Category Archives: Spain

Free Dory!

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Hola everyone,

One week from tomorrow I’ll be on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic. It’s hard to believe that three weeks have gone by already. I’ll be glad to go home and see my family and friends again, but it’s really hit me that I’ll probably never be in Barcelona again, and I only have one more week to take in as much as I can.

Earlier this week, I slathered myself in sunscreen and went to the beach. It was nice to be by the water again, even though it really different from the Oregon coast (i.e. it wasn’t freezing).

The Mediterranean Sea

I also visited the aquarium while I was there. There were sharks, penguins, jellyfish (my favorite!), and the most poisonous fish in the world. It wasn’t as good as the Newport aquarium, but it was still tons of fun, until I realized that Dory from Finding Nemo was being held hostage.

Free Dory!

Yesterday I went to a market in the Gothic Quarter with some of the other interns. We had a good time, and I got to explore that area again, which is one of my favorites in the city. I had chocolate and churros, a popular dessert here, and walked around the old buildings. I decided to go in the Cathedral next, but it turns out it has a dress code. The security guard took one look at my shorts and turned me away with a look of barely concealed disgust. The dress code is meant for respect, and I get that, but disgust is one expression you don’t want a guy to have when he looks at your legs, you know?

At any rate, here it is from the outside, free from the perils of exposed knees.

I think I mentioned a few posts ago how my apartment is allegedly on the third floor, but is actually on the fifth. I got sick of not knowing what the deal was and decided to look up how numbering works in Spain.

In the US, the bottom floor of a building is called the first floor. In Spain and most other countries in Europe, the bottom floor is called the ground floor, and the floor above that is called the first floor. That makes sense, but it doesn’t explain how the fifth floor becomes the third floor. Maybe the designer had a strange sense of humor or something.

Well, I hope you all have a fantastic week! I know I will!

Cicely

There Is No Peanut Butter Here

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Two weeks down, two more to go. I’ve been having a great time exploring Barcelona, but truth be told I’m starting to get a little homesick. I miss English-language TV and my coffee maker and peanut butter – seriously, there’s tons of jam at the supermarket but I haven’t seen a single jar of peanut butter anywhere. What do people even do with jam besides make PB&J?

Don’t get me wrong, I like Barcelona and I can’t believe I’m going to miss it. Since my last post, I’ve been to Plaza Espanya, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, Parc de la Ciutadella, Parc Joan Mirom, several of the old palaces, and the zoo.

This week was the last week for two of my roommates, Emily and Erica. My other roommate, Erin (my name doesn’t fit in with the others), is leaving this week, so I’ll be on my own the last week. It’ll be a bit lonely.

Plaza Espanya

A Palau, or palace

Parc de la Ciutadella

The zoo was my favorite part of the week. I love zoos – I think I took more pictures at the zoo than I have of everything else in Barcelona combined. It was a really nice, visitor-friendly zoo with tons of animals. The Zoo de Barcelona became famous for having the only albino gorilla ever, as far as anyone knows. Unfortunately, he died in 2003.

But there are still plenty of other awesome primates!

When I’m not exploring, I’m at my internship – you know, the whole point of this program. I work at the Well Woman Clinic, which focuses mainly on pregnant women and new parents. My boss and the other people who work here are friendly, welcoming, and (I suspect) relieved that they have some unpaid labor for everything they wanted to do but never got around to doing.

My job duties include opening the door, greeting clients, making posters, translating the website into English (this is a big project that’s taken most of this past week), updating the Facebook page and website, watering the plants, and whatever else people tell me to do. It’s tolerable. And it’ll help me get into nursing school.

So all in all, Barcelona continues to be lots of fun! Next week I’m going on a tour of the soccer (er…football) stadium with some of the other interns. It should be fun.

Adios for now,

Cicely

This is only my…

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This is only my second week in Spain, and I´ve already done so much.

One of my favorite things so far has been a hike with a group of other students to the Christ figure that watches over our city of Oviedo. When we left for the hike I was under the impression that it would be an easy stroll… I was wrong. We first walked to the edge of the city, than through a suburban type area before reaching the start of the actual hike. It was very steep the whole way up and took us about two hours to walk up, but only 40 minutes to walk down. As difficult as the hike was, it was worth it when we reached the top and got to see the Christ figure… and the amazing view of the city.

On Saturday I went on a field trip lead by the University of Oviedo to the city of Leon. I liked to get to see some more of Spain, both once we arrived in Leon and from the bus windows on the drive. It is amazing how much variety exists in the landscape here, and how much variety I have seen just within in my district of Asturias.

I look forward to getting more familiar with the area that I am staying in, but I also enjoy getting to see other parts of Spain, and to see how Oviedo fits into the larger Asturian culture.

— hasta luego, Annelise

One Week Already?

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It’s been one week since I arrived in Barcelona. Since then, I’ve tried to see as much of the city as I possibly can. I’m beginning to realize that even though a month sounds like a long time, I’ll have to leave without seeing a lot of things, and this is probably the only time I’ll be here.

Nighttime near the Ciutadella/Vila Olympica region

I’m happy to report that my jet lag is mostly gone by now, I don’t get lost nearly as much (I found my internship today without getting lost at all!), and I’m feeling more confident and comfortable about exploring and doing everyday things like shopping. My roommates are all really friendly and I like hanging out with them.

The view from my apartment

So far, I’ve been to the Gothic Quarter, Passeig de Gracia, Las Ramblas, Plaza Real, Plaza Catalunya, Urquinaona, the magic fountain, Sagrada Familia, the Arc de Triomf, and the Picasso museum. I’ve gone shopping (it’s rebajas, or sales, season!) and taken a Catalan cooking class with some of the other interns.

Basilica de Sagrada Familia. Ignore the construction in the background.

The Arc de Triomf (arch of triumph), which I found by accident because I was lost

Plaza Real, where my roommates took me to dinner my first night

Oh yeah, and there’s this internship thing I do every day between exploring the city.

Barcelona is an interesting city. It has a rich, multicultural history and is very proud. Catalan (which is like a combination of French and Spanish) is widely spoken here, to the point where a lot of the signs are in Catalan. Some of the people here identify so strongly with their Catalan heritage that they consider themselves more Catalonian than Spanish.

Here are a few things I’ve noticed about Barcelona/Spain that are different from the US:

– siestas. Things tend to be pretty quiet in the afternoon. The clinic I work at isn’t open between 1:30 and 3, which isn’t unusual for businesses here. People use the afternoons to nap, relax, and eat lunch. I like this concept because it gives people time to recharge for a while before getting back to work Because people rest in the afternoon, they tend to work and stay up later.

– eating. People rarely eat on the go. You don’t see people sipping lattes on their way to work or eating sandwiches on the Metro. As far as I know, there’s only one drive-thru in the entire city. Food is meant to be savored while sitting down.

Wouldn’t you want to savor this paella?

– buildings. My apartment is labeled as being on the third floor, but it’s technically the fifth. I still don’t quite understand how the numbering here works.

– what is considered appropriate. While I was shopping the other day, I noticed that stores don’t censor out swear words in songs. (These were stores geared toward teens and women, though; a kids’ store might be different.) People also tend to be more relaxed about nudity than Americans. For example, I saw a poster last week with a woman’s naked butt, but the image wasn’t meant to be sexual or anything. Also, most of the beaches here are topless. It really makes you think about how arbitrary some of our society’s rules about what is appropriate are.

All in all, I’m having a great time in Barcelona and am gradually working through the (very long) list of places I want to see before I go home. It’s crazy that I’m already a quarter done with my internship!

Adios for now!

~Cicely

Arrival Post

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Well, I made it! The trip here to Oviedo wasn´t completely smooth but I made it here safely and with all of my luggage.

I was a little nervous about my first time flying alone internationally, and when I arrived at the Madrid airport it proved to be a challenge to make my connecting flight. When I arrived at the airport I asked a desk attendant for my airline which gate my next flight would leave from, but a gate hadn´t yet been set. All she could tell me was that it would be one of the “M” gates. The Madrid airport is very large and complicated with escalators and trains to the different areas, but I managed to find the right area without too much trouble… until I arrived there and found that my flight had been moved to a completely different section of the airport! I was terrified that I would miss my flight and have to make new arrangements in Spanish, but I was able to make it to my gate before the plane began loading. After this one problem I was able to make it to my dorm without much trouble, and am now settled in.

Spain played in the Euro Cup on my first day here. Although I´m not usually interested in sports, I was excited to get to experience such an important event. Several of the students in my dorm went out to a bar to watch the game, along with what seemed like most of the city. After the game my group went to a plaza where we had been told people would congregate if Spain won. The plaza was packed with people, and policemen were directing traffic away as people yelled and waved flags out of their cars. Locals were celebrating the win by jumping into the large fountain in the center of the plaza, and after we were told that “we weren´t real Spaniards unless we went in” we decided to join.

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I am so glad that my first night in Spain I got to experience an event that the people here are so enthusiastic about. It is a very unifying event; during the game people were gathered around televisions that had been moved outside, and when something important happened in the game we could hear cheers and gasps from the street. After the game people from small children to elderly women were shouting and singing together. My first night set me at ease; it is sometimes difficult for me to communicate, but I have seen what a wonderful country this is, and how friendly and unified the people here can be.

I look forward to getting to see these qualities in daily life, but I am glad that I was able to experience this special event.

–Annelise

Arriving in Barcelona

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Hola everyone,

My arrival to Barcelona went really smoothly. I went from PDX to Philadelphia, and then on to Barcelona. There were no delays and only minor turbulence, the little kids on the plane were unusually quiet and well-behaved, my luggage did not get lost, and my flight from Philadelphia had TV’s on the back of every seat so I could watch 21 Jump Street and Arrested Development reruns.

And then I had no problem finding the CIS people who were supposed to pick me up. They got a taxi for me and another intern and sent us off to our respective apartments, and on the way we got to see a lot of the city, which is absolutely beautiful. So, basically, it was like the smoothest flight ever.

I like my new apartment, which I share with three other students. My room is small but nice. It’s on the fifth story and has a little balcony that I think I’m going to love sitting on and people-watching. Things are smaller in Spain. The shower is small, the rooms are small, the elevator could barely fit me and my luggage, but I’m not that big of a person so it works out fine.

In short: arrival went well and it was amazing to finally be in Barcelona. Then the severe culture shock, jet lag, splitting headaches, dizziness, and bouts of nausea set in. And I got lost a lot. But that’s all another story; my point is, arriving at the airport and my apartment was good.

Hasta Luego,

Cicely

(I still can’t figure out how to add photos. Any help please?)

Am I really doing this? (predeparture)

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Sorry that I’m posting this late. I actually just got to Barcelona about three hours ago and I’m just now posting the stuff I wrote Saturday night about my trip. It’s weird re-reading it now that I’m here. Anyway, here are what my predeparture thoughts were:

I had this plan where I was going to take all three courses of introductory chemistry over the summer, and then finish up all my pre-nursing requirements by fall term, which would leave me in good shape for when I apply for nursing school this winter. But then I thought, I really want to go abroad and I might not get another opportunity. It occured to me that there was really nothing stopping me from ditching my initial plan and applying for an internship abroad. I have a lot of ideas that never amount to anything because I don’t do anything about them. This internship was different because I actually did something. For that alone, this experience is important to me.

I’ve been through a roller coaster of emotions as my departure date gets closer. Sometimes I’m super excited and confident, and other times I’m anxious and just want to back out. A lot of times I go back and forth between those two states about 50 times in 5 minutes, and I haven’t been sleeping well either way.

Here are some of the things I know about Spain: soccer (I hope I can catch some of the game tomorrow during my layover), warm weather, beaches, Spanish, siestas, Catholicism, Christopher Columbus was from there, the Moors, cool architecture, bad economy. And here are some things I know about Barcelona: Catalan, good public transportation system, near the coast, international community.

I am nervous about speaking in Spanish. I took Spanish for five years in middle and high school, and got a 5 on the AP test, but I’ve hardly used it in over three years. And I’ve taken German, which sometimes gets in the way of my Spanish. I wonder how many times I’m going to say ja instead of si. And, native Spanish speakers talk so freaking fast! People should be more like the characters in my old Spanish textbooks. They always spoke slowly, with perfect grammar, and didn’t use words I didn’t already know.

I’m trying to keep an open mind and reasonable expectations because I don’t know what Barcelona and the people there will be like. But considering how much this program costs, I’m going to make it be good no matter what.

I can’t figure out how to add pictures to this post, but mostly what I’ve been doing today is packing and quadruple-checking that I have everything, so if you just Google “suitcases” and “neurotic people” you’ll get it.

Here’s hoping for a safe, crying baby-free flight!

~Cicely

In just a coupl…

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In just a couple days I will be leaving for Oviedo, Spain. I look forward to everything about the experience except the more than ten-hour plane trip.

I expect Spanish culture to be a mixture of modern and formal. The culture has been formed by thousands of years of history, and has had many different influences, so I expect it to have many different sides. I expect the culture to be much more traditional than I am used to, but I also expect to see how Spain has modernized.

I won’t be staying with a host family, so it will be more difficult for me to meet locals. However, by living in Oviedo I will be surrounded by the culture, and I hope I will be able to get to know it well. I am very interested in the culture, so it won’t be a problem for me to accept it, and I expect to fit in well. My greatest concern is my ability to speak Spanish; although I have felt confident in Spanish classes, I know that I am much better at reading and writing than at speaking and listening. I know that it will be difficult for me to converse with native speakers who may speak too quickly for me.

However, I know that I will return home better for this experience. It will be a challenge, but I look forward to the improvement that I will gain in my Spanish language—especially my oral Spanish.  Annelise

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