Back to that Same Ole Place...

SWEET HOME CHICAGO!

One of the strangest (yet, most fantastic) culture differences I've encountered in Spain is their extensive vacation time.  They have random holidays at least once a month and during the summer, most employees can take up to 1 MONTH of vacation if they didn't take too many extended holidays during the year.  1 MONTH paid holidays... are you kidding me??  Well, with the Spanish culture being the way it is, there isn't a lot of work during the summer months as large percetages of people are gone July, August or September.  So my academy requests strongly (basically, requiring) that every teacher take off at least 1 month of the summer.  Unfortunately, being foreigners, we don't get the priviledge of paid vacation time. 

I planned my vacation for months.  I knew I wanted to go home as I haven't been there since the previous October (and that was for only 5 days!) So an extended period of time was definitely in order.  I contemplated for months when I should go back.  I decided on the month of July.  I'd make it in time for the 4th, it was my mother and siblings birthdays and my really good friend Sarah was having her wedding shower/ bachelorette party.  I wanted to go to her wedding instead in September and take my vacation time then, but it just so happened that my grandmother and aunt were planning a trip to visit me in Spain during that time.  So, July was the obvious alternative!

At the end of June as classes were ending, I decided to move apartments.  I was having difficulties with my roommate and mostly, I just wanted a change of scenery.  One of my colleagues and close friend, Nikki told me that one of her roommates was moving out the end of July. We thought about living together before so this just seemed to perfect.  After my month of vacation, I could move in with her and not worry about paying an extra month of rent.  Perfection. 

After weeks of anticipation, the day had finally arrived! And wouldn't you know it... all the subway workers conviently decided to hold their huelga (work strike) the same day.  So I was walking around the streets with 2 large suitcases, unable to take public transport and not an available taxi in sight! After over an hour, I finally spotted an old couple getting out of a taxi and quickly slid into the backseat.  Already exhausted, I arrived and the airport and made it to my plane. One layover and 14 hours later, I finally landed in Sweet Home Chicago.

My family met me at the airport and within minutes were arguing and screaming at eachother as we walked to the car.... ahhhh so good to be home :)

The first week was spent cell phone less as my parents 'misplaced' my old one and going to doctor/ dentists appointments.  Oh joy, 3 cavaties and my WISDOM TEETH had to be removed.  Spain clearly doesn't have flouride in their water!  So the end of my first week and most of my second week was spent popping pain killers and eating nothing but pudding, jello and ice cream (can't complain too much)

For the 4th of July, one of my friends had a huge picnic and bonfire.  I got to see a huge group of people that I haven't seen or really spoken to in over a year.  Luckily, it was like I never left.  We sat around talking about the same old, same old with a few Spain questions thrown in the mix.  At night we lit off a small armoury of fireworks.  The following days were spent visitng family and hanging out with friends: bowling trips with my siblings, laying poolside with cocktails, hitting up all my old hangouts, baseball games, birthday parties, Taste of Chicago and simply relaxing at home.  That's what I love about my life... no matter how long I'm gone, I know I'm always welcomed back and it's as if I never left. 

Here's a collage of random awesome events throughout the month with my awesome friends:

@ Teehans

@ The Taste of Chicago

4th of July

 besties in Naperville

Chris's Bday Bash

Thunderbolts Baseball Game w/ Meg

prepared for our 1st night out together :)

Probably the most important thing I did back home was getting a tattoo.  I had 2 already and was thinking about a third for quite some time.  But knowing that this would be my last one (at least for a while), I wanted it to be something meaningful... at this point in my life, there's nothing more meaningful to me than my siblings.  So I researched for weeks and weeks prior to coming home for something that would really illustrate how important they are to me. 

I liked the idea of a short phrase.  But nothing really seemed poetic enough in English.  I thought Spanish would just be korny.  So I opted for the root of most modern languages: Latin.  Not being one really to show off my 'artwork', I opted to put it on my foot.  I already had a small heart above my little toe so I knew that I wanted to incorporate it into this tattoo. Therefore, I decided to get 5 additional smaller hearts- each one to represent each of my 5 siblings. After searching even more, I finally found a phrase I wanted, the most basic phrase that completely 100% says how I feel...

SINE VOS NON POTERO VIVERE

WITHOUT YOU I COULDN'T LIVE

 The last week I travelled back to my college days by flying to Ohio for Sarah's bridal party weekend. I stayed with my best friend from OU- Amy and her boyfriend. We spent hours gossiping, watching bad movies, walking around Cleveland and making jello shots! Majority of my closest friends came in for Sarah's shower so it was incredible to see everyone again. We laughed, cried, drank a LOT as we reminisced about the good old days. Sarah's shower was during the day and later that night we started her bachelorette party at her sister in law's house before hitting some bars in downtown Cleveland. I was an amazing night with some really amazing ladies! I said goodbye the following day, hugging everyone and fighting back the tears as I returned back to Chicago.

MORE PICS FROM OHIO...

Amy and I in Cleveland

Cleveland Skyline

Sarah's Wedding Shower

A few days after that I was doing it all over again but this time to all my family and friends back home as I boarded the plane back to Madrid.  The month flew by and I only got through a fraction of the things I wanted to do on my list.  I got to spend time with most people I wanted to and I send my deepest apologies for anyone that I didn't.  I love Spain, but these last few months I'm really starting to miss Chicago.  Being away definitely helps you put things in perspective.  I now know that Spain will always be one of the best highlights of my life but I also realized that the latter part of my life will be spent in America.  Spain has my heart forever but the US is where I belong.  So as you have probably figured out, I've decided to return back home.... but not until next summer!  haha I still have a few more adventures left to have here in Spain. 

our ritual goodbye Sushi Dinner



Salamanca, Spain

Following the amazing time I had in Galicia with this group of crazy ladies, I jumped at the chance to go on a second adventure just a few weeks later. We decided on the quiet, mysterious and gastronomical city of Salamanca. I accompanied the familiar faces of Steph, Lena and Sonia, plus 2 of their American friends (Katie and Lindsay). Salamanca not being difficult to travel to, we decided to take a 3 hour bus instead of driving. We rented 2 rooms in a small hostel inside the Plaza Mayor which was in our budget and paid off later in the night…

Looking at my funds just days previous to us leaving, I realized that this was going to be a very tight trip for me. I considered backing out but realized that I would be missing out on a great opportunity. So after bus fare and hostel costs, I was left with exactly 25 euro to eat and party. You might think I was crazy for attempting this but I knew I could make it happen.

(view from our hostel)

We arrived after what seemed like a short bus ride for me (because I slept the entire way) and hiked from the bus station to our hotel in the city's Casco Antiguo (old center).  I realized quickly that Salamanca isn't as non-Spanish speaking tourist friendly as some of its competing cultural cities.  But all of us knowing Spanish could survive without a problem. 

We arrived at our hostel and checked-in with the guapo South American clerk.  The girls chatted and divided rooms as we freshened up ready to venture out.  Our first stop was CASA PACA,

one of Salamanca's most well-known resturants and tapa stops.  We stood at the bar gazing at the numerous yummy treats that we could choose from, sipping on our vino y cerveza (wine and beer).  After a few drinks and what we considered to be our lunch of tapas, we started off to see the sights.

We casually strolled the streets looking at the ancient buildings that surrounded us, once again amazed by these architectual feats.  Then we came across this building that suddenly stopped me in my tracks.  I stared in a sort of confusion as I tried to place why I knew this particular buiding.  I searched my brain for information from my university days learning about Spanish history and cultural sites.  But I came up blank knowing that of the city Salamanca was never emphasized in any of my college courses.  I started taking pictures of this simple square, white washed building.  Nothing spectacular about it architectually with exception to its facade- it's covered in thousands of tiny stone seashells.  On about my forth snapshot I realized why I knew this building:

Picture me in 9th grade (hard to do because many of you don't know me and can't picture me even now let alone over 10 years ago).  Anyways, I was a highschool freshman starting my first honors spanish class.  My teacher, Mrs. Perez, gave the class an assignment to pick one monument in any Spanish-speaking country to give a short presentation on.  Most people chose Inca/ Mayan temples or famous building throughout Mexico and S. America.  For some reason, I simply googled 'Spanish buildings' and on the top of this list was a building in some small city in Spain called Salamanca.  I remember laughing thinking the city's name sounded like Salmonella (don't judge, I was only 13) Well, not at all interested in this project, I went with this building because it looked cool, all the other cooler monuments were taken and the website I found would be perfect for me to easily write my presentation.  A week later I presented a 5-minute Spanglish speech to my class and about 5-minutes after, I completely forgot about that cool looking building in some E-Coli sounding town in BuFu Spain....

that was until I had dejavu taking photos of La Casa de Conchas.  I suddenly remembered why it seemed vaguely familiar.  This was the building I did that random presentation on 10 years ago.  I stood staring at the building having a moment with myself about how funny life is.  How small moments that seem insignificant can really impact you far in the future.  I had a serious look at my current life and for the first time, really realized how much I've done in my 23 years and how lucky I am to be experiencing these things in real life; not just through crappy presentations I gave when I was thirteen. 

After my little moment, we continued through the streets to the University of Salamanca.  Normally, universities in Spain are nothing to write home about.  But there's something a little special about this one, a legend that surrounds its walls and a superstition that haunts its students. One of the main building entrances has this gorgeous stone carved archway covered in figures, designs, animals, you name it.  You have to stand 30 feet back just to take it all in.  It really is a fascinating sight.  Well, as the legend goes, somewhere in this spectacule is a tiny sitting frog.  No more than 3 or 4 inches big.  As students learn on orientation, if they want to graduate, they must find the little frog.  I heard this story on prior to my arrival and thought, well that sounds stupid! But once I saw this doorway, I knew why this superstition was loved not only by students but also by tourists.  The group of us sat there inventing the best strategies to find this miniscule anphibian for a good 20 minutes until finally we gave up.  Luckily, we met up with one of the girl´s friend who was studying at this particular university.  After we couldn´t take it any longer, she showed us where the little guy was.  I mean SERIOUSLY! But it was good fun.

Can you find it yet????

Yet?????

We continued the tour to the Cathedral and sat down for a few more cañas.  After most of the tourist stuff was finished, we returned to the hostel for a little siesta.  Steph and I ran to the local supermarket to pick up drinks and food for later that evening.  Travelling on a budget we learned a great way to save money is to just buy local food and eat in your hotel.  Same with alcohol, buy a few bottles and mixers; throw on some awesome tunes; dance and drink until you´re more than ´contenta´; then head out to the bars.

That´s exactly what we did.  We planned to have a little dinner picnic in the Plaza Mayor but a short rain shower prevented that.  So we ate, drank, danced and got ready in our room.  Some of the girls were out on the patio smoking when they met our next door neighbors.... 5 gorgeous Basque men.  What are the chances :)

Well they were ready to check out some of the bars so we took a vote between us girls and decided it would be in our best interest to join them.  Well, to not go into too much detail, we all had a great night dancing, talking, destroying Salamanca (party-wise).  I crawled into bed around 5 am exhausted which turned out to be earlier than most of my travel buddies who well watched the sun rise with our new Basque friends.  We exchanged info with one another so if I ever make it to Pais Vasco, I have a few contacts!

The next day, everyone suffering a pretty bad resaca (hangover), we decided to try and catch an earlier bus back to Madrid.  Luckily, I got the last seat on one of the buses that was leaving shortly after.  So I departed from the girls who still had a few hours to wait and wanted some food.  I arrived in Madrid in no time, as I once again slept the entire way back.  Salamanca was a crazy experience for a quick weekend getaway and one that I´ll never forget!

Galicia, Spain

With another Puente (three-day weekend) on my hands and with a travelling-bug getting under my skin, I jumped at the opportunity to take a road trip with some of my colleagues. Talking to Stef and Isabel, we decided that the northern part of Spain was a bit of uncharted territory for us. Speaking specifically of Galicia region—I heard of its terrific cuisine and breathtaking scenery. The typical cities of Galicia including Santiago de Computense and la Coruna are must sees for tourists but having only a few days and no desire to mingle with tourists, we decided on the little-big city of Vigo.

Stef said she had some other friends interested in going as well.  I had heard stories of Lena, the crazy New Yorker that could put Courtney Love to shame with her antics and Sonia, the sweet litte Spanish girl that makes you wonder how she got involved with such insane Americans.  So with a decent sized group of ladies, we realized the cheapest option of transport was just to rent a car.  Between the 5 of us, we got a nice 4 door- BMW.  Sounds fancy but Beamers here are actually quite affordable.  Stef found us a really nice hotel for relatively cheap, especially since it wasn´t anywhere near tourist season. 

 

So early Saturday morning, we all met on the subway to pick up our car.  5 hours later we arrived in Vigo.  The city itself doesn´t have the majesty of Toledo or the vastness of Madrid but the countryside driving into the city itself was absolutely awe-inspiring.  Rolling green hills with scattered boulders and hidden towns was something out of Don Quixote.  (though Don Quixote was placed nowhere near Galicia)

We checked into our rooms and after deciding where we were all sleeping, we took a little siesta and got ready for the night.  Isabel´s sister and friends gave her some recommednations of bars and resturants we had to try.  First we stopped and this nautical/ astrology themed bar with amazing drink specials and yummy tapas.  We sat around the 5 of us talking about life, culture, our futures and whatnot while we steadily drank beer, wine and the bar specials.  I could already tell that I was going to get along great with Lena and Sonia.  Though we all had completely different personalities and backgrounds, we had many more important things in common: laughing, drinking and just having fun!  This was also one of the first big experiences I'd had with Stef.  After this trip, we were new partners in crime and gossip.  When we had our fill, we headed off the find this amazing resturant Isabel´s sister said was a must: EL CURUXA

Well, the ancient part of the city is a maze of winding streets and hidden entrances.  So everyother person we stopped to ask for directions sent us in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go.  Eventually, we came across it and got our table.  At first, I was a little disappointed and crabby.  The place didn´t look like anything special, especially having walked around for like 45 minutes trying to find it.  But as soon as food arrived, all my doubts disppeared.  Never have I had such delicious seafood in my life.  People always told me that Galicia had incredible pulpo (octopus) and mariscos (shellfish) but MADRE MÍA! Adding a few bottles of wine, it was one incredible dinner. 

Finishing our last glasses of wine, we ventured to meet one of Sonía´s old roommates from la universidad that lived in Vigo.  She agreed to bring us to some of the hottest clubs in Vigo. And man, she wasn´t joking.  As we arrived to the main street, we were surrounded by groups and groups of attractive men.  Almost as if Vigo puts attractiveness in the water! We went bar hopping, talking up the guapos as we went.  Then we arrived to 20th Century... the most amazing bar I have been to to date.  Completely decked in Americana and full of single men, we spent the majority of the night in a complete haze.  We finished the night at another club but I couldn´t remember much of it if you´d paid me.  Around 6am the group of us came stumbling in, in amazement of Vigo´s nightlife.

We got up relatively early, considering our late night.  We decided to take advatage of the rented car and drive to a nearby little town called Baiona that has one of the most spectacular Fortresses in Spain.  When we first arrived to this little piece of heaven, we parked and walked around the beach at the 'ria' that led to the Atlantic Ocean.  We strolled along the shores and into this old missionary turned church.  After exploring and taking our fill of fotos, we got back in the car and headed closer to the fortress.  We stopped and looked in a few shops, ate some icecream, explored an exact replica of the Pinta, one of Christopher Columbus's ships.  Finally, we made it to the Parador de Baiona (The Fortress). 

                                     

Have you ever had one of those moments when you first walk into a place and know that you will remember this for the rest of your life? This is how I felt when I walked into the walls of the Parador.  Words cannot even explain the beauty of this place.  I really felt that I had time travelled from 2010 into the 17th Century.  Everything seemed so untouched by the outside world. Everything grew wild and I could feel the history seeping through the cobble stones.  I had transported myself into my own little fairy tale of Kings and Noble Knights.  I imagined myself even getting married in the lush gardens overlooking the water.  I think all of us were in awe of this breathtaking place.  We took advantage of the photo-ops but for the most part, we walked in a sublime silence.  Like we all knew that this was something special. 

Sadly, after a few hours and countless pictures, we left this magical place.  We decided for enerygy and money sake, that we'd buy a few things at the local supermarket and eat dinner inside our hotel room that night.  Isabel went and had dinner and drinks with a few of her friends while the girls and I ate, drank, danced and gossiped for hours.  Once we got to the point where we could go to sleep or head out for night 2 on the town, we opted to quickly get ready and down the rest of our drinks.  We knew that we wanted to make one more appearance at 20th Century and a few other bars/ clubs before we left.  We danced the night away, filled with the bubbling joy of todays excursion.  Still exhausted from the previous late night and knowing our long journey home, we came back to the hotel at a modest 3am. 

The morning came ever so quickly as we all slowly climbed out of our beds to get back in the car for our long journey back to Madrid.  As we individually said goodbye to each person as we got dropped off, I knew that we had done more than just bond on this super-puente.  We built memories that would last a lifetime :)

Working Girl (April/ May/ June)

These last few months seemed to fly by at times and others, drag on for an eternity. There were many different reasons that could explain this. First of all my academy has been in the middle of a big move. For the past 30 odd years we have been in the same building expanding over time. However, we’ve been expanding not only to different rooms but to different floors. So our main office has been on the 6th floor while majority of our classrooms were on the 2nd and 3rd floors. This made it frustrating especially trying to cart around the portable TVs up and down the crowded elevators and during the hot summer months when air circulation was a rare commodity in some corner rooms. But during this trimester, my academy administrators announced that we were moving to a brand new facility just down the block. All classrooms are located on one floor with WiFi and air conditioning in every room. But as rumors spread to the students, every other day we were cornered with questions about the timeline and how come other classes were chosen to start in the new place before theirs.  In the 3 month time span, only one of my classes, my one-session Friday night class, was moved into the new building.

Another reason for the apparent stunt in pace was the fact that I was going home to Chicago in July.  So towards the latter of the trimester, all I could think about was my friends and family back home.  However bad my desire to finish at the academy, my classes were quite enjoyable.

I had my morning intensive class as usual with a few new faces.  One that particularly stood out was a student named Borja.  He came into my class the first day with baggy shorts, a ripped tee 6 earrings in each ear and covered in tattoos.  It was big change from my gelled-hair, polo and loafer wearing Spanish students.  So I took a special interest in watching him develop his language skills over the month of June.  I asked my students on the first day of every class, ¨Why are you learning English?¨  I get the usual responses: to get a promotion, to travel, to find a better job... but Borja´s answer was the most unique and heart-felt response I have heard.  He said he was learning English so he could write music and poetry that everyone could understand.  For the next few weeks, Borja would stay after class a few minutes and show me some of the things he was writing so I could correct any mistakes and make sure everything made sense  Definitely one of the most intriguing experiences I´ve had here in Spain.   

I continued with my business classes in Tecnicas Reunidas as usual.  But as June passed, I knew that I would have to say goodbye to most of them.  The had been my students for the entire academic year and I had grown quite fond of the majority.  Unfortunately, teachers can only have 1 on 1 students for a maximum of 1 year.  I try not to dwell....

I continued with my 2 trimester classes and they went relatively smoothly.  I had the same group with Mer and Lorena from before which went relatively quickly as we added some new faces to the mix.  My other trimester class was also decent. No one with much personality but luckily, classes didn´t drag too much.  I had problems with 2 girls at the beginning.  They were best friends who sat in the corner talking only with eachother and at times, not paying attention to my class.  Then one day I caught one of the girls putting her fingers to her head shaped as a gun (the same gesture we use in the US to say, ¨Dear Lord I´m bored; someone please shoot me!¨)  Well I was less than thrilled about that so I called her out and said that if she didn´t like my class, she was free to leave at any time.  We didn´t have any more problems after that.

My last class was, as I mentioned before, a 2 1/2 hour Friday night class.  At first I was dreading this class.  2 1/2 HOURS!!!! But in the end, it turned out to be one of my favorite classes from the entire year.  It was all due to the wonderful students I had.  Each one had such a unique personality and they were all quite talkative.  That is, in my opinion, the best thing any teacher could ask for.  Majority of the time, I had to stop them from talking so we could actually learn some grammar.  They loved to debate which was great because the dynamic of the class.  We had one older lady while the other were mid 20s to early 30s; a good mixture of men and women; different cultures; and different professions.  Every class with them was a piece of tortilla española!

So overall, I finished my first academic year on a high note.  I just returned from my vacation back home which will be in another blog shortly! Thanks to all my amazing students and colleagues that made this past year, unforgetable!

Semana Santa 2010

Semana Santa or 'Holy Week' starts Spain's Spring Break around the time of Pascual or 'Easter'.  Obviously being in 'Catholic Spain', I had some very high expectations.  All week long from the end of March to the beginning of April.  I got a full week off of work which was nice as I was in need a descanso.  I had just come back from Vigo the weekend prior and was planning another trip to Salamanca in the week that followed, so I had a completely empty agenda for this week which was just what the doctor ordered.

I borrowed one of my colleague's Madrid tour books and started to scan through it one day.  I was amazed about how many things in Madrid I had never been to or even knew existed.  So I decided to utilize this time to check out what secrets were hiding in this massive city. 

I must admit that I slept in almost every day and put no urgency to accomplish much of anything.  I enduldged myself with long dinners and copias amounts of drink during this week with some of my friends.  However, I did get around to seeing some pretty awesome things.

One day, Craig, Irene, my amazing Italian roommate and I went for a long stroll around Parque Oeste and the Royal Palace.

Another day was spent at the Soralla Museum only minutes from where I live.

Yet another day was spent in the city that will forever have my heart... TOLEDO!

And the rest were spent cleaning, shopping and general walk-abouts in the centro.

  Me (left) and My Roommate Irene (right)

What I want this blog to be mostly about it the festivities revolving around Semana Santa in Madrid.

I really like this BLOG's review of Semana Santa in Spain... so check it out if you want more info!

One of my goals was to sit in on a Catholic mass in one of Madrid's hundreds of iglesias.  I got that opportunity during my stroll with Craig and Irene.  I intended on going to a small church near my apartment but when we were passing the Cathedral near the Royal Palace and I saw that there was a service going on at that moment, I thought... what the hell! (Sorry for the blasphemy!)

It was also my first time inside the Cathedral here in Madrid so it was quite the experience for me.  We stayed about 20 minutes as the crowds of people left no where to sit.  But I was really moved by the Latin service and choir.  I'm not a religious person by any means but it's still one of those cultural experiences that really have an impact on a person. 

The one event during Semana Santa I knew I couldn't miss was
'La Procession de Silencio'

view from inside the parade heading towards PUERTA DE SOL

It starts near Atocha and continues down towards Sol wraps around and continues back.  It would seem like any normal religion based- Easter parade with exception to some crazy outfits and suprising offerings of penance. Well, I'll let you see for yourself...

Hopefully, I don't have to explain that the outfits have absolutely NOTHING to do with the KKK!

The people are called Nazarenos; they wear these costumes as a way to demonstrate their penatence to heaven.  Every major city in Spain has a different group of Nazarenos that each have their own colored costumes and different ways to distinguish themselves from one another.  It is considered a great honor throughout Spain to become a Nazareno.

The second picture demonstates common people usually members of that group's particular church who want to ask for foregiveness for their sins through this walk of 'disgrace'.  They walk barefoot shackled with chains; the more chains, the more forgiveness you're asking for.  Nowadays, it is a more symbolic tradition. 

Well here are some more photos of the parade to help you get an idea of what a spectacle it was! Enjoy :)