cordoba reunion

so yes...it's been a long time.  and yes...i only have two weeks left, but i'm still trying to catch up anyways.

i finally was able to visit my family in cordoba.  since i lived with them two years ago we've still kept in contact through email, so it was nice to actually be able to see them again!  they have two daughters, the youngest one left the day before i got there to study in england, but i was able to hang out with the mom, dad and the older daughter cristina.  cristina left for california last week, so most of our trip was telling her what it would be like.  

anh came down from barcelona to stay as well.  this time is was the cordoba reunion of the dynamic duo.  sadly enough, we found out it wasn't like old times. during the summer it's so desperately hot there that everyone leaves!  for this there wasn't too many people on the street or out at night.  despite the heat, we braved the city streets and revisited the city.  

the possibly best thing was the food.  well...there was two...the food and the air conditioning.  i felt like i was staying at a resort!  in the residencia, well, let's just say the food's a little lacking.  and when i say a little lacking i mean i haven't seen a vegetable for the past two weeks.  what i have seen is a lot of fried jamon, french fries and mayonaise (which are pretty much my three favorite things).  it was so refreshing to be home with my family and have home cooked food.  anh and i even made a lunch one day.  we decided to give them a little california fusion, so we made a cold carrot soup, pineapple chicken with basmati rice and a mint-lychee drink.  it was great!  we even exchanged some recipes with my mom!  but the all-time best thing was the kebab.  kebab you say...what might that be?  well, it's just a pita stuffed with that weird meat they shave off the triangle thing and combine with a mayo-ish sauce.  it's amazing.  and it's just not the same in the states.  i've basically been craving one from this specific place in cordoba for two years.  i think we ate three while i was there.  we did some damage.  

all in all, it was a very nice weekend.  what wasn't so nice is that i missed my train to cadiz, missed school the next day and returned to find my room had fleas.  welcome home!

gooooaaaalll!

so it's been a few days...but on sunday night spain won the world cup.  i'm pretty sure it's the world cup...mundiales, right?  generally i'm not the biggest fan of sports, but here everyone is insanely into it.  there's no way you can't be into it.  along with the kids from my group (and pretty much the whole city), i watched the game on a little screen in a big plaza.  you couldn't really see everything, but the atmosphere was better than the view.  

so spain beat germany 1-0.  my fav is the goalie casillas...if nothing else, that's why you can be into sports!  it was really excited because i've never felt that kind of together-ness in the states.  

i think that's the only day i could be considered espanola.  

ps- sorry for the lack of updates...turns out everyone else's internet but my roommate's and mine has worked for the past few days.  i'll post soon on the city...there's a lot to take it

barthelona

ok, i realize i'm not too good at the whole blogging thing, but i'm trying. it'll probably be a novel, but this covers my entire time in barcelona. since this wasn’t my first visit to barcelona i wasn’t compelled to tourism as usual (that and the deathly heat). the past few days have been extremely hot. even the very few times i was awake during the am (assuming it wasn’t a continuation of the previous night), i could hardly handle being outside. this country amazes me in it’s ability to never stop. maybe i’m just an american wuss, but when you don’t have dinner until 10 or 11, it really sets the schedule back. the first night i was here, i was happy to meet anh at the airport and reunite the dynamic duo of cordoba. she and i met while studying abroad in cordoba and when we both returned lived together in san diego as well. charlene (a cadiz member i flew to barcelona with) also came to meet an old roommate called cristina. turns out we all knew each other and spent some good times hanging out. we started by attending a show of a funny band the teenagers. they’re fun, dancey music which we figured would make an interesting night. club razzmatazz consists of several separate rooms-- all of which had good music. there was a main room with a huge dj, techno, indie hits, 60s-- everything. our host cristina told us this was our initiation to being spaniards-- a night of dancing. we started with tapas, went on to razzmatazz at 1 am or so, spent a few hours dancing, left the club at 5 am and ended up at a little shop where everyone goes to get a) french fries covered in mayonaise and ketchup or b) churros con chocolate. according to her we definitely passed.



to relax and take in the sun we spent some time in a beach town called sitges just outside barcelona. it was anh, her boyfriend alberto, their austrailian friend julia and me. amongst the topless ladies, peddle boats with slides, and people walking around selling fresh coconut (or massages, whichever you prefer), we had a really good time. and given that i’m the whitest one around and basically reflect light (from both hair and skin), i was evidently burnt, but only on my ankles. this sunburn then turned into a weird purplish bruise looking thing (that’s probably very unhealthy) and was a pain to walk on.

monday was the festival of san juan. it’s actually the summer solstice, which catalunans then get a holiday for on tuesday (if for nothing else, this is why we should adopt spanish ways!). the day is filled with fireworks and at night the beaches are crowded with people, djs, more fireworks, a few brave swimmers and even little old ladies! at 5:30 am they closed the beach and despite a near riot on the metro, we made it home safely. given as it was a late night the next day we barely left the house. the air was hot and thick with the fireworks of the night before, so we decided to stay in...which consisted of movies and pizza hut.

days were full of exploring and eating. the great part is there are always people. just people sitting and enjoying life. during any given siesta, the streets are lined with people enjoying a drink, a snack, reading the paper. one of my favorite places was an area called gracia (that’s grathia for you non-castellanos). there’s a ton of little shops, restaurants and hippies. there’s even an old theatre that plays original movies of past eras in english and spanish. i also love the boqueria which is a giant market where you can find anything. one fun part of my stay in barcelona was my haircut. after years of having my hair done for me and not getting a say, i decided to go to a really cool, modern salon called 'la pelu' after several spanish people told me it was the best choice. and i chopped it off. either my spanish skills actually paid off or this girl had a vision of what i wanted cause i really like it. what better thing can you have on vacation than hair you do nothing with?

finally, my last day was filled with eating and walking (i’m sensing a theme). anh made me a nice scrambled-egg breakfast because i was craving some typical american-ness. as much as i love spaniards every couple days i have to have something more than a piece of bread for breakfast. later i switched to typical spanish and had a three course lunch (pina con jamon, borrachka, and flan pudding). since my tourist account is somewhat lacking, i decided to spend part of my last day at parc guell. it’s the famous park designed by gaudi on the upper most parts of the city. and when i say upper most, i mean it. you have to climb up a steep hill to get there. the park is huge and filled with trails of all kinds. it feels like you’re walking into the little mermaid. everything is shiny and mosaic and magical looking. here i got some pretty good pictures (especially sporting the new do). it’s stuff like this that sets barcelona apart. on entering the city there’s a magical artsy feeling that’s echoed through the streets and the people.


it was a sad day to leave my new and old friends. but one must move on. i’m now on the night train to cadiz to start my program with the other people from ucsd. i think i’ve revamped my spanish just in time to dive back into the south and have it fall apart again. en barcelona they speak with ceceo (c’s pronounced as th) and a heavy s (meaning their s sound takes on a more sh feel). the south is completely different and supposedly cadiz is the worst. from what i’ve heard it has beautiful beaches, open and comedic people and wind that is said to drive people crazy. hopefully as long as i get the jokes and avoid the locos i’ll be good to go.

more when i see what it’s like...besitos!

ya esta

i made it! after a rough 11 hour flight and an even rougher 7+ hour layover...i'm finally here. we arrived in barcelona and ahn picked us up from the airport. turns out metros aren't too conducive to hauling giant bags around- which made me thankful i pack semi-light (and that i'm super tough obviously). turns out her apartment on the fifth floor with ten flights of stairs isn't too conducive either! but i slept off all my hardwork and tonight spent a lovely night on the beach. it's unreal being here again.

la primera

well...here it goes. this is my first test blog (to make sure i know how to work this thing before i leave). after a tough week of finals (and boy do i mean tough), i'm finally starting to realize that i'll be gone in three days!

i just put up a picture of my last san francisco trip. i went with my old roomates lisa (who just got back from a two month trip around europe), and ahn (who currently lives in barcelona). as you can see we're a house who likes to travel.

so i leave on wednesday (out of lax at 3 pm) for somewhere around a 14 hour flight. i'll then fly into barcelona with a girl from my program named charlene. my old roommate ahn will pick me up and i'll stay with her for a week exploring barcelona. after that i go down to cadiz to start my classes. the head of the linguistics department john moore will be teaching our classes in spanish dialectology and language and culture of flamenco. he's a really good flamenco guitar player who used to live in spain the travel with the big wigs in the flamenco world. so i'll be taking classes and also doing my own research. if you don't know...i could have graduated this june, but in my delay to participate in the real world...i'm adding on another year. i'll be doing an honors thesis in the linguistics department. that entails taking two grad level classes, doing my own experiments and gathering research, then producing a thesis at the end. even though it'll take a whole year, it'll be really important for getting into grad school. plus, it's a really cool opportunity to work with professors, get letters of recommendation, and focusing specifically a topic that interests you. i'll be researching the differences between gendered speech. which includes comparing different genders and sexual orientations and the linguistic differences between tonal patterns, word choice and cultural stereotypes.

so that was long-winded, but regardless i'll be there learning, researching and traveling. i especially want to go visit my family in cordoba (as pictured -->). it's been two years since we've seen each other and after emailing back and forth we're both really excited to revisit! unfortunately they'll see the decline in my spanish during the last two years...but hopefully this will be a magical six-week rejuvenation.

so keep on checking back for the updates. i'll keep you posted on the trips, the peeps, the foods and anything else i find along the way!