Fine Dad, I will post on my blog

It seems that my three riveting posts have attracted quite a following because I have had many requests to continue writing on my blog in the past month. In fact, I should probably change my header to "Fine Dad, I will make a blog" because surprisingly, he is the one trying to convince me to post again at the end of each phone call home.

I have finally settled in to my life in Madrid! I am doing much better than before. I have just gotten back my mid-terms from last week. Half the semester is gone already! I am taking Spanish Architecture, Spanish for Business, Spanish Grammar IV, and an Internship Seminar. I am a Business Development Intern at Imaste, a Spanish start up that sells technology that allows companies and universities to organize virtual fairs via the Internet. The software imitates the look of a traditional fair booth with a receptionist and logo, and allows visitors to communicate with different companies using an online chat feature. For example, Monster.com is one of their biggest international clients; Monster organizes an online job fair where companies can directly collect CVs and resumes. Imaste has huge potential in the U.S. for individual businesses to coordinate online conferences and for colleges to reach students from the other side of the country. However, right now, Imaste mostly works in Spain/Europe with 55% of their business coming from Spain and 55% from international clients.

So far, I have traveled to the Spanish towns of Valencia, Segovia, Toledo, and Barcelona. Most recently, I visited the Whittaker family (our old neighbors in Orinda) at their beautiful home in London! I am sure you are wondering how my trips went, especially the one to Barcelona- so I will give you a brief summary. This was my first real low-budget college student trip. I traveled with five girls on an overnight bus from Madrid to Barcelona (12 am to 7 am). Unlike Madrid, the general public was not awake upon our arrival, but luckily, it took us an extreme amount of time to find our way to our hostel. In case you didn't know, people speak Catalan in Barcelona, a language completely different than Spanish taught in Madrid/the U.S. In fact, people are more likely to speak to you in English before Castilian Spanish for political reasons. In our 48 hours in Barcelona, we managed to see Goudi's Sagrada Familia Cathedral, parque Guell, and the two houses he designed, as well as the main Cathedral, Chocolate Museum (I know you Muscarolas' are jealous!), Picasso Museum, the beach, Columbus Monument, las Ramblas, and Plaza Catalunya. This involved very little sleeping, lots of walking, getting to know a public transportation system that might as well have had signs in German, blisters, meltdowns, and candy (to get me through the meltdowns). My only souvenir purchased in Barcelona was a clear pill bottle filled with candy from a store called "Happy Pills." A clever concept, each customer can buy a different sized clear bottle for a set price and fill it up with as much candy as possible. At the end, each person gets to select a label. I choose "Porque si? porque no?." But if they had one more fitting it would say "in case of a meltdown" as I found the store just in time to avoid me crying on the streets of Barcelona out of hunger and desperation. (That "short walk" to the beach actually took an hour and half, when we got there I put my feet in the sand, sat on a ledge, and shivered from the cold 6 o'clock breeze). Meanwhile, my friend Margaret bravely swam in the waves in a sports bra and underwear, the only one to forget to bring a swim suit. Surprisingly, I became the main navigator, guiding us from location to location using a tourist map with few street signs and uncharacteristically large symbols.

After my fun, but action packed weekend, I knew that I needed some time off. So for my five day break, I decided to go visit the Whittaker family in London! Since I have toured London with my family before, I spent the weekend doing things that I can't do as easily in Madrid: shopping for warm clothes with Carol, reading a book, cooking with Olivia, eating, and visiting fun markets. My suitcase was double the weight and size on the way home. During my visit, Carol made sure to satisfy all of my cravings. I indulged in instant oatmeal, dried cranberries and blueberries, tortillas, Japanese food, and chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm! Everyone spoke English, the weather was warmer than in Madrid, I could use the oven, have my own bathroom, and cook! Just the break I needed.

For those of you that haven't heard, I am learning to cook and have turned into quite the foodie. I made two of my specialties for the Whittakers: lemon ricotta pancakes and homemade apple sauce. After realizing that I had to feed myself after living in a house where the only cooking skill required is boiling water, I knew I had a very humbling experience ahead of me. The only products that you can be sure to consistently find at a grocery store are vegetables, fruits, and pasta. Luckily, my best friend Megan from Oklahoma knows how to cook and enjoys international cuisine. Each week, I make apple sauce from scratch (of course they don't sell that here) and have resorted to eating yogurt, pasta, fruit, and vegetables when I am at home- mostly because I need to get rid of my food baby. The Spanish people may not eat an American breakfast, but they sure know how to eat sweets. Everything I said no to in America is now a staple of my Spanish diet: churros con chocolate, candy, coffee, chocolate croissants, cookies etc. I need the sugar and coffee to get through my long day.

I have been lucky enough to receive a few packages from my Mom, Mima, and Marilyn. They have been sending me all of the things that I miss the most from America! While the candy corn did help me make friends at work, I am pretty sure that the half a pack I ate with my lunch is NOT helping me eat more healthily. But now I have a drawer full of candy just in case I need it (just in time because I am out of happy pills). So I hope that my next package contains something more along the lines of wheatgrass shots or.... protein powder. Just kidding... but seriously, candy is going to be the death of me. I can't decide if I should just try and rock the cute but tight dress that I bought at H&M and accept that Spanish people are used to some chubby in the tummy or wait until my new diet and crunches regimen start to take effect...

My Senora (Rosario) is very nice and always greets me when I enter the house. She is always very accommodating. The first week, she taught me how to make Paella. Right now, she is unemployed so she spends most of her time going to English class, studying for a job placement exam, and watching tv. She also boils her milk and leaves random jars filled with water in the house....

Megan and I have decided that our main objective is to explore reasonably priced restaurants in different zones in Madrid. Megan eats a five course Spanish meal every day at home so she is always craving a different type of food by night. But for me, I have finally concluded that I just don't like Spanish food. I am a fan of jamon iberco, manchego cheese, and churros con chocolate, but I could go the rest of my life without eating tortilla de patata, gazpacho, and croquetas again.

My parents come to visit in three weeks! I am planning a trip filled with great restaurants (slightly out of the college student price range) and local hot spots. For now, I am looking forward to a trip to the Hard Rock Cafe. Megan and I are waiting to splurge on a quality American meal.

Hopefully, I will be motivated to write again soon!

Culture Shock

I know you all are wondering why I haven’t posted pictures or a blog post lately. The reason is that I haven’t really had any interest in taking photos or writing an upbeat blog post. Its is hard to think about being here for another week, and I am here until December. But I am also aware that you want to hear about my first week and a half, and my dad told me that I can write a less enthusiastic blog post every now and then.

How’s Madrid?

Things I like:

• The Metro System:you can easily travel around Madrid using the metro and a train usually comes every 3-7 minutes.I also have a pass that allows me to unlimitedly travel on the Metro/bus system that only costs 35 Euro per month.
• Madrid is always well lit at night.

• I can pass for a Spanish person when I don’t say anything and listen to my iPod.This is very helpful when walking around in Madrid and using the Metro system because once Spanish men learn that you are American, they will yell things at you and stare.However, I have been able to avoid this most days by blending in to the crowded Metro train.
• Groceries aren’t that expensive.

• Naps.

Things that I am having trouble adjusting to:

• Social norms on the Metro: apparently pda (public displays of affection) are completely normal here so seeing couples making out on the metro, on the escalator, and waiting for a train is commonplace. I could probably start an ongoing list of weird things that I see on the trains/Metro station. For example, today I was greeted at the bottom of the first escalator by a screaming boy (probably 7-8 years old) who was flopping around on the dirty ground with absolutely no pants on while his mom tried to force him to put underwear on.
  
• Taking public transit alone: for being so populated, living in Madrid is extremely isolating. No one I know lives near me and communicating with a Spanish phone can be difficult. I am pretty much incapable of texting on my flip phone, especially since I don't even know how to add punctuation. I have also been avoiding texting because it costs .15 Euro to send, only to learn that every call I make, regardless of whether or not someone picks up, initially costs 21 cents. This is stupid.
  
• People are mean. People will walk into you at full speed and not say anything. No smiling. No saying hello. No friendly conversation with strangers. Waiters/cashiers only bark out the essentials like “What do you want!” or “Show me your id!”
• Living in a home stay: this is the analogy that I use to describe living with a home stay: you go to your friend’s house for the first time, and he leaves you alone at his house with his parents that you have never met. At my house, the building has quiet hours at 11, which means that I can’t call/skype anyone or take a shower after around 10. This rule makes it extremely difficult to talk to anyone on the phone in the U.S. because of the time difference. It also means that if I am hanging out with someone until this hour (which happens frequently) I lose my shower of the day.

• Smelling badly: Between the 90-degree heat, the crowded public areas, and the dirty metro, you are pretty much wrecked after only a few hours. For some reason, I decided to listen to the comments on my program’s website telling us to buy toiletries once we got there. Instead of my usual practice of traveling with at least two sticks of Dove deodorant, I decided to pack one stick of natural Toms deodorant. Who is that person sitting next to me with really bad b.o.??? Oh wait- that’s me because natural deodorant requires reapplication every three hours apparently. I finally bought a travel-sized stick of Dove’s from Corte Ingles; it cost 4.20 Euros (this is not a joke). Today, my Senora forgot to give me new towels because she washed them, and I legitimately started crying in my class because I was so upset that I hadn’t showered for a day. Also, water shortages only allow for one, quick shower a day.
• 4 hours of class in Spanish: listening to someone speak in another language for that long is extremely draining. It has never become more apparent to me that I have trouble holding my attention in class than it has during orientation, which is pretty relaxed in comparison to my future classes and allows for participation. During my orientation class I learned the cultural norms of college level classes in Spain:
• Your professor will likely be late but you MUST be on time.
• No eating or drinking in class.
• No smiling or laughing.
• No yawning.
• Students may not participate in class.
• No standing up or using the restroom.
• You may only sit with proper posture or cross-legged in your chair.

Doing so is seen as a sign of disrespect and may possibly result in your professor singling you out in a class of 300 students to tell you to leave. Hopefully, they are preparing us for a worst-case scenario?

On a more positive note, I finally asked my Senora how to use the stove. I used it to make really sub-par pasta. I also am getting used to the wearing slippers around the house and closing the doors of unoccupied rooms when I exit. I figure that if I have already gotten over some of the cultural differences of living in a home stay, I will eventually come to terms with all of the difficulties that I am facing now.

Yesterday, I went over to the apartment of other IES students and made guacamole. I am pretty sure this is the first time I have actually made anything besides pasta so this was very exciting. It was surprisingly good. Hopefully, I can convince some IES students to actually teach me how to cook.

Until I feel like writing again,
Ariel

Note to Self: Smile Less

Its only 5:35 pm here, and I feel like I have had the longest day possible. Time for una siesta! This morning, I took the metro alone to school for the first time. I left around 8:16 to walk to the metro station and arrived at Moncloa (the last stop on the yellow line) to walk to IES. It took me more or less 15 minutes to get there. Since I hadn’t been to the grocery store yet, I was on my own for breakfast. I decided that since I had extra time, I would stop at “Dunkin’ Coffee” the Spanish version of “Dunkin’ Donuts” at the Moncloa metro station. While I never been to one in America, the branding seemed the same except the ones in Spain sell French fries and other foods not usually found in a Donut store. I ordered in Spanish; on the menu iced coffee was labeled as “Iced Coffee.” But once I used my American accent to pronounce “Iced Coffee” the woman spoke to me in English. Apparently, it is considered a friendly and nice gesture to be spoken to me in English. But once I learn the language, I think it will become frustrating that I can be identified as English speaking because of my looks, especially since I am here to learn the language fluently.

During orientation, we were placed in to groups to learn cultural differences and grammar. My profesora also teaches the Spanish for business class that I am taking during the semester. The class was from 9 to 1 (I don’t actually know because I am horrible at converting military time and don’t check my phone for the time often). One of the most surprising things I learned was that Spanish people don’t often smile. Now- I knew this because of my two days walking around and taking the metro, but I didn’t know that smiling to a person on the street is similar to the American version of waving and signifies that you want to talk to someone directly. I found this particularly funny because I often smile when I am uncomfortable, when I make eye contact with anyone, or I don’t understand. I can only imagine what sort of awkward situations this is going to get me in.

I didn’t fully take advantage of the lunch break, only buying a juice box so by the end of class I was ready to have an Ariel meltdown. I can understand almost everything spoken to me in Spanish but to have my brain on for that many hours is exhausting. Tired, hungry, far from mi casa, and done speaking and listening to only Spanish, I was not excused. The 10 or so students that signed up for Internships had to wait and meet with the profesora. The students that I talked after the meeting were ready to drop. IES does not guarantee placement in any specific internship, and you have to take six classes just in case a company does not hire you. I was happy to hear that a high level of Spanish is not required because many speak English in the office. However, the aspect of the program that I am looking forward to least are my liberal arts courses in Spanish, and adding an extra class just in case does not sound like fun. It was interesting to talk with the other students who have requirements and are looking for something to put on their resume. Unlike any other student, I am really only in Spain to have fun, learn the language, and take classes that I am interested in. Unfortunately, IES requires that students take 15 credits which is equivalent to at least four additional courses to my grammar class. I want to travel, but at this point, I don’t have anyone to travel with.

Despite my extreme hunger, I waited for a few of the girls to finish their one on one meeting with una profesora so that I had people to walk to the metro with. Sitting in the IES center, I observed how many Spanish students hung out in our IES lounge. I have been told that not only do Spaniards have an obsession with American girls but they also stare- a lot. This is particularly uncomfortable when random guys shout out “hi” or other English phrases they know to get your attention. Yesterday, a Spanish student made quite a spectacle in the lobby, and I learned that it is custom for older students to dare the freshman to do funny tasks. I sincerely hope that is why some random person approached us while eating in the lobby and asked us for our phone numbers.

A student from Kentucky who lives in an apartment kindly agreed to come with me to the grocery store near my house. We spent a very long time combing the aisles deciding what to buy. I was please to recognize the logo of certain American brands, even if they had a different name. This trip to the store is my chance to try small portions of different products and figure out which ones I like.

Thoughts about the grocery store:

• Milk is in a non-refrigerated box.
• The hand baskets also roll.
• Why are there so many types of yogurt?
• Why don’t they just call Manchego cheese Manchego?
• The grocers must weigh the fruit for you.
• Some brands have the same logo as in America but a different name.

Thoughts about blogs:

• Wow! Blogs are fun to read. Please get a blog if you are abroad if you don’t already have one.
• Who needs a book to read at home when you can read Becca’s novel length blog.
• I don’t want to edit this because it is too long.
• What if I forget to mention something?
• Now I don’t have to recap my day on the phone to my mom!
• So many of these sentences end in prepositional phrases and Mrs. Maguire (my freshman English teacher) would not approve.
• How do I know if my blog entry is too long??
• I love reading my friends’ blogs because they reflect their personality. Why does mine feel so dull and schedule like?

Hasta manana! (I definitely need to learn how to add accent marks on my computer...)

2nd Day in Spain; 1st day in Embajadores

I am extremely tired, possibly from the jet lag or maybe from all of the walking and activity we have been doing. Yesterday, I bought my Spanish cell phone from a phone company called Orange. The phone only cost 20 dollars, and we put money on the phone to cover the 9 cents per minute charge. While most of the people on my trip haven’t gotten their cell phones yet, mine has already been extremely helpful in meeting up with my Senora.

Today, I moved in with home stay. She lives in Embajadores, which has a very close metro stop. My trip to the IES Abroad center is approximately 15 minutes. Luckily, I don’t even have to change metro lines to get there. I also have a pass that allows me to use the metro an unlimited amount for only 35 euros a month. My apartment is also near a grocery store, which is essential because I have kitchen privileges (meaning that I must prepare all of my meals). My Senora lives in a nice apartment with a foyer, kitchen, living room/office, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. To keep the floors clean, I must take off my shoes and wear slippers around the house. My room has lots of little carpets to protect the floor. I have to learn how to work the hot water heater before I take a shower though. I will post pictures as soon as I take them! Luckily, my Senora has wifi at her house.

No Spain No Gain?

No spain no game? No pain no game, no pain no gain, no Spain no gain. My aunt Martiza would always tell my sister and me, "No pain no gain" whenever we complained- which was a lot. I misheard her and have only been recently been ridiculed by my misinterpretation of the phrase. No pain- no game. Like the game of life or a board game that you want to win... get it?

I decided to study abroad in Spain after my trip there during the summer of my senior year. Every time I toured a college, I was sure to ask if they had a study abroad program in Spain. Once I approached the fall of my junior year, I knew where I was going: to Espana, the home of my grandparents and a small town that shares my middle name and my mom's last name, Muscarolas.

I have always thought that the best way to overcome a fear is to face it. With this mentality, I signed up for IES Abroad Madrid. While Madrid was my least favorite city when I visited, I wanted to give myself the best chance to be placed in a Marketing internship. And while I made my abroad plans, I challenged myself in ways that I start to regret as I prepare for my trip. Not an apartment- a homestay. Not English classes- all will be taught in Spanish. Not Business classes- a class on Architecture. Not a program with people I know well- all new students from different universities in the US. I strongly believe that people have an ability to challenge themselves in new ways by removing themselves from their comfort zone; trying new foods, speaking in foreign languages, and most importantly- trying new things. And with that mentality, I begin my final preparations for Spain.