Hoy es el veintiseis de febrario y fue ya un mes! Mi amigo y yo hemos faltado a misa para las nueve y media de la manana en la catedral porque llegamos tardo. Necesito ir un vez y en punto.
A las doce de la tarde, Dickie, Tiffany, y yo hemos andado a la hermita. Hace dos horas para llegar al sitio y necesita hacer cendurismo. La hermita es un lugar en las montanas, el campo, cerca de la ciudad de cordoba donde los hermitos y "monks" vivian y oraban todos los dias en silencio. El lugar tiene una buena vista de la cuidad de cordoba y es bueno para relajarse. Poco lejos, tambien es perfecto para hacer ejecicio.
Pasamos por otros partes de la ciudad donde no hemos visto. Un sitio muy cerca de la hermita perece rico porque todos los ninos jovenes sobre dieciseis anos conducen motopeds. Y tambien hay muchas casas grandes alli que tiene cesped.
Pense que era divertido porque mis companeros son aventureros. El camino fue poco dificil. Pagamos la entrada para ver el museo de la hermita. Fue interesante porque los edificios o casas son muy viejos y tiene una mejor vista de la ciudad. Hay una estatua de Jesus (pienso que si) que domina la ciudad. La hermita fue en la montana y almorzamos alli. Volvimos a casa y llegamos sobre las ocho de la noche. Ahora necesito dormir. Luego tengo que sacar las fotos de mis amigos de nuestra viaje por las montanas.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Carnaval
View of Alhambra, Grenada, Spain
Estoy cansada...el jueves pasado disfrute con mis amigas hasta alas dos de la manana. El dia siguiente, el viernes, tenemos un excursion a Alhambra en Grenada. Visitamos un palacio de los musulmanos. Su historia es rica y largo. Un hecho interesante fue que los guardias que vigilaban la mujer mas importante fueron castrados cuando eran ninos para ellos no pueden enamorarse con la mujer. Despues de la excursion, comimos en un buffet. Fue deliciosa y come hasta fui a reventar. El sabado salimos de cordoba a las nueve de la manana a Cadiz para Carnaval y volvimos de Carnaval a las nueve de la manana. Fue una idea mala para volver tarde porque no pude dormir!
A perfect day at the beach in Cadiz, Spain
I bought the cheapest costume (wig) I could find from a Chinese store.
Tuve un fin de semana larga. El sábado pasado, fui con mis amigos a Cadiz para el Carnaval. Sali de Cordoba a las nueve de la mañana y volvi a casa a la una de la tarde el próximo dia. Carnaval fue muy extraño y divertido. Al principio, cuando estuvimos viajando por el bus, conoci un hombre de Romania. Se llama Florin y puede hablar Romania, ingles, y español. El fue parte de nuestro grupo en Cadiz. Tambien durante la noche, conoci la amiga de Florin y Erasmus estudiantes de Francia que están estudiando en Granada por el semester. El Carnaval empezó sobre a las diez de la noche. Toda la gente llevo su disfraz. Yo lleve una peluca con muchos colores que compre en una tienda china. Fue difícil para navegar por las calles porque hubo miles de gente. Las calles estaban llenas de botellas, vidrio, y basura mientras personas bebía y hacia pis en las calles porque no hubo servicios bastantes. El fin me dolían mis pies por las calles empedradas. Comi un bocadillo chorizo y bebi tinto de verano. No bebi mucho alcohol porque tuve miedo de los servicios. Yo no quería hacer pis en las calles. Muchas veces, personas elegio entre la multitud mis amigas que son asiáticas. Los llamaron chinas porque no es común para ver chinos en la fiesta de Carnival. Sacamos fotos con gente al azar. Hubo mucho Smurfs.
autobús. Alli, nos quedamos de bajo de un apartamento porque tuvimos frio a fuera. Tratamos de dormir pero no pude hasta el viaje por bus hacia Cordoba. Por ultimo, Carnaval fue una experiencia única.
Picture with trannies!
Tiffany (a Japanese) and Dickie (a troll/dracula/idk)
Carnaval es una fiesta grande con mucha gente desde todos partes del mundo. Viene a Espana para disfrutar y aprovechar el dia. Es una tradición católica. Sucede después del fin de enero, generalmente durante el fin de febrerio por dos fines de semanas. Carnaval es la ultima fiesta antes de cuaresma, un periodo de ayuno y reflexión. El mas famoso Carnival tiene lugar en Cadiz cerca de las playas y Catedral en las calles estrechas por la ciudad vieja. Otros lugares populares con Carnaval incluyen Gran Canaria, Tenerife, y Ciudad Rodrigo. Carnaval es diferente de otros festivales del mundo porque es un tiempo para llevar disfrases, beber bebidas, y pasar un buen rato con los demás del mundo. Por la madrugada, toda la noche se llena de vida. Las familias, niños, amigos, turistas, y cantantes acudir en masa.
The Carnival group. I love our characters and colors.
Tuve un fin de semana larga. El sábado pasado, fui con mis amigos a Cadiz para el Carnaval. Sali de Cordoba a las nueve de la mañana y volvi a casa a la una de la tarde el próximo dia. Carnaval fue muy extraño y divertido. Al principio, cuando estuvimos viajando por el bus, conoci un hombre de Romania. Se llama Florin y puede hablar Romania, ingles, y español. El fue parte de nuestro grupo en Cadiz. Tambien durante la noche, conoci la amiga de Florin y Erasmus estudiantes de Francia que están estudiando en Granada por el semester. El Carnaval empezó sobre a las diez de la noche. Toda la gente llevo su disfraz. Yo lleve una peluca con muchos colores que compre en una tienda china. Fue difícil para navegar por las calles porque hubo miles de gente. Las calles estaban llenas de botellas, vidrio, y basura mientras personas bebía y hacia pis en las calles porque no hubo servicios bastantes. El fin me dolían mis pies por las calles empedradas. Comi un bocadillo chorizo y bebi tinto de verano. No bebi mucho alcohol porque tuve miedo de los servicios. Yo no quería hacer pis en las calles. Muchas veces, personas elegio entre la multitud mis amigas que son asiáticas. Los llamaron chinas porque no es común para ver chinos en la fiesta de Carnival. Sacamos fotos con gente al azar. Hubo mucho Smurfs.
Hizo calor cuando llegamos a Cadiz y la temperatura fue perfecta para tomar el sol en las playas, pero por el noche hizo frio, especialmente cerca de la playa. A las cinco de la mañana, volvimos a la estación de
autobús. Alli, nos quedamos de bajo de un apartamento porque tuvimos frio a fuera. Tratamos de dormir pero no pude hasta el viaje por bus hacia Cordoba. Por ultimo, Carnaval fue una experiencia única.Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Pensando
Hoy fue un buen dia! Hizo frio por la manana pero hizo sol por la tarde. No se porque la tempuratura cambia mucho. Durante el dia, puedes llevar ropa sin abrigo. Olvide que hoy fue miercoles. Pense que fue jueves y camine a la casa de mi intercambio. Cuando le llame, Esther me dijo que "es miercoles, no es jueves." El jueves nosotros nos quedaremos. Despues de hable con ella, yo fui a un cafe. Ordene un capuccino que costo un euro y sesenta centimos. No voy a ordenar otra vez porque es poco caro y no me gusta el carnelo que ponga en el bebido. Prefiero cafe con leche y un croissant con miel. Solo dos euros! Mientras estuve en el cafe, Ricardo quedo conmigo para estudiar. Estudiamos y terminamos nuestra tarea para la clase de grammatica. Fue facil.
Ricardo no sabias si quieres ir a la clase de baile o disfrutar con teresa, sus intercambios, y yo. Yo deje mi mochila en mi apartamento y sali de apartmento para el Corte Ingles. Alla quede con teresa. Conoci a sus amigos, Enrique y Blanco quienes son simpaticos. Come churros y purras y hablamos en espanol. Los espanoles saben a hablar en ingles porque iban a un colegio bilingual cuando eran ninos. Ensenaron a nosotros- guiddies (no se como spell it)- y Ricardo y Tereso practicaron a rolling sus rr's. Puedo roll rr's pero quiero a hablar fluidamente en espanol. Es muy dificil para mi. Muchas veces no entiendo los espanoles cuando hablan cada otro. Ellos hablan muy rapido. Necesito practicar la pronunciacion para make las palabras flow como un rio. Espero que es posible hablar fluido en espanol.
Tengo sueno ahora.
Ricardo no sabias si quieres ir a la clase de baile o disfrutar con teresa, sus intercambios, y yo. Yo deje mi mochila en mi apartamento y sali de apartmento para el Corte Ingles. Alla quede con teresa. Conoci a sus amigos, Enrique y Blanco quienes son simpaticos. Come churros y purras y hablamos en espanol. Los espanoles saben a hablar en ingles porque iban a un colegio bilingual cuando eran ninos. Ensenaron a nosotros- guiddies (no se como spell it)- y Ricardo y Tereso practicaron a rolling sus rr's. Puedo roll rr's pero quiero a hablar fluidamente en espanol. Es muy dificil para mi. Muchas veces no entiendo los espanoles cuando hablan cada otro. Ellos hablan muy rapido. Necesito practicar la pronunciacion para make las palabras flow como un rio. Espero que es posible hablar fluido en espanol.
Tengo sueno ahora.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Castillo de Almodovar
Some Interesting Things About Cordoba:
-Used to be one the major cities in the Roman Empire in Hispania. It is where the administration was set up, ambassadors and other politicians congregated.
-The Catedral still displays its spectular, enigmatic history, a mesh of Muslim and more recent Catholic origin
-Located in the South of Spain, Andalucia, people are notoriously known for their- what is easiest to be described as a- lisp because they don't pronounce the "s" and other consonants, and quick tongue, because they speak really fast compared to those in the north.
-Some the popular local dishes: Robo de toro, Flamenquin, Salmorejo.
-Has one of the largest juderias in the world.
-Yes, there are SIESTAS and stores close for a couple of hours.
Welcome to El Castillo de Almodovar
Today, some friends and I visited the Castle of Almodovar, located 30 min from the central city of Cordoba. On top of a hill with incredible views, this castle was built in the Fourteenth century for Peter I "The Cruel." It's more of a fortress, Iberian and before Roman, that has undergone several reconstructions.
Great group of people on top of the castle.
Looking out on the balcony.
Oh Yeah! I can conquer the world from here!
Light snack and one of my favorite drinks- tinto de verano.
:D
Friday, February 3, 2012
Algunas Cosas
Lo siento, necesito escribir en espanol para mejorar mi espanol, pero es probablemente Spanglish porque no se todos las palabras. Hay cosas que quiero escribir sobre de Espana.
Espana es peculiar. No hay muchas asians aqui, entonces los espanoles se llama chinos or chinetas. No es malo pero los chinos son extrano aqui.
I'd like to tell you about a typical day here but I haven't got into the groove of things yet. I can tell you some of the peculiarities and random things that I've learned and noticed so far.
What I like about Cordoba, or maybe it goes for most of Spain, is that it's not as dangerous as the United States. Here the only common crimes are petty like pickpocketing and mostly pickpocketing and hearing about a murder is rare. If you were to walk alone at night, you wouldn't really have to think about getting raped or murdered. Their crimes are not as violent.
Another thing is that besides the good food, Spaniards really like to watch T.V.- just like my family- as if it was a part of the family. I live in an old apartment and the newest and nicest thing is flatscreen T.V. Whenever we eat dinner, the T.V. is always on. It really reminds me of home and Mom. It surprised me that they have a lot of English shows (Simpsons, CSI, Law and Order...etc. probably all of them) dubbed in Spanish. And the gossip like our Entertainment Tonight show focuses on American television also. It mentioned Madonna and Angelina Jolie. It also reviewed the NBA stats. There's so much information about what's happening in America in Spanish T.V. that it surprised me because I assumed that the Spanish would focus or offer more Spanish shows/news because of their pride. I didn't realize how much the world watches us.
I've really liked the food so far, but haven't had the chance to watch mi madre cook. She's made different meals everytime: Paella, la cocido, some lentil soup, pollo con papas fritas, huevos y arroz, Spanish tortilla with potatas, y cereal para el desyauno.
It's been so cold lately, about 0 degrees Celsius and below. Even with gloves my hands go numb and its very cold in my room. My family and probably the others don't really use heaters to save electricity. The only heater they have in under the dining table. I shower during the cold mornings. They do have hot water but your shower is limited to a couple minutes to save water and electricity. I have to turn off the water, shampoo, turn it back on, then off, and then soap, etc. I'm freezing in the morning, but I guess I have to do what I got to do. The sinks only have ice cold water and I tend to get cold easily.
Right now, people are saying it is the best time to go shopping because of the sales. Apparently in January and February is when they have end-of-the-year sales, and the government somehow subsidizes the profit?? Not sure. But today after our excursion- which happens usually every Friday- we looked at some shops in the center of Cordoba. There are so many shoe shops and sales and things I want to buy but I don't really have the money and space for it. When I see all these things, I'm reminded that I should brings some things back for friends and family but I'm unsure of what to get for them. (If you're reading this in February while there are still sales, let me know what you want from Spain or Europe, and I'll see if I can find a good sale here to get for you! In other words, let me know what you want!) For instance, a friend bought a pair of nice casual heels for 9 euros= less than 12 USD. It's a great deal! We agree that people here in Spain dress up a lot more nicely and sophisticated than in the US- we like that. You don't see anyone in the shopping district or walking on the sidewalk wearing running shoes or hoodies. Everything is laid back here and the wardrobe is casual but classy. People usually wear boots or leather shoes in the winter and nice jackets.
Today, we actually went to the Mosque-converted to- Cathedral in the centre of Cordoba for our Friday excursion. This is one of the places that one can't comprehend just by looking at pictures on the Internet. You must be there to see it! I know I saw thousands of pictures of it before I came to Cordoba and I thought I had seen it all but it's different when you're actually there. There are so many times I see pictures of a museum and I go there only to see that the picture exactly captures it and a trip wasn't necessary. There is a long history to how the Christians conquered the mosque and continued to build upon it into the cathedral that it is now...it has so much history and value that you have to see it to believe it. The cathedral still has traces and elements of the mosque that was not destroyed and it's unbelievable the amount of precise details and elaborate decorations that adorn it. And it's really amazing that it derives all the way back to the sixth century -if not earlier- if I am correct.
One of the best part of being in Cordoba is definitely the siesta even thought I haven't exactly taken full advantage of it yet. After you eat lunch, it's appropriate to take a nap/sleep and rest. Even stores close to take a siesta.
At this point, I think my Spanish is plateauing and I am using the same old phrases. It's still difficult to understand when my family tries to talk to me or I try to listen in on a Spanish conversation because they talk so fast. I need to study and ampliar mi vocabulario de espanol. Sorry if this blog is a little disorganized but I just had to get all my random thoughts down.
Espana es peculiar. No hay muchas asians aqui, entonces los espanoles se llama chinos or chinetas. No es malo pero los chinos son extrano aqui.
I'd like to tell you about a typical day here but I haven't got into the groove of things yet. I can tell you some of the peculiarities and random things that I've learned and noticed so far.
What I like about Cordoba, or maybe it goes for most of Spain, is that it's not as dangerous as the United States. Here the only common crimes are petty like pickpocketing and mostly pickpocketing and hearing about a murder is rare. If you were to walk alone at night, you wouldn't really have to think about getting raped or murdered. Their crimes are not as violent.
Another thing is that besides the good food, Spaniards really like to watch T.V.- just like my family- as if it was a part of the family. I live in an old apartment and the newest and nicest thing is flatscreen T.V. Whenever we eat dinner, the T.V. is always on. It really reminds me of home and Mom. It surprised me that they have a lot of English shows (Simpsons, CSI, Law and Order...etc. probably all of them) dubbed in Spanish. And the gossip like our Entertainment Tonight show focuses on American television also. It mentioned Madonna and Angelina Jolie. It also reviewed the NBA stats. There's so much information about what's happening in America in Spanish T.V. that it surprised me because I assumed that the Spanish would focus or offer more Spanish shows/news because of their pride. I didn't realize how much the world watches us.
I've really liked the food so far, but haven't had the chance to watch mi madre cook. She's made different meals everytime: Paella, la cocido, some lentil soup, pollo con papas fritas, huevos y arroz, Spanish tortilla with potatas, y cereal para el desyauno.
It's been so cold lately, about 0 degrees Celsius and below. Even with gloves my hands go numb and its very cold in my room. My family and probably the others don't really use heaters to save electricity. The only heater they have in under the dining table. I shower during the cold mornings. They do have hot water but your shower is limited to a couple minutes to save water and electricity. I have to turn off the water, shampoo, turn it back on, then off, and then soap, etc. I'm freezing in the morning, but I guess I have to do what I got to do. The sinks only have ice cold water and I tend to get cold easily.
Right now, people are saying it is the best time to go shopping because of the sales. Apparently in January and February is when they have end-of-the-year sales, and the government somehow subsidizes the profit?? Not sure. But today after our excursion- which happens usually every Friday- we looked at some shops in the center of Cordoba. There are so many shoe shops and sales and things I want to buy but I don't really have the money and space for it. When I see all these things, I'm reminded that I should brings some things back for friends and family but I'm unsure of what to get for them. (If you're reading this in February while there are still sales, let me know what you want from Spain or Europe, and I'll see if I can find a good sale here to get for you! In other words, let me know what you want!) For instance, a friend bought a pair of nice casual heels for 9 euros= less than 12 USD. It's a great deal! We agree that people here in Spain dress up a lot more nicely and sophisticated than in the US- we like that. You don't see anyone in the shopping district or walking on the sidewalk wearing running shoes or hoodies. Everything is laid back here and the wardrobe is casual but classy. People usually wear boots or leather shoes in the winter and nice jackets.
Today, we actually went to the Mosque-converted to- Cathedral in the centre of Cordoba for our Friday excursion. This is one of the places that one can't comprehend just by looking at pictures on the Internet. You must be there to see it! I know I saw thousands of pictures of it before I came to Cordoba and I thought I had seen it all but it's different when you're actually there. There are so many times I see pictures of a museum and I go there only to see that the picture exactly captures it and a trip wasn't necessary. There is a long history to how the Christians conquered the mosque and continued to build upon it into the cathedral that it is now...it has so much history and value that you have to see it to believe it. The cathedral still has traces and elements of the mosque that was not destroyed and it's unbelievable the amount of precise details and elaborate decorations that adorn it. And it's really amazing that it derives all the way back to the sixth century -if not earlier- if I am correct.
One of the best part of being in Cordoba is definitely the siesta even thought I haven't exactly taken full advantage of it yet. After you eat lunch, it's appropriate to take a nap/sleep and rest. Even stores close to take a siesta.
At this point, I think my Spanish is plateauing and I am using the same old phrases. It's still difficult to understand when my family tries to talk to me or I try to listen in on a Spanish conversation because they talk so fast. I need to study and ampliar mi vocabulario de espanol. Sorry if this blog is a little disorganized but I just had to get all my random thoughts down.
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