Hey, this post comes late...I know. But I've been back now for 9 days. It's good to be home. I met my family and friends...and girlfriend (yeah!) at the airport on Tuesday afternoon, or rather, they met me...I was just some dazed kid stumbling down the terminal on about 3 hours of sleep who happened to be awake but with this sleepy glazed look on my face. I was still all smiles so see everyone though. The long journey was over and I was back in Oregon. It felt weird being around so many people from where I was from. I felt like a brother to every single American in the airport, or at least the airport staff, cause I knew they were all mostly Oregonians.
One of our first stops on the drive back down to Eugene was to a Red Robin for lunch...and let me tell you, I hadn't had a proper burger since leaving the states. We make the best burgers in the world here...the ones dripping in grease and sauces...hence we are a heavier people, to oversimplifiy things.
But since being home, Christmas has happened. Every day so far, I can still shut my eyes and see the streets in Spain I walked down everyday. It's a pleasant feeling to open them again and see the people I love. When I go back, I hope to take a few of you with me this time. Thanks to everyone who commented on the entries and gave me feedback. It was always so nice to hear what you thought. I might not update this very often anymore. Sorry guys. The next time around, when I hope to France to study, I'll have to pull it out retirement and see if I still remember how to work this thing. Moreover, without erasing everything just before updating it like I did when I was first starting.
Alright, it's good to be home. Over and out.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Vienna, Austria
Alright,
So I find myself now, about 5 days after my last entry, in the city of Vienna, Austria. This city was way bigger than I thought it would be. Luckily, I have Justin Eckley and Nolan Roberts here with me. They know exactly when to get on and off the buses and subways, seeing as how they've been living here for the last 3 months. I'm having so much fun with these guys though. We lived together for the last two years at the Antioch House...a place to which I will be returning shortly. There's only 5 days left for me here in Europe...then it's home, and from there, a job and classes again. I'm excited for that though. Vienna's cool, and having the guys here to show me it is even cooler, but I'm 100% ready to be home. Christmas is almost here. I need a good dose of eggnog, a fireplace, and some good Christmas tunes. Anyone up for some of that when I get home? Well, we've gone downtown, and so far, that's about it. There's a going away dinner party tonight for the guys that I get to go to, but other than that, it's been the most relaxing part of my trip. It's a bummer that I don't speak German, seeing as how everyone here does, but the good thing is that everyone here also speaks very good English. These European countries blow us out of the water when it comes to how many languages the average person speaks.
Well, that's about it...just a little update. Ireland turned out to be so cool, and I recommend it to everyone. When I get the chance, some day in the future, I will definately be going back there. I'll see you all in a few short days! Miss you!
So I find myself now, about 5 days after my last entry, in the city of Vienna, Austria. This city was way bigger than I thought it would be. Luckily, I have Justin Eckley and Nolan Roberts here with me. They know exactly when to get on and off the buses and subways, seeing as how they've been living here for the last 3 months. I'm having so much fun with these guys though. We lived together for the last two years at the Antioch House...a place to which I will be returning shortly. There's only 5 days left for me here in Europe...then it's home, and from there, a job and classes again. I'm excited for that though. Vienna's cool, and having the guys here to show me it is even cooler, but I'm 100% ready to be home. Christmas is almost here. I need a good dose of eggnog, a fireplace, and some good Christmas tunes. Anyone up for some of that when I get home? Well, we've gone downtown, and so far, that's about it. There's a going away dinner party tonight for the guys that I get to go to, but other than that, it's been the most relaxing part of my trip. It's a bummer that I don't speak German, seeing as how everyone here does, but the good thing is that everyone here also speaks very good English. These European countries blow us out of the water when it comes to how many languages the average person speaks.
Well, that's about it...just a little update. Ireland turned out to be so cool, and I recommend it to everyone. When I get the chance, some day in the future, I will definately be going back there. I'll see you all in a few short days! Miss you!
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Back in Dublin
I kissed the Blarney stone today and will probably have cold sores for the rest of my life...oh well. But I'm back in Dublin right now.
Today was fun. I saw some castles and we did a lot of driving. I did a very needed load of laundry at the hostel this evening too...let me say that again...MUCH NEEDED! Beer spills on sweatshirts are never pleasent.
I went and saw the Narnia movie last night...alone, but it was SO worth it. I just thought I'd let you all know that.
I'm leaving in the morning for London, and I don't know what I'm going to do. Meaning, will I stay 25 hours in the airport, or will I go to that cheap bed in breakfast again? I liked that place (that's where I stayed last time I flew into London). After that, back to Santander, Spain to collect the rest of everything else...namely my precious guitar, and then I head out again. This time for Frankfurt. Get this...I have like another 24 hours in that airport before I finally arrive in Vienna...my final European destination. I have 10 days left here. I've had fun, but I'm ready to come home.
But tonight...I'm going to go have one last pint of Guinness and sit and enjoy some live Irish folksongs played in a pub. Can't wait to see you all again!
Today was fun. I saw some castles and we did a lot of driving. I did a very needed load of laundry at the hostel this evening too...let me say that again...MUCH NEEDED! Beer spills on sweatshirts are never pleasent.
I went and saw the Narnia movie last night...alone, but it was SO worth it. I just thought I'd let you all know that.
I'm leaving in the morning for London, and I don't know what I'm going to do. Meaning, will I stay 25 hours in the airport, or will I go to that cheap bed in breakfast again? I liked that place (that's where I stayed last time I flew into London). After that, back to Santander, Spain to collect the rest of everything else...namely my precious guitar, and then I head out again. This time for Frankfurt. Get this...I have like another 24 hours in that airport before I finally arrive in Vienna...my final European destination. I have 10 days left here. I've had fun, but I'm ready to come home.
But tonight...I'm going to go have one last pint of Guinness and sit and enjoy some live Irish folksongs played in a pub. Can't wait to see you all again!
Friday, December 09, 2005
This place is amazing
ok, I've finnaly found internet access again. There's quite a lot to explain since I left. I won't be putting up any images at this point unfortunately, but hey...the stories will hopefully be enough.
To begin, I should probably try to remember where I ended last time. I've left Belfast, and have gone to about 4 more cities since then. The Giant's Causeway was amazing, and the wintery sunshine came out nearly all day for us. I have the sweetest pictures, but man...so frustrating...I can't post them right now. Just imagine this...Ireland's rugged landscape and ragging sea, green hills that roll like the ocean waves and break off suddenly at the water's edge. Then, picture me with my tin whistle playing a tune that sounds something like Danny Boy and prancing around the slippery rocks, wet from the sea mist. That's what's going on here.
Anyways, back to the story. I went to a city called Derry and learned a ton more about the Catholic and Protestant history there. All that interests me so much. I think I'm going to read more about it when I come home. And believe me when I say, no one not from here really knows what happened or is still happening. We're all basically misinformed about the truth of most of it. That's not a story for this blog though. So, we listened to some good Irish music in the pubs...we do that most every night it seems like. Oh, side note...I saw the grave of William Yeats after we left Derry. I don't even know much about him, nor have I read any of his stuff, but I know some of you will find that interesting.
I stayed the night in Galway, but we didn't do to much there. Later on we went to the Cliffs of Moher, and THAT was incredible. Something like 800 foot cliff faces that fall straight into the sea. And mom, I got VERY close to the edge! We took this ferry across the Shannon River, I think it was, and I came to find out that Ireland has dolphin. We saw them jumping out in front of the boat. Craziest thing. We went to Kerry today and went to a beach for a little while, where I pumped out some more tunes on my tin whistle. We're in Killarney right now, and I already like it here a lot. I think this is the town in that Bing Crosby song called Christmas in Killarney...if so, that's cool. But I have to cut this off...I'm paying to use the internet...so, laters all!
To begin, I should probably try to remember where I ended last time. I've left Belfast, and have gone to about 4 more cities since then. The Giant's Causeway was amazing, and the wintery sunshine came out nearly all day for us. I have the sweetest pictures, but man...so frustrating...I can't post them right now. Just imagine this...Ireland's rugged landscape and ragging sea, green hills that roll like the ocean waves and break off suddenly at the water's edge. Then, picture me with my tin whistle playing a tune that sounds something like Danny Boy and prancing around the slippery rocks, wet from the sea mist. That's what's going on here.
Anyways, back to the story. I went to a city called Derry and learned a ton more about the Catholic and Protestant history there. All that interests me so much. I think I'm going to read more about it when I come home. And believe me when I say, no one not from here really knows what happened or is still happening. We're all basically misinformed about the truth of most of it. That's not a story for this blog though. So, we listened to some good Irish music in the pubs...we do that most every night it seems like. Oh, side note...I saw the grave of William Yeats after we left Derry. I don't even know much about him, nor have I read any of his stuff, but I know some of you will find that interesting.
I stayed the night in Galway, but we didn't do to much there. Later on we went to the Cliffs of Moher, and THAT was incredible. Something like 800 foot cliff faces that fall straight into the sea. And mom, I got VERY close to the edge! We took this ferry across the Shannon River, I think it was, and I came to find out that Ireland has dolphin. We saw them jumping out in front of the boat. Craziest thing. We went to Kerry today and went to a beach for a little while, where I pumped out some more tunes on my tin whistle. We're in Killarney right now, and I already like it here a lot. I think this is the town in that Bing Crosby song called Christmas in Killarney...if so, that's cool. But I have to cut this off...I'm paying to use the internet...so, laters all!
Monday, December 05, 2005
Change of plans...
Last night was amazing. I met some americans at my hostel and we walked literally 5 minutes down the road to this pub where they were playing live Celtic music. I love that lar de dar music so sticking much. The musicians were all gathered round a table and just jamming with each other. There was this older lady on the guitar (late fifties maybe), and various other instrumentalists...such as the guy on the fiddle, and the other guy on the irish penny whistle. I actually had my very own whistle sitting comfortable in my right pocket the whole time, and it was just itching to get in on the action, but I refrained from the embarrasment. That was pretty cool though. Actually, that was AMAZING! Live Irish music with at a pub...enough said.
So I woke up the next morning at about 7:00 am to hope next door to see if there was room for me in that Paddy Wagon tour thingy. Fortunately, there was, so I've completely changed my Ireland plans. Currently, I'm in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I have an official tour guide, and lots of Australian and New Zealand friends I've made so far on the trip with me. Today, we hoped into these black colored taxi tour guide things, led by older gentelman from Belfast, and we got a tour of the Catholic and Protestant sides of town, and the history behind their war. It was sad and depressing, but such an eye openning experience. As little as 15 years ago, it was basically an all out war between these people. Also, I saw a hotel, the Europa, which had been bombed by the IRA 31 times in total, and we drove by a bank where a sucessful robbery occured where something like 26 million pounds were stolen. And did you know, Belfast is where the Titanic was designed and constructed? Cool city. But tomorrow I'm headed to this geological formation known as the Giant's Caussway. Google image search it if you want to check out what it looks like.
Overall though, I'm pretty dang excited with what's happening. I'm no longer traveling Ireland alone. I've made a dozen friends, and I'm going to be guided through the majority of the island. I'm so stinkin blessed right now. See you guys soon.
So I woke up the next morning at about 7:00 am to hope next door to see if there was room for me in that Paddy Wagon tour thingy. Fortunately, there was, so I've completely changed my Ireland plans. Currently, I'm in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I have an official tour guide, and lots of Australian and New Zealand friends I've made so far on the trip with me. Today, we hoped into these black colored taxi tour guide things, led by older gentelman from Belfast, and we got a tour of the Catholic and Protestant sides of town, and the history behind their war. It was sad and depressing, but such an eye openning experience. As little as 15 years ago, it was basically an all out war between these people. Also, I saw a hotel, the Europa, which had been bombed by the IRA 31 times in total, and we drove by a bank where a sucessful robbery occured where something like 26 million pounds were stolen. And did you know, Belfast is where the Titanic was designed and constructed? Cool city. But tomorrow I'm headed to this geological formation known as the Giant's Caussway. Google image search it if you want to check out what it looks like.
Overall though, I'm pretty dang excited with what's happening. I'm no longer traveling Ireland alone. I've made a dozen friends, and I'm going to be guided through the majority of the island. I'm so stinkin blessed right now. See you guys soon.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
A bit more on Dublin
Here's something cool that happened...
I was out walking the streets of this town last night...you know, past cathedrals, street musicians, pubs and the like...and I walked past a homeless man asking for spare change. I walked by him, got about 30 feet away, turned around and looked back at him, and just felt like the Lord wanted me to go show some compassion and buy him some food. I hesitated for a long time, but I ended up walking back up to him, asking how he was doing, and if I could get him a sandwich from the nearby grocery store. Anyways, I ended up grabbing him a sandwich, and a cup of tea for both him and I. I walked back over to him and we sat there together and just had conversation. His name was Paddy (how Irish is that for crying out loud), and he was 57. I talked with him about Dublin, and then religion, and I got his take on God. It wasn't really me witnessing to him, but I just got the chance to love on this bum.
So, after a while, a kinda tipsy guy stopped to give some change while Paddy and I where sitting on the sidewalk sipping our teas, and the guy (Rob was his name...26 years old) told us how people nowadays do a horrible job looking after the elderly, and about an incident he had today helping an older lady out. He was a pretty nice guy. I mentioned to him that I was planning on swinging over to Galway in a few days, and he got super excited because he's from the town. He ended up giving me some advice about what to see there. After several minutes, Rob invited me to a pint with his buddies and him. I was super excited about the prospect spending some time with some locals, so I went with him gladly, saying goodbye the Paddy.
From there, I went to a bar packed wall to wall and Rob bought me a pint of Guinness, my first in Ireland. It was such a treat. It was a little hard to hear in that bar at points, and Rob;s accent mixed with alcohol was a bit difficult to decipher at times, but I considered that the fun of it. So that's how my night ended. I walk back to the hostel later on and found myself crashing in my bed. Unfortunately, some german guys came in a little later and they were drunk and noisy. They were doing Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions while everyone was trying desperately to sleep. This was at like 3 in the morning. Also, there was a rather large fellow sleeping in the top bunk of a bed next to mine, and that man had a talent for snoring. He was a champ, but I was worried that he was going to suffocate or explode...one of the two.
The next morning, I walked down the street near my hostel to go to a Christian church I had seen the day before, and I ended up going into one that was much closer that I hadn't seen. I totally heard the worship, and went on in. It was awesome to get to worship with the Irish locals. They sang songs that I knew, and then the pastor gave a sermon on CS Lewis, and his life as a Christian, and how he became one. He gave it because of the new The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie, which is coming out soon. Afterwards we had more sweet worship, with the full band feel still (I really got reminded of home going to this church). Then I met a few people after the service, and we went an grabbed lunch together at this place, and I got some mexican...a burrito actually...but it fell short of my Mexican food standards.
Ok, this is getting long. But I met a girl in that group of young Irish Christian who told me about something called Paddywagon tours...or somthing like that. I'm pretty much changing my original plans now, and heading to every single part of Ireland and Northern Ireland now...all in a 6 day tour with a big group. It's going to cost a little extra, but I'll see every part of the country now...ending up back in Dublin on the 10th...where I'll go the airport on the next day and fly out. Here's the route I'm taking...starting and ending in Dublin I'm excited. But hey...that's all I got for now. Hope you all enjoyed this update! Laters
I was out walking the streets of this town last night...you know, past cathedrals, street musicians, pubs and the like...and I walked past a homeless man asking for spare change. I walked by him, got about 30 feet away, turned around and looked back at him, and just felt like the Lord wanted me to go show some compassion and buy him some food. I hesitated for a long time, but I ended up walking back up to him, asking how he was doing, and if I could get him a sandwich from the nearby grocery store. Anyways, I ended up grabbing him a sandwich, and a cup of tea for both him and I. I walked back over to him and we sat there together and just had conversation. His name was Paddy (how Irish is that for crying out loud), and he was 57. I talked with him about Dublin, and then religion, and I got his take on God. It wasn't really me witnessing to him, but I just got the chance to love on this bum.
So, after a while, a kinda tipsy guy stopped to give some change while Paddy and I where sitting on the sidewalk sipping our teas, and the guy (Rob was his name...26 years old) told us how people nowadays do a horrible job looking after the elderly, and about an incident he had today helping an older lady out. He was a pretty nice guy. I mentioned to him that I was planning on swinging over to Galway in a few days, and he got super excited because he's from the town. He ended up giving me some advice about what to see there. After several minutes, Rob invited me to a pint with his buddies and him. I was super excited about the prospect spending some time with some locals, so I went with him gladly, saying goodbye the Paddy.
From there, I went to a bar packed wall to wall and Rob bought me a pint of Guinness, my first in Ireland. It was such a treat. It was a little hard to hear in that bar at points, and Rob;s accent mixed with alcohol was a bit difficult to decipher at times, but I considered that the fun of it. So that's how my night ended. I walk back to the hostel later on and found myself crashing in my bed. Unfortunately, some german guys came in a little later and they were drunk and noisy. They were doing Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions while everyone was trying desperately to sleep. This was at like 3 in the morning. Also, there was a rather large fellow sleeping in the top bunk of a bed next to mine, and that man had a talent for snoring. He was a champ, but I was worried that he was going to suffocate or explode...one of the two.
The next morning, I walked down the street near my hostel to go to a Christian church I had seen the day before, and I ended up going into one that was much closer that I hadn't seen. I totally heard the worship, and went on in. It was awesome to get to worship with the Irish locals. They sang songs that I knew, and then the pastor gave a sermon on CS Lewis, and his life as a Christian, and how he became one. He gave it because of the new The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie, which is coming out soon. Afterwards we had more sweet worship, with the full band feel still (I really got reminded of home going to this church). Then I met a few people after the service, and we went an grabbed lunch together at this place, and I got some mexican...a burrito actually...but it fell short of my Mexican food standards.
Ok, this is getting long. But I met a girl in that group of young Irish Christian who told me about something called Paddywagon tours...or somthing like that. I'm pretty much changing my original plans now, and heading to every single part of Ireland and Northern Ireland now...all in a 6 day tour with a big group. It's going to cost a little extra, but I'll see every part of the country now...ending up back in Dublin on the 10th...where I'll go the airport on the next day and fly out. Here's the route I'm taking...starting and ending in Dublin I'm excited. But hey...that's all I got for now. Hope you all enjoyed this update! Laters
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Dublin
I'm here. Don't know anyone yet...well one guy who was cooking next to me in the kitchen this evening at the hostel. Listen...I couldn't wait to go to Ireland for the longest time, but my intense desire to go home is sorta tainting this Irish excursion just a bit. I'll have to hunker down and enjoy every single second. Not gonna waste this opportunity. But man am I anxious for home. Internet time is short...thus, so is this entry.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
This is the end of my adventures in Spain.
Hey everyone,
This is my last night in Santander. It´s a little sad, but I´m ready to come home...I´ve been ready for a while now. I´ll be updating you from Ireland on Saturday or Sunday hopefully (assuming I find a place to use the internet). If anyone would like me to catch them a leprechaun or find them a four leave clover or anything so I can bring it back to them, now´s your chance to ask! I´ll see what I can do, but I heard they started cracking down on leprechaun immigration to the states, so I´ll have a heck of a time getting him past customs. They are very small though. Best of luck to all my college friends on your finals! I´m officially on Christmas Break!!!!
This is my last night in Santander. It´s a little sad, but I´m ready to come home...I´ve been ready for a while now. I´ll be updating you from Ireland on Saturday or Sunday hopefully (assuming I find a place to use the internet). If anyone would like me to catch them a leprechaun or find them a four leave clover or anything so I can bring it back to them, now´s your chance to ask! I´ll see what I can do, but I heard they started cracking down on leprechaun immigration to the states, so I´ll have a heck of a time getting him past customs. They are very small though. Best of luck to all my college friends on your finals! I´m officially on Christmas Break!!!!
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
back to the blog
Sorry I haven´t updated in a while.
Alright...well the Thanksgiving dinner we had went really well, although my pie wasn´t exactly the success we were all hoping it would be. Maybe it just didn´t have the right look. Well, you be the judge. Here´s the final product. Mmmm, and here´s me barbarically ripping into a slice.
What else? It´s been a while since I´ve updated...I´m just trying to think about what all´s happened.
Let me just try and recall the week. Ok, I´ll start with the dinner on Thursday. We all brought something. At first, I didn´t think there was going to be enough food, but as it turned out, I ate until I was full, as did everyone who wanted to. We ate at this restaurant/bar that was entirely too small. The desserts alone took up nearly the entire table space we had available for ALL the food. We had to move them into another room just to fit the dinner foods.
The Friday after was spent being gloriously lazy. I hung out all weekend in Santander with my American crew and ended up saying goodbye for what will probably be the last time to a lot of locals I´ve met. It´s a little sad saying goodbyes. I guess it always will be, especially since there´s a 99% chance I won´t see these people ever again in my life.
Also, I´ve finally had a decent amount of homework this week. A paper was due, along with studying for final exams. Still, it´s pretty mild compared to everything I´ve ever done back home. But there´s not too much left here for me...2 easy finals. After that, I´m outta here. Thursday night will be my last day here in Santander. Sad, but I´m ready to come home. Now, understand something, when I leave here, I´m not going straight home. No, no, no. I´m leaving for Ireland on Friday, where I will actually arrive on Saturday (I´m flying to Stansted in London, and from there, after a long airport wait, it´s off to Dublin). So, when you wake up on Saturday, know this...I´ll be in Dublin.
Now my plans in Ireland are as follows:
I´m going to Dublin for 4 days, Galway for 3, and Cork for 2, more or less. I am super super SUPER excited about this. The downside is that I´m traveling alone. I´ll actually have the chance to meet up for one day with a guy I´ve met here in Santander, but other than that, I´m going to have to rely on my ability to spark conversation to meet random strangers. But that just might be the fun of it. How strange will that be though that I´ll be in Ireland, knowing that I know no one in the entire nation. Lonely thought.
Well, after that, I´m actually flying back into the Santander airport, just to fly out again the same day to Frankfurt...and the next day, fly into Vienna, Austria to spend a week there with Justin Eckley and Nolan Roberts, two guys I´ve lived with for 2 years at the Antioch house. Then it´s back home...for good. There´s no studying abroad in France for me this year. No money for it. But I´m confident I´ll get to go there one of these days.
So that´s about it. Oh! They´ve turned the city´s Christmas light decorations on finally! They do a pretty good job, but I miss the front lawns with 80 lit up raindeer and the icicle lights that hang from gutters. I also miss all those crazy houses that have no color scheme whatsoever where any and every christmas light that can be found has been strung up...like our house. Yep, I miss that too. Here´s some pictures of the big tree they have lit up right outside where I live.
Plaza Tree 1
Plaza Tree 2
Last night, I took a break from writing an essay and played a hour of soccer with some guys at the university. It was fun. Cold, but fun. I´m realizing now that all the stairs I´ve been walking to and from school every day do not equate into being in running shape, which I am not currently in. Plus, I´m not to good with a soccer ball. Oh well, it was fun though. Got a few shots of us too.
Alex, Manuele (my Italian friend) and I
Me, Juan Carlos, Marco and Coki
Final thought...with December upon us, I invested some euros in a warm jacket. Good thing too, cause it just got COLD over here. From what I´ve been told, the Willamette Valley´s not so warm at the moment either.
K, I miss you all. 21 days until I´m home. See you then!
Alright...well the Thanksgiving dinner we had went really well, although my pie wasn´t exactly the success we were all hoping it would be. Maybe it just didn´t have the right look. Well, you be the judge. Here´s the final product. Mmmm, and here´s me barbarically ripping into a slice.
What else? It´s been a while since I´ve updated...I´m just trying to think about what all´s happened.
Let me just try and recall the week. Ok, I´ll start with the dinner on Thursday. We all brought something. At first, I didn´t think there was going to be enough food, but as it turned out, I ate until I was full, as did everyone who wanted to. We ate at this restaurant/bar that was entirely too small. The desserts alone took up nearly the entire table space we had available for ALL the food. We had to move them into another room just to fit the dinner foods.
The Friday after was spent being gloriously lazy. I hung out all weekend in Santander with my American crew and ended up saying goodbye for what will probably be the last time to a lot of locals I´ve met. It´s a little sad saying goodbyes. I guess it always will be, especially since there´s a 99% chance I won´t see these people ever again in my life.
Also, I´ve finally had a decent amount of homework this week. A paper was due, along with studying for final exams. Still, it´s pretty mild compared to everything I´ve ever done back home. But there´s not too much left here for me...2 easy finals. After that, I´m outta here. Thursday night will be my last day here in Santander. Sad, but I´m ready to come home. Now, understand something, when I leave here, I´m not going straight home. No, no, no. I´m leaving for Ireland on Friday, where I will actually arrive on Saturday (I´m flying to Stansted in London, and from there, after a long airport wait, it´s off to Dublin). So, when you wake up on Saturday, know this...I´ll be in Dublin.
Now my plans in Ireland are as follows:
I´m going to Dublin for 4 days, Galway for 3, and Cork for 2, more or less. I am super super SUPER excited about this. The downside is that I´m traveling alone. I´ll actually have the chance to meet up for one day with a guy I´ve met here in Santander, but other than that, I´m going to have to rely on my ability to spark conversation to meet random strangers. But that just might be the fun of it. How strange will that be though that I´ll be in Ireland, knowing that I know no one in the entire nation. Lonely thought.
Well, after that, I´m actually flying back into the Santander airport, just to fly out again the same day to Frankfurt...and the next day, fly into Vienna, Austria to spend a week there with Justin Eckley and Nolan Roberts, two guys I´ve lived with for 2 years at the Antioch house. Then it´s back home...for good. There´s no studying abroad in France for me this year. No money for it. But I´m confident I´ll get to go there one of these days.
So that´s about it. Oh! They´ve turned the city´s Christmas light decorations on finally! They do a pretty good job, but I miss the front lawns with 80 lit up raindeer and the icicle lights that hang from gutters. I also miss all those crazy houses that have no color scheme whatsoever where any and every christmas light that can be found has been strung up...like our house. Yep, I miss that too. Here´s some pictures of the big tree they have lit up right outside where I live.
Plaza Tree 1
Plaza Tree 2
Last night, I took a break from writing an essay and played a hour of soccer with some guys at the university. It was fun. Cold, but fun. I´m realizing now that all the stairs I´ve been walking to and from school every day do not equate into being in running shape, which I am not currently in. Plus, I´m not to good with a soccer ball. Oh well, it was fun though. Got a few shots of us too.
Alex, Manuele (my Italian friend) and I
Me, Juan Carlos, Marco and Coki
Final thought...with December upon us, I invested some euros in a warm jacket. Good thing too, cause it just got COLD over here. From what I´ve been told, the Willamette Valley´s not so warm at the moment either.
K, I miss you all. 21 days until I´m home. See you then!
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
The time is drawing near
Well, I only have 8 days left in Santander. Tonight, I´m trying my hand at baking an apple pie for our Thanksgiving Dinner our group has planned. It promises to be a huge disaster, but luckily I´ve enlisted the help of a kitchen savvy girl to give me a hand. I hear we´re going to be at a restaurant and have it all to ourselves. I also heard that they´re going to put a football game on for us...broadcasted all the way from America. We´ll see. But after these next 8 days...DUBLIN! For those of you who know I have an Irish penny whistle, and for those of you who have heard me play it, know this...I´ve got it with me here in Spain, and it´s going to Ireland with me. Picture it now, me, me sitting on the Blarney Stone, whistling away to Danny Boy or some other Irish classic. Everyone will be dancing a jig, and the Leprechauns will all come out to whip up some magical feast. It will be just like I´ve always imagined it.
Well, to give everyone an update...I won´t be going back to France anymore. I just don´t have the money. I´m going back to OSU for the next two terms and I´ll be working a lot. Hopefully I can save enough money to go to France sometime during the next school year. It´s going to happen, just not now. So, this blog might die down after December. Nope...guarenteed it will.
K, that´s it. Thanks everyone who leaves comments! I love reading them. Laters.
Well, to give everyone an update...I won´t be going back to France anymore. I just don´t have the money. I´m going back to OSU for the next two terms and I´ll be working a lot. Hopefully I can save enough money to go to France sometime during the next school year. It´s going to happen, just not now. So, this blog might die down after December. Nope...guarenteed it will.
K, that´s it. Thanks everyone who leaves comments! I love reading them. Laters.
Monday, November 21, 2005
LONDON!
Alright, here´s the post that should have happened yesterday.
Well, I took off From Santander by bus on Thursday evening with 5 girls from my program. We arrived a little more than an hour later in the city of Bilbao, where we headed to the airport and got on our plane. Here´s a picture out the window midflight. That bright ball isn´t the sun, that´s the moon above the wing.
Flying over big cities at night is unlike anything I´ve ever seen. You can see every road lined with street lights, you can see every city block intersection. If the cars were big enough, you could see their headlights rolling along too. The most amazing part is that you can see NOTHING else. There´s just these puddles of golden light spackled across a black landscape. And from so high up, they look like forest fires burning and spreading. But these cities are NOT small. It´s deceptive. When we finally made our way over London, the puddle of golden fire turning into a burning ocean. It was MASSIVE! From so high up, I felt like it was all a miniature model of something real, but the scale of it was too big for me to really wrap my mind around. All I can say is that is was beautiful. Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry.
When we landed we got off the plane to something like -3º Celsuis. I don´t know the exact tempurature that is, but 0º C is 32º F. It was below freezing. We´ll just put it that way. Fortunately I had a hoodie, a windbreaker, and a beany. I was wearing my basketball shorts and flip flops on my lower half though. Just kidding. Good old Pumas and Jeans. I had a really nice flight. It was only a 2 hour trip. The rest was a 45 minute train ride to downtown London to the Liverpool Street Station. Once there, I said goodbye to the girls and headed off to the entrance to the tube (subway), which was mere feet away. I grabbed the right line and headed off toward Uxbridge, the small town just outside of London where my good friend Theo (a British guy who studied abroad in Eugene with us during our senior year of high school at North Eugene) was studying to get his Masters. It was super late, and hardly any one was riding the subway. I kept reading these signs that said the subway closed at 12:45 AM, and I was getting worried, cause I was about 40 minutes away still, and it was already 12:30. I really thought I was going to have to get off and take a taxi the rest of the way. Fortunately, I have little understanding of how subways work, so when 1:00 AM finally rolled around and we were still headed to Uxbridge, I figured I´d get there without getting kicked off. Apparantly they stop letting you into the subway at that time. But wow, it was an empty subway line. And when I stepped off, and was outside again...it was COLD! London is a cold place this time of year.
At this point, I was in Uxbridge, and had a vague idea of where my friend Theo was staying. He lives in the dorms at Brunel University. I had seen a town map on the computer before I left, so I knew which direction to go, but I wanted to be sure. So, I asked a night shift construction worker guy (I have no idea what he actually does) where Brunel was, and he didn´t understand was I was saying at first, then a light bulb clicked on in his head, and he shouted up at his buddy in this super thick cockney accent that almost made me laugh outloud where the university was, then the guy responded in the same flawless inner London accent. It was a beautiful sound. They pointed me in the right direction, so off I went, down a street in downtown Uxbridge at 1:30 AM.
I wasn´t that cold, seeing as how I was walking at a good pace, keeping myself pretty warm. When I got to Brunel, I ran into a bit of a problem. Theo had told me to look for a pond, then a big building behind it, then the phone booths to the left of that building and to call him from there, where he would then come out and get me, but the sad thing was, I couldn´t find a pond. I looked for a solid half an hour and still...nothing. I was thinking that maybe I was on the wrong side of campus, so I started walking to get to the other side, when I ran into some people coming back from the bars or something. I asked them where the building called Wilfred Brown was and they weren´t responding to me, like I was a bum or something, and I think I scared some of the poor girls that were walking cause they cringed away from me (refer back to the Bilbao picture to see what they saw) but one of them pointed back to where I had been looking so I was feeling stupid that I had missed it. So I turned around and kept looking for another 15 minutes and still, nothing. I was tired of looking by that point, and it was getting awefully cold, so I decided I´d try once more to find the other side of campus and I ran into somebody in the same spot again, and asked this guy, and he told me to keep walking the way I was, and I´d find everything I was looking for. I was on the wrong side of campus. That dumb girl lied to me outright. I must have really scared her or something. People will point anywhere when they´re scared, you know.
Finally, Theo, who had fallen asleep waiting for me, came out to get me, and we went back to his dorm, and we talked for a few minutes. We were so tired though, that we decided to save 4 years of catching up that we had to do for the morning. So I laid down on the hard floor and slept.
The next morning began my first official day in England. The feeling was so strange. After having been in Spain for 2 months, I was used the idea that foreign countries have different languages, both in speach, and wherever there are words to be read. But being in Uxbridge felt like home, but what a twisted joke that was. I was still as far away from Oregon as ever before. I couldn´t quite get over it. Well, Theo and I took off to go to grab some food on campus, and then hit downtown Uxbridge. We ended up going to go see the new Harry Potter movie. Afterwards, we walked around the malls and such, and I took the classic picture in front of their red telephone booths. We stopped at the grocery store on the way out of town, and picked up a few items to last the weekend. The sun was setting as we walked back, and the cold was returning fast. We cooked ourselves some mini pizzas and dined like kings.
Well, I took off From Santander by bus on Thursday evening with 5 girls from my program. We arrived a little more than an hour later in the city of Bilbao, where we headed to the airport and got on our plane. Here´s a picture out the window midflight. That bright ball isn´t the sun, that´s the moon above the wing.
Flying over big cities at night is unlike anything I´ve ever seen. You can see every road lined with street lights, you can see every city block intersection. If the cars were big enough, you could see their headlights rolling along too. The most amazing part is that you can see NOTHING else. There´s just these puddles of golden light spackled across a black landscape. And from so high up, they look like forest fires burning and spreading. But these cities are NOT small. It´s deceptive. When we finally made our way over London, the puddle of golden fire turning into a burning ocean. It was MASSIVE! From so high up, I felt like it was all a miniature model of something real, but the scale of it was too big for me to really wrap my mind around. All I can say is that is was beautiful. Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry.
When we landed we got off the plane to something like -3º Celsuis. I don´t know the exact tempurature that is, but 0º C is 32º F. It was below freezing. We´ll just put it that way. Fortunately I had a hoodie, a windbreaker, and a beany. I was wearing my basketball shorts and flip flops on my lower half though. Just kidding. Good old Pumas and Jeans. I had a really nice flight. It was only a 2 hour trip. The rest was a 45 minute train ride to downtown London to the Liverpool Street Station. Once there, I said goodbye to the girls and headed off to the entrance to the tube (subway), which was mere feet away. I grabbed the right line and headed off toward Uxbridge, the small town just outside of London where my good friend Theo (a British guy who studied abroad in Eugene with us during our senior year of high school at North Eugene) was studying to get his Masters. It was super late, and hardly any one was riding the subway. I kept reading these signs that said the subway closed at 12:45 AM, and I was getting worried, cause I was about 40 minutes away still, and it was already 12:30. I really thought I was going to have to get off and take a taxi the rest of the way. Fortunately, I have little understanding of how subways work, so when 1:00 AM finally rolled around and we were still headed to Uxbridge, I figured I´d get there without getting kicked off. Apparantly they stop letting you into the subway at that time. But wow, it was an empty subway line. And when I stepped off, and was outside again...it was COLD! London is a cold place this time of year.
At this point, I was in Uxbridge, and had a vague idea of where my friend Theo was staying. He lives in the dorms at Brunel University. I had seen a town map on the computer before I left, so I knew which direction to go, but I wanted to be sure. So, I asked a night shift construction worker guy (I have no idea what he actually does) where Brunel was, and he didn´t understand was I was saying at first, then a light bulb clicked on in his head, and he shouted up at his buddy in this super thick cockney accent that almost made me laugh outloud where the university was, then the guy responded in the same flawless inner London accent. It was a beautiful sound. They pointed me in the right direction, so off I went, down a street in downtown Uxbridge at 1:30 AM.
I wasn´t that cold, seeing as how I was walking at a good pace, keeping myself pretty warm. When I got to Brunel, I ran into a bit of a problem. Theo had told me to look for a pond, then a big building behind it, then the phone booths to the left of that building and to call him from there, where he would then come out and get me, but the sad thing was, I couldn´t find a pond. I looked for a solid half an hour and still...nothing. I was thinking that maybe I was on the wrong side of campus, so I started walking to get to the other side, when I ran into some people coming back from the bars or something. I asked them where the building called Wilfred Brown was and they weren´t responding to me, like I was a bum or something, and I think I scared some of the poor girls that were walking cause they cringed away from me (refer back to the Bilbao picture to see what they saw) but one of them pointed back to where I had been looking so I was feeling stupid that I had missed it. So I turned around and kept looking for another 15 minutes and still, nothing. I was tired of looking by that point, and it was getting awefully cold, so I decided I´d try once more to find the other side of campus and I ran into somebody in the same spot again, and asked this guy, and he told me to keep walking the way I was, and I´d find everything I was looking for. I was on the wrong side of campus. That dumb girl lied to me outright. I must have really scared her or something. People will point anywhere when they´re scared, you know.
Finally, Theo, who had fallen asleep waiting for me, came out to get me, and we went back to his dorm, and we talked for a few minutes. We were so tired though, that we decided to save 4 years of catching up that we had to do for the morning. So I laid down on the hard floor and slept.
The next morning began my first official day in England. The feeling was so strange. After having been in Spain for 2 months, I was used the idea that foreign countries have different languages, both in speach, and wherever there are words to be read. But being in Uxbridge felt like home, but what a twisted joke that was. I was still as far away from Oregon as ever before. I couldn´t quite get over it. Well, Theo and I took off to go to grab some food on campus, and then hit downtown Uxbridge. We ended up going to go see the new Harry Potter movie. Afterwards, we walked around the malls and such, and I took the classic picture in front of their red telephone booths. We stopped at the grocery store on the way out of town, and picked up a few items to last the weekend. The sun was setting as we walked back, and the cold was returning fast. We cooked ourselves some mini pizzas and dined like kings.
At night, we headed out to the...get this...on campus bar. We grabbed some pints and enjoyed the company of a few of Theo´s friends and some horrible karaoke. There was apparantly some live music in the...get this one too...on campus club. So, Theo and I paid an entrance fee, and headed in to dance it up to the underground sounds of British hip hop and some drum and bass techno stuff. The speakers were ripping my insides to smitherines, but the live DJ´s and free style rapper were pretty awesome. I couldn´t hear a thing when we finally left. We headed back to his place and I crashed with a bang onto the floor and slept again.
This is a long one, I know.
The next day, we ate a small breakfast, and headed out to Theo´s basketball game, near central London. From there, we took the tube into the heart of downtown, and this is where the true sightseeing began. Before, everything I had experienced was a local, small town English atmoshpere. I hung out with college students my age and took part in the local hang out. Now though, this was the city, and my camera came out in full swing (more to come on that, and how my camera´s swing had a dead battery midway through).
DOWNTOWN LONDON...
This place was BIG! The frist thing we went to when we got off the subway was St. Paul´s Cathedral. The dome of it looked exactly like our capitol building in D.C. I couldn´t believe how big this thing was. It was too late to go inside, but the outside was good enough.
That last shot's from on the Millenium Bridge. Notice the couple kissing in the foreground. I´m pretty much a professional photographer by now...I mean, just look at that shot! Anyways, I was pretty much in awe of what I was seeing as I stood on the bridge that stretched across the River Thames. It was amazing...especially at night with the moon hanging low over the city. Theo and I continued on, but I had to get one hard core photo of us and the cathedral before moving on. The Tate Modern Art Museum was looming in front of us, but I didn´t really want to go in. It would have been nice to go see a DaVinci or two, but I didn´t have that many pounds to spare. So we took off walking along the river, and I was about to take another picture when...GASP!...my camera battery died. I hadn´t even gotten to Big Ben yet! We were in the middle of this beautiful tree-lined path, lit up with blue and white Christmas lights, and a guitarist was plucking away to the tune of My Funny Valentine, while this girl was singing it with such a beautiful jazzy voice, that I nearly wept not being able to take any pictures.
We moved on though. I was extremely distraught, but we had a plan. We were just going to go find a café and sit down to a cup of tea and a battery charge, provided we could sit next to an outlet. But this plan was going no where fast, as all the cafés were closing. So, we walked around looking for a suitable place for a charge (while simultaneously searching for a fish and chips restaurant, which we never found). Finally, I looked into this arcade, and thought to myself, "Hmmm, there´s got to be a spare plug-in in there somewhere." So we walk in, and I didn´t have to look very hard, because right there near the entrance was my golden outlet. I then proceed to take out all the equipment for charging my carmera...British plug adaptor, power converter, battery charger, camera battery...and I assembled them like some kind of James Bond assembling his sniper rifle from different parts of his 3 piece suit. My outfit was a little less glamourous, though (notice my British spelling). Anyways, we stood there for about 20 minutes worth of charging with our mouths dropped wide open, watching these British dudes play Dance Dance Revolution (DDR for short. Note to older generation: That´s the game where you use your feet and the rhythm of the song to tap the right footpad when prompted to by the game). The kid playing it in that picture was so good, he stopped looking after a while and just turned his back on the screen, while still hitting every beat. He was out of control. I felt sorry that his level of nerdiness and lack of a life had gone to such extremes. We got a good laugh out of the situation though. Plus my battery charged for the next pictures.
We went out to this HUGE ferris wheel type thing called the London Eye, and from there, I could finally see Big Ben. I´d been waiting for that moment for a long time.
The background´s still pretty dark in those last 2 photos...sorry. But wow! I was there! I didn´t have too much else to see on my sightseeing shopping list, so we headed over to Oxford Street to see some Christmas lights. I finally snapped a shot of a double decker bus while we were there, too. What´s London without a picture of red telephone booths and a double decker bus? Well, we were starving, so we stepped into a grocery store to get a snack, and lo and behold...A Krispy Kreme donut section. I was simultaneously overjoyed and horrified. I disagree with Krispy Kremes going global, but I was glad to see them. After the quick bite to eat, we grabbed a bus (sat on the top section of the double decker) and took off to go meet Theo´s brother, Ben, at a bar. His brother´s girlfriend, his brother, Theo and I, all took off after a while, and we stayed at Theo´s brother´s flat, as they call them, and ended up getting a nice cup of British tea, and a another free place to stay at night for me.
The next morning, we got up early, because I had to get to the Liverpool Street Station to take the train back to the airport for my Flight back to Santander. It was as cold as it ever was that morning, but the foggy park we walked through at dawn was amazing...absolutely brilliant, as Theo would say. The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful...just a trip back to my home, which will actually only be my home here in Spain for 10 mores days as of right now. I got a couple good shots over England while we were flying away (this time in the daylight). I´m not sure, but I might have capture a shot of the White Cliffs of Dover, too.
The flight back into Santander was an easy one. We hopped on a bus, headed back into downtown (I had met back up with the girls at Stansted airport in London), and went back to our houses from there. I have to say, the weekend trip to see Theo and London has been a major highlight of this whole studying abroad experience. I was so in awe that I was actually in England. It was everything I saw that was so amazing...the way they drive on the other side, the way the steering wheel is on the other side of the car, the way the words are the same, but some things have different names, the way they all have some form of British accent or another, the double decker buses, the telephone booths...everthing! It was an experience from every movie scene I´ve ever watched that had to do with London. What a treat! I missed you all so much while I was there. I´m glad I had Theo to help guide me around town, and just to hang out with, but I´m ready to see you all again. Like I said, I have 10 more days here in Spain, then it´s off to Dublin for about 9 days, and then Vienna, Austria for about a week more. After that, you'll all see me again...in the flesh! Well, that´s my trip. Comments? Questions? This has been the longest blog entry of all time...K, Laters!
Oh, and Amanda Carter, I miss you a ton!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Back from London!
Well, this will be brief. I have loads of pictures, but no time to post them all. Some of the things that happened with my friend Theo and I were hilarious. I´ll be sure...tomorrow...to update you all. Sorry that this is all you get. Here, have a teaser picture...the is the trailer building the hype. Check it out!!!
BIG BEN!!!
K, more tomorrow! Until then, I miss you all!
BIG BEN!!!
K, more tomorrow! Until then, I miss you all!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Ok...sorry I disappeared
Actually, when I last wrote that my next big adventure was to London...I was wrong. I forgot about a 3 day field trip my class and I were slated to take. We went to Burgos, Segovia, and Toledo. I have a TON of pictures.
We left from Santander at about 8 in the morning. I can´t remember how long we drove because I slept for most of it. I think it was something like 3 or 4 hours. When we arrived in Burgos, the weather was nice, but really, really cold. As soon as we got off, we walked over to the cathedral.
Here it is:
Burgos Cathedral 1
Burgos Cathedral 2
Burgos Cathedral 3
Burgos Cathedral 4
It was a pretty cool place. We had to hurry out of there towards the end though, because we were schedueled to hit up a local monastery, where we would be served a lunch cooked by the monks. It was tasty, to say the least, and we got to sample the wine they made right there in the monastery.
After that, we took off for Segovia. When we got there it was night, but you could still see the castle and the aqueduct all lit up. I´ll get to those later. But we crashed there for the night after walking around town for a while. It was super cold there too. I´m glad I brought my beany, but I´m realizing now that I´m not quite prepared for how cold it´s going to get here (sorry mom, you were right...I shoulda packed more warm stuff).
Anyways, the next day, we woke up bright and early, but not to the hotel´s phone call, cause it never came. Good thing I set my watch. Oh yeah, I had shaved the night before, after having gone a week or so without doing so. That might make some of you happier now...Amy. So, we hopped on the bus after a decent breakfast of cereal and hot chocolate, and we took off for Todelo. Now, when we got there, this tour guide jumped on the bus with us. He was awesome. He was a very hip Spaniard who spoke super good English, but had that definately Spanish accent. He was hilarious. It suprised me how many American pop culture references he made.
This city is appartly more than 2,000 years old, but nobody´s sure exactly how old. There was the cathedral, and the castle, and oh...if you´re big into art, we went and saw works by El Greco. For instance...this painting. I didn´t take that photo...I found it online. They don´t let you take photos of stuff like that. But yeah, it was a huge painting. Covered a whole wall.
Anyways, we went to the amazing spot where we took some pictures of the city:
Toledo 1
Toledo 2
Toledo 3
Toledo 4
Toledo 5
That last one is the picture of the corner building where we had lunch that day. Café Real I think it was called.
After that, we kinda walked around a bit. We saw other small things, but there´s more to tell, so I´ll jump ahead just a little.
The rain started as we were leaving, so we were glad to jump back on the bus. We watched movies on the bus to kill time, but I can never get into them. By the time we got home (I think it was a 5 hour bus ride or something like that. Again, I sleep too much to know for reals.) we were all a pretty tired and cranky.
It was dark when we got back to our hotel in Segovia. By the way, this was the view out my window. We were all hanging out in one of the rooms, watching the Spanish national soccer team play Slovakia or somebody, when Alex looks out the window and says, "Hey dudes, it´s snowing." No body said anything, cause we either didn´t hear him, or didn´t believe him. But he told us again, and I jumped over to the window and saw the flakes for myself. It was snowing in Segovia.
We took off to go find some trouble to make in the streets. I caught a picture of a builing I thought you all should see...the cathedral.
The day after, went out on a walking tour of the city. The scene was amazing. Snow had fallen all night and stuck. So here are some of the pretty pictures of my trip so far.
Snowy church
Snowy Cathedral
This is amazing. This is Sydney, me, and Nellie in front of a nearly 2,000 year old aqueduct. This thing is incredible. There was no mortar used in its construction. It´s simply stone on perfectly placed/cut stone...well, as simple as that can get anyways. Its own weight is what keeps all the stones in place. WOW! Amazing.
We stopped there for a long time but moved on to the castle after a few minutes of snow ball fights and pictures. Oh, I have to stop here and tell you how fun it was to be throwing snowballs at one another. I hit girls with snowballs. That was fun. They were all whining about it, so I figured I had to knock the whine out of them with some more snow balls. I recruited several other willing young men to help me, and soon, we knock that whine right out of them. They finally got mad enough at us to grab some snow balls themselves and participate in our war. Mission Accomplished.
Ok, moving on to the castle (the snowball fights lasted all the way til we got there. It was great.). This castle...I don´t have much to say about it, you should just look at some pictures, and let them speak for me. We climbed the tower in front and got some amazing pictures of the rest of the town.
From the Tower 1
From the Tower 2
From the Tower 3
From the Tower 4
From the Tower 5
Group picture from the Tower
So that´s just about that. We headed back to Santander later that evening...driving across snow covered Spanish fields. I played in the snow in Spain. I think I´ll have that memory for a long time. Sorry to all you who were dying for an update. There´s a big one. Right out of the blue. So I´m leaving for London on Thursday night. Wish me luck. Til then, hasta luego.
We left from Santander at about 8 in the morning. I can´t remember how long we drove because I slept for most of it. I think it was something like 3 or 4 hours. When we arrived in Burgos, the weather was nice, but really, really cold. As soon as we got off, we walked over to the cathedral.
Here it is:
Burgos Cathedral 1
Burgos Cathedral 2
Burgos Cathedral 3
Burgos Cathedral 4
It was a pretty cool place. We had to hurry out of there towards the end though, because we were schedueled to hit up a local monastery, where we would be served a lunch cooked by the monks. It was tasty, to say the least, and we got to sample the wine they made right there in the monastery.
After that, we took off for Segovia. When we got there it was night, but you could still see the castle and the aqueduct all lit up. I´ll get to those later. But we crashed there for the night after walking around town for a while. It was super cold there too. I´m glad I brought my beany, but I´m realizing now that I´m not quite prepared for how cold it´s going to get here (sorry mom, you were right...I shoulda packed more warm stuff).
Anyways, the next day, we woke up bright and early, but not to the hotel´s phone call, cause it never came. Good thing I set my watch. Oh yeah, I had shaved the night before, after having gone a week or so without doing so. That might make some of you happier now...Amy. So, we hopped on the bus after a decent breakfast of cereal and hot chocolate, and we took off for Todelo. Now, when we got there, this tour guide jumped on the bus with us. He was awesome. He was a very hip Spaniard who spoke super good English, but had that definately Spanish accent. He was hilarious. It suprised me how many American pop culture references he made.
This city is appartly more than 2,000 years old, but nobody´s sure exactly how old. There was the cathedral, and the castle, and oh...if you´re big into art, we went and saw works by El Greco. For instance...this painting. I didn´t take that photo...I found it online. They don´t let you take photos of stuff like that. But yeah, it was a huge painting. Covered a whole wall.
Anyways, we went to the amazing spot where we took some pictures of the city:
Toledo 1
Toledo 2
Toledo 3
Toledo 4
Toledo 5
That last one is the picture of the corner building where we had lunch that day. Café Real I think it was called.
After that, we kinda walked around a bit. We saw other small things, but there´s more to tell, so I´ll jump ahead just a little.
The rain started as we were leaving, so we were glad to jump back on the bus. We watched movies on the bus to kill time, but I can never get into them. By the time we got home (I think it was a 5 hour bus ride or something like that. Again, I sleep too much to know for reals.) we were all a pretty tired and cranky.
It was dark when we got back to our hotel in Segovia. By the way, this was the view out my window. We were all hanging out in one of the rooms, watching the Spanish national soccer team play Slovakia or somebody, when Alex looks out the window and says, "Hey dudes, it´s snowing." No body said anything, cause we either didn´t hear him, or didn´t believe him. But he told us again, and I jumped over to the window and saw the flakes for myself. It was snowing in Segovia.
We took off to go find some trouble to make in the streets. I caught a picture of a builing I thought you all should see...the cathedral.
The day after, went out on a walking tour of the city. The scene was amazing. Snow had fallen all night and stuck. So here are some of the pretty pictures of my trip so far.
Snowy church
Snowy Cathedral
This is amazing. This is Sydney, me, and Nellie in front of a nearly 2,000 year old aqueduct. This thing is incredible. There was no mortar used in its construction. It´s simply stone on perfectly placed/cut stone...well, as simple as that can get anyways. Its own weight is what keeps all the stones in place. WOW! Amazing.
We stopped there for a long time but moved on to the castle after a few minutes of snow ball fights and pictures. Oh, I have to stop here and tell you how fun it was to be throwing snowballs at one another. I hit girls with snowballs. That was fun. They were all whining about it, so I figured I had to knock the whine out of them with some more snow balls. I recruited several other willing young men to help me, and soon, we knock that whine right out of them. They finally got mad enough at us to grab some snow balls themselves and participate in our war. Mission Accomplished.
Ok, moving on to the castle (the snowball fights lasted all the way til we got there. It was great.). This castle...I don´t have much to say about it, you should just look at some pictures, and let them speak for me. We climbed the tower in front and got some amazing pictures of the rest of the town.
From the Tower 1
From the Tower 2
From the Tower 3
From the Tower 4
From the Tower 5
Group picture from the Tower
So that´s just about that. We headed back to Santander later that evening...driving across snow covered Spanish fields. I played in the snow in Spain. I think I´ll have that memory for a long time. Sorry to all you who were dying for an update. There´s a big one. Right out of the blue. So I´m leaving for London on Thursday night. Wish me luck. Til then, hasta luego.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Just another Tuesday
I was going to play soccer with some local guys today...you know, the street ball style pick up game...but they schedueled it during when we had class. Man! Would have been great. Would have been awesome. But...my shoes stink as it is. I don´t need to be playing soccer in them.
Well, last night I had a long discussion about religion with my host mom. It was actually about how I consider lust a sin, and she does not. She has a "whatever feels right" type attidute. She wont read the Bible 'cause she doubts its validity and thinks she wouldn´t understand it anyways. I have a hard time convincing her that the Bible is valid. She always wants me to read between its lines. Not gonna do it. She´s lost in something Catholic that has nothing to do with Jesus. Sad day. I´ll be praying for her. Join me in that task if you´re up for it. I know she needs all the prayers she can get.
Well, not much else to say. My next big adventure isn´t for nine more days, when I take off for London. Yikes! If anyone reading this knows Theo Blossom, I´ll be staying with him for 3 days. I thought that might interest some of you. Oh you know what...I might be going to a city called Segovia this weekend with my American group. Yeah, I think I am. That actually might be something I want to find out for sure.
In other news...I learned that to really have a good accent, you have to say words like hablado, or cerrado like this...hablao, cerrao. Basically, you drop the d. Only in Spain though. Mexico...no. Never there! Don´t do it there anybody...no don´t! So basically, if you have a hard time reading Spanish, the word hablado (ah-BLAH-doe) becomes ah-BLAH-oh. And cerrado (thay-RAH-doe) becomes thay-RAH-oh. It´s like 'little' is pronounced more like 'liddle' when spoken in normal everyday speach. That bored everyone.
Well, last night I had a long discussion about religion with my host mom. It was actually about how I consider lust a sin, and she does not. She has a "whatever feels right" type attidute. She wont read the Bible 'cause she doubts its validity and thinks she wouldn´t understand it anyways. I have a hard time convincing her that the Bible is valid. She always wants me to read between its lines. Not gonna do it. She´s lost in something Catholic that has nothing to do with Jesus. Sad day. I´ll be praying for her. Join me in that task if you´re up for it. I know she needs all the prayers she can get.
Well, not much else to say. My next big adventure isn´t for nine more days, when I take off for London. Yikes! If anyone reading this knows Theo Blossom, I´ll be staying with him for 3 days. I thought that might interest some of you. Oh you know what...I might be going to a city called Segovia this weekend with my American group. Yeah, I think I am. That actually might be something I want to find out for sure.
In other news...I learned that to really have a good accent, you have to say words like hablado, or cerrado like this...hablao, cerrao. Basically, you drop the d. Only in Spain though. Mexico...no. Never there! Don´t do it there anybody...no don´t! So basically, if you have a hard time reading Spanish, the word hablado (ah-BLAH-doe) becomes ah-BLAH-oh. And cerrado (thay-RAH-doe) becomes thay-RAH-oh. It´s like 'little' is pronounced more like 'liddle' when spoken in normal everyday speach. That bored everyone.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Trip to some smaller cities
Holy Smokes.
Ok, first of all, look at this picture I took walking back from class the other day. It´s been really windy lately, and the temperature is sure dropping, but hey, this sky was a little angry.
Alright, so we took off last Thursday afternoon for several hours on a field trip to some small cities east of Santander. They were important because of some old buildings you could find there. So, the first town (with which I fell in love) was called Comillas. This little town looked new enough to be nice, and old enough to be the perfect picture of the Spanish pueblo you could imaging. It was a beautiful cross between new developement and classic look and feel of Spain. It kind of reminded me of San Clemente, California for some reason. It was somewhere I definately want to return to. It was even a pretty ugly day out. That didn´t matter though. When driving about to leave the city, we were driving past this amazing, but small, cemetary when all of a sudden, on our right the hills disappeared, and the raging ocean popped into view, splashing massive waves against a sheer cliff face. Then, a second later, the coolest beach came into view that look like it was something out of a movie. Cookie cutter Spanish scene is what it was. Someone told us this place was packed with people during the summer months. Aparently everyone else sees the beauty in Comillas. But anyways, here was the palace we visited. It wasn´t too big, but it was pretty. It was built like 100 years ago by a guy who got rich off the slave trade and decided he needed to build a people´s college (located behind me in that shot of the palace) in order to undo his wrongs done through the slave trading. Classic example of how lost most of the Catholics are. It´s all about works for them. At least the college got built. One girl I know here said it´s been her favorite builging she´s gone in here in Spain. We didn´t get to go in though...sad.
Also, just next door to this palace, we got the chance to look at another Gaudi building. This one´s called "El Capricho". It´s pretty cool what all this guy did.
After we left Comillas, the weather really went south. We hit the city of Santillana del Mar next. It turned out that I left my windbreaker at home...along with my sweater, so it was just me and the cold rain. Actually it wasn´t that cold, and I missed the rain. It made me feel like I was in Oregon, minus the cobblestone streets from the Middle Ages, and the Roman Cathedral. This next city we visited was ok, but nothing like my new little favorite...Comillas. But the cathedral there was pretty cool I suppose. It was a classic example of Roman cathedral architecture, if that´s interesting to anybody. I just like the adjacent cloister. Here´s a couple shots of it after dark. Cloister 1. Cloister 2. Here´s a picture also of my history of Spanish art teacher. Her name´s Ana Belén. She´s super super nice. The lucky lady remembered her umbrella.
Well, after the small cathedral there in town, we all went and got some warm drinks in a little café bar nearby. I got some really really REALLY thick hot chocolate stuff. It was no Swiss Miss though. I´ll tell you that much. Some things we do better in the US. Hot chocolate is one of them. Really old buildings is not. But here´s some fun pictures from the Bar. This one´s of Danica and myself. This next one´s me, Laura and Lisel. Lisel, by the way is doing a very extravagent pose...she´s normally the nicest, most easy going and laughing person you could meet. She´s not the glamour snob she looks like in this photo. Haha, not a chance. This last one´s just a look at the interior of the bar, as we were all stepping up to the plate to order our drinks.
Not much else to tell really. Actually, something big. Man! This is actually huge. So I´m still planning on going to Angers, France to study for 5 months after Spain, but as of right now, I´m several thousand dollars short. This means that I either get a big loan from the bank, or I don´t go this year, which would bring me right back to OSU to finish out these next two terms while I get a job and work really hard to stay on top financially. So that´s something serious I would invite you all to pray for me about. Ok, well that´s it for now. Hit me back with some tasty comments!
Ok, first of all, look at this picture I took walking back from class the other day. It´s been really windy lately, and the temperature is sure dropping, but hey, this sky was a little angry.
Alright, so we took off last Thursday afternoon for several hours on a field trip to some small cities east of Santander. They were important because of some old buildings you could find there. So, the first town (with which I fell in love) was called Comillas. This little town looked new enough to be nice, and old enough to be the perfect picture of the Spanish pueblo you could imaging. It was a beautiful cross between new developement and classic look and feel of Spain. It kind of reminded me of San Clemente, California for some reason. It was somewhere I definately want to return to. It was even a pretty ugly day out. That didn´t matter though. When driving about to leave the city, we were driving past this amazing, but small, cemetary when all of a sudden, on our right the hills disappeared, and the raging ocean popped into view, splashing massive waves against a sheer cliff face. Then, a second later, the coolest beach came into view that look like it was something out of a movie. Cookie cutter Spanish scene is what it was. Someone told us this place was packed with people during the summer months. Aparently everyone else sees the beauty in Comillas. But anyways, here was the palace we visited. It wasn´t too big, but it was pretty. It was built like 100 years ago by a guy who got rich off the slave trade and decided he needed to build a people´s college (located behind me in that shot of the palace) in order to undo his wrongs done through the slave trading. Classic example of how lost most of the Catholics are. It´s all about works for them. At least the college got built. One girl I know here said it´s been her favorite builging she´s gone in here in Spain. We didn´t get to go in though...sad.
Also, just next door to this palace, we got the chance to look at another Gaudi building. This one´s called "El Capricho". It´s pretty cool what all this guy did.
After we left Comillas, the weather really went south. We hit the city of Santillana del Mar next. It turned out that I left my windbreaker at home...along with my sweater, so it was just me and the cold rain. Actually it wasn´t that cold, and I missed the rain. It made me feel like I was in Oregon, minus the cobblestone streets from the Middle Ages, and the Roman Cathedral. This next city we visited was ok, but nothing like my new little favorite...Comillas. But the cathedral there was pretty cool I suppose. It was a classic example of Roman cathedral architecture, if that´s interesting to anybody. I just like the adjacent cloister. Here´s a couple shots of it after dark. Cloister 1. Cloister 2. Here´s a picture also of my history of Spanish art teacher. Her name´s Ana Belén. She´s super super nice. The lucky lady remembered her umbrella.
Well, after the small cathedral there in town, we all went and got some warm drinks in a little café bar nearby. I got some really really REALLY thick hot chocolate stuff. It was no Swiss Miss though. I´ll tell you that much. Some things we do better in the US. Hot chocolate is one of them. Really old buildings is not. But here´s some fun pictures from the Bar. This one´s of Danica and myself. This next one´s me, Laura and Lisel. Lisel, by the way is doing a very extravagent pose...she´s normally the nicest, most easy going and laughing person you could meet. She´s not the glamour snob she looks like in this photo. Haha, not a chance. This last one´s just a look at the interior of the bar, as we were all stepping up to the plate to order our drinks.
Not much else to tell really. Actually, something big. Man! This is actually huge. So I´m still planning on going to Angers, France to study for 5 months after Spain, but as of right now, I´m several thousand dollars short. This means that I either get a big loan from the bank, or I don´t go this year, which would bring me right back to OSU to finish out these next two terms while I get a job and work really hard to stay on top financially. So that´s something serious I would invite you all to pray for me about. Ok, well that´s it for now. Hit me back with some tasty comments!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Ok, more on Barcelona
So I think I left off with the first day. The second day I took off into the city on my own. I ended up seeing an huge cathdral. You wouldn´t believe how big this sucker was. I wandered around on narrow little gothic style streets for a couple of hours. Before I ran into some amigos, and we headed over the the Picasso Museum. I took a photo of one the paintings. It wasn´t allowed, but I snuke one. Punch me in the arm for it if you remember to when I get back. But hey, it wasn´t even a good picture anyways. But Picasso did in fact paint it. We grabbed a bite to eat in a restaurant downtown afterwards. Eh, the food was ok. I had some Sangria, which is a very tasty wine juice concoction. The two other guys in the picture are David and Jamie. Oh shoot! Before I met up with the rest of the group, I went down and strolled the beach of the Mediterranean Sea for a little while. Here´s proof. We also saw a cool traditional Spanish dance in a square outside another cathedral. The were dancing to the music being played by a band nearby. Not too much else happened that day. I went back to the hostel later on and met some international people, and we ended up hanging out. One of them was Bart, and he´s from the Netherlands. The girl in the photo is Andrea. She´s a fellow beaver. Her and a girl named Sara from our group got the hostel together.
The next day, Sunday, I went with Bart to the FC Barcelona soccer game. Apparently, the stadium is one of the top 2 or 3 biggest in the WORLD!!! Here are some pictures:
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
That pretty much comprised an entire day. It cost me 46€ to get in. Yikes...that´s about $50 or so. But it was so worth it. Barcelona won 5 to zero. Incredible.
Well, I went into the Sagrada Familia on Monday, and finally glimpsed the word of Barcelona from it´s spires. Here´s a couple. It was so cool to be inside that thing.
Sagrada 1
Sagrada 2
I´m just about caught up to the present. I just took more pictures today from an excursion we went on. I´ll get those up soon! For now, sorry my written details are so low, I´m pressed for time. I´ll up the blog detail later on...hopefully.
The next day, Sunday, I went with Bart to the FC Barcelona soccer game. Apparently, the stadium is one of the top 2 or 3 biggest in the WORLD!!! Here are some pictures:
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
That pretty much comprised an entire day. It cost me 46€ to get in. Yikes...that´s about $50 or so. But it was so worth it. Barcelona won 5 to zero. Incredible.
Well, I went into the Sagrada Familia on Monday, and finally glimpsed the word of Barcelona from it´s spires. Here´s a couple. It was so cool to be inside that thing.
Sagrada 1
Sagrada 2
I´m just about caught up to the present. I just took more pictures today from an excursion we went on. I´ll get those up soon! For now, sorry my written details are so low, I´m pressed for time. I´ll up the blog detail later on...hopefully.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Back in Santander
The trip to Barcelona turned out to be horrible.
Just kidding.
I had an amazing time. So much was seen and experienced that I might have to spread this out over a couple entries. I have some amazing pictures though. Can´t wait for you all to see them. One of the big highlights of the weekend was going to a soccer game for the best pro team in Spain at the biggest staduim ever (F.C. Barcelona versus Real Sociedad). It was AMAZING! But there´s so much more to tell. And I don´t think I can tell it all today. But...I will space it out over the next few days. For now, I´ll get a few up.
Me in My Hostel
Out the window of my hostel
Sagrada Familia 1
The Sagrada Familia is AMAZING. There´s no good way to describe it. You´ll hopefully be able to see what I mean from the pictures I took of it.
Around Town 1
Me and the Sagrada Familia 1
McDonald´s in Spain
Yeah...this is my first fast food in a while. I was nice...not gonna lie.
Sagrada Familia 3
Intricate detail of the Sagrada Familia
Me and the Sagrada Familia 2
Me and the Sagrada Familia 3
Parc Güell 1
This Park (and the Sagrada Familia) was designed by Antonio Gaudi, a super talented architect. So much of his stuff was here in Barcelona
Parc Güell 2
Parc Güell 3
Barcelona in the background 1
These were the best views I got of the city, they were from inside Parc Güell, which was on a good sized hill.
Barcelona in the background 2
Parc Güell 4
On the Lion
Here´s a lion that was in front of the Christopher Columbus monument. I´d like to see this one used in a poster for the upcoming Narnia film...The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Ok, there´s a lot right there, but that´s just the tip of the iceburg.
I have a ton of written details and mini stories just waiting to be told, but at a latter time. I gotta get going. Laters.
Just kidding.
I had an amazing time. So much was seen and experienced that I might have to spread this out over a couple entries. I have some amazing pictures though. Can´t wait for you all to see them. One of the big highlights of the weekend was going to a soccer game for the best pro team in Spain at the biggest staduim ever (F.C. Barcelona versus Real Sociedad). It was AMAZING! But there´s so much more to tell. And I don´t think I can tell it all today. But...I will space it out over the next few days. For now, I´ll get a few up.
Me in My Hostel
Out the window of my hostel
Sagrada Familia 1
The Sagrada Familia is AMAZING. There´s no good way to describe it. You´ll hopefully be able to see what I mean from the pictures I took of it.
Around Town 1
Me and the Sagrada Familia 1
McDonald´s in Spain
Yeah...this is my first fast food in a while. I was nice...not gonna lie.
Sagrada Familia 3
Intricate detail of the Sagrada Familia
Me and the Sagrada Familia 2
Me and the Sagrada Familia 3
Parc Güell 1
This Park (and the Sagrada Familia) was designed by Antonio Gaudi, a super talented architect. So much of his stuff was here in Barcelona
Parc Güell 2
Parc Güell 3
Barcelona in the background 1
These were the best views I got of the city, they were from inside Parc Güell, which was on a good sized hill.
Barcelona in the background 2
Parc Güell 4
On the Lion
Here´s a lion that was in front of the Christopher Columbus monument. I´d like to see this one used in a poster for the upcoming Narnia film...The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Ok, there´s a lot right there, but that´s just the tip of the iceburg.
I have a ton of written details and mini stories just waiting to be told, but at a latter time. I gotta get going. Laters.
Friday, October 28, 2005
In Barcelona!
Here I find myself sitting at my hostel in the very large and intimidating city of Barcelona. I don´t have the ability to put any pictures up quite yet (I can´t even charge my darn camera, what with my having plug-in complications and all). But I love it here. It´s a HUGE city. But if you know anything about modern art, then you´d know the name Antonio Gaudi. I´ve seen a ton of his architectural designs today. One is the Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia. Absolutely amazing...but unfinished. I´m going down to spend time on the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea tomorrow. Should be a better than average day I suppose. You know...the Sea and all...I guess. Or, I could be rendered speechless for hours at the amazing things I´m seeing! That one actually sounds about right. So, I´ll be able to spend more time detailing this trip later, but for now, I´m safe, I´m happy, and I´m in Barcelona, Spain. That still blows my mind.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Concert in Spain!
Hey,
The concert was awesome! I played like 11 songs, and everyone seemed to have a really good time. I have some pictures too:
Concert 1
Concert 2
Concert 3
I also got a good shot with me and few of my fellow american classmates before the show:
Classmates
I really enjoyed myself last night. How many people can say they´ve played a show in Spain? It´s now my privilege to be able to claim that one. Yes!
Well, Tuesday night I went to a pizza place with my classmates because we were celebrating like 4 peoples birthdays. My teachers even came. But yeah, here´s my teacher Manolo and I. He´s crazy, but in the very best way! As you can tell from the picture, he´s a very animated guy (he´s the one that danced to the Sinatra in class). Anyways, here he is:
Manolo and I
Also, I started a once a week meeting with a girl at the university. Her name´s Marta. She´s pretty nice. She´s on the far right in this picture. So far, we just bounce back and forth between speaking english and spanish, so we both get to practice. She was a little hesitant to come at first seeing as how there were going to be like 25 americans scarfing down pizza and only about 4 actual Spaniards, but she ended up having fun. Probably because crazy-in-a-good-way Manolo always keeps things lively and entertaining.
Me, Katie, and Marta (with Alex in the background)
K, well I have to go. I´m headed for Barcelona in a few hours and I haven´t packed yet. I don´t know if I´ll be able to update at all for a few days, but I for sure will when I get back on Tuesday morning! Laters all!
The concert was awesome! I played like 11 songs, and everyone seemed to have a really good time. I have some pictures too:
Concert 1
Concert 2
Concert 3
I also got a good shot with me and few of my fellow american classmates before the show:
Classmates
I really enjoyed myself last night. How many people can say they´ve played a show in Spain? It´s now my privilege to be able to claim that one. Yes!
Well, Tuesday night I went to a pizza place with my classmates because we were celebrating like 4 peoples birthdays. My teachers even came. But yeah, here´s my teacher Manolo and I. He´s crazy, but in the very best way! As you can tell from the picture, he´s a very animated guy (he´s the one that danced to the Sinatra in class). Anyways, here he is:
Manolo and I
Also, I started a once a week meeting with a girl at the university. Her name´s Marta. She´s pretty nice. She´s on the far right in this picture. So far, we just bounce back and forth between speaking english and spanish, so we both get to practice. She was a little hesitant to come at first seeing as how there were going to be like 25 americans scarfing down pizza and only about 4 actual Spaniards, but she ended up having fun. Probably because crazy-in-a-good-way Manolo always keeps things lively and entertaining.
Me, Katie, and Marta (with Alex in the background)
K, well I have to go. I´m headed for Barcelona in a few hours and I haven´t packed yet. I don´t know if I´ll be able to update at all for a few days, but I for sure will when I get back on Tuesday morning! Laters all!
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Everyone´s invited.
Hey, good news: I´ve been slated to play a coffee shop concert here in Santander next Wednesday night. Actually, it´s a bar. And since everything starts late here, I´ll be openning up at 10:30. This just might turn out to be a very memorable night. Me, my acoustic guitar, and some laid back vocals. Every song in English, and nobody knowing any of them...seeing as how they´re originals. Oh well. This opportunity never comes for some people. I´m playing a show in SPAIN!!! Everyone´s invited of course. It´s at Bhengala. See you there?...maybe?
I just booked a flight to London for a 4 day weekend I have mid November. Some fellow Americanos and I are headed out. All that´s left is to book a hostel. From there, we do whatever whenever in one of the biggest, craziest, most expensive cities in the whole world. Who am I that I should have opportunities like this? The flight´s costing me about $50 round trip. I´m going to go down to the bus station today and buy a bus ticket to Barcelona for a long weekend we have at the end of this month. That should be cool. I´ll have lots of pictures to post for everyone.
Speaking of pictures...let´s see what I got.
I took a class field trip yesterday to some ancient caves. (picture of the sign...terribly uninteresting) The word they use is 'prehistoric' but I don´t buy that crap. They were definately old...very, very old. But the cool thing was seeing the paintings on the rock faces. The second cave I went to wasn´t even the real one. It´s been closed down, so no one can visit it, but they reconstructed a perfect duplicate of the origin. Lame, i know, but apparently necessary. Something about preserving the art.
We got the chance to 'hunt' while we were there. We threw the spears at the targets, with the assistance of something called a propulsor, and wow, that thing increase the speed of the spear by a ton. The physics of the lever and all that. More output, less effort. However that all works. I wasn´t very good at it. Here I am in action though.
Jason, the mighty hunter
Oh yeah, these were our targets.
And here´s the countryside...and here´s me posing.
That´s all I´ve got as far as images go. I know I still need to get those Euromullets captured on camera. Last night I saw like 7 of them walk by at once, and so wished I had my camera on me.
Ok, well I need a nap, and then a shower. Laters.
I just booked a flight to London for a 4 day weekend I have mid November. Some fellow Americanos and I are headed out. All that´s left is to book a hostel. From there, we do whatever whenever in one of the biggest, craziest, most expensive cities in the whole world. Who am I that I should have opportunities like this? The flight´s costing me about $50 round trip. I´m going to go down to the bus station today and buy a bus ticket to Barcelona for a long weekend we have at the end of this month. That should be cool. I´ll have lots of pictures to post for everyone.
Speaking of pictures...let´s see what I got.
I took a class field trip yesterday to some ancient caves. (picture of the sign...terribly uninteresting) The word they use is 'prehistoric' but I don´t buy that crap. They were definately old...very, very old. But the cool thing was seeing the paintings on the rock faces. The second cave I went to wasn´t even the real one. It´s been closed down, so no one can visit it, but they reconstructed a perfect duplicate of the origin. Lame, i know, but apparently necessary. Something about preserving the art.
We got the chance to 'hunt' while we were there. We threw the spears at the targets, with the assistance of something called a propulsor, and wow, that thing increase the speed of the spear by a ton. The physics of the lever and all that. More output, less effort. However that all works. I wasn´t very good at it. Here I am in action though.
Jason, the mighty hunter
Oh yeah, these were our targets.
And here´s the countryside...and here´s me posing.
That´s all I´ve got as far as images go. I know I still need to get those Euromullets captured on camera. Last night I saw like 7 of them walk by at once, and so wished I had my camera on me.
Ok, well I need a nap, and then a shower. Laters.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Went to a bible study today.
Wow,
I was blessed to get the chance to bible study it up with some fellow Americans today. I´ll be bringing my guitar next time so we can do worship. There were six of us, and one girl was a devoute catholic who is ALL mixed up in what she believes, and has a very week faith in the things she does. We had a really good talk with her afterwards. Her name´s Martha if you want to mention her in your prayers.
Praise the Lord though! Bible study in Europe!
I was blessed to get the chance to bible study it up with some fellow Americans today. I´ll be bringing my guitar next time so we can do worship. There were six of us, and one girl was a devoute catholic who is ALL mixed up in what she believes, and has a very week faith in the things she does. We had a really good talk with her afterwards. Her name´s Martha if you want to mention her in your prayers.
Praise the Lord though! Bible study in Europe!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Plane Tickets
Nothing crazy to report except that I´ve been going on a shopping spree these last couple days.
I bought a ticket for Dublin, Ireland that leaves Dec. 2nd and a ticket to Vienna, Austria that leaves Dec. 13th.
I hate spending money...but I can´t pass up these traveling opportunities.
I´d better go open up my guitar case and start playing the street corners for small change.
I bought a ticket for Dublin, Ireland that leaves Dec. 2nd and a ticket to Vienna, Austria that leaves Dec. 13th.
I hate spending money...but I can´t pass up these traveling opportunities.
I´d better go open up my guitar case and start playing the street corners for small change.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Prepare Yourself For What You´re About To See
This image will either leave you speechless or render you absolutely furious. I say that last bit because it´s a big file, and unless you´ve got fast internet, you´d better start downloading it now, while you go work out at the gym or go winter clothes shopping, or start a game of chess with that old friend, or whatever you like to do that you know will take a few hours, ´cause this one is a monster. I might have exaggerated, but I know I´ll be home again before my family gets it downloaded. Here it is¨
Intense panoramic of Santander and the Bay
This photo is courtesy of a close friend of mine at the Antioch House by the name of Josiah DePaoli. A class act with a knack for Photoshopping. (Note to older generation: That´s where you take images and do cool computer stuff to them so that they become even cooler. I don´t have enough space or time to also define the word ¨cool¨ for you though...sorry.) See if you can find the hidden image of Adam Rothrock within the picture.
Well let´s see, what´s there to tell as of today, Tuesday...
I went to a basketball game in this fairly large stadium that was unfortunately a little boring, even with overtime and a nail biter ending. I bite my nails anyways (ignore that comment mom) and the level of competition just wasn´t that great. I so wished I was at a beaver game. One funny thing was that all the boys around the age of 5 to 10 were up on the last row running around with those inflateable bats beating each other senseless. I ended up getting some pizza with friends after that. Not a bad night, considering I didn´t have to pay for the game. But yeah, what else...Oh yeah, I have a few more pictures to show.
One is of my my host grandma (Abuela I call her). Her names Flora. I had Begoña, my host mom, take the picture, and wow...what a fiasco! We seriously took the same picture about 5 times cause grandma wouldn´t smile long enough for the red eye flash to take the picture, and Begoña could center us, and the dog was jumping in and out of every other photo attempt. We were all having a good laugh though. Flora was always super concerned that her slip would show, and she continually fluffed her hair with the movie star glamour motion. But she was a crack up. Here it is though:
Flora and I
Also, I have a picture of my room now. About time, sorry.
My Chambers
And a few other just kinda random shots. The dog made it into a couple again.
The Bay at Night
The Bay at Twilight
Typical Cup of Coffee
Bizca on the Carpet
Bizca the Sphinx
I case anyone was wondering...this blog is going to be about my adventures in Spain, but only until Dec 2nd. After that, I´ll be traveling a bit, so I don´t know how much internet access I´ll have for about a week. I´ll be back home in Oregon for almost the entire month of January, then it´s off to Europe again. This time, though, I´ll be in a city in France called, Angers. I won´t be coming home until the start of June, so look forward to several more month of what I would hope you all would consider quality blogging. Thanks for commenting those of you who do. I´ll keep the updates coming.
Intense panoramic of Santander and the Bay
This photo is courtesy of a close friend of mine at the Antioch House by the name of Josiah DePaoli. A class act with a knack for Photoshopping. (Note to older generation: That´s where you take images and do cool computer stuff to them so that they become even cooler. I don´t have enough space or time to also define the word ¨cool¨ for you though...sorry.) See if you can find the hidden image of Adam Rothrock within the picture.
Well let´s see, what´s there to tell as of today, Tuesday...
I went to a basketball game in this fairly large stadium that was unfortunately a little boring, even with overtime and a nail biter ending. I bite my nails anyways (ignore that comment mom) and the level of competition just wasn´t that great. I so wished I was at a beaver game. One funny thing was that all the boys around the age of 5 to 10 were up on the last row running around with those inflateable bats beating each other senseless. I ended up getting some pizza with friends after that. Not a bad night, considering I didn´t have to pay for the game. But yeah, what else...Oh yeah, I have a few more pictures to show.
One is of my my host grandma (Abuela I call her). Her names Flora. I had Begoña, my host mom, take the picture, and wow...what a fiasco! We seriously took the same picture about 5 times cause grandma wouldn´t smile long enough for the red eye flash to take the picture, and Begoña could center us, and the dog was jumping in and out of every other photo attempt. We were all having a good laugh though. Flora was always super concerned that her slip would show, and she continually fluffed her hair with the movie star glamour motion. But she was a crack up. Here it is though:
Flora and I
Also, I have a picture of my room now. About time, sorry.
My Chambers
And a few other just kinda random shots. The dog made it into a couple again.
The Bay at Night
The Bay at Twilight
Typical Cup of Coffee
Bizca on the Carpet
Bizca the Sphinx
I case anyone was wondering...this blog is going to be about my adventures in Spain, but only until Dec 2nd. After that, I´ll be traveling a bit, so I don´t know how much internet access I´ll have for about a week. I´ll be back home in Oregon for almost the entire month of January, then it´s off to Europe again. This time, though, I´ll be in a city in France called, Angers. I won´t be coming home until the start of June, so look forward to several more month of what I would hope you all would consider quality blogging. Thanks for commenting those of you who do. I´ll keep the updates coming.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Sunday at Church
This morning, Sunday morning, I went to a different christian church. It was tucked in amongst all the buildings as if it was a café, but the inside felt more like a church back home than the other did. Everyone there was super glad to see us (my friend Natalie and I went). There were lots of little kids too, which helped give the church a lot of life. I got to meet a young Spanish girl named Jenifer (a very American name) and I greeted her with the standard double cheek kiss, then Natalie did the same. She´s 12 and goes to school here in Santander. She was always there to help N (I hope everyone´s ok with my rather lazy name abreviations) and I to find the right worship song in our booklets. We had a great time of worship though. We actual sang the spanish versions of Come, Now Is the Time To Worship, and Shout To the Lord. I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we talked with this American at school here in town named Brett from (this one´s for you Carter family) Tennessee. He´s got the genuine accent to. Well he and I are going to try and start an English Bible study, and it´s perfect that I have my guitar here.
Well, I didn´t do too much this weekend. I did, however, meet up with a few of my local buddies I´m friends with now to watch a game. That means we watched soccer. Actually we were at the Celtic Tavern, and afterwards we played a game of darts then headed out to grab some grub. I wasn´t hungry though because I had just dined rather like a king at my house. But I did enjoy some Sangria (a very juice-like wine).
Oh yeah, and the night before there were some French sailors who were docked in port, and they were out of control. Half of them were drunk, barely any of them spoke spanish, but some could mumble a bit of English. They were being perverts with some of the American girls from OSU, so we quickly became disenchanted with them and decided to vacate to our favorite bar, Bhengala, but the French sleazeballs followed us. I suppose I never got bothered personally, but it really ticked me off seeing some of our girls give into their crap. Not cool, but those girls are adults and if they don´t want us trying to protect them (which they tell us they don´t), then the rest of us guys are only going to feel bad/mad, but not responsible, when they do stuff they regret. Anyways, I´ll get off that subject. I did, on a bright note, enjoy talking in French with some of them. I feel like I´ve gotten a bit worse at it since I had my summer class at the U of O, but it started coming back. I love that langauge. But what a dumb bunch they were. Sailors aren´t the most moral and gentle people in the world (back me up on that one, Dad). I guess that´s why foul mouthed people are said to curse like sailors. Au Revoir to those guys.
Well, I´m going to post 2 pictures I took of the sky as the sun was setting. It was a firey red I really couldn´t resist capturing for everyone back home. In bewteen churches and buildings made for a cool shot too.
Santander Twilight 1
Santander Twilight 2
Well, I don´t have a ton to do tonight...no homework this weekend. I might start planning a trip to Ireland if that´s at all possible. Cross your fingers everyone. I´ll have everyone I know in Ireland (which is no one) start kissing the Blarney Stone. I´ll get there...one way or another!
Well, I didn´t do too much this weekend. I did, however, meet up with a few of my local buddies I´m friends with now to watch a game. That means we watched soccer. Actually we were at the Celtic Tavern, and afterwards we played a game of darts then headed out to grab some grub. I wasn´t hungry though because I had just dined rather like a king at my house. But I did enjoy some Sangria (a very juice-like wine).
Oh yeah, and the night before there were some French sailors who were docked in port, and they were out of control. Half of them were drunk, barely any of them spoke spanish, but some could mumble a bit of English. They were being perverts with some of the American girls from OSU, so we quickly became disenchanted with them and decided to vacate to our favorite bar, Bhengala, but the French sleazeballs followed us. I suppose I never got bothered personally, but it really ticked me off seeing some of our girls give into their crap. Not cool, but those girls are adults and if they don´t want us trying to protect them (which they tell us they don´t), then the rest of us guys are only going to feel bad/mad, but not responsible, when they do stuff they regret. Anyways, I´ll get off that subject. I did, on a bright note, enjoy talking in French with some of them. I feel like I´ve gotten a bit worse at it since I had my summer class at the U of O, but it started coming back. I love that langauge. But what a dumb bunch they were. Sailors aren´t the most moral and gentle people in the world (back me up on that one, Dad). I guess that´s why foul mouthed people are said to curse like sailors. Au Revoir to those guys.
Well, I´m going to post 2 pictures I took of the sky as the sun was setting. It was a firey red I really couldn´t resist capturing for everyone back home. In bewteen churches and buildings made for a cool shot too.
Santander Twilight 1
Santander Twilight 2
Well, I don´t have a ton to do tonight...no homework this weekend. I might start planning a trip to Ireland if that´s at all possible. Cross your fingers everyone. I´ll have everyone I know in Ireland (which is no one) start kissing the Blarney Stone. I´ll get there...one way or another!
Friday, October 14, 2005
I haven´t posted anything in a few days, so it´s about time I caught up.
Let´s see, I have a few important pictures to post today...
First, here´s one of my host mom (Begoña) and me, and the little dog Bizca (pronounced Beethca).
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/Bego%f1a%20and%20I.JPG
And here´s Bizca...tiny little thing. Mellow though, and that´s good.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/Bizca.JPG
And here´s where I watch TV (El Señor de los Anillo, aka Lord of the Rings...has been on every monday night.)
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/watch%20TV%20on%20this.JPG
Along with every good TV watching session, I enjoy a fine meal on this small, but accomodating table. Everything´s typically set out for me, and I don´t have to take a single dish to the dish washer. The gals I live with seem to do every little thing for me down to making my bed. I take care of all personal hygene though. It´s like a hotel here. Anyways, here´s the table.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/where%20I%20eat.JPG
So last night, I spent about 2 hours watching Spanish dubbed American shows with my host mom. We actually had some really good conversation. She loved talking about all the American actors and movies I liked. It was fun pronouncing everyone´s name like I was Spanish. I´d forgo the American way of saying names after awhile and just say things like Brad Peet, and Rowben Williams, Hoolia Rowbairts (hope that not too hard for anyone to figure out). I figured out that the title of the movie Hook, is translated as NeverLand in Spanish. I wasn´t pleased with that. But I watched a show I think is called Without a Trace in English. Not sure, but we enjoyed it.
I´m loading up some pictures of the bay I live nearby too. I took a picture then moved a little so if you join them all together, you might be able to get a good panoramic sense of where I was standing when I took the pictures. I actually think I caught a couple of lovers smootching on the bench too (Bay 7). I´m really quite sneaky. Too bad I wasn´t that good at the Guggenheim.
Bay 1
Bay 2
Bay 3
Bay 4
Bay 5
Bay 6
Bay 7
Bay 8
Bay 9
Josiah, that would be rad if you´d string those together for me. Do it whenever if you´re up for it. Oh, and I hope you all notice how I finally figured out how to get rid of the ugly wesite addresses. I´m not feeling like doing it to the rest of the addresses right now, but I´ll start doing it from now on. It makes it look so much nicer!
Well I don´t have plans for this weekend, but I´ll let you guys know if anything cool happens.
P.S. Holly, do you like having my cell phone?
Let´s see, I have a few important pictures to post today...
First, here´s one of my host mom (Begoña) and me, and the little dog Bizca (pronounced Beethca).
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/Bego%f1a%20and%20I.JPG
And here´s Bizca...tiny little thing. Mellow though, and that´s good.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/Bizca.JPG
And here´s where I watch TV (El Señor de los Anillo, aka Lord of the Rings...has been on every monday night.)
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/watch%20TV%20on%20this.JPG
Along with every good TV watching session, I enjoy a fine meal on this small, but accomodating table. Everything´s typically set out for me, and I don´t have to take a single dish to the dish washer. The gals I live with seem to do every little thing for me down to making my bed. I take care of all personal hygene though. It´s like a hotel here. Anyways, here´s the table.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%2003/where%20I%20eat.JPG
So last night, I spent about 2 hours watching Spanish dubbed American shows with my host mom. We actually had some really good conversation. She loved talking about all the American actors and movies I liked. It was fun pronouncing everyone´s name like I was Spanish. I´d forgo the American way of saying names after awhile and just say things like Brad Peet, and Rowben Williams, Hoolia Rowbairts (hope that not too hard for anyone to figure out). I figured out that the title of the movie Hook, is translated as NeverLand in Spanish. I wasn´t pleased with that. But I watched a show I think is called Without a Trace in English. Not sure, but we enjoyed it.
I´m loading up some pictures of the bay I live nearby too. I took a picture then moved a little so if you join them all together, you might be able to get a good panoramic sense of where I was standing when I took the pictures. I actually think I caught a couple of lovers smootching on the bench too (Bay 7). I´m really quite sneaky. Too bad I wasn´t that good at the Guggenheim.
Bay 1
Bay 2
Bay 3
Bay 4
Bay 5
Bay 6
Bay 7
Bay 8
Bay 9
Josiah, that would be rad if you´d string those together for me. Do it whenever if you´re up for it. Oh, and I hope you all notice how I finally figured out how to get rid of the ugly wesite addresses. I´m not feeling like doing it to the rest of the addresses right now, but I´ll start doing it from now on. It makes it look so much nicer!
Well I don´t have plans for this weekend, but I´ll let you guys know if anything cool happens.
P.S. Holly, do you like having my cell phone?
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Sinatra during class
Alright, where do I begin today? Well I hooked up my iPod to the stereo system in class today, and we pumped some Frank Sinatra while we did our standard verb conjugations. Our prof was getting so excited that he has dancing around and knocking over our waterbottles on our desks (which he makes a habit of doing whenever the oportunity presents itself). Then, he opened up the classroom door and double the volume level as if to the tell the whole Spanish college that we were having the time of our lives...which, of course, we were.
Last night, I was up til 1 watching Las Dos Torres (The Two Towers) but I headed to bed early because I´ve seen it a billion times, and I value my rest a little more, especially since I´ve been trying to get healthy again. Yeah, I still have a little cold.
Dad, I think you would fit in perfectly over here. There´s something that they do here that you´ve been harping on us kids for years...they turn off lights when they leave rooms! It´s actually very bad (very very bad) to use excess electricity here. I get scolded if I leave a room and don´t turn the light off. I think of you every time dad. Wait and see what kind of man I am when I come back...I´ll be so refined!
So I took a picture of the keyboard I´m using, cause I think some of you might be interested to see a few of the differences, and why, if ever I keep adding all these weird symbols when I type. Here´s the link for it.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/Spanish%20Keyboard.JPG
And as I was leaving the school today, I happened upon an unfortunate car wreck...here´s the picture for that:
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/car%20wreck%20at%20the%20University.JPG
And here´s a couple more shots of the University...
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/Universidad%20de%20Cantabria%20distance%20shot.JPG
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/UC%20sign.JPG
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/UC%20entrance.JPG
Well, there´s only one more picture I could load. It´s not even that cool, but it´s something I see everyday, so I suppose it´s relevant.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/Walking%20back%20from%20class,%20overlooking%20the%20bay.JPG
Sorry these links are so long, but lucky for us, we call all just click on them! Well, it´s time to bring this blog entry to an end. Oh, and before I forget, something cool happened this morning as I was sitting in front of the TV eating my chocolaty kid´s cereal...I turned the channel and lo and behold, Fraggle Rock was on (in Spanish obviously). Great way to start a day out right. Well that´s it. I don´t have class tomorrow, so we´ll see if I can´t get some good pictures taken and posted. Laters.
Last night, I was up til 1 watching Las Dos Torres (The Two Towers) but I headed to bed early because I´ve seen it a billion times, and I value my rest a little more, especially since I´ve been trying to get healthy again. Yeah, I still have a little cold.
Dad, I think you would fit in perfectly over here. There´s something that they do here that you´ve been harping on us kids for years...they turn off lights when they leave rooms! It´s actually very bad (very very bad) to use excess electricity here. I get scolded if I leave a room and don´t turn the light off. I think of you every time dad. Wait and see what kind of man I am when I come back...I´ll be so refined!
So I took a picture of the keyboard I´m using, cause I think some of you might be interested to see a few of the differences, and why, if ever I keep adding all these weird symbols when I type. Here´s the link for it.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/Spanish%20Keyboard.JPG
And as I was leaving the school today, I happened upon an unfortunate car wreck...here´s the picture for that:
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/car%20wreck%20at%20the%20University.JPG
And here´s a couple more shots of the University...
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/Universidad%20de%20Cantabria%20distance%20shot.JPG
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/UC%20sign.JPG
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/UC%20entrance.JPG
Well, there´s only one more picture I could load. It´s not even that cool, but it´s something I see everyday, so I suppose it´s relevant.
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/Walking%20back%20from%20class,%20overlooking%20the%20bay.JPG
Sorry these links are so long, but lucky for us, we call all just click on them! Well, it´s time to bring this blog entry to an end. Oh, and before I forget, something cool happened this morning as I was sitting in front of the TV eating my chocolaty kid´s cereal...I turned the channel and lo and behold, Fraggle Rock was on (in Spanish obviously). Great way to start a day out right. Well that´s it. I don´t have class tomorrow, so we´ll see if I can´t get some good pictures taken and posted. Laters.
Monday, October 10, 2005
German?
This blog, which typically has all the links and all the words (other than those I´m typing here) in Spanish, is today giving me nothing but German. I have no idea why, but I´ll roll with it because I know where to click now, regardless of language.
So, I put up a few more pictures. The Guggenheim didn´t let me take any photos inside of course.
Go here to see them:
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/
I have some video clips that I´ll be trying to upload too, so You guys can maybe start seeing Spain in motion.
On another note, my cold seems to be leaving. It´s strange because it was almost as if every American here I knew was sick. Conspiracy??? Let´s hope not.
And I´d like to close by saying this...Hi dad, I miss you and love you a ton.
So, I put up a few more pictures. The Guggenheim didn´t let me take any photos inside of course.
Go here to see them:
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/Week%203/
I have some video clips that I´ll be trying to upload too, so You guys can maybe start seeing Spain in motion.
On another note, my cold seems to be leaving. It´s strange because it was almost as if every American here I knew was sick. Conspiracy??? Let´s hope not.
And I´d like to close by saying this...Hi dad, I miss you and love you a ton.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Back from Bilbao
Bilboa was pretty cool. I think this is a safe comparison... Bilbao is to Santander as Eugene is to Corvallis. By that I mean a few things. First, Bilbao is bigger. It´s also got a more artsy feel to it. But most importantly, downtown Bilbao is full of hippies. I kid you not. Downtown Bilbao (Casco Viejo as it´s called) is a bit odd. There are bars with dozens of picture frames hung on the walls to either commemorate, celebrate, or immortalize all the imprisoned Basque radicals who have connection with the ETA (a Basque terrorist organizion). I didn´t feel unsafe there...no, not at all, but I did sense the much more liberal nature of the town, or at least the downtown area.
I´ll get some pictures up, but I left the battery for my camera in my room, so I can´t upload anything yet.
But the Guggenheim museum was a trip and a half. Now that place is unique...to put it mildly. I actually got nauseous walking in and around it, not just because of the architecture, but also because of some of the intensely large exhibits that you could walk through that did a fine job of throwing your equilibrium off.
Well, I think I´ll spend more time updating when I get these pictures loaded. For now, I´m going to make some phone calls.
I´ll get some pictures up, but I left the battery for my camera in my room, so I can´t upload anything yet.
But the Guggenheim museum was a trip and a half. Now that place is unique...to put it mildly. I actually got nauseous walking in and around it, not just because of the architecture, but also because of some of the intensely large exhibits that you could walk through that did a fine job of throwing your equilibrium off.
Well, I think I´ll spend more time updating when I get these pictures loaded. For now, I´m going to make some phone calls.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Another day in a foreign land
I´m planning on heading east this weekend to the Basque town of Bilbao. If any of you out there is afraid for me because of what you may have heard about that region and it´s potential dangers, don´t worrÿ: I´ll do nothing but enjoy myself. But my professor today told us that if we see any kind of demonstration, to stay away. There´s the Gugenheim museum there that we´re going to step into. Modern Art is actually beyond my comprehension for the most part, but I suppose I want to go to see what all the fuss is about.
Well, I think it´s safe to say I have about an hours worth of homework or less this weekend. I can´t believe how easy we have it. We might be getting paired up with Spanish students next week to do a little conversation exchange. Meaning talk in Spanish for a while, then talk in English so as both people can better their skills. But I´m excited because I´ve done a pitiful job of making actual Spanish friends.
I´m going to a jazz concert tonight. It´s a performance by the Charlie Parker Legacy Band. Sounds impressive, but it´ll be fun no matter what. There´s a group of us Americans going, and then afterwards we´re all going to Bhengala, our favorite bar.
So I was trying to plan out trips around Europe today, and even work out how and when I want to arrive in Vienna, the city I´m eventually flying back home out of, and I was a little overwhelmed. Plus, I have my guitar, which actually means cumbersom travel. Oh well, I choose that. I wouldn´t have it any other way.
I found a place in town that rents surfboards finally. It´s this bar that´s decked out with Foster´s beer advertisements to reinforce it´s aussi themed interior. Not a bad place, but it seems expensive to rent boards. Speaking of expensive, maybe I should not travel at all, and just save as much money as possible (seeing as how I don´t have a lot anyways). That would probably be wrong of me though, to be here in Europe and forgo the priveledge of seeing the sights.
Hmmm, you´d think in a foreign land I´d have more to report about. I guess I´ll have to go create some excitement tonight that will be worth telling about tomorrow. Oh, I suppose I could say that I think I´m on the brink of being sick with some sort of common cold. Maybe it´s my immune system finally caving in after holding on for so long. I haven´t had any reactions to anything here. Not the food, not the water, not the air...nothing. Hopefully the worst of it will pass this weekend.
Well, I still haven´t taken anymore pictures. I´ll do that. Special thanks to Zach Gerig for making the DB mix CD for me with the mellow beats. They served me well today.
Speaking of listening to my iPod, there´s an interesting battle I go through every time I listen to it. Seeing as how I´m in Spain and love the ambiance of the street noises and conversations that I don´t really understand, I don´t like using my iPod. On the other hand, seeing as how I love my music and find life with a soundtrack extremely appealing, I do like using it. So I´m torn. Half the time I considered the problem solved by simple putting the volume to a meager half way setting, but there´s something magical about blasting the Further Seems Forever as the pidgeons land on the Virgin Mary statue next to the sidewalk where the outdoor café plays host to quiet locals sipping their coffee, all while the compact Peugeots go tearing by down streets just wide enough to fit a horse. It´s a daily toss up how I´ll use my toy, but either way, it´s a win win situation.
I want to give a special shout out to all my brother at the Antioch House.
Family, I love you all a ton, and can´t wait to see you for Christmas.
Well, I think it´s safe to say I have about an hours worth of homework or less this weekend. I can´t believe how easy we have it. We might be getting paired up with Spanish students next week to do a little conversation exchange. Meaning talk in Spanish for a while, then talk in English so as both people can better their skills. But I´m excited because I´ve done a pitiful job of making actual Spanish friends.
I´m going to a jazz concert tonight. It´s a performance by the Charlie Parker Legacy Band. Sounds impressive, but it´ll be fun no matter what. There´s a group of us Americans going, and then afterwards we´re all going to Bhengala, our favorite bar.
So I was trying to plan out trips around Europe today, and even work out how and when I want to arrive in Vienna, the city I´m eventually flying back home out of, and I was a little overwhelmed. Plus, I have my guitar, which actually means cumbersom travel. Oh well, I choose that. I wouldn´t have it any other way.
I found a place in town that rents surfboards finally. It´s this bar that´s decked out with Foster´s beer advertisements to reinforce it´s aussi themed interior. Not a bad place, but it seems expensive to rent boards. Speaking of expensive, maybe I should not travel at all, and just save as much money as possible (seeing as how I don´t have a lot anyways). That would probably be wrong of me though, to be here in Europe and forgo the priveledge of seeing the sights.
Hmmm, you´d think in a foreign land I´d have more to report about. I guess I´ll have to go create some excitement tonight that will be worth telling about tomorrow. Oh, I suppose I could say that I think I´m on the brink of being sick with some sort of common cold. Maybe it´s my immune system finally caving in after holding on for so long. I haven´t had any reactions to anything here. Not the food, not the water, not the air...nothing. Hopefully the worst of it will pass this weekend.
Well, I still haven´t taken anymore pictures. I´ll do that. Special thanks to Zach Gerig for making the DB mix CD for me with the mellow beats. They served me well today.
Speaking of listening to my iPod, there´s an interesting battle I go through every time I listen to it. Seeing as how I´m in Spain and love the ambiance of the street noises and conversations that I don´t really understand, I don´t like using my iPod. On the other hand, seeing as how I love my music and find life with a soundtrack extremely appealing, I do like using it. So I´m torn. Half the time I considered the problem solved by simple putting the volume to a meager half way setting, but there´s something magical about blasting the Further Seems Forever as the pidgeons land on the Virgin Mary statue next to the sidewalk where the outdoor café plays host to quiet locals sipping their coffee, all while the compact Peugeots go tearing by down streets just wide enough to fit a horse. It´s a daily toss up how I´ll use my toy, but either way, it´s a win win situation.
I want to give a special shout out to all my brother at the Antioch House.
Family, I love you all a ton, and can´t wait to see you for Christmas.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
I´ll start by catching everyone up since Saturday.
Saturday was a great day. I went wish my group from OSU to the Picos de Europa, which are these alp-like mountains in the northwest corner of Spain. They were absolutely gigantic. Probably the biggest mountains I´ve ever seen, but when I asked someone if they were as big as the Alps, they said no way. But we drove through some really amazing small towns to get there, and when we finally did, we took one of those lifts up to the top...you know, the one where it´s just your boxcar on this cable with thousands of feet below you. It made one of the girls in our group cry just looking at it. Right before we were about to go up she lost it. No one told her we´d have to do anything that scary today. She ended up making it up, but once we got up there, we were actually in the clouds, so we looked out into fog more or less. It´s strange to be deceaved like that, thinking that you´re not that high because you can´t see down through the fog, but realizing that you could throw something down and it wouldn´t hit for a solid 25 seconds. But we had lunch up there, and headed back down only to look up again 5 minutes later to see the clouds break for a moment, revealing our once hidden observation deck. Oh well.
Actually, I think I should catch up on something I did Friday too. A bunch of us walked with our new Italian friend, Manuele, out past Santander city limits to a lighthouse. The journey there was way more worth it than the actual lifehouse was. There were some spectacular view from dangerous cliff around every corner. I fed everyone the last of my red vines midway through.
On Sunday, I relaxed all day and went to this small evangelical church service I stumbled upon. Cooped up tiny building they meet in, all smashed between two towering apartment building, I actually felt more like breathing in fresh air again. The saints are here in Spain too! Although the service was more the style of the older American generation, with hymns (mixed with a few more modern songs, played on a classical guitar), the fact remained that I was experiencing godly fellowship after what seemed like forever. And it´s an answer to prayer too. The only thing now is to figure out which one I´ll go to, having now discovered that ther´s a few more in town. I think I´ll try each one out. But everyone at the service was super friendly, and, talking with some afterwards, I learned a lot about Catholocism here in Santander...which is a whole tragic book in itself. But I´ll move on to Monday...yesterday.
I got online and posted a bunch of new pictures on my website. I put them in a folder entitled...New Pictures! Imagen that. But if you didn´t have that website, and didn´t see the addresss in earlier blogs, here it is...
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/
or the link directly into the New Pictures! folder is
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/New%20Pictures!/
Monday was back to school, but this time the entire student body was back (They start late over here...first day of October), so the halls were CROWDED! I still don´t really have homework ever. Sorry to all you Antioch guys struggling through 3rd year Engineering right now...not fun. I´m pretty much on vacation, trying not to spend too much money. Gotta make it last. Last night I watch the Fellowship of the Ring here in Spanish with my host mom. She´d never seen it. I was quoting it in my mind, overlaying the Spanish dubbing with the actual voices that I imaged I could hear. It was a strange way to watch a movie. Oh and Frodo Baggins was called Frodo Bolsón...which mean Frodo Big Bag. HAHA! But we didn´t end til 2 am or so. I was a bit tired for school this morning, but I just woke up from my 2 hour nap (Jon you would have been proud).
Oh, and one more thing, I have a bag of loose leaf yerba maté from Brazil here with me, along with a gourd and bombilla (specialized drinking straw) on load from Phil Lund. I took it out on the town on Saturday night, and got in the gourd in a pretty chíc Spanish café. Again, Jon, you would have been proud. Shoot, I should´ve taken a picture. Oh well. And after that, I managed to meet a bunch of local high schoolers and we hung out and I talked with them all night. We went to this Irish bar called Tir Nan´Og, where I paid an outrageous 5€ (roughly $6) for a pint of Guinness.
Well, that´s all for now. I suppose I have a checklist for pictures to take and post. The Euromullet, my host family, my class/school, and whatever else anyone wants to see pictures of. For now, I´m outta here. Ciao.
Saturday was a great day. I went wish my group from OSU to the Picos de Europa, which are these alp-like mountains in the northwest corner of Spain. They were absolutely gigantic. Probably the biggest mountains I´ve ever seen, but when I asked someone if they were as big as the Alps, they said no way. But we drove through some really amazing small towns to get there, and when we finally did, we took one of those lifts up to the top...you know, the one where it´s just your boxcar on this cable with thousands of feet below you. It made one of the girls in our group cry just looking at it. Right before we were about to go up she lost it. No one told her we´d have to do anything that scary today. She ended up making it up, but once we got up there, we were actually in the clouds, so we looked out into fog more or less. It´s strange to be deceaved like that, thinking that you´re not that high because you can´t see down through the fog, but realizing that you could throw something down and it wouldn´t hit for a solid 25 seconds. But we had lunch up there, and headed back down only to look up again 5 minutes later to see the clouds break for a moment, revealing our once hidden observation deck. Oh well.
Actually, I think I should catch up on something I did Friday too. A bunch of us walked with our new Italian friend, Manuele, out past Santander city limits to a lighthouse. The journey there was way more worth it than the actual lifehouse was. There were some spectacular view from dangerous cliff around every corner. I fed everyone the last of my red vines midway through.
On Sunday, I relaxed all day and went to this small evangelical church service I stumbled upon. Cooped up tiny building they meet in, all smashed between two towering apartment building, I actually felt more like breathing in fresh air again. The saints are here in Spain too! Although the service was more the style of the older American generation, with hymns (mixed with a few more modern songs, played on a classical guitar), the fact remained that I was experiencing godly fellowship after what seemed like forever. And it´s an answer to prayer too. The only thing now is to figure out which one I´ll go to, having now discovered that ther´s a few more in town. I think I´ll try each one out. But everyone at the service was super friendly, and, talking with some afterwards, I learned a lot about Catholocism here in Santander...which is a whole tragic book in itself. But I´ll move on to Monday...yesterday.
I got online and posted a bunch of new pictures on my website. I put them in a folder entitled...New Pictures! Imagen that. But if you didn´t have that website, and didn´t see the addresss in earlier blogs, here it is...
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/
or the link directly into the New Pictures! folder is
http://oregonstate.edu/~normansj/pictures/New%20Pictures!/
Monday was back to school, but this time the entire student body was back (They start late over here...first day of October), so the halls were CROWDED! I still don´t really have homework ever. Sorry to all you Antioch guys struggling through 3rd year Engineering right now...not fun. I´m pretty much on vacation, trying not to spend too much money. Gotta make it last. Last night I watch the Fellowship of the Ring here in Spanish with my host mom. She´d never seen it. I was quoting it in my mind, overlaying the Spanish dubbing with the actual voices that I imaged I could hear. It was a strange way to watch a movie. Oh and Frodo Baggins was called Frodo Bolsón...which mean Frodo Big Bag. HAHA! But we didn´t end til 2 am or so. I was a bit tired for school this morning, but I just woke up from my 2 hour nap (Jon you would have been proud).
Oh, and one more thing, I have a bag of loose leaf yerba maté from Brazil here with me, along with a gourd and bombilla (specialized drinking straw) on load from Phil Lund. I took it out on the town on Saturday night, and got in the gourd in a pretty chíc Spanish café. Again, Jon, you would have been proud. Shoot, I should´ve taken a picture. Oh well. And after that, I managed to meet a bunch of local high schoolers and we hung out and I talked with them all night. We went to this Irish bar called Tir Nan´Og, where I paid an outrageous 5€ (roughly $6) for a pint of Guinness.
Well, that´s all for now. I suppose I have a checklist for pictures to take and post. The Euromullet, my host family, my class/school, and whatever else anyone wants to see pictures of. For now, I´m outta here. Ciao.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Santander at 3 AM
I made Spanish friends last night! Juancarlos, Marco, and Marcos! Full-blown Santander locals, and decent guys too. I was out at the bar Bhengala last night, which happened to be packed wall to wall with the music blaring, so I had to yell just to hold a conversation. Mind you, I was yelling in Spanish. I lost my voice quicker than I thought I would. Probably because the air here is 10% oxygen, 75% cigarette smoke, and and 13% perfume/cologne (for you math studs out there, wondering what happened to the last 2%, I´d venture to say that it´s hairspray. There are some robust Euro-Mullets here that are held down by something, and my best guess is hair product. Speaking of Euro-Mullets, I´m dying to take a picture of one and post it...soon, very soon.)
I had a really good conversation last night with my host family, expressing my frustration with not knowing anyone Spanish, and always spending my time with our group of Americans, where we only speak English. I tried to make a vow to myself before the trip that I wouldn´t speak any while I was here, but that crumbled quickly. I want to speak more Spanish. And was a bit frustrated by that. Also, I barely have any homework here at my school. Really, I´ve had none. But it´s ok. Living here amoungs Spaniards is classroom enough for anyone.
This morning I toured a cathedral that was built in the 13th century. It was pretty dang big, but I´d say it was small for a cathedral. Also, there were old ruins of Roman bath that were on display in the Church (it was built over them). The Catholic churches are new for me. My host mom made me sad last night when I was trying to tell her a verse from Romans, and she was kind of unresponsive and said, ¨we catholics don´t read the bible much.¨
But anyways, I think I´m going to try surfing on the beach today...maybe. I´m also trying to save my money, so we´ll see. Pictures will come later, but I didn´t bring any of the cords with me right now. Oh, and I´ll try to include myself in these pictures, that way you´ll all know that I am ACTUALLY here.
I had a really good conversation last night with my host family, expressing my frustration with not knowing anyone Spanish, and always spending my time with our group of Americans, where we only speak English. I tried to make a vow to myself before the trip that I wouldn´t speak any while I was here, but that crumbled quickly. I want to speak more Spanish. And was a bit frustrated by that. Also, I barely have any homework here at my school. Really, I´ve had none. But it´s ok. Living here amoungs Spaniards is classroom enough for anyone.
This morning I toured a cathedral that was built in the 13th century. It was pretty dang big, but I´d say it was small for a cathedral. Also, there were old ruins of Roman bath that were on display in the Church (it was built over them). The Catholic churches are new for me. My host mom made me sad last night when I was trying to tell her a verse from Romans, and she was kind of unresponsive and said, ¨we catholics don´t read the bible much.¨
But anyways, I think I´m going to try surfing on the beach today...maybe. I´m also trying to save my money, so we´ll see. Pictures will come later, but I didn´t bring any of the cords with me right now. Oh, and I´ll try to include myself in these pictures, that way you´ll all know that I am ACTUALLY here.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Last night was awesome!
So I was in this bar a few nights ago (bars in Spain are where everyone goes to pass the time, whether or not you get a drink, but most everyone does), and I saw a flyer for a jazz concert. I went to it last night, and turns out it was a benefit concert for the victims of hurricain Katrina. I was moved by these Spaniards reaching out like that. And moreover, the music moved me too. Some incredibly talented jazz artists were playing. After that, I went and saw this low key bossa nova show in a small bar. Needless to say, I enjoyed myself there too. It´s actually kind of hard to find live music here in Santander, so I feel lucky to have gotten a double dose in one night. Oh, and I ate dinner at the Peter Pan bar last night. The tavern´s logo is just this huge image of Disney´s rendition of the character. I don´t have much to say for the bar, but I found that interesting. Along that line, there´s a Friends bar in town with the exact font and style of the TV show. I haven´t gone in though. Well there´s an update. I´ll get some more pictures coming soon. Laters.
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