, we took a walk up to a hotel/restaurant with a beautiful view of the valley. And now we are heading home.
Day 8
10:05
Just got up. I have a basketball game in 45 minutes that I'm not that excited for for two reasons. First, it is too early for my liking. Second, I don't think I can play because some form is having to be sent to the US in order for me to be fully registered, and that form was only sent two days ago. So, it will probably be fun and good to watch (so that I can see what type of plays and techniques the team uses), but I'd rather be sleeping.
1:35
Basketball was more fun than I thought it would be. We built a big lead early, so the rest of the game was quite fun. I probably got about 15 minutes of playing time, which wasn't too much but also wasn't too little. I didn't play great (4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal), but I didn't play horribly either. I'm going to go for a swim now because I am extremely hot.
11:30
Rest of the day was relaxing - I watched The Social Network in Spanish and then took a nap. Tonight, I went out with Dani and some of his friends. We hung out for a bit and then went to a pizzeria. Now I am going to bed because, despite my nap, I am still a little tired.
Overall, my first week was much easier and much more fun (as well as much longer) than I expected, which, in my opinion, is good.
Getting my Visa
As you will probably be able to tell, I started writing this and intended to publish it about two weeks ago, but I never got around to finishing it, so here it is now:
First off, I am supposed to be flying into New York City today, but as you have probably guessed that is not happening due to a slight disturbance there (Hurricane Irene for those of you who didn't guess). This kind of screwed up my day.
Anyway, yesterday (8/28) was supposed to be my last day in Colorado for the next year and I had it beautifully planned out. I went up to Breckenridge with my family to watch Stage 5 of the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge. I'm a big cycling fan so this was set up to be a perfect ending to my summer. I just got a new camera so I was going to test it out on the cyclers speeding by at 50 kilometers per hour. I got set up right on the course and right next to the staging area. I had to wait about fifteen minutes for the riders to start coming by, but it was easily worth the wait. My parents left me after the peloton went by to go watch the podium ceremonies, but I stayed for a couple more groups before taking a short walk over to the staging area. This was probably the best part of the day because it allowed me to get so close to the riders. By the end of the time I spent here, I had taken over 450 photos, and, as you might expect, I got a couple of good ones, including shots of Colombian Rafael Infantino, Canadian Francois Parisien, and Americans Dave Zabriskie and Tom Danielson. Unfortunately, I also missed a couple of good shots, including close-up shots of American George Hincapie and Italian rider (and stage winner) Elia Viviani.
Anyway, the main purpose I'm writing this post is to tell you about the visa process. For me, it was very difficult. For others, it wasn't. I was unlucky in that Colorado is in the jurisdiction of the Spanish consulate in Los Angeles. This happens to be probably the strictest and busiest of the Spanish consulates in the United States. My Dad and I had to fly out to LA in order to have a 10-minute in person "interview". My dad had the brilliant idea that we should get there early to show my "eagerness to get my visa and go to Spain", so we got there at 9:45 for my 10:10 appointment. Of course, the little fact dad overlooked was that they are Spanish. In other words, we waited over an hour for my ten-minute appointment (which, by the way, was me giving the guy behind the counter all of my forms). Then we had to wait roughly another hour so that he could hand them back to us and give us our confirmation slip. Then we went straight to the airport and headed home.
Now, the turnaround time on the visa was supposed to be 60 days, which would have been about a month too late for me. Amazingly, I got mine back in ten days, which was great, except there was a slight problem - they misspelled my name. It then took a couple of days for my Dad to get ahold of the consulate, who then said it wouldn't be a problem (and in hindsight they were probably correct) but we sent it to them anyway to correct. Luckily, they had it back before I had to leave (only just though).
Anyway, the point of the story is that the L.A. consulate sucks. I talked to some of the other AFS kids who went to different consulates and they had no problems. Whereas I had my twelve distinct things to turn in, including an FBI background check (which required me to get fingerprinted) that required an apostille from the State Department, some of them only had a couple of forms to turn in and didn't need a background check. So, don't go to the Spanish Consulate in Los Angeles if you can avoid it.
First off, I am supposed to be flying into New York City today, but as you have probably guessed that is not happening due to a slight disturbance there (Hurricane Irene for those of you who didn't guess). This kind of screwed up my day.
Anyway, yesterday (8/28) was supposed to be my last day in Colorado for the next year and I had it beautifully planned out. I went up to Breckenridge with my family to watch Stage 5 of the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge. I'm a big cycling fan so this was set up to be a perfect ending to my summer. I just got a new camera so I was going to test it out on the cyclers speeding by at 50 kilometers per hour. I got set up right on the course and right next to the staging area. I had to wait about fifteen minutes for the riders to start coming by, but it was easily worth the wait. My parents left me after the peloton went by to go watch the podium ceremonies, but I stayed for a couple more groups before taking a short walk over to the staging area. This was probably the best part of the day because it allowed me to get so close to the riders. By the end of the time I spent here, I had taken over 450 photos, and, as you might expect, I got a couple of good ones, including shots of Colombian Rafael Infantino, Canadian Francois Parisien, and Americans Dave Zabriskie and Tom Danielson. Unfortunately, I also missed a couple of good shots, including close-up shots of American George Hincapie and Italian rider (and stage winner) Elia Viviani.
Now, the turnaround time on the visa was supposed to be 60 days, which would have been about a month too late for me. Amazingly, I got mine back in ten days, which was great, except there was a slight problem - they misspelled my name. It then took a couple of days for my Dad to get ahold of the consulate, who then said it wouldn't be a problem (and in hindsight they were probably correct) but we sent it to them anyway to correct. Luckily, they had it back before I had to leave (only just though).
Anyway, the point of the story is that the L.A. consulate sucks. I talked to some of the other AFS kids who went to different consulates and they had no problems. Whereas I had my twelve distinct things to turn in, including an FBI background check (which required me to get fingerprinted) that required an apostille from the State Department, some of them only had a couple of forms to turn in and didn't need a background check. So, don't go to the Spanish Consulate in Los Angeles if you can avoid it.
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