¡Holy Toledo! (And Segovia)

¡Hola todos!

This week has already been more exciting than last week (said Wednesday Emily. I tried to write this not-all-at-once so I would remember things better). Maybe. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Anyway, I have a plethora of kee-rap (my dad's version of "crap") to tell you all.

The beginning of the week led to some annoyance on my (and my mommy's) part due to credit card companies. Apparently most people don't buy three plane tickets right in a row in order to continue a European Adventure. Due to impatience concern, my mom called the credit card company and acted like me to clear up the situation.

An open letter to cops/federal agents/people involved with the law:

Dear cops/federal agents/people involved with the law,

You might say this is "fraud" or some such nonsense. My mams cosigned the credit card thinger, so she shouldn't have had to do this. Someone at the bank or company or something messed up. So calm yourselves.

Best wishes,
Emily

Anyway, they called my mom's bluff because she didn't know the code on the back of the credit card. So I got a talkin-to via the phone at 1AM on account of her fear that the company would cancel my tickets. This led to us Skyping while she cleared up the matter. Neither of us was particularly pleased, but everything got fixed for the better. And during the Skype call, our feist (similar to feisty, but a noun) was calmed to normal levels. And all was well in the world. Or something.

Wednesday night, we had a talent show at the Fund. I didn't participate because my talents aren't the kind you can put on a stage. You don't believe me?

A List of Emily's Talents

-Drawing
-Taking naps
-Changing radio stations while driving (You might be under the impression that this isn't a talent. Clearly, you've never ridden with me)
-Being short
-Procrastinating (Why yes, I have written an eight page paper the same day it was due. BOOM.)
-Ruining part of a Game of Thrones for the guy I had a crush on (See also: Being a nerd)
-Getting tan on only one half of my body

Anyway, this was probably one of my favorite Fund events. I was constantly impressed, whether it be by my classmates courage just for being on stage or their actual talents. I became quite aware of my own deficiencies and have decided to take up singing, dancing, playing guitar/train whistle/cello, doing magic tricks and being amazing. Actually, I can cross the last one off the list because I've got it down pretty well.

Because it was my friend Coral's birthday, we went to a nearby bar to celebrate. The bartender knows us, and put up a "Feliz Cumpleaños" sign for her and even gave her a free bottle of champagne. Unfortunately, I had class early the next morning so I wasn't out as long as I wanted to be but it was still an extremely fun night and I won't forget it soon. (As predicted, Thursday morning came too soon.)

 Although Thursday wasn't really exciting, it made me realize how quickly my time here has gone by, and how little I have left. For my Art in Toledo class, we had our final visit (to the University here) and my final for that is in less than a week. *Gulp* I can't believe I only have two more weeks here, and while I am ready to see my family and friends, it is painful to think about leaving Toledo. So generally I try to ignore this doom and gloom outlook on things and focus instead on other stuff. Fun stuff. Like how I spent the entire day in a tank top and skirt while it just blizzarded in Minnesota.

On Friday, we hopped on the bus for our last Fund excursion to Segovia. There were some awesome parts to this trip although, overall, I wouldn't say this was the prettiest city I've been to in Spain. (The more I travel around Spain, the more I fall in love with how gorgeous Toledo is. Other cities are great, but the don't have the medieval atmosphere and beauty that I find here.) In any case, we did visit some marvelous parts of the city: namely a great castle and some ancient aqueducts. The castle was, like always, called the Alcazar, which means it housed royalty and some military stuff and I didn't retain everything, so hopefully that is all. This one, in Segovia, was actually the inspiration for the Disney logo and castle. It used to be defense-oriented but then one of the kings (Felipe Something? Carlos Something? There are too many kings with the same name...) decided to make it look pretty and added the pointed towers that we tend to associate with castles. At the end of the tour, we were allowed to go up the highest tower and view the entire city.

A brief note: I am very excited for America in a few respects. One of them is in regards to stairs. There are eight bajillion stairs in Europe and going up the tower was no exception. Obviously they had to be the tight spiral kind of stairs, too. The kind where you keep going in circles and eventually you get super dizzy and think you are going to fall backwards and take all the other people down with you. Those kind of stairs. As a child, I wanted them in my house because they looked so majestic. To which I tell my childhood: No. A thousand times no.

When we finally made it to the top, everyone was having trouble breathing on account of the stairs. But, man, was it worth it. I will obviously be adding pictures because we all know I am lazy bad at writing descriptions. It was the perfect day for this trip as well, weather-wise. The sky was extremely blue and the sun decided to hang around making it even better.

Afterwards, we headed to the Plaza Mayor and got a good glimpse of the Cathedral. We had seen it from a distance, due to the tower, but seeing it up close was even better. We didn't have enough time to go inside, but it was enough just to enjoy the exterior. Then came probably my favorite part of the trip: the aqueducts. I never really thought of them existing in places outside of Italy, but, whadda ya know, they do. These ones were apparently built in the first century and some of the best preserved. They are made completely out of stone and don't even have mortar or anything keeping them together, which makes them even more impressive. I also had no idea they would be so massive, but they definitely are.

After lunch, some relaxing, and hanging out near the 'ducts, it was time to get on the bus once again and return to Toledo. Cue in the siesta.

Saturday brought the amazing weather to Toledo. I have been walking around today in a skirt (Shocking, right?) and a tank top because it was that nice. I can't actually say it was a really exciting day but it was just good. I decided to wander around Toledo and do some actual tourist shopping. I've neglected buying presents for some of my friends (Sorry T and Carly!) but today I actually got around to it. That is more or less what my day consisted of: meandering around tourist-filled streets by myself to finish "chores." It was nice to just spend some time with my own company (said the introvert). After a while, I decided to grab my Nook and find a quiet spot to read. Sadly, I got tan on only one side of my body.

What are we doing tonight? I have no idea, actually. We might go out or have a movie night. I am no longer the leader, so I ignore these "planning" things. If something interesting happens tonight, I'll let you guys know.

You probably won't hear from me for a week.

Lies, you actually will hear from me. It is approximately (exactly) 3:38AM and I just got back from La Nuit, the discoteca here. We all had an excellent night, starting out at Dragos, our bar. It was incredibly fun just to hang out, especially knowing we have to savor our last couple of weeks here. From the bar, we headed out to the club to finish off the night with some dancing. My dancing skills could definitely use some improving, but I got to practice my Spanish skills with some of the Spaniards tonight. It was a good night, but I am exhausted. I'm super excited to wake up early and study tomorrow....

¡Hasta Luego!

Rest & Relaxation

So we meet again, Buzz Lightyear. It's been one of those weeks

Sorry, I wasn't feeling like saying "Hola" or "Hello" this time. So I thought I should just throw in some Toy Story to spice things up a little. Because this will be a fairly vanilla (read bland) post today. My humblest apologies.

The most exciting news of the week: my plane ticket got switched, so I am for sure staying in Europe, never to return. Just kidding. I'll be in the lengthy process of coming back on May 14th. So watch out, America, because you forgot what a great thing you were missing. I would like to thank my Mommy for here patience in regards to the Travel Situation because she has been amazing in changing my ticket. I've also ran into some issues buying a plane (and a boat!) ticket, so she was able to call the credit card company and get all of that sorted out for me. Can she get a round of applause please? *Thunderous applause via the Intranets*

Okay, now to the excitement that was this week. Or not. This is going to be a short post, but I'm going to do my best. Just hang in there! For my Art in Toledo class, we went to the Cathedral here (I mentioned that Mams, Claire and I went there last weekend but shhhh...! We are going to ignore that for the time being). I'm actually glad I got to go again because there are a few things I think the audio-guide didn't know that my teacher did. The first time I went, I didn't realize that our Cathedral was the first one built in Spain. I can now check Visit the Oldest Cathedral in Spain off of my bucket list.

Before I continue, I need some sustenance. I'll be back in five; I need a Twix. You guys can all get settled and comfy while I'm gone. Cool? Cool.

I'm back! I think I eat enough Twixes that my maid judges me based on how often she finds the wrappers in the trash. Tis life, I suppose.

Like I previously stated, I really enjoyed the Cathedral, but I am also quite aware of my own idiocy and/or laziness. I might've worn flip-flops to a building where "it is colder inside than outside." (I'm pretty sure that's an actual quote from my professor.) I was happy to leave by the end because my toes have a tendency to turn purple when they are cold. Poor circulation much? Another note on laziness: I've woken up early enough for breakfast everyday this week. I made it down to the cafeteria once. My stomach hates me.

Friday afternoon involved going to another museum for my Grandes Maestros class, so we headed off to Madrid to visit the Reina Sofia. In true Emily form, I fell asleep on the buses because that is what buses are for. Or something. Anyway, I woke up when we were in Madrid and kept trying to convince myself we weren't that close because I really wanted to finish my nap. Unfortunately, the bus killed the dream I dreamed and it was time to wake up for museum time. This museum wasn't necessarily my favorite because it focuses more on modern paintings and we went specifically to see those of Picasso and Dali. And they don't fall under the Emily's Favorite Painters category. Van Gogh holds the top spot (although Dali was pretty crazy too, but less in a I-will-cut-my-ear-off-to-give-to-a-girl way and more in a I-will-call-my-autobiography-Diary-of-a-Genius way). Most of Dali's paintings were off in Paris anyway for some exhibition thinger, so we mostly saw Picasso's work. I know he is considered Super Good, but the only painting I really found interesting was Guernica, which I had seen eight gajillion times in other classes. To be fair, I hadn't really been impressed by it until I saw it in person and then I found it much more interesting. So it goes.


Now I have very little left to talk about, but I will still try to make it worth reading. This weekend was rather a non-event; simply me doing homework and planning my trip and being frustrated when websites won't take my money. (They can have this attitude if they give me my ticket. If they jack up the price 20 euros between times I try to pay though, I get irate.) In order to not end up in my room going crazy (crazier) from technology, I play a kind of weird game. (Intrigued?)

But more back-story first. In the past two blogs, I've commented on how I became the fearless navigator and leader due to...stuff. Either way, this is generally a poor life decision because I've never been known to be good at finding places. For a frame of reference: when I first got my driver's license, I needed directions from 11 year old Claire to get to a pizza place in my hometown. That is how terrible of a decision it is to let me be in charge of directions.

Anyway, I play this game where I go to streets of the city I know and then turn off at random interesting-looking streets (People from back home: Toledo is super safe, so don't worry that Emily is doing something crazy and is going to die in Spain. I promise, it is completely safe. Cross my fingers and hope to die and all that jazz). I turn off onto other interesting looking (There are people there! It isn't some back alley where you know serial killers hunt or whatever. Please stop being nervous. It is A-OK, I promise promise promise) streets until I have, at best, only a vague idea of where I am. As you may remember, I live in a literal labyrinth. So it becomes a Find Your Way Back kind of game (I don't go that far....I've scared you all with my living on the edge and bad-assery, haven't I? I swear I live a safe, normal lifestyle). This is also an excellent decision when I'm getting caught up in the I-have-homework-I've-procrastinated-on-and-I-need-plane-tickets-and-the-website-won't-work-stress-stress-stress sort of thoughts. I've come to realize I get caught up in my anxieties and overall my interior stress levels are a lot higher than people might think (because I always appear calm, cool and collected. Obviously). So this is a good stress reliever as well as gets me some exercise because Toledo believes in hills.

Honestly, this was more or less how my week went: hanging out, homework and wandering. It was a good change of pace from the perpetual tramping of Spring Break. Hopefully I'll add some pictures later today for you to enjoy. Don't be too scared of my daring boldness in the Lost Game.

Until next weekend!

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)