!Hola americanos¡
Right now I am taking a break from studying in between classes to update you on one of the funniest things I´ve learned about Spain yet. In conversation we have this professor whom we call Don Juan which makes this story even better. I´m sorry you couldn´t have experienced this in the flesh with me. But today Don Juan informed us that animals in Spain make different noises than in the United States. Por ejemplo, a cat (un gato) says ¨miau miau¨ which is essentially the same noise but needs a different spelling because the pronunciation of the Spanish language is different. Dogs (un perro) on the other hand make extremely different noises. In the U.S. our dogs go ¨woof woof¨ but in Spain... their dogs go ¨guau guau´¨ - to pronounce this correctly in English it would be spelt something like ¨wow wow¨ or something similar. Spanish birds go ¨pío pío¨ while cows go ¨mu mu.¨ Finally, and probably the most hilarious, are the Spanish roosters. In the U.S. our roosters go ¨cock-a-doodle-doo¨ but... in Spain they go ¨kikiriki.¨ Yes that´s right... they go ¨ki-ki-ri-ki¨
Well that´s all... I hope that was a little comic relief from your day!!
Un beso,
Sarah
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
¡Que Guay!
¡Hola de España!
I just talked to my mom a few minutes ago over Skype and she said that my ¨blog-readers¨ (you all) want to hear more about España! I have been so busy with school and exploring and learning the language that I have not had much time to update the blog, also because I do not have my own computer here. But I will do my best to frequent it more.
Anyways, so today was ridiculous. I climbed a mountain. Yes, a mountain. A very tall one in fact. The pictures are on my blog up at the top. My Spanish friends (from church) and I went to a city near Alicante called Calp (pronounced Calpe... if that helps). It was beautiful!! We had to take the tram there which took about two hours but it was totally worth it. During the climb, I was actually kinda of scared. So I tried not to look over the edge or get too close for that matter. But it was breathtaking. The pictures do not do it justice by any means! By the time we got all the way down I thought my legs were going to give out - climbing a mountain is hard work! (And when you look at the pictures of the mountain, I am not joking when I say that I climbed to the very top!)
This past week was pretty regular. School is going well. I really like my classes and love learning Spanish. Since I am here and living life in Spanish, I am much more dedicated to learning! I study whenever I can and love practicing my language skills. I hope that I will improve a lot over the next few months! I am also learning a lot about the history of Spain, which I knew nothing about before I came here. It is soo interesting! Spain is so rich in history! My government class is probably my most difficult. It is only me, the professor, and one other student. The prof speaks in Spanish making it more difficult to understand and take notes, but he is very understanding and repeats whatever you ask him to.
In addition to my mom telling me I need to post more on my blog, she also said people might be interesting in hearing about Spanish life and the differences between our culture and theirs, so here goes:
-They don´t refrigerate their milk before they open it, which is kinda odd. So when you go to the supermercado the milk is on a regular shelf, not in the refrigerated section.
-Spanish life is much more relaxed. During the week most stores and businesses close for a long lunch (1pm or 2pm to 4pm or 5pm depending). Nothing is ever open on Sundays, not even the grocery store. Customer service is not as important here as it is in the states. No one ever tips. Sometimes tipping is considered an insult, like the service or food was so terrible that you insult them by giving them money - its strange, I know.
-Right now in Spain the Rebajas are going on, which are the biggest sales of the year. Spain does not have sales like we do in the states (all year around). Their sales or Rebajas are once a year from the beginning of January to the end of February. I need to go shopping :) I really want to buy these super European pants; they are so ¨guay¨ which is ¨cool¨ in Spanish.
-Food... I love the food here! My host mother, Feli, is an amazing cook. She definitely spoils me! The other night she taught me how to make tortilla española that has potatoes, onions, eggs etc. in it. It is delicious. We have also eaten paella among other Spanish dishes. She said she would teach me to make most of them; we just haven´t had time yet! They eat sooo much seafood here, which is wonderful for me because I LOVE seafood. The shrimp or langostinos always have the shells and the heads and the eyes intact when you purchase them. It´s hilarious but would probably keep many Americans from eating them. :)
-Soccer as many of you probably know is an obsession here! The biggest rival is between the Real Madrid and Barcelona. My family is a big fan of the Real Madrid. Television is fun to watch here as well. The other night Alba (my host sister) watched Grey´s Anatomy in Spanish. We both love that show!! Many of the movies here are American films but are dubbed to be in Spanish, which is cool.
I really love talking to my host family about what they think about the states etc. etc. I like hearing their opinions and what their persception of things is. (PS my spelling is probably terrible because the spellcheck is in Spanish and sometimes I will type Spanish words instead of English ones... its confusing knowing two languages) One night we talked about health care. Spain has the 6th best health care in the world. And my host family has nothing but good things to say about their system. But I don´t want to get too controversial on my blog so I´ll save those discussions for another day :)
All in all Spain is amazing and is changing the way I look at things and how I act little by little, even if it is only eating lunch at 2pm and dinner at 9:30pm. The lifestyle here is much more laidback, making it easier to enjoy life instead of getting caught up in the unimportant things. Of course, people still work very hard but to me, it seems like people know how to relax better than in the states. (I can´t wait til it gets warm enough to go to the beach.) I will try to update this blog more often but I hope you all are enjoying what I´ve written so far. If there is anything you would like to know more about or any questions just post me a comment and I´ll try to tell you as much as I can or find out if I do not know!! I would love to hear some of your comments as well.
Ten cuidad,
Sarah
I just talked to my mom a few minutes ago over Skype and she said that my ¨blog-readers¨ (you all) want to hear more about España! I have been so busy with school and exploring and learning the language that I have not had much time to update the blog, also because I do not have my own computer here. But I will do my best to frequent it more.
Anyways, so today was ridiculous. I climbed a mountain. Yes, a mountain. A very tall one in fact. The pictures are on my blog up at the top. My Spanish friends (from church) and I went to a city near Alicante called Calp (pronounced Calpe... if that helps). It was beautiful!! We had to take the tram there which took about two hours but it was totally worth it. During the climb, I was actually kinda of scared. So I tried not to look over the edge or get too close for that matter. But it was breathtaking. The pictures do not do it justice by any means! By the time we got all the way down I thought my legs were going to give out - climbing a mountain is hard work! (And when you look at the pictures of the mountain, I am not joking when I say that I climbed to the very top!)
This past week was pretty regular. School is going well. I really like my classes and love learning Spanish. Since I am here and living life in Spanish, I am much more dedicated to learning! I study whenever I can and love practicing my language skills. I hope that I will improve a lot over the next few months! I am also learning a lot about the history of Spain, which I knew nothing about before I came here. It is soo interesting! Spain is so rich in history! My government class is probably my most difficult. It is only me, the professor, and one other student. The prof speaks in Spanish making it more difficult to understand and take notes, but he is very understanding and repeats whatever you ask him to.
In addition to my mom telling me I need to post more on my blog, she also said people might be interesting in hearing about Spanish life and the differences between our culture and theirs, so here goes:
-They don´t refrigerate their milk before they open it, which is kinda odd. So when you go to the supermercado the milk is on a regular shelf, not in the refrigerated section.
-Spanish life is much more relaxed. During the week most stores and businesses close for a long lunch (1pm or 2pm to 4pm or 5pm depending). Nothing is ever open on Sundays, not even the grocery store. Customer service is not as important here as it is in the states. No one ever tips. Sometimes tipping is considered an insult, like the service or food was so terrible that you insult them by giving them money - its strange, I know.
-Right now in Spain the Rebajas are going on, which are the biggest sales of the year. Spain does not have sales like we do in the states (all year around). Their sales or Rebajas are once a year from the beginning of January to the end of February. I need to go shopping :) I really want to buy these super European pants; they are so ¨guay¨ which is ¨cool¨ in Spanish.
-Food... I love the food here! My host mother, Feli, is an amazing cook. She definitely spoils me! The other night she taught me how to make tortilla española that has potatoes, onions, eggs etc. in it. It is delicious. We have also eaten paella among other Spanish dishes. She said she would teach me to make most of them; we just haven´t had time yet! They eat sooo much seafood here, which is wonderful for me because I LOVE seafood. The shrimp or langostinos always have the shells and the heads and the eyes intact when you purchase them. It´s hilarious but would probably keep many Americans from eating them. :)
-Soccer as many of you probably know is an obsession here! The biggest rival is between the Real Madrid and Barcelona. My family is a big fan of the Real Madrid. Television is fun to watch here as well. The other night Alba (my host sister) watched Grey´s Anatomy in Spanish. We both love that show!! Many of the movies here are American films but are dubbed to be in Spanish, which is cool.
I really love talking to my host family about what they think about the states etc. etc. I like hearing their opinions and what their persception of things is. (PS my spelling is probably terrible because the spellcheck is in Spanish and sometimes I will type Spanish words instead of English ones... its confusing knowing two languages) One night we talked about health care. Spain has the 6th best health care in the world. And my host family has nothing but good things to say about their system. But I don´t want to get too controversial on my blog so I´ll save those discussions for another day :)
All in all Spain is amazing and is changing the way I look at things and how I act little by little, even if it is only eating lunch at 2pm and dinner at 9:30pm. The lifestyle here is much more laidback, making it easier to enjoy life instead of getting caught up in the unimportant things. Of course, people still work very hard but to me, it seems like people know how to relax better than in the states. (I can´t wait til it gets warm enough to go to the beach.) I will try to update this blog more often but I hope you all are enjoying what I´ve written so far. If there is anything you would like to know more about or any questions just post me a comment and I´ll try to tell you as much as I can or find out if I do not know!! I would love to hear some of your comments as well.
Ten cuidad,
Sarah
Sunday, January 17, 2010
¡Que fuerte!
¡Hola mi familia y mis amigos!
I hope all is well wherever you might be reading this blog. Spain is amazing. Today the weather was beautiful. It was probably in the 60s but warm enough to go hang out on the beach, which is what a bunch of us did! We sprawled out on blankets, stuck our toes in the sand, and relaxed on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Two guys played guitars so we sang along to tunes like Bon Jovi´s Living on a Prayer and some other popular tunes (for Americans).
I don´t remember if I posted this but on Friday a group of us climbed way up in the skies to the castle (El Castillo de Santa Bárbara) that overlooks Alicante. It was beautiful!! Pictures should be loaded.
Anoche, I hung out with some people from a church in Alicante - I think it was a Baptist church, I´ll come up with the name eventually. It was SO much fun. This is the first time that I have really met Spaniards and been able to hang out/converse with them. It was a wonderful opportunity to practice my Spanish!! It was actually quite comical. Some of them spoke a few words of English but I made many mistakes. Sometimes they corrected me and other times we just had a good laugh. The people here are so friendly! The students at the Church were from many places such as Ecuador, Peru, and even Germany. It is amazing how much travelling they are able to do because everything is so close. Some have even lived in the States for awhile!
Anyways then this morning I went to the actual service at the same church. It was very similar to the churches I attend back in the States (except in Spanish, of course). The singing was very similar and I could understand the songs. The sermon was hard to understand because the pastor spoke so rapidly but they had the Bible verses on the screen so I could translate that easily. I think I got the general ¨gist¨ of the message. I will definitely go back again.
Tomorrow starts my first full week of school. I am excited to go and learn more but nervous because I am still not very strong in my Spanish. But as the saying goes... Practice makes Perfect (or close to it, in my case).
Well I´m off to watch some news with my host family. ¡Adios! ¡Hasta luego!
Con todo mi cariño,
Sarah
I hope all is well wherever you might be reading this blog. Spain is amazing. Today the weather was beautiful. It was probably in the 60s but warm enough to go hang out on the beach, which is what a bunch of us did! We sprawled out on blankets, stuck our toes in the sand, and relaxed on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Two guys played guitars so we sang along to tunes like Bon Jovi´s Living on a Prayer and some other popular tunes (for Americans).
I don´t remember if I posted this but on Friday a group of us climbed way up in the skies to the castle (El Castillo de Santa Bárbara) that overlooks Alicante. It was beautiful!! Pictures should be loaded.
Anoche, I hung out with some people from a church in Alicante - I think it was a Baptist church, I´ll come up with the name eventually. It was SO much fun. This is the first time that I have really met Spaniards and been able to hang out/converse with them. It was a wonderful opportunity to practice my Spanish!! It was actually quite comical. Some of them spoke a few words of English but I made many mistakes. Sometimes they corrected me and other times we just had a good laugh. The people here are so friendly! The students at the Church were from many places such as Ecuador, Peru, and even Germany. It is amazing how much travelling they are able to do because everything is so close. Some have even lived in the States for awhile!
Anyways then this morning I went to the actual service at the same church. It was very similar to the churches I attend back in the States (except in Spanish, of course). The singing was very similar and I could understand the songs. The sermon was hard to understand because the pastor spoke so rapidly but they had the Bible verses on the screen so I could translate that easily. I think I got the general ¨gist¨ of the message. I will definitely go back again.
Tomorrow starts my first full week of school. I am excited to go and learn more but nervous because I am still not very strong in my Spanish. But as the saying goes... Practice makes Perfect (or close to it, in my case).
Well I´m off to watch some news with my host family. ¡Adios! ¡Hasta luego!
Con todo mi cariño,
Sarah
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
El Primero Día a La Universidad
¡Buenas Noches Amigos!
Today was my first day at the Universidad de Alicante. It was a beautiful day with amazing weather. No rain. A friend and I took the bus to campus and got yelled at in Spanish by the bus driver. Something about my friend not putting the money in correctly... it was very confusing but somewhat comical after it was all over. My first class of the day was my Spanish Composition I class. There are about 10 students in the class and we have Juan as our professor. He is really relaxed and has great style. Haha. We are going to use a workbook and read a few novelas. We will have two tests and some compositions, which shouldn´t be too difficult.
Before I begin telling you about my second class, let me begin by telling you that I wanted to drop immediately. My second class is El Gobierno (Government) and when I looked at the class roster there was only my name and another guy´s name (who is in advanced, might I add). So of course I was intimidated... two students, one teacher... I like the ratio a little less even. However, I told myself that where God put me is where He wants me to be. So I delt. Then 2:40 rolled around. The other student was really nice but I was so nervous with the teacher because he spoke so fast. At times I could not keep up. By the end of class it got a little better. Anyways the whole climax of the story is that I was talking to the guy after class and it ends up that he is involved in Campus Crusade for Christ on his campus! Since he is studying in Alicante the whole year, he told me that he has been to a non-denominational church around Alicante. How amazing! I was so excited! I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would meet another guy from Cru in Alicante. If I would have dropped the class I never would have met him. It is so crazy what happens when you just go with what the Lord provides. He meets our needs before we even know we need something. ¡Que bueno!
I know I have been lacking in the details of this blog (and in the picture department which I am working on). The language barrier definitely creates interesting circumstances like with the bus driver this morning. Things also get lost in translation along the way... I pray that I will improve and that things will become more clearer. I love speaking with my host family. They are wonderful. Tomorrow Alba and I are going to watching Grey´s Anatomy in Español. She is a fan as well! I am hoping this weekend I will have some more time to spend with both of them. Maybe we can go to the grocery store. The food Feli cooks is amazing. She was very pleased that I like just about everything because now she can cook whatever she likes and whatever they usually eat. I remember that the first night we had caviar on crackers. One night we had a mixed dish of peas, eggs, and ham, which was delicious. We also had salmon, which is one of my favorites. Feli even packs me lunch for school - usually consisting of a sandwich (un bocadillo) and an orange (una naranja). Spain has the best oranges I have ever tasted, even better than Florida. Many times with the language differences, we just end up laughing at the misunderstandings.... which happen a lot.
I am really torn with the traveling situation. Being in Europe, makes you want to see everything, everywhere, immediately. However, I must remember and consider that my first goal, the reason I came to Spain, was to learn Spanish. I know I will be very disappointed if I come back only learning a little. I want to see everything in Europe but it might be more beneficial to stick to Spain and a few other key areas for the first part. In order to learn the language. Honestly, it doesn´t matter where you go, everything is beautiful. Many things are more famous than others but no matter what this is the experience of a lifetime. I am meeting so many wonderful people from all over. I have only positives in my life. Thank the Lord.
Well I am going to attempt to work on the pictures soon... so stay with me.
¡Hasta Luego!
Sarah
PS okay if you go all the way to the top of the page there is a heading called ´"My Pictures" and under that are two photobucket.com links. One is for Madrid photos and the other consists of some Alicante photos. ¡Enjoy!
Today was my first day at the Universidad de Alicante. It was a beautiful day with amazing weather. No rain. A friend and I took the bus to campus and got yelled at in Spanish by the bus driver. Something about my friend not putting the money in correctly... it was very confusing but somewhat comical after it was all over. My first class of the day was my Spanish Composition I class. There are about 10 students in the class and we have Juan as our professor. He is really relaxed and has great style. Haha. We are going to use a workbook and read a few novelas. We will have two tests and some compositions, which shouldn´t be too difficult.
Before I begin telling you about my second class, let me begin by telling you that I wanted to drop immediately. My second class is El Gobierno (Government) and when I looked at the class roster there was only my name and another guy´s name (who is in advanced, might I add). So of course I was intimidated... two students, one teacher... I like the ratio a little less even. However, I told myself that where God put me is where He wants me to be. So I delt. Then 2:40 rolled around. The other student was really nice but I was so nervous with the teacher because he spoke so fast. At times I could not keep up. By the end of class it got a little better. Anyways the whole climax of the story is that I was talking to the guy after class and it ends up that he is involved in Campus Crusade for Christ on his campus! Since he is studying in Alicante the whole year, he told me that he has been to a non-denominational church around Alicante. How amazing! I was so excited! I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would meet another guy from Cru in Alicante. If I would have dropped the class I never would have met him. It is so crazy what happens when you just go with what the Lord provides. He meets our needs before we even know we need something. ¡Que bueno!
I know I have been lacking in the details of this blog (and in the picture department which I am working on). The language barrier definitely creates interesting circumstances like with the bus driver this morning. Things also get lost in translation along the way... I pray that I will improve and that things will become more clearer. I love speaking with my host family. They are wonderful. Tomorrow Alba and I are going to watching Grey´s Anatomy in Español. She is a fan as well! I am hoping this weekend I will have some more time to spend with both of them. Maybe we can go to the grocery store. The food Feli cooks is amazing. She was very pleased that I like just about everything because now she can cook whatever she likes and whatever they usually eat. I remember that the first night we had caviar on crackers. One night we had a mixed dish of peas, eggs, and ham, which was delicious. We also had salmon, which is one of my favorites. Feli even packs me lunch for school - usually consisting of a sandwich (un bocadillo) and an orange (una naranja). Spain has the best oranges I have ever tasted, even better than Florida. Many times with the language differences, we just end up laughing at the misunderstandings.... which happen a lot.
I am really torn with the traveling situation. Being in Europe, makes you want to see everything, everywhere, immediately. However, I must remember and consider that my first goal, the reason I came to Spain, was to learn Spanish. I know I will be very disappointed if I come back only learning a little. I want to see everything in Europe but it might be more beneficial to stick to Spain and a few other key areas for the first part. In order to learn the language. Honestly, it doesn´t matter where you go, everything is beautiful. Many things are more famous than others but no matter what this is the experience of a lifetime. I am meeting so many wonderful people from all over. I have only positives in my life. Thank the Lord.
Well I am going to attempt to work on the pictures soon... so stay with me.
¡Hasta Luego!
Sarah
PS okay if you go all the way to the top of the page there is a heading called ´"My Pictures" and under that are two photobucket.com links. One is for Madrid photos and the other consists of some Alicante photos. ¡Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Alicante
¡Hola! Estoy en Alicante. Es una ciudad bonita.
English...
I am in Alicante! It is amazing and beautiful and perfect. I stayed with my host family the very first night. They are wonderful. Feli is my host mother and Alba is her daughter. They are so kinda, loving, gracious, and patient. The first day was very overwelming with all the Spanish. It was difficult to keep up. But now we are having actual conversations in Spanish, like around the dinner table for instance.
Life is very different here. Everyone eats lunch around 2 or 3 and then takes a siesta - even some of the stores close for a bit. My family eats dinner around 9 or 930. Very late. But I am used to it by now.
Tomorrow is my first day of classes at the University of Alicante. I am taking 3 Spanish classes, a Spanish conversation course, Government and Politics of Spain, and finally, Spanish Culture and Civiliation. 17 credits in all. Only one class is in English. But that is the way I prefer it because I am learning so much more just struggling through.
We have done so much already. We have explored, went to the beach (la playa), and today I went shopping for a bit because I didn´t bring very many warm clothes. It is in the 50s and 60s here now. I even bought a hairdryer (un secador) which I like better than my US one!
The food here is wonderful, although it took my stomach a few days to get used to it. Feli is a wonderful cook and I cannot wait until she teaches me. Right now I am learning all the ingredients names! I have a book where I write all the new words I learn in... it is going to be very big by the time I come home in June.
I am going to post a few pictures but if you have facebook that is the best way to view my albums. I do not have a lot of time to put pictures on both facebook and this blog. There is SOOOO much to do and so much to learn! Spain is absolutely wonderful. I couldn´t ask for a better atmosphere or a better host family. They seriously are the best! Right now they are watching television before bed so I better get going.
Hope this post finds everyone well in the States!
Love,
Sarah
PS Actually I am not going to post pictures because it is taking forever to load... So I will try something different another time... Sorry about the wait. I am sure you are all in anticipation! haha :)
English...
I am in Alicante! It is amazing and beautiful and perfect. I stayed with my host family the very first night. They are wonderful. Feli is my host mother and Alba is her daughter. They are so kinda, loving, gracious, and patient. The first day was very overwelming with all the Spanish. It was difficult to keep up. But now we are having actual conversations in Spanish, like around the dinner table for instance.
Life is very different here. Everyone eats lunch around 2 or 3 and then takes a siesta - even some of the stores close for a bit. My family eats dinner around 9 or 930. Very late. But I am used to it by now.
Tomorrow is my first day of classes at the University of Alicante. I am taking 3 Spanish classes, a Spanish conversation course, Government and Politics of Spain, and finally, Spanish Culture and Civiliation. 17 credits in all. Only one class is in English. But that is the way I prefer it because I am learning so much more just struggling through.
We have done so much already. We have explored, went to the beach (la playa), and today I went shopping for a bit because I didn´t bring very many warm clothes. It is in the 50s and 60s here now. I even bought a hairdryer (un secador) which I like better than my US one!
The food here is wonderful, although it took my stomach a few days to get used to it. Feli is a wonderful cook and I cannot wait until she teaches me. Right now I am learning all the ingredients names! I have a book where I write all the new words I learn in... it is going to be very big by the time I come home in June.
I am going to post a few pictures but if you have facebook that is the best way to view my albums. I do not have a lot of time to put pictures on both facebook and this blog. There is SOOOO much to do and so much to learn! Spain is absolutely wonderful. I couldn´t ask for a better atmosphere or a better host family. They seriously are the best! Right now they are watching television before bed so I better get going.
Hope this post finds everyone well in the States!
Love,
Sarah
PS Actually I am not going to post pictures because it is taking forever to load... So I will try something different another time... Sorry about the wait. I am sure you are all in anticipation! haha :)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
First Days in Madrid
¡Buenos dias!
Yo estoy en Madrid, España. Madrid is absolutely beautiful. It is unbelievable.
I arrived in Madrid Wednesday morning. The flights (vuelos) went very well. On the way to Miami, I sat next to a woman from Ecuador who is involved with Samaritan's Purse and with the House of International Prayer. She was very encouraging and even told me a key phrase - "Habla más despacio, por favor" (meaning "Speak more slowly, please"). Then on the long flight I sat next to another interesting guy. Everyone spoke Spanish on my long flight - it was crazy!
Anyways so when I got to Madrid I picked up my luggage (thankfully it arrived with me, unlike other people in my group). Then I took a cab to the hotel; I even had a conversation with the cabby although I was kinda nervous. :) When I got checked it, I decided to do a little exploring. I went to La Puerta del Sol and La Plaza Mayor. You could definitely get lost on the streets of Madrid. It is beautiful. At La Plaza Mayor, there were gypsies dressed up as some crazy things, trying to earn some tips. There were also painters with amazing paintings! Later that evening my roommates (who are studying abroad in a different area of Spain) and I went to a restaurant called La Catedral - it was amazingly delicious!
Today, we took a walking tour of Madrid even though it was raining and snowing! We went to El Museo del Prado and saw Velázquez's Las Meninas along with paintings by El Greco and Goya. They were stunning to see them up close. Then we went to El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte. At that museum we saw Picasso's Guernica. I couldn't believe I was looking at a real Picasso. However, today I am seriously jet-lagged and kinda sick. It wasn't the best day... but hopefully tomorrow I will feel better and I will be able to enjoy myself more.
Tomorrow we are going to the ancient city of Segovia and to The Valley of the Fallen. Hopefully during free time tomorrow, I will be able to see a few more things, hang out with some more people going to Alicante, and get a phone card!
I'll keep you posted. Please keep me in your prayers!
Love
Sarah
Yo estoy en Madrid, España. Madrid is absolutely beautiful. It is unbelievable.
I arrived in Madrid Wednesday morning. The flights (vuelos) went very well. On the way to Miami, I sat next to a woman from Ecuador who is involved with Samaritan's Purse and with the House of International Prayer. She was very encouraging and even told me a key phrase - "Habla más despacio, por favor" (meaning "Speak more slowly, please"). Then on the long flight I sat next to another interesting guy. Everyone spoke Spanish on my long flight - it was crazy!
Anyways so when I got to Madrid I picked up my luggage (thankfully it arrived with me, unlike other people in my group). Then I took a cab to the hotel; I even had a conversation with the cabby although I was kinda nervous. :) When I got checked it, I decided to do a little exploring. I went to La Puerta del Sol and La Plaza Mayor. You could definitely get lost on the streets of Madrid. It is beautiful. At La Plaza Mayor, there were gypsies dressed up as some crazy things, trying to earn some tips. There were also painters with amazing paintings! Later that evening my roommates (who are studying abroad in a different area of Spain) and I went to a restaurant called La Catedral - it was amazingly delicious!
Today, we took a walking tour of Madrid even though it was raining and snowing! We went to El Museo del Prado and saw Velázquez's Las Meninas along with paintings by El Greco and Goya. They were stunning to see them up close. Then we went to El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte. At that museum we saw Picasso's Guernica. I couldn't believe I was looking at a real Picasso. However, today I am seriously jet-lagged and kinda sick. It wasn't the best day... but hopefully tomorrow I will feel better and I will be able to enjoy myself more.
Tomorrow we are going to the ancient city of Segovia and to The Valley of the Fallen. Hopefully during free time tomorrow, I will be able to see a few more things, hang out with some more people going to Alicante, and get a phone card!
I'll keep you posted. Please keep me in your prayers!
Love
Sarah
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