Today my friend Maggie and I attended a mass service at the giant cathedral here in Oviedo. It was a really fascinating experience and I am so glad we took the time to go. I am not catholic but Maggie is so she cued me on some of the things we were supposed to do even though neither of us really could translate the exact words of the mass. We were able to follow part of what the priest said and that is what counts. It was such a unique experience and I hope we can get the chance to go one more time before we leave. I really enjoyed being in a cathedral with so much history and being apart of a service that is so different from what I was raised in. This was a once, hopefully twice, experience of a lifetime. After that we went to the market and picked up a few random items for our friends and family back home. Including an old 1800’s Spanish book for my collection, S.H.I.E.L.D. comics in spanish for my boyfriend and an old skeleton key to add to my collection. Then Maggie and I had some tapas and enjoyed watching a little bit of spanish VH1 in the restaurant. It was a busy day but at the same time really relaxing. I still cant believe how lucky I am to be here and I know these next two weeks are going to fly by.
One of the best trips we have taken happened yesterday. We went on a bus and stopped in three different spots in Covadonga. The first stop was in the the town itself where we saw a really old and huge bridge that stole everyone’s attention. After that we went about half an hour straight up a mountain that consisted of one small road that had to be shared between two lanes of traffic. Most of the people were afraid of heights so when our huge tour bus went up the mountain they were not doing so well. I loved it. Getting a chance to overlook the whole mountain and the tiny stone houses was fantastic. We stopped there and saw one of the huge lakes, took a ton of pictures and had lunch. Then we explored around that area and got closer to the old houses and were amazed that people had actually lived in something so basic and made out of random rocks. The fields were also filled with free roaming cows and sheep that we could go up and pet if we wanted. It was an extremely unique opportunity. It was almost like stepping back in time. Finally we went back down the mountain and stopped at an old Cathedral that was built into the side of a mountain complete with a “lucky fountain” and actual size lion sculptures. It was amazing to see this gorgeous cathedral both built into the mountain and hanging over a drop off. This was something I have never experienced and doesn’t even compete with things back home. I love the old sculptures and history of Spain.
We went to Gijón the other day and had a chance to tour the city for a few hours and it was amazing how similar the landscape was to Oregon. It was beautiful and a great experience. AHA takes us on some of the greatest excursions that really show you the thrill of this area. I hope to get another chance to see the coast before I leave but your days fill up so quickly. When we went to the city we got a chance to walk up this huge mountain area and over look the ocean, town and see the huge sculpture that they call “King Kong’s Toilet” because it is a huge round sculpture right at the edge of the hill overlooking the water. When you stand in a certain spot you can hear the ocean echoing inside and it is like putting your ear up to a seashell. It is amazing being here and I can’t believe how well I have adjusted to walking almost 9 miles in a day and communicating so much in Spanish. It was a great trip to the beach and I can’t believe how fortunate I am.
It was a long road from Oregon to London. Literally. Late flights and layovers caused us to be the last group to arrive and after a 10 hour flight the fun was just beginning. Going through the boarder was horrible. Apparently we needed a hard copy of a letter from CCSA, with their header on top, stating our reason for being in London. No one told us that we needed this and the lady at boarding patrol was really snarky, calling us unorganized and such. Later we’d learn that EVERYONE had the same issue but at the time I convinced that she was going to send us back to the states. Anyway, once past security we whipped through the airport, so that aspect is a blur. Once in the bus, we headed straight to the campus. Along the way I noticed that the vehicle lanes are very narrow with no room on the side of the road and they drive very fast. Once at the campus, we hit the ground running by going on a walking tour of the surrounding. Mind you, since we were late, we were not given lunch and this tour wasn’t even of the campus itself, which is highly disappointing. From what I’ve seen, this campus is beautiful.
On Saturday Naomi and I went to Independence Park, which is two blocks over from my house. The entire park is about ten city blocks put together and was gorgeous. While just walking around looking for stuff to do, we ran into these little guys!
Little ponies I saw in Independence Park
After walking around for a while we found the Argentina Municipal Museum. They were so excited two Americans wanted to look at their museum, they even took us to a special exhibit that’s usually closed to the public to show off! They have Meradona’s jersey there along with some old jerseys of Messi which I was enjoyed.
Outside of Rosario’s soccer museum
After the soccer museum, we met up with Katerina who wanted to try Argentine McDonalds. Here, it’s considered pretty high quality food, and their McCafe was an actual café! Overall it was pretty interesting to see how different it was compared to the McDonald’s in the US.
Somehow Argentine McDonald’s looks better than McDonald’s in the US…
I got to watch Brazil loose amazingly to Germany. When I turned on the tv, I had to double check the score to make sure I was seeing it right. Losing 7-1 in the semifinals? An incredibly embarrassing moment for Brazil. And while they host the World Cup on top of it! We all felt pretty smug that the US has only lost by 1, whereas Brazil was destroyed.
On Wednesday I played soccer in the park with a couple kids from the university. I turn out to actually be pretty good! Afterwards we all went to a bar to watch Argentina play the Netherlands to advance to finals.
Watching the Argentina game!
In case you didn’t know, Argentina advanced. We lost it in the bar, everyone was jumping up and down hugging each other and screaming. Then we went with everyone else to party in the streets. There was basically a parade of people heading towards the Monumento de Bandera where a massive party was taking place. We all joined in the party, dancing and chanting along with everyone else. Even more amazing they set off fireworks!
There is no better time to be in Argentina than during the World Cup! This is the first time in twenty years they’ve advanced to the finals so it’s very exciting! I can’t wait until they win!
Vamos Argentina! Party at the monument!
Well, today was a bit difficult. I had three tests today and was pretty fried once all was finished. So afterwards I went to the Cathedral in Argentina to pray for good grades. Just kidding, I’d been planning on heading inside since week one.
It was gorgeous, a wonderful experience. They just recently celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Cathedral which was great to learn about while there. I was quite pleased we made it all the way down to see it.
Image from the Cathedral in Rosario.
And tomorrow I get to go see the other religious site of Argentina-the soccer stadium!
I found a video on youtube that explains my feelings on the entire World Cup. It was done by John Oliver, so not only is it informative, it’s also pretty funny.
The trip over was an adventure; the first plane we rode up to Vancouver was the smallest I’ve ever been in. The Vancouver airport was really pretty!
Fish tank in the airport
We almost missed our boarding, because we were out getting french fries. Once we got on the big jet we had dinner and I watched American Hustle. (good film). Oh, and ate some airplane food. I was so tired but I couldn’t fall asleep, planes are just way too uncomfortable.
mmmmmm yum
When we got into the London airport we almost didn’t make it past passport control! talk about a scary encounter. When we finally got through I found myself very calm. In fact I still am. I think that must be a side effect from the jet lag, I’m in London I should be bouncing for joy!
I did go on a vary quick walking tour and attempted to get a sense of direction. We do a lot of walking, so I’m definitely going to be in great shape by the end of the trip!
Classic Phone Box
Tomorrow we go into the heart of the city to do some sightseeing and I am very much looking forward to it!
Tomorrow’s the big day! I’m about to start my study abroad experience in London! I am very excited, but am chronically worried that there’s something I forgot to pack. I guess that’s just my nerves getting the better of me. Tomorrow’s going to be an incredibly long day for me, consisting of at least 21 hours of travel time. My first flight tomorrow leaves at 3:30 PST, and I have to meet my professor at PDX by 1:30. This would not be a problem, but I live over six hours away from Portland, so I’ll be up bright and early tomorrow trekking to the airport crossing my fingers that I have everything I will need. From Portland, I fly to Vancouver, where I have a two hour layover, then off for a 9+ hour flight to London Heathrow. We are due to arrive at LHR at 11:30am local time, which is 3:30am my time. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some sleep on the plane so that I can enjoy my first day in the UK, but I’ve never been able to sleep for more than an hour on a plane, so I hope there’s a coffee shop near King’s College. I’ll need something to help me get through my first day. Although I have an early wakeup tomorrow and a tedious journey ahead of me, I am very excited to be heading off to London and getting a once in a lifetime experience. Here’s to hoping I’m able to sleep tonight!
As my time in London comes to an end, all I can think about how thankful I am to have had this opportunity. I am so blessed to have met all of the people I have met and experienced all of the things I have expierenced. The culture here has been more similar to American culture than I expected. I think that I have interacted more than I expected with the culture here. Although I spent a lot of time with friends, I did allow myself to explore the city alone a little bit. It was so liberating to be in a foreign country by myself knowing that I could do whatever I wanted.
I am sad about leaving this beautiful city but I have to say that I am looking forward to getting back home. I miss my family and my friends and can’t wait to be reunited with them. I will miss the business of the city and all of the wonderful people I have met here.
Hello everybody! I can’t believe that it is already the end of week 3 over here in Scotland. As the title of this post probably points out, I traveled to England and Wales this weekend! Thursday we went to Edinburgh where we went to the Elephant House (cafe where J.K Rowling wrote some of Harry Potter), The National Museum of Scotland, and Edinburgh Castle. Most of the castle was closed off for a private event, which sucked until we realized that the Queen would be arriving when we were there. So, we hung around and I actually saw the Queen of England! It was pretty exciting.
At the Elephant House (I had a huge nerd moment)
The Queen of England!
The view from Edinburgh Castle
From Edinburgh, a group of us took a train to London, where we would be spending the weekend. It was my first time on a train, so I was pretty excited, but eventually my exhaustion took over and I slept most of the way until we arrived at Kings Cross Station. After going to the wrong hotel and realizing that our reservations were for the wrong weekend, we eventually found a hotel with vacancies and got some much needed sleep. The next day (which also happened to be the fourth of July) we did a lot, we didn’t waste any time. We went to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing of the guard, went and saw Titus Andronicus at the Globe Theatre, rode the London Eye (my personal favorite-the views were amazing), saw Parliament and Big Ben, saw Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, and Trafalgar Square. It was a jammed packed day of sightseeing. It was surreal to see all of these landmarks that we all know in person, it finally hit me that we were actually in London when I saw Big Ben all lit up as we were walking around that evening.
Kings Cross Station
Big Ben
Me on the London Eye on the Fourth of July!
Me on the TARDIS set at the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff.
The next day, we took a day trip to Cardiff (which is in Wales) to go to the Doctor Who Experience, which was pretty exciting for me, being a huge Doctor Who fan. They had a huge exhibition of costumes, props, and even some sets to look at. It was really surreal to see all of the things I have watched on TV. They also had models of all of the monsters that are in the show, which was also really cool. Sunday we took a train back to Scotland and we were all exhausted by that point. I took the rest of the evening to relax, Skype with my family, and unpack all of my stuff. While this trip had its ups and downs, it was a lot of fun. I realized what a great thing it is that my Dad taught me how to read a map, because if not, we probably would have been hopelessly lost. I also learned that the London underground isn’t as complicated as it looks. Overall, I made some great memories and can’t wait to do it again.
I have been with my host family for a whole week now and I am so happy to be here. Laura is so patient with my spanish and has been very helpful over the past week. My first week of classes went well, I have three different classes and only one is taught in english. I don’t think either of my other professors speak engilsh and if they do they are really good at pretending they don’t. But even though the classes are taught in spanish I am finding that I am slowly understanding more and more and it is not as overwhelming to only hear spanish.
There are a lot of things here that are very different from how they are in America. The food is probably the most noticeable change; my stomach is still adjusting. The eating schedule is also different. Here we eat the largest meal of the day for lunch. This meal is called comida and if you don’t finish your food at comida, you eat the rest for dinner. After comida, everyone takes a siesta before continuing with their day. I have found that I should not take siestas because I fall asleep for too long. Another thing I have noticed is that when someone comes in the house or leaves the house, they make sure and greet or say goodbye to each person in the house.
I have been keeping plenty busy while I am here. There is more homework for my classes than I was expecting which wouldn’t be a problem, but I keep forgetting I am here for school because it feels like a vacation. On Friday everyone in the group went out to eat for the forth of July and Saturday we all went and hiked la Peña de Bernal.
Before going I was expecting something like Multnomah Falls, but this was much more challenging. It was very steep the whole time and the last 20 minutes of the climb we were using our hands and knees and working to find secure footing as we scrambled up the side of the rock. But the view at the top was so worth it. The pictures I took definitely do not do it justice. And I will admit that standing at the top (as far as we could go without literally rock climbing) made me feel like I could do anything! My knees were shaking pretty badly when I got back down to the bottom and I am still a little sore, but I would do it again in an instant.
On Sunday I went to church with my neighbor and it was a solid 3 hours of nonstop spanish. When I got home I took a good long nap because it was so exhausting to put so much focus on translating for that long. I didn’t understand all of it, but what I did understand was really good. It was so cool to get to be a part of what God is doing in another country and really amazing to meet people who believe in the same God and have received the same message in a different country and a different language. They were all very welcoming and helped me if there was something I didn’t understand. One woman gave me her phone number and said to call her if I ever needed anything.
Overall it has been a pretty tiring week, but I am having a wonderful time, making lots of new friends, and learning about the culture and the language of the people around me. I am looking forward to this coming week and this weekend I will be heading to Mexico City to see the pyramids!
