It has officially been two months since I landed in Santiago de Compostela, taking in my first breaths of Spanish air as I descended the staircase of our bite-sized Iberia aircraft. Although in some ways Santiago feels like a lifetime ago, overall my time in Spain has gone by in a flash. And it's incredibly scary and sad to think that it is already halfway over!
And since it's been two months, I figure it's about time to evaluate! While I am still by no means fluent, my Spanish has most definitely improved - especially in the listening department. I can also happily declare that I have become quite accustomed to Spanish life. I officially know how to order food properly, I am no longer ancy after 20 minutes - or 2 hours - in a cafe, I have finally understood the spanish idea of standing in line (or extreme lack there of), and in the last two days I have been asked for directions (by Spanish people!!) twice. Whether these milestones are founded in superficial generalizations or not I can't fully say, but according to my calculations I think I can now be considered roughly 45% Madrilena (being asked for directions TWICE was a real inflator)!
In the past few weeks I have visited a lot of really cool places. My parents came three weeks ago and we spent time in Madrid, eating at some amazing places and exploring the museums. We then went to Bilbao for the weekend and visited the Guggenheim - it's absolutely incredible. The city of Bilbao itself is also really great- with an amazing Calatrava pedestrian bridge and a beautiful non-touristy old plaza and barrio. The following weekend I went to Lisbon with three friends for our fall break. It was amazing. Portuguese people are probably the nicest people that I have ever encountered. There were also a good number of immigrants living there who are very incorporated into the city, a bit more so than Madrid which was interesting. Madrid is a huge center of immigration but the immigrants are still quite segregated. Also, the Spanish are very much inbred- so us Americans tend to stick out like a sore thumb. I've really become to realize here how much I take for granted the fact that the U.S. and NY especially is such a melting pot of people and cultures.
Anyway, back to Lisbon! Its an absolutely gorgeous city and the food is also great. There's a modern section of Lisbon which was built primarily in 1998 for the World Expo. The Expo was held in Lisbon, celebrating the 500th year anniversary of da Gama's exploration to India. The buildings include a huge Oriente Station (which is supposedly a pre-step to an expected Lisbon airport) also built by Calatrava and an amazing public pavilion built by Pritzker Award-winning Portuguese architect Alvara Siza Vieira (who also built the contemporary art museum in Santiago de Compostela we went to). The pavilion has a sagging concrete roof that weighs 1400 tons and has no support beams, its truly incredible. Then there is the Vasco da Gama bridge, which is the longest bridge in Europe. It's so long that the curvature of the Earth had to be taken into consideration when calculating the measurements!
We did two day trips also while in Portugal - one to Cascais - a beach town on the ocean, and one to Sintra, which is an old town full of mansions and a big castle on the top of a mountain (Photos below!).
Then the weekend after that we headed to Valencia with our program, visiting the amazing Science and Arts Center by Calatrava as well as the beautiful old section. We also ate the most amazing paella in the entire world AND went to an Andalusian restaurant where we showed off our flamenco skills! (Photo below!)
Then this past weekend it was nice to stay in Madrid and enjoy all that's here! Including going to see Goya's tomb and some beautiful frescoes by him in a tiny church in SW Madrid right near the Rio Manzanares.
And now, I am on my way to studying as I have an exam coming up on Wednesday. So!!!! Back to work!
Love to everyone!!!!!!
-Ana
My camera unfortunately broke, so until it gets repaired here are some photos taken by my friends Jane and Emily!!!! (Gracias chicas!)
BEST Tradition Portuguese restaurant, with our new best friend waiters!
Lisbon!
On the top of the world in Sintra
Atlantic Ocean! Cascais
Cascais!
Jane and me at the Science and Arts Center in Valencia! So. Cool.
Our group! Science Center, Valencia
Flamenco in Valencia!
Beautiful Valencian Mediterranean (Sorrolla would be proud!)
