“Yo soy español, español, español.”

“Yo soy español, español, español.” This is the typical chant heard in the plaza after Spain has just dominated another futbol game. Last night was no different than any other. After the final minute passed us by the entire plaza erupted in this chant. Oddly enough, screaming this phrase which means “I am Spanish” comes naturally to me now. Coming home is going to be an interesting transition considering… I’m not Spanish. I’m not gonna lie, I do get some funny looks walking around with my blonde curly hair while sporting my red jersey! It’s so much fun though, and it’s great pretending to be a Spaniard every now and then :)

The game was pretty much the highlight of our yesterday. Afternoon classes are quite different than what we are used to. Also, for some reason, we are given much more homework in Salamanca than we were in Madrid. So, we get up in the mornings and go to the LIBRARY, yes the LIBRARY to use the Internet and to do homework. We stay from 9:30 to around 12:30 when we go home for lunch and then school starts at 2 and goes until 5:30! Dinner at 8, and we have to sleep sometime! Now that you have read the play by play to my day let me reassure you… we still have fun!! Speaking of fun… here’s a funny story for you. I have learned that it is impossible for Spanish natives to say my name. Now, I know that they are ALL capable of pronouncing the letter “t” because I can list plenty of words that have “t” in them! BUT… no no no. My name will forever be, Courney. In other words, Corny. Really? And when they realize that they’ve messed up my name since it is so “impossible” to say, that say it over and over again…really fast so they make eye contact and say “Corny Corny Corny Corny Corny…” Oh boy…

Now I have officially skyped my parents for a long time today and have avoided homework at all costs. I’ve been getting strange looks talking into my computer from people passing by the cafeteria I’m so comfortably planted in (trust me when I say it’s no Starbucks, but it’ll do.) It’s been a great day mainly because I got to talk to my parents but ALSO because this waitress just brought me a coke and some cake which I didn’t order! I guess I’ll still have to pay for it but I’m gonna just pretend I’m really special for now! : )

Before I end this lovely blog I must give a shout out to my incredible roommate. She found out yesterday that her med school applications are due… today. Yeah, well this can be difficult when there’s only a computer between you and where the destination for your paperwork is. Luckily her parents have been super helpful and she’s been really strong. I can tell you that I would’ve broken down at least 8 times by now but she’s awesome and I’m very proud of my soon to be doctor roommate. Love you Em!

Salamanca!!

I knew that Salamanca was going to be different than Madrid... but I had no idea that I was going to love it this much and it's only day 2! Emily and I were blessed with an incredible family in Madrid, compared to others, we had absolutely no complaints... I honestly didn't think it could get any better than Carmen and David... but then there was Carmen and Miguel. We went from parents to grandparents and it was worth it! No more chocolate and bread for breakfast (I never thought I would be sick of that...) the only milk we have goes in our COFFEE and we have juice! So far I have identified everything I've eaten, we've had pasta, and breads, fruits and desserts... yum. The only downfall is internet. We were spoiled in Madrid and now we have searched and searched for internet in Salamanca but it's a rare find.

Yesterday we were walking through the plaza mayor after our flamenco class (which was incredible by the way) and it started to rain. The thing is... only half of the plaza was raining... it was so bizarre. But, much to our surprise a beautiful rainbow covered the sky when the rain stopped. We stood there in awe trying to grasp the beauty that was in front of us. We took that as our sign that wrapping up this trip in Salamanca is going to be well worth it.

We have group meetings after class today and then we are going out for tapas... and then, get ready.... Spain plays tonight! I have become such a futbol addict since I've been here. We are going to the plaza to watch it with a lot of locals :) We asked our parents here if we could watch it with them since that's what we do during dinner every night... but they said that they were going out with their friends to watch it so we should go with ours and just meet back at the house later. HA. Did I mention that they are 70? Incredible.

Yesterday was long and beautiful. We woke up early and went to visit La Alhambra during the day. It was so incredible, and very large. It served as a fortified city for the Muslims in earlier centuries. We saw where their armies stayed, their summer and winter houses, beautiful gardens and the view is remarkable no matter where you look.

After our visit we headed back to Madrid to drop off more than half of our group who are now at home in the United States! We went from 28 to 12... we shrunk in size but it's been great so far!

We met our families last night, and Emily and I were a little nervous because our padres are much older now than our last ones. However.... our "grandparents" are AWESOME! Just in the 2 meals we have had already we had dessert, bread and fruit! FANTASTIC.

6/28... Today, we slept in and ventured to school for our afternoon classes. It's about a 20 minute walk to school so it's not so bad. We had our orientation and real classes start tomorrow. This afternoon we are taking a flamenco class and then after dinner we will meet up with some friends in the plaza! Salamanca is very quaint, and calm... unlike Madrid. I think I'm going to like it here!

Our next mission is to find internet closer to our house, because as of right now we only have it in the school. Less than a month away from being home! How time flies...

Hello, Granada!

There isn't too much to report for today. After a delicious breakfast and sad goodbye to the beach, we headed for Granada, our last stop in Andalucia. Let me just tell you, this place is beautiful. We visited the royal chapel and saw where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel are buried. It was really incredible seeing their tombs... two very significant people in the history of this country, it was really touching.

Royal Chapel

Then, after some free time, we checked into our hotel and a nap was definitely calling my name. Once we were well rested we went shopping! There are some really fabulous stores here! After dinner we went to this spot in Granada that overlooks the Alhambra (which is a fortress and reflection of the culture under Moorish rule in earlier centuries.) It was absolutely stunning from the view we had. The most incredible part is that the mountains surrounding Granada are covered in snow despite the heat down below. So as we are looking at this beautiful palace and fortress the moon started to rise above these mountains--breathtaking! We will tour it tomorrow during the day too!

Alhambra

Now we are preparing to leave for Madrid tomorrow to take more than half the group to the airport. Eleven of us will remain! We are shrinking in size but Salamanca is awaiting our arrival late tomorrow night. School starts in the afternoon for me on Monday, so be checking for a new blog post then :)

Sweet Mary and me!

Curly hair....

Beautiful, friends!

a taste of paradise

Today has been the most relaxing day yet. Emily and I woke up around 8:30 and after a delicious breakfast at the buffet downstairs we ventured to the beach preparing to plant ourselves for the entire day... and it went as planned. So much so, that I forgot to eat lunch... whoops. Even after applying sunscreen at least 5 times I still managed to get a rosy back, but all is well :)

There was a large group of us just hanging out on the sandy beaches. It was so nice to relax and enjoy the beautiful ocean and enjoy the sound of the waves... it was the perfect way to enjoy our free day in Andalucia. I can also now say with confidence that I swam in the freezing cold Medetraniean Sea... my word, it was the most exhilarating and painful thing I have ever experienced and I wouldn't have changed a single minute of it.

This is where I spent my day :)

After I finally decided to take a break from absorbing vitamin D, I came in and fortunately got to skype with my mom! It was so great to catch up with her since I haven't been able to in a few days.

Then we enjoyed another fabulous dinner in the hotel downstairs and then went to cafe across the street to watch the Spain vs. Chile game. Our time was short lived there due to the sketchy viewers that were there with us BUT the good news is I saw the most precious baby while I was there. He was the roundest, fattest, baby I've ever seen and he was sporting an Espana bandana. Adorable.

Now we are hanging out in the room preparing to leave for Granada tomorrow... our last stop in Andalucia. For some of our group the end is in sight. More than half of my classmates here will go back to the states this weekend and only 11 of the 28 or so of us will remain. Its been a wonderful experience getting to make new friends and strengthen the friendships I already had.

Me with my wonderful roommate

Jackie, me and Karin

What's up, Africa?

Recap of last night... Flamenco was incredible. The dresses were beautiful and the talent was phenomenal! They even did a scene from the opera Carmen that I saw in Madrid last week!

This morning after another incredible breakfast we left Sevilla for Gibraltar. I'm sure most of you know that Gibraltar is actually an English speaking British territory that doesn't belong to Spain although it's located at the southern tip of the country. So the rock of Gibraltar pretty much sums up this city. It's a humongous rock that has many caves... and monkeys in it. Yes, monkeys. Wild, crazy monkeys. At the top point of this rock you can see the northern tip of Africa that is only 14 miles away! So not only did I see Africa from an English speaking country in Spain, that's not Spanish, I saw the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean... which can be seen from 3 different countries in 2 continents. Wow, and if you didn't think that was crazy enough... there was a monkey on my head today.

A sailboat with Africa in the background, cool huh?

So, these monkeys are crazy. Two of the girls on our trip were eating ice cream outside when a wild monkey started chasing them until they ended up throwing their ice cream cones on the ground... please notice what is in this monkey's hand...

Our group rode in taxi's up this rock like mountain. Every time we stopped the view just became more and more breathtaking.

A lighthouse

Crazy monkey just chills looking at the gorgeous scenery all day, what a life

We left Gibraltar and headed for the beach! That's where I am now. After a glorious dinner... a buffet dinner... a few of us walked on the beach and attempted the typical "jumping" pictures, it just so happens these jumping pictures are in the Mediterranean Sea... no big deal right?

Roomies :)

First stop in Andalucía!

6/22/10

Goodbye Madrid, Hello Andalucía. It has been such an eventful day. Over 6 hours on a bus and 3 cities later, we are officially exhausted.

It was a 5-minute cab ride to our meeting place this morning. We were so surprised to see how close we were to things in Madrid but had no idea because we always took the metro! At 9:00 we left and headed to the famous windmills in Don Quixote! It was BEAUTIFUL. Little did we know that was just the beginning of the breathtaking scenery we would see.

I learned today, that Spain is known for its sunflowers. Now I know why. We saw fields and fields of sunflowers. Bright yellow flowers, everywhere. It made for a beautiful drive down to southern Spain. Truly took my breath away. The hills really are alive and there are rows and rows of olive trees everywhere. There isn’t a view that’s not stunning.

Sunflowers and happiness with a house in the distance

After lunch we went to a mosque that still has original Muslim architecture but with additions such as a cathedral and a chapel. There was an old version of a Catholic confessional, beautiful alters and intricate walls and ceilings. I know it is quite the combination but I have never seen something this beautiful and unique. In the same little town we also saw an Arab market and an original Jewish synagogue.

These are the original Muslim-designed arches

An outside shot of the Mosque

Beautiful stained glass!

Now we are in Sevila in a hotel that used to be a part of mansion… wow. We have the cutest little room with 2 showers, beautiful intricate designs, and it’s COOL.. literally! I may even get to sleep under the blankets for the first time since I've been in Spain! Oh, it's the little things.

Emily on our cute beds!

We even have a chair! Oh, and check out our bathroom in the background!

We had dinner at the hotel and had a 3-course meal! I actually ate the appetizer despite the fact it was covered in mushrooms! I’m branching out these days. The main course was chicken, potatoes and what I think was bacon. Our dessert was this fruity, super sweet sorbet type ice cream—very good!

All in all it’s been a beautiful, hot first day in the South. Tomorrow should be just as eventful and beautiful!

This is an orange tree we found in a nearby park!

6/23/10

Day number 2 in Andalucia! It's been EXHAUSTING so far! But first things first. Breakfast. Emily and I have been used to slices of white bread and "mister choc" every morning.... but today we had a HOT breakfast. Oh yeah, let me tell you about it. These were our options, every kind of bread you can imagine, fruit (sliced OR whole), bacon, eggs, cheesy eggs, sausage, cereal, yogurt, pastries, oh my gosh every kind of cheese imaginable. It was never ending and fantastic. Oh I almost forgot... we had COFFEE too!

Then, we went to "Italica" too see Roman ruins. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but oh my word it was absolutely incredible! There was an old arena, yes I walked where gladiators walked! We saw the foundations of old roman houses and businesses! It was super interesting.

After that we toured other hot spots in the city and saw the place where the world fair was in the 90's and also the famous bridges in Star Wars II. We toured a beautiful castle and the oldest gothic cathedral in the world! We are completely exhausted, but had lunch at a cute little cafe. Now we are relaxing and will get ready soon for dinner and then to see a Flamenco show tonight! I'm very excited about this! I will post pictures from today as soon as I have internet connection again!

Bye for now :)

Yo soy espanol, yo soy espanol!

It has successfully been a wonderful last day in Madrid. I can't believe that a month has flashed by already. One week of "vacation" in Andalucia, then one month in Salamanca! I am looking forward to a slower paced environment, but Madrid has been good to me! We ended our time here on a good note too.

We slept in this morning, packed a few of our things and headed to Sol to check some last minute things off our list. On our way, there was this PRECIOUS baby boy on the metro. He had the biggest, most vibrant brown eyes I've ever seen. We had a staring contest, no lie. He was adorable, so much so it brought a tear to my eye because it reminded me of my sweet nephews at home that I haven't seen in awhile. Well, to make things interesting when we were on the metro later on in the day that same baby was on there... weird, huh?

The first thing we checked off our list was getting "nun cookies." Let me explain. There is this convent in the heart of Madrid that has nuns that bake cookies. Well after asking 3 different people directions we finally found it. We pressed the buzzer outside the door and said "dulces" and they let you in. When we walked in we were in this dark room and walked to this different one where there was a tiny door open and all you could see was a lazy susan. But then, out of no where we heard this squeaky sounding nun start talking-precious. She spun some cookies around the lazy susan, we put our money down and spun it back. Then she came to the door which i don't think they are technically supposed to but she was the tiniest, squeakiest nun I have ever seen. Item number 1, check.

After our cookie adventure we went to "El tigre" which is a tapas bar in Cheuca. I'm not kidding when I say that they have the best tapas in Madrid. It's too bad that we only discovered it yesterday.

After our lunch we went to Retiro park one last time and laid in the park for a while. Funny story. I kept trying to lay in the grass tastefully because I had on a dress. Well... Emily looks at me and says, "oooh, look at that girl just laying there in that short dress.".... I said... "WHERE?" Oh wait... she meant me.

Then Caitlin and Kimberly met us in the park for a boat ride on the lake we sat by every day for lunch! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. I've learned that I have no talent of rowing a boat. Not possible for me, but I did try!

After our boat ride we had our new group meeting for Salamanca at our favorite Chocolateria. Then we went with our friend Stephen to get more tapas before we headed to the stadium where the futbol team in Madrid plays to watch the Spain game on the big screens outside. Little did we know how intense that was going to be! Hundreds of people outside of this stadium watching 3 mega-size screens. I thought salsa dancing was Spanishy... no no no. It didn't get any more spanishy than this! We would all jump up and down in our red jerseys saying, "Yo soy Espanol, yo soy Espanol." and a lot of other phrases that I couldn't understand. This game was much better than last weeks because WE WON! And by WE WON I mean, SPAIN WON, but this is my home for the next month right? WE WON!

I matched the players perfectly :)

Just a little taste of what the crowd was like!!

Now we are home and have to finish packing. The morning will come soon! It's going to be a busy week seeing Andalucia so I'm not sure when I'll be able to blog again. So don't be alarmed when I may not be posting my exciting stories regularly! I'll get back to you as soon as I can! ;)

We're not rule breakers, can we have our cookies back?

Day has been one of my favorite days that I've had on my trip so far! We got to ssleep in for the first time today, and it was marvelous. We gave our madre our gifts for her this week, one of which was cinnamon sugar powder... so we offered to make her french toast so we could use it :) It was so delicious and so great to do something for her because she is so good to us! After brunch Emily and I chatted with our madre and got some of our favorite receipes from her, it was so fun! She told us a park to visit so we got ready and ventured out! It's called "parque de capricho" and it's a famous park here because it's where Goya went to paint a lot of his pictures! It was stunning... so we decided to have a little photo shoot :) Not unusual if you know me!

Funny story that happened at the park though... we walked in with a 4 pack of our favorite cookies and a 2 liter of Fanta. Well, this lady stopped us and pointed out a sign to us that said that we couldn't have food or drinks in the park. So she took our cookies from us but let us keep the Fanta (how nice.) So, we ventured on and explored this park while drinking our rather large Fanta that we weren't supposed to have. Then we proceeded to pick flowers to wear in our hair. On our way out we saw our cookies by a security guard and went to get them back... he asked us in a rather stern voice of we got the flowers in our hair from the park.. umm Emily quickly replied "no no no" took the cookies... and we ran. so rebellious :)

When we got on the metro to leave the park, we had an entire cabin thing to ourselves! So we danced, and sang as loud as we could and ran all over the train, it was great:)

Then we went to meet some friends for the famous ice cream we had the other day at "El Espejo" before church... which happened to be a concert we had to leave in the middle of. We had planned on seeing a late movie so before we decided to go get tapas at one of the most famous "hole in the wall" restaurants in town. SO DELICOUS. The day was perfect up until getting to that point. My volcanic blister on my foot decided to erupt (TMI I know... disgusting) and this large man on the metro decided to step on my foot and keep my toenail as a souvenir. Ouch.

Then on our way home we ran into our housemates and had some coffee and gelato at our cafeteria, and our sweet gelato man as we like to call him joined us! Can you tell which one he is?

Now we are home! We have a fun filled day tomorrow to since it's our last day in Madrid! Tuesday morning will be here before we know it!

My beautiful roomie!

The Spain I've been waiting to see...

I’m a day behind, but don’t worry, I’ll catch you up on everything! Our final exams for the first term were yesterday! It was so refreshing to be done! We have a couple of more days left in Madrid and then it’s “vacation” in Andalucia!

After our exams we visited the modern part of town just to say we’ve seen it and came home for a quick nap and dinner. Then we met up with some friends in Gran Via and walked around and enjoyed the city night life.

Today, we went on an excursion to El Escorial and visited a castle in the Manzanares. El Escorial is where all the previous kings, queens and their families are buried. It was very interesting to see it but very “creepy.” The palace/church/library beautiful building was very cold and dark. The kings aren’t buried in the official casket room at first… they go into this room next to it where they rot. They rot until there is absolutely nothing left but bones and then they are moved to the “real” room. Very… interesting.

On to the most beautiful part of our day. This castle what we visited is the absolute spitting image of the castle I imagined when I was little. Absolutely stunning, surrounded by incredible, mountains, lakes, rocky ridges… breathtaking.

Pizza cone.

First of all tomorrow is Friday. My last Friday in Madrid! This week has gone by in a flash. My first week here I thought It was going to go last forever, but now everything is so fast paced the day is over before I realize it! There is still so much I need to see and do here but I'm running out of time! We have another excursion on Saturday but Sunday and Monday are free days in Madrid. We will leave Tuesday morning for Andalucia!

After class today we visited the Senate! Very, very interesting! They had a beautiful library inside... the kind with 2 floors and a cute little ladder that takes you to the top and a spiral-y staircase... yes I will have one in my house one day. We met the Senator from Toledo and I sat on the bench where the president does... No big deal. We even got a present! A wooden box that has a really nice notebook and pencil bag thing. Random but great!

Much to our surprise there was a market near the metro at the Senate... I may have bought a dress, and some "spanish" pants... maybe 2 pairs of them... It's possible... I have to blend in right? :) Then Emily and I went to Spain's version of a Panera and practiced for our oral exams today. This is where the explanation of my picture above comes in. I had pizza... shaped like an ice cream one? Only in Spain... I was so nervous about my oral exam but thankfully it went really well (hopefully.) I went in with no confidence and left my exam with confidence so that has to be a good sign!

Now we've been studying for our written exams tomorrow since dinner (which was rice and beef-like meat, very good actually.) We have more to get done but there's always time for a blogging break. I'm looking forward to 12:30 tomorrow! I'll be free :)

Oh and I forgot to mention this... we had asparagus with our dinner... I know that the image of beautiful green, tasty asparagus just came to your mind. No no... this was cold... large.... and white. Did I mention your supposed to dip it in mayonnaise? No thanks...

Senate!

Nearing the end of round one

Well today was the day I experienced my first futbol game in Spain. I thought maybe I had left my completive nature in the United States because I don't know much about Spanish sports... but no no no. Spain played Switzerland today, and I had my front row seat in a little cafe-type place in town. Spain was supposed to dominate... well they didn't. So, do you remember that I now have a housemate from Switzerland? Well, we had a few words with each other when he came home and trust me, he wasn't neutral today ;) HA. but no worries, we're still friends :)

After the game Emily and I came home and had dinner and got ready for the OPERA. Yes, I went to an opera called Carmen. I really did enjoyed it but I was a little disappointed at the fact that it was in French... I mean I am in Spain... learning Spanish so I was expecting the opera to be in Spanish. No big deal, it was still beautiful, and the man snoring behind me made everything worthwhile. Oh, not to mention I made Emily miss the entire third act due to the fact that my finger and her eye had a miscommunication and my finger one. :/

Now we are home and blogging when we should be sleeping. We have our oral/interview exams tomorrow AND finals on Friday! It's unreal to think that the first term is over in 2 days! We have more excursions on Saturday and have Sunday and Monday as free days. Then we leave early Tuesday morning for Andalucia! That week is going to fly by because it's so packed with things to do! I'll be home before I know it! Okay, okay, now it's time for pictures.

Erin, Me, Caitlin, Ashley and Carmen at the opera

Beautiful, Erin

My roommate with a swollen eye :( She's still beautiful!

Long time coming!

Sorry for the delay, folks. It's been crazy, busy! So let's get to it. Barcelona.

Wow, it's beautiful. Allison, Ashley, Caitlin, Morgan and I found our apartment for the weekend upon our arrival. It was in a very cute, safe part of town next to a fresh fruit shop, 2 pastry shops and the metro! How convenient? Friday night we found this nice restaurant by the water and ran into some friends there for a little photo shoot. Then, we went to the steps by the water and indulged in some delicious crepes! Banana and dark chocolate, anyone? YUM! That was the rest of that night, we were so tired! We went to bed... little did we know how eventful our Saturday would be!

We slept in a little and got up for our 3 hour bike tour of the city! On our way we made a little detour by our fruit stand and stocked up for today. We may or may not have gotten a pastry...

The bike tour was WONDERFUL. It was beautiful, and a little frightening riding next to the bus on the road, dodging cars a little, but it was worth it. We went on a sailboat ride on the Mediterranean sea, no big deal. Just the most beautiful thing, ever. Blue skies, blue water--fantastic. Then we chilled on the beach :) After a quick lunch at Bocatta (Spain's version of McDonalds) we visited a beautiful park. Let me tell you what we found at the top of this park: European Regge Festival. Yes. It's not like blended already.... too funny.

We ventured back to our apartment and had a late dinner at a local restaurant. We had ample amounts of tapas for the 5 of us. It was so nice to get to try such a variety of food! Then... we had gelato. I know that's not unusual for me BUT this was some of the best gelato I've had! They made it into a flower on my cone!

Sunday... we got up and went to Olympic Hill. Yes, hello 1992 olympics: Barcelona! We got to see INSIDE the stadium. I had chills the entire time. That was a priceless experience. It was a great way to end a wonderful quick weekend to Barcelona.

Well, it's officially my last week in Madrid! We will leave for Andalucia a week from today, which seems crazy! Yesterday (Monday) I met our new housemate from Switzerland, Adrian. He immediately started picking on me, and we joke around together, he fits in well with us! After class, Emily and I had lunch with Adrian and his new classmates from Germany, Bulgaria, and Italy! Yes, I'm very international now. Later on we went to tour the futbol stadium in Madrid (where the Real Madrid team plays.) Again with the chills. I got to see all their trophies, walk on the field, sit in their seats on the field.. yes, incredible!

Karin, Caitlin, me, Mortiz (Germany) and Jackie

Then we went with our classmates and our new international friends to a Chocoleteria and had a great time!

TODAY, right after class we went to tour the Royal Palace... WOAH. Immaculate, beautiful, incredible, stunning! Then we went to this restaurant to try this famous dessert... now we know why it's famous. It's basically vanilla ice cream with cinnamon, but oh, it's so much more than that! Afterwards we took a long siesta and had dinner. Now we are about to start studying! We have our oral exams on Thursday and our finals on Friday! the first term is coming to an end!

Ice cream :)

Palace!

That's all for now :)