La Playa: The Beach

The past two days we did not have school.... So we got to spend the day getting our tan on =)
Yesterday Carmen was very excited to show us a beach that she usually goes to.  She drove us in her car to a beach in a city near Malaga called Torremolinos.  It was very beautiful there.  She was really funny because she really loved laying out on the beach with us for 4 hours even at the age of 65.  Every 20 minutes or so she would jump up and go dive in the waves; it was really cute!

She commented on me having a "grande traje de bano" and I was sort of offended at first because to me she was saying that I had a big swimsuit, but after figuring out what she was saying she was only telling me that I didn't need to be self conscious because people in Spain don't care what you look like in your swimsuit, no matter what size you are people wear a bikini.  It was actually really sweet of her to say that.  She made me feel really comfortable =)


Torremolinos:

On the way home from the beach she sang a song in the car with the windows open and it was adorable!  Last night we did some shopping and ran into some friends while we were out and talked for a while.

Today we went to the beach near our house with two of our friends and it was really beautiful =)
We did have the pleasure (sarcasm) of seeing many women without their tops on. Ew. That's one of the strangest things to get used to. Along with men in speedos.   After the beach today we walked back and got ice cream on the way and have now been doing some homework and resting.

Tomorrow back to school. Not too excited about that, but at least it gives us something social to do. Plus our classes aren't too bad anyways.
Tomorrow night we get to do what is called an intercambio which is where we get paired up with a Spanish student who wants to learn english which will help us both learn each other's language and help us meet some Spanish students.  I'm really excited for that..

I will post some pictures of the beach later once I upload them.

Abrazos y Besos

Las cosas que me encanta en España: The things that I love in Spain

As most of you know I really love to cook and love to try new food.  The food here is amazing and everything that I have had I love.  It is so different than food in the U.S.  I wanted to share with you a few of my new favorite things! :)

• Kas Naranja: It's like an orange pop, but better than any orange pop that I have ever tasted.  It has more of a natural orange taste than orange pop in the U.S.

• Cubano Sandwich:  Not sure if we have these in the U.S., but they are sandwiches with ham and cheese and a fried egg on top and it is grilled like a grilled cheese.  Usually they cut a circle in the top piece of bread so that you can see the egg yolk through the top. It is typically a breakfast food in Spain but I have had it twice for dinner. delicioso 

• Croquetas de Jamon: Fried balls of ham. It sounds really unhealthy, but they are heavenly.  They are kind of like a ham and cheese filled hush puppies, but they aren't as sweet tasting as hush puppies.  They are really awesome. If you have a chance to try them, definitely do it =)

• Paella:  Our host mom made us paella last night and it was amazing. It had lobster, shrimp, and chicken in it and was really one of the most amazing dishes of food that I have ever had.  She is an amazing cook!

Abrazos y Besos

Malalga

Here are some new pictures of Malaga:

My birthday dinner of ham croquettes:

The cathedral right next to the restaurant we ate dinner at:

The beach right by our school:

The main shopping strip right by our house:

The beach again:

Windmills in the country:

Mi Cumpleaños

Yesterday was my birthday and it ended up being a really nice day.  We got up around 8 and ate breakfast and then met the rest of our group to visit the city of Ronda.  It took us about 2 hours on the bus to get there, but it was really worth it.  The city was really beautiful and we saw lots of cool things.  There was a very ancient Arabian Bath that we got to walk through that was really interesting.  The city sits up high on a cliff so the view was amazing.  We returned to Malaga around 5 and then came home so I could get on Skype and talk to Ben, my parents, Rachel and Phil and Lionel =)
It was very nice to get to talk to them but it made me miss being home a lot.  After talking to them Lauren and I went out to dinner at a small bar/cafe for my birthday.  We both had a sangria and I got croquetas de jamón and lauren got calamari.  It was really good. 
 After that a few friends met us to go out for drinks and we went to a tapas bar for drinks and 
had homemade potato chips with our drinks.  The soccer game between Barcelona and Manchester had been on and after we went out for drinks we went to the center of the city and there was a huge celebration because Barcelona had won.  It was really neat.  They were setting off fireworks with a Manchester t-shirt wrapped around it to show their victory.  There was a huge group of people singing, dancing, and celebrating.

Today we got up around 9:30 and Carmen made us eggs and bacon and it was very good. After that she asked us if she could show us around the city a little and we were really excited for that.  She took us towards the mountains and it was very beautiful.  We went to a market which was kind of scary, but really cool.  They had clothes, accessories, art, food, candy.. pretty much anything that you can think of for a really cheap price.  We really want to go back there but we need to find some other people to go with us so we aren't alone.

Now we are back at home just enjoying some relaxation.  For lunch today Carmen is making us paella and I am really excited for that! =)


Adiós for now

Quite an eventful day

Today was an interesting day.  We got up and got ready for school and headed to the bus stop and made it in plenty of time to get on the bus.. After being on the bus for about fifteen minutes we were trying to decide when our stop was coming up with the rest of the ISA students on the bus.  This is one of the first times for us riding public busses so it's really not very easy for us.  Anyways, Lauren and I ended up seeing a sign that looked familiar and said that we were getting off the bus and everyone followed.  Once we got off the bus nothing really looked right and we knew we had gotten off way too soon.  We decided to start walking and try and make it to school in fifteen minutes.  By this time it was about 8:15 and we start school at 8:30.  So.. Lauren and I are feeling horrible about thinking we needed to get off the bus and we ended up being about 35 minutes away from school still and had a nice morning exercise of power walking to school in order to still get there more than a half an hour late.  It was very stressful and insane.  Hopefully on Wednesday we will remember what stop to get off at.

After school we headed to the beach, which is literally a two minute walk from our school.  We spent a good 5 hours on the beach soaking up the sun and enjoying the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean.  It was the perfect day to be at the beach.  Now we are back at home relaxing for the night and preparing for a day in the city of Ronda tomorrow.  Very excited to go.

As I mentioned before, tomorrow is my birthday and I'm not sure how excited I am for it.  It's really hard being away from home because it's not going to be anything like any of my previous birthdays.  I've never been away from home on my birthday and I'm not looking forward to it.  I'm really going to miss my family and Ben... I know that it's cool to be here but the more I think about it the more sad I get.  I am just really used to being the princess of the day and getting to do everything that I want and spending time with my family and Ben.  It just makes me miss home even more.

But I am enjoying the beautiful views! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures so far (none of these are from Malaga, I haven't uploaded those yet)::

Streets of Madrid

View of Toledo

Cool bridge in Toledo

View from our hotel room in Toledo

Cool windmills in the Spanish countryside

Escuela

Today was our first day of school here in Málaga.  We had to be awake before 7 to meet at our bus stop by 7:45 in order to arrive at school by 8:30.  At school we had a placement test today to determine what class we would be placed into.  Lauren and I both were expecting to be placed into the intermediate class because of our prior spanish classes and we are happy to say that we got placed into the intermediate class.


After we got placed into the class we had to go to class and have our first lesson.  Today was pretty easy because it was our first day, but the things that we did do were a little challenging because we had to listen to spanish audio and answer questions about it.  It was kind of difficult to answer the questions because people here speak very rapidly and it is going to take us a while to fully understand the language at that speed.  I have to say, I am actually understanding quite a bit of spanish and it is really exciting.  When our Señora talks to us I can actually respond and ask her questions (for the most part).


Today when we got home from school Carmen (our Señora) made us a very delicious lunch made up of some type of pot roast with mushrooms and carrots and papas fritas (french fries).  It was a delicious meal that Lauren and I both enjoyed a lot. We were nervous about their food here, but Carmen is very good about making things that we will enjoy.  


The rest of the week we only have class tomorrow until 1:30PM and then we don't have class again until next Wednesday.  Saturday we are headed to the historic city of Ronda which we are very excited about because it is a very beautiful place.  I am also excited because Saturday just happens to be my birthday so it should be a fun trip.  To be in Spain on my birthday has made me really sad because I won't be able to spend it with the people I love the most (minus Lauren), but I am also excited to have my birthday in España.  I hope it ends up being a good day.


Yesterday was a very interesting day meeting Carmen, but we really enjoy being in her home and really appreciate her opening her home up to us and feeding us.  She has been really excited to pack us a picnic for after school on the days that we end up going to the beach right after school.  She is really adorable.  Her apartment is very spacious and luxurious so it is really cool to be here.  She lives really close to the main shopping strip which is even better =)


We are a little home sick already and it's crazy to think that we haven't even been here a week, but we are excited to have started school so the stress has lifted a bit and now we are excited to explore the city and learn more about the culture and to begin to speak the language more fluently.


This weekend there is a very exciting celebration in Málaga.  It is a celebration of the military in España and this is the first time that it has been in the city of Malaga.  The queen and king of España are coming and even Spanish celebrities are coming for this huge celebration.  We are excited to see all of the festivities. 


I am going to take a siesta (nap) and will write more later today or tomorrow.


Love and miss you all!

Malaga!

We finally arrived in Malaga today.  The town is very beautiful.  We met our Señora this afternoon. Her name is Carmen and she is very nice and has made us feel very much at home.  Her apartment is in the historic center of the city which makes it a very convenient location for shopping, going to the beach, and for the bus stop that takes us to school.  We were very excited to find out that we have wifi internet in our home here.  That itself is truly a blessing.  Now we have a way to stay in touch!
Tomorrow morning we have to be at the bus stop by 7:45AM to meet the rest of the students from our program to go to school.  Once at school we have a placement test that lasts until around 10:00 and then we start class at 10:40 and have class until 1:30.  Everyday we will have class from 8:30AM until 1:30PM.  It is really early, but once we get a routine and start adjusting to the time change and way of life it won't be too bad.
I haven't written in a while so I will update what we have been doing the last few days.  After leaving Madrid on Tuesday morning we headed out to Toledo which took us an hour on a bus.  Once in Toledo we toured the city with a tour guide.  Toledo is a very old and beautiful city with cobblestone streets and old buildings and cathedrals.  While we were there we got to see an original painting by El Greco called "The funeral of Count Orgaz".  This was very exciting to me because it was painted in the 13th Century and is a very famous work of art.  I also studied this painting in an Art History course so it was really cool that I got to see it first hand.
The day before I got to see the painting "Guernica" by Picasso which was also very amazing.  It was probably one of the coolest things that I have ever seen.  There have been so many times that these paintings are mentioned because they are so famous and just to see them in person is incredible.
After touring the city in Toledo we got to eat lunch and go shopping.  After that we went to our hotel and stayed in for the night.
Now we are in Malaga. We're glad to be settled in and excited to start our time here.

Finally in Spain & my first days in Madrid

What an incredibly long two days... ughhhh
Yesterday we arrived in Madrid after 3 very long, not fun flights.  I guess I am just not a huge fan of flying. I felt quite sick after each flight and was very glad to arrive at our hotel and sleep.  Our longest flight was from Canada to Paris. The plane was huge and very cool, but I was not feeling very well on the flight or afterwards due to motion sickness and lack of sleep.  Although it was an 8 hour flight, I wasn't able to sleep  at all (not very cool).. 
Yesterday when we got to Madrid it was 9AM when it really should have been 3AM in Michigan.  This really threw me off because we were not able to get more than an hour nap before beginning our day in Madrid.. Yesterday we took a bus tour of the city which was pretty cool, but walking around the city today was much better.


Today we woke up at 10AM, ate breakfast and then headed to the Reina Sofia museum which had some very cool works by Picasso and Salvador Dali.. After that we headed out and walked to the Plaza de Mayor which is just a large plaza with lots of shops and restaurants.  At 4PM we met the rest of our group and got to tour the Royal Spanish Palace which was incredible.  We were not allowed to take pictures of the Palace which was very sad because it was beautiful.  The rest of the night tonight we have free time.  We will probably just relax, tour the city a little more and grab a bite to eat.  


Madrid is such a beautiful city, but it is a bit too large for my liking.. Can't wait to be in Malaga =)

Malaga, Spain (My home for 5 weeks)

The weeks have been counting down and it is now two days until I leave for Spain.  I will be studying abroad there for 5 weeks with my sister Lauren.  I am very nervous, but excited.  We will be staying in Malaga, which is on the southern coast of Spain on the Mediterranean.  Here are some pictures of what I have to look forward to =)