Photos from Yom Kippur

Cara and I in our row boat

One of the fountains in Retiro

Rowboats

BARCELONA TOMORROW!

Yom Kippur

I've always gone home from Syracuse for Yom Kippur- never missed a year. This year its obviously a LITTLE difficult to get home in time so I spent the Day of Atonement Madrid-style. I woke up and went to Retiro (big park) with my friend and fellow Jew, Cara, to talk and think about how we can change and better our lives in the coming year. There was the option to attend services here but the only temple that we knew of was Orthodox and I wanted to be able to spend the day really thinking about my life and the year that has passed rather than sit in a temple. It would have been interesting to see what a Spanish service would be like, but I wanted to do things my way.

We walked around the park for awhile and then decided to rent a boat. The park has a decent sized lake in the middle of it where you can rent row boats for an hour. So, although we had some trouble first getting the hang of rowing, we were in the middle of the lake in no time. We brought notebooks with us and wrote down a list of goals for Spain and goals for life in general. It was a gorgeous day, and the perfect way to really think about life and what I want to get out of my experience here. Fasting wasn't has hard as I thought it would be, but after rowing and walking around for 3 hours I was exhausted.

After sundown, the school had a "break fast" for the us...bagels and cream cheese and lox. I have officially realized that I'm not a fan of lox. I never really gave it a chance but after trying it, I definitely know that its not for me. It has been so strange because I started fasting while everyone at home was still eating and now I can eat but they are still fasting- all because of the time difference. For dinner, my senora is making hamburgesas (hamburgers) and because she wanted to do something special for Yom Kippur, she's making me a chocolate tarte! Fasting all day has its perks.

Photos from Bullfight (Thanks Cara!)

WARNING: These pictures are graphic.

Cara, Me and Kerry outside of the Plaza de los Toros

View from the top

Stand-off

The last fight

Fin.

Bullfight

Im in shock. I don't really know how to react to the bullfight I just saw. I've never seen anything die in my life and today I saw 2 bulls get killed. Im trying to think of it as a cultural thing that I don't understand and Im trying to find the beauty in it but Im having trouble. It was like the ultimate fight of man vs. beast.

The stadium had the same atmosphere as a baseball game in the US, lively and loud. The seats were in the WAY back of the highest section, but we could still see everything. Hey, you get what you pay for when you only pay 4.50 euro.

First, the bull was brought out and taunted by 3 men holding hot pink capes to get it really angry. After, two horses covered in armor were brought out and 2 men were riding the horses holding huge spears. First one and then the other rider speared the bull to weaken it. After, a man with two long feather-looking things that actually had knives on the end of them came out and threw the spears so that they stuck into the bull's back. This happened 3 separate times. The man about to throw the knives had a sort of dance that he did- a set of choreographed movements with his body and feet that led to putting the knives in the back of the bull. The torero (main bullfighter) came out with a red cape that he used to get the bull angry. Under the cape he held a long sword. The face-off between the man and the bull was very intense, the bull barely missing the torero by centimeters as it charged at the red cape. Finally, when the time was right, the torero jabbed the sword in the back of the bull. Then, the three men holding the hot pink capes came out and all of the men in the ring circled around the bull, making it confused as it weakened and fell to the ground. After the bull collapsed, the torero took the sword in the back of the bull and continued to jab it into the bull, making sure that it was dead. Although the bull did struggle a little, it was too weak and then eventually did not move again. Then 3 horses came out and the bull was attached to the back of them and dragged in a circle and then out of the stadium.

I didn't cry. Im not sure why- I thought I was going to. My teacher had prepared me for what I was going to see and almost all of the Spanish people I had talked to told me that I was going to cry at the fight because I didn't understand it. I didn't cry because I think I was just so in shock that crying was not my first reaction. My first reaction was my body going numb and thinking I was going to throw up. I think the part that made me most upset was after the bull was down, the torero continued to jab the sword into it. The bull didn't even have a chance.

Of course my camera died the second I got there so I don't have any pictures but my friend did manage to take some shots- I'll be uploading some of hers later. For now I think I need to just reflect on what I saw and just think of it as something I did and will never do again.

Mercado San Miguel/Reina Sophia/Singles Party

El Tigre

Mercado San Miguel

Mercado San Miguel

The crazies come out to ask for money on the weekends.

"Guernica"- Picasso

Miro in the Reina Sophia

Standard window display..

I've survived another culture-filled/whirlwind weekend in Madrid! And for some reason, it mostly revolved around food...

Friday night my friend Cara and I ventured to a bar called El Tigre, known for its free plate of tapas with every drink ordered. The place was PACKED but we managed to snag a space at the bar so that we could enjoy our free food. The plates were filled with patatas bravas (similar to homefries with awesome sauce on top), pieces of bread with cheese and ham, croquettes and tortillas. We could barely make it through our first plate! The bar was filled with people, many of which spoke English! Its so funny because now whenever I hear someone speaking English I stop, turn around and stare. The bartenders at El Tigre were awesome and we will definitely be returning.

Saturday morning/afternoon started with a trip to Mercado San Miguel- a gourmet style market place in the heart of Madrid. This market has counters and booths set up for all types of food from fish and cheese to an entire section dedicated to sweets. The counters offer everything from pre-packaged things you can take home with you to hors d'oeuvres style bites that cost about a euro. The market was FULL of people sipping on wine and sampling from the huge plates of food they had bought, while we tried to walk around and take it all in. Once again, a place to return to.

After the market, we walked to the Reina Sophia, the modern art museum. The museum was huge and full of pieces that I have learned about in art history classes throughout the years. It was so amazing to be able to actually see the works of art that I had seen in textbooks. Although the museum was too big to conquer in one day, we did manage to see works from Picasso, Dali, and Miro. The most amazing piece was "Guernica" by Picasso. The piece had its own room- mostly because of its fame but also because it took up almost an entire wall. It was really incredible. There was also a photo exhibit that I really liked with photos of Spanish refugees. The photos showed images from children playing in ruins and carrying rifles to dead bodies in a field- it was intense and eye opening. My friends and I are planning to go back soon so that we can finish going through the museum.

My roommate and I were invited to a spanish Single's Party on Saturday night by our teacher (the class has only 3 students so we've gotten relatively close with her). It was in an apartment in Chueca and we had NO idea what to expect. After wandering around the neighborhood, we finally got to the party and found our teacher. She gave us name tags that had our name and whether we were looking for a chico (boy) or chica (girl). She then introduced us to a few people and we spent the next 2 hours mingling and talking in both Spanish and English with the people at the party. Even though I didn't find my future Spanish husband, we met so many interesting people and were totally out of our comfort zone. I was so proud that we ventured to the party because we didn't know anyone aside from our teacher but we left having had great conversations, despite the language barrier. It was definitely an experience and I am so glad that we went. When will I ever be invited to a singles party by my teacher AGAIN!?

Today (Sunday) I am going to see a bullfight! Its a requirement for my Hemingway in Spain class, but I think its something you have to see in Spain. I'm nervous because Im not sure how I will react to the bulls being killed but hopefully I'll make it through...

Palacio Real/La Noche en Blanco/El Rastro

Me (duh) at the Palacio Real

Me (again) at the Palacio Real

La Noche en Blanco

The Girls at La Noche en Blanco

Booth at the Rastro

Water Glass Player at the Rastro

Gas Masks at the Rastro

Booth at the Rastro

This weekend has been jam-packed. It started off on Wednesday/Thursday with crazy special deals at the clubs in Madrid, especially for students. A friend of mine has been promoting for clubs so a bunch of us have been going out to support him (and to get the VIP treatment, haha).

Saturday was a supposed school-run tour of the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) of Madrid. When we got to the computer lab (the meeting place for everyone) at 10 am we were met with an unpleasant surprise. Not only did we have to sit through an hour long lecture about the Duke of Wellington (?!?) we did NOT get to tour the Palacio Real. We stood outside of it but the tour of the Palacio was in reality a tour of random battle sites throughout Madrid. Me and my two friends were on a mission to see the Palacio and we ditched the group and went by ourselves. The palace was beautiful, and the rooms were so elaborate and ornate. Of course, we werent allowed to take pictures inside of the palace but not being able to take pictures was a blessing in disguise- normally when I'm trying to capture every moment I feel like I end up missing out on something.

After the Palacio and kebabs for lunch, we headed home for a nap before La Noche en Blanco- a city-wide festival throughout all of Madrid. The festival started at around 7pm and lasted until the wee hours of the morning and included everything from light shows and live music to magic shows. The streets were FULL of people (think Times Square on New Years Eve). We started off in Chueca (the gay district in Madrid) and wandered towards Sol to meet up with our friends. Now, I dont know WHY I havent been to Chueca yet, but 1. the people are beautiful 2. the people are SO nice and 3. they have the best ice cream I have ever seen in my life. Needless to say I will be returning. We followed a marching band through the streets of Chueca to Sol and wandered into a concert where the top 16 MC's in Madrid were battling. It was definitely an experience.

This morning, we peeled ourselves out of bed and trekked to the Rastro- the "flea market" esq mart that fills the streets of La Latina (a neighborhood in Madrid) every Sunday. We saw everything from booths with handmade jewelry to clothes, gas masks (?!?), chocolate dipped cones and a man who played the water glasses. Although I didnt buy anything, we have all decided that next weekend we will be making another appearance at el Rastro. Perfect ending to a culture filled weekend.

Things That I Miss..

Its been one month since I left the USA to come to Europe! I made it haha. I've been noticing that I miss the strangest things. Heres a grand list:

1. Tivo- or American TV in general (see post below)

2. My Blackberry (internet/email/texting at my fingertips, sigh).

3. FOOD (below is a complete list)

* Mexican food-there are no Mexican restaurants here. Seriously, Im going through major withdrawal

* Really good, hearty salads- salad here consists of lettuce and tomato. Maybe onions if you're lucky

* Wraps and Smoothies

* Honey mustard on anything

* Coffee- iced, hot, you name it. Especially Dunkin and Donut Delight

* Bagels

* Food from Syracuse- surprisingly I am missing the "as big as your head" sized peanut butter cookies, the questionable stir fry, Insomnia, the wraps, the salads, Syra-juice ANYTHING and of course my beloved Bleu Monkey and STELLAS

* Breakfast food- waffles, pancakes... basically anything besides toast

* Fro-yo, although the ice cream here is to die for

4. My family

5. My car, minus the ant infestation

6. All the people that aren't in Madrid with me

7. My own room

8. Not having to worry about pick pocketing

Paella!

Paella for dinner tonight, which means its going to be a good night. Normally paella, a rice dish very common in Spain, is filled with mariscos (shellfish)...most of which have their shells and EYES. Needless to say, our senora makes the safe version: chicken, shrimp (without shell/eyes/antennas) and veggies. A perfect end to a perfect day.

I feel so disconnected from American pop culture lately, aside from the TV shows I catch on sketchy websites. For some reason most of the networks wont broadcast their shows overseas and Im forced to Google search my way to the latest Gossip Girl episode. I only hear things from word of mouth here for example: Kanye at the VMAs. I didnt even know that the VMAs were happening! And Patrick Swayze dying?! Its been nice to not be bombarded by information at every second of every day. My only daily dose of information (aside from Facebook, which I religiously stalk) is when me and Kerry watch spanish television while we eat dinner. We usually catch Pasapalabra, a game show that our senora loves, or the noticias (news). Its also been a crazy transition from having a cell phone in America to a pay-as-you-go phone here. Every text costs 0.15 euro and so we have to pick and choose what is worth texting. I have now realized that most of what I text is pointless. AND now that texting costs so much, I pay attention in class! A win-win situation.

San Sebastian

The student travelers...

Kerry, Cara, Me and the two Israeli boys we met at the hostel

Keeping guard of our things on the beach

Spectators during the boat race

Me and Kerry on top of the mountain

View of La Concha from the mountain!

Group of us on the beach at night

San Sebastian at night when we arrived

This past weekend, I traveled with 9 of my good friends to a beautiful beach town in Northern Spain called San Sebastian. It was the first time I had ever REALLY traveled by myself (before there had always been parents and teachers) and it was quite the experience. We took a 6 hour bus ride from Madrid and left at 5pm...reaching San Sebastian at around 11:30! Some of our friends had taken earlier buses so they were already there and we all met at the hostel.

Now, it is official. I have survived 2 nights in a hostel. Normally I would be totally grossed out by anything in a hotel/hostel like pillows, curtains, sheets. Weird, I know...but just ask my family and they will tell you. For some reason when it comes to sleeping somewhere I turn into a major germaphobe. This hostel, Olga's Place, was made up of many dorm style rooms with bunk beds and single beds and housed about 50 guests. My room happened to have 5 people we were traveling with and 1 Australian girl who was backpacking through Europe on her own (something I was in totally awe of). I felt much safer that my girlfriends and I were in the same room as our guy friends which I think made the experience much easier. The thing I liked most about the hostel was meeting people from ALL OVER the world. We met people from Israel, Germany, Barcelona, and even some other students that were from the Netherlands and are studying in Madrid! Everyone was very friendly and gave us recommendations on places to go and things to see. The first night in the hostel we all went to the beach with some people we met and had a great time.

On Saturday we all hiked up to the top of (what we believe to be) the highest point in San Sebastian. At the top of this hill/mountain there is a huge statue of Jesus. I didn't get the memo about bringing sneakers or any type of athletic clothing so I made due with flip flops. It was challenging at times, but definitely worth it. After, we all went to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. The beach we went to, Playa Zurriola, was where all the surfers go..and there were definitely an abundance of wet suits. After coming back to Olga's Place and changing, we went out to dinner in the old part of the city. We found a plaza with tons of outdoor restaurants and had the BEST meal. The cuisine changes where ever you are in Spain and for some reason, Northern Spain has MUCH better food than Southern Spain. That night we walked around the old part of the city and found ourselves in a club/bar that overlooked La Concha, the other main beach in San Sebastian. We didn't know this ahead of time but Sunday was a huge boat/crew race at La Concha. Hundreds and hundreds of people lined the beach wearing different colors to signify what boating team they were rooting for. The beach was PACKED and since we had just checked out of the hostel, we had all of our things with us and had to be super careful to make sure nothing got stolen (see photo). We hung out at the beach until it was time to hop back on the bus to Madrid. It was perfect weather and one of the most beautiful beaches.

Traveling for the first time without any parental/teacher supervision was extremely eye opening. I'm so proud of myself for spending money wisely, sight seeing and also being able to take some time and relax. I would love to return to San Sebastian at some point but I cannot wait to continue my travels throughout Europe!

First Madrid Moments

Retiro Park

Fountain in Retiro Park

KAPITAL! The 7-story club

My beautiful familia- miss them more than anything!

People unicycle in the middle of the street while the cars have a red light and then ask for money!

Our school on Calle Miguel Angel

A Day in Retiro

I am sleep deprived. Outside of our window (which we have to keep wide open at all times to make sure theres some sort of air flow) there are loud noises at ALL hours of the day and night. They range from the normal crying baby to screaming toddlers, clanging pots and pans and the occasional cell phone/house phone ringing. Not only are the noises outside but they are also right above us because the people that live there feel the need to move their furniture around constantly. Currently, there is a family singing "Cumpleanos Feliz" at the top of their lungs. I think this may or may not be their 3rd round of the song. Gotta love Madrilenos.

So imagine all of this AND last night we got home at 7:30 am from Kapital, a 7-story club in Madrid. My eyes are basically closed while typing this I am so exhausted. I'm hoping that tonight I will be able to get some sleep and do homework for my 9am class tomorrow. Oh the life of a student abroad. When we were outside of the club my friends and I were talking in English and other people heard us and asked where we were from. Hearing english spoken fluently is definitely not something you hear everyday. They ended up being a bunch of other students from America studying abroad in Madrid through another program. What a small world.

Today me and my two friends went to the Retiro, a park that is the Spanish equivalent to Central Park in NYC. It was beautiful- full of waterfalls, a lake, and lots of people spending their Sundays outside in this gorgeous weather. We tried to do our homework there but we were too distracted by everything around us. I think I am going to try and read there tomorrow for class- we'll see how that goes!

Photos.

Candles at a church in Toledo

Reflection of the Alhambra (Granada)

Flowerpots in Cordoba

Found on a wall in Granada

View from the top of a tower in the Alhambra (Granada)

Lovely Friday

I have officially been mistaken for a madrileña (someone who lives in Madrid). While I was walking to the computer lab a woman asked me for directions in SPANISH and I knew what she was saying and how to direct her! How amazing.

They also have the best ice cream sandwiches here. They are called Cubanitos or somtimes Natas and they are half ice cream sandwich half hard chocolate bar with ice cream inside. Hard to explain but very delicious.

Time for my class.. for the first three weeks we have class on Fridays to make up for other days we are going to miss. So tonight I have class until 10 pm! Lame.

Today we went to one of the local pools in Madrid. For 3 € we got to lay out for a few hours and go swimming which was great. The craziest part was that most of the women were topless and wearing thongs as bottoms. Definintely different than the US. The girls and I want to go to a topless beach in Barcelona. Still working on those plans though haha.

First Day of Classes!

I have survived my first day of classes...which isn´t saying much. Yesterday at 9am everyone in the program had a spanish placement exam where they test to see our level of spanish. The test took about an hour and made me realize that although I can understand spanish, I still suck at grammar. After, I walked around with some friends exploring the area. I also joined the gym which I am VERY excited about. I like running around but working out in a gym is much more fun for me. Plus its making me realize that I am actually living here. I am a resident of Madrid. Wild. After joining the gym I had a quick lunch with friends and then went home to rest (siesta). Monday nights I have a class from 7-10 which seems really late but people where dont even eat dinner until 9 or 10 so its relatively normal. The class is called Sexuality in Spain and its counting towards my sociology minor. The strange thing was about this class was that I had been asking around to everyone I knew to see if anyone else was taking the class with me. Only my best friend (the girl with the hurt foot) and another guy we are good friends with said that they were...we got to class at 7 and WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE CLASS. That´s right, I am now one of 3 in a class about sex. The good thing is that I already feel comfortable with these people so talking is (and never really was) a problem. The downside? I can never miss class. Ever. She will definitely notice if one of her 3 students is missing. And since Kerry (best friend) and I are joined at the hip, she would definitely notice if 2 of her 3 were missing. I have a feeling that the guy is going to drop the class, in which case me and Kerry have our own private class. Should be interesting.

I have my Hemingway in Spain class and my Arts in Spain class today. Hopefully there will be more than 3 people in those classes!

Keeping my fingers crossed about getting the internet today. I´ve been living without it for almost 3 weeks now..crazy. When I do ill be uploading pictures and posting blogs more often. For now, I live at the computer lab.

The weather here is SO hot. Especially at night. We have no air conditioning and we sleep with our window literally WIDE open with out any screen. But our window faces into the building and we never get a breeze...makes sleeping a little difficult but hey, at least my bed is comfortable!