Our first vacation day has offically arrived! My friend Leslie and I are headed to Malaga to visit some friends of mine, the Ellers. They live in Malaga which is right on the Med. Sea! It should be a great long weekend. We leave today, as soon as classes are done to catch a bus to Madrid. Then we have a quick flight to Malaga where Laura is going to pick us up. It will be fun to drive through some of the country side of Spain and then cut off a few hours with a plane ride. Hopefully by the end of this trip I will have mastered the art of airports! Well other than that I haven´t done much. Classes are going pretty good and my understanding is slowly but surely increasing! I will try and update when I arrive in Malaga!
¡Besos!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Things are just different in Europe....
Well my second week of classes is officially over. I am amazed at how different life in Europe is, but it is not bad. We have had a blast getting to know the city of Oviedo. It is a beautiful city with a lot to offer.
Well, to start off school has been good...but the most boring part of my day. We have classes pretty early in the morning. My first class is at 9 am, and I know that everyone is thinking that is not early at all! But for here, it is quite early because I have to walk about 30 minutes to get to the University. It is a beautiful walk though, so I cannot complain. The weather this week has been pretty good too! It had some rainy days, but for the most part was sunny with a little bit of fog. I haven't had much homework, just translating some pretty easy paragraphs. So the lack of hours of homework has been delightful.
We have had some other adventures the past two weeks. First, all of our meetings are held in a bar which I had to get used to. I love going to the bar and ordering Fanta. It's good here because it is more like carbonated lemonade or orange juice. I also had a interesting time buying shoes. They have different shoe sizes here which makes me feel bad because I am a size 41. But I got my boots, that are waterproof!
I have also been attending a church here. Yay for finding people to worship with! Leslie and I have been connecting with a student name Noemi and a group called gbu, that is a Bible Study. We attended our first girls night. It was hippie themed and we played roulette (wheel of fortune bible edition) and a version of Spanish Bible Edition Who Wants to be a Millionaire. We ate some amazing food and I took a lot of Spanish in! It is funny to listen to everyone try and pronounce my name though because they cannot pronounce the "J" sound.
Well I will update soon! We just planned our first trip to Malaga to visit Kory and Laura Eller. I am super super excited!! So We leave Wednesday night and then will stay the weekend and leave Sunday. I will keep everyone updated as much as possible!
Well, to start off school has been good...but the most boring part of my day. We have classes pretty early in the morning. My first class is at 9 am, and I know that everyone is thinking that is not early at all! But for here, it is quite early because I have to walk about 30 minutes to get to the University. It is a beautiful walk though, so I cannot complain. The weather this week has been pretty good too! It had some rainy days, but for the most part was sunny with a little bit of fog. I haven't had much homework, just translating some pretty easy paragraphs. So the lack of hours of homework has been delightful.
We have had some other adventures the past two weeks. First, all of our meetings are held in a bar which I had to get used to. I love going to the bar and ordering Fanta. It's good here because it is more like carbonated lemonade or orange juice. I also had a interesting time buying shoes. They have different shoe sizes here which makes me feel bad because I am a size 41. But I got my boots, that are waterproof!
I have also been attending a church here. Yay for finding people to worship with! Leslie and I have been connecting with a student name Noemi and a group called gbu, that is a Bible Study. We attended our first girls night. It was hippie themed and we played roulette (wheel of fortune bible edition) and a version of Spanish Bible Edition Who Wants to be a Millionaire. We ate some amazing food and I took a lot of Spanish in! It is funny to listen to everyone try and pronounce my name though because they cannot pronounce the "J" sound.
Well I will update soon! We just planned our first trip to Malaga to visit Kory and Laura Eller. I am super super excited!! So We leave Wednesday night and then will stay the weekend and leave Sunday. I will keep everyone updated as much as possible!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
La Universidad de Oviedo
I started classes yesterday. My first class was grammar and I had a really really hard time understanding the professor. Hopefully tomorrow she will speak much slower! I think that my classes are going to be really good though. After my grammar class I had a 2 hour break, so me and a couple other girls walked around the streets near campus. We went to the "China" store. It would be comparable to the Dollar Tree in the States. I had to ask for an adapter because one of the girls needed one and nobody wanted to ask. They had them, which was good because another girl blew hers up today with her hair drier and had to get another!
I ate an apple for mid-morning snack and then had my Art class. I really liked this professor and I think that It is going to be a really fun class learning about the art in Spain and especially the trips to go out and learn about the art in Oviedo. I then went home where my host mom made me lunch! So far everything she has made has been "rico" or delicious! I took a siesta after lunch and then at 5 we met at "La Gorda." La Gorda (the fat lady) Is a statue near the big park in oviedo. We all as one big group went and bought cell phones. It was good that one of the mom's went with us and translated so that the lady behind the counter knew what to do. I'm sure it is not often that she gets a group of 15 english speakers wanting to buy cell phones!
The store we bought our cell phone in was comparable to Sears, so they had a little bit of everything...so I bought a book in Spanish. I bought Breaking Dawn, because I read it in English and it was an easy read...not so much in Spanish though! I came home then and ate supper about 8:30 and then talked to Sarah on Skype for a while before I went to bed.
I woke up early and went to class before the sun even came up! This is hard to get used to!!! I am getting pretty good at the walk between my house and campus. The park is open now so I can cut quite a bit of time off :) Today I had 3 Classes and all of them were good! I have another 2 hour break on Wednesdays in between my first class and my last two classes but I like going down to the cafeteria and talking to people. This afternoon I came back home and ate lunch at 3 and then took a siesta. I am really getting used to this! At 7:15 I met Leslie and Naomi for church. It was interesting but the people there are very sweet and patient with the Americans :) They all talk about Tyler, a student from last year because he was so tall!
I came back after Church and ate dinner. Then I gave my host mom her present. Mom, she loved the quilt and necklaces! She wanted to wear all the necklaces at once! Now I'm off to bed! It's almost Midnight and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow! Buenos Noches!
I ate an apple for mid-morning snack and then had my Art class. I really liked this professor and I think that It is going to be a really fun class learning about the art in Spain and especially the trips to go out and learn about the art in Oviedo. I then went home where my host mom made me lunch! So far everything she has made has been "rico" or delicious! I took a siesta after lunch and then at 5 we met at "La Gorda." La Gorda (the fat lady) Is a statue near the big park in oviedo. We all as one big group went and bought cell phones. It was good that one of the mom's went with us and translated so that the lady behind the counter knew what to do. I'm sure it is not often that she gets a group of 15 english speakers wanting to buy cell phones!
The store we bought our cell phone in was comparable to Sears, so they had a little bit of everything...so I bought a book in Spanish. I bought Breaking Dawn, because I read it in English and it was an easy read...not so much in Spanish though! I came home then and ate supper about 8:30 and then talked to Sarah on Skype for a while before I went to bed.
I woke up early and went to class before the sun even came up! This is hard to get used to!!! I am getting pretty good at the walk between my house and campus. The park is open now so I can cut quite a bit of time off :) Today I had 3 Classes and all of them were good! I have another 2 hour break on Wednesdays in between my first class and my last two classes but I like going down to the cafeteria and talking to people. This afternoon I came back home and ate lunch at 3 and then took a siesta. I am really getting used to this! At 7:15 I met Leslie and Naomi for church. It was interesting but the people there are very sweet and patient with the Americans :) They all talk about Tyler, a student from last year because he was so tall!
I came back after Church and ate dinner. Then I gave my host mom her present. Mom, she loved the quilt and necklaces! She wanted to wear all the necklaces at once! Now I'm off to bed! It's almost Midnight and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow! Buenos Noches!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Arrival in Spain!
Well, after 12 hours we finally made it to Spain. We left the hotel around 7:45 and arrived at Paddington Station just a few minutes before the next Heathrow Express train took off. It was almost perfect timing because we even found room for our bags! We got to the airport 15 minutes later and were checked in and through security within an hour. It went by so fast we had to wait an hour (until 10:00) to even figure out which gate we were to go to. After a while we got on the plane and were off to the Madrid airport. When we got there again we did not know exactly which terminal to go to right away so we grabbed a snack and something to drink and by that time we knew where we were to go.
When we got to the terminal we found 2 others from our group: Kayla and Zach. We waited since our plane was delayed for about 20 minutes and then got on. When we got to Oviedo, Kayla's bags did not show up...so after figuring out (in Spanish) what to do we missed the bus to Oviedo. Kayla and I grabbed some cafe con leche and waited until 6:30 to get on the next bus for Oviedo that left about 7. When we got to the bus station, we grabbed a taxi and were off to the hotel. We met up with everyone else there and after about and hour or so went to Dinner. It was a very interesting experience.
First, I don't like sangria. I don't like beer (which I knew from the smell a long time ago. I don't like campaign. I tried squid for the first time...and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There cheese balls here are NOT the same as Iowa but the french fries are pretty tasty! After the dinner most of the group went to the bar, but Leslie, Abigail and I went back to the hotel. I went to bed about 1 and then woke up at 7:45. After I checked out of the hotel we went to meet our families.
My host mom picked me up and we walked back to our Pizo. When we got there we dropped my luggage in my room and then took off again back to the University. I had to go to the library and all the international students met there for a big meeting and to take the entrance exam. When they started I had no idea what they were saying. I got just enough to get by. Afterward my mom came and picked me up and we went back to the house to eat lunch. I was starving because I didn't get anything for breakfast. She made me arroz con pollo and it was delicious.
After lunch I unpacked one of my suitcases and then took a siesta! I think I can get used to this. I woke up at 3 and went back to campus. I met Abigail and Leslie and we went to get phones and the things that we needed. I bought my umbrella and went to get a phone, but I forgot I needed my passport number. So I will have to go get that tomorrow.
When I got back I went to the centro comercial (mall) and was kinda bored actually. I was looking for the phone store again but they moved. So I will get it before coming back from classes tomorrow. Now I am updating my blog, I talking to 1315 Brenton Drive, and now Sarah. I miss that I am not able to talk to my parents. I hope they are enjoying themselves on the cruise, and that they get back soon so that I can talk to them. Well I think now I'm going to try and unpack a little more and then go to bed. We have to be at the University at 8:30 in the morning, which in Spain is extremely early. I have to leave about 8...because it takes me 20-25 minutes to get there. Fun stuff...I will be getting my exercise for sure.
When we got to the terminal we found 2 others from our group: Kayla and Zach. We waited since our plane was delayed for about 20 minutes and then got on. When we got to Oviedo, Kayla's bags did not show up...so after figuring out (in Spanish) what to do we missed the bus to Oviedo. Kayla and I grabbed some cafe con leche and waited until 6:30 to get on the next bus for Oviedo that left about 7. When we got to the bus station, we grabbed a taxi and were off to the hotel. We met up with everyone else there and after about and hour or so went to Dinner. It was a very interesting experience.
First, I don't like sangria. I don't like beer (which I knew from the smell a long time ago. I don't like campaign. I tried squid for the first time...and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There cheese balls here are NOT the same as Iowa but the french fries are pretty tasty! After the dinner most of the group went to the bar, but Leslie, Abigail and I went back to the hotel. I went to bed about 1 and then woke up at 7:45. After I checked out of the hotel we went to meet our families.
My host mom picked me up and we walked back to our Pizo. When we got there we dropped my luggage in my room and then took off again back to the University. I had to go to the library and all the international students met there for a big meeting and to take the entrance exam. When they started I had no idea what they were saying. I got just enough to get by. Afterward my mom came and picked me up and we went back to the house to eat lunch. I was starving because I didn't get anything for breakfast. She made me arroz con pollo and it was delicious.
After lunch I unpacked one of my suitcases and then took a siesta! I think I can get used to this. I woke up at 3 and went back to campus. I met Abigail and Leslie and we went to get phones and the things that we needed. I bought my umbrella and went to get a phone, but I forgot I needed my passport number. So I will have to go get that tomorrow.
When I got back I went to the centro comercial (mall) and was kinda bored actually. I was looking for the phone store again but they moved. So I will get it before coming back from classes tomorrow. Now I am updating my blog, I talking to 1315 Brenton Drive, and now Sarah. I miss that I am not able to talk to my parents. I hope they are enjoying themselves on the cruise, and that they get back soon so that I can talk to them. Well I think now I'm going to try and unpack a little more and then go to bed. We have to be at the University at 8:30 in the morning, which in Spain is extremely early. I have to leave about 8...because it takes me 20-25 minutes to get there. Fun stuff...I will be getting my exercise for sure.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
~London Weekend~
2 Days in the beautiful city of London was amazing! Anna and I looked around at different tours that we could take around the city, and we came to the conclusion that we did not need a tour guide. All we needed was the tube map and a day pass each day!
We spent the first day taking the tube to Hyde Park, then getting off and walking through the park. In the park we looked around the outside of Kensington Gardens. We then took off for Buckingham Palace, where we were able to see the changing of the Guards. After Buckingham, we went to Westimister Cathedral and a tour of the bell tower, which was beautiful, followed by Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliment, Trafagar square, Piccadily area, and the broadway show, Mamma Mia. Needless to say by the time I arrived back to the hotel I was pooped!
We were able to see the London Eye from the ground, but it was closed due to "Adverse" weather conditions. It was sunny and 28 degrees. The lady at the hotel counter told me that people in london start to freak out when they get 5 cm of snow! I think that they need to take some lessons from Iowa on what to consider adverse weather!
Then today we got up and headed out on the tube again. We went to the London Eye, but again because of the cold it was not running. So we took a river cruise to Tower of London. We took the guided tour that talked about a lot of beheadings and burials, but was interesting to find out about. After the tour was over we walked through the tower to see the crown jewels. They are breathtaking. We had a quick lunch at the cafe there and then explored the tower a little more.
At 3 we left for St. Pauls cathedral and I can now see why my Aunt Suzie said it was a must to see it. And Aunt Sue...the floor did resemble you kitchen floor! But on a more serious note the mosaic celing was beyond anything you can imagine and made westminster cathedral look like a small town church. We decided we had to climb the 257 stairs to the top of the wispering gallery where you are able to hear a whisper from across the dome. We were not able to go any farther again because of adverse weather. There were two more places to climb too...but it was probably for the better we were not able to because i don't know how much more my legs could take! I definatly got my exercise the past 2 days.
We finished the night with the Tates Modern Art Museum, which was a little bit odd at times, but free none the less. We ate at a little Korean/Chinese resturant just around the corner from our hotel. Now we are updating blogs, calling on skype, and packing so we can head off to the airport about 7:45. Good Stuff...hopefully the Heathrow Express train and the airport don't have any problems due to the Adverse Weather tomorrow!!
We spent the first day taking the tube to Hyde Park, then getting off and walking through the park. In the park we looked around the outside of Kensington Gardens. We then took off for Buckingham Palace, where we were able to see the changing of the Guards. After Buckingham, we went to Westimister Cathedral and a tour of the bell tower, which was beautiful, followed by Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliment, Trafagar square, Piccadily area, and the broadway show, Mamma Mia. Needless to say by the time I arrived back to the hotel I was pooped!
We were able to see the London Eye from the ground, but it was closed due to "Adverse" weather conditions. It was sunny and 28 degrees. The lady at the hotel counter told me that people in london start to freak out when they get 5 cm of snow! I think that they need to take some lessons from Iowa on what to consider adverse weather!
Then today we got up and headed out on the tube again. We went to the London Eye, but again because of the cold it was not running. So we took a river cruise to Tower of London. We took the guided tour that talked about a lot of beheadings and burials, but was interesting to find out about. After the tour was over we walked through the tower to see the crown jewels. They are breathtaking. We had a quick lunch at the cafe there and then explored the tower a little more.
At 3 we left for St. Pauls cathedral and I can now see why my Aunt Suzie said it was a must to see it. And Aunt Sue...the floor did resemble you kitchen floor! But on a more serious note the mosaic celing was beyond anything you can imagine and made westminster cathedral look like a small town church. We decided we had to climb the 257 stairs to the top of the wispering gallery where you are able to hear a whisper from across the dome. We were not able to go any farther again because of adverse weather. There were two more places to climb too...but it was probably for the better we were not able to because i don't know how much more my legs could take! I definatly got my exercise the past 2 days.
We finished the night with the Tates Modern Art Museum, which was a little bit odd at times, but free none the less. We ate at a little Korean/Chinese resturant just around the corner from our hotel. Now we are updating blogs, calling on skype, and packing so we can head off to the airport about 7:45. Good Stuff...hopefully the Heathrow Express train and the airport don't have any problems due to the Adverse Weather tomorrow!!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Audios USA, Hola London
So I had an exciting last few days in the USA. On New Year's Eve I rang in 2010 by having my roommates and friends come hang out at my house. We played many games and watched a movie, along with eating a lot of food! It was good to see everyone one last time before I left. I got to see Kaylee, Abby, Megan, and Meghan in Cedar Falls on the Monday before I left, and on Tuesday Whit and I met for lunch and Abby came over during the afternoon. We had a blast reminiscing and catching up.
I also had good time spent with family at basketball games, family suppers, playing board games and just watching TV. My brother, sister and I spent quite a few hours watching That 70's Show the last few weeks. Christmas was good and relaxing. I have eaten way too much food in the last few days...getting my "last suppers" before I flew out. My Mom made her famous chicken penne pasta on Tuesday and invited the family over for one last goodbye.
One Wednesday (Jan. 6th) morning I got up and finished packing what was left to go in my suitcases and made sure that I had copies of everything in my luggage. At 11:00 am my Mom, Dad, and I took off for the Cedar Rapids airport. We stopped on the way at one of our favorite resturants in Waterloo...LJ's for a quick lunch and then got to Cedar Rapids about 2:30.
When we got to the airport I quick went to the bathroom and then Anna and I went to check our bags in. I quick packed away my present from Auntie Sue (Plane ride essentials and the movie Vicky Christina Barcelona, which was partially filmed in Oviedo) and went to check my bags. When we got up there we were told our flight from Chicago to London was canceled and we would be leaving at 3:30. That didn't give us much time to get through security. Abby and Kaylee also met me at the airport and arrived just in time! With some quick last minute goodbye's we made it through security and then within 10 minutes were on our first plane to Dallas, TX.
In Dallas we got to our terminal and had to check in at the gate so they could give us our seat assignments. We started watching the movie my Aunt got us...and then realized that our plan was delayed an extra hour. This meant we were leaving Dallas at 8:45 now. After another hour we finally boarded and found our seats were in the last row of the airplane, which we were fine with. We sat right next to eachother and it was only a 2 person row so we couldn't complain. The airplane had 8 seats accross which was the biggest plane that I had ever flown on.
On the plane we had about a 9 hour flight. We had a chicken rice dinner and a roll for breakfast. I slept most of the way and watched a few episodes of the Office and Disney Channel (to put me to sleep). When we got to Heathrow we got on the Heathrow express to Paddington Station and finally found our hotel. It is nice...but has very small hallways and stairs. The rooms are pretty big and Anna and I both have our own beds. The staff is also very helpful. So far we have had to ask them for the password to the internet, a converter, and how to shut the shower off. I couldn't figure it out...and I really felt like I needed a shower. I skyped my parents to tell them that I made it and we were all checked into our hotel. Anna and I are just resting right now after lugging 2 huge suitcases I'm quite tired...but according to Uncle Sam...I am not allowed to sleep for quite a while longer! So I think i'm going to clean up my suitcases and head out to walk around the city. It looks like Hyde Park and then to eat!
I also had good time spent with family at basketball games, family suppers, playing board games and just watching TV. My brother, sister and I spent quite a few hours watching That 70's Show the last few weeks. Christmas was good and relaxing. I have eaten way too much food in the last few days...getting my "last suppers" before I flew out. My Mom made her famous chicken penne pasta on Tuesday and invited the family over for one last goodbye.
One Wednesday (Jan. 6th) morning I got up and finished packing what was left to go in my suitcases and made sure that I had copies of everything in my luggage. At 11:00 am my Mom, Dad, and I took off for the Cedar Rapids airport. We stopped on the way at one of our favorite resturants in Waterloo...LJ's for a quick lunch and then got to Cedar Rapids about 2:30.
When we got to the airport I quick went to the bathroom and then Anna and I went to check our bags in. I quick packed away my present from Auntie Sue (Plane ride essentials and the movie Vicky Christina Barcelona, which was partially filmed in Oviedo) and went to check my bags. When we got up there we were told our flight from Chicago to London was canceled and we would be leaving at 3:30. That didn't give us much time to get through security. Abby and Kaylee also met me at the airport and arrived just in time! With some quick last minute goodbye's we made it through security and then within 10 minutes were on our first plane to Dallas, TX.
In Dallas we got to our terminal and had to check in at the gate so they could give us our seat assignments. We started watching the movie my Aunt got us...and then realized that our plan was delayed an extra hour. This meant we were leaving Dallas at 8:45 now. After another hour we finally boarded and found our seats were in the last row of the airplane, which we were fine with. We sat right next to eachother and it was only a 2 person row so we couldn't complain. The airplane had 8 seats accross which was the biggest plane that I had ever flown on.
On the plane we had about a 9 hour flight. We had a chicken rice dinner and a roll for breakfast. I slept most of the way and watched a few episodes of the Office and Disney Channel (to put me to sleep). When we got to Heathrow we got on the Heathrow express to Paddington Station and finally found our hotel. It is nice...but has very small hallways and stairs. The rooms are pretty big and Anna and I both have our own beds. The staff is also very helpful. So far we have had to ask them for the password to the internet, a converter, and how to shut the shower off. I couldn't figure it out...and I really felt like I needed a shower. I skyped my parents to tell them that I made it and we were all checked into our hotel. Anna and I are just resting right now after lugging 2 huge suitcases I'm quite tired...but according to Uncle Sam...I am not allowed to sleep for quite a while longer! So I think i'm going to clean up my suitcases and head out to walk around the city. It looks like Hyde Park and then to eat!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)