Angeles Málagueños de la Noche

"Thing to remember is if we're all alone, then we're all together in that too."

This morning I made the best decision yet, since I came to Málaga, when I decided to go with my roommate to volunteer with an organization called "Angeles Málagueños de la Noche" (Málagueños Angels of the Night). They are a nonprofit group that serves three meals a day to those in need, all day and all year long. They give each person whatever he or she may want, without judgement, no questions asked.  Especially during these times of economic crisis in Spain, it is apparent how many people are simply going without. The group of volunteers that we worked with are some of the most fun-loving, caring and compassionate people that I've met. They were so gracious and excited for us to be there to help. One of the volunteers was even giving us  Spanish dance lessons in between our tasks. As we prepared bocadillos (sandwiches), café (coffee) and pan (bread) to be served, we spoke with some of the volunteers and found out that they serve over 500 people, prepare more than 1000 bocadillos and 600 glasses of milk, juice or coffee a day. It may not sound like much, but it is always cool to see people in a community come together to serve a greater good. We tend to get caught up in trivial things in our daily lives and forget that are part of something far greater than ourselves. Every place can be a bit lonely sometimes, but it's nice to feel like you're part of something. We will be going back to volunteer with them at least once or twice a week until I leave on May 1. I wish I had found them sooner, but I don't have any regrets.

Where all the magic happens...

Bittersweet Goodbyes

I spent a wonderful week with my parents, exploring Spain and sharing with them all my favorite parts of Málaga. It's funny how fast time goes by when you think back; when I first arrived in Spain I didn't think my parents would ever get here! They were planning on staying for about 6 days, but Spain had different plans for them. On Thursday when they were scheduled to fly out, a "Huelga General" or a General Strike was held nation wide in Spain. I have never experienced a strike firsthand, nonetheless in a different country, but it was interesting to be here during the strike and to learn more about the culture. 

I not only had the opportunity to play tour guide and show off all of my favorite parts of the city, but we also took two trips to neighboring cities. My dad is a brave sole and we decided to rent a car to make our trips a little easier. There is never a dull moment when traveling with my parents and our first adventure to Ojen and Marbella led us onto a back country road. The GPS recognized the road as a road on the map, but the donkeys and the pile of rocks in front of our car begged to differ. I wish I had thought better on my feet and video taped the event, but talk about commitment, my mom was so determined to get us through that she got out of the car and starting chucking rocks out of the way. Our attempts were unsuccessful and we had to break down and ask for directions. Lesson learned- do not trust the GPS. We then had lunch in Ojen and explored the Spanish version of mountains that do not even compare to our mountains in Colorado. We then continued onto Marbella and spent the rest of the afternoon appreciating the architecture and wandering the tiny city streets. 

City of Ojen

Our next adventure led us to Gibraltar to see the apes. My dad corrected me and they are not monkeys, they are apes. What a cool experience! I have never in my life been so close to an ape, granted that I was still the one to scream and run away at the slightest sudden movement. My mom was the brave one and one of the apes even grabbed her shoulder to pose for a picture. Scary! Gibraltar was a much needed break from Spanish as my parents were definitely putting my Spanish skills to the test. The only disappointing part of the trip was that it was too cloudy for us to see Africa. 

The Rock of Gibraltar

The strike was a blessing in disguise, that gave me a few extra days with my parents. It was hard to say goodbye, but this starts the countdown... less than 1 month until I come home. I'm trying to take in as much as I can in the next month. 

Whirlwind

This past week has been a whirlwind, my roommate and I made the very difficult decision to move to a different home stay. However difficult the decision, we are already seeing that the situation was not healthy and the move was the best thing for everyone involved. When I decided to study abroad, my living situation was the least of my worries, but it became evident to me that the place that you live has a huge influence on all other aspects of your life. Our host mom is an incredible woman, but we found that we had unreconcilable differences that were making it difficult for all us to live happily under the same roof.

We are now living with a new woman and her 11 year old daughter. We live about two minutes away from our university and right across the street from my favorite beach, El Palo. It is a stark contrast from where we lived in the city and has confirmed the fact that I am not a city girl. I feel like we have been given the opportunity for a fresh start and I couldn't be happier. I love everything about my new home stay. Our host mom hosts students from all different programs and all different countries. When we first moved in there was a girl from Germany and a girl from Sweden already here. The girl from Germany left on Saturday, but the girl from Sweden will be living here until June. Today two more girls arrived from Norway and will only be staying for one week. It is hard to get to know someone in such a short period of time, but I have enjoyed learning about their different cultures.

Amidst all of the turmoil of our unknown living situation, I told my parents that I was checking things off of my bucket list left and right. Homeless in a foreign country was a very unexpected one, but one that has been checked off of the list nonetheless. My roommate and I made the decision to stay in a hostel for two nights, while our program directors worked to find us a new family to stay with. I do not handle change or the unknown well and was therefore not thrilled with the fact that not only was I in a foreign country, but that I didn't have a place to live. After this very unexpected semester I swear I will be able to handle whatever comes next.

Life is a Fairy Tale

Life is a fairy tale! Couldn't have asked for a better weekend, with better people, in a better place! Dream come true! This weekend 5 friends and I ventured to Dublin, Ireland to spend a long weekend. Our adventures included visits to Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Dublin Castle, the Old Jameson Distillery and the beautiful cities of Wicklow and Glendalough. 


The Beautiful City of Dublin

Awesome Graffiti 

We were only in Dublin for three short days, but I think I speak for the entire group when I say that we fell in love. This was the first time in a month in a half that I truly felt at home. I could live in Dublin for the rest of my life and be perfectly content. I almost cried when we had to board the airplane to come back to Málaga. Everyone that I talked to laughed at me, since I was essentially dreading going back to the beach, but at that point the beach didn't even matter. Dublin was pretty cold the entire time that we were there, but that didn't even phase me. The people and the city just had so much life to them. 


The first night that we arrived in Dublin we visited Trinity College and then had the opportunity to eat a traditional three course Irish meal and watch a live Irish music and dance show and the Arlington Hotel. It was the perfect way to start our journey in Ireland off with a bang. I also found discovered two of my favorite drinks of the trip, Bailey's Irish Coffee and The Ride (Absolut Vodka, Cola Schnapps and Pineapple Juice). 


The next day we took an all day tour of the countryside to see the cities of Wicklow and Glendalough. Our tour guide was incredible and the Irish countryside is definitely a sight to see. The houses that we passed were quant and beautiful. They are exactly what you would think of when you think of old small town charm, tucked away in a big city. Hollywood has discovered the beauty of this area too, as P.S. I Love, Leap Year and Braveheart were all filmed here. It was fun to be at the film sights and know where in the movie they took place. 


Wicklow

Glendalough- Guiness Lake

That evening we spent some more time in the very famous Temple Bar District and enjoyed our time sipping drinks and enjoying live Irish music with the locals. The Irish people definitely do drinks right and they are so warm and welcoming.


The following day, and our last full day in Ireland, we started our morning off with a traditional Irish breakfast and then made our way the the Old Jameson Distillery. I was sad to be informed that Jameson Whiskey is made with barely and therefore contains wheat, but the tour was fun nonetheless. One of my friends had to take one for the team and drink my sample of the Whiskey, which I'm pretty sure he didn't mind in the slightest. This was our day of tours and we continued with visits to the Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Dublin Castle. We also got our fill of souvenir shopping in. The Scotland- Ireland Rugby game was being played the weekend that we were in Dublin and we watched the game in a local Irish pub, it doesn't get more Irish than that. 


 The Old Jameson Distillery

 Christ Church Cathedral

 St. Patrick's Cathedral

 Dublin Castle

There was an abundance of chocolate and coffee everywhere we went, that in itself made my weekend. We stayed in a 20 bed hostel which actually worked out better than I thought, except for all the snoring boys. The first night be got there I didn't sleep at all, the second night one of my friends was kind enough to let me borrow his iPod, note to self bring ear plugs. 

Córdoba

This weekend brought a welcome change of pace. I did not welcome the 4 hour roundtrip bus ride, but the excursion to Córdoba was definitely something to look forward to. The city of Córdoba is rich with history and home to The Holy Cathedral Church, as well as, the Jewish quarter that houses the Synagogue. 

Views of the City

The Cathedral, formerly the Mosque has undergone 4 expansions over the years. The first quarter, Abd-ar-Rahman I, was inspired by the Mosque of Damascus. The overlapping arches and the alternating brick and stone (red and beige) in the cross-section of the arches were modelled on the hispanic-roman tradition. The construction of the second quarter, Abd-ar-Rahman II, was carried out during the Independent Emirate and maintained the scheme of the preceding ruler. The third quarter, Al Hakam II, is characterized by beautiful mosaics that were used to build the mihrab (sacred place besode which the imam leads the prayer. The final expansion, Al-Mansur, consisted of 8 aisles alond the east side of the building, including the courtyard. In this quarter, the alternating colors of the arches are not produced with brick and stone, but paint to keep cost low. The Christian influence is apparent in the distinct Chapels, the Transept and the Choir. 


The Cathedral

We also had the opportunity to walk through the Jewish quarter of the city and visit the Synagogue. Cordoba's synagogue was built in 1350. It is the only synagogue in Andalucía to survive the expulsion and inquisition of the Jewish people in 1492. 

The most shocking part of Córdoba was the fact that there were so many families begging on the streets. I know that there are individuals that beg on the streets in the US too, but this was a whole different experience. People came right up to us, kids and all. All of the kids that were begging couldn't have been much older than 5. It made me so sad to think that this was the life that these kids were learning and that they had absolutely no say in the matter. I had to refrain from giving them all the money that I had on me, not knowing what they would do with it and knowing that I couldn't help them all. It broke my heart each time that we walked past one of these families, wanting to help and knowing that I couldn't. 

Cultural Differences

The other day my friend asked me to identify a few of the major cultural differences that I've noticed. I realized that this is probably a question that many of you have. There are of course more, but I started a list and here it is:

1. The pace of life here is much slower than the US. It is not uncommon to see people taking long walks on the beach and not in any hurry.
2. Gyms are considering to be a luxury. They are pretty hard to find and memberships are extremely expensive. There aren't very many people that work out, which was really interesting to me, since everyone is so tiny. When I go running on the beach, there are very few people out running and most of them are men. 
3. The idea of personal space is very different. People get really close to you, even on the street. It almost looks like someone is coming up to talk to when you pass them on the sidewalk because they get that close. 
4. PDA is everywhere! So awkward! Couples are all over each other all the time; on buses, on benches, on the beach, on the street, literally everywhere! 
5. People do not walk while eating or drinking ever. It is almost impossible to find a thermos or a reusable water bottle. I finally found a few places that will serve "take away" coffee or "cafe para llevar", but they are very few and far between and some places get offended if you ask for "take away". 
6. Clothing-wise I don't think it differs much from the US, even in the trends. Leggings, skinny jeans, boots and high heels are worn a lot. I'm actually really disappointed in that. I haven't really been able to find anything that I couldn't purchase in the US. 
7. Eating times are also very different. Breakfast is usually between 9:00am-11:00am, lunch is between 3:00pm-5:00pm and dinner is between 8:00pm-10:00pm. 
8. Most stores close from about 3:00pm-5:00pm everyday for lunch/siesta. 
9. When you order water at a restaurant you are usually served a bottle of water that you are charged for. If you want tap water you have to ask for "agua de grifo". If you do ask for tap water you run the risk of offending the restaurant. Often times it is better to just suck it up and pay for the bottle of water. 
10. There are specific months of discounts or "rebajas" at all of the stores. The "rebajas" started at the beginning of January and will be ending at the end of February/beginning of March. 

The beach, a water bottle and fuzzy pink slippers...

The Beach...

 A 1.5L Water Bottle...

Fuzzy Pink Slippers...

You are probably asking yourself what theses seeming unrelated items have to do with each other. All of these items are key elements in just a little bit of normalcy in a country where nothing is normal. 

The Beach + A 1.5L Water Bottle + Fuzzy Pink Slippers = EMI'S GYM

I am going to stay in shape yet! The beach is used for cardio, it is where I go for my daily hour long runs. The oversized water bottle is my hand weight, used for bicep and tricep curls. It's not a very big weight, but it is just right for toning. The fuzzy pink slippers are used for pads under my elbows for both front and side planks; the stone floor in our apartment is not very conducive to planks. Combine those with a few wall sits, crunches and lunges and you have the makings for the perfect make shift gym. Gyms in Spain are considered a luxury and they are extremely hard to come by. If you do happen to find a gym, you then face the fact that memberships are outrageously expensive. 

However ridiculous it might sound, I was very proud of my resourcefulness and thought that I would share my creativity with all of you. Enjoy!

Granada, Flamenco and The Alhambra

This weekend we went on a weekend visit to Granada with ISA, where we visited "La Capilla Real y Museo", watched a live Flamenco show and visited The Alhambra. The flamenco show was by far my favorite part, I think I described it as tap dancing on crack to my parents, for lack of a better description. Those dancers must have incredible legs. The show took place in a cave, which was incredibly cool. If you're going to see a Flamenco show, might as well see it in a cave right? Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures of the actual dancing, I was front and center and could not get a good picture without feeling incredibly awkward, but here is a picture of some of me and some of my friends at the show.

Flamenco Show

We also visited "La Capilla Real y Museo", which like all of the other cathedrals had architecture to die for. I think I'm just about over cathedral tours though, I feel like it's true that if you've seen one cathedral you've pretty much seen them all. My dad said to think of all those poor people carving out those buildings and then I felt bad when I said that the tours were so boring. The thing is I do enjoy the architecture and I took lots of pictures in appreciation of their work, but beyond taking a pretty picture, I have no real interest in these buildings. All that said, it was a great experience and something that I would have never done on my own, so I have ISA to thank for that.

"La Capilla Real y Museo"

The Alhambra should have been the highlight of my trip, but I have the worst luck and had my first reaction to gluten. I'm thankful that this was the first time that I've gotten sick from gluten since I've been in Spain, it was just very bad timing. Note to self, do not eat the continental buffet style hotel breakfast. The Alhambra was still a very cool sight to see, my body was just not into the three hour walking tour after my rough morning. The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex originally built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain and it's court, of the Nasrid dynasty. Here are a few of my favorite pictures and I'll post the rest on Facebook.

The Alhambra

Happy Valentine's Day!

Being the hopeless romantic that I am, Spain did not live up to my expectations for Valentine's Day. The way that the United States views Valentine's Day, is definitely one of the biggest differences between Spain and the United States. When I expressed my excitement for Valentine's Day to my "señora" the day before, I was sad when she informed me that in Spain you truly only celebrate Valentine's Day if you are a couple. This came as a surprise to me, maybe because of how I was raised or maybe because of how it is viewed in the United States. I have always celebrated Valentine's Day for the love that I have for all of the people in my life, not just for someone that I was in a relationship with. It is not common to wish someone a Happy Valentine's Day in Spain unless they are your significant other. This really became apparent to me after my friend asked one of her male friend's to go out for coffee with her, so that they wouldn't be alone on Valentine's Day and he responded very abruptly with "no". He explained to her that Valentine's Day in Spain is seen as a very intimate day and that it would simply not be appropriate.

Some of the other girls in ISA and I decided to throw our own "American" style Valentine's Day party, complete with chocolate, champagne and wine. We had a great night and I was even able to find a gluten free chocolate dessert! Yum!

Take away coffee and designer shoes? Enough said

Today was as close to a perfect day as I have had since I've been in Spain. I started the day with a wonderful run on the beach and spent the afternoon walking around town with my fabulous roommate. To top the day off I found yet another cafe that offers take away coffee and found brown suede shoes by Adolfo Dominguez for only 29 euros. Does it get much better than that? I think not. It's funny how little things in life can make or break your entire day. The combination of a taste of convenience from back home and new shoes by a spanish designer, are exactly what I needed. 

A fortress palace in the center of the city, who knew?

Aside from the Cathedral and the beaches, the Alcazaba is one of the most famous attractions in Málaga. One of the ISA planned visits was to visit Alcazaba, which is conveniently located on the outskirts of the center. I didn't even know what an "Alcazaba" was until I showed up for the visit today. Nobody told me that we would be seeing some of the most beautiful architecture and best views of the city and the sea. For those of you, who like me, do not know what the Alcazaba is; it is a fortress palace for the Muslim rulers of the city, built in the 11th century. It is also located next to the Roman theater that was just discovered 50 years ago and still being uncovered.

View from the top

Roman Theater

Home Away from Home

I made it through my first week in Spain! Not as smooth sailing as I would have hoped, but with every obstacle comes great reward, right?

I started out my journey in the "honey moon" phase, which rapidly came crashing down. Thanks to my amazing roommate and some great friends in the ISA program, I'm starting to truly appreciate everything that Spain has to offer and making it my home away from home. I unfortunately did not do as well on my placement test as I would have liked, but with some negotiation I will be able to stay in my advanced Spanish classes and work to receive credit for them. Surprise! Test taking is still not my forte...

On the up side, I found out that our university is located across the street from the beach. Needless to say I will be spending my breaks on the beach. Although the lack of "take away" coffee shops in Spain killed my idea of grabbing coffee in between class and sitting on the beach.

It has been hard to want to explore the city, especially at night. Málaga is experiencing some very unusual weather for this time of year. It is extremely cold! None of us were prepared for the cold weather, we all assumed that because we are on the beach, the weather was going to be nothing but warm and sunny. Thankfully it is supposed to warm up in the next week and hopefully we'll have more motivation to experience Málaga's night life.

This weekend we had our excursion to Ronda with ISA. Ronda is a beautiful city, but I feel like the freezing temperatures prevented me from truly appreciating it. Despite the undesirable weather conditions we did have the opportunity to go on an over 4 hour walking tour. We visited many of the cities famous landmarks, including "El Tajo", but the highlight of the tour was definitely "La Plaza de los Torros". I don't think that I could ever sit through a bull fight and enjoy it, but it was interesting to see behind the scenes and get our tour guide's perspective on the tradition. Our tour guide was an elderly man from Ronda; he was very passionate about the bull fights, explaining that they were rich in culture. He explained that the newer generations would never fully appreciate or understand the significance of the bull fights, but for him it was important to preserve the culture.

 El Tajo

La Plaza de los Torros

I'm hoping that as things start to settle down I will be able to establish some sort of routine. I feel like we have been going nonstop since we arrived in Spain and I'm excited to actually start living here. Today the weather warmed up a bit, which allowed me to go for my very first run on the beach. I can't imagine anything more perfect, but to end my first week in Spain with a run on the beach.

Nonstop Fun

Since it took me so long to find consistent internet, I'm going to play catchup for a moment.

Recap:
Saturday- Arrive in Madrid, bus tour
Sunday- Tour of El Museo Prado and El Palacio Real, Bars
Monday- Leave Madrid for Toledo, tour of Toledo; including countless churches
Tuesday- Leave Toledo, 6 hour bus ride, arrive in Málaga and meet host person and roommate

Pretty much since the time I arrived in Madrid, it has been nonstop. I wish that we would have had more time to take everything in, but I know that they were trying to help us see as much of Madrid and Toledo as possible in such a short period of time. I wasn't a huge fan of Madrid; which was disappointing, because I've heard such great things about it. Madrid confirmed that fact that I am not a big city person and probably never will be. Aside from being way too big and busy, El Museo Prado and El Palacio Real were phenomenal, just a lot to take in all at once, especially in Spanish. We chose to go out our last night in Madrid, to say that we've experienced Madrid night life, even though we chose to go out on a Sunday night. Spainards take their alcohol very seriously, we ordered Daquiris that were almost 100% tequilla at a very unfriendly bar, but found another bar that had very friendly bartenders and made excellent Mojitos.

I am very sad that we were only able to spend one short day in Toledo; which I fell in love with. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Toledo, do it! I am already planning to return to Toledo for a weekend trip. Toledo was a reassuring change after Madrid had me doubting my decision to study abroad in Spain. It is a very small town, with some of the most unique architecture I have ever seen. It is quiet and serene and the people are incredibly friendly. I almost wished that I had chosen to study abroad in Toledo instead.

When I finally arrived in Málaga I met my host "señora"and my roommate, who are both way more than I could have ever expected. My roommate gave me a quick tour of the city; which I don't remember any of, as I was so awestruck to listen to all of the useful information that she was giving me. Good thing we share a room. Málaga is breathtaking and beautiful, it reminds me of San Diego in so many ways. I am so excited to spend the next three months here.

School starts tomorrow with a placement test at 8:30am, I am not looking forward to that. I keep forgetting that I am here to go to school and not just take in all that Spain has to offer. I was pleasantly surprised though when I found out that I have Fridays off, I guess I can make that compromise.

Leaving for Spain

Sorry for the delay! I've had this post written since I the first day that I got to Spain, but as I'm quickly learning WiFi is not nearly as readily available as it is in the United States. 

And 11 hours later… Spain! As I walk off the jet way, I’m greeted not by the familiar murmurs of English, but by the somewhat unfamiliar murmurs of Spanish. I know this should be expected, I mean I’ve been preparing for this trip for years, but now it’s real.  As everything starts to sink in, I realize that I understand more than what I let on, granted the signs that are written in English first and Spanish second help. I find myself understanding the side conversations and the signs before I have the chance to read the English translations. Not as scary as I thought.

I have my housing assignment, I will be living with a single 45 year old woman who is a bio agriculture student and has ambitions of delivering organic food to people’s homes. There will also be one other student living with us; she is a senior from the University of South Dakota. We will be living in an apartment. The apartment is a 75 minute walk from campus, which is intimidating compared to my 5 minute walk to campus in Fort Collins. Thankfully, the apartment is located near a bus stop and campus is only a 15-20 minute bus ride. Needless to say, I will be taking the bus.

I’m sure this will be the first of many, but I experienced my first cultural difference. I entered my hotel room in Madrid and the first thing I did like always was flip the switch to turn on the lights… except this time I flipped the switch and nothing happened. Frantically I walk around the dark hotel room trying to turn on any light without success. I walked back to the door thinking that I’m going to have to tell the front desk that their lights are broken, when I see a contraption on the wall that looks much like the card reader you would insert your card to enter the room. I spend several minutes inserting and removing the key while flipping the switches and am frustrated at the fact that the lights keep flickering on and off. As I soon learned, you have to keep the key inserted in this card reader in order to turn on anything on in the room. This is to ensure that you are not wasting energy when not in the room. Who knew?!