The rain in Spain falls mainly in Vigo!

In Spain they have things called 'Puentes' which literally translates to 'bridges'...but in the sense I'm referring to they're also long weekends. Usually they take this name because if a holiday is on a Thursday then you get the Friday off as well and it 'bridges' the gap to the weekend. Last week the city of Madrid had Monday off; now I usually have Mondays off in Rivas but not in Madrid. This long weekend allowed me to have Monday off completely so I decided to take a nice little getaway. I know Spain pretty well but have mostly done the south, this year I am determined to do the north. Many people say this is easily the best and most breathtaking part of Spain so I figured its a must do. Thus, I bought a bus ticket to Vigo.

Vigo is on the coast and very close to Portugal, and at this time of year it rains, a lot. The secretary at Mosaic is from there and she was also heading home for the weekend so we caught the night bus together. We left at midnight on Friday and arrived early morning Saturday. I had decided to stay in the city center in a hotel for the first night because I wanted alone time and I didn't want Ana to have to take time away from her family. It worked out perfectly though because the hotel let me check in when I arrived at 8am and I was able to take a much needed nap. While the night bus is a good idea because you don't lose a day of travel sitting in a bus...you also don't sleep very comfortably. I awoke from my nap around noon and took off in the rain in search of everything the center of Vigo had to offer. Well, since there were no cruise ships in harbor that left very little!

My hotel was wicked close to the water so I started there just walking along the pier. I took some great pictures as the weather was in and out of sun, clouds, and fog. From there I found my way to 'La Piedra' which is the old quarter as well as the rustic shopping district. Because of the weather everything looked closed but it was nice to window shop. I wandered my way through the narrow streets and found the main street running through the new shopping district. I sat for awhile people watching as well as listening because in this area of Spain some people still speak Gallego. Vigo is part of Galicia and the language is a cross between Spanish and Portuguese. It was absolutely fascinating because its a combination of the two languages I have studied and practiced.
After walking around and admiring the architecture I made my way back to the port for lunch. When I mentioned at school on Friday that I was going to Vigo everyone warned me about the weather and how I wouldn't get to see as much. My response? I was only there to eat the 'pulpo'! I don't think I've ever been so excited for lunch in my life (well...maybe for pea soup). I found a quiet little restaurant and got out of the cold. I think I impressed the waitresses with my ordering skills because I wanted the traditional things that Vigo had to offer. I had a bowl caldo gallego (other regions have caldo but they're all made differently...essentially the difference between New England Clam chowder, Rhode Island, and Manhattan), then the main dish was the pulpo (octopus), and of course a bottle of white wine from the area. It couldn't have been more perfect, definitely one of the best meals I've ever had.

On Sunday morning I checked out of the hotel and made my way back down to the water. I sat for an hour or so just absorbing the fresh air and watching the Sunday activity. Then more rain so I found myself a bar and did Sudoku while drinking coffee. I met up with Ana at 1pm and she gave me a tour of the town as we headed back to the outskirts where she lived. We met her parents at a place for lunch and they were great. They complimented my Spanish so obviously I loved them immediately. Her mother is the typical Spanish woman; upon meeting her I had completely lost all personal space and I had to see everything the building had to offer. Her father is the typical Spanish man; He compared everything to the US and was constantly trying to see if I liked the food here or from home better. I just don't know how to tactfully tell Spaniards that they only offer the same 6 dishes here in Spain. I guess its just something I'll have to learn keep my mouth shut on and only nod. Speaking of tact I've explained many times that it is lacking in this country. Whatever comes into their heads leaves their mouths. While we were waiting for the food Ana's mother was scolding her and telling her that she needs to eat more because she is too skinny. Then she looks at me and says "See, obviously Melanie eats"...haha. I just laughed and the conversation continued to another topic because to them comments like this are normal. I handled it fine. Granted, she wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know, but I've also just learned to accept the way people here talk. I don't think anything could surprise me anymore.After lunch Ana and I went to her sister's house to pick up her niece and nephew and head to the mountains. Her brother-in-law came with us and was a great tour guide. We drove to the top of the mountain and had an amazing view of the entire city. We hung out on the mountain for awhile and then finally made our way back to their house. After, we went back out to see the beaches at night, absolutely breathtaking. We saw three beaches and then called it a night because the kids were getting tired. We came back for dinner and then made our way to her parents' house because they were bringing us to the airport. The entire family was so welcoming and made sure I had a great time. The trip was perfect because I had a break from Madrid and I got to see an insiders tour of Vigo.

The bus ride home was awful, but I made it home in time on Monday to rub it in Steve's face that he had to go to work and I could sleep all day. I'm such an amazing roommate! I spent the rest of the day catching up on sleeping and going through my photos. Perfect puente.

Negative: Rest stop bathrooms.

Positive: My new rain resistent boots.

Hacchppy Hacchlloween!

I'd first like to start with a warning. This blog post is in no way funny or clever and I apologize for that.

School has been pretty normal. I'm definitely liking my new schedule of having Mondays off. Mondays are the worst days for both the kids and the teachers and now I get to avoid it. Secondly, we always go out for lunch on Friday and its fun! I met up with Raul one day since I hadn't seen him since June. I can't even explain how exciting it was. We went out for lunch and it brought back a lot of memories. I of course filled him in on how different everything in the English room was this year and begged him to come back and save me. He's still waiting to be placed in a school so there is still hope.

At Halloween time the school asks the assistants to perform a scary play, last year we did ¨Hansel and Gretel go Trick or Treating¨, this year we decided to put a Halloween spin on Rapunzel. Basically, for the last two weeks we haven´t had classes because we´ve been preparing for the show. We made a tower, a cardboard horse for the prince, pumpkins for the background, and various little odds and ends that involved a lot of painting.
On the next free day we did the script and costumes, and rehearsed a million times. Steve played the ever so charming prince, Fiona played Rapunzel, Sarah the witch, and I played the narrator...you´d be surprised how much I hate standing in front of people and talking. We performed six shows on Thursday and six on Friday and they all went rather smoothly. The biggest problem was when certain actors ad lib-ed and I lost my concentration, most of the play was to our benefit. The children only understood about 15% of what we said so we added popular lines from famous movies to make it better for us, and some of the teachers. At the end the children had to hold out their hands and say ¨Trick or Treat¨and we gave them candies. Here children, have some more sugar because you´re not hyper enough!

As far as having the "crazy life of a twenty something" I've been taking it easy. I've met up with some of the teachers on Thursday night for drinks a few times. It always ends up with us out till the early morning and we all come into work with sunglasses and a look of agony on Friday. Serves us right, I know. I have managed to meet some new and interesting people who will hopefully be a new source of entertainment for me.

Today I started my personal weekend. In the morning I got up, went to the gym, and then took a nice long walk in Retiro Park. As everyone knows I love the Fall so I finally got to see all the leaves changing color and take some pictures. I sat for awhile reading the new Dan Brown book, which I find extremely interesting because it takes place in D.C., and then returned home for lunch. I needed this weekend to detox and mellow out from the stressful couple of days I´ve been having. As is tradition I watched ¨Hocus Pocus¨ and continued the relaxation. I should definitely take weekends like this more often!

About the title: Say it out loud like you have gross stuff in your throat and that is how everyone Spanish person pronounces 'Happy Halloween!"

Negative: I never see my Portero.

Positive: I GOT PAID FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR MONTHS!!

Yuste...Y usted?

What is the normal amount of cheese one can consume in a day? On the first of the month that is what I set out to discover with some friends. We had heard about this Feria Nacional del Queso (Cheese Festival) in Extramadura and it peaked some interest. I must first state that I like cheese, but can think of other things I'd rather eat all day, like ice cream and pea soup but not together. After mentioning to one of my adult students, who is from that area, that I had some interest, she proceeded to spend 15 minutes convincing me that my life wasn't complete without going, sold!

So on May 1st, which happened to also be the start of a puente weekend, a group of us took off on this adventure. Steve, Lisa, her sister Renee, and I crammed into Juanma's car, Mary went with Raul and his girlfriend, and Ainhoa and Arancha brought the churros. We met up in a small pueblo called Oropesa to get coffee and look at the castle. [Side note: Seriously, how cool is it that I can just stop in to see a castle???] We took some pictures and we on our way probaly 2 hours behind schedule.

We arrived in Trujillo after twelve and joined the hundreds of people already in line to get tickets. We pooled money and got 24 cheese and 12 drink tickets. The trick is to not eat the bread, if you eat the bread you fill up and have no room for the cheese. I tried all types of cheese from mostly Spain and Portugal. Some were great, others horrific. There were ones that were so hard in texture while one in particular that was almost like whipped cream. My favorite wasn't the best tasting one, but the one with the strangest side affects. One piece of cheese when initially eaten tasted like a blue cheese spread, however that was only the first minute. Like clockwork, when an exact minute was up my cheeks caved in and I lost all saliva in my mouth, gross I know but accurate. The cheese literally took over your mouth. Steve, Juanma and I spent the next 10 minutes of our lives making weird faces and trying to get rehydrated...ridiculous.

The festival itself was a great sight, there were so many different types of people. It was a great sunny day and the environment was peaceful. They had a section roped off that included what must have been over 400 types of cheeses. There was a fountain in the middle that was a great place to rest and people watch. A region nearby was known for its beer because it was made by monks, or some jazz like that. It's called Yuste and f course it was the most expensive but totally worth it. Three of those apiece and the group of us got real funny.

After a few hours in the center we decided to head off in search of some coffee. Unsuccessful at the that, but successful in exploring the town itself and finding the CASTLE! We walked the long, winding, narrow streets to the top and then climbed the castle. The view from the top was breathtaking. In some of the pictures you would never even know that we were in the 21st century. We spent another hour or so wandering, before returning to the festival so the boys could buy cheese. That turned out to be the worst thing that could have ever happened to us since the cheese they bought smelled like death. I know I can exaggerate but the smell that this one cheese in particular gave off was enough to make you sick. And what is worse is that later on the way home, after much convincing to put it in the trunk, the cheese rolled around during ever turn and wafted back into the front. Horrible.

Finally, we found this roof top terrace in the sunshine to rest before the drive home. The perfect end to a great day. They had a dj, a dance floor, and wicker chairs on the grass...what more could you need?I love my life!

Negative: No more Newcastle at Bo'finns!

Positive: Sushi dates.

I win: Bratislava...Toma!

On the Thursday of my trip to Hungary I decided to do something a little sneaky, I took the two and a half hour train ride to Bratislava. Those of you not familiar with this city it is the capital of Slovakia, formally of Czechoslovakia, and the focal point of the horror movie "Hostel". For those of you not familiar with why I consider going there to be 'sneaky', my parents and I have a competition to see who can go to the most countries. After an unfortunate choice on their part to secretly visit Amsterdam before visiting me in Madrid a few months ago, they started a war. And if any of this surprises you about myself or my parents then you don't know me and shouldn't be reading my blog.

The train ride went by rather quickly and gave me the opportunity to see the countryside. I must say, especially on the ride back, the scenery was stunning. The houses were built up into the hills around the train stations and the fields and lakes were breathtaking. I've seen a lot of the Spanish countryside and the two do not compare. In Spain's defense, the area I have seen is from the south and is more dry and barren. The countryside of Hungary and Slovakia is green and lush.
From the train station I took a short tram ride to the river and from there started exploring. Bratislava is a tiny city and all its important buildings are located next to each other. I made the 15 minute trek up the hill to see the castle only to find out it was completely under renovation, but the view of the entire city was worth it. Like most cities, there is a church as the focal point, but I'm completely 'church-ed' out after my first few visits to Europe so I observe from the outside. There were a few markets going on so I saw a lot of the local culture preparing for Easter and it was great. I grabbed lunch at an outdoor cafe on the main street and people watched for an hour or so.

In my opinion there isn't much to do in Bratislava but its worth the visit. I couldn't imagine keeping myself busy for another day without the help of a local, but the city is precious. There is an air about it that is so friendly and so relaxing, it was hard not to enjoy the sunshine and sights.

Negative: Looking like a fool asking to exchange Euros for the currency of Slovakia.

Positive: Seeing a full rainbow for the first time in years.

Buda y Pest

It's nice to leave college and still get the perks of a Spring Break. Here in Spain they like to celebrate every holiday to the maximum potential, which means I had eleven days off for Semana Santa, or Holy Week. After much debate I finally chose Hungary as my destination. At school I was met with many confused looks and questions: Why Hungary? Well, quite frankly, Why not? My only stint in Eastern Europe has been to Tallinn, Estonia and I loved it. Besides, Budapest was the cheapest flight I could find. I booked my flight and hostel about a week before leaving and that was that.

My flight landed in Budapest a little after midnight on the Monday. After reading lots of material stating that taxis were not safe and were a rip off, I chose to do the smart thing and get a ticket on the airport shuttle. As promised the shuttle took me from the airport to the address of my hostel, which turned out to be a construction site. The driver told me, through hand signals, which way to walk in the deserted area. After some help from the Kebab shop owner I made my way to the address. Pressed the buzzer for the only hostel listed, even though it was a different name, and stared at the scary door. The answer I got on the other end was less than pleasant while informing that he was closed and that it wasn't the right hostel and he couldn't help me because I had woken him up. Right. I asked the casino owner next door if he knew the hostel and he did not. So I wandered the deserted streets of Budapest after 1 am without a clue. I tried to call my friends with internet for help in getting more information, but was unsuccessful. After awhile I found a Best Western and asked for a room there. Holding back both the impulse to cry and punch the concierge in the face when he told me "You might want to find someplace, ahem, more in your price range..." I eventually got a room. After being so scared, the next emotion that follows is anger so needless to say getting to sleep was a hassle.

The next morning I went in search of the hostel to no avail so hopped the metro to the city center. I hit up information first and then found a nice office in charge of getting people places to stay. The woman offered me a loft with a German girl for three nights which would be cheaper now that there were two of us. The girl was extremely nice and I lucked out because the place overlooked the water and Buda. We were on the same schedules so getting up early was easy and then we'd go our separate ways. At night we'd recap and share interesting places for the other to check out.

Recapping my trip is a little difficult only because I'm not the museum type. [With the exception of Brussels where I went to two chocolate museums.] I do a lot of exploring on foot and take many pictures. I did enjoy the city very much and took in many of the classic things. I love to get lost down side streets because that is where most of the hidden things can be found. Both Buda, which is where the Palace and Fisherman's Bastion are located, and Pest, the city center, were wonderful. So much history involved in all the buildings and sights.

Budapest was great and I defintely recommend it. No matter what the trouble was in the beginning the city made up for it. Great people, transportation, and weather all made for a great vacation!

Negatives: Three hour plane delays on the way home.

Positive: Langos (typical Hungarian flat bread)

Feliz Cumple

It's official, I am 23 years old, or in a direct translation from Spanish according to my kids: I have 23 years. While I would love to spread wild rumors that I lived up this birthday in true Madrid style, I can not. I was quite too sick to do so. The night of the 14th my co-worker Mary was in a play with her theater group so Lisa and I met up with a few other teachers to watch. The show was made up of mostly British people doing small performances from other works. It was great and Mary did fantastic. After, we went out for a few drinks because it was still pretty early. At midnight everyone sang in Spanish, and then again at 12:10 when they realized they could capture it on camera. It was a great night! And I even got a flower!
On my actual birthday I had a picnic in the park with some friends. It was a beautiful day with the temperature around 70 degrees. The sunshine was great and the park was filled with people. It was relaxing and a lot of fun just enjoying great food and conversation.

Now, on to the sickness. As I mentioned before I started to feel sick when Kristen was visiting. The Monday she left my body just decided to quit on me. I proceeded to take the next two days off because I could not stand without falling. If you remember my first interaction with the doctors here you'll understand why me staying home from school is a huge deal. When I miss school I have to get what is called a 'justificante', basically a doctor's note excusing my absence from work. The first time I tried this I ended up in tears after visiting three different places while being sick. So clearly I was nervous for this time as well. Luckily there is a doctor right across the street so I met up with him for my 1 minute diagnosis: Go get X-rays. Fair enough. I then headed up a couple blocks to the clinic to wait in a stuffy room for X-rays. The technichian was wicked nice, probably because I looked horrible, and even called me "Mi amor...". I wasn't able to get my results that Tuesday so I had to go back on Friday. I spent the rest of the time in bed. When I brought the results back to the doctor this was his reaction:
Looks at results and shakes head.
Says "Joder" (bad bad swear).
Looks at me, shakes head again.
Says "Joder" again.
Tells me I have a really bad sinus infection.
Prescribes me 5 pills a day for ten days.
Shakes his head.

Awesome.

By the end of the following week I was feeling much better, unforunantely not well enough to travel for the puente. Thursday was Father's Day here in Spain so I had that day and Friday off to make a four day weekend. Fortunantly for me the NCAA Tournament officially started and I was able to catch some of the early games at the pub. My medicine said nothing about mixing beer with pills.

Negative: My first and second round picks in my bracket put me last in all three of my March Madness pools.

Positive: Celebrating St. Patrick's Day at school by going out for beers at lunch.

Cadiz 1, Melanie 0

So as previously mentioned I went to Cadiz to celebrate Carnaval this past weekend. Cadiz is one of the best places in Spain to go, along with the Canary Islands. It is original and quite popular with Spaniards. With this being said I made the easy choice of going with some friends, who had been before, down south. I left Thursday night and traveled by bus to the farthest point from Madrid. Seriously though, we were told many times that the distance from Madrid to Cadiz is the furthest distance from Madrid to anywhere else on the Peninsula.

So here is the summation of my trip:
Yelled at by the woman in front of me on the bus because SHE had put her seat back all the way into my lap.
Could not sleep on the 8 hour journey and wasn´t in the best of moods.
Arrived to our hotel in San Fernando to be told that we couldn´t check in for four more hours.
Wandered around until the doors to our amazing room were opened.
While taking pictures of the place discovered I was out of battery in my camera.
Upon checking my luggage realized I brought the wrong battery charger so there would be no pictures to capture my experience in Cadiz.
Did some sightseeing in the city that was pretty fantastic.
Had a great conversation over some delicious tapas for dinner.
Woke up early just to eat a buffet breakfast and go back to sleep.
Dressed as a gangster for the night.
Took a bus to the city center with a bunch of study-abroad-ers.
Danced and drank in a small plaza.
Admired many great costumes that took a lot of effort and creativeness.

Here´s where the story gets tricky. After many conversations on the subject a conclusion has been reached that something was put in my drink that made me really sick and my night ended there.

My overall impression of Cadiz as a city is that I must go back, it is some where that I need to experience again under better conditions. My impression of Cadiz at Carnaval is that it is too dangerous. I can not express how unsafe I felt trying to walk through the main plaza with people throwing glass bottles and everyone in mass chaos. I do not think that I will return to Cadiz for Carnaval next year because in all honesty I did not enjoy the end of the night.

I do have to state that Lisa was amazing the entire night. She took me back to the hotel and braved the shards of glass, the stampede, the two hour wait in line for the train, the hour wait to buy a ticket, and the crammed train heading back to San Fernando. What a night!

Oh, and for the record I´m not telling my school where I´m going anymore because there are just too many questions. I particularly like the teachers who just said to me today, ¨You´re face says it all...¨ Fantastic.

Negative: Losing my hot pink suspenders and revolver.

Positive: Getting to recline my seat all the way back on the bus ride home.

To old friends, new friends, and a new year! Feliz 2009

New Year’s in Madrid pretty much solidified my opinion that Spain is the greatest place in the world. Dramatic? Probably, but the night was that fantastic that I can’t say any less. The tradition here in Spain is to eat twelve grapes at midnight as the clock strikes the first 12 seconds. It symbolizes good luck for each month of the year. However, it may sound simple enough but in fact it is much more difficult. Chewing and swallowing twelve grapes in twelve seconds is near impossible with little experience…so I’ll have to try again next year. Anyways, the city of Madrid pours into Puerta del Sol in the exact center of the city and country for that matter. The clock tower is there and the city becomes even more alive. Our goal was to get there to experience all Madrid had to offer for the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009.

Around 7pm Britney and I set out looking fantastic and carrying our little can of pre-packaged 12 grapes. The goal was to find some tapas and beer and get to Sol early enough so that we could experience everything. One problem, all my tapas places closed down due to the ‘holiday’. Eventually we made our way into Sol because there had to be at least one bar open to eat and drink. After some searching we found a place called Cañas y Tapas (beer and appetizers). I was politely told that the kitchen was closed and we would only be getting beer. Fair enough, drinking on an empty stomach is always a great idea. As we’re standing there these two guys ask us to translate the menu for them. Easy enough, but a little curious that we couldn’t get food and they were going to be allowed. We found out that they guys, Vincent and Luca, were Italian and in the city for four days. They bought us beer, we never did get food, and the four of us tried to communicate in English, Italian, and Spanish. As the bar closed around 9pm we parted ways to get food but said we’d meet up in Plaza Mayor around the corner.

Britney and I went across the street to Pans & Company for some quick sandwiches and a chance to figure out where to next. We were without beer and didn’t know where we were going to find an open bar if everything seemed to be shutting down in preparation for the celebration. Then I remembered something genius: in Madrid, Burger King sells beer. Yes, this is not a joke you can actually buy beer at any BK in Madrid for less than two euros. To Britney this was intriguing and unbelievable, to me this was why Spanish people are the way they are…ridiculous. We waited in line for what seemed like hours but left with two Grande Cervezas BK label and all. So we took our beers and our cans of grapes and headed up to Plaza Mayor. We didn’t get very far before we found our Italian friends standing under an awning drinking Museo del Jamón wine and eating as well. The four of us wandered again for a little bit trying our hardest to communicate, basically a lot of gestures and childish mimes. The way I look at it though is if our main goal was to communicate we were hugely successful no matter how ridiculous we looked or sounded. We eventually found Moor’s open and parked ourselves there.

Inside Moor’s we made friends with a young Spanish couple that clearly demonstrated why PDA is over-the-top here. The Irish guys next to us, convinced that Americans have the softest skin, gave us their phone to time the couple…ridiculous. We enjoyed a few beers before they closed at 1030 and picked up another couple on the way out. This Polish couple joined us because they were also just visiting Madrid and didn’t have anybody else to party with, clearly we looked intriguing. So that brings the count up to two Americans, two Italians, and now a Polish couple, fun fun fun. Still having time before midnight I took us to the one place I knew would be open, Dubliner’s. Along the way Vincent bought bottles of champagne from the chinos and we all had a nice little ‘cava’ shower. Dubliner’s was of course open but was only really sitting people for dinner, oddly enough. We schmoozed the bouncer (same guy from two years ago) and he let us go to the back and get drinks. We lasted there until about half past eleven and then made our way to the main Plaza. More champagne was picked up along the way and we kept our grapes tucked safely away.

Our trek to the clock was pretty successful considering the massive crowd of people trying to do the same thing. We found a nice little space and waited for the countdown. In all fairness I remembering asking what time it was and it was 10 minutes until and then the next thing I know the fireworks were going off like crazy. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! We never heard the clock chimes so we all just started eating our grapes. About three in I realized this was a mute point and decided a throwing them was more fun. That night we all ended up with grapes in too many places to count! We yelled like crazy and I’m pretty sure I even ended up dancing and jumping in a huge group of Italians. Absolutely amazing!

Clearly the night was not over so we wandered the streets a little bit with no direction at all. We picked up two French girls at one point but I’m not sure what became of them the rest of the night. We made our way back to Dubliner’s but with a 10 euro cover we decided next door at O’Connell’s was a better choice. Trying to get in the door I looked up to find my roommate and her friends trying to do the same. After some ridiculous yelling and myself being lifted off the ground we finally made it in. From here the night gets a little out of control so suffice to say that Britney and I ended up back at my apartment asleep around 8am. All the makings of a complete night!

What I learned from the night? Italians say "changing the water" when they have to pee and I'll never be able to learn Polish.

Negative: Bruises. end of story.

Positive: Starting what looks to be a great New Year.