So while I was in Paris for my fall break I literally went to one of the most beautiful places in the world. I went to the Paris Opera house which is formally called the Palais Garnier. It was built in 1861 to 1875. I was able to take a tour through it thanks to this cool pass I bought for my trip called the Paris Pass which was a really good investment because it allowed me to skip the lines of monuments and get into a bunch of museums and monuments for free. It ended up being worth the heavy charge at the beginning because it made the whole trip in Paris really easy and less stressful because we had so any options open to us.

We took our tour in English with a tour guide lady who was actually dutch. I really liked her and she made the tour really fun and gave us some cool facts that I would not have known from just walking around the building by myself. She also pointed out some hidden elements that I wouldn’t have seen on my own.

We first got there and entered into a big room with a really cool looking and ornate ceiling. It was a little dark but very nice. Our tour guide told us that we had entered through the doors of the entrance reserved for the King of France and that we were now by the entrance where the rich nobles entered. She told us that when people got to the opera house they didn’t look at each other until they had formally entered a few rooms ahead. This was in order to make sure you had time to check yourself and be sure you looked perfect before being seen by everyone. The idea was that if you didn’t look at anyone and they didn’t look at you, that no one would see each other before they all looked perfect. She told us that this was the thirteenth opera house that was built and that we couldn’t visit any of the other ones because they had all burned down because they were made of wood. They would typically take 5 years to make and then because they were made of wood and used candles for lighting up the rooms at night, they would burn down within 1-2 years. That made me laugh but it totally made sense.

It was actually a competition to determine who would be the architect for this Paris Opera house and over 200 people submitted designs and models for Napoleon the third. It was Napoleons wife who got to choose our guide told us and when she saw the design by Charles Garnier she thought it was the most hideous building ever because he didn’t use a known style. So she made him come see her and she was like, “what the heck is this syle?” And he was like, “oh it’s a new style called Napoleon Trois” So then she had to pick it because it was named after her husband.

It was really funny though because the architect thought that he was going to be forgotten so he actually hid a bunch of his own elements in the architecture of the building. For example on one of the ceilings he has his name spelled out and in the Grand Foyer (gold room), there are 8 busts of his head as lamps which when people saw them criticized him but he told them that they were just the busts of  Apollo. He told everyone it was a compliment that he looked like the busts of Apollo. The entire theater actually has the theme of Apollo and a Lyre throughout the building.

He wasn’t far off though in thinking that he would be forgotten because there was a transfer of power while the Opera house was being built and all work on the building came to a halt during the Franco-Prussian War due to the siege of Paris. The new government of the Third Republic maintained an intense dislike of all things associated with the Second Empire, and many of them wanted to replace Garnier as the architect for the building. Economies were demanded, and Garnier was forced to suppress the completion of sections of the building. But then because the other theater in Paris was destroyed by a fire overnight there was a resurgence of support to finish the building. The theatre was formally inaugurated on 5 January 1875 with a lavish gala performance, which Garnier wasn’t invited to at first. Then upon hearing this the public was outraged and support for the political leader Adolphe Thiers who was in charge fell so in order to gain it back he sent a letter of invitation to join provided that Garnier could pay for his seat which they made sure was ridiculously expensive. So Garnier didn’t actually get to go to his own designs debut. I thought that was pretty sad. He did go later once things calmed down but he wasn’t able to go and see everyone’s reactions to it for the first time.

While we were there a prinicipal performer for the current production was there so when we went in to see the inside of the Opera theater she was practicing ballet onstage. Now this building is used mostly for ballet and there is another building in Paris where Opera and Plays are done. Our guide told us that there is no seat number 13 in the theater because once a lamp fell on the woman sitting in that seat and she died. Over time though the story has changed to a man and he still haunts the theater as the Phantom of the Opera. Yep! This is the real Opera house of the Phantom! Our guide also told us that it is true that there is a lake below the Opera house and that it is still accessible but that you have to have lots of clearance and such. But that the water was kind of a hassle during the construction of the building but they wanted to have it close in case of fires.

It was by far the most beautiful building that I have ever been in and it was really cool to see in person. I was glad that my friend and I on a whim decided to go there because it will probably stay one of my favorite places in Paris because of my love for theatre. One other little known fact is that it is at this Opera house that the idea of Macaroons came about because they were bit sized and wouldn’t ruin ladies gloves!

This week I did A LOT. It was a holiday called La Merce and there were free concerts at the beach and parades all around the city. I visited Labyrinth Park which was so cool, different then anything i’ve seen in the states. The coolest and most exciting thing that happened was participating in the “dragon run”. Which is when people masked and dressed in all black have sticks with firework works shooting out will run through the crowds and people even go towards them and go into the fireworks! There were sparks flying everywhere, I wasn’t exactly prepared for it. I got a few burns on my arm but nothing too serious. Overall, it was so fun and something that I am so glad that I got to be apart of. 

Maze at Labyrinth park in Barcelona  

Dragon run during La Merce

I pretty much have the metro down now, a group of girls and myself took a train Sitges and its BEAUTIFUL! Train was easy to figure out thank God. Sitges was one of the most beautiful beaches i have ever been to. The weather is so nice here compared to back home. I have become obsessed with tapas, which are basically appetizers. I love patatas braves, aka fries with a mayo/hot sauce. Classes are going well, it’s weird that no one at home would be starting school yet. Also visited plaza Catalunya and got a good look around the gothic quarter!

eo-Gothic facade of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain

I arrived home in a completely different state than when I arrived in Berlin.  I had spent the month before Berlin on edge and in some ways isolated.  Also I was exhausted after a 3 day trip to Berlin.  Coming home the flight was quick and I had definitely unwound over the past month.  I was seeing my wife for the first time in the past two months but I wasn’t anxious or caught off guard, it was a reassuring thought.

After arriving in Germany I adapted to my situation as quickly as possible and started doing “as the Romans did” but coming home it was a slower transition back to normalcy, and one that I fought against.  I would say some short responses and phrases in German without even thinking about it.  I spoke German in my sleep.  I tried to carry on some of the cultural norms that I had picked up abroad but they gradually faded away (though not entirely) much to my chagrin, but that was inevitable because they don’t fit with the lifestyle I lead here.

Arriving in Berlin I forced myself to adapt as ragged and exhausted as I was and for the first few days and as a result I was mentally drained.  Coming home I spent a day in bed then spent the next few weeks camping recovering from camping and preparing to go camping again so I just slipped into my old self naturally and I worry I lost a lot when I came home.

The first weekend was my trip to Dresden.  My pronunciation of “Dresden” was a source of endless entertainment for my host family.  Our first stop in the city was the famous and thrice built Semper Operhaus in the old city.  However it didn’t seem appropriate to call this the “old city” since it had all been firebombed to nothing and rebuild in the 50s and on.  The opera house was beautiful but not quite as remarkable as I had hoped.  The palace and surrounding building caught my eye.  I could distinguish the old sections from where it was rebuilt by the colors, the old sandstone was black and the copper roofs were green, from oxidization but the new sections were light but otherwise indistinguishable.  According to our guide all the new sandstone construction will be darkened the same as the old in another ten years.   In one section of the palace I found a sign that was somewhat unsettling.  It was a plaque detailing the reconstruction of the palace and offhandedly mentioned the 100,000 civilians that were killed in the bombings by the allies who “liberated the city” as if they were grateful out of shame for of the collateral damage.  More interestingly the sign must have been erected recently since it was in English and Dresden was in the DDR.

Around the district every building seemed to be a completely different style of architecture depending on what organization or ruler built each building and when it was built within even a couple years, for example the opera house is very typical baroque but the ticket office for it is a Roman style building, Or a hotel that had been repeatedly expanded and slightly different each time, but with one extremely ornate section that stands out and was the home to one of the king’s mistresses.

I got the overall impression that Dresden used it’s nearly blank slate to idealize this part of the city as well as preserve it.  Most of the royal buildings and fortifications are now museums of all kinds and libraries when they were essentially ornate government and military structures. Along with separating the modern factories from the historical buildings anything new must have a 1800s style façade.

Semper Operhaus

Palace

View from the defensive wall along the river Elbe, now a row of museums.

This week was filled with trying all kinds of spanish food that Barcelona has to offer. I tried Paella which is AMAZING. It’s a rice dish with chicken and vegetables! I was shocked to find out that Barcelona doesn’t have anything similar to mexican food or anything spicy; or it’s hard to find. I also went to Park Guell and it was breath taking! A bit of a hike but well worth it to see a view of all of Barcelona. It’s incredibly hot here! It will be like 80 degrees but feels like 90! Slowly getting used to it though. Learning how to ride the Metro system was surprisingly easy, its not hard to navigate so i’m getting the hang of it. Classes also started this week, I like them and they don’t seem terribly hard. Spanish is going to be a challenge though, one of my instructors doesn’t speak any english!

Park Guell

Paella

Park Guell, city view of Barcelona!

Park Guell

Well, I completely forgot I had to do this! I’ve already been in Barcelona 7 weeks, oops. I remember the first day like it was yesterday. Being thrown into a taxi by myself by my mentor and not having any idea what to expect or what my roommates would be like; a little nerve racking. Week one was filled with meeting so many open and welcoming people! We had orientation, hiked up a mountain, ate a catalan meal, and took a day trip to Tarragona. 

Week two was when it started to sink in that I was not on vacation but living here for eight months and that kinda freaked me out. There are a ton of international students here which makes it way to easy to get comfortable with people who are similar to you. That made me panic a little because the whole reason I wanted to study abroad was to become fluent in Spanish and fall into the culture not hang out only with people from the U.S and speak English all the time. Even though it had only been two weeks and although I realized that these things take time I could start to see a pattern developing. I tried to re-evaluate my situation and make more of an effort in every aspect, however I have a lot of things going against me and I guess you could say I have never been a minority the way I am here. What do I mean? Well for starters the color of my skin gives so much about where I am from away and everything associated with being from the U.S. Secondly, I am tall. I am tall for a girl and I am tall for a girl in the U.S so you can only imagine my surprise when I went to the grocery store with my mama tica and realized I was taller than almost EVERYONE in the store. Also, I am a women. San Jose is a big city and not the safest one at that. I am constantly needing to be alert or aware of my surroundings at all time. Coming from a small town I am not used to any of this and it started to feel like I didn’t have much independence. And obviously the communication barrier is a working progress. It has taken me a while to grow familiar with Tico Spanish like slang, accent, and the use of vos instead of tu! Nevertheless I continue to try and put myself in situations where I am around more ticos and being exposed to Spanish and the culture of Costa Rica. I even went out on a limb and went to a theater play at a different university in San Jose with two girls from Spain and Mexico. So maybe it will be the addition of little things that change my experience from foreigner to resident.

Our weekend excursion was at La Fortuna where we spent most the day at a natural hot spring. It was amazing here is a little video of us having fun at the hot spring!(:Baldi Hot Springs

I can´t believe I have spent almost a month in Costa Rica! Every day I am exhausted and each one fly’s by faster than the last. I have had hardly anytime to digest my time in Costa Rica so here goes nothing.

Week One: I arrived extremely early in the morning and everything went smoothly until I got to baggage claim! Someone had mistaken my bag for theirs and I could not have been more freaked out! Then when I arrived at my home stay family I was so worried about my bags and exhausted that I could hardly focus on what my mama tica was saying to me over the two little dogs barking. You could say I had a mini panic attack! Thankfully the person realized their mistake and brought my bag back, and once I took a nap I tried again to be at peace with my arrival in Costa Rica. The first week I noticed many differences between my tica family and my family at home. For example the food was different, never in my life had I ate rice and beans for breakfast, or was used to waking up so early. The university itself is very intriguing! The university is a private school that focuses on the arts and architecture and the school definitely reflects that. There is agriculture within the school and it is very open and I think that is what I love the most about this university. The first week of classes were pretty easy, so easy that I thought of moving up to another level of Spanish but I stayed because I figured it was good review and I just adore my teacher so much! That weekend we had our first excursion to Café Brit which is a coffee plantation and we also went to Volcan Irazu! I loved being at the volcano it was so big and majestic it was a very special experience. Here is a video I made of my time at Volcan Irazu! Volcan Irazu

I have experienced some culture-shock back in the US, but not as much as I had thought. As I had been thinking, it is weird to be surrounded by the english language again, and by people of my skin color. I always drew looks in Mexico just because I was white, and with time I hardly noticed anymore. But now I am noticing that I’m not getting looks from everyone I pass on the street, and it is a little weird. But all in all I have transitioned back quite easily. While I didn’t miss American food, I did miss Thai food, which is my favorite type of food. My first meal upon entering the US was at a Thai restaurant, and it was one of the best meals of my life. But aside from a few small adjustments, I have pretty much gone back into my old routine. My weekly schedule switched back to my American schedule, and it’s just like before I left. It almost feels like I was two different people and I just switched back: Mexican Aaron and American Aaron.

By the way, this is what Mexico looks like during the rainy season. We were in Oaxaca on the coast when two tropical storms hit at once. At one point we waded through waist deep water where the road used to be to get back to the hostal.

This was the view of inside our hostal.