Tour of My Casa!

Welcome to Santander, Spain! Your first stop is the lovely apartment where I live!  Let's start in my room:

Here's a shot from the door.  You can see the bed, some drawers, and a desk/table.  The bed is very comfortable, and I usually get a good night's sleep.  The puppy on the bed is my stuffed animal, Butterscotch, that accompanied me on the trip.  Next, I have some miscellaneous items in the drawers such as snacks, first aid supplies, and travel-sized toiletries.  I don't do my homework at the desk, but I keep my extra school supplies in the storage compartment as well as phone/computer cords, adapter plugs, and  pens, pencils, scissors, etc.  I also have a great spot to store my suitcases and shoes.

This shot was taken from the wall by the bed.  This is basically my view when I wake up.  The dresser is where I store all of my clothes (see below).  You can see the top of a mini-table right next to the dresser. I put all of my toiletries on this.  I'm not sure if I can store them in the bathroom, so I just leave them in the room.  I have a nice big mirror above the table where I put my make-up on.  I have two towels and my pajamas hanging from the door.

Here's a the inside view of the dresser.  I took this picture as soon as I unpacked, so the dresser looks very, very organized here.  I hung up my dresses, sweaters, nicer shirts, pants, and coat from the hangers.  Under those, I have my tank tops, rain jacket, and t-shirts.  You cannot see the bottom of the dresser in this picture, but I have another drawer where I keep my purses, socks, and other miscellaneous items.

View from my window!  This direction faces the Centro of Santander, which is the major shopping area.  Although you cannot see it in this picture, there is a park right outside my window.  In the picture, it would be located below the beige building on the right side.

Let's move on from my room to other areas of the apartment!

Now you are looking at the living room.  This room is very cutely decorated with various knick-knacks and photos of my madre's family.  Mom- please note the lladro figurines in the top left of the photo. 

Another view of the living room.  This is the view you see when you enter the door.  The door to my room would be located on the right of this photo.  There is a TV here that I am allowed to use.  My favorite (and only) show that I have watched is "Atrapar un millón," a gameshow where contestants can try to win a million Euros by correctly answering multiple choice questions. 

Now we're walking out of the living room and into the main hallway.  Facing us is the door to my madre's room.  Right next to her room is another doorway with a rug in front of it.  That is the doorway to enter the kitchen.  Also, on the very right side of the photo, you can see another door.  This one takes you into the living room and/or my room.

In the hallway, there is a third and final door that leads into the only bathroom in the apartment.  Here's a picture of the shower.  The shower is a little tiny, but at least it's not a bathtub like some other kids in my group have!  On the right of the shower is the toilet.  On the left, there is the sink with a big vanity mirror and cabinets underneath.  By the mirror, there are two large shelves that have tons of body wash, shampoo, hair products, and lotions that I'm sure previous students left behind!

Hope you brought your appetite as we make our way into the kitchen.  This is the view as you enter from the door.  The kitchen table is located on the right side.  I always sit on the chair closest to the door, while my madre keeps me company sitting on either on the bench or the chair by the window.  There's a TV on a shelf above the door.  Sometimes during dinner, my madre puts on the news or another great gameshow, "Pasapalabras."  

Here's a better view of the cooking area.  The big cabinet in the front of the picture is the fridge.  The stove and oven are to the right of the fridge followed by the kitchen counter and then the sink.

Last but not least, our final stop on today's tour is the third bedroom.  This room is also off of the living room, is located close to my room, and has three beds. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour of my casa in Santander.  Next week, I'll try to take pictures of the UIMP, so I can give you all a tour of my school!

A Typical Day

Now that I have been in Spain for a week, I've finally developed a daily routine.

My alarm clock begins to buzz at 8:00am.  If I am feeling well rested, I'll get up as soon as I turn my alarm off.  Most of the time, I'm still pretty tired, so I lay in my bed until 8:15 at the latest.  I get dressed and pack my bag for school.  At 8:30, I enter the kitchen to eat breakfast.  My madre prepares me a cup of coffee (for a little pick-me-up) and some breakfast.  Today, I ate an egg sandwich!

I usually finish breakfast between 8:55-9:05 depending on how fast/slow I eat.  After, I brush my teeth, put some make-up on, and head out the door.  I live fairly close to the school, so it's a pretty quick walk to the UIMP.  I get to the university around 9:30.  I check my Facebook, email, or finish up some homework because class doesn't start until 10:00.

At 10:00, I have my first class- Spanish Culture.  Right after, I have Spanish Literature at 11:00.  I really enjoy both of these classes and time goes by fast.  Now I have a huge break in my day because my third and final class doesn't start until 5:00!

Since our madres are not required to provide us with lunch, it is up to us to find our own lunch.  We usually walk to a local supermarket and pick up food for sandwiches.  Each person will buy one ingredient such as bread, meat, or chips, and we all share the food.  We will either take it back to the university to eat or go eat at the beach.

We finish lunch around 12:45-1:00.  During this free time between classes, many students will hang out at the beach.  I absolutely love the beach here, but I'm not a big fan of getting sand all over myself before class.  Instead, I usually hang out in the computer lab at the UIMP.  I get homework done and try to write a blog post.

Once 5:00 comes around, I'm exhausted!  I probably need to use some of that free time to take a nap.  But I make my way to my Spanish Art History class and try not to insult the professor by yawning too much.  This class is a little longer- 1 hour and 15 minutes.

After class, we all talk for a little bit and make plans for the evening- beach, shopping, etc.  To get back home, I trek up Mount Everest.  I return to the apartment drenched in sweat and so tired that I take a mini-siesta for 30 minutes to an hour. 

When I wake up, my madre asks if I would like to eat dinner.  Spaniards are known for eating dinner incredibly late, but I normally eat around 8:30 or 9:00.  I am a very talkative person and I enjoy talking to my madre during dinner, so I usually spend about an hour eating the large meal she prepares for me.

Once I finish, I say goodnight and retire to my room.  I check my computer, talk to my mom, finish up any homework, and get ready for bed.  Bedtime varies from night to night, but I would say I go to bed normally around 11:30.  (Not 2:00am- happy, Dad?)

Well, speaking of bedtime, I better be going to bed.  Good night!  :)

Food!- Breakfast Edition

Written May 20, 2011

One of my favorite things about visiting new places is trying the new food!  Since I’m living in new country, I was excited and nervous about eating all the different foods.  So I now present to you my weekly review of the food I ate this week.  :)

Our madres are required to provide us breakfast and dinner.  It is up to us to find our own lunch.  However, if I am planning on going out for dinner with some friends, my madre said that she could make me lunch that day instead of dinner.

Breakfast

Cafe con leche: My go-to drink every morning!  This translates into “coffee with milk.”  When I looked this up online, un cafe con leche has a shot of espresso and then is filled with milk.  I’m not sure if my madre puts espresso in my coffee or if it is just standard, brewed coffee.  Either way, it’s not overwhelmingly strong.  I put a little sugar in it, and I’m ready to start my day!

El sabao:  According to my madre, this is a really popular food in the region.  Sabao is a type of bread that is usually served for breakfast.  Upon first look, el sabao looks like cornbread, but is thinner and wider.  When you taste it, it becomes very obvious that the food is not cornbread.  I would describe it as a sweet bread.  The closest American food that I can compare el sabao to is a pound cake that you would order at a Starbucks.  The sabao is not nearly as sweet though.  It tastes very good heated up and dipped in coffee!

Ham and cheese sandwich: It was very strange to get this for breakfast because this is something we would usually have for lunch or a snack.  My madre toasted the bread and put a little butter on it.  Then she put a slice of deli ham, cheese, and then another piece of ham.  Although these were not toasted, the ham and cheese was warmed due to the hot bread.

I'm in Spain!

Written Tuesday May 17

As I am writing right now, I am sitting on the bed of my apartment in Spain!  I have the window cracked open and the sun is shining into the cute, springy room.  The sounds of Spanish music is playing from outside.  Maybe it’s my imagination, but I swear that I can smell bread from the store below baking.

Our journey started off at the O’Hare Airport in Chicago.  My mom, dad, and sister came to see me off.  While we were waiting in line (and I was carrying what seemed like 100 pounds of luggage between my checked bag, carryon, backpack, and little purse), a girl that was standing behind us in line started talking to us.  I originally thought that she could be a college student going to Spain on a Study Abroad like me.  However, she was actually from Spain and attends school in the U.S.  It was really nice to talk to her and ask her a bunch of questions about Spain.  It definitely helped put my mind at ease.

My family said goodbye to me at security.  And yes, I got a little teary eyed.  With the fast pace of security, I quickly regained my composure.  Soon I met up with some other kids from my school at the gate.  I enjoyed talking to them as we waited three hours for our flight to arrive.

When our plane came, I was shocked to see how large it was.  Super long and super wide, the plane had two seats, an aisle, four seats, an aisle, and two seats.  I was stuck on the inside of the four seats, so it was a tight fit.  The plane ride took a really long time!  Unfortunately we didn’t take off right away, so we were sitting an extra 30 minutes.  I think I dosed off for a good 15 minutes later into the flight, but I really wish I could have gotten more.  Despite this, I sat next to some nice people and talking to them made the time go by much faster!

After our nine hours, we arrived in Madrid around 7:45 am.  This stop was more hectic than I thought it could be.  Our group of thirty powerwalked to the lower part of the terminal.  There we went through Passport Control.  I actually had a very positive experience here.  I asked a question in Spanish to the man who was stamping passports.  He told me that I had good Spanish, and we had a nice little conversation about my trip to Santander.  This boosted my confidence to know that I can converse effectively with a native speaker.  And I got a new passport stamp!

Then, we had to take a tram to go different part of the terminal.  We had to go through another security check.  I was dreading to take out all my stuff again.  It was even more difficult because there wasn’t a conveyor belt to directly put your boxes of stuff in to be x-rayed.  Instead you had to carry all of your boxes about 10 feet to the x-ray machine.  In my haste, I forgot to take off my watch, so I set off the machine.  I thought I would have to take off the watch and then walk through the machine again.  Alternatively, the security lady patted me down.  It ended up being less awkward than I imagined.

But after that, we were in the clear.  We walked through to the terminal to board our plane from Madrid to Santander.  Once again, this was unusual because we were lead to a bus that drove us to the plane that did not board on the terminal.  We had to climb up stairs to enter the plane!  Fortunately, we had beautiful weather.  The smaller plane was a quick 35 minute ride to Santander!

We landed and picked up our luggage.  A bus then took us to the UIMP, the University where we will be taking our classes.  It wasn’t until the moment that we pulled up to the UIMP that I realized what I would be doing this summer.  I’ve been very excited to go to Spain, but the reality of the trip never hit me.  My mom helped me pack luggage and get stuff ready, but it still didn’t seem real.  Even the night before my flight, I hardly tossed and turned.  But as soon as I saw the UIMP and our families waiting to pick us up, a little bit of fear ran through me and I wondered what I got myself into.

*Sorry this is so long.  I promise the rest of my posts will not be as long.

**Later this week I'll be writing about my host mother, challenges in Spain, and the food!

Only One Day to Go!

I cannot believe that I am leaving for Santander tomorrow!  I am just finishing up packing and saying goodbye to everyone.  One day!!!

About the Program

As much as I wish that my study abroad program would be no work and all play, I actually do have to attend class.  I will be attending Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo, a Spanish university located in Santander.  The program requires that we take a minimum of nine credits/three classes.  I will be taking a "Hispanic Culture," "Spain and its Literature," and "Spanish Art History."

I am definitely most excited about taking the culture class and the art history class.  How awesome is it that I can take a class about Spanish culture in Spain?!?  I'm sure it will be so beneficial to learn about the culture while living in the country.  Hopefully I will learn how to behave like a typical Spaniard so I don't embarrass myself.  The art history class will be amazing, too.  Ever since we had an art unit in high school Spanish, I have genuinely developed a love for Spanish art.  It will be great to study such impressive artwork in depth.  Maybe I might even have time to travel to Madrid to see the Prado Museum, an art museum that houses my favorite painting, Diego Velazquez's "Las Meninas."

Even though I really enjoy reading short stories and poems in Spanish, I am a bit more nervous about this class.  Since the program is only eight weeks, the professors will be cramming in a typical semester (15 weeks) into such a short period of time.  That is a concern of mine, but people have told me that as long as I stay on top of the class, I'll be fine.

Another thing I am nervous about is the fact that we will be taught by actual Spanish professors from the University.  I will not have the luxury of having the professor speak clearly and enunciating each word.  Instead, the native-speaking professor will speak very fast, slur the words, and probably use vocabulary and grammar structures that we are not familiar with.

I'm sure the experience attending the Spanish university will not be comfortable and easy for me.  The only thing that I can do is enter the classroom with an open mind and a positive attitude.  In my TE (teacher education) class, we discussed that the most learning occurs when a person is pushing the boundaries of his comfort zone.  If that is truly the case, then I'm coming back to the United States as an expert on Spanish culture, literature, and art.  :)

Where am I going?

Good question!  With my trip only two weeks away now, I think it would be beneficial to know about the city where I'll be staying.  My two month summer study abroad program is taking place in Santander, Spain.  Prior to learning about this study abroad, I actually was not familiar with the city at all!  So here is some interesting information about Santander:

1. Santander is located in the very northern part of Spain very close to France.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/maps/maptemplate_sp.html

2. Santander is actually a popular vacationing spot for Spaniards due to its beautiful beaches.

http://www.beachholidayguide.co.uk/ferries-to-spain.php

3. Santander is know for its mild climate- summer temperatures usually range from 70-77°F.  However, Santander can also be a very rainy place.

4. One can find a variety of interesting museums in the city including the Museum of Altamira, the Ethnography Museum, the Maritime Museum of Cantabria, the Regional Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria, the Bullfighting Museum, and Expositions of the University of Cantabria/Planetarium.

5. Santander is just over 200 miles from Madrid and a little more than 300 miles from Barcelona.

First step: learning about Santander.  Second step: experiencing Santander!  Only two weeks to go!