Un Voyage avec Veronique

2011-06-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

I <3 Seattle. I really wish I had more days there...

I rolled in from Vancouver in the late afternoon, definitely pressed for time to get to my show. Normal... I stayed in Bellevue with my friend Arash. Quickly ran in, got dressed, made up, drove off to Enlighten Cafe in the Ballard section of Seattle. I had absolutely NO idea what to expect.

I was happy and relieved to see all the equipment was already set up. All I had to do was start playing. One problem. There were 5 people in the (large) cafe: one girl studying up front, a couple talking behind her, and 2 girls reading all the way in the back. Immediately after I started playing, the front 3 people got up and left. I found myself left with a choice - Either let this get really awkward, or make the best of it. After I finished a song, in an attempt to save the small audience that remained, I called to the girls in the back of the room.... "So...! You go to school here?...!" They shouted back, "No...! I'm from Denver and she's from Minnesota...! Just visiting...!"

So, we were in this together. I continued singing and we enjoyed some clever banter. Thai, who was running the cafe, was also a lot of fun. I kept playing songs and more people started coming and going. Before long, Jenny, a girl I had not seen since 8th grade, walked in with two friends of hers. We connected recently on Facebook, and it was so cool to see that re-connect take place physically so soon. She now lives in Renton, WA and is one of the select few, yet awesome people I know in this area.

Soon thereafter, the other two people I know in the area, Kai and Susan strolled in. I met them a couple years back when Shawn invited me as a plus one to a wedding in Ashland, OR. We all hung out at the wedding, and thankfully stayed "in touch" on good ol' FB. I was so jazzed to see them again. Kai's band, The Bucharest Drinking Team, had a show that day and they were going to be headed to the after-party. I really appreciate that they took the time to come out to the show with all the other stuff they had going on. The show went great! AND Kai and Susan invited me to the party :)

This party was unlike any party I'd ever been to. Definitely a huge highlight of the trip! As the name suggests, the Bucharest Drinking Team is a band of Balkan musicians. I have very limited experience with this genre, but these folks were super cool! There were tons of instruments being passed around - some, I still don't know the name of. Thus began an epic Balkan jam session complete with drink, boisterous dance, bountiful accordions, and many gemini birthdays to celebrate.

Amy Denio was there.

I didn't know of her, but she caught my attention several times with her incredible clarinet and accordion playing. I learned she's quite prominent in this area. She hypnotized us all with a solo accordion/vocal piece she composed. Very cool lady! Another honorable mention of the night goes to the girls singing songs from the country of Georgia. I wish I had links to these songs to share. I hope to soon. Absolutely amazing and beautiful music.

Well, I mostly hummed along and shared playing of the castanets and tambourine until a gentleman named Peter introduced me to the group. I shared a couple of multicultural pieces and finally felt initiated into this wonderful family. Soon, we dove into American music and went for hours and hours. I left after 3am and I know many of them were still going strong. Brilliant night. Absolutely brilliant!

That night taught me the joy of jamming. It also taught me I am getting old. I was completely wiped out the next day. I took 3 naps and finally felt human again around 8pm.

Arash and I shared several meals, including one at this fine establishment.

We also went to see Hangover Part II. If you haven't seen it yet, it's just like the first movie, just as shocking, and seriously, JUST like the first movie. Arash is a great friend. I'm so grateful for the time we had to catch up and for all the hospitality he showed me during my time there. They don't make 'em like Arash anymore.

I went and got coffee with Jenny, too. We had a nice catching up. I don't know how many opportunities I'll have to reconnect with someone I haven't seen since childhood. This was definitely a very cool coffee date. In fact, I found we have a lot in common! If only we lived in the same state... Regardless, I'm happy for where she's headed and to have her as a Washington amiga.

I wanted to perform more, of course, so I hit up some open mics. First: Bad Monkey Bistro. It was nice, but not too many people, so I got to perform 2 sets (total of 6 songs...) It was a good place to get some video, so I did some of that. A guy named Nick approached me and told me of some other things going on that night. I took his suggestion of Seamonster Lounge in the Wallingford area. AWESOME venue! I loved the quirky way it was set up. It was also full of people who totally rock. I had a great time playing for them and meeting new folks there.

And that was my last night in Seattle. Started with a bang and went out with a bang! I still feel the need to get back there... and I guess that is the whole point of this trip: to eventually go back. :)

The next night was scheduled for Tacoma, but that fell through. The venue had to close for refurbishment. Although unplanned, I couldn't deny I was more than happy to leave for Portland a day early. I'll save that story for another time, but yeah.... <3 Portland <3...

2011-06-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

I lost my Vancouver V-Card and This Is How It Went...

First of all, driving to Vancouver was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. That I-5, man... who knew? There were a few stretches along the way that were simply heaven. I literally could have died at one point just South of the Canadian border. There is way too much beauty to take in!

When I did reach the border, they were pretty harsh with me. I failed to notice the slow speed limit posted right before the border. Three guys searched my entire car and yelled at me. I was embarrassed, but kinda liked how seriously they took these matters. Being yelled at by a young man in uniform is something everyone should experience :)

I arrived at Foxy Haus in East Vancouver where I am occupying a room. This place and its people (and kitty) are just lovely.

So much charm and creative energy! I feel especially privileged to be staying in the room I'm in. Every little corner has something beautiful to experience. I've been soaking in the creative vibes and loving the time I have to meditate on unblocking my inner artist... (Thanks Leia <3 )

Much of my week was spent "working" during the NAFSA Conference. It was actually a great conference! 9,000 international educators unite! I went two years ago when it was in L.A. Now on my second go, I had more 'ins'... Which is what NAFSA seems to be all about. The days are spent networking and the nights are spent

attending all the parties and receptions you manage to get yourself invited to. Some of them are pretty exclusive and fancy. Brazil, for instance. Among my generation of Nafsans, getting the Brazil invite is a status symbol. Hahaha! In L.A. I didn't get an invite to their party. So uncool! So this year my boss and I went first thing to the Brazil booth for our invite. We were among the first to sport our Brazilian invite sticker on our name badge...

Oh, the pride! But I only stayed

about an hour at the party after an exhausting day.

Other great wining and dining events were sponsored by Scotland, Germany, Australia, and a couple program providers and organizations.

All schmoozing aside, I have to say this conference does wonders for my professional development. It's a tiring event, but I

somehow feel re-charged, re-inspired, and motivated to be an even more kick-ass Study Abroad Advisor!

I've had personal intentions to focus on during this trip as well. As I mentioned, I'm working on 'unblocking'. For me, it is almost necessary for me to physically leave town every once in a while to reconnect with myself. This experience has been exactly what I needed. The drive, the foxy haus, the solitude, the music, the books, the new city, and the people I'm meeting have all played a role in helping me to get back to the loving source of life. I've renewed my vows to practice this awareness and connectedness in my daily life. Even if I fall off course, as I expect I will, I think it's very important to not give up trying.

Friday was my first and only free day in Vancouver. Thankfully, the sun was bright and shiny all day!

I took the Skytrain and bus down to Stanley Park. I rented a bicycle and took an incredible ride around the enormous park. The wildlife I encountered was simply amazing! Here's a seagull with a starfish in its mouth.

Apparently, this is quite common 'round these

parts.

I also met this little guy while I was photographing flowers. He just came on out to check the scene. Sweet :)

I came back and hung out some with the Foxies. Then I ended up going with some new girlfriends to a jam session. Jillian is a beautiful poet and Chelsea is a great, soulful musician. Mando playing Lynn drove us in her sweet burgundy van. She's got a voice too! It was a great night except that it was my first and only night to chill with folks here. I'm looking forward to touring, but I'm sad I have to leave Vancouver already! My dear friend Michael was right when he said I would fall in love with this place. It's very easy to do...

And now it's been 5 days. Onto Seattle! I am very excited for the show tonight!! Also stoked about this great weather! Peace!!!!!!

2011-05-29T00:04:00.000-07:00

Heading North!

Hey! Welcome to my formerly abandoned travel blog! Over the next couple weeks I'll be posting about an interesting adventure I'm currently experiencing: Driving up to Vancouver for the NAFSA conference followed by a tour of performances as I head back South.

Today was a long day of driving, but I did manage to enjoy it. If you've driven north on I-5, you know why. Every mile took my breath away.

I'm currently in Portland for the night. I've never been here, but I already think I'm in love. As I drove in after so many hours of travel, I was beside myself with excitement!

For various reasons, I've found myself in a hostel. The man who checked me in is named Happy and I, too, am happy, so you see, it's fitting. In the women's dorm, I connected with Barbara from New York and E.J. (I guessed her full name!) from Chicago. We had some really nice convo before turning in.

Tomorrow, I'm waking up early and trying to make the most of what remains of the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle. The plan is to do some street performing to promote the Seattle show the following weekend.

Some Videos... Hi Mom and Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-22T05:38:00.000-07:00

Ah, the sweet warmth of Eurolife's simplicity: hand-washing clothes (or pay 9 euros to have a
machine do it), fending for yourself on Sundays when everything is closed, cobblestone streets massaging your feet as you walk (everyone thinks I'm crazy for that, but that's probably what I missed most about Europe)... No sarcasm here, my friends. I am SO happy to be in Europe again!
So, I'm in Chambéry about to start my 3rd week of classes. Chambéry is a really sweet town. If you walk around for a day, you've probably seen the whole thing almost twice. It's nestled between gorgeous mountains on all sides. The weather just turned nice this week. I feel like I'm in an outdoor person's paradise. Chambéry is an hour and a half away from Geneva, Switzerland, two hours away from Turin, Italy, and one hour away from Lyon (France's second largest city). There may not be much in the way of entertainment if you spend a Summer in Chambéry, but it is a perfect hub if spontaneous exploration is your thing.
I'm enjoying the class a lot and definitely getting a lot out of it. Our group was divided into three groups based on a placement test. Somehow I was placed in the most advanced group after taking only one year of French (Props to my SJSU teachers Nehal and Renee!). Not sure how that worked out, but I was glad to accept the challenge. I would like to get the most language practice possible out of this trip.
The people here are incredible! Completely different from my Paris experience. People are so happy to start a conversation, offer help, invite you to do things. I can just go sit on a bench and within ten minutes be speaking broken French with an old man who sees no reason why we should each be sitting alone on separate benches. One afternoon, I took my guitar into the park and just started playing. All sorts of teenagers came up to me to... hang out, I guess. One 15 year old girl invited me to her parents' house for dinner (I didn't go, but it was a sweet gesture).

Thanks to the genius travelers' website: www.couchsurfing.com , I've come into contact with lots of people from Chambéry willing to get together to speak French. My new friend Olivier is the only such person who I've actually met in real life so far. We've gotten together a few times over drinks, a choral concert, and an Italian film festival. We hang out with his friend Sebastien as well who is also very helpful with learning French. The two of them are adorable and really fun to be around (even if I only understand half of what's going on).

The other people I've been hanging out with are mostly from the program. My roommate, Rophe, is awesome. She's from Alabama and goes to school in West Virgina. Definitely a cool girl. We get along really well.

Madison is my SJSU co-representative. She's a ball of bubbly energy who has similar taste in books as I do. She likes to call me a hippy and a democrat. And she likes to read my blogs (shout-out!). The girl knows how to have fun. We'll probably be going to Spain together in July after the program.

Arthur is my fabulous fashion designer, music loving, thought provoking, creativity sparker friend from Long Beach. Definitely happy he's here. He's great at French, great to go out with, and great at having reflective conversations with.

Then there's Ian who is really quiet at first, but one of those people who gives off so much energy, the need for talking doesn't so much apply. I definitely dig his musical taste and I love the balance he gives to our little social structure.
The program is full of awesome people from all over the country and world. I'll introduce you to a few more next time.

Here are some more pictures of my time here so far... Thanks for reading, if you read. 'Til next time...

Group trip to Annecy - Absolutely breathtaking!

An Annecy swan was so sweet to my camera

I just don't understand why she thinks I'm a hippy ;)

My very pink room.

Friends and I overlooking Savoie from Albertville

The best fondue I've ever had in my life... and I've had my fair share...

Coming up next: La Fete de la Musique, Tearing up Lyon, Geneva?, My 23rd (!#$?%@*) birthday, more new friends, and the mystery of my missing camera :(

2008-06-07T01:21:00.000-07:00

Bonjour! Glad to finally have a quick chance to let you know I'm alive and well. I spent about a week in Paris with my Aunt Lilly and had a fantastic time while learning beaucoup de francais. I would normally go into much more detail than this, but I haven't found the university's internet yet so I'm paying through the nose on this computer...

The plane ride was very long. Look at this incredible sunset! I just bought a fancy new camera before the trip, so hopefully I'll be sending you lots of pretty things like this!

I really had a fantastic time in Paris. I mean how could you not? Despite the drab weather, I loved just being there midst all the vibrance, energy, cheese, and French speaking of the city. Staying with my aunt is always such a pleasure. The one day she had to work, her wonderful friend Isabelle took me to a part of Paris I've never been. We walked along the canal St. Martin and enjoyed all the fancy shops around the 19th district.

We stopped into a cafe and suddenly Isabelle was very excited and urged me to notice the man about to leave. It was this man, Laurent Voulzy. Someone I've never heard of, but who is evidently a very famous French singer. I searched for him on youtube and I'm impressed with what I found. For some reason youtube isn't letting me embed the video, but here's a link to a video of his from 2003. His 70s stuff is also pretty entertaining.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_o-EHZx3w

It is so relaxing to be in Paris and do things other than sightseeing. The archives of this blog should have some of the sights if you're interested. I was far more interested in doing normal French people things. Like going to the theatre. One of my aunt's dance students performed in a production that we went to see in a very small and enclosed basement theatre. The sketches were funny, I'm sure, but I confess I didn't understand most of it. My aunt gave a synopsis as we went along. The conversations afterward were much more comprehensible. I think the Spanish immersion experience is really helping me survive with the few French skills I have. As much of a fool I may appear to be at times, I'm conciously trying to ignore my shyness and just jump right into speaking. I make mistakes left and right, but its really helping me learn.

On Tuesday, Aunt Lilly took me to Normandy, where she's been meaning to take me since I was 18. This was my first time in France outside of Paris! We arrived to a city, well two cities. Deauville and Trouville; twin cities divided by a train station and a river. Wow I really have to get going, but the pictures say more than I can anyhow. I'll be back on hopefully within a week and tell you all about Chambery. For now I leave you with images of Trouville...

2007-07-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, I do think its time I pay the due of letting you all know how I am. Where to begin...

Today is my last day in Granada. First thing tomorrow morning I have about 36 hours of traveling on which to embark and once I walk through those airport security gates into the loving arms of my family, my life as I know it will once again change entirely. As you can imagine, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. Mixed feelings would be an understatement. Its pressure like this that make me ask myself questions like, "How much do I really need that degree?" "Exactly how settled do I want to let myself get in the United States?" When the life-altering moments are so close at hand, the decisions I always take for granted really do pop up as decisions that are up to me and I realize much more clearly that I actually CAN do whatever I want most.

A month ago, you would have heard me say "If I could get on a plane home tonight, I would." Today, my statements are more along the lines of "I'd really like to visit my family and friends. I miss them. But I'll be back to Spain in no time." So yes, its very much an emotional and sentimental roller coaster, but given that I was prepared to spend a year here and that I've now done it, and done it well, I can be sincere when saying that I am very, very excited to come home to California and strengthen the bonds with my family, share experiences and make new ones with friends, make the changes in my life that this year I've learned are ones I'm determined to make, and continue to grow and learn and take every moment of life as it comes.

I don't know what to expect in coming home. I've gone from overworked and overbooked (aka life in California) to a year of, yes, hardships and challenges, but mainly, the most exhilirating, spontaneous, relaxing, inspiring period of my life. Coming home, I know I have readjusting to do as far as sticking to schedules, being competitive in class, and maybe not having once-in-a-lifetime adventures every day. But I also know (and by "know" I mean KNOW) that my life will never be the same as it was when I left California. I absolutely refuse to let myself be the sheep I saw myself as to society or the slave I saw myself as to the machine. Life is too short for that. Thanks to the opportunities I now realize are mine and to all the tools I've been given over the years, my goal will be to find the careful balance between working to live and living to work. I believe in myself more today than I ever have in my life and I will do whatever it takes to not let myself down.

I know I heard it a million times before and didn't believe it, but having found it to be true, I'm passing it on. Take it or not: Do whatever it is you dream of doing. Don't stop yourself. Whether its fear, a lover, others' expectations, finances, WHATEVER, THE WORLD IS YOURS! Pay attention to your dreams, your talents, and your opportunities. They are pointing you to where you should be. If you are true to yourself, you will always find yourself exactly where you belong, even if it isn't where you expected to find yourself. If you want something, I promise you can make it happen. And when things don't go as you planned, don't get discouraged. You'll find more often than not, its because you have something better coming your way.

Huge huge thank-yous to all of your support for me to do this. Words can't tell you what this year has meant for me and will continue to mean until my last day. To my family and loved ones who let me go, thank you. I know none of us knew what to expect and I was taking huge risks in forging a temporary life here. However, through any doubts, fears, and uncertainties, you believed in me and supported me and understood that it was what I needed to do. I can't wait to see you and give you a huge hug. I'M COMING HOME, CALIFORNIA!!!!!

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Bike riding in Holland

Program goodbye dinner. What would I have done with out the frands, tho?

Blanket weavers in Morrocco

Spaghetti made from scratch in Livorno, Italy

Charles Bridge on its 650th anniversary. Prague, Czech Republic

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Cathedral at 3 in the morning. What better time to do sight-seeing? Barcelona, Spain

2007-03-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks have begun to shift my mindset as this untold year of adventures is more than half over and therefore no longer so "untold". I've begun focusing more on getting through a list of priorities and being more proactive rather than waiting for things to come my way. I have about four months left and it looks like I'll be able to do just about everything I wanted to do while I was here, so I'm not feeling too uneasy. There is definitely a part of me, though, that would love to stay another year or two and really get this Spanish down. However, I've befriended many spaniards as of recently and the language is coming along fine.

I'll be home JULY 15th! Its final!

So, What's new in my life? Plenty! The most exciting addition to my list of distractions (er... hobbies?) is a GUITAR! About a month ago I bought a Spanish guitar off of my friend, Jake. He and another friend, Luce, have been teaching me bit by bit and I've been messing around with it a bunch on my own. I am really enjoying playing it! When I play, I have an excuse to sing! I'd been missing singing regularly, but now I can do it whenever I want, so I do! RELENTLESSLY! I've been catching on rather quickly! A lot faster than I thought I would. After playing for 3 weeks I happened to be at Open Mic Night and since there was hardly anyone there, I got up and played a few songs!!! It went pretty well for a first performance and made me feel really great! I hope to keep up with learning, which I hear is rare for a beginning guitar player (heck, I've started to learn 3 or 4 times before this), but now that I can play some sings and am making it part of my every-day itinerary, it's looking hopeful!

Last weekend I went skiing with my roommates in the Sierra Nevada mountains about an hour away from Granada. It was my second time skiing and it was really scary, but really fun. I didn't fall too much. Well, that's a lie. The thing is almost every time I fell, I wasn't actually skiing... just standing there. Here's a picture of me trying to be cool for a photo, but falling instead... From watching other people I noticed that people most often fall right after you can tell that they've stopped trusting their bodies to be able to balance and recover. So, what I tried to do was remain calm and trust myself when my footing was shaky rather than panic and fall. It worked! I'm no pro by any means! I couldn't just let myself go straight down, but I had a really great time and I enjoyed learning how to use my body that way. I learned a lot that day about how my physically abilities work and how to discover them.

I love living in Granada because you can go skiing one day and go to the beach the next! And that's what I did! The weather has been amazing here, so I've been to the coast every weekend for the last 5 weeks. GOOD TIMES! The time I went after skiing, a few friends and I rented a car and drove to Nerja, a town with a gigantic famous cave! If you've been to the Moaning caverns in California, imagine that about 6 or 7 times bigger. AMAZING! We explored there for the morning and then spent the rest of the day on the beach playing guitar, frisbee, what have you. This is my life: Playing!

The weekend after that my program took us on a trip to Jerez and Cadiz, about 4 or 5 hours West of Granada on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We left at 7 in the morning, which everyone grumbled about, but you know what? It turned out fine. How often do you watch the sun rise? How often do you watch it rise over the hills and vineyards of Andalucia? It was a real gift.

Jerez is evidently famous for their horses, so we watched a horse show there. The horses were rather amazing and there was a bit of time before and after the show to meet them in their stables. For what it's worth, meet the crew:

This is the last unicorn. Unfortunately the gate got in the way of showing his horn, but if you imagine real hard, I'm sure you can see the magic in this beautiful horse!

This is Gothic horse. He was down just to be down. He had a majesty about him, but was more mystery and gloom than anything. I think he needs to listen to some more uplifting music...

This guy is the life of the party. I'm gonna assume the picture speaks for itself. He was a friendly one. I liked meeting him the most.

This stud had a thing for Lynzy. He nuzzled her quite a bit, but never when my camera was ready... anyway, they hit it off well!

This is the cold shoulder horse. Or maybe the deaf horse. Whoever he was, he was the only one who refused to acknowledge me... I guess everyone needs their alone time now and then?

The word Jerez means Sherry - like the drink. Accordingly, we went to a winery called Tio Pepe for a tour and to taste their sherry. I found out I don't like sherry. But I still drank it and had a really nice time with the friends. Something was hilarious... or maybe sherry is just a lot more alcoholic than any of us realized. It's photos like these that I know I'll look back on in 50 years and recall warmly all the wonderful memories and friendships I've made here.
It was St. Patrick's Day when we went to Cadiz, which happens to be the birthday of my red-haired, Irish-descent, shamrock tatoo-having best friend Katy. We'd been looking forward to celebrating her birthday for several months, but since we were on our group trip, one of our best friends, Luce, wasn't included. Well, Luce wasn't about to let the one birthday in their life that they would spend together slip away like that, so she rented a car and drove all the way there as a surprise. It was my job to keep Katy in the hotel room while everyone gathered and schemed around her. Basically I just took a really long shower and by the time I came out she was sleeping haha! Well, here's the video of Katy being surprised by Luce. My voice is kinda loud on it... sorry 'bout that!

From there we had a wonderful time. Our hotel was right by the beach so we went down and made a bon-fire. Turns out you can't do that in Spain. It also turns out you can't steal wood from construction sites. Ahem. One of our buddies didn't think through that one too well. We had fun while it lasted, but soon enough, we attracted the police and it was all over. And no, no one got in trouble. It was just another episode for the journal.

I have to give credit and mad props to my friend and fellow SJSU kid CAITLIN for taking the vast majority of these awesome pictures. I get to take her back to San Jose with me :) HOORAY!!!

I'm taking a class about teaching music to children. The class requires that we learn a repertoire of kiddy songs (in Spanish!!!) and be able to sing them and perform them on the recorder flute and the xylophone. The xylophone is no problem, but I was a bit unsure of the recorder. However, two days ago I realized that the recorder has all the same fingerings as the alto sax (which I played all through school), so YAY! I know how to play the recorder!!!!

This weekend I plan to go to the northern coast of Spain (up above Portugal) to Gijon with some Spanish friends for an electronic music festival I'm stoked about! On Wednesday, Nina arrives from Germany to spend the weekend with me. The Monday she leaves is the day my parents and baby sis arrive in Spain for Holy Week and Easter with me!!!! I'm going to Amsterdam in May! SRVHS Choir is coming to Spain for my birthday in June!! Everything about this year is so incredibly amazing! My travel priorities that I have yet to accomplish are Italy, Morocco, Prague, Barcelona, and a proper tour through the UK. I think I'm gonna get to do it all!!!!!

LOVE LOVE and more LOVE from Spain!

2007-02-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

Hello again! V-Ron here with MORE updates of this crazy year. Things are still great! I love Granada more and more every day! HOWEVER, I love and miss you all and decided to resist the urges to stay another year or two. I've decided to come home in mid-july (i.e. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! get ready to celebrate!!! I'll want to see you all PRONTO!)
Since Winter Break I've been pretty busy. I had to take a class during the month of January. It was phonetics and I actually kind of enjoyed it. We learned how to transcribe words into the phonetic alphabet, which was fun because what I ended up writing looked like some strange or ancient language.
Aunt Lilly and Jeff came to visit Granada and we had a TERRIFIC time!!!! I was very much looking forward to David and Jeff meeting and as I imagined, they hit it off FAMOUSLY! We ate out a lot and had terrific tapas, went to see the Alhambra and walked all around the city! Not to mention simply being able to spend good quality time with them was a special treat.
It was great to see Jeff for more than just a meal here and there with 3 or 4 years in between. He actually inspired me a lot! Since he left I've been reading more books and I read the newspaper probably 4 or 5 times a week. I've never been much of a paper reader... but it feels really great to have an informed idea of what the heck is going on. Well, sometimes it makes me feel sick to my stomach, but it's important to be aware nonetheless.
Our visit to the Alhambra was really nice. I had seen it before, but this time we weren't hurried through by a Spanish-speaking guide from school. We got to explore it at our own pace and listen to an audio guide in English. We brought a picnic with us and ate outside in the beautiful sunshine we were blessed with that day (later that week it was raining and snowing in Granada!!!)
David flew back to California a week later. We had a really nice time together and I'm glad he stayed for as long as he did. Despite what others said and even what I told myself beforehand, the six weeks he was here was perfect for getting in some travelling, getting used to being around one another again, and catching up with one another. I'm really crazy about that boy! YAY!!! LOVE!!!
Less than a week after he left, I ended up in Lisbon again! I love the spontaneity of this year!!! Katy let me know about a deal she found at a travel agency that included airfare and the hotel (read: **4 STARS!**) so we jumped on it. In case you haven't read about my first Portugal trip, I AM IN LOVE WITH LISBON!!!! It's my favorite place on Earth! As expected, we had a PHENOMENAL time in the city! The weather was beautiful again, the people were incredibly friendly, and the night-life scene was just what Katy and I needed.
On Superbowl Sunday we trecked around Lisbon enjoying the castle, the shore, the sunset, and looked for some venue that would show the game. Around 7pm, we entered an English pub expecting to check it out, maybe have a beer and then leave seeing as the Superbowl wasn't to be aired for another 4 hours. Instead, we discovered they had REAL CORONA (not found in Granada) and instantly met a friendly guy from England who was there with a big group of mates. Before too long we met almost all of them and had one of the most fun nights I've had all year just taking over a bar and being nuts and making friends for an evening. We stayed there until they closed and watched very, very little of the game. The guys were great and definitely did justice to the famous "British sense of humour". I laughed more or less continually for 6 hours... and then for the following 3 days.
Getting there and getting back, we had to fly out of Madrid, so seeing as we had a nice block of days for a vacation we spent 2 nights there - 1 before and 1 after Lisbon. We stayed with Miguel who is in the program up in Madrid. He's an awesome friend and we had good times in Madrid. I'll finally admit that I don't dislike the city...
A bit of bad news, though... my wallet was pick-pocketed shortly after we arrived in Madrid. BOO!!!! but well, what can I do? I definitely learned to not wear a backpack in a big city again... at least not with my wallet inside (D'OH!)... well, I'm very thankful that my parents are so helpful (cancelled all my cards in minutes!), that Katy is so generous (spotted me the whole trip!), and that they didn't take my whole purse (thus leaving me with at least my passport!)
Aside from some inconveniences and debt, its really not too big of a problem. Except for some cash, I guess I didn't really lose much. Crazy cities...
I forgot to mention before that over winter break I practiced drawing a little more. The first walnut I tried to draw was really really bad. Then David pointed out that I drew it in less than 10 minutes. haha!! So I tried to have some patience and wasn't too disappointed with what I came up with. My mom's been encouraging me to draw a lot, so these pictures are mostly for her to see what I did. I couldn't really get a focused photograph, though, for whatever reason...
And the final report of the evening: One of my bestest most favorite friends in the world, Sadie, just moved to Granada!!!!! It's been really good seeing her and she's having a great time so far! She actually lives with two other friends of mine, so she's integrated into our little world here without even trying to be!
CARNAVAL is next weekend!!!! I'm going to Cadiz with a bunch of friends to celebrate the first festival of the year!!! I can't wait!!!!!
Pues, hasta la proxima vez, no? Ciao chicos!!! Besos y abrazos!!!!
Con Amor,
Veronica

2007-01-14T02:27:00.000-08:00

Hey there and happy New Year! Hope you all had a great holiday season. I missed being away from my family on Christmas - it was a first for me - but I had a great time here! David is here visiting me and we spent the holidays traveling in three countries in three weeks! It was AMAZING!
We spent Christmas in Paris - ha! I'm beginning to feel like I know that city pretty well! As you know, my aunt lives there and she was incredibly nice and let us stay in her apartment while she was visiting my family back home. She decorated a beautiful little Christmas tree for us and left us all sorts of goodies. David and I walked around quite a bit and went to see Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arch de Triumph. David enjoyed it a lot - especially Notre Dame. For most of the rest of our time there, we stayed in from the cold cooking romantic meals, calling home to our families and friends, and using our Christmas gifts. My family sent me a drawing book and pencils, so I practiced drawing eggs and walnuts for a while.
The day after Christmas, we went to my aunt's friend's house for dinner. We had a great time talking with Isobelle and Claude over wine and the delicious meal she prepared. David and I both enjoyed seeing a bit further into Parisian culture through our hosts while we talked about music, history and food.
On the 27th, we flew to England to spend New Year's Eve in Manchester where a Granada friend of mine, Luce is from. We stayed at her house with Jake, Katy and Luce's boyfriend Nehad, so it was a party wherever we went. VERY GOOD TIMES! One night we went out to a pub to meet all of
Nehad's friends. We stayed there for hours and then went to one of their houses for a party. Jake, Luce, and I had a good time the next day filling everyone in on all the craziness that happened. Not everyone else had the good fortune of remembering.
We got out into nature a little bit while out there in England. We climbed up a very muddy and very steep hill. It was really nice to get outside with the trees and wind and the view from the top was pretty breathtaking. But alas, I fell in the mud coming back down! Yeah, it was a hardcore fall into the mud... too bad those pictures didn't quite turn out, huh?
For New Year's we just stayed in and didn't try to jinx our evening - all of us agreed that New Year's Eve tends to be a let down if too much planning goes into it. So we relaxed, drank some, watched Finding Neverland, and played games. We were so laid back that it was 12:15 when we looked at the clock to see how much time was left until midnight. Haha!! I hope I have many a similar New Year in the future!
On New Year's Day we flew to Munich, Germany and were picked up by my friend Nina who I lived with last year when she was studying abroad in San Jose. Neither David nor I had a clue as to what to expect while we were in Germany aside from enjoying Nina's company and meeting her family, boyfriend, and horse... But I can't emphasize enough what an amazing time we had there! Nina and her parents were incredible! They cooked for us and made us so comfortable in their home in Kaufbeuren. Their home, by the way - AMAZING! It's very spacious and bright and modern, but comfortable, and decorated beautifully. Her mom could be a top-notch interior designer!

It snowed the next morning (making the house that much more magical)! We went with Nina and her boyfriend, Basti to Kutschenverkehr Neuschwanstein castle. We took a horse-drawn carriage in the snow up the mountain to the castle. It's rather remarkable. One of the most picturesque, fairy-tale like castles I've ever seen. We didn't go inside of it - mostly because I didn't bring very good shoes for the snow, and by the time we were at the top of the mountain, my socks we drenched in ice water and I knew I should really take care of that sooner rather than later. We came back down the hill and had a German lunch in a restaurant right there at the bottom of the mountain.
Later that day Natasha (who also studied in SJSU last year) and her boyfriend Frederick came over! Seeing them again was really great! It's almost hard to believe we were able to reunite on the other side of the world! But I'm definitely glad it happened. Nina's parents prepared schnitzel accompanied by the best potato salad I've ever had in my life - lovingly prepared by her grandmother.
The next day David and I took a train into Munich. The train ride itself was enjoyable - Bavaria certainly has beautiful countryside. When we arrived at the Munich station, we were a bit lost in the huge-ness of the place, but soon we were pointed in the direction we were headed and saw the highlights of the city. We did one of those bus tour things, you know, where you ride around in a goofy red bus with headphones telling you in your choice of 8 languages about the city's facts? Well, it was fun actually, especially considering we had no clue what we would spend our time doing in a city so unknown to us. The tour pointed out a former Nazi headquarters building and talked a lot about what happened in Munich during World War II. I'm glad the tour was able to give me that perspective of the city. Its a very beautiful place, but was once a torn-up war zone. Its interesting walking around not knowing what might have happened decades before in the same areas and wondering how much or how many have been forgotten.
We got off of the bus in an area where there was this famous market. It was a nice place to walk around. All the food looked really good, but we just looked at it since it was a bit pricy. David and I walked around the city quite a bit before heading back. I wasn't unimpressed with the place, but I'd definitely like to see it again in the Spring or Summer when I'm sure it's a lot more exciting and picturesque.
Nina also introduced us to her horse, Landino. This guy is HUGE!!! I've seen a lot of horses, but I've never met one like this with ears so high I couldn't reach them. He's a magnificent horse. Very smart. Nina demonstrated some of his tricks for us in the stable. I think it's so amazing what you can teach an animal to do. She let me ride him a little bit too. He was so tall though!!! haha... it took me 3 tries to get on top of him! haha. Poor horse. I may or may not have kicked him more than once in my mounting attempts.
I think it was that night Nina took us to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Mmmmm!!!!
Then we went with her to a pub to meet a friend she works with. It was his birthday, and as is customary, I guess, he bought rounds of drinks. We only meant to stay for one, but somehow David was granted 4 drinks and we stayed for a while chatting with some new German friends.

The next two nights we spent in Nina's apartment in Augsberg, where she studies. We got to see both that town and Ulm, the city where Basti studies. He showed us around for a while and then had to go to play hockey. Ulm is BEAUTIFUL!!! Its so charming! There were cute little houses, swans swimming in the river, and cobblestone everwhere. There was also a giant cathedral with what is reportedly the tallest steeple in the world. Basti told me the cathedral is actually Protestant, which suprised me. I didn't know Protestant cathedrals like that existed. According to Basti, it used to be Catholic, but is now Protestant.

We really had a fantastic time in Germany and David and I had more than one fanciful conversation about learning the language and relocating. From what we saw in our few days there, the theme of Germany is: efficiency. It's every bit as modern as the US, but I didn't sense an all too familiar wastefulness I come to expect back home. Well, the least we can say is we were given a great impression of the country and were actually quite humbled by our experience.
The time came to return to Spain. David and I flew to Barcelona and stayed one night after a romantic dinner and a bit of walking around. The city seems great, but we really didn't get a chance to properly visit it. Sometime soon I'll be going back there. Our flight to Malaga was the next morning and from there we took a bus back to Granada. With the exception of the theft of a piece of luggage, our trip was terrific and went unbelievably smooth! Special GIGANTIC thanks to Aunt Lilly, Luce and Nehad, and Nina and family for your hospitality and generosity. I can't believe what David and I just got to do together! I'm sure we'll reminisce over these few weeks for years to come.
He's still here for a little over a week more. We're having a great time together in Granada, but he'll have to leave all too soon :( Well, another busy semester to keep me occupied is around the corner. I've got lots of travel plans and little projects I'm working on. I'll be sure to keep you in the know as far as what I'm up to. Until next time, take care of yourselves and keep in touch! CIAO!

2006-12-01T05:05:00.000-08:00

My Spanish has improved tremendously the last couple weeks! I've started to receive compliments on my progress and last night someone asked me if I was French!!!! I'm glad to be getting this feedback! I'm learning a lot in my classes, but I think what's really boosted my learning is the fact that I've been spending more time with a couple Spanish people who don't speak English. The past couple weeks I spent a good amount of time with Andrea and his new girlfriend Adela and his good friend Marc. Andrea speaks English, but Adela and Marc don't so its been really fun learning to communicate with them. They're really fun and interesting people too!!! Yay for new friends!
School is winding down already! This week I have a few projects and presentations due so I'll be working on that pretty hard... ideally speaking. We only have two days of school this coming week and then another week of class and then finals! The people from other programs who are only here for the semester are getting ready to go home already! Thank God I'm staying here for a year! A semester is waaaaay too short to learn Spanish very well. I've JUST started making Spanish friends. Imagine if I had to leave in two weeks!
My year here is on the brink of starting a new phase: Winter break, David coming, travelling to England, France, and Germany, Sadie coming, starting new classes, and making more Spanish friends are all about to change the world I've created for myself over here. I'm looking forward to and welcoming whatever is about to happen.
If I haven't had the chance to tell you yet, Thanksgiving was really fun. It was a bit hard to be away from the family, but my program put on a dinner for us and effectively got us hammered with wine. It seriously never stopped getting poured. I couldn't finish my glass! I left the dinner and called my family and later went to a bar, at where luckily for me, my best friends showed up. All the wine I drank hit me while I was there, but with a little help I got home safe and sound :)
I'm not singing at the Irish pub anymore. It got a little too stressful for me and stress is not something I'm seeking out. I'm looking for other places to sing just for a good time so I'll keep you posted on that.
Ok, well, no new pictures, no recent trips, just soaking in the Granada cold and enjoying every minute of life. On to homework and the rest of the weekend! Ciao!

2006-11-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

SURPRISE!!!!
Whoa!!! Straight hair!!!! Craziness!!!!! Yep, for the first time ever, I straightened my hair. Well, actually, it was the talented miss Dimnia who did it for me. No one recognized me at the birthday party at which my hair had its world premiere! That boy in the picture is Sebastien, boyfriend of my roommate, Shermine. Well, I like how the hair looked! It was a really fun change to take on for a couple days. Every time I looked in the mirror I didn't recognize myself. I could pass as sophistocated! I think, though, that it won't become a regular thing. It took forever and I love having curly hair.

HALLOWEEN!!!
Katy, Mandi and I dressed up as Greek goddesses for Halloween - the most fun, simplest, and cheapest costume! I generally don't enjoy Halloween, but this one was really fun! I think its the decorations that get to me, but there weren't any here! Spain celebrates All Saints Day on November 1st, so we didn't have school the next day! haha, the way Halloween should be celebrated!

The day after Halloween, Angela, Dane, and I rented a car and drove to Portugal! It was one of the best adventures of my life! Driving was an adventure in and of itself. When we first got in the car, we were a bit panicky just to get out of Granada! Roundabouts and unfamiliar road signs made driving a bit nervewracking at first, but we got the hang of it. We learned really well how to follow a map! It was funny at the end of the trip looking back to how much trouble we had starting out in Granada compared to the grace with which we had completely circumnavigated 3 unknown cities by the end of the weekend!
The first place we stayed in was Lagos. It's a nice city on the southern coast of Portugal. The beaches there are spectacular! We pulled over and walked along one of the first beaches we saw which was divided into several coves by cliffs that reached into the ocean. The cliffs all had passage-ways borred through them so you could explore the whole beach easily. There were lots of caves to play in (and lots of crabs)!
We checked into a hostel called The Rising Cock - I think the rooster is some national symbol or something... It was an interesting place - well, just like any other hostel, I suppose, but this was my first hostel and I thought it was really strange how comfortable everyone looked in the hostel. I'd never been around so many friendly strangers! Everyone looked as if they'd lived there for years! We had a nice stay there, but didn't do much after driving for so long and just wanting to relax. Our goal for the weekend was to escape to the shores of Portugal and go surfing and catch rays the whole weekend. However, this did not work out on account of rain pouring on and off and Dane being a bit under the weather.
On Thursday we drove to Sagres and Cabo Sao Vicente - the South-western tip of Portugal. It was SO BEAUTIFUL! We spent a couple hours at Fortaleza de Sagres - an ancient fortress on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. I was swept away not only with the fortress - with its rusted cannons and almost archaic structure - but also with the natural beauty of the place. The water was a very refreshing shade of blue as it crashed into the cliffs below us. There were thousands of fishies swimming around just under the surface of the water. Dane and I enjoyed throwing pebbles over the edge to make the fish jump around. Our afternoon there was so cleansing! I sat on a cliff for a while just looking out over the ocean, watching birds fly right by me and feeling the misting rain in my face. There were also giant holes in the cliffs - caves that led right down to the ocean. One was so deep and twisted that we could only hear the waves crashing at the bottom of it - we couldn't see them at all. I'm really glad we spent time at this place. It was quite remarkable.
It began to downpour just as we were leaving. We had no plan, so we just drove northward up the coast looking to see which town we thought was charming enough to sleep in that night. As we drove through town after town, nothing looked promising. They were all beautiful, but too small to look very welcoming to travelers. After about the fourth town, we decided to just drive all the way to Lisboa (you may know it as Lisbon), the capitol. I am SO GLAD for the rain and the small towns because had we not made it to Lisboa, I never would have known what I missed! This city is so incredibly beautiful and fun! At the same time, the people are noticeably nicer and everyone speaks English fluently.
We found a hostel called Lisbon Lounge (catchy, but can't really top the name of the first one) to sleep in that night. It was really fun, and again, the people there were all extremely friendly and looked right at home. This time we socialized a little bit and enjoyed meeting all sorts of people. One boy from New York was celebrating his one year of anniversary of traveling through Europe that night. Everyone had such an interesting story of their recent adventures. They gave me inspiring reminders to make the most of my time here and to never stop exploring.
We walked around Lisboa as much as we could with the weather's indecisiveness. The most picturesque place we visited was the Castelo de Sao Jorge - a castle, but not. From the outside, it looked like a castle with courtyards, gardens, a moat, a bridge and the castle walls. But when we walked inside, we were still outside! There were just walls going in different directions and seemed more like a fort to me than a castle. In any case, it was beautiful! And it was the highest point of the city, making for amazing photos.
Lisboa is divided by a big river into North and South Lisboa. I am really glad we drove into the North part. We couldn't have known it before arriving, but it turned out to be the more exciting half of the city. On Friday night, Angela and I went out while Dane rested up. We found the bar scene and were absolutely blown away! It was such a beautiful sight to see bars lined up with their doors open and music pouring out from every direction, crowds of people in the streets with drinks and conversation, no snobbyness or competition; just 5 or so parallel streets filled with young people, good music, and good clean fun. Around closing time, we met a boy who turned out to be Spanish. He was the kind of guy who knew everyone and enjoyed guiding us to a disco to dance the rest of the night away. We were excited about making a new friend, but he seemed to forget we were there as soon as we entered the club. Oh well. Only one person from his posse stayed with us trying to sweep Angela off her feet with his dance moves. Well, it was fun, but soon we just wanted to get away without any drama so we did what any mature woman would do: we told him we were going to the bathroom and then walked straight out the door back to our hostal.
I fell in love with Portugal! It is a very beautiful country. There are green rolling hills for miles and miles and as we drove back through the countryside, the scenic route didn't seem to end. I don't know what Spain has against trees, but there is a very noticeable difference in Spain's appearance as you cross over the border. Granted, I haven't seen northern Spain at all yet. I hear its lovely. In any case, I really enjoyed being surrounded by so much green and by so many people who seemed to care to talk to me. Its still hard for me to strike up conversations with people in Granada because the attitude so many of them have about Americans makes them look down on me as soon as I open my mouth. I've found a few that are friendly and seem interested in getting to know me, but it would be so much easier if more people here had the same attitude as those in Portugal.
Our trip was the best! We came home with memories of a very adventurous weekend we hadn't even anticipated! Four days relaxing on the beach turned into traveling through half the country and discovering Lisboa: Europe's best-kept secret. I would love to go back someday, but I'm thankful to know that a place like that exists in the world and that I got to experience it at least for a little while.
As far as my Granada experience goes, I am doing really well. This past week I had my three midterms and I think they went alright. I am learning a lot of Spanish every day and meeting people from all over the world. Unfortunately, I can count all of my Spanish friends on one hand, but I'm not too worried about it. I am really glad that I'll be here for another whole semester to really start making connections here. My living situation is also going pretty smoothly. I adore my roommates. They are all very nice and respectful girls. Our place is always clean (well, except for my room) and harmonious and I'm still in love with my gigantic room.
Thanksgiving is here already! Our program is providing a big dinner for us at some restaurant, so we'll at least get to celebrate it. I've never been away from my family for the holidays, and of course, its a very special time of year for family-togetherness. As the weather gets colder and home seems farther and farther away, it feels a little bit lonely sometimes. Family, I love you and miss you and I know you miss me too. I am thinking about you always and am especially thankful for each of you and the love you give me. I hope all of you readers have a wonderful and cozy Thanksgiving spent with the people you love most and lotsa good eats. Ciao!

OH! And as usual, all additional photos are available for your viewing pleasure at http://veronicamalki.shutterfly.com

2006-11-12T02:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, first off: I do intend on updating this more than once a month. I'm not too busy for you or anything, but what happens is its just one adventure after the next so I'm always saying, "Ok, I'll get pictures from this and then update the blog." Then 'this' happens and 20 adventures later I realize that I have enough photos to write a children's encyclopedia and that's when I feel like I can't find the time to sort this all out and update you.

Right, so anyway, I'm HERE!!!! Life is still amazing - it gets better every day! I've got a lot to tell you about, but I'm going to save Portugal for another entry because I haven't rounded up all the pictures yet.

I've been singing! One day like a month ago I was at Hannigan's - the Irish pub in my neighborhood where I can walk in any time of day or night and find friends and good times. They have Karaoke on Thursday nights and I sang Creep by TLC. When I finished, Erin (the DJ) told me about an open mic thing they do on Tuesdays so, I hooked up with her and a guy from Italy named Andrea and I've been singing there more or less regularly. Its been a lot of fun, but I haven't been practicing very much. I'm now sick for the second time, so that makes it a bit difficult. But anyhow, I am SO SO SO happy that I found a place where I can just sing and have a good time. It is exactly a goal I had in mind before coming here. Its been a lot of fun meeting other musical people and everyone just sharing what they have without any pressure.

The only trip I've gone on aside from Portugal was my program's trip to Toledo. It was a pretty remarkable town, unlike any other I'd seen until now. It is in Castilla La Mancha - the same 'state' of Spain that Madrid is in. La Mancha and Andalucia, where Granada is, are very very different. As we spent time exploring Toledo, I felt transported into land of Don Quixote, which as it turns out, is the truth! Its been a while since I read that book, but I definitely had the same feeling in Toledo that I had while reading it. I guess that proves how good Cervantes was with imagery.
Well, to be completely honest, our weekend in Toledo was not the happiest for me. For a number of reasons I was really emotional. In fact that whole week, I had been on a roller coaster of emotions - experiencing extreme joy for nothing in particular - just being alive. Then two hours later, falling apart at the seams because I remembered something a little sad from my childhood. I might have scared a few people, but the experience made me come to terms with what huge changes this year abroad will mean for me. After a week or so of keeping to myself, talking to my mom and David, and getting things a bit organized, I more or less leveled out, but I know some things have changed forever.
Halloween came. It was so nice to not have the hype around Halloween that there is in the states. It happens to be my least favorite holiday. There is no Halloween in Spain, except in Granada where some bars and clubs have events for it because of how many American students there are here. And I must say it was the best Halloween I've had in a really long time! Mandi, Katy (the same girls that are in the picture above) and I dressed up as Greek goddesses and joined the crew in the bars. Later there was a big party at Camborio - a nightclub here that is in a cave! But, I didn't go because I was leaving for Portugal the next morning. Anyway, I had a terrific night - everyone did! I have pictures, but they're not working right now, so when I put up the Portugal stuff, you'll get some Halloween pics too.
Thanks for tuning in! I'll be back hopefully within the week to put up the other stuff. My shutterfly webpage is not completely updated right now, but if you still want to see all the photos I have up there, be my guest: veronicamalki.shutterfly.com

HASTA LUEGO!!!

2006-10-12T03:20:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks have been BRILLIANT! From Granada to Sevilla to Paris and back, the adventure never stops! Sevilla worked out really well. Katy and I took a bus from Granada to the bus station in Sevilla which was in the center of town and was walking distance from our hostal. We did an awesome job of getting from place to place on our own in an unknown city with only a tour guide book map to lead us. Sevilla is incredible! Its very colorful and charming and is a bit bigger than Granada. The people seem friendlier and the environment cleaner... but no free tapas... Overall, Granada seemed gray in comparison.
Since this was our week off from school, pretty much everyone went on some trip outside the country. There was another group from our program who was stopping in Sevilla before heading to Portugal. We ended up staying in the same hostal as them for fifteen euros each for the night. This worked out really well. I tried to call the place before hand to reserve a space, but I guess I found the wrong number. The man there wanted to charge Katy and I each 45 euros for the night because we hadn't called in advance. Luckily, he's one of the smarter business people in Spain (they can be hard to come by) and realized that we either pay 15 or nothing. So he gave us the room for the night for 15.
Our time in Sevilla was very low key. Most of our time was spent talking with the group in the hostal or at a cafe. Betsaida, Jake, Katy, and I were all under the weather and everyone was beat from the previous weeks and travelling. hmm, so well, we saw the only thing in Sevilla that I know of to see: The cathedral. It was huge and impressive and beautiful, of course. There was lots to see inside. I took a bunch of pictures, but with being sick, I was a little too impatient to really learn about everything I saw. There are lots of tombs inside of past bishops and other important people. There were these four enormous wooden statues holding a coffin that was supposed to have the remains of Christopher Colombus, but a few years back, scientists determined its not really him. Either way, it was an impressive sight. Well, I pretty much just took random pictures from there of little things I found interesting. There was a lot of detail. Wood carvings on the walls and such. I thought this little guy on a cast-iron bar kinda looks like my dad. (hehe what do you think mom?)
Well, I always find the most impressive thing in any cathedral is the pipe organ. I would have loved to hear someone play it, but all I could do was look at it and imagine what it could do in a place like that. It must be pretty powerful.
I just want to tell you that as I was writing this, a marching band played down my street. Its a bit strange - I don't live on a main street or anything. Today is a national holiday for Spain. YAY NO SCHOOL! I wonder if the band is winding all through Granada. That was a special treat. :3)
So, that night in Sevilla we walked around quite a bit. We went back to the cathedral and saw it all lit up. Pretty amazing. Then we went to a kebob place to get something to eat. This was an experience in and of itself. Everything we ordered was a problem. Caitlin ordered a croissant (ok, not typical at a kebob place, but still - it was on the menu). The waiter didn't understand. We tried to explain to him for a while, but he brought out a pita bread. I ordered mint tea and he brought me black tea. Betsaida offered to take it so I told him again that I wanted mint tea. He brought me green tea. At least he remembered the honey. Jacob goes to take a spoonful of honey and sees a bug in it. No big deal right? I then take the honey to pour into my tea, but notice the entire jar is FULL of ants! Katy gets her fanta to go with her meal. The guy brings out a glass half full of Fanta. What the hell is going on? Incredible... just incredible. I felt all that could be done would be to take a picture and talk about it later...
Katy and I woke up the next day and got ready to head off to PARIS!!! We tried soo hard to catch the bus to the airport! We must have dragged our luggage miles going back and forth as every person we asked pointed us in a different direction. As time ran out, we had no idea where to go except the city bus station where we hopped a taxi to the airport. This was the least stressful flight I have ever boarded. Security was pretty much a joke. There was hardly anyone in the airport! I'm pretty sure the gate we boarded at was the only gate in the airport that had any activity. We took a Spanish budget airline (Clickair) into Paris Orly Airport where exiting the plane brought us right into baggage claim where my Aunt Lilly was waiting for us! It couldn't have been easier. Paris was delightful! I had been there once before for a few weeks after graduating high school, but I must say this little trip had me fall in love with the city. The weather was very cool - in fact, it was raining when we got there. It was so beautiful! I also wasn't jet-lagged! It was perfect! We stayed with my aunt at her apartment in Montmartre - the old artists' district of Paris. Katy and I spent the next four days doing all the tourist stuff. We went shopping (ha! New clothes! woot!), went to the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph, took a boat trip on the Seine, saw Notre Dame, and walked all around Montmartre. The hardest thing about being in Paris was the language barrier. Katy and I were very used to being in a foreign language country, but we didn't realize just how well we can communicate in Spain until we walked into a cafe in Paris and stared blankly at people as they asked us what we wanted. We could seriously not understand a thing! I mean, it makes sense considering I've never taken a French class, but for whatever reason, I was not prepared to not be able to not be able to communicate.
We had a couple adventures while in Paris. On Wednesday, my aunt had to go to work and left us with the key, her cell phone, and a map. This was the day Katy and I wanted to use to paint the town red. All we had to do before getting started was run to the boulanger for some bread and have breakfast. When we return to the apartment with the bread, I realize that somehow I had left the paper with all the information my aunt wrote out for us... including the entry code to the building. I also left her boyfriend's business card, my aunt's cell phone, and just about everything else that could have come to our aide. All I had was the key to the apartment door and a small map of the city (I left the big one I was used to inside too...). We waited a bit to see if anyone would walk in or out of the building, but it was mid-morning and everyone was at work. Well, we were dressed (though perhaps not dolled up as cute as we would have preferred) and we had our money, a little map, and our cameras. So, we set off into the city as we were and had an AMAZING day seeing the sights of Paris!
When we returned home Wednesday night from my aunt's dance class that I somehow found from a three year old memory, there was a man entering my aunt's apartment building who was staying in the apartment directly below my aunt. He heard us talking and asked us where we were from. He seemed overjoyed to be in the presence of Americans. It was pretty awkward actually. He was Arabic, himself and was extremely friendly. He invited Katy and I to come down and have a drink, but our better judgment kept us from going there. Keep reading! I'm going somewhere with this. When my aunt returned home, we had dinner and were sitting around talking for a bit when we heard an explosion!!!! We went downstairs to make sure everything was alright. It came from the apartment that friendly Arabic man was in. Another man answered the door looking rather suspicious. Then the friendly guy came out and tried to give us cheek kisses as if nothing happened and he was just happy we paid a visit. My aunt told him what we heard and asked if everything was OK. The man apologized and said he "dropped something heavy"... uh huh... ok.
The next morning (the morning Katy and I head back to Spain) we are awoken by a different neighbor who is making rounds to get everyone out of the apartment because THERE IS A FIRE! Its coming from none other than our friendly troublemakers apartment (who is no where to be found)! Can anyone say METH??? Well, this was pretty exciting. It was a pretty good fire, I'd say, but luckily not good enough to harm my aunt's apartment right above. We were a bit worried that we wouldn't get our stuff out in time to catch our flight, but luckily they put the fire out pretty quickly and no one had any problem with the residents going inside right afterward... Things in Europe seem a lot more easy-going like that. Thinking I may never be in another fire and seeing as no one was hurt, I shamelessy took a picture... My aunt's apartment is the one that has flowers on the balcony that are mostly covered up by smoke.

So, that was exciting... hahaha! I'm glad everything is alright, of course.

Back in Granada, I went out with my roommates Shermine and Dimnia. They are from France and they are WONDERFUL girls! Dimnia is the one in black and Shermine in... what is that color? Mauve? So we had a blast at this place called Tantra Gar or Car or something. haha!

Gosh, so what else can I say?

OH HAHAHA!!! School!!! I started school this week. Um, its going to be HARD! Back home classes are manageable with a bit of effort. Go to class, do homework, take tests...
Here, the fact that everything I'm taking is in another language means I'm never 100% sure that I understand something and that I exert a lot of effort just to stay alert to what is going on! It will also be harder to know how I'm doing as the trimester progresses. Students are evaluated here very differently. Its almost all participation and a final. Hardly any midterms or papers. Well, I see it as a challenge and if I don't get straight A's (which I'm realizing is hardly even a possiblity), I'll accept it and know that I learned a hell of a lot while I was here. The classes I'm taking are Advanced Grammar, Hispanic-American Literature, Spanish Culture and Civilization, Translation, and Oral and Written Production. 5 classes baby! Ok, well keep me in your thoughts and prayers and keep wishing me luck because I'm going to have to work at school five times harder here than at home just to get by.
Until next time then...
~Veronica

2006-09-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Today marks one month since I landed in Spain. As you can probably imagine, it feels like I just got here and time has flown by, and at the same time, I feel like I've been here forever. Well, regardless, a lot has happened, so Imma get to it...
We were put up in Madrid for 3 days for a very low-key and laid-back orientation. The picture at the left is the little room I got to myself. The room was fine and I had my own bathroom (AWESOME!) but all in all, yes, a bit cramped.
So, Madrid was fun while it lasted. Granted, I was jet-lagged and disoriented, but I knew after a very short time that I was generally unimpressed with the city. It just seemed too big, too busy, too dirty, and too American. I'll definitely go back again to give it a fair chance, but overall, I am very happy to not have to live there for a year. Getting to know the other students was awesome! I instantly connected with a few and have since grown surprisingly close with them. In Madrid, we went out for a couple nights to clubs and bars and had lots of fun. Here are Katy and I looking very tired and awkward on the metro heading somewhere fun. Wow! This seems sooo long ago! To the left are Jacob and Alessa, both of whom are also awesome friends of mine here in Granada.
So, hmmm... some more Madrid pictures... Well, here's a silly one at Joy nightclub, where the DJs are awesome, and a beer costs 11 euros. And a water costs 11 euros. Forget shots! (22 euros!!!). And, yes, someone did pay that much for a drink! Silly Americans!!!
So, these are all people who stayed in Madrid except for Libby (the one in blue). You probably can't tell from the picture, but Libby is a CHARACTER! I love this girl! She is hilarious!!! I miss the other kids who stayed in Madrid. They were pretty fun. Haven't heard from them though...
Ok, so I'm sure this a very important building and I should know what it is, but I'm just gonna go
ahead and be honest and tell you I have no idea what this is. I suppose its some kind of palace (I have an excuse! I was jetlagged!). Anyway, I decided this picture was proof that I was in Madrid. Katy, Jen, and I accompanied Paul on probably a 10K walk in the hot sun. When we arrived here, us girls took a rest under a tree and watched a man play the acordian while a boy did a dance on his bicycle to the music. Interesting stuff. And, well, that's all I have to share of Madrid so far. After 3 crazy days, 41 of us hopped on a bus for Granada and left behind about 60 who are staying in Madrid.
I don't know if the truth can be said in a less shallow way, but truly, one of the best things about Granada is the free tapas. Granada is the only city in Spain where virtually every bar will give you a free tapa (snack) with your drink. What's more, drinks here generally cost a euro or two, so if you have a couple drinks, you are fed for the night for less than 5 bucks (no tips nor tax!). Here are Jen, Katy, and me at one of the first bars we went to (which we now frequent). Its called Cafe Futbol. Hands down, this place is the best for churros and hot chocolate at any time of day or night. Jen and Katy were my roommates in Hotel Casablanca, where we were put up for 12 days while each of us looked for pisos (apartments). I love these girls to pieces and even though we've known eachother for only a month now, I can (and do) tell them everything! I love being here with very little responsibility and almost nothing hanging on my reputation. I feel a lot more free here to be who I really am, as do many of the people in the group. So, the fact that we've known eachother a short time doesn't isn't really a factor because we have no reason to hide. Its an awesome and liberating feeling (as well as uncomfortable at times). I'm sure I'll learn a lot about myself this year that I never would have expected.
This is my beautiful city: Granada. In Realejo (the barrio I live in) there is a terrace that I've been to a few times with friends to chill out. The entire time, we get to look at this amazing view. Want some more amazing views?

This is Granada from the Albycin (probably the most beautiful barrio in Granada. The pisos there have awesome views of the Alhambra and the mountains. This next picture is of the Alhambra. It is a huge, amazing, gorgeous palace/military zone/former city.
The outside of the Alhambra is pretty impressive, but you really have not seen anything until you've entered inside. I suppose this is where I could go on about the history and significance of the place (which is pretty significant and interesting), but I'm sure you could get more accurate information if you looked it up on your own. This was essentially a moorish castle (hence, the Arabic designs) that was later taken over by Christians. Some more pictures...
The place is covered from top to bottom in the most beautiful and detailed designs. It's pretty
incredible.

So, I've also seen the Mediterranean Sea. It was really nice to swim in. I also really liked how the beach was made out of pebbles instead of sand. You can lay on the shore without a towel if you want and when the pebbles stick to your skin it looks pretty cool in the sun. Good times were had here on the beach of Almunecar. A group of us took a bus down there and spent ALL DAY in the sun and water. I think we were all blown away by swimming in The Sea. When the weather gets nice again, I hope to spend lots of time in it.

This past weekend, my program had a camping trip to a place called Cazorla. It was AMAZING! If you know me, you know my favorite place to be is in nature. This little getaway site was in one of the most naturally beautiful places I've ever seen. We stayed in cabins (just for one night). I spent most of my time with a group that decided we were "too cool" for the guided hike. So, we invented our own hike and tried our darndest to get down to the river (and were successful after some time passed). I was a bit worried about bugs because we found an ENORMOUS spider in our cabin when we got there, but I survived without any bites, and I absolutely enjoyed being there and away from the city for a bit. On Saturday night, the staff put on a dance for everyone there. Thanks to my state of inebriation, it was a blast! I didn't stay too long though. I was pretty tired and wanted to make the most of the time I had
there on Sunday.
I almost forgot to mention that on the way to Cazorla, we stopped in a city called Baeza to get a little tour. Well, it was actually a very long tour, and I'm not too sure what I saw, but I took a lot of pictures of old things. Here is a picture of a candle I lit for my family.
I don't know what the deal is with graffiti in Spain, but I have seen some of the coolest art on walls here. Some samples:

I've been trying to do some art of my own while I'm here too. Finally, I'm starting to make time to let art be a hobby of mine. I hope to fill up my sketch book with images of Spain. So far I've completed... one. I'm kind of proud.
And, well, I guess that's about it then. I have tons more photos that you are welcome to look through at www.veronicamalki.shutterfly.com

Stay tuned! I'm about to go to Sevilla and Paris and I'm sure a whole bunch of unexpected adventures are coming my way :)