Week 7 ITALY!

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Alysha Gonzales

This week I explored Plaza Espanya and shopping inside a mall that used to be a bull flighting ring, since its been deemed illegal in Barcelona and other parts of Spain (for animal cruelty reasons) its amazing how they used something old to make something new. I also went to Italy a Thursday-Sunday this week and it was everything i’d hoped it would be and more. I was in Venice just for a day but I rode in a gondola in the canals, ate amazing food, and toured the city center. The rest of my trip was spent in Rome. Rome is the opposite of Venice, much busier and more lively. I visited the colosseum, saw roman ruins, went to Vatican city and went inside the Sixtine chapel which was painted by Michael Angelo and was breath taking. My favorite part was probably seeing the Trevi fountain. It was beautiful and of course I made a wish.

Trevi Fountain in Rome

Vatican City

Gondola ride in Venice

Week 6 in Barcelona

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Alysha Gonzales

I did a lot this week around Barcelona and Spain. I went to Girona on Sunday, we took the train and it was about an 2 hour ride which wasn’t too bad. The only part that was hard was being in time to make the 830 am train! We visited a jewish museum which was pretty interesting, and ate at a catalan restaurant and fell in love with catalan crema! SO GOOD. This city had a lot of roman ruins, it had a huge roman wall that spanned for miles and miles and myself and the group I went with all climbed it and the views were incredible. Later in the week I visited Parc Guell for the second time, I love it there! Gaudi a famous artist in Barcelona and the park is filled with his work/architect. I also fell in love with a Mexican restaurant here in Barcelona, it’s called Rosa Negra and they have amazing authentic tasting Mexican food! It reminded me of home, and made me miss the food we have!

Catalan Crema

Girona, Spain

Park Guell/City view of Barcelona

Week 5

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Alysha Gonzales

This week I went to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany for the weekend! It was an amazing experience and I definitely want to go back again someday. I ate a lot of good food and it was nice to have something other than traditional spanish food can’t lie. Barcelona doesn’t have a huge variety of foods in my opinion. I miss the food options back home! I also visited a huge indoor market in the city center of Barcelona, they had EVERYTHING! I even found my favorite american hot sauce, I was very pleased about that. School is going well, it’s harder to focus on my classes and homework while being in Barcelona and traveling! But i’m still doing well, just have to keep my priorities straight.

Munich, Germany at Oktoberfest

Halloween In Perú

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Hannah Williamson

Halloween crept up so fast this year….being in another country during “American” holidays is difficult because you don’t know what to expect, or what to do for that matter.

Many people told me about Halloween “parties” at many clubs, but all were VERY expensive and finding a costume was such a challenge! I am used to going to the mall where can find many stores that sell costumes, or going to Goodwill and making my own, but needless to say, they don’t have those here. I was told there are “costume stores” so I decided to go check them out. The costumes there were all used, and you rent them, which didn’t sound very…clean, to me. But I was told that is what everyone does, or they make their own costumes, buying material, and little things here and there. Because time didn’t allow for this for me, I decided to do something more American.

A few American students and I met up with a friend from England, who also didn’t know what to do for the night, and we decided to eat candy and pizza, and watch scary movies, while waiting for trick or treaters, but again……we forgot to think about the fact that kids may not go trick or treating. So we waited, and waited, and ended up eating all the candy ourselves because nobody came!

Later on we found out that there aren’t very many kids that go trick or treating, and the ones that do go in the richest districts, and do it just as it begins to get dark…which makes sense for safety.

Although it wasn’t what we thought, it ended up being a fun evening. We also found out that October 31st isn’t just Halloween, but also Día de los Muertos, and the Día de la Canción Criolla, so many people were gathered in the cemeteries, as well as center squares and parks in each district, to eat and drink and celebrate.

Palais Garnier

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Kacy Helwig

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!

Week 6

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Tate Sanders

Well, starting to bring American culture to the UK. Have been coaching an American football team for a couple of weeks, getting ready to become a university team hopefully next year. Really difficult, as most sports here aren’t taken very seriously and receive a pittance for funding. Football is even harder to get going. But it is a good exercise and hopefully things will turn around. Been working with the student’s union and with the locals on the team to get more recognition and funding if we improve enough.

Going to Poland this weekend. Going to see Krakow and Warsaw. Should be cheaper than the UK, since the local currency is about 3 to 1 on the dollar. Plenty of partying and expenditure I am sure. Also going to see Auschwitz. Looking forward to it, as it is a big historical site and should be done by any that can, but not excited as it is such a morbid and evil place too. I pray I don’t get too emotional, whether sad, angry or both.

Finally started on my papers. Almost have one done and started on another. This school environment is so much more relaxed, as they only have a couple of graded works, while most of my classes back home have specified assignments, tests and reading almost non-stop. You can almost fall into a daze here, but then things sneak up on you pretty darn quick. Fortunately, I am not behind anymore and am actually ahead of my most in my classes. Fingers crossed on good grades.

The beginnings of our American football team. Should be interesting.

week 4

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Alysha Gonzales

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

London: Arriving, Living, and Thriving, or Reality is Unrealistic

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Keats Chaves

There comes a time in every university student’s life when they should be working on that essay that’s due in only a matter of hours, and so they make themselves busy doing something else. Usually, it involves cleaning their room—today, it involves writing something I should have done five weeks ago…

Actually, my distractions usually look something like this.

…or this.

…and some times even this…

There’s a reason why I haven’t been keeping up with these things, and I’d like to say that it’s a pretty reasonable one—I’ve led a pretty boring existence, really. That’s not to say that London is boring, or that I haven’t done anything fun or exciting, but that I haven’t done much worth talking about.

Let’s run through it:

I haven’t left London
I generally stick to three or four locals (Kingston, Roehampton, and Central London, to name a few)
I haven’t had any terrible experiences
I haven’t had any surreal experiences
It isn’t that much different from what I’m used to

At least it doesn’t seem different. Like I said in my first (and thus far only) post, I’ve cleared my mind of all preconceptions and have erased my pre-existing notion of what is normal and comfortable, so nothing feels out of place or difficult.

In a way it reminds me a bit of Portland in how my first experiences have paved the way for future ones. Going to Portland for school, everyone I knew was telling me how difficult it is to drive in the Pearl District where my school was located. But I’d never driven in Portland before, and the first time I did was in the Pearl, so the difficulty was lost on me, since I didn’t know that it was easier elsewhere (to this day, I can’t drive in downtown to save my life). Yes, it was different from driving in Salem, but it wasn’t hard.

London feels the same way. It only took me a couple days to get situated, two trips into Central to learn my way around, and now I just sort of…live here. Every once in a while I’ll remember that I don’t live here, and that’s what’s confusing.

The other reason I haven’t been writing is also a simple and reasonable one: The stereotype of the British being alcoholic sexual deviants is actually pretty true here. My flat is rarely, if ever, sober, and we’re not called “Hoehampton” for nothing. (I have developed a good spiel on the concept of dry campuses, but won’t get into that here—maybe on my own blog sometime, or else just talk to me in person.) So that leaves out discussion on antics and drama, and what else is there to talk about? Surely you don’t want to hear about the French Revolution and how much I still hate philosophy…

The UK's lack of dry campuses is glorious

Peace, love, and harmony between nations tastes like snakebites (aka, beer, cidre, blackcurrant, and if you’re so inclined, vodka)

Pictured: Why I love Kingston (and the British)

week 3

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Alysha Gonzales

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

Week 6- Excursions

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Adaleni Lopez

This week went by really fast. We had 2 big excursions and a small excursion to the Museum of Segovia. One of the things I enjoy about classes here is that our professors are all really helpful and try their best to help us fully understand what is being taught. Also, I only have class till 1pm which is nice and then at 2pm I have lunch.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I started teaching English at the non profit organizations Caritas and that has been going great. The feeling I get after teaching class is great. There are 3 of us girls from the program that teach the class. There are about 15 students each class and they’re all adults. I’ve really grown to get to know the people in class but I’m still working on learning names, I just recognize faces. Teaching the class is really helping me become more of a leader, I’m slowly enjoying being in the front of the class and teaching.

The museum of Segovia was really neat to visit. I especially enjoy going with my professors because they always explain everything really well. There is so much history in Spain and Segovia it’s unbelievable. Our next excursion was to La Montana. Here we were able to learn about the Spanish war and we saw where one war took place, we saw trenches and it was really cool to see with our own eyes where people fought and lived. The history part was really cool but the walk up was not easy. I can only imagine how soldiers were able to walk up with all their gear and everything. The walk down was way easier. To top off this excursion the view at the top was amazing! To see Segovia and the surroundings from the top of a mountain was so neat.

Exploring the battle site

Trenches

Really cool picture! follow the leader 🙂

Edu! my culture and civ professor. He’s Awesome!

My host mom continues to make delicious food for me, this week we had Paella again except this time it was made of Chicken and it was really good. Since I was home this weekend my host mom really wanted to spoil me and she made Tarta de Queso (Cheesecake) it was really good. I told her I need the recipe so I can make it back home. Any weekend that I am here I go to Sunday mass with my host mom and that is nice because I go out with her and she enjoys that.

Our excursion to Toledo was awesome as well. I know I’m expressing myself a bit much but everything I’m experiencing here is so wonderful and I’ve fallen in love with Spain! Toledo was a really cool city to visit, it was once the capital of Spain but it is now Madrid. Toledo is seriously built on a mountain and is surrounded by the Tagus river all around. We visited the Greco museum and that was neat too. To travel around Spain and Europe in general is really cool because their is so much history in this country!

The view of the city!

AHA Group in Toledo

The group from Oregon! they’re all from U of O

After our excursions I went out with the group and hung out with them. One night we went to dinner to La Juderia (a Jewish quarter where Jewish people lived) and we had Indian food at a nice restaurant. For it being my first time having Indian food it was really good. After dinner we went out to the bars and had a couple of drinks. It’s going to be different when I go back home because I’m of age to drink here in Spain but when I get home I’ll still have another year before I can drink. It’ll be different to not be able to tell my friends to just go to a bar and hang out since we wont be able to. I’m still not much of a stay out till 3-4am on the weekends even though. That is the common thing around here. It’s so interesting to see so many people out in the streets so late at night and to see little kids out with their families as well so late. They do have dinner at 10pm here so that is another reason they’re out so late but still. I still can’t stay up so late.

People out at night!

The life here in Spain is so much more relaxed and laid back. I’m really enjoying my time here it’s so different than the states. I feel less stressed and life is more tranquil unlike in the states everyone works and then goes home it’s like a non stop routine and here it’s so much less stressful. Midterms are coming up net week and then fall break! Time is flying. I’m halfway through my program.