This past weekend, I traveled to Brussels, Belgium with seven friends from our study abroad group. The three boys that went, Steve, Clay, and Fatim, all left Oviedo on Wednesday but the five girls, Emily, Nadine, Julia, Andrea, and I, left Oviedo Friday afternoon and got in late Friday night. We took a bus from Oviedo to Santander (about two and half hours away) and it was actually a very beautiful drive.
Saturday we did most of our sightseeing. We started early and made a stop at Parking 58, a parking garage where you are able to go to the tenth floor and get a great view of the city. From there, we were able to see important landmarks of Brussels like the Atomium (a statue of an atom magnified 150 billion times) and the Palace of Justice. Next we went a local flea market, it was huge but we didn't find much there that was enticing. After we headed to the Royal Museum of Fine Art and spent about two hours in the ancient art exhibit. Julia, one of the girls on the trip, really enjoys going to art museums and was thrilled with all the museum had to offer. After we headed to Grand Place and then went to grab Belgian waffles near the famous Mannekin Pis statue. I had a total tourist waffle complete with nutella, strawberries, and whip cream. So delicious. The Mannekin Pis statue is a statue of little boy peeing that is famous to Brussels. It has over 600 outfits that are housed in the City Museum in King's Palace in Grand Place. No one knows the exact origins of the statue and thus there are many legends surrounding it. After the girls wandered the streets surrounding Grand Place and entered many chocolate stores in order to sample and buy chocolate from various stores. They aren't lying, Belgian chocolate really is to die for. I tried two truffles that I loved, a chocolate buttercream one and a rose one. They definitely get two thumbs up. When we met up with the boys again, we walked to the European Parliament building, we thought it was important to see since Brussels is the capital of the EU. For dinner on Saturday, we met up with boys' couchsurfing host, Arno and went to a local restaurant. I sat close to Arno and he explained many things about Belgium to me like the lack of significance the king has and the seven different governments that exist. Although Arno's first language is Dutch, he also speaks French and English fluently. Belgium has two languages Dutch and French but you will hear just about every language. Finally on Saturday night we went to Delirium bar and I had a Kriek beer which was wonderful. It tasted like liquid fruit snacks. It was a full day and as soon as we got back to the hostel we crashed.
Sunday Julia, Andrea, and I went to mass at the Cathedral of St. Michael and Gudula. It is the main cathedral of Belgium and all royal weddings and christenings happen there. It was a very beautiful church and the mass that we attended at 10AM had a Gregorian choir. After mass we had waffles again and I had a traditional Belgian waffle with just a little bit a powdered sugar. It really doesn't need anything else. So delicious. We only had about an hour left before we had to go to the airport and we spent it going to a few more of the shops near Grand Place. During this hour, I found the most delicious chocolate I have ever had (yes you read that correctly, it was that good). First of all it was called Anastasia, perfect right? It was dark chocolate with vanilla buttercream and caramel. Words just can't describe how delicious it was.
We spent the rest of the day traveling and arrived back in Oviedo around 12:30AM. Although we were exhausted it was well worth it.
I think Spanish is really starting to sink in since my English skills are deteriorating. Sometimes I say something in English and I think to myself that doesn't really make any sense.
I think this week is going to be pretty busy but I love life here!
Lots of besos on el dia de San Valetin :)
~Ana
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
A Day in the Life
So since it’s somehow already February, it’s probably time that I took a minute to write about my daily life in Oviedo (plus my mom requested that I do so, so here we go). I have been in Spain about a month now and every day I love it just a little bit more. Sure there are moments or hours that I wish I could be in the States for one reason or another, but life in Oviedo really is beautiful.
So what does daily life look like for a student at the Universidad de Oviedo? My class schedule is random for lack of a better work. On Mondays I have class at 10AM and 1PM, Gramática and Hispanoamericano (a Latin American studies class); On Tuesdays I have class at 11AM and 1PM, Traducción (Translation) and Gramática; On Wednesdays I have class at 9AM, 11AM, 12PM, and 2PM, Gramática, Traducción, Arte, and Sociedad y Cultura (a class about Spanish culture); On Thursdays I have class from 11AM-2PM, Arte, Traducción, and Hispanoamericano; Finally on Fridays I have class at 9AM and then 12PM-3PM, Hispanoamericano, Arte, and Sociedad y Cultura. Unfortunately because of certain Temple requirements, I have to take classes at the intermediate level as opposed to the advanced level. Although I am not being challenged as much as I could be in class, I am still learning a lot. I bought a little notebook to record all the new words I am learning in the hope that that will cement them into my vocabulary. Honestly even though I’m learning in the classroom it has nothing on the learning outside of the classroom.
My host parents are wonderful. Every day I am able to converse with them and I pick up new words and phrases. It is a big challenge to know that if I need to convey something, I have to do it in Spanish because English doesn’t make any sense to them. My host mama, Silvia, works from about 7AM to 4PM but she always leaves me breakfast, a snack for school, and lunch. Most days I have toast and fruit for breakfast accompanied by milk (whole milk, can you believe I’m drinking whole milk? Yeah, I can’t really either) and cacao powder (so essentially chocolate milk). Then at school I eat my “snack” which is a peanut-butter sandwich around noon and go back home for lunch between two and three. I eat dinner around 8PM which is really early for a Spaniard. The meals vary but there is a lot of meat and seafood (especially tuna) with potatoes, bread etc. At least once a week I have Spanish tortilla which is AWESOME! Also, I eat an insane amount of fresh fruit every day usually three or four pieces and I have developed an obsessive love for kiwi.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I meet with a woman named Carmela for language practice. She is a librarian and she acts like another host mamá. We spend forty-five minutes speaking in Spanish and forty-five minutes speaking in English each time we meet. She has lent me Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in Spanish and she has also started reading the Harry Potter series since I love it so much. She takes me to cafes and once she made me a typical Spanish dessert- chocolate con churros. Not only is it good speaking practice, but Carmela is super sweet and I really enjoy spending time with her.
On Mondays I watch a TV series with my host parents called El Barco (the boat) and other nights I watch random programs with them if I’m not up to other things. Living with a host family has been wonderful speaking and listening practice and my host parents have made it really easy for me to adapt to life here. Silvia is constantly making me hand drawn maps of the best places to go or lists of Spanish music artists and authors.
On the weekends (which start on Thursday nights for los jovenes (the young people)), we usually go out dancing. Before the discotecas open, the Spanish have a tradition called botellon which are parties in the streets. In the Plaza del Sol, I think just about every young person gathers. They also stay out super late into the early hours of the morning which I’m still adapting to.
As far as the Temple group goes, everyone gets along really well. There are twenty-six of us total and I don’t think I could have asked for a better group. I’m particularly close to two girls, Lily and Shannon and we have enjoyed spending afternoons wandering around this beautiful we have come to call our home. I live in a great location. I live on the Sidreria street with means if we decide to go for Sidra (cider) I have a very short commute (a walk down the stairs of my apartment) and my apartment is about a five minute walk from El centro where we spend our weekend nights.
Just yesterday, I went to a very small mass (about twenty people) that is mostly for young people and it was a beautiful service. Shannon said afterwards that “it was the best service I think I have ever been to.” The music was fabulous and the community was so welcoming. At the sign of peace everyone says “paz contigo” to everyone else and gives the traditional two kisses instead of a handshake like in the States. Before that service I had gone to mass at the Cathedral but I didn’t really care for the service so I am very excited to join this church community.
I think I could go about all the things I love about Oviedo, but I think I covered the main points of daily life here.
Un beso,
Ana
PS If you read this the week of Feb 8th make sure you call my mom and wish her a happy birthday (or Feliz Cumpleaños)! Happy Birthday Mom!
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