Tag Archives: Coffee

“Love Bali” (Bali Day 3)

Our third day is Bali was also unfortunately our last day, and we made it worthwhile! We made our way back to Ubud to do the things we didn’t get around to when we were there two days prior.

Temples & Cultural Dance

After breakfast at the villa, I left with the early group at 8am and headed to our first stop at a temple where we saw the cultural Barong Dance. This style of Balinese dance is unique and tells  a story through dance, narrating the fight between good and evil. Essentially, it incorporates myth, history, and performance into entertainment.

The show we saw has been adapted over time to perform for mainly visitors, and differs in a few small ways from the true religious-based dances performed at real temple festivals. However, it is still an accurate representation of Balinese cultural dance. It is common to see actors dressed up as animals in these shows, and there is heavy use of costuming and makeup on both males and females. Seeing a cultural dance was one of the things I was most excited for, but unfortunately the show involved very little actually dancing. We were taken by surprise to find out that most of the show was simply actors running around stage acting out daily activities or fights, and strangely enough we continued to learn that the Balinese cultural has a very interesting tradition of including strange sexual actions and innuendoes in shows and artwork. We were all a little caught off guard by this, but nonetheless glad we took the opportunity to see a cultural show.

First temple visit of the day

First temple visit of the day

Lion dancing at the opening of the show

Lion dancing at the opening of the show

Traditional Balinese orchestra playing in the show

Traditional dancers in the cultural show

Our next stop was at the iconic Batuan Temple, located in the middle of a village on a main road from Denpasar to Ubud. In my opinion, this was the most well-preserved and architecturally beautiful temple that we were able to visit. This temple is used by Batuan villagers to worship to the god, during temple festivals which are held twice a year.

Entrance to

Inside entrance to Batuan Temple

sarong

Inside Batuan Temple

Satri Coffee Plantation

Our next stop was suggested by our villa driver, and we were very interested to add it to our itinerary. We visited Satri Coffee Plantation, which grows, processes, and sells many different kinds of coffees, teas, spices, and chocolates. They produce a few different kinds of coffee, but take the most pride in their Luwak coffee, which is alternatively known as “the best coffee in the world” according to the plantation. Essentially the civet cat, commonly referred to as the Kopi Luwak ingests coffee beans as part of its diet, their waste is collected, and whole coffee beans are cleaned from the waste then processed into coffee. This coffee actually is well known around the world, selling for upwards of $30 a cup in places like New York City and London. Supposedly, the Luwak’s digestive system gives the coffee a unique rich aroma and smooth, rounded flavor.

Walking path through the coffee plantation

Walking path through the coffee plantation

The plantation tour guide started by giving us a personalized tour of the property, which was much smaller than expected. I am assuming they have production areas outside, and the “plantation” was mostly for visitation, tasting, and sale purposes. The entry area housed multiple buildings filled with artwork and beautiful architecture, where we were told numerous weddings take place. Private rooms are also available to rent out for honeymoons.

We walked through the pathway learning about what all they grew, seeing plants like ginseng, vanilla, cocoa, ginger, and chile. Towards the back of the property we were given a brief lesson on how the coffee is processed, as shown in the photo below. The workers hand peel every single coffee bean, and the entire process is completed by hand, literally ground and browned in a cast-iron kettle with human labor (no wonder it’s expensive!). We were also shown a variety of spices grown on property, and smelling the fresh coffee beans and spices was an amazing experience, so strong scented and delicious!

Step by step process of making coffee

Step by step display process of making coffee

Variety of spices produced on property

Variety of spices produced on property

We tasted an assortment of teas, coffees, and chocolates, and eventually made our way to the store for a few souvenirs. Watching them make the coffee was one of the most interesting ways I’ve ever seen coffee processed. As you will see in the video below, it looks more like a science experiment!

Making a cup of “the best coffee in the world”

Bebak Teba Sari

Another recommendation by our kind villa driver, we were taken to lunch at a small restaurant called Bebak Teba Sari, with small gazebo’s available with seating right on the water. We enjoyed the food, but enjoyed the atmosphere more. It was lovely having lunch on the water, watching the fish swim beneath us, and being excited about how productive and amazing our day had been so far.

Row of gazebo's on the water

Row of gazebo’s on the water

Enjoying lunch on the water

Enjoying lunch on the water

Mandala Suci Wenara Wana

Next we visited the iconic Sacred Monkey Forest, the official name is listed above. The monkey forest is a place where everyone told us we had to visit, and most of us had a fantastic time! I, however, was terrified of the monkeys and ended up visiting a few local shops outside with one of my other friends until everyone else was finished spending time on the property. Essentially, this is a reserve where you can go inside and be among the monkeys. I was not too fond of getting so up close and personal, but it provides a fabulous photo opportunity for those willing to brave it out!

Ubud Markets

Our next stop took us to to the traditional art market in Ubud. This complex is essentially blocks of street artists and vendors selling traditional Balinese crafts (and some touristy items..). We spent about an hour perusing the buildings of endless rows, and most of us used the rest of our spending money to barter for souvenirs to take home with us. I got some traditional Balinese fabric, a sarong, and a few clothing items. Unfortunately we did not have a great deal of time to enjoy the marketplace, and also all of us managed to get lost in the aisles at least once or twice. With phones dying left and right, confusing twisted pathways of all very similar items for sale, our villa driver not being where we planned on meeting at the correct time, and getting split into groups while shopping, and actually getting lost at one point, SOMEHOW we managed to all make it back on the same street corner and back into our van. We checked in with the other group, who had left the villa around lunchtime, and just recently made it the monkey forest, and soon were on our way to our next stop!

Tegallalang Rice Terrace

Our last activity on the agenda for the day was visiting a remarkable rice terrace. If you have ever seen pictures of these incredibly landscaped areas, you will know exactly what I am talking about. While visiting a rice terrace has been on my life bucket list forever, I was unaware that we were going to visit one during our time in Bali. Needless to say, it was a pleasant surprise that probably made it to one of my top moments in Bali!

Terraced rice fields actually cover much of the land across Bali, since much of the diet consists of rice, driving throughout the country you will see many of these production areas. However, most of these are only a level or two, and much smaller than the rice terraces pictured below. The more landscaped ones were created around the 9th century, and were engineered by the Balinese using a natural irrigation system of water flowing down from the mountains. They create step-like landscaping to make use of the natural flow of water, and what results is an incredible artwork of landscaping. However, it is important to make note that rice farming is an incredibly laborious job. While the Tegallalang Rice Terrace is more of a tourist attraction (literally, you have to pay to get in), a true rice terrace is a place where the Balinese work very hard to produce the product that contributes so much to their society and diet. Regardless, visiting the rice terrace was a stop worth making!

Teagallang Rice Terrace

Teagallang Rice Terrace

Top of the terrace, at the restaurant lookout point

Top of the terrace, at the restaurant lookout point

Panoramic view of the rice terrace

Panoramic view of the rice terrace

“Love Bali”

With having a red eye flight that evening, we were able to make use of the entire day on Sunday. In fact, since both of my flight were red eye’s, I was able to make use of the entire three days I spent in Bali. After the rice terrace we headed back towards Seminyak and the airport area, stopping for dinner along the way at a restaurant called Three Monkeys Cafe. We ate a quick dinner to stay on time, and headed back to the airport after what seemed like we just arrived. We thanked our driver profusely for everything, took a picture with him (just half the group since the other group was still at dinner), and made our way to check-in to head out.

Thanking our villa driver & departing at the airport

Thanking our villa driver & departing at the airport

Overall, my time in Bali was most definitely something that I am so happy to have been able to experience. Everything I saw and did was simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking. All the natural beauty is breathtaking, and there are endless places to visit to see incredible architecture that was created a long time ago. Everywhere you look is filled to the brim with art and culture, and there were so many potential things to do that deciding what all to chose was very difficult. The fact that I got to actually do everything on my list during my time there is not only impressive, but a blessing. At the same time, I feel incredibly lucky to live the life I do after spending just a few days in Bali. A day or two more might have given me a little more time to breathe/sleep/explore the local area around the villa, but I am still so thankful for everything I got to experience.

"Love Bali" sign at Tegallalang Rice Terrace

“Love Bali” sign at Tegallalang Rice Terrace

Lastly, feel free to check out these videos two of my friends made of our time in Bali! To the Balinese people, particularly our villa staff, as they say in Indonesia, terima kasih (thank you)!

Life is Short, Enjoy Your Coffee

This weekend was scattered with thunderstorms, so sadly our outdoor options were limited. However, I am much more willing to take a little rain than the blizzard we all missed back at home!

Burleigh Markets

Saturday morning we went to Burliegh Heads to check out a few areas recommended by a friend back at home who previously studied here. Our first stop, after quite the complex Uber ride there, was at Burleigh markets, held Saturday mornings in the Burleigh Heads State School. It had a cute market atmosphere, with many stands of locally grown organic fruits and vegetables, arts & crafts, and gourmet foods. Though small, it was an enjoyable artsy and local-inspired atmosphere.

James Street

Our next stop was James Street, an iconic place to visit in Burleigh, lined with shops of fashion, food, drink, health, and beauty. We chose one of the many café’s, and enjoyed quality Australian coffee. After walking around the area, we actually realized that it was approximately the same area that we explored at night. We headed up towards Burleigh Heads National Park, and on our way stumbled upon a small surf competition taking place on the coast. With storms threatening there wasn’t a great turnout, but still a classic Australian event to stop by and experience for a few minutes! We checked out the trails at the park quickly before the rain hit, then headed back to Bond.

Mocha & Almond Croissant on James Street

Mocha & Almond Croissant on James Street

Center of Cafe area on James Street

Center of Cafe area on James Street

Surf Competition

Surf Competition

Burleigh Head National Park lookout by the water

Burleigh Head National Park lookout by the water

Sushi Train

Later that evening we tried a sushi nearby restaurant called Sushi Train that was suggested by a local. It was definitely our favorite sushi restaurant so far! We spent the rest of the evening looking at options for our trip to Bali. It was a fun day of exploring, and we managed to make it  between the raindrops!

Coffee Shop Heaven

Hi everyone! So today was my first day in Seoul. I just finished window shopping near Ewha Women’s University, which has a lot of cute little clothing and make up shops, and now I am cooling down in my room.
Let me go back a little bit and update you on my journey here. The flight was fine, albiet, very lenghthy. I started off at Pittsburgh at 7a.m. and then moved onto Toronto and then to Vancouver on Air Canada. Everything went smoothly and all my connecting flights were on time and I honestly couldn’t ask for a better flight. I was sitting next to a Canadian college student named Megan who was on her way to visit her friend. After I got to Incheon Airport, I went through customs painlessly and then got onto one of the airport buses into Seoul for about nine dollars. From the airport to Seoul it takes about thirty to forty minutes and I was all ready to get to my guesthouse which was a two minute walk from the bus stop, except I started talking to this Australian college student sitting next to me on the bus and I must’ve missed it. Whoops. After getting off at a random bus stop and debating on what to do, especially since it was starting to get dark, I awkwardly hailed a taxi. Luckily, the driver was really nice and knew where Ewha Women’s University was and I figured if I could get there, then I could find my guesthouse. On the way there, the taxi driver was very friendly and even tried to communicate with me in English, while I tried to communicate back in the little Korean I know. He even gave me candy (yes, Mom, I know I am not supposed to take candy from strangers) and pointed out monuments on the way there. When I got there, it had gotten really dark and there were still crowds of people walking around, but with some spotty GPS navigation, I finally made it to the guesthouse. However, I was disheartened to see that after they kind of adventure I had that day, I would have to walk up two flights of stairs with outrageously overpacked suitcase. Then out of nowhere, like an angel of light and goodness, a little old woman came and grabbed one end of my suitcase, and helped me carry it up they stairs. As quickly as she had appeared to rescue me, she was gone. Okay, maybe it didn’t happen exactly like that, but I was touched nonetheless. The receptionist at the gueshouse was also very nice and I was grateful that my room had air conditioning. By the time I flopped down on my bed, a sweaty, hot mess, I remembered the haunting words of the stewardess telling me not to go to sleep until you would normally go to sleep. I groaned as a looked at the 7:20 p.m. on my phone and reluctantly cleaned up, unpacked a little and headed out again. I walked up and down the street, but ended up getting some triangle kimbap and a couple of cans of soda at the convenience store next to the guesthouse. I was so exhausted and I wasn’t even that hungry, but I went up to my room and ate one of the triangle kimbaps and tried, but failed to watch an episode of the X-Files (in Korea, Hulu and Netflix are blocked, but I subscribed to a VPN hiding service so I could cheat and still watch it). By the time, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, the clock read 9:30, but I called it “close enough” and with that I was out for the count.
When I woke up feeling more than refreshed, and texted my Dad for a good twenty minutes. I then laughed metaphorically in the face of the stewardess who told me to not go to bed so early. I work the graveyard shift, so I am going to go ahead and brag and say jetlag is no obstacle for me. I showered and got dressed and went down in the common area for a breakfast of toast and hardboiled eggs and after that I went out again, this time in daylight. Since Sogang is about two blocks away from my guesthouse, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to scout it out for tomorrow. The campus was relatively big for being in a city and it has a huge soccer field in the middle where I watched some guys playing soccer. After that, as I said before I just did A LOT of window shopping, and resisted the urge to buy everything. I did indulge in some make up and a bracelet. I safely crossed the bridge that is ordering food at a restaurant in another language (phew) and I had some hot, but delicious bowl of udon. I even went and got probably the best manicure of my life (the nail salon girl must’ve spent thirty minutes on my cuticles!). 
It is now 3:45 p.m. as I write this, and since starting this blog entry, I have cooled down sufficiently and I am ready to go back out again. Since it is kind of late, I am not feeling confident enough to try the subway quite yet. I just want to note that everyone I have encountered so far have been more than friendly and I am beyond grateful for that. The fact that people have been trying to speak to me in English (without me asking if they knew how) makes me want to learn more Korean. 
When you read other blog posts, they always tell you to beware of culture shock, like it’s some sort of disease or paralysis that you can catch while you’re away from home and by all means I am not saying that it doesn’t exist. Except rather than call it culture shock, I would call it something else. I feel like it’s something in between culture shock and wonder lust. I mean, it’s only my first full day here and I am a little overwhelmed, but in a good way and not at all in a frightened or I miss the way things are back home kind of way. It’s only 8:20p.m, but I think I am ready to call it a night. Not because I am tired, but more because I want to kind of take it all in a little bit (and because it’s raining right now). Before I came back to the guesthouse, I went to a coffeeshop called Coffine Gurunaru, finished reading the Ocean at the End of the Lake by Neil Gaiman, which is a short, but not short enough to be a short story, novel. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has an afternoon on the sun porch, with a glass of sweet tea, to spare. It was kind of quirky, but it was the kind of novel that had a lot of hidden backstory, so you wish it went on forever. However, I think if it did go on forever, it would lose its magic. As I sidenote, though, maybe it’s because I am in university-type of area, but there are coffeeshops EVERYWHERE and a lot of them are open until around midnight (hint hint nudge nudge, Irvings). 
Okay, I think I will finally bring this blog post to an end. I am glad I applied to the Geoblogging program, because even though I am not huge on keeping journals, I have at least thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog post. I hope it wasn’t too informal. I just took an copyediting class this past semester, so I am really concious about typos now, but since I am writing this on the go and I don’t have my handy dandy blue editing pencil with me and I couldn’t fit the Chicago Manual of Style in my suitcase, you will have to excuse any errors that slipped through probably only one read through. I am really not trying to sound pretentious, I’m pretty sure I got a B- in that class. Film majors often say that being a film major has ruined movies for them because now they just have to overanalyze them. Well, I can say with confidence that being an English major hasn’t ruined books for me, but it has made me extremely paranoid and given me a strong sense of inferiority in comparison to my peers who have far more interesting blog posts than myself. 
Tomorrow I check into the dorms, so this is goodnight! I hope to post more about that soon. 

Location: Seoul, South Korea

Adjusting Nicely

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And now comes the fun stuff..or at least the start of it 😉

Now that we’ve started to get used to the city, walking around and navigating everywhere, we know how to be safe, have fun, and (sometimes) be well enough rested to make it through the next day doing the same. For the first couple of days, we could walk in circles around the same streets and have no idea that we were around the corner from the same place we’d visited just a day, or half hour prior.  Now however, that we’ve gotten a feel for the areas we visit most, we can leave our part of town less than an hour before we have to be at a place that’s just a 20 minute walk away! When we make it to certain landmarks, and realize that we’re right next to a certain street, or other landmark, and without being totally turned around, it’s one of the most triumphant and reassuring feelings in the world!

Shopping – Rebajas!!

Knowing our way around doesn’t only help us to navigate to the places we have to be to meet up with our program group, but also makes taking advantage of the Spanish culture and conditions much more doable. During the first months of the year in Spain (and apparently some other places in Europe), there’s a huge, nationwide sale. Here, the word for sales is “rebajas.” And boy have we gotten used to seeing, hearing and saying it! Each day walking into the same and new stores to look at shoes, purses, pants, and all the other classy and chic European clothes you could imagine – it’s so much fun. I haven’t bought anything yet, but certainly plan to make a couple of additions to my wardrobe before this opportunity ends.

There’s a Crosswalk in the Kitchen!? But only a yellow light.

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Right on the corner outside our apartment building, there are a number of crosswalks, which all chirp like finches when it’s ok to cross. For some reason, I was hearing this chirping randomly in the middle of the day, and figured it was just a crosswalk that I could hear through the window, which faces a pretty busy road. On Thursday morning, as I bent over to throw a napkin in the kitchen trash, I discovered that it wasn’t just coming from the nearby window, it was IN the room! ‘My host has a “p�jarro”??!’ I thought. She came in and removed the quilt cover on top of his cage she puts it there to keep him warm in the winter, and introduced me. I can’t remember his name now (faces and names aren’t a specialty of mine, even if the face is unique as that of a bird :^p haha), but he’s awfully cute! He’s a little yellow guy with white and black accents and flecks. He sings a LOT, which occasionally warrants a “�callate!” (shut up!) from Loli, especially while watching the tele, or when she’s on the phone. She told me that last year when the “tio” in the family died (I’m not sure if this was reference to her son, who she told me passed away, or someone else in the family), that he stopped singing altogether and hardly let out but a chirp for months. I found that pretty incredible, animals are so sensitive to their surroundings. I love the singing, it’s really beautiful, and just makes the musty little apartment feel a bit lighter and more lively 🙂

High School Spanish…

…has been a lot more useful than I first expected it to be! There are so many things here that I learned or heard about, particularly when I was in AP Spanish with Mrs. Levenson, at Allderdice. One of the first was the fact that most people have a heater under the table, and a large table cover that functions as a blanket to keep all the heat on your legs and feet. This used to be (and maybe in some cases, still is) a bucket of hot coals that kept the feet and legs of the people sitting there nice and toasty in the winter months when the tile floors are like having your feet and legs on ice, even if you wear your “zapatillas” (slippers). I also noticed that it’s a common practice for people to put their pointer finger to their face, as we do in America to signal crying, when they talk about looking at something, or paying attention. I thought of the old Spanish flamenco film, “Bodas de Sangre,” (Wedding of Blood) that we watched so many times, when we saw flamenco with our group on the second night of orientation. I knew from that movie how melodramatic and expressive the dance numbers were meant to be, and that they almost always tell a specific story. Stories which, if you don’t know from the words of the accompanying song, one can simply feel because of its incredible characteristic of emotional intensity.

Interest groups…what to do?!

We have the opportunity to choose an interest group to learn and travel with throughout the semester, but I haven’t chosen which one to do yet! Hannah, Randa and I went to an info session at the CIEE office about them, where people in charge of each had little tables set up and we could walk around to talk to them and get a flyer. Apparently the most popular are the IGs that learn about and go to Morocco, C�diz, or Mallorca at the end. There’s also a group that does sports and hiking, and goes to the Real Madrid f�tbol stadium, which was my original first choice, but now I’m not sure! We have to go early tomorrow morning to sign up for which ones we want. I think if I have the choice I’m going to pick the hiking and sports involvement group. I can’t think of any other way I’ll get to do that kind of outdoor activity, but there are plenty of opportunities to go to all of the other places they offered, and “probar las comidas” (try the different food) of Espa�a.

Class scheduling.

After the interest group info session on Thursday, we had to go up stairs to find out about our time for “matriculaci�n,” scheduling classes. Hannah and I were both scheduled for the same time and place – the next day, in the afternoon – while Randa would do hers Saturday in the morning. When we went to do it, we found out that we were placed in the Advanced Grammar group for our 2-week intensive Spanish class. Though not as good as the top 20%, which I’d hoped to score in, I was glad I’d be taking a general Spanish class instead of the Spanish History that they were, that sounded hard. I need to learn some “historia Espa�ola” though, politics and history are very pertinent and important to Spaniards and their culture. Anyways, Randa was in the next level down, which doesn’t make sense, because she and I communicate at relatively the same proficiency (if anything, she’s got better comprehension than me, actually). During my matriculaci�n, I scheduled a bunch of classes, at least one or two of which I will have to drop though, because I took on a pretty heavy load. Two art history courses (one with native Spanish speakers); a seminar in “Living and Learning in Sevilla,” which should be interesting, but also good for my r�sum� because I will get a certificate of “international competence,” or something to that effect, for free when it’s usually the result of a $300 class. I also signed up for a class called “Psychology of Learning a Second Language” (yaay!! :^D Right up my ally), and one on “Lexicology and Semantics of Spanish,” which I’m also really looking forward to. The last is a class Hannah, Randa and I are taking together. It’s on the “Three Cultures of Spain: Christians, Jews, and Muslims,” which is cool, because each of us comes from one of them 🙂

Our First Night Out.

When we came out of scheduling, there was a group of people from Discover Sevilla, a party and travel company that has events for Spanish and international students, standing around passing out cardss. We met and made some connections with the famed Toba, who posts all over FaceBook for all of their events, and has made himself well-known by thousands of students studying abroad here in Seville. He gave me a business card as well, so we can get in touch, and told us to come to their welcome party that night. We didn’t have any other plans, so we decided to check out the club, Abril (Spanish for April, like the month), which was on the other side of town. When we got there at midnight the place was literally empty with the exception of a bartender and two DJs. Uh oh, were we in the right place? We’d shown the guy at the door our promo cards and gotten stamped to come in and have free sangria until 2am, but where were all the other people with little green four-leaf clovers on their wrists?! Apparently no where to be found…until 2am. We watched as groups of other abroad students (none from CIEE though) started to pour in after 12:30. The music was mostly pop from the States, mixed by the DJs for a unique, more danceable sound, but picked up later in the night. By 2am, the place was filled with hundreds of Spaniards, students, and party promoters. We found Toba, who got us cards for free “chupitas” (shots, or mixed drinks, which are served unmixed much of the time, with a bottle of mixer and a half-full glass of hard liquor on the rocks), and got to dancing! It was a great time, just the three of us dancing our hearts out, and of course, watching other people do the same. Most European men stay in a group, and keep to themselves unless a female seems particularly interested in talking or dancing. I appreciated this a lot, as men in the States usually act much less refined in the clubs. I needn’t explain how so – just take a look at a club scene in any popular recent music video – they’re less than considerate of personal space, and to me it’s just a little disturbing. We stayed out until about 3:30am, at which point we figured we should  get home if we wanted to get any kind of rest before our trip to Alcazar (palace) at 9:55 the next morning. Well you should just know that we each hit snooze and decided it might be best if left for another time because at that point, sleep was more important…Randa had to schedule her classes that morning though, so we met to go do that and then get both her and Hannah cell phones.

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People are desperate.

Yesterday when we were walking on the street after scheduling Randa’s classes, we ran into Brogan, someone I’d met on our last night in the hotel. He was headed home with plans to go for a run with some guys from the residencia, which he’s living in, after matriculaci�n. He hadn’t heard from them, so he decided to come with us for  lunch in the plaza by the CIEE study center. While we were seated, talking about life and our personal interests, we saw a number of people walk by panhandling, and playing music for money from instruments I’d never even seen before. These were mostly gypsies. One woman walked around dressed as a clown with balloon animals half-twisted into long strips with poofs and petals, ready to be transformed into dogs and flowers. As the sun hid behind a beautiful old building at my back, we each wondered aloud what it must be like to sit on a corner in a blanket, play an accordian, or dress up as a clown, while life went on around you. I gratefully swallowed delicious chunks of avocado, greek cheese and olives, and tomato; washed down by “tinto de verano” (wine of summer, red with lemonade). After our meal, Brogan separated from us to go for his run, and we went shopping. On our way home, we saw more street ‘actors and artists,’ if you will. They were doing all sorts of crazy stuff. One had his face made-up like a baby and stuck through a hole in a stroller that had a baby doll body made to look like his own. He blew loud smacking kisses and made ridiculous noises as if someone were pulling a string in his back and letting it go, or pressing a sound effects button. Another, on our side of the street, had his head stuck through a table, as if on a plate, with two fake heads to each side, and yelled, “BOO!” when we walked by, which made the three of us practically jump out of our shoes. Then there was the man “knee-deep” in a tiny flower pot, dressed up as a plant, and others playing music and selling chachkees the whole way down the main road in town. We hadn’t expected that, but were much less surprised by the end of the day than the first we’d seen, who danced around the square with a stuffed man and woman strapped to him like a backpack, “dancing” to old Spanish music. It was a quite a sight. And an eye-opening one, at that.

Me Hannah and Randa.jpgOut on the Town.

Last night, we watched our first f�tbol game here in Sevilla! The two big teams of Seville, FC Sevilla, and Real Betis played each other. It was exciting because, as told by Hannah, Betis has been an underdog for a while, and just recently made it high up enough in the ranks to play in the same league as Sevilla. They went into overtime and tied 1-1, which Loli said tonight was a good thing, because it’s a pretty big deal here and “better if everyone’s pleased”. There were hundreds of people packed in the bar that we went to, and cheers and shouts came when either team got ahead or lost the ball, so it was pretty exciting. There weren’t many seats in the bar, even after it cleared out, so we left for a hookah bar that we’d gotten a card for earlier in the night. When we got there, we had a group of almost ten people, but just Hannah, Randa and I ended up staying to chat with the owners and smoke for free as long as we had drinks, which was the promotion of the night. We ended up staying for a while, striking up conversations with regulars who were there with a group of friends; and the owner, who came from Belgium seven years ago, and has lived in Sevilla since. When we realized we couldn’t pay with plastic, we had our new friends take us down the street to show us where to “cajero” (cash machine) was. As we walked down the street, I saw the silhouette of someone pulling something long, skinny, and curved out of the trunk of a car. I was HORRIFIED at the thought that someone might be pulling a rifle out in a semi-public place, and tripped over the sidewalk as I crossed onto the other side of the street. I finally realized that it was a guitar, and laughed at my instinctual fear of the worst. Here in Andalucia, guitars over guns is usually the right selection of “G” words, even at 3:00am in a dark side-street. After we finally got back to the hookah joint and paid, we decided to let two of the guys we’d been talking to take us to a club. One of them, Edu, had come on his bike and offered to take one of us there on it. We decided it was probably better if we didn’t split up…but that doesn’t mean one of us may or may not have taken him up on that offer and gone on a really cool 5 minute ride along the river (wearing a helmet!) and met them there safe and sound :^D …ANYways, Hannah was tired, and my feet were a little sore from the heels I’d been wearing all night, so we only stayed a little while, but it sure was the definition of a fun and spontaneous night in Spain. Home at 4:00am was earlier than a lot of locals were calling it a night, but it felt so good to get into my warm bed, and stay there until noon today!

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��No Soy Espa�ola!!

After waking from my cozy slumber, Randa and I went to go meet Hannah at a caf� on the other side of the river and have some coffee. There was a man there who struck up a conversation with the three of us when he heard us trying to decide what to drink. Apparently, he spent a lot of time in the States at a couple of different points in time, and so, spoke pretty fluent English. He said I speak Castillano with a really accurate accent, and that would be why people (including my host mom, probably) assume I’m Spanish or forget that I’m not, and then speak to me so quickly! He knew I was American but would break into thick and almost incomprehensible speech every now and then when he was addressing me. He also told us some classic differences between US and Spanish gestures, like the one I mentioned earlier. Running a pointer finger, or the edge of one’s hand across the neck is indicative of a threat, and never has the less aggressive meaning of “finished,” or “no need,” like we can use it at home. This whole hour-long conversation took place in both English and Spanish, and incorporated a fair amount of code-switching, which was fun and interesting, because that’s a large part of what I studied this year at Penn State.

Living, Learning, One Day at a Time.

Sometimes it’s been a little tough, but one of the things that I’m starting to notice is the availability of words I didn’t realize I still had in my Spanish vocabulary. It’s a little mentally taxing; and therefore, somewhat emotionally exhausting at times, because of the self doubt that comes with trying to express myself at the level of intellect that I can in English. However, the more I carry long conversations with people – like at dinner with my host mom, and Spaniards I meet – and stick it out, it gets easier. I noticed that last night (not ironically, only after a pretty large gin with strawberry and lemon juice), I found myself speaking more or less fluidly, stopping to search for words less often than I did earlier in the week. At this point, the matter of confidence has dissipated for the most part, and overcoming . The urge to circumlocute (lit., “talk around a word,” as when you describe something instead of talking about it directly) when I can’t find a word is less prevalent than I expected it to be. Maybe because that’s even less efficient than waiting a few moments until the right vocabulary rises to the surface. It’s also been helpful to make myself mental scripts of situations, or long explanations that I need to communicate. 

No, they don’t censor boobs in Europe.

I’ve also come to notice very much the open and direct approach to life and interaction that people have here. To them it’s as though people in the States have a constant filter between their brain and their face, and prevents any “Freudian slips,” as we, not they, would refer to them. The word “mierda,” almost doesn’t even seem to have a direct translation to the English four-letter S word, as is taught in los EEUU (Estados Unidos – pluralized as such so as not to be confused with the EU). It has a different connotation altogether, and can take on either the property of profanity or simple exclamation, depending on how it’s said and used. It’s really easy to catch on when everyone around is this way, and taboos of all kinds are regarded as less serious. It’s normal to express oneself in an honest, but still appropriate, manner. And as the heading of this section suggests, boobs and butts are free game on Spanish television, ads, and publications!

Tomorrow I have to get up early to sign up for my interest group…let’s hope I can be there before everyone else and actually get a spot in something interesting!!


Location: Triana. Sevilla, Spain.

Exploring

Last night, my friend and I decided to take a walk around town. That’s what’s so great about Quebec–it’s easy to figure out.  It seriously feels like a small town. We had a vague idea of where the Mus�e de la Civilisation was and ended up finding it without a problem. Plus, I’m always running into people I know from my program; I guess everyone has the same favorite spots. For a city, Quebec is about as unintimidating as it gets.

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We only spent about half an hour in the Mus�e–it was too nice out not to be exploring the city. Instead we found a cute caf�, ordered cappuccinos, and lived the life. Getting coffee, watching people, and walking are generally my top priorities when visiting places anyway.

 

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Overall, I’m starting to get anxious about the program ending soon. I’ve made so many new friends that don’t live anywhere close to PA. I’m just trying not to think about that and make the most of my remaining time here. And of course, I have a Quebec bucket list! I still have to go to le Cochon Dinque (a restaurant), walk on the gorgeous terrace at night one last time, and bike along the river. I’ll update on my progress! 


Location: 85 Rue Dalhousie, Québec, QC G1K 8R2, Canada

Barcelona

Ciao Tutti,

A week or so ago, my ISC (Italian Student Companion), Silvio, had about ten of his friends over for dinner.  I am happy to report that I was actually able to carry a conversation with them and understand the general ideas of what they were talking to each other about.  We even played the Italian version of the game, Mafia.  This was quite a challenge, but a great and fun experience!

Changing topics completely, last weekend I went to Barcelona.  I arrived late on a Thursday night and took a train from the airport into the city center.  By the time I got into the city center, the metro had stopped running (after midnight) so I had to take a taxi to my hostel.  My hostel had a 91% review on HostelWorld.com, but I was immensely disappointed.  I did not realize that the hostel only had a common bathroom in the hallway of every floor.  I am so used to staying in hostels that have a bathroom in each room that this took a bit of getting used to.

On Friday, I took a free walking tour to see the architecture of one of Barcelona’s most famous architects – Gaudi.  His buildings made me feel like I was in Whoville and a world of Dr. Seuss, but they were really cool from the outside.  It cost upwards of 18 euros to go in, so I decided that the views from the outside were good enough for me.  We also saw a church that he designed over around 85 years ago that is still being built.  It is a very complex church and they say it will not be done for at least another 25-30 years!  That one complex building!

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One of the houses Gaudi desgined

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Another one of the houses Gaudi desgined

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One of the three facades of Gaudi’s church – the Sagrada Famiglia.  Only two are finished.  This is the Nativity Facade.

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The Passion Facade.  The Glory Facade just started construction.

After my walking tour, I took a hop on-hop off bus tour to see all of Barcelona.  Barcelona is such a spread out city that the bus company had two different lines.  It took me 6 hours to complete both lines, but I was happy I did it.

On Saturday, it poured the whole day.  By this point, I had become a pro on navigating Barcelona’s metro and decided to go to the Picasso Museum.  The Picasso Museum was a homage to Picasso’s older, lesser known works.  All I knew about Picasso before this was that he painted “Scream,” but was very intrigued by his life story.  He moved around a lot and changed his artistic style about once or twice a year. 

After the Picasso Museum, I decided to go to a restaurant to have typical Catalonian food – tapas.  They are basically a bunch of small samples, so you order two or three and try a bit of everything.  I had ham & cheese croquets and something very similar to sesame chicken.  It was really, really good.

Then, even though it was raining, I embarked on my voyage to find Barceloneta Beach.  By this point my map was useless because it was raining so hard, so I decided to follow the signs to the beach – big mistake.  I wound up 3 kilometers out of my way and had to backtrack to see it.  I was happy when I finally got there, though.  It looked like a scene out of 2012, the waves were about four feet high (pretty high for the Mediterranean Sea and I saw the cliché surfboarder walking away from the sea.  It was a beautiful beach, though. 

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The Beach

After this, I decided to walk and catch a metro back to my hostel.  After an hour rest, I went to the only bar in Barcelona that was showing the Penn State v. Michigan State game for the Big Ten Semifinals.  I think I managed to find the only empty bar in Barcelona, but a combination of a Penn State win and some nostalgic food like quesadillas and chicken tenders was enough to make my day.

 

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day.  I loved it!  I woke up early in the morning to walk the “La Rambla”, a very famous tourist promenade where artists and cafes line the streets.  I decided to grab a seat and order “Churros and Chocolate” and people watch.  They were so good.

 


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La Rambla

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Chocolate & Churros

After that, I took another walking tour of Barcelona.  This one was a tour of Barcelona’s historical center.  It was beautiful and reminded me a lot of Rome.  I gained some insight into the history of Barcelona that was absolutely fascinating like the fact that Barcelona used to be occupied by the Romans when it was a walled city (hence why it reminded me of historical Rome).  Also, I learned that the people of Barcelona actually consider themselves to be Catalonian, not Spanish.  They speak Catalonian and Spanish and are constantly protesting the Spanish government for their independence.  I also got to see where the King of Catalonia greeted Christopher Columbus after discovering the New World.  The final piece of trivia I learned was that Barcelona could have built the Eifel Tower instead of Paris, but the government thought it was too weird looking and built an arch instead – big mistake!

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The steps that Christopher Columbus was welcomed back on

After the walking tour, I took the metro to Park Gϋell – another one of Gaudi’s projects.  It was declared a World Heritage Site a few years ago, so I figured a trip to Barcelona would not be complete without seeing it.  Getting there was a difficult task.  After taking the metro, it was a kilometer walk to a series of eight escalators to take you to the top of a mountain.  At the top of this mountain, you had to walk down hill about a half of a kilometer to get to the park.  By this point, I was exhausted.  It was so worth it, though.  I saw the longest bench I have ever seen and a bunch of other cool looking houses, sculptures, and architecture! 

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View from the Park

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I think Dr. Seuss used to live here…..

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An overhang at the park.

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The other park entrance.

On my way back to the hostel to grab my bag, I found a Dunkin Coffee (they don’t call them Dunkin Donuts over there) and splurged on the biggest ice coffee I have ever had.  In Italy, I can only get an espresso – they really do not have American coffee.  It was probably the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had (probably because I haven’t had one in so long).  I topped it off with a ham & cheese panini and a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles – the icing on the cake.

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After grabbing my bag at my hostel, I went to the airport and came back to Rome.  In my next blog post (very soon, probably later today), I’ll bring you up to date with everything I did this week and weekend, post a few pictures from the past month, and post the bucket list I made of things I need to do while I’m in Rome.

Ciao,

Mike


Location: Barcelona, Spain