The Final Siesta

I can´t believe tomorrow is our LAST day in Madrid.

I have really started to love it here and will miss the people tremendously.

Even though they are EXTREMELY blunt: The other day Beth and I bought dresses at Zara... when we came home, we tried them on for Carmen because we thought she would like that. We went into the kitchen where she was and she got excited and then said ¨I like Beths better¨. Ouch. She said that mine was happy and colorful... but Beths was better.

We also had Robyn and Meredith come meet Carmen and Padre and right in front of them she asked ¨Beth, who do you like better Meredith or Robyn?¨ We all just kind of laughed. She is so funny. And she REALLY loved it when we told her how we had misunderstood the Michael Jackson thing. She laughed the hardest I´ve ever seen and then proceeded to act out what we told her happened when Robyn told us that he had died.

¨Did you hear Michael Jackson died.¨

¨No it´s his birthday¨

She has this special voice she uses when she imitates us. It´s really quite entertaining. I´m going to miss that lady!

Today, we took our last siesta because tomorrow we are going to be trying to squeeze in as much as we can! It was a GOOD one and much needed....

Last night we went to Kapital... a 7 story club. It is just kind of one of those things that you should be able to say you´ve been to when you go to Madrid. They have this one floor where sporadically throughout the songs it sprays this HUGE gust of air/fog. It was really neat. And it´s hilarious to get me, Beth Ann, Robyn, and Meredith in a club.... I wish you all could see the dynamics of THAT. Although we had a ton of fun last night, I have learned on this trip that I´m kind of a home body and would rather stay in reading than go clubbing all the time.

VBS has been going great and on Saturday I tie dyed over 106 shirts! I have no desire to ever tie dye again in my LIFE. I´m REALLY sad that we didn´t have VBS sooner because we have met so many cool people through the church. We have also gotten a few offers for housing, should we decide to come back to Madrid!

We went to the bull fight tonight...they say the meat from the bulls goes to an orphanage... it still didn´t quite justify it for me.

The first bull really wasn´t too bad. (they kill SIX by the way)... I think I handled it well because I mainly watched it through my camera.. it kind of felt like watching it on TV. (I got some cool pictures PRE stabbing of the bull). Then the second one got me. It was so horrible. I really thought I was going to be able to tough it out, but when the bull started throwing up blood I lost it. Beth and I ended up leaving... and our really kind hearted professor that is leading this trip made us each pay 5 euros to leave early. Even though that was kind of a crap move, I think it was 5 euros well spent. I just don´t know how people can enjoy that stuff. I can say I´ve done it but really, I would have been fine with not going at all.

Well, I fear this is the last Madrid update I will be giving!

Hasta nunca!

Spain Lesson #19: Do NOT go to the bull fights.

and just to round things off...

Spain Lesson #20: If you choose to go to spain... follow these Spain lessons very carefully.

Lo Siento Michael Jackson

As I´m sure you all have heard by now, Michael Jackson died.

Well, Beth Ann and I, not having access to much television or internet had not been informed.

That is... until Carmen informed us at breakfast.

But what do you know? Communication breakdown...

It was early,We were getting ready for VBS and she was telling us something about Michael Jackson and then she said he´s 50 years old.... and something about him living in California....

We thought she told us it was his birthday.

It wasn´t until we got to the church that we discovered just how wrong we were. Someone asked if we had heard about him dying and we both said ¨no, it´s his birthday.¨

Sorry Michael, that we did not mourn accordingly.

Speaking of VBS, I am having a blast. It is an English speaking church that we are working at. That does NOT, however, mean that everyone there speaks English. They said a lot of parents put their kids in VBS to LEARN English.

If you speak to them in English and they just stare blankly at you, you try your hand at Spanish and you can USUALLY get a response.... except for this one time. I had a little boy in the arts and crafts room and I said ¨Hablas espanol?¨he said no... I said ¨so you speak English¨he said no... at that point I just gave up and went straight to miming. I suppose I could have guessed at his language but it wouldn´t have mattered since I really only know those two..... well one and half if we´re being technical.

Working in the Arts and Crafts room has been a blast and it has just been such a cool experience to work with these kids. The Pastors wife said she would count how many countries were represented at VBS tomorrow. But it is incredible how many different kids there are from different countries. One of our professors always says that it is what heaven will look like.

I was really ready to come home the other day, but now I am starting to get that bittersweet feeling about it. Last night we went to a Flamenco show and it really sank it how AMAZING this experience has been and how I am going to remember it for the rest of my life. I´m so thankful to have had a chance to get to come here.

Oh, and as if we weren´t hated enough already, USA beat Spain in futbol. Perfect.

I can´t believe I only have a few of these left.

Hasta Luego.

Spain Lesson # 18: Do not react too strongly to any news you may recieve in another language. Even if you think you understand... you can be wrong. You can be SO wrong.

Crusty Old Finger

Today was the final day trip of our Spain schedule... we will be getting to finals soon. (pray for me.... its going to be rough)

Today we went to Salamanca and Avila. In Salamanca we went to a two for one special Cathedral... Oh joy. Just what I love... two cathedrals at the same time.... BORING

We tried to go to Salamanca University, but it was closed for renovation: translation... closed for Americans. We saw people going in and out of it the whole time as we were standing there. Salamanca was pretty much a bust and we actually spent most of our time there sitting in a McDonalds reading our books reveling in the fact that there was ice in our drinks!

Avila, however, provided a little more interest. We went to the Monestary of St. Theresa... It was pretty much just like a Cathedral visit... that is UNTIL we saw her ACTUAL ROTTING CRUSTY OLD FINGER. Yup. Religious relic... rotting finger in a fancy schmancy case...

So. That was the highlight of the day.... a crusty old finger. Needless to say, I am glad we are not having any more day trips!

We start Vacation Bible School at the Baptist church tomorrow. I am so excited that they are letting us help! It would have been nice to sleep in because class isnt until 4 tomorrow but I really think it is going to be A LOT of fun. I´m sure I will get a funny story or two out of it. I just love little kids.

Anyways, our rivetting trip as made us slightly late for dinner. So I better go!

Ciao

Spain Lesson #17: There is nothing for you in Salamanca.

Something I miss today: Free Bathrooms.... you can´t go unless you buy something.

Something I am thankful for: In spain they listen to English radio stations like Kiss FM... All of the songs are in English. I am thankful for that. But I am also VERY grateful that in America we do not listen to Spanish radio stations in every store, restaurant, internet cafe... etc.

burnt to a crisp

I´m back from Santander. It was amazing and I´m am burnt to a crisp from a beautiful day on the beach. Who would have thought you needed to put sunscreen on your legs?!

we went to Bilboa to see the Guggenheim today. It was amazing. I´m kind of weirdly obsessed with it now. Can you have a crush on a building? I think I do.

Happy Father´s Day, Daddy! Love you! You can open your card now! WishI was in America to hang out with you

Well I have to go do some homework... Beth and I have been feeling a little bit under the weather lately... We are going to try to get to bed early tonight.

Today, I miss America... more importantly Texas.... and even MORE importantly good old Waco!

Until Next time.

Spain Lesson #16: When you are falling on the metro or bus because of an abrupt stop, be careful of what you grab for. People don´t really like to be groped by a foreigner.

Im famous

When we got home from the park yesterday Carmen was so excited to tell me something.

It took me a while to understand what she was saying but she told me that Padre saw me on TV! I'm pretty much famous here now! He said they zoomed in on my face while I was rowing a boat.... He said he was sure it was me because of my green headband! He told me about 15 different times just to make sure I understood. People will probably start asking me for my autograph soon! haha Probably not. But I must have looked pretty spanish that day to have made it on the evening news!

We finally worked up the courage to give Carmen the peanut butter that we bought so she could use them in our lunches. She was really confused by it and thought we wanted it for breakfast. We ended up making our sandwiches for lunch at the breakfast table. We explained that we actually wanted them for lunch.... then she thought she needed to make us some.... well she ended up putting peanut butter on the OUTSIDE of a sandwich that was already made..... she got so flustered and Beth Ann and I couldn't stop laughing! So, she just added another piece of bread. Oh Carmen!

I think we may have been TOO excited for tortilla espanola the other night. We had it again for dinner last night.... and on bread today for lunch.... in addition to my triple decker peanut butter sandwich.

We have sneaking suspisions that Carmen is going to try our peanut butter this weekend and really like it! She hasn't had it before so we are hoping she does! We'll see.

We made it to Santander today! Our balcony overlooks the ocean. Don't worry. It's beautiful.

I love relaxing weekends!

And speaking in English all weekend.

And sleeping in.

and cereal for breakfast.

It's going to be great!

Spain Lesson #14: Hotel bathrooms sometimes don't work as well as the bathrooms at home, right Meredith?

Spain Lesson #15: The Spanish word for laxative is Laxante.

Heraldo

Lo siento!!! (Sorry) I haven´t posted in a while!!!

However. I come back with very important news.... Padre´s name is HERALDO!

Carmen mentioned it casually at dinner last night... we asked who Heraldo was and she said it was Padre! I feel more enlightened, however, it was kind of fun not to know. Now I find myself conflicted as to what I should call him.

Well, we have a new roommate.

When we were getting ready for school the other day Beth shouted

¨SHOOT CAIT WATCH OUT!!!¨

The urgency in her voice made me think there was a venemous snake about to attack my vulnerable ankles. Needless to say, I took immediate action and in one swift movement went from the corner of our room to the top of my bed and within 2 seconds I had all my belongings on the bed with me. Beth proceeded to say ¨did you see that spider¨

yup... a spider.

Today we got to lay out! It was incredibly relaxing. Then we went to the park to go row boating... it was the ULTIMATE DAY remake because the first ultimate day got ruined.

In the midst of rowboating and laughter, however, Julie decided to throw a dead fish on our boat. It was legitimately a whole FOOT LONG. I seriously thought Beth and I were gonna vom in the back of the boat. Luckily Meredith got it out, but I had to thwart her plan of launching it on the ore back to their boat because I could just picture Beth and I getting fish slapped across the face. Sick.

We leave for Santander tomorrow. We are being forced to see one more cathedral on the way. (I´m really getting tired of them) BUT then its just the beach for a whole DAY AND A HALF! Heaven. Then we are heading to Bilboa to see the Guggenheim built by Frank Gehry I am so excited to see it! You should definitely Google it right now. I´ll wait...............

Cool, huh?

Last night Carmen made tortilla espanola for us again! We got so excited when we saw her making it that she said she would teach us! She also promised to teach us how to make Paella! So, whoever wants some legit spanish food come eat dinner with me and I will share my wealth of knowledge! Hopefully it will turn out okay. I dont have a good cooking rep thus far.

I can´t believe it is already the 18th! It is just flying by, before I know it we will be on a plane back to the good ole USA!

Well I´m off for another weekend on another beautiful Spanish beach. I´ll be back on Monday! Adios!

Spain Lesson #13: Every metro stop is different. Sometimes the conductor waits for a long time... sometimes you don´t even have time to get from a nearby bench to the door of the metro. Don´t be embarrased if you run to catch the metro thinking the doors might close on your heels.... only to wait 5 more minutes while other people meander on taking their own sweet time.... at least you made the metro... and still have all of your limbs.

Now I know how Gilligan felt

Well, I´m back from Barcelona! It was a fun time, but I definitely found myself missing Madrid... my little home away from home!

Well, the hostal turned out to be alright... having community showers again wasn´t really my favorite part (I found myself flashing back to memories of Collins), but it was definitely an experience!

We got to meet up with Kathryn which was so fun, and Beth Ann´s friend Carolyn got to meet us in Barcelona! I´m so glad she came!

The first night, Robyn slept in her jeans and shoes because she was so grossed out to sleep in out little beds.... Little did she know, the next day she would fall on the floor on the comunity shower! hahaha So much for being clean!

Friday, we went to La Sagrada Familia we spent 9 euro to step inside a gate and be 2 feet closer to the church.... we didn´t get to go inside! What a bummer! Good thing Larson is reembursing us for our tours! It was really neat though. Kind of strange to look at since it is such an old building but still under construction!

Next we went to the Picasso Museum! It was awesome to get to see so many of his works in one place!

BUT I think the highlight of the day for EVERYONE was the CHOCOLATE MUSEUM!!!!!! The ticket to get it was a chocolate bar! They had really sweet chocolate sculptures...quite the masterpieces! They even had a chocolate Jesus.... (Pictures to come as soon as I can fix my computer!)

After all of that we went to lay on the Beach for a while and I had my first experience with the Mediterranean Sea! It was awesome! However it was also clothing optional.... what a trip. Topless was the main trend, however, you could also just take it to the extreme if you chose. We saw many a naked people....

The next day, we went on Fat Tire Bike Tours! It was incredible. We got to hit all the high points of Barcelona! However, what was supposed to be a 4 hour tour turned into a 5 hour tour... Now I know how Gilligan felt! Thanks Amy for popping your tire... not once... but TWICE!

They told us that we had officially taken the longest tour EVER! Excellent!

Last night we met some English blokes, learned some English sayings and had a great time going around Barcelona with them! We have met some really interesting people in Spain!

Well, fun weekend is over. I better get back to real life (that sounds so funny since this whole experience is not anywhere close to real life) and do my homwork!

More updates to come! And hopefully pics! I´m really wish I could use my own computer but, I one of the perks of the internet cafe is that they are always playing Kiss FM... its so funny to hear them singing in English... The Fray with a spanish accent... very interesting!

Well

Balle Balle Venga Balle

(That is a phrase Carmen likes to use when we are leaving...)

Spain Lesson #12: If you do choose to go naked on a spanish beach, you must disrobe yourself in a certain order. It must always be SHIRT FIRST. If you are seen with a shirt on but no pants, you can be arrested. ( this is a real law.... I did not make this crazy stuff up)

barcelona dreams

Just got to our hostel in Barcelona....

I laughed....

The name is Barcelona Dreams....

I'm sure there will be some good stories to come.

Spain Lesson # 11: If they don't show pictures of you hostel on the internet, be prepared for anything!

Attack of the Paella... Parts I and II

I´m sure you´ve all been long awaiting this blog! I´m sorry it did not happen sooner. I typed one out on my computer and included PICTURES and everything.... but.... my computer BROKE. Yup. Broke.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! The Big Cincuenta! ( I put it in Spanish so less people will actually know!) I´m sad I missed your birthday! Hope you found my card that I left! I´m glad you didn´t open it early! Make sure Dad doesn´t open his father´s day card early either. I´m sure it´s hard not to since yall miss me SOO much! haha Love you! Can´t wait to see pictures from the concert!

This weekend was SO fantastic! I really loved Granada. We stayed in a BEAUTIFUL hotel up in the mountains and had an incredible view off of our balcony! It definitely spoiled me!

It was surprisingly cold this weekend, especially in the mountains. I´ll sum up this weekend really quickly.

RAIN RAIN ROMAN RUINS RAIN

CATHEDRAL

VIRGIN MARY

MOORISH PALACE

COLD WEATHER

BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS

HUGE BATHROOMS

We could tell that Carmen really missed us this weekend! She was EXTRA huggy when we got back!

It was a great weekend, however, I left our phone charger in one of the hotels which means I get to go back to the phone store... GREAT! We all know how well that went last time... Hopefully I won´t get kicked out.

On sunday night before we headed back to Madrid, we all went out to eat. I decided to be brave and try the Paella. We didn´t know what kind of meat would come in it....

So begins attack of the Paella Part I:

It was Paella with Mariscos... aka shellfish.

When we got it it had ENTIRE shrimp! When I look at my food, I prefer that it not look back at me! They had 8 inch long antennae, little shrimpy heads, beady little eyes, and all their shrimpy legs! I have never felt so squirmy in my whole life! Someone even convinced me that they were still alive.... it didnt seem too hard to believe since they were still in tact! At one point I actually jumped when a shrimp suddenly revealed itself from amongst the rice.

Luckily CJ saved the day and offered to behead the shrimp for us... she´s so brave!

When we got home from our trip, I told Carmen that I had tried Paella and slyly told her it was Chicken Paella thinking that if I told her that she might make us CHICKEN paella. Nope... attack of the Paella Part II:

We arrive home from school for lunch on tuesday to find that we are having paella. She was really excited since I had told her that I really liked it! My chicken plan did not work.... I met the little shrimpys yet again... only this time on home turf. However, I just couldnt do it. I just turned their eyes away from me so they weren´t watching me eat and left them on my plate. I think Carmen was a little dissapointed.

This next section is a formal apology to Beth Ann and Robyn:

I´m sorry I spoke poorly of ya´ll for not holding the metro door for us. After seeing on the news that some man got his hand amputated by the metro door I realized that there was really nothing you could do. I´m glad that you still have all of your limbs. Meredith and I will walk faster next time... or you could slow down... I´m just saying.

We are headed to Barcelona tomorrow! We leave right after school and will be back on sunday. I am sooo excited! I learned about a lot of the architecture in one of my classes this year and can´t wait to see some Gaudi for myself. Oh and I guess laying on a Spanish beach won´t be so bad either!

Hopefully I can get my computer figured out and put pictures on my next post! For now, just imagine REALLY pretty mountains and a funny picture of me with some shrimp and you will have a pretty good idea of what this could have looked like.

Ciao

I´ll leave ya´ll with three lessons since it´s been a while.

Spain Lesson #8: Do not eat the cheetos in Spain. They weirdly taste like ham... just like everything here. They are not cheesy. That cheetah is an imposter. I don´t even think he is a distant relative of Chester.

Spain Lesson #9: If the natives can´t do your homework, there is no hope for you. You know your homework is REALLY hard when your Senora checks it AND ¨corrects¨it.... but you still get it wrong.

Spain Lesson #10: Peanut butter is called Crema De Cacuhuete.

(We finally have peanut butter!)

Tengo Una Novia

Last night, we headed home after the metro had closed down. So, we got to take our very first taxi! When we got in we saw a picture of a baby. It was a nice old many driving and when Robyn asked who the baby was, he told us it was his grandson and he was 3 days old. The conversation continued as follows:

Robyn: Ohh fabuloso! Tengo una novia! (oh fabulous. I have a girlfriend)Driver: Tienes novio? (You have a BOYFRIEND)Robyn: No… NoviA A… novia (no… girlfriend. Girl. Girlfriend)Driver: Tienes NoviO (you have a boyfriend)Meredith, Beth, and Me dying laughing in the back of the cab….ME: Robyn… tienes una sobrina… no novia… that’s girlfriend… (you have a niece… not a girlfriend…. Novia means girlfriend)

It was SO very funny….For a brief period of time. Robyn was ardently convincing a cab driver that she was dating a girl…. Communication breakdown.

Then, we, along with the cab driver got lost. He had to do a U turn… but he was so kind and turned off the meter when he retraced his steps… He really liked us…. REALLY.

Spain Lesson # 6—Part two (because the first one was lame): Don’t let the saying “the rain in spain falls mainly on the plains…” be your only advice on weather. The rain falls everywhere.

Try and get ahold of a weather channel so you can better prepare yourself for the day.
Update on the Ultimate Day: RUINED. It was cloudy. The pool was being cleaned. We ran out of time… however. We got some sweet shoes and found a Spanish version of Common Grounds… it has delicious drinks…..and the best thing of all… IT HAS WI FI!!!!!! WAHOO.

We are in Saville now. It took WAY too long to get here. BUT we did get to stop in La mancha (the inspiration for Don Quixote) and Cordoba (to see a mosque). We are headed to the Roman Ruins tomorrow. I am definitely enjoying our MONSTROUS hotel bathroom. It will be hard to go back to showering in a little cube! BUT Carmen’s beds are WAY more comfy than these. And…. We kind of miss Carmen…. But not her ham.

Spain Lesson #7: When Meredith says to go one way, turn around and go the direct opposite of what she says. It will get you there everytime.

Candy Con Carne

So, every day when we come home from school we pass a candy store. We were 100% positive that it was a candy store because it says CANDY on the sign really big in English. (It said some other Spanish stuff too). Well whenever we would come home from school, it would be closed for siesta… So today we were walking by AFTER siesta because we actually took one today (it went well… I know you were concerned)…. Anyways, we were walking by the supposed “Candy shop” and all we saw were animal legs hanging from the ceiling… all over the walls. I did not see one single piece of candy… Maybe it was candied meat? I don’t really know. I would classify Beth and Myself as borderline vegetarians. Needless to say, we wont be stopping by for candy anytime soon…

Dad-- You know how you only ever lounge in Golden Boy? (For those who don’t know, It is a tattered Gold colored shirt that has definitely seen better days) Well, Padre kind of has a Golden boy too! Except it is a Miami Dolphins shirt…. It is in about the same state that Golden Boy is, so every night when he wears it I think of you! Thought you should know!

Court- remember when you had elephant feet when you were pregnant? Beth and I have them… but we’re not pregnant… we just walk EVERYWHERE!

Today in the park, (We tried a new park, Parque de Retiro… it’s the biggest park in Madrid) I saw a couple taking a picture with self timer… so I went to ask them if they wanted me to take one for them. I mostly mimed it because I get really awkward when I have to speak Spanish… especially to strangers. They told me that they didn’t need me to, but it takes me a while to translate things in my head, so I was still reaching for the camera when I realized what they said…. Awkward. I guess that’s what you get for trying to be nice….

A new game has been started on the metro. We stand where there are no people and see who can go for the most stops without having to: Grab the bar, grab someone else, or take a step. TECHNICALLY Beth Ann got out first today, but she claims she didn’t touch the door….she did. So the places for today were… Meredith 1st Robyn 2nd Me 3rd Beth 4th. (I read the blog to her every night when I write it, however, tonight I am going to leave this part out because she will be really mad when she reads it because she is still claiming she didn’t lose)

HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM

Carmen will not let us go without ham. Tonight for dinner we had Grilled cheese sandwiches WITH HAM. When we had pizza for dinner, she told us that it was CHEESE PIZZA , however, under the cheese there was a sneaky little layer of ham that was hiding. She is very very sneaky sometimes…. Oh Carmen!

Tomorrow, we are planning the ULTIMATE DAY!... We are forfeiting our siesta to LAY OUT AT THE POOL! Robyn and Meredith’s Apartment has a pool on the roof! I think we will probably get DOUBLE the sun too because we will be so close to it! Then, we are going back to the park to get a little workout. We saw lots of people doing yoga there today, perhaps we will join them…. Only I don’t know how to say Yoga in Spanish….

Last night at dinner, Carmen asked me if I was sun burned... I didn't know how to say rosacia in spanish.... so I just told her they were always red... Beth was dying laughing. Carmen told me it makes me look healthy hahah. Thanks?

Spain Lesson #6: When you come up with a lesson, write it down. You may not remember later when you go to blog. Also, it means you will probably make the same mistake tomorrow because you can’t remember what you learned… womp womp.

Well this was a short one… not much going on here in Madrid. I cannot believe I have already been here for 8 days! More to come later!

Besita besita,

Caitlin

Pictures of our apartment!

Clearance between door and toilet

Me in the shower.

The kitchenMy Bed.... with MaryBeth in her very tiny bed!

SIESTA WITH THE BESTA THEM

I have yet to take a siesta since I’ve been in Spain. This is a bad idea for a couple of reasons.


1. The days are FOREVER long. The sun doesn’t even SET until 9:30 or 9:40! Not to mention you still haven’t eaten dinner.
2. You walk EVERYWHERE so you are just more tired anyways but with the days being so long, especially so.



I’m toying with the idea of giving into taking a siesta…. (I usually go to the park and do homework during siesta).
*this is a picture from the park we always go to.... the man was actually looking at robyn while I was pretending to take a picture of her.. i just thought he looked really cute*
The only problem is, as some of you may know, I don’t nap well. I typically wake up grouchier than when I went to sleep. However, I fear I must take this risk because I have been walking around in a zombie like state for a couple of days now. Any time I sat down today I nodded off…. On the bus to Toledo…. Walking around the museum…. When we sat down at a restaurant…on the way back from Toledo… when I got home…



Essentially I have been sporadic siesta-ing throughout the day…. I guess I’ll just give it a try tomorrow.




Speaking of Toledo, it was absolutely beautiful! (Dad, Mom, Court, and Jess-- look forward to a couple of goodies from Toledo!) It is a very small town but it is rich in history. We visited a couple of Cathedrals and walked around mostly. When we were trying to find a place to eat our Bocadillos (aka sandwiches… and yes, there were two… and yes, One was ham… YUCK.. Carmen is determined to make us like ham.. thats why she keeps forcing it on us!), we actually found ourselves in the midst of a funeral procession…. Oh the adventures! The streets are so small that when a car drives by you must jump into an alcove cut out for a door or just where buildings don’t exactly meet properly. That part of my Toledo experience brought back memories of the walking tour…. I’m still a little jumpy with cars! But it was, all in all, a good day!

Toledo

The streets in Toledo

We kind of got lost on the way to San Martin bridge...so when we got there, we celebrated!!!!!

Follow up on Mystery Rash: IT’S GONE!


Oh, I would also like to give a shout out to Beth Ann and Robyn (Who read this blog even though they are living it with me.) Thanks for running to get on the metro without Meredith and me…. And thanks for your feeble attempt to hold the door open for us….. I can tell by the look on your faces as you rode away and left Meredith and I on the platform that you genuinely cared that we didn’t make the train… NOT. What kind of friend isn’t willing to sacrifice a limb in the door of a metro to keep it open? We would have done it for you…. Just think it over. Don’t let it happen again.




Spain Lesson #5: Spaniards are stylish. They walk around looking like rock stars 24/7. Just give up trying to look nice, you will always be one-uped. Always.


HASTA LUEGO!

P.S. I finally got pictures to upload!!!









Disclaimer: These are not relevant to anything in this post.... I just couldn't get them to upload before!














This is for Courtney... remember when we watched Grease all the way to Colorado... on repeat?!

Apartment for midgets

I just realized I haven’t told ya’ll about our apartment yet….

It is very cozy. We share a bedroom with two very tiny beds. (Upon first seeing them you may think “there’s no way I’m fitting in that teeny tiny bed”… but for the most part you fit(ish)). Beth Ann’s bed is right by the door, and sometimes it is hard to open the door because of her feet hanging off of the bed, but she always wakes up and moves them. Every morning, I wake up and head to our bathroom, on the way; I hit my head on a low hanging light fixture. EVERY MORNING!

And so begins the part about the bathroom…. We get our own bathroom and the family has their own bathroom. The bathrooms are directly side by side so whenever we need to get to our bathroom, we pass the spacious luxury of the family bathroom…. When you enter our bathroom, you have to know how to maneuver the door. You must open the door, then step over the toilet and then shut the door. There is about a 1 ½ inch clearance between the door and the toilet, so there are usually some tricky acrobatics involved in this part…On our first night here, we were both trying to use the bathroom to wash our faces and brush our teeth… it is difficult enough to get around in there with just one person but two…. Yikes. We must have looked like we were piling out of a clown car when we left. The shower is exactly 18”X24” which really spices things up. Showering takes a lot of skills; however, as of now we are still lacking certain skills like shaving for instance since there is no room to bend over. Beth Ann thinks she is really on to something with this high knees move…. We’ll see. When exiting the shower, you must plaster your self against the wall to get clearance for the door that opens INTO the shower. Visits to the bathroom, no matter the reason, are always quite the adventure.
I feel particularly bad at meal times because they only have a four person table, so when we arrived Raquel got the boot…
This is just an apartment built for very small people, but the family living in it couldn’t be more loving and we are so blessed for that. (hopefully I can get my pictures to upload soon!)

Current Event:
When we were studying in the park today, I kept getting bit by bugs. No one else was feeling them, they apparently found me to be the most delectable of the bunch. It was slightly uncomfortable at the time, however, tonight I found a mysterious rash on my calf….. It’s very itchy. I’m thinking I’m going to try to wait it out…. But if it gets any worse, I may have to call in backup (aka my dad).

I am officially labeling this as day one of the mystery rash. Hopefully it will be the only day.

Side note: The bugs probably have no correlation to the mysterious rash. It just all happened around the same time, so they are together as one in my mind.

On a much happier note, we are really coming along in our conversational skills. Dinner tonight was much less awkward because the conversation was somewhat flowing (I say that and actually just mean that we said other things besides “si”). Hopefully this continues to improve, so beth and I aren’t always just sitting and nodding like little dogs on a dashboard saying “si” to EVERYTHING.

Recently, I have a new pastime. It is really funny to try to translate songs from English to Spanish. I am currently working on.
Billy Jean—Inspired by the Benda’s
My Heart Will Go On—Inspired by every homeless person in the metro who play various instruments along with a karaoke rendition of this song.
Can’t Touch This—Collaborative effort with Beth Ann; inspired by every museum we have been in.
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In light of recent events, a new phrase/scale has been coined.
“How bad do you need to go to the bathroom on a scale of Meredith to Robyn?”
Scale is as follows….Meredith—NEVER goes to the bathroom… she just mysteriously washes her hands any time we stop…. apparently she has superior bladder control.
Me—I am the most normal of the bunch. Slightly inferior to Meredith.
Beth—has to go all the time. We always have to check before we leave the house and make sure she has gone, but she doesn’t usually make us stop when we are in route to somewhere.
Robyn—No bladder control. You MUST stop for Robyn.
For maximum comfort, try to stay near a Meredith or a Caitlin.
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I hope ya’ll aren’t already getting tired of my Spain lessons because I plan to keep them coming.

Spain Lesson #4: It is ok to pick your nose here. Nobody frowns upon it. In America it is some big stigma, however here, people just do it everywhere. So, If you are ever in Spain and you have a booger, just go at it and you will fit right in. (But not blend in… see lesson 3)


Adios!

P.S. I have changed the settings to where you can write me comments. This is a two way relationship. I expect some messages from yall!

P.P.S. We are going on a trip tomorrow.... so you probably wont hear from me until Wednesday.... that is unless I can find my way to an internet cafe..... but probably not.

SAFE HAVEN

Today i find myself in an internet cafe.... it is the safe haven for all of us English speaking people. It is the only place i really feel completely normal....hahah sad.

Earlier, we took a trip to a Basilica and to the Cross built by Francisco Franco. Carmen was supposed to pack us a lunch. So, last night she was asking us what we wanted... she asked "two sandwiches?" and we said yes one for each of us. she made some comment about how that was soooo small and we needed to eat more. Now i know how Hanzel and Gretel felt!....( Only I don´t think they are going to eat us.... at least i hope not.)
Despite us insisting that one was normal for us in America, we woke to find four sandwiches awaiting our trip! Oh spaniards!

We didnt know if it was rude to sleep in on Saturday and since we forgot to tell Carmen we were going to, we went ahead and set an alarm to get up for breakfast. We heard clinking in the kitchen around 8 AM and panicked because we thought she was getting our breakfast ready.... when we ran out there, SHE panicked because she didnt have breakfast ready because she thought we would sleep in... Lesson learned.

On another note, Spain has proven to be the city of love. I have seen more PDA in these past four days than I have seen in my whole life. So, just to keep things accurate we started a count..... we are up to 15 public displays of affection. And that´s not even all of them. Those are just the ones bad enough to be worthy of our list.


Lesson #3: You are never going to blend in. so, you might as well
1.Throw a lock on your backpack (i found one in my suitcase. it´s excellent defense against those sneaky little columbians.)
2. Don´t be ashamed to hang out in an internet cafe or a starbucks.
3. Wave to whoever you want.
4. Go ahead, whip out that big camera when you see something interesting.


Please excuse my lack of capital letters, i am on a computer with a janky shift key.... you dont always get the best in these internet cafes... but you love them any way.

I am clinging to the last two minutes I have left on my computer... (you pay for this time...so feel glad that i want to keep you in the loop that badly...) oh no.... 1:28.... 1:15... I better go!

adios!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEAGAN!!!!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

SNEAKY COLOMBIANS

Well, day two has come to a close.
I would really like to have ONE uneventful day. Nope… not possible.
After spending all afternoon doing homework in the Plaza de Espana (an AMAZING park), we walked around the city and scoped out some things we wanted to come back to. While we were in the park, we met a lot of different people. Two of my personal favorites were: the man who approached with “Vengo en paz” (I come in peace) he was quite a character and got very frustrated with having to repeat himself. There was also the police officer, Fernando, that we befriended when Robyn waved at him (we wave to everyone but apparently that is not something people do often in Madrid…. So it’s basically like raising your hand and saying “Hi, I’m from America”). When he saw that we were American he came to practice his English with us. We definitely didn’t see THAT coming! He said he had never heard of any of our names before except Robyn’s… he asked “Is like Batman y robin No?”


When we were finally ready to come back for dinner at 9:30 (they eat SO late here AND the sun was still out), we caught the metro. It was VERY VERY crowded because we were traveling from Sol (the center of the city). Beth Ann and Meredith saw a man with a jacket over his hand reaching to unzip my purse…. They quickly told me that I should move it to the front of me…little did we know, another man was stealing Robyn’s wallet. There were SIX of them, and they would not stop attempting to unzip my purse even after I moved it… They kind of do this Stevie Wonder thing where they look everywhere but at your purse its VERY tricky... When we came home and acted it out for Carmen, she told us it was probably a Colombian man. Apparently they move to Madrid and cannot get jobs so they take to stealing on crowded metros… at least I think that is what she said.
Poor Robyn is such a trooper though. She handled it VERY well…. Whereas I, on the other hand, would have started crying right then and there in the metro.
Hopefully tomorrow will not be QUITE so eventful.
We will be having school at 7 PM tomorrow, which stinks because it is a Saturday, but it will still be good because we can SLEEP IN!
Soon I will give you details about our apartment… there may even be a picture or two!
I probably wont be able to update until Monday because we are taking a trip on Sunday (and I only have internet at school). So, until then I will leave you with lesson #2.

Spain Lesson #2- Watch out for sneaky little Columbian men especially ones with jackets and shirts over their hands. They are persistent, very small, and they want your wallet.

Communication Breakdown

Hola!

Sorry I have not updated sooner. I have been in a desperate search for accesso de internet a WIFI! (pronounced weefee)

Highlights of the first day:

1. I got pooped on by a bird after school.
2. I got hit by a car.
(Don't worry mom, I'm not hurt)

Oh yeah, and Beth and I got lost TWICE.
Catalina Y Beth Ann- 0 Madrid-2

Conversation as we got off of the plane...
Beth- I'm so worried we are going to run out of things to say after 15 minutes!
Me- Beth, there is no WAY we are lasting a whole 15 minutes...

When we met Carmen-
Carmen- Hola-- (kiss kiss) <- still not used to that
Caitlin- hola
Beth- hola
THE END.

I learned very quickly that I do not know Spanish. (however, no one speaks english so I am diving in head first and have already made progress)

I will probably be VERY good at miming by the end of the trip!
This morning Carmen was trying to tell us that there was honey for our bread and actually buzzed around the kitchen like a bee!
VERY FUNNY.... and helpful!

Our Spanish family is Carmen (madre 70), Padre (we don’t know his name 74) and Raquel (their daughter, she’s 30), but during the day Carmen keeps her Grandson ,Antonio, he is one and absolutely precious. It definitely helps me to not go crazy missing Carson!

When we got home, I showed Carmen pictures of my family. I told her that my parents were 500 years old (on accident) to which she responded “But they look so young” then Padre and Carmen had a good laugh. They seem to enjoy our little slip ups… Sometimes Carmen gets to talking though and I have no idea what she is saying. I’m sure our eyes get so big because she always throws up her arms and says “No comprende?” She has also made a habit of sticking out her tongue at us when she talks for a long time and we don’t understand any of it!

Luckily Raquel speaks a LITTLE English.

Meals are interesting to say the least. Dinner the first night was a salad with fish…. The fish still had heads. Each meal is an adventure.

We had to buy a phone yesterday... that was a trip. I actually got sort of kicked out of the store because I kept saying Bien and Si where it did not apply! I feel very bad for the women who helped us. BUT I got my phone AND she put it in English for me!

Oh and as for getting hit by a car:
We were on our walking tour of Madrid, and we were going down an ally in sol when a car brushed against me somewhat rapidly. Luckily my foot narrowly escaped the tire. (my comfy shoes were unharmed, mom) My Professor said a few choice words and that was that.

Beth and I are conquering the metro system and are already zooming around the city with ease. As for navigating the streets, that is a different story…. they are mostly conquering us.


Spain Lesson #1: The C on the sink does not mean cold. Should you choose to use it, your toothbrush will be VERY hot. CALIENTE!

4 Words to sum up the trip so far:

Lost, Sweaty, Fish-heads, FANTASTIC

I’m sorry this is so scatterbrained. I am writing this quickly between classes.


Hasta luego!

P.S. You should all be very proud that I got this posted. I have enough trouble using a blog in English, but the internet here is in SPANISH!

Life in Spain > Life in Waco

Apparently traveling out of the country makes your life 100% more interesting to other people. No one has ever once said to me "Caitlin your life is really interesting and I would like to read about it on a daily basis". However, when I decided to go to Spain someone ACTUALLY said "You should keep a blog while you're in Spain. I would read it." (Thanks Meagan)
So, since there is expressed interest, I find myself knee deep in the world of blogging.
The fact that I am new to this mixed with an unknown schedule/the fact that I may or may not have Internet access on a regular basis in Spain prompts me to warn you that this very well could be my first and last post. I'm not guaranteeing much. (I will try to remember to update if circumstances permit)
So, here begins my journey to Spain. Hopefully it will prove to be interesting with some funny tidbits here and there, but like I said I am not guaranteeing much....
Well, I better go pack.

Welcome to my life abroad.