Paris!

Paris is dirty, cold, windy and absolutely breathtaking! There are some things that words can´t describe, or maybe I just lack the ability to use the correct words to describe them, but anyway watching the sunset halfway up the Eiffel Tower is one of those moments that I would I could transfer into anyone and everyone´s mind. Here is my adventure in Paris...

The metro in Madrid stops at 1 am. Our flight to Paris left at 7:20 am. 6 hour difference = sleeping on Barajas´s airport floor. Yumm! However, Mercedes did not let me leave the piso unprepared. As I was packing my bag she came in and asked me what I was packing because she knew it was going to be frigid cold, and I showed her. She said "no, no, no" and hurried out the room only to return a few seconds later with her arms full of stuff. The stuff included my crazy furry Russian looking hat, my snow boots, her scarf (the size of a blanket) and her turtleneck sweater. Mind you, I had packed 2 of my own sweaters, leather gloves (which I happened to have lost while at the Louvre, sorry Mom, I really did love them a lot, but now they are amongst the world´s greatest wonders!), boots, and a scarf of my own. I was quite the sight as I headed to the Metro at 12 am, wearing my red wool jacket, my tan Merril snowboots, a crazy furry hat, and a scarf the size of a picnic table. Needless to say, I was warm, and would soon be soo grateful that Mercedes is in my life.

Moving on... I slept on an airport floor. It was faaaaaantastic. I felt like a true backpacker, who looked like their main concern was freezing to death on an icy tundra. We boarded the plane and were greeted by this absolutely heinous elevator music that made us laugh everytime someone referenced it throughout the trip. We landed in Paris around 9ish and from there had to figure out how to manipulate the horrible Paris metro system, which is waaay more dirty than Madrid´s and costs an insanely amount more than Madrid´s as well. I did not approve. With some slight confusion the 9 of us were finally on the correct train heading into the heart of Paris. We managed to succesfully find our one star "hotel" and failed at our attempt to sneek 2 people in... shoot. Bypassing that boring story, we dropped off our luggage and headed back out to explore the foreign city before us.

The first night we walked along the Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe feeling no fear of looking like tourists. The Arc is one of those places I´ve seen a thousand pictures of but never took the time to really fathom it´s size or grandeur. It was pretty sweet. From there we accepted the challenge to find the Eiffel Tower on our own. Surprising we happened upon the large metal structure as we took a random turn around a corner and most of us were taken aback by its pure presence. The tower on a Thursday night was mostly unoccupied minus the pestering of street salesman trying to sell us replicas of the Eiffel Tower. We took far too many pictures and only stayed a brief while because it was our mission to return and go to the top before our return to Madrid. That night was laidback and we were in bed before 1 am anticipating a full day in the morning.

Friday morning greeted us with rain and wind. A fun combination for sightseeing, luckily most of our plans were indoors and including going to places like the Louvre and Sacred Heart Cathedral. The morning started off at our favorite bakery, the place in which I probably spent my most money and gained a good 5 pounds. Thank you baguette´s, tarts, and yummy unknown sweet breads. From there we headed to the infamous Moulin Rouge and surrounding area. We went in the morning therefore I was not approached or hassled by any scantily clad women only by 2 men we assumed to be drug dealers who were amazingly arrested a few minutes later. We are telling ourselves we unknowingly assisted in a huge drug bust! It wasn´t like we had an elongated conversation, clearly because no one spoke French, it was like we were walking and they hollered at us, and one of the words sounded like cocaine, we kept walking and when we reached the corner cops came out of nowhere! On the topic of not speaking French I would just like to say I can, in fact, speak Spanish. Being in France gave me this odd bit of confidence that I really do know what is going on in Madrid. Our ability to communicate was rather hilarious throughout the trip and many times we were just nodding and saying yes or no. After Moulin Rouge we walked up the "mountain" to Sacred Heart Cathedral. It was stunning even in the rain, you could see all of Paris. The inside was even more precious, however no pictures were allowed. After that spiritual stop we trekked to THE LOUVRE!!!!! The Louvre was everything ever said it would be. The Mona Lisa was kinda obnoxious though because it was like she was a pop star and camera's were flashing and people were crowded around it to point where I didn't really even care to see it. But I did take a picture to prove I saw her. We saw many things, most of which I can't recall nor knew what they were, but the art was pristine. My favorite part about The Louvre was the building itself, just realizing that at some point in history the same room I stood in was someone royal person's personal quarters. After spending approximately 3 hours there we decided to find dinner and get ready for a night out in Paris. We had plans to meet up with some friends and enjoy some "quality" French beverages. It was a successful night, minus my painful shoes, no worries though, I wore thick socks that got me through the night.

Saturday morning/afternoon we woke up with a slight headache or two, not excactly sure if it was from dehydration or the intense matress fight the night before, nonetheless we were ready to roll out and explore more of Paris. Saturday consisted of a trip to Notre Dame, beautiful, the best crepes I have ever consumed, some minor window shopping, annnnnd the top of the Eiffel Tower. Without knowing it we probably picked the best time to visit the Eiffel Tower, right before sunset. We saw the sunset, were there when the first set of "twinkling" lights went off, and were even able to see a few stars in the finally clear sky. We were finishing full circle by ending our night at the top of the Arc de Triomphe and saw the awesome Paris skyline at night.


In conclusion we headed back to the airport at 1 am to again enjoy a very very cold night on the Charles de Gaulle airport floor. The trip was a success. And I have written far too much.

Ciao Ciao!

Contact Info

My internet is being turned off tomorrow and therefore I will be less accessible. No worries on my end but if you need/want to contact me here is how:

Cell phone 610262309
How to dial cell phone: Dial 011 + 34 + 61 026 2309 (If you call from a land line its around 5 cents a minute... call from a cell phone it's much more expensive, unless you have a great plan or a calling card!)

Email: rachelrcraig@gmail.com

Skype name: rachel.renae (I doubt I'm on this much, unless I can get WiFi some where)

Address:
Rachel Craig
"Marquette University en Madrid"
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras "B"
Universidad Complutense
28040 Madrid SPAIN


Hope to hear from you!

Short update:
We have our Orientation Final which is comprehensive exam of all the grammatical things you would ever want to know about Spanish and a broad overview of Spanish Art, Literature, History and Politics. After that I head home to pack because we fly to Paris Thursday morning and return Sunday morning.

Ciao!

Dear college companions,

Spainards know how to party. We should take lessons.

Love,
Rachel

Dear parents,

Spainards have an excellent police force, no need to worry about above comment.

Love,
Rachel

****WARNING: this message may contain unwanted information for older generations :) ****
Here is a how to guide on partying in Spain.
Step one: Eat dinner at 8:30 pm.
Step two: Take a nap from 9-10 pm
Step three: Buy preferred beverage before 11 pm when the store closes.
Step four: Make plans on where to meet around 11:30 pm
Step five: Meet at preferred public gathering place, i.e. a plaza, around 12 pm.
Step six: Admire how Spainards can successfully mix drinks on the Metro despite the constant movement.
Step seven: Take part in a common practice called "botellón" in which large groups of young citizens legally gather to drink alcoholic beverages before dancing it all off.
Step eight: Make sure to enter the club before 1 am because the 2 free drinks you get with your cover expire at 1:45 am.
Step nine: Discover that 1 am is waaaay too early to actually be there, but early enough where the coat check line isn't completely ridiculous.
Step ten: Check out all 7 floors of the club to determine which one has the best dancing atmosphere.
Step eleven: Dance! Dance! DANCE!
Step twelve: Enjoy the blast of cold air on the 1st floor dance floor.
Step thirteen: DANCE! (watch out for creepers too!)
Step fourteen: Leave club at 5 (ish) am in order to find food. (Sorry no Jimmy John's or Chipotle)
Step fifteen: Find San Gines Chocolateria and eat Churros con Chocolate (churros with chocolate soup!!!!! best invention ever!)
Step sixteen: Find Metro station around 6 am because that is when they start running again.
Step seventeen: Go to bed at 6:30 am. (The real ambixitious don't get home until 7:30 am)
Step eighteen: Wake up at 2 in time for a big lunch!
Step nineteen: Repeat! haha

Enjoy responsibily.

Steps

I woke up this morning with clearly defined calf muscles. It was great! I also really wanted to know how many steps I took during my day so I counted and by the time I had arrived at school I had walked up/down 194 steps and walk on level ground for 25 minutes. But then I took 3 flights of stairs up to the library and forgot to count so then I gave up, but the point being, I walk a lot. Like a lot a lot.

Yesterday we were done with class at 1 and me, Sandy, Nick and Marie decided to explore the city so we took the metro to Nick's part of town, Bilbao, and ate lunch at an Italian place and I'm pretty sure the closer you get to Italy the better the pizza becomes, it was soo good! After lunch we found an amazing shopping district and just did a lot of looking. I really enjoy shopping in Spain, buying not so much, but looking, yes! So at this point its about 3 pm and we had been walking for 2 hours and decided to go completely to the other side of town to el Retiro which is the "equivalent" to Central Park however I disagree with el Retiro was absolutely breathtaking and I forgot my camera...good job right? No worries, I feel in love and will be frequenting the park very much. It has wonderful sand/rock path ways with fountains and a lake with row boats and a gorgeous structure with steps leading into the lake. We also saw the Crystal Palace which is in the park and it was really amazing. Completely made of glass and metal and in the sunset is was outstanding.

It was getting close to 6 and the art museum el Prado was free from 6-8 so we met up with Tim and spent the next 2 hours looking at art. I didn't look to indepthly at anything because I'll have class there once a week and I'm sure I'll be able to tell you all you want to know about el Prado and the art inside of it.

All in all, I more or less spent 1pm to 8pm walking and now I have calf muscles.

Fruit in Spain

So I love fruit. And I love fruit in Spain even more because it´s what we eat for desert! However..... I am given a knife and a plate with every fruit. So an apple on a plate...with a knife. A banana on a plate...with a knife. An orange on a plate... and you guessed it, with a knife! So I know it doesn´t seem that unusual but have you ever tried to use a butter knife to cut an apple.. or to peel an orange!? It is ridiculously challenging and last night after dinner I was given an orange on a plate with a knife. I wasn´t sure if I should go for the cut into quarters attempt or the peel attempt. I decided to go with the peel attempt. I was sitting at the table trying to peel my orange, with a butter knife, and my señora was sitting next to me trying to figure out a map for a me. I was not succeeding by any standards and all of a sudden my señora looks up and says "que disatre!" There was orange almost everywhere on my plate and she started making fun of me and telling that she is going to teach me to eat fruit and that I am worse than Andrea...who is 5. Haha Keep in mind my señora is a very very very clean person. She started asking me if there was orange all over the floor as well and made me promptly wash my hands after I had finished massacuring the orange. Moral of the story. Fruit + knife + me = disatre!

Also from yesterday. I have decided not to get internet, but did find an internet cafe that is open until 3 am and I´m sure that will suffice and won´t cost me 100 bucks a month.

Andrea turns 6 at the end of January and has invited me to her birthday party at the Parque de Kangaroo... I think its something like Chuckie Cheese´s. I was really excited to go but then found out it was during our break and I AM GOING TO PARIS during break. I don´t speak a word of French, nor am I expected to, so it will be an interesting experience for the 8 of us that are going.

Thanks for the all the encouragement, this has definitely been a rollercoaster of emotions.

Con todo mi amor!

Move In

Well the bags are finally unpacked and the first load of laundry done and let´s just say its finally setting in that this is my home until the end of May. My host mother is very kind and her family is a lot a fun. She has 2 adult children, her daughter lives in the same building just a few floors up with her husband and 2 daughters, Andrea and Gimena. Andrea has already drawn my 3 pictures and we´re in the process of planning a pajama party! Gimena is a disaster on 2 feet, she gets into everything, including the sugar bowl yesterday. My host mother´s son, Javier, is currently living with us because he is working out the details of a divorce. He´s very funny and easy to talk to and his 2 sons stay with us every other weekend. At lunch everyone was joking about me babysitting to pay rent, it was pretty funny and for all I know they could have been serious... but I think they were kidding.

Understanding the language is becoming easier everyday, coming up with how to say what I want to is still pretty difficult and it leaves a lot of feelings inside me and as some of you may know, I don´t cope well without expressing my thoughts....which made yesterday kinda difficult. I found out that I don´t have wireless at home which just made me feel even more isolated and the only time I can get internet is at school when everyone at home is sleeping, hopefully. I guess I would say its a bittersweet feeling right now because I really enjoy my family, I just wish I was either with another student or had wifi so I didn´t feel so alone. I´m sure it will get better once more classes start in February and all my friends here have figured out our schedules and can plan our nights and afternoons.

There is talk about a trip to Paris for our break at the end of January and I think I might be in on it, if the pricing and such works out. Also, I´m not sure if its the water in Spain, but my host mom was able to remove a wine stain from a grey top I have! I was soo amazed! It´s really nice to have someone doing your laundry for you, I come home and my room smells like clean laundry!

The friends I´m making here are great and a ton of fun! I´m excited to have more stories to tell you but all in all, nothing that thrilling has happened. Last night, Sandy, Nick and Tim came to my part of Madrid and we walked around but it was pretty boring because it was a Sunday night and everything was closed. On Saturday night we found a place were we could watch the Barcelona vs. Sevilla soccer game and that was pretty fun because after the game a band playing 50´s rock ´n roll came on stage.

Hasta luego!

Are you my mother??

I have found my host mother, Mercedes Marcos! Mercedes is either 61 or 71 (they sound very similar in Spanish), however I believe she is 61 because she moves, talks, and acts like she's 30. Actually if you know my friend Jaclyn she is how I see Jaclyn in her 60's. She sits on the couch with her legs pulled up to her chest and talks with her hand on her chin. We went into the kitchen so she could sit on the kitchen counter by the patio door and smoke... and there is a picture of her in her younger years and I think she looks like Diane Lane, so her adult children are absolutely gorgeous! She has insisted that I tell my mother that she can sleep at night because she has promised to take care of me. Mercedes is also an extremely clean and tidy person...those of you who have lived with me can enjoy the pain of this transition for me. I have to clean the shower every time I use it and if I use the "bidet" I MUST clean it as well. My room isn't huge but there is a lot of space for my things and the decorations are very classic and girly. I'll put pictures up as soon as I can! The only thing unfortunate about my home stay is that I'm about a 45 min - hour commute on the metro. However, I am completely and entirely satisfied with my host mom. OHH! She also speaks English and French. She is very well educated and I believe she has lead a very cultured life. We talked for almost 4 hours today about almost anything, especially Obama and how she cried on election night. I think we will get along just fine. xoxo y hasta lluego

Spanish Phone Conversation

Funny story of the day:

so we had to call our host families today to figure out a time to meet them and find the house and what not. So i call the number I'm given the first time and a man answers (conversation actually in spanish):
rachel: hello! can i talk to mercedes?
man: quien?!
rachel: senora marcos, this is rachel craig, i'm a student at marquette university and i believe i'm living with you
man: really?
rachel:si.... i think so...
man: i dont think so. (man hangs up)

SOOO i'm like what the hell... maybe i dialed the wrong number? maybe thats her son who didn't know I was living with them? etc... i decide to call back later (conversation actually in spanish):
rachel: hi can i talk to senora marcos?
same man: quien?
rachel: is this senor marcos?
same man: no
rachel: oh ok, i think i have the wrong number, sorry
same man: no no, where do you live? Do you want to live with me?
rachel: no, its ok
same man: what? you don't like living with men?
rachel: uhh... no.
same man: you can live me, come on!
rachel: ..........
same man: yes, you want to?!
rachel: no no. adios.


Needless to say I was slightly confused and thrown off. I have no idea where Mercedes Marcos is but I need to find her so I have a home on Sunday!!

Honeymoon Phase

Here's the deal... when you travel abroad and have to deal with the concept of culture shock there are a series of processes that you go through. Currently I am in "honeymoon" phase, a phase in which everything about Spain I love, the people, the food, the buildings, the lack of heat, the program, etc. At the same time adjusting to the lifestyle is definitely going to be an adventure. Our breakfast consists of a croissant, orange juice and coffee, lunch doesn't start until 2 pm and it is an entire 3 course meal, and dinner is usually around 9 pm and its a very light dinner. Madrilenos (people from Madrid) are known as night owls and usually the night doesn't end until the sunrise, and I'm not exactly sure that is going to work out with my love of sleep! Today we took a placement exam that determined what intensity our orientation grammar class is taught in, I'm in group B. I have no idea if that means more intense or less intense, it almost seems like they split the group in half regardless of ability. After the placement exam we had a brief over view of the program and at 13:00 we had our first class in Spanish Art History. I really enjoyed the professor so I hope I can get into his class that he teaches in conjunction with the Prado! Yesterday we took a bus tour of Madrid and ate lunch at a place Museo de Jamon (Ham Museum), however, we were served fish. The bus tour was really amazing, I just wish I could have capture everything I saw outside of a bus. Madrid is beautiful and the plaza are great oases away from the craziness of the city. Lunches are so filling and its no wonder its common to take an afternoon nap. I love siestas! After a very long siesta we all headed to a late dinner and a few us went to the local Irish bar to watch the Packer game, the lost, big surprise!;) Common fact: Irish bars in Spain are just like Irish bars in the US. I don't suggest them unless you want to speak English and see a lot of Americans, but I suppose if you're looking for a football game that is the place to be! After this I'm headed out to do some necessity shopping that will probably be far too expensive, silly exchange rates, pray for some good deals! Buenas noches!

Estoy en Madrid!

Hola mis companeros!

I have safely arrived in Madrid. However I'm not exactly sure where in Madrid I am... We're staying in a hostel for about a week maybe a little longer and as far as I can tell its a decent neighborhood. The flight went well, despite the zillion crying babies, and the food wasn't so bad either. I'm rooming with two girls, Katie and Marie, while in the hostel and our room is pretty tiny haha BUT it has a balcony! and its beautiful, I don't know what all the worry about cold weather was here, because our window is currently open! I think the plan is to rest up, shower and eat lunch and then we have a short orientation tonight and after that I believe there are plans being made to familiarize ourselves with the surrounding establishments, if ya catch my drift ;) I promise to be safe and will retell all the fantastic events. I wish I could say I miss you all like crazy, but I'm too darn excited right now. All my love!