Tragic, Dramatic & Romantic: I Left My (Figurative) Heart in Porto

¡Hola todos!


So this has been an incredibly busy week, but I'll try to catch you up to speed. We had midterms this week, which made it rather long and painful but we had booked a trip this weekend to Porto, Portugal to forget about the un-fun of the week.

Friday:

We got up at 5am (!!!) to catch our flight, which was the worst part of the day. We took a taxi to the Madrid airport and proceeded to eat a far too expensive breakfast, but other than that, it was a fairly uneventful morning.The flight between Madrid and Porto is incredibly short, only an hour or so. With the time difference, this meant we arrived at more or less the same time we left. Surprisingly, we didn't go through customs. I really have no idea how that worked, but apparently Portugal doesn't have much to worry about, I guess. But, more importantly, this means I don't get another stamp on my passport.

We then took the metro-subway-thinger (it's a very technical term) to our hostel. Which was 1. incredibly nice for the amount we paid and 2. excellently located, on the main commercial street for shopping. After stashing our things, we headed down the street to check out the stores. We found a mall and hung out there for a while and ate Pizza Hut for lunch. What can I say, we were craving some good ole American food.

After a while we headed back to the hostel to relax until it was time to leave for our walking tour. Which was great except I was unaware monsoons occurred in Portugal. It was a torrential downpour on and off for the three hour tour. This would have been slightly more acceptable had I brought more than one pair of pants, which ended up being soaked on the bottom six inches, but the world is not a wish-granting factory so I guess that happens.

The tour. I wish I could do it justice with words, but I really can't. Our tour guide was really friendly and knowledgeable about the city so I learned some really fascinating things. Like one of the kings fought his brother for the throne in Porto, and because the people fought so bravely, he said he wanted to leave his heart in Porto. Apparently people took that literally, so when he died they cut out his heart and it's in display at one of the churches. In case you ever wanted to know. I'm just going to post pictures of the tour because my descriptions leave something to be desired.

Also J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, (if you didn't know that we can't be friends anymore) lived and taught in Porto for a while. She based some of the places on Porto, including the library. We saw the bookstore she used as inspiration but we couldn't take pictures because that's frowned upon. It was ABSOLUTELY beautiful, and I could have lived there. (I mean, I could live in any Barnes & Noble, but in particular I would rather live in this store). We also took pictures in front of the coffee shop where she wrote the first draft of her book.

 After our (wet) tour, we headed back to the hostel to dry off for a little while and went out to a traditional Portuguese restaurant which had some delicious food. I tried Port wine, and decided to never drink that again. Porto might be known for it, but it is so strong and wierdly sweet that it tastes terrible. Never again. After dinner, we were pretty tired, so we hung out in our hostel, just chatting, until it was time to go to bed. 

Saturday:

For lunch, we decided to get a Franchosdjhfdwkuehops8u2 because our tour guide recommended it. Sorry my Portuguese is a little rusty (i.e. nonexistent), but the actual word translates to "three French girls." This was probably my favorite meal since being in Europe. It's a sandwich, in this delicious sauce. Best description: it's a grilled cheese on steroids with a bunch of different meats and served in a sort-of-spicy tomato-y sauce. And it was mmmmmm..... No words.

After lunch, we decided, because we were so close to the ocean, to hop on a bus that ran by the river and down to the ocean. The bus situation was a little dicey, because of the language barrier, but we made it. And it was glorious. More pictures for the ocean, because no words. It was too cold to swim but we walked along the beach and enjoyed the afternoon there.

Because or hostel had a kitchen for us, we decided to cook ourselves a "family" dinner. We had pasta, fruit, salad, wine and bread for only a euro for each of us. We had cooked way too much pasta and invited some of the other guests to eat with us, so we ate with a guy for Norway and another from South Korea. It was a nice relaxing night, the perfect end to an incredible (I need to find some more adjectives) trip.

Sunday:

I got up at 3am to make our 6:30am flight. This involved waiting outside for a bus for far too long. The going to the airport and security and un-funness. Ryanair, our airline, annoyed all of us by making us wait in line outside the airport for half an hour until we could get into our plane. It was only 30 degrees outside. Oh the humanity. (Claire told my via Skype that it was really nice today because it had made it up to 30 degrees. I should turn in my Minnesotan citizenship with how weak I've gotten.) Basically it became a day of travel and naps. I'm in denial about school tomorrow. PARIS NEXT WEEKEND!

Adios until next time.

Choque Cultural

Hello again!

Somehow this picture seems to explain culture shock the most

Blogging twice in one week? Crazy.... Especially because it's the week before midterms. This week has been pretty busy in terms of school, so I haven't done anything too exciting. We went to the Museo del Prado again yesterday to see Goya's paintings, but other than that, not much is new.

So I've decided to address the fact that I've been here for over a month (!!!) and the cultural differences I've experienced. While in the US this is called culture shock, I like the Spanish phrase better. "Choque cultural," which basically translates to culture crash, seems a little more accurate. (It reminds me of a car crash where some parts of the car get lost but it gets some paint from the other car scraped onto it. Metaphorically, the Spanish phrase seems better.)

Things I Love

-Siesta: built in nap-time? Yes, please
-Being able to practice and improve my Spanish. If all of your classes start being in another language, you learn pretty quick.
-The history and access to museums we don't have (or aren't close to) in the good ole US of A
-The night life. And having a bar named after me!
-Tapas: free food after you buy a drink. Delicious
-The weather. No Minnesota winter for me!
-The people I've met have been absolutely fantastic
-The ability to go lots of places in Europe while I'm here (Portugal next week, then Paris, then hopefully Italy...!)
-The short commute to classes

I took this picture from a moving bus. Impressive, right?

-Being popular on Facebook. I always wake up with quite a few notifications. It's the little things in life.
-Rebajas, which are super duper sales here.
-New food (Chocolate con Churros!)
-The view from my window (or anywhere in the city really. There are some excellent sites.)
-My art in Toledo class, where we get to look at beautiful buildings that I might never have found on my own
-Not tipping in restaurants
-Coffee for breakfast. Mostly I just didn't want to pay for it back home.


Things I Miss

I miss this lots.

-The Fam & Friends. Cheesy, but true.
-Being with Claire and driving Mom slightly crazy (it's much harder via Skype)
-Being in the same time zone as Minnesota.
-Some American food. No peanut butter here...
-Eating before 8:30 at night. The 7 hours between lunch and dinner can be a killer. This was probably the hardest thing to get used to and still can give me trouble if we've been hiking or traveling.
-My bathroom and bed from home. (We have a bidet in our bathroom, which is incredibly strange for all of us Americans)
-Netflix and keeping up with my TV shows from home. Not really a major thing, but I still miss it.
-Having my entire wardrobe.
-All of my shoes. I'm going to have to buy more. Which isn't really a bad thing, I guess :)


I'm sure there are a couple more things that could be put on either list. Overall, the trip is definitely worth the minor inconveniences of things like not getting to watch TV. I would stay in Europe forever even if I couldn't watch my shows.

Toledo. And I never want to leave!

The choque cultural hasn't been too bad (I almost wrote 'phrase' as 'frase' though, so the Spanish words are starting to make subconscious appearances) and it's been pretty easy to adjust. The schedule has been the hardest thing to get used to, (although having a few cleaning ladies come in is a little strange too) and it isn't really that big of a deal anymore. Although not feeling entirely confident when ordering in a restaurant is bit disappointing.

Hasta luego, folks.

Thoughts From Places: La Iglesia de San Juan de los Reyes

Hey all!

It is not a Saturday or Sunday so this is coming to you a little early. What a treat! Actually, I just wanted to remember what I'd been thinking earlier today, so writing down my thoughts will help me out. Although I guess you get to benefit too. Yay! And I must be really reflective late at night (or early in the morning. Depends on what 2:24 am counts as in your eyes.) Warning: These are my musings about life and time and isn't as happy-go-lucky (and/or sarcastic) as my normal blogs. I actually think sometimes, guys. So here it goes.

Today for my Art in Toledo class, we went to this fantastic monastery/church that has probably been my favorite to date. It was built in the 14th century and I was struck, as I am whenever wandering around Europe, how old everything is. It's crazy to look at a building and realize the length of time it's been sitting there and the fact that it remains (at least mostly) unchanged for hundreds and hundreds of years. Through wars and political unrest and transitioning from monarchies to democracies and the changing religions and demographics of a country. And the building just sits, beautifully, through the ages.

And even with that, what really fascinates me is the number of people who have gone through the same halls as me, living in the same city, thinking the same (similar? different?) thoughts as me....

And even more than that, they lived their own lives. They cared about their own friends and families and had their own problems and worries. And all that really remains are the shells of their lives, and although beautiful, the buildings don't really compare with the complexity that once was. Everyone who had been and lived and worked and cared there, was gone. Not even a little remembered. (I mean, I know people lived there. But it's not like I can say Maria was born on this day and was friendly and funny and....etc) And it's weird to be so aware of time moving by, as it passed those people and will pass me and will pass future generations. It's hard to truly get this sense of time until you actually see and experience the moment in person. Like, hey, this building has been here 700ish years. And people live for at most 100ish years (and significantly less in the past). And although you know your time is fleeting, it's different to see a structure that says I've been here eight centuries. And you might make it through one. Sucks to suck.

While I was at the church, I kept thinking about a passage in a book I read:


"There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this will have been for naught." -The Fault in Our Stars

But even though that thought (the inevitability of earthly oblivion) is mildly terrifying, it reminds us, and grounds us, in our place in history. So while this mildly terrifying thought exists, we can come to terms with it and realize time passes and chances aren't high we'll be famous or remembered forever or whatever. Whatever, time, you think you're so cool.


"I think being special is overrated. All we can do is try to be as useful as possible, and as fulfilled as possible, you know? You're probably not going to change human history. You're probably not going to be remembered for a thousand years. But the truth is, the coolest stuff we do, we don't do alone." -John Green

So although we're all doomed and shouting into the void and the sun will collapse and whatever, today is pretty good. You guys are all pretty great too. (Even when you're sassy, Mom.)

Deep(er) thoughts, I know. In conclusion: realizing how incredibly long time is, is crazy. (Or alternatively how short it is) And makes you think about life. And people. And what's important.

Don't worry, next time will be more like: Hey, friends! Spain! Portugal next weekend! Food! Siestas! Fiestas! Pretty buildings!

(The Fault in Our Stars, while sounding like a bit of a downer in the quotation I chose, is actually a really outstanding book. If you're interested you can hear the first chapter here)

I See Dead People. (And Snow!)

Hello Everyone!

Ellen and me

I’ve heard all my adoring fans are impatient and excited for a new update (i.e. my mom was wondering why  she didn’t get one earlier). So here it goes, Mom.

Classes are progressing, and my Spanish is getting better. I’ve already got midterms in two weeks (Eeeep!) so that’s a little intimidating. For my art in Toledo class, we visited a synagog that was built in the 14th century, which reminds me of how old everything is here. It’s fascinating to think about how many people have gone through these places and all the time that has passed. It blows my mind just to think about it.

Outside El Escorial

We also went to El Escorial, a palace (Or castle? I’m not sure what the difference is) a little north of Madrid. Because I’m weird and enjoy car rides (or non-public transportation rides that don’t involve planes), the two hour bus ride was actually enjoyable. When we got there, it was clear the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Actually, I should clarify. We had gone up into the mountain-ish area more, so it was a LOT colder. It even "snowed" which thrilled all the Puerto Rican students who had never seen snow. Even so this wasn't really so cold by Minnesota standards, but by I’ve Gotten Pathetic standards it was less than ideal. Also the entire place was made out of stone and used to be a summer palace for the royal family, so it wasn’t exactly made to be warm in the winter. I guess the world is not a wish-granting factory.

In any case, both the scenery and castle (palace?) were beautiful. El Escorial was less....gold-must-be-everywhere than El Palacio Real, but that didn't take away from any of the beauty. The first hall we were in was impressively large, the highest part of the dome was the height of a soccer field and the area was at least that big. We couldn't take pictures of the interior (*le sigh*) so no pictures again. There were a couple parts of the palace that were my absolute favorites:

El Escorial

1) The Tombs. We got to see the place where all of the Spanish kings have been buried, along with other members of the royal family. This had as much gold and marble and whatnot you'd expect to find in a royal burial chamber.

  

2) THE LIBRARY. I wanted to steal it all. I even broke the No Pictures rule and whipped my camera out of my pocket, aimed wildly and snapped a photo as subtly as I could (Read as very unsubtly). Now this photo turned out about as good as you would expect a wildly aimed picture to turn out, so it unfortunately didn't make it onto this blog. You cannot be more distressed than I am. The library was absolutely breath-taking, and I wanted all of it. The ceiling was painted with different Important People of various subjects such as  theology and geometry and philosophy. And books! And globes! And this one globe-universe thing that portrayed the Earth as the center of the universe. Ah, 16th Century, trying to be all science-y.

My friends and me dressed as Americans

This weekend was also El Carnaval, which is a pre-Lent celebration which was great. It's closest to Halloween in terms of American holidays, so we got to dress up in costumes! Naturally, we went as Americans after finding American flag headbands. We all dressed up in red, white and blue to represent the good ole US of A. Other highlights of this weekend include me taking a "Chupito Fuerte" which is a flaming shot. On fire. 

I swear I'm a responsible adult.

Abrazos y besos,

Emily

(Hugs & Kisses)

The One Where I Climbed Mt. Everest. (True Story)

Hola, familia y amigos! (I couldn't figure out how to do an upside down exclamation point, so that doesn't get to go before that sentence. Lo siento.)

I am incredibly sleepy (it's about 1:36 am, hence this feeling). Unfortunately, I didn't take a siesta today so that also amplifies the feeling. So onto (on to?) this week.

Chocolate con churros

We went to Madrid again this weekend to visit El Museo del Prado for my art class to see paintings by El Greco and Velazquez. Before we left in the morning, we went out to eat and got churros with chocolate which were delicious. Later in the afternoon, we took a bus to the museum. The bus ride is about an hour and I slept most of the way on account of Waking Up Early, which is against most of my principles. When we got to the museum, they gave us these shnazzy (that's an exaggeration) one way walkie-talkies so our instructor could talk to us about the paintings and we could actually hear. The whole place was pretty cool and I wish my art skills were as impressive. Cameras weren't allowed inside so no pictures of them unfortunately. Google, my friends. Google.

Up, up, up Mt. Everest

Today, I went hiking with my friends. The route of Don Quixote is right outside the city, so we took part of that until, for some reason, we decided to leave the trail. Which will most definitely result in soreness tomorrow. We descended/stumbled (mostly stumbled) down a rather steep hill to get to the bottom of a super pretty valley. Pictures will be added to this post, so don't worry, you'll get to see it. And then, for some other mysterious reason, we decided to cross the little valley thing and climb up up up Mount Everest. No joke. (For those of you saying Mt. Everest is in Nepal: it's a conspiracy. I swear). It was probably an 85 degree angle (I don't believe in exaggerations) slope to get up the mountain and I definitely used my arms more than was appropriate to keep climbing. When we finally (it's big, Mt. Everest. Biggest in the world, actually) approached the summit, it was absolutely breathtaking. Which isn't an exaggeration because we were pretty out of breath.

The mountain (okay, large hill) is on located on the other side of the Tajo (Pronounced Tahoe, like the truck. Or is it an SUV?) River from Toledo, so we had a fantastic view across and could see the entire city. I'll attach pictures tomorrow, but I need to find my camera and let's be real: it's 1:59 am, so that ain't happening now. But they'll blow you away. The pictures won't do the view any justice, but they'll help. We also were able to see an actual path up the hill which made us pretty dumb for climbing up the hard way. It happens to the best of us. After a mini photo shoot, we headed back to the Fund and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Going out for drinks and tapas

Tonight we went out to a couple of bars and just hung out. Minnesotans: we were sitting outside eating tapas (appetizers, more or less). In February. Needless to say, the weather is an improvement. I need to get some sleep for the hard day ahead of me tomorrow: laundry and homework. Very, very difficult my friends. (Also necessary as I've been re-wearing socks for probably three or four days now. It happens to the best of us.)

Buenas noches.