Category Archives: Europe

Expect the Unexpected

I quickly learned after traveling to just a couple of cities that no city is completely how you expected it to be. France was no exception to this rule. Before I went to Paris all that came to mind about the city of love was high fashion, romance, and rude people. While Paris was a very romantic city it has a lot more depth than just being a romantic getaway. Paris boasts w lourve orld famous museums all through out the city. I had the opportunity to visit both the Pompidou and the Louvre. And the best part: both of my visits were free! (You can get in for free by showing a student ID card and an ID card that shows you live in the EU). The Lourve is massive. I think you could spend weeks in there and still not see everything. If you are able to go give yourself a few hours to walk around (and of course time to see the Mona Lisa even though she was named the second most disappointing tourist attraction in the world because of her size).

The architecture in Paris is absolutely breathtaking from the Notre Dame Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower to the Galeries Lafayette (which is a mall!). I would recommend definitely experiencing all the three of the places I just mentioned. While the last is not well known, it has an amazing rooftop view of the city and is the most gorgeous department store you will ever see in your life.

During our tri meandlocks p we stopped at the Love Lock bridge to put up our own locks. We accidentally put our locks on the wrong bridge (oops!) but turns out that was not such a bad idea since the original bridge had begun falling apart and all of those love locks have been taken down. It is easy to find locks in the tourist shops around Paris especially by the bridge.

Paris is known for its food and after visiting I can see why! The street food especially was amazing. Make sure to get a crepe or two during your visit! There are also many restaurants in Paris but just because Paris may resemble the hustle of New York City during the day it does not at night. Be aware that a lot of things close early in this city. I ate at Le Refuge De Fondues one night in Paris and the food was amazing! They serve steak that you cook yourself on the table and bread with cheese fondue. They also are known for serving wine in baby bottles. It was a great restaurant to go with a group but make sure you have a reservation!

After Paris, we flew to Nice using Easy Jet. You can also take a train to Nice, however, flying niceview there worked better with our schedule. Nice is absolutely gorgeous. It boasts a large market in town with delicious fruit and beautiful crafts and paintings. If you like soap you will find lots of handmade soap here especially lavender. Climb up castle hill for a great view of Nice and of its rock beach.

We specifically went to Nice for Carnival in March. The parade was amazing and everyone watching was dressed up. It was a mix of Halloween and Mardis Gra. The parade was much more interactive than any parade I had been to before. People dressed up would enter the crowd. Everyone watching would throw silly string and confetti on friends a nicecarnival nd on the people in the parade. And everyone on the floats was doing the same. The floats were very elaborate and there were a lot of performers walking through the parade too.

I’m on Sevilla Time

Just as the title says, I haven’t been very prompt with my blogs, but I promise I’ll be better for the next few weeks! So much has happened in these four short weeks, it’s crazy to me that I still have so much more time to explore this beautiful country and other countries in Europe. Coming here, I didn’t imagine the sights I would see or this experiences I would have. I can honestly say that it has already been an experience of a lifetime. Little things like navigating myself through an airport by myself, communicating with a Spanish-speaking host family on a daily basis, and trying the different food! I have experienced tremendous growth through everything, and I’m very thankful for that. It’s been difficult leaving my family and friends, but I have a new-found independence that I may not have otherwise. I’ve had to adapt to a major time change, in which everyone I know is 6 hours behind me. That has made communication a bit difficult, but we’re all working through it! So about the trip so far – my very first day at the airport, I had my first of many mini heart attacks. My flight from Buffalo, New York to Boston, Massachusetts was delayed for quite a while. At first that was not an issue, I would get off and make my way leisurely to my next gate in order to get to Madrid, right? Wrong!!! As soon as I got to Boston, I was thrown into a bus that took me to an entirely different terminal, where my gate was located. I passed that obstacle, but quickly realized that as I was going through security, a woman came over the intercom saying “Kayla Hayden, please make your way to your gate as soon as possible.” So obviously I freaked out and somehow made my way to my gate in record time! Thank God – anyways, I made it to Europe, which was my biggest source of anxiety! I felt instant relief once we landed, knowing that I was at least in Madrid. If anything happened I knew that I could get to Seville relatively easy, much easier than finding another way from Boston to Madrid! I probably could’ve just rented a kayak or swam or something… I enjoyed every flight that I took, especially the one from Boston to Madrid. I was treated to good food, free drinks and free movies! I watched some episodes of Modern Family, American Sniper, Taken 3 (this one was not about a girl being taken, thankfully), and played some games afterwards! Since I don’t travel often, I felt super spoiled!

Once I landed in the Madrid airport, I had to find my way one last time to my gate. But I’ve never seen a bigger airport than the one I was standing in. I am not exaggerating when I say it took me 45 minutes of brisk walking to find my gate. However, as I was walking up to it a group of Americans approached me and asked if I was with the CIEE program going to Seville. And I was! It was really nice to get to know some of the people in the group, it reminded me of doing an Orion backpacking/hiking trip before going to Penn State main campus as a freshman. After meeting everyone, we all walked together to board the plane. None of us sat near each other on the flight, but I met up with them again after we landed! We all got to the spot where CIEE students were supposed to meet for the shuttle, where we were introduced to some of the staff and group leaders of the program. We had a little bit of free time, so I was able to talk to people from all over the country. It was really cool and gave me some confidence knowing that I wasn’t alone. We all took the shuttle from the Seville airport to the place where our group leaders were. My group leader was Manolo. We met all of the other students in our specific orientation group, but a few were missing because they had already gone through orientation for the first session.Later, I found out that one of the girls that were missing was a friend I made freshman year at Penn State, Vanessa! It was great to catch up with her, and I really felt confident knowing that I came to Seville with one friend already.

Then it was time for my host family to come pick me up. Our meeting point is “El ambulatorio en la Calle Maria Auxilliadora”, which is a hospital on one of the main streets, Maria Auxilliadora. My host parents and another American student came to get me. My host parents and Juan and Juana. They immediately made me feel welcome, and we went for coffee right down the road. Apparently they still like boiling hot drinks when it is 100+ degrees outside. Juan bought me churros, which I couldn’t fully enjoy because I was so scared I thought I was going to throw up! But we sat and talked as a tried with everything I had to understand what they were saying. That was a fail. They speak a million miles a minute, and used words I had literally never heard before. Thankfully the American student was able to help me, occasionally translating back and forth. She was my lifesaver for the first couple of days!Once we got home, they showed me around the house. They brought me to my room, which was on the 3rd floor of the house. I think there are 4 floors of the house, but I’ve never ventured past my room’s floor. I quickly realized that it was ridiculously hot in every room of the house. I started to wonder how I would be able to deal with the heat! But they gave me a fan, and when I went downstairs they put on the AC in the living room, which helped. I talked with the family for a while, and they explained to me how they had 14 CHILDREN, and showed me pictures of every one. That took a while!

As far as experiencing the city and other cities around Seville, CIEE has been great with providing cultural activities and trips to supplement what we’re getting in Seville. We have taken a lot of tours and trips so far, and I’m only halfway done. We did a lot of activities during the first week, where we saw some of the major things that make up Seville. We visited churches, the university, different plazas and their monuments, and obviously had to try their ice cream!! A couple days into my trip, we went for dinner with our orientation groups. While eating “tapas”, which are essentially large appetizers for the entire table, we watched their famous dance – Flamenco. It was beautiful, the passion and energy of the dance was really unique.The tapas were really good as well. It’s cool the way they work. The whole table decides on the types of tapas that they want to eat, they bring out one plate that has enough for everyone, and you just eat off of the one plate. We had salmorejo, which is like a cold tomato soup with garlic, hard-boiled egg, and ham. We also tried a lot of interesting fried foods, like fried spinach and eggplant!Another thing that is really interesting, is the check system. The entire table is all one check as well, no matter where you are – bar, cafe, restaurant. You always just pay as a whole, which can really get confusing! Even through the confusion, we loved watching the Flamenco and eating. We loved it so much, we went again 2 days later! It was very cool the second time. The first time, a woman was dancing, which was obviously very beautiful and elegant. However, the second time, a man was dancing and he was amazing! He moved his feet so fast, it was mesmerizing.We ate tortilla – which is a mixture of potato and egg, and we also had tomatoes with oil and vinegar, and delicious breads and crackers. Salmorejo and tortilla are two of the most popular foods in Seville, and they’re both very good!Also, people in Seville eat a lot of fish and meat. I couldn’t imagine being vegetarian here! I’ve had to try a lot of weird fish that I’m not used to. Some have been delicious, others have been awful! My host parents keep trying to feed me octopus, which is really popular, and I hate it!!

The first weekend I was here, I was supposed to visit Cadiz, Spain. However, I missed the bus and was unable to go. That was really upsetting for me, because I felt like I was not fit for this trip. After talking to my parents, I realized that it was not the end of the world, and I could just go some other time. I didn’t really have any other plans that day, and was just sitting around. Out of nowhere my host parents told me that they were taking me to the beach the next day! It was a great surprise, and I was so excited. We went to Huelva, which had an amazing beach. It was extremely hot and sunny, which I was not used to at all.I made a little bit of a mistake and tried to stay out in the sun for too long. We decided to go home a little early because we were all sunburnt and tired of being hot. On the drive home, our car broke down. Not only was it really hot in the car because they didn’t have AC, we were not able to get out of the car because we were on the side of the highway. Long story short, I passed out on the side of the road while trying to get to the taxi. It was really scary, but two of my host sisters helped me until I was completely fine. When my host father came to pick us up, he insisted that I visit the hospital to ensure I was okay. And I was, I just needed to eat and rest! Needless to say, my first week was eventful. It was a series of trial and error, and I learned a lot!

Where Art Thou?

I am not an art person.

I will admit that I can appreciate fine music, theatre, dance, and performances of the like, however art has never been my thing. Sure, Picasso, Da Vinci, Monet, and other famous painters can hold their own in the art world – but all I see is a painting. Yet I still couldn’t pass up the opportunity to explore a few art galleries while in London (and it just so happened that these galleries were also required for our classes) and I finally found some art that I can fully appreciate.

“My Bed” at the Tate Britain by Tracey Emin

I never expected to view a person’s unmade, messy bed as art, however Emin’s bed does just that at the Tate Britain. According to our guide, Emin was in a deep depression at the time and had just won an award for her previous works. When asked to compile her best work she presented her bed, viewing it as a self-portrait. Though it may be hard to believe that this is art, Emin shows just how limitless art, especially modern art, can be.

Antony Gormley’s “Breaking Bread” at the Tate Britain

Another modern art piece that may not seem like true “art;” I was purely amazed when I first saw this piece. Notice the dark spots on the bread? Real mold. Apparently there’s so much sugar in this bread that it naturally preserves itself (although it is still kept in an airtight glass case). If you look closely, you can see that Gormley ATE the bread to outline the shape of his body.

“Young Woman Powdering Herself” by Georges Seurat at the Courtauld Gallery

Georges Seurat has officially become my favourite painter. One day of looking at his paintings and I was sold. It’s hard to tell in the above picture, but Seurat does his work using a technique called “pointillism” where he creates each part of the painting using one dot of paint. The coolest part is that when you look closely at a specific part of the painting you can see something like five different colors, but when you step back it appears as one complete shade of paint.

Close up of pointillism

The above picture is a closeup of the Seurat painting and the detailed pointillism.

“Vase of Flowers” by Claude Monet at the Courtauld Gallery

This post wouldn’t be complete without one Monet. The flowers in this painting are absolutely beautiful and Monet’s combination of colours to create this piece is phenomenal.

Thanks for reading and continue to look out for more posts about my adventures in London! Cheers, love!

A Letter to My Pots of Gold

Dear Friends,

Since coming home from Study Abroad I have been asked so many questions from friends and family members. And of course everyone’s first question is what was your favorite part. I can’t pick out a specific country or place that was my favorite to visit but I can say all my best memories from abr templebar oad have one thing in common. They all gelato involve you guys. The people I met while studying abroad and the friends I became even closer to by getting to travel and try new things with. All of you made a huge footprint in my study abroad experience. You made me laugh when we got lost in giant cities, you never gave up on finding that specific gelato place we just had to try in Rome, you watched and laughed while we rode camels, you took pictures to capture all of the amazing memories we have. I want to thank you constantly keeping me moving a sintragrouppicture nd always reminding me that we will never all be here again together. All of you truly made me appreciate all of the experiences we were having that much more. If one of us was tired there was always somewhere there to keep of the group going so we could enjoy everything that every city had to offer. Without all of you I would not have gotten to sing and d dublinparade2 ance in pubs at all hours of the day. I never would have had the courage to climb to the tops of castles in Portugal or mountains in Scotland. I never would have tried exotic food like haggis and fish with their eyes still staring at you. I never would have even thought to b cliffsofmohr athe in beer in Prague. Without all of you I would have laughed a lot
less. Getting lost would have been way less fun and language barriers would have only been annoying and never funny. I have pictures and memories that I love to look back on when I want to remember all the amazing and crazy things we did.

I really did find my pots of gold in Dublin and I’ll always treasure all of the memories we made and can’t wait to make more.

Love,

Sammie

The Final Full

Wrapping up our final full week was so strange to do. How could it be that we’d be leaving so soon already? Even though the trip was drawing to a close, we still managed to pack the week full of activities and sightseeing.

Getting in Touch with Our Nature-y Sides

That Tuesday, we did something that we’d all put on our Ronda bucketlists–go under the bridge. The distance between the top of the bridge and the bottom of the gorge is about 120 meters, or 390 feet. The hike down itself was no more than a steep walk, but we picked up a few friends on the way. One of them was a Ronda native named Antonio who shared his own study abroad experience with us to a place not far away from Penn State: Lancaster, PA. Small world, right?

The underbelly of the bridge was much different than I had expected. While I had been told that it was a gorge, I didn’t realize how big it actually was.

Spanish terrain as a whole is pretty arid and rocky, but in parts like this it’s a bit greener, too. I really liked seeing the land as it was, undisturbed and without having been built on even though it was only a few hundred feet upwards.

Delving Deeper

The next day was filled with more nature-esque things. The first was a visit to a cave called La Pileta.. This cave was home to over 18,000 murciélagos, or bats. On the walls were paintings over 30,000 years old. Some were even older! They depicted animals such as horses, bulls, and fish. So as not to disturb the bats or damage the cave drawings, we weren’t permitted to take photos in these innermost parts of the cave, but we did manage to snag one in the entrance with our lanterns that we used as guides throughout the tour.

Following La Pileta, we went off to yet another cave: La Cueva del Gato, or The Cave of the Cat. It gets its name for its catlike stone structure.

Contrary to its appearance, this place is not what meets the eye. The pond is deeper than it seems. The cliffs are higher. And the water is very, VERY cold. Though the day itself was about 85 degrees, the water was shaded by foliage and settled in at what felt like a Penn State winter itself. ¡Qué frío!

….we went in anyway.

And we froze.

And I would 100% do it again.

I’m talking the kind of cold where your entire body feels numb and makes it hard to breathe once it gets past your rib cage, the kind of cold where your skin comes out in a carefully calculated combination of red and purple with goosebumps out the wazoo depending on the time spent inside. But we did it under this rationale: How many times are you really ever in Spain?

More Nature, Plus History

Think about the architecture that one can see today. Think about the details. Think about the color. More importantly, think about the technology used to create it. Now picture something equally as unique, but tenfold the detailing and started construction in 889. This is known as none other than La Alhambra, a fortress and palace located in Granada.

This is a plant that Granada is known for, subsequently named La Granada. Though it may seem foreign, the US sees them quite frequently: pomegranates.

I like to compare La Alhambra to an architect’s dream. I have never been so in awe of any building as much as I was of this one. From the moment we walked in, our entire group was floored. For something to be so old and yet so intricate was incredible.

Of the many spots we visited inside, one was called El Patio de Leones, or The Patio of the Lions. It’s known for its water structure in the center, encircled by lions and also by its patterned arches.

But my favorite part of all was a section called El Generalife, which is La Alhambra’s gardens. They’re not comparable to anything I’ve seen in the past, but I like to describe them with 3 B’s: big, beautiful, and breathtaking. Words don’t do it justice.

Without a doubt, La Alhambra has been the best part thus far. Nothing can compare to the detail, the beauty, and the magnificence found in one place.

The City Itself

And then came Granada. We were told that next on the Agenda was seeing Ferdinand and Isabella’s graves. Crazy, right? But in the meantime, we had a few hours to explore the city on our own.

I set off by myself. I still had some gifts to buy. But more importantly, I had yet to venture anywhere in Spain alone. I wanted to see it for myself. I didn’t go far–just to a few shops in an open market and then off to a main street–but it was refreshing to take everything in in the way I saw it. I’ve found that opinions of things are best made when uninfluenced by the words or actions of those around you. I bought some boomerangs and wallets, talked to some shopkeepers, and saw a parrot casually sitting atop someone’s shoulder. I gave some spare change to the happiest homeless man I’d ever seen. He was singing a song and dancing with the cup, throwing ‘ayudame’ into the verse, which means help me. After a while, it was time to head back. But having wandered by myself was a nice refresher.

The graves themselves were underneath the main floor building, but not quite like a basement. There was a small set of stairs that led down to a room covered by a glass window immediately followed by stairs back to the top. The statuesque replicas were above in the main floor of the church. Standing next to two of the most powerful people in the history of the world makes you feel really, really small.

And with that, our venture to Granada drew to a close–but not before grabbing a quick group photo by the fountain in one of the city’s squares!

Students, Professors, and a PSU student residing in Granada for work purposes

Location: Granada

I Really-Actually-Seriously Stood on Red Square. Это Правда.

For as long as I can remember, it has been my dream to visit Red Square in Moscow and gape at St. Basil’s Cathedral, the GUM shopping center, Lenin’s Mausoleum and the Kremlin wall.

I could not be happier to be standing on Red Square in front of the beautiful St. Basil’s Cathedral!

Last week, my life-long dream was finally fulfilled, and I am still in disbelief. Every aspect of my journey to and from Moscow was incredible as well, and I would love to share with you my 4-day adventure to the capital of the Motherland!

The Kremlin at dusk

CIEE arranged for us students to take the overnight train to Moscow to get the full experience (…coming back to Petersburg, we took the Sapsan – the fastest train connecting the two cities… only took 4 hours!). For someone who has never taken an overnight train before, I was so excited. My friends and I would peer excitedly out the window at all the dachas (Russian summer cabins) and trees until the sun went down… then we transitioned to watching Russian cartoons about travels to Outer Space. Before we remembered that we needed sleep, the train had arrived at the train station in Moscow! Immediately, after stepping off the platform, I knew I wasn’t in St. Petersburg anymore. The buildings differed from each other in height, and the sound of traffic seemed to overwhelmingly drone out everyone’s thoughts. The CIEE group then took a short bus tour from the station to our sweet Holiday Inn hotel and ate an incredible breakfast. Once hyped up on adrenaline and excessive amounts of coffee and blini (see?! sleeping on the overnight train wasn’t really necessary..), we made our way to the bus again for our 5-hour-long introductory tour of Moscow (we stopped for photo-ops, of course). The tour concluded with a stop at Red Square. After many group pictures, we were free to explore the area. The huge, high-end shopping mall, GUM, was a big hit with everyone because venders inside of GUM were handing out FREE ice-cream that day. It was coincidentally the absolute hottest day we have had in Russia. Is that fate or what?! (Though I must admit, I bought blini instead of waiting in the free-ice-cream line…)

The free ice cream was HERE!

After that packed first day, we were able to try to catch up on sleep so that we could go to Lenin’s Mausoleum early the next morning. My host mother told me that she went once when she was very young and warned me that it was very strange and she was very afraid. I did not know what to expect exactly, but it was an experience I am glad that I have had. It was surreal to see Vladimir Lenin in his own flesh… but it was definitely eerie. After seeing Lenin, I saw the graves of other influential political and historical figures in Russian history, including the grave of Joseph Stalin.

The grave of Joseph Stalin

After the mausoleum, we watched the changing of the guards at the WW2 Eternal Fame Memorial, and then we received a tour of the Kremlin and the Armoury Museum (amazing, so beautiful and rich in history!) inside the Kremlin (Oh, Disclaimer: I didn’t get to see Putin at all, let alone on a bear).

My Moscow nights were spent wandering about the city with my native Russian friends, Liza and Masha. They were more than happy to show another CIEE participant, my friend Ericka, and I their favorite cafes, parks, gardens and streets. They took us out to eat at an old Soviet-style restaurant I would have otherwise never tried, told us stories behind detailed graffiti on less-populated streets, showed us churches with secret gardens behind them and explained the story behind the addition of McDonald’s to Moscow (people waited for days in the line for Mickey D’s… 24 years ago!).

Eating a Soviet-style dinner in Moscow with Russian friends

There is no place quite as wonderful as Gorky Park. It is complete with water boats, fountains, dance stages, basketball and volleyball courts, cotton candy and much, much more…

Bean Bag chairs at Gorky Park. Absolutely incredible!

From people-watching at Gorky Park to dancing in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral and walking through Lenin’s Mausoleum, I know that I made memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. I feel extremely blessed that I was able to experience Moscow through the eyes of locals; I learned that Moscow has a side that differs from her grandiose, magnificent and world-famous Kremlin. My only regret is that I could not be there longer… but I have more of St. Petersburg to study and explore!

Ericka and I posing with Pushkin and his wife on our tour with our Russian friends!

Location: Moscow, Russia

Katie’s Catchphrases and London Culture Explained

There’s no doubt that London, like most places, has a unique dialect and different culture compared to the U.S.A. At first, some cultural quirks seemed a bit intimidating (and embarrassing, as you’ll read below), but even after only living in London for a week and a half, certain phrases and understood rules of London have become ingrained. The following is a top five list of my favorite London sayings and cultural differences.

Note: please read the following list in an English accent (that’s right, our one tour guide was adamant that a British accent does not exist. If a person is English, then they are also British, but just because a person is British it does not make them English, therefore someone can be British but have an English, Scottish, or Welsh accent, but not a British accent).

1. Mind the Gap

A popular and well-known phrase even outside of London, “mind the gap” simply means to be careful (mindful) of the gap between the train and the platform at the tube station. Other variations include: mind your head, or mind your step.

2. You MUST ride on the right side of the escalator

This is where the embarrassing part from the intro comes in. Often the tube stations have very long escalators with very small signs that tell you to stay on the ride side. They aren’t kidding. The first few days I’d get on an escalator as usual – by standing right in the middle to ride the whole way down – much to the frustration of the long line of people behind me that were impatiently waiting to pass. Of course, as a city, Londoners move quickly, so often people actually want to walk down the escalator and get on as quickly as possible.

3. Cheers, it’s no worries

Though “cheers” can also be used in the U.S.A. as a toasting word, London uses it for almost any occasion. Leaving from a store? Cheers! Coming into a restaurant? Cheers! You alright? Waitress delivers your coffee? Cheers! Paying your bill afterwards? Cheers! Just found out princess Charlotte was born? Cheers! The possibilities are endless, and if there’s one phrase I hope to adopt, it’s certainly cheers.

A smaller phrase I’ve noticed and loved is how people respond to “thank you.” Variations I’ve heard so far are “no worries” and “it’s alright.” I rarely hear “you’re welcome” or “my pleasure” (for Chick-Fil-A goers like myself).

4. London is not NYC

Before I started my study abroad trip, part of me was worried about living in a city. I never liked the constant and overwhelming sounds, smells, and lights of NYC for long periods of time, so I didn’t know what to expect of London. London, however, is a city and a small town all in one. We’re currently staying in cute, homey flats with two beautiful squares on either side of us. There’s a lot of locally owned cafes and most things close by 10. The locals are also the nicest people I have ever met. Without asking, if they sense you’re confused about the tube stops or which way to Russell Square, they don’t mind stopping and helping. When my group was on the London Eye, one of the locals explained to us different buildings we could see and the history of them.

On the other hand, there’s a great deal of diversity (and ethnic food), a LOT of traffic, cars that do NOT wait for anyone to finish crossing (they honestly will honk and hit you without remorse), an awesome and accessible transportation system, and a lot of ways to get lost (as I have done a few times already). Though this mixture of small town feel and city life may seem contradictory, London pulls it together perfectly.

5. Rubbish, Loo, to Let, Bloody Brilliant, and Cash Machines

This may seem like a lot of words under one number, however these are pretty small and self-explanatory words/phrases.

They really do call trash “rubbish,” and often public trashcans are marked as “Litter Bin” or “Rubbish.”
Bathrooms do not exist in London, but you can easily find your way to the loo, although they’re often bluntly marked “Toilets.”
I’ve also seen “To Let” on a lot on buildings that are up for rent, and while easy to figure out by context what this phrase means, it was still strange seeing it on realtor signs.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione aren’t the only ones to say that the fish and chips here are “bloody brilliant.” Both words are used frequently together or separately, and you can’t go wrong using either to describe something.
Cash machines are another way that Londoners tend to be very blunt. You’ll never find an ATM in London, but the cash machines are every few blocks at the nearest Sainsbury Local (the most common market, often too small to be called a true grocery store).

Thanks again for reading, and keep following as I learn, explore, and experience more in London over the next few weeks! Cheers, love!

And That Means I Can Do Anything, Right?

In the closing scene of the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, the main character is adamant about his ability to be able to do anything he dreams of. After only a week in London, I feel the same way as Christopher did in the play. Growing up in a suburban town, my choices of, “Oh let’s go explore/learn/discover/see this today” were pretty limited, however London is the complete opposite. Today is my first real day that I’ve decided NOT to do anything, primarily to catch up on school work and reflect on this past week. SO, here is my first week in review!

Day 1: The First Full Day

The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum

Today our class visited the British Museum which happens to only be a block from our flats. The museum was expansive and the exhibits all had a lot to offer, like seeing the Rosetta Stone, ancient Egyptian artifacts, and how money has developed throughout time, to briefly name a few. This is definitely a place I’ll have to return to and explore more throughout the month. We also visited Trafalgar Square (any Doctor Who fans?), went on the London Eye, and got a first glimpse of Big Ben.

Day 2: Wait, We Have Classes Here?

A more low-key day, we had our classes for a few hours in the morning (a reality check that this is not just a very long vacation) and then had free time for the rest of the day. A bunch of us decided to go to the Camden Markets, a massive flea market with endless stalls and food to eat.

Me, eating my crepe at the Camden Markets (picture taken before the crepe leaked and stained my pants)

Day 3: From Students to Spies

At first, our class visited the Tate Britain (an art museum) to learn about modernism in art, as per the theme of one of our classes on this trip. Then, we all stopped at a pub that has an upstairs room decorated like an old style saloon with binoculars to spy on London’s secret service building which was right across the Thames and in perfect view of the pub. Though we didn’t see much, the atmosphere was awesome and we all loved it.

The MI6 building (London’s Secret Intelligence Service building)

Day 4: Insanity and Imagination

As another class trip (this time for our Insanity and Imagination class), we visited the Bethlem Museum to see not only how people with mental illnesses were treated in the past, but also current treatments and approaches. Before our trip, our class learned about the history of Bedlam and the terrible treatment of people with mental illnesses in the past, but also how this “insanity” has been closely related to creativity. The museum also displayed how mental illness and imagination still have a very close relationship, but of course without the same stigmas and in a different manner than in the time of Bedlam. For example, the museum displayed a lot of art that people with mental illnesses have created in order to express themselves and use their imagination as an outlet for their diseases.

Day 5: Piccadilly Circus

Our free time today led us to wandering around Piccadilly Circus and finding Hatchard’s, a beautiful, four-floor book store in which I found (and bought) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (to the excitement of our whole group of HP lovers). We also stopped in Fortnum and Mason, a department store that’s been around since 1707! Then, a few of us bought tickets to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, which was PHENOMENAL. Though I knew it was nominated for a lot of Tony Awards in the States, I had no idea what to expect, yet I left the play ready to turn around and walk back in to see it again. The others from my class who went had very similar reactions as I did, and the best part was we only spent 15 pounds for our seats (about $25). The play, cast, and set was innovative, simple but sophisticated, unique, unexpected, and amazing all around.

Me, outside the theatre for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

Day 6: Defying Gravity

Today may have been my favorite day of this week. First, we went to see Big Ben/the House of Parliament and then went inside Westminster Abbey. Though I expected a beautiful church, I never expected such a gorgeous church with a rich and interesting history. People like Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, kings/queens, and famous poets were all buried underneath the floor we walked on. My childhood dreams of wanting to become a princess suddenly reemerged as I could only imagine how Kate Middleton felt gliding down the grand aisle at Westminster Abbey on her wedding day. Sadly, they don’t let you take pictures of the inside, so you’ll have to take my word (or visit yourself) to fully grasp the detail and grace of this building. Later in the day, we also went to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Again, tickets were relatively cheap, and entirely worth it because our London cast was just as wicked as the Broadway cast. This was at the top of my list of things to see in London, and it did not disappoint.

Me, in front of Westminster Abbey, dreaming of marrying a prince.

The House of Parliament a.k.a. Big Ben and a typical double decker bus

Day 7: Leeds, and Dover, and Greenwich, oh my!

This day was our busiest by far, as we took a planned bus trip with a bunch of other tourists. We started off by visiting Leeds Castle, a castle primarily owned by queens. The castle was set on a beautiful piece of land (500 acres) that had ponds with black swans imported from Australia. Next, we went to the white cliffs of Dover with a “beach” made up of stones (no sand). The coolest part about this beach was that you can see France from shore and Dover Castle on top of the white cliffs that is used for the military. Next, we travelled to Canterbury (the scene of Canterbury Tales) and visited the historic cathedral. Lastly, we walked through Greenwich Park where I was in two places at once. Well, sort of. Greenwich Park marks the division line between the eastern and western hemispheres, so I was technically standing on two separate parts of the world at one time! We ended our trip with a boat ride where we got quick glimpses of the Millennium Bridge (as seen in Harry Potter), the London Bridge, and the Tower Bridge. After this long day’s journey, and a week of adventures it’s no wonder why most of us are taking a personal day to recuperate before our next week begins!

Me, standing in two places at once in Greenwich.

The Tower Bridge as seen from our boat ride

A glimpse of the beautiful property at Leeds Castle

Once again, thanks for reading, and stay tuned as I continue to ‘do anything’ I dream of and discover in London! Cheers, love!

Location: Bloomsbury, London, United Kingdom

Easing Back Into “Reality”

Post Madrid, we had a three day week which was nice to use to get back into the swing of things. The Thursday of that week we went to Ronda’s 16^th century bodega for a wine tasting. We learned about the process that goes into making the wine and why it’s done a certain way for each. The darker the wine, the older it is. We also stumbled across the one and only avocado tree in Ronda. It grows in the shaded patio of the bodega on the cliff side, so it’s protected from certain aspects of the weather that it wouldn’t have been if it were somewhere else.

On Friday, I woke up with two welts that could be known as none other than spider bites according to careful research (aka browsing through none other than Google Images). Susana and I went to the hospital after school to get them checked out since the bug bit me while I was sleeping and we weren’t sure if it would go away on its own. Luckily, the doctors told me (told Susana in very fast Spanish that she later relayed to me in a simple version) that I only had to continue taking the seasonal allergy medicine that I already do. They’ve since deflated and left some Spanish battle wounds that I can take back home. There’s this quote that I like that says “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow”. Can’t help but to think that the way it applies here is kind of funny in a backwards sort of version.

I woke up like this (and proceeded to unintentionally freak everyone out at school)

Saturday we didn’t have any trips technically scheduled, but everyone planned to use the free weekend to go to a Spanish beach so the majority of us took a bus to Marbella, which is about a 40 minute drive. The town is beautiful. We got it on a cloudier day than we’d hoped, but all in all it was still fun to go to. Susana told us that you can see Morocco when the sky is clear and that it’s only 14 km away. To put in perspective as to how close we were, a few of our phones picked up the Moroccan time zone.

First step in the Mediterranean

The beach itself also had a lot of people carrying around knockoff purses, sunglasses, and the like. Most told us that they had come from Africa and were trying to earn money to live in Spain which was admirable, but were so pushy in trying to get us to buy their things that it became annoying. The initial question and answer was the same from man to man:

“Sunglasses? Jersey? Buy this t-shirt for your boyfriend?”
“No, thank you.”

After tons and tons of people approaching us with only a few minutes between each, we resorted to more creative tactics that served us well for the rest of the trip, specifically our favorite weapon with the best Spanish accent that we could muster:

“Sunglasses? Jersey? Buy this t-shirt for your boyfriend?”
“¡No hablo inglés¡” (aka I don’t speak English)

It’s foolproof–10/10 would recommend.

Location: Marbella

The Top 5 Types of Things You’ll Notice in Spain

As it would be assumed, Spain and the US have their fair share of differences. While there are an unlimited number of them, there are a handful of things that stick out more than others.

1. Time
Everything is much more relaxed. In certain situations, it’s perfectly acceptable to say you’ll meet somewhere at 8:30 and not show up until 8:35/40. For example, social outings are much looser than things like the starting time of class. That being said, even class is more relaxed. We have a start time of 9 everyday but if someone doesn’t come until 9:05 it’s still seen as on time, not five minutes late.

Siesta takes place every day from about 2-5 and is both a blessing and a curse. It’s nice to have a break to nap or get ahead on work, but it’s frustrating when I want to go shopping for groceries or whatever else I may need right after school. In the bigger cities that we went to, siesta is less common but still occurs with the smaller, non-touristy, family owned shops. In Ronda, almost everything closes except the hospitals (of course) and the few tourist shops and restaurants near the New Bridge.

2. Attire
EVERYONE WEARS PANTS. ALL. THE. TIME. It doesn’t matter what the temperature is, nor the time of day. ¾ of the people in Ronda are always in pants when you walk around town. In fact, only tourists wear shorts really so it becomes a dead giveaway. Every once in a while you’ll come across someone in shorts, but it’s definitely a rarity. It’s also frowned upon to wear sweatpants or athletic clothes out of the house unless you’re en route to the gym. To this day, I have yet to see any Spaniard wear any at all.

3. House Etiquette
One must not go barefoot in the host house. Wearing shoes is a sign of courtesy—typically they’re slippers, but for the most part I wear flip flops since the weather is warm which makes the house warm.

I have yet to see a window screen. The windows and the doors are almost always open, but without screens attached. I’ve made a game out of getting flies out of my room via the window. It’s been quite successful so far.

In the US, it’s a common thing to see showers that have a mount on the wall but can also be moved out of the holster. My host house has this kind of shower, but without the mount…I put it between my knees every day when I shampoo.

Toilets don’t have actual handles to flush, but rather buttons, which are the most common substitute. At my host house, it’s a metal piece on top of the water bowl that pulls upwards.

4. Eating Schedule and the Food Itself
Food hours are more spread out than ours at home. Breakfast is still in the morning around 8 or 9, but lunch happens during siesta (a break during the day where all shops close and reopen later, meant to be a rest for those who are working to go home and eat lunch and/or take a nap aka siesta) which is from 2-5. Dinner falls between 9 and 12 am. People at restaurants ate between 9-11, but my host family commonly eats around midnight. Meal size is also different. Breakfast is about the same, but lunch and dinner are switched. Dinner is smaller whereas lunch has a few courses. And of course, actual food eaten at each is different too. For breakfast, my host family eats toast with chopped tomatoes and olive oil. Lunch can be anything from tortilla de patatas to soup to sausage or fish or all of the above. Our host mom likes to feed us A LOT. Sometimes I skip dinner because I’m still full from the hours before.

The weirdest things I’ve eaten thus far have been pig cheek and bull tail, both very good and unlike any other type of meat I’ve had. The pig cheek is tender with a lot of flavor, but it’s mostly meat and not a lot of fat. The closest comparison I can give it is a cross between veal and filet mignon. I had the bull tail in a burger and it might be my favorite thing that I’ve tried to date here. It has more fat than the pig cheek but less fat still than an average steak. Bull tail is also very tender but not really comparable to other meats. It’s definitely one to try for yourself. Other people have eaten morcilla (mor-see-yuh) which is a type of sausage made of (get ready) cooked blood and fat. My friends have had mixed opinions of it. A few like it, but most can’t get past the composition or the aftertaste. I’m not brave enough to try it myself, so I can only go by what they say. I guess one can consider it to be an acquired taste.

MILK COMES IN A BOX! Think about a box that soup broth would come in at a grocery store, but a bit bigger. When you buy milk here, it’s on a refrigerate-after-opening basis which is so rare to me. It’s unheard of in the States to let milk sit out for more than a few minutes let alone indefinitely like a juice box. My host mom keeps a few boxes at a time lined up in the pantry. They blend in with the cereal boxes. Apparently it’s perfectly safe to do it the way that they do because it’s very pasteurized, but I don’t think it’s a custom I’ll adopt myself when I’m back home.

4. Atmosphere and Environment
The climate and geography are more similar to the southwest than the northeast where Penn State is. For the most part, the air here is dry with little humidity and greenness is to a minimum. There’s more brush than anything else. When we went to Marbella though, a beach on the south coast, the humidity increased because of the nearness to the water. The north is supposed to be very green as well, so my understanding is that the climate is overall varied just as the US happens to be. (I’m writing this in Madrid’s airport and looking out the window at the mountains and realizing that I probably won’t be here again for a very long time because I’m flying home in an hour and this is extra weird to be leaving after so long—I feel like this place is my second home and even though I’m starting to miss things at my actual home it’s weird to think that it’s all over and this is very sentimental and shall be reflected upon at a later date. TEARS)

5. Miscellaneous Observations
In the US, we pull doors open to enter a building and push them to exit. In Spain, most doors are push to enter and pull to exit. Strange stuff.

Festivities are more frequent and extravagant. There’s a parade at least once a week for a holiday.

Getting married earlier than 35 is considered very young. It’s also normal to live in your parents’ house around that age and older.

There is no set side of the street to walk on. While we walk on the right, Spanish walking has no structure and is more similar to that of pedestrian traffic in a city.

The strangest part to me about all of the things that I’ve noticed that are different than what I’ve been used to in the States is that they don’t seem too different to me anymore. As I wrote this post, I had to think about what wasn’t the same. And I feel like when I go home all of the things that I thought were normal before are going to seem strange. I don’t feel like I experienced a lot of culture shock when I arrived, but I think that the reverse will almost certainly happen. We shall see how it actually turns out.

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