Oh Valencia-ah-ah!

So - here's my attempt at a bit of a video blog, or 'vlog' for those of you who keep tabs on your internet lingo.

I gave it a go because it was going to be a little difficult to summarise my week away succinctly in written form. I had a wonderful time.

I'm not going to put it up here, because my computer crashed the last two times I tried. So -

Just click here to be linked to YouTube, folks!

(I like jump cuts. They hide my long 'ums'.)

HAPPY BELATED EASTER AND ANZAC DAY TO ALL! <3

Picspam 4 - Primavera!

The Result Of 2 Internetless Weeks

I’ve just come out of about two weeks with no internet. Our entire suburb was down – we’re all a bit annoyed at Vodafone at the moment!

It was an interesting experience. Being removed from the internet made me feel a lot further away from home than I’d felt before, for obvious reasons.

However, my Spanish grammar did improve drastically without Google Translate! With only a Spanish/English dictionary to guide me I was forced to become a lot more aware of verb tails, personal pronouns, tenses and the like. I’m certainly glad to have it back, though. My three economics questions of homework took me an hour each to complete last weekend.

Anyway, have some How-Is-Spain FAQs! Because I figure, if these are the questions that everyone is asking me, they’re probably what most people reading this want to know. Right?

How’s the food?

Excellent!

Almost all of the food that I have eaten has been very intense in flavour. A lot of the food is spicy, especially the soup. Olives also feature heavily in Spanish cuisine!

My host mother doesn’t really like red meat, so I haven’t been eating it all that much – once a week at most. We have soup quite a bit, lots of eggs, and lots of seafood. My host grandparents send up the most delicious fruit from Valencia once a week – I’ve been having two mandarins a day since arriving!

It might sound like an odd thing to say, but the bread in this house is SO tasty! Isabel is friends with the local baker, so we buy all of our bread in fresh rolls, rather than from the supermarket. Mmmmm.

And, yes, I have had paella more than once. It is delicious.

(I’ve also been cooking dinner twice a week! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when my host mother has to stay at work until about 9.30pm. I’ve been introducing my host siblings to the food my friends and family have taught me – Mum and Dad’s fried rice, the satay sticks I make with Louise, The Cramers’ steak and spaghetti!)

Despite all this, I’ve managed to lose 2 kilos since I got here! It must be the hockey.

Are Spaniards as attractive as popular culture would have us believe?

Some of them are!

Have you been shopping yet?

Not yet.

Well, okay, I have been out and bought things like toiletries, and groceries. And I did go window shopping in Soria. But, no, I haven’t been out shopping properly. I’ve been living in the same week’s worth of outfits for a month and a half now!

I’ve made plans to go to central Madrid with my friends sometime soon, though! So hopefully I’ll be able to spam those of you interested with pictures of new outfits soon.

So – it’s basically just one big, five-month-long holiday for you, isn’t it?

Definitely not! While this has been and is one of the most amazing experiences of my life, it’s not something I’d consider a ‘holiday’.

Honestly, I’m just living day-to-day life out in a different country. I still have school, still have to get up with an alarm, still have chores and still basically live for the weekends.

Yes, the fact that I don’t have to worry about school does make it a bit easier. But the fact that I can’t understand most people kind of balances that out.

Don’t misinterpret – I’m loving it! But it’s not a walk in the park.

Have you met anyone reminiscent of Fawlty Towers’ Manuel?

Yes, actually. Quite a few. (And they weren’t exaggerating it with Manuel - the Spaniards I’ve been around really do say “Que?” that much!)

Have you met anyone reminiscent of Inigo Montoya?

Unfortunately not.

How’s the weather?

Strange, and very erratic.

Most days so far have been chilly enough for scarves and coats, and windy but not unbearable. Some days are lovely – 15-20 degrees, with a nice breeze. And of course, some days have been rainy and snowy.

It’s definitely warming up though! We’ve had days of around 25 degrees this past week. Spring, here we come.

Do you miss us?

Of course!

That being said, homesickness has been eons less difficult than I expected it to be.

Homesickness comes to me at weird moments. I describe them as ‘moments’ because that’s really all they are – I’ll just be listening to my iPod on the bus, and ‘The Apology Song’ will come on, and I’ll be sad because Michael and Louise aren’t there to sing along with me. But it goes as quickly as it comes, usually.

Exchange orientation leaders assured me that there would be times that I “would want nothing more than to jump on the next plane home.” I have yet to experience that. While I miss my family and friends often, it’s certainly not all-consuming. I’ve been Skype-ing often, and I really am having an awesome time.

And, far out, I’m already finished with a THIRD of my exchange! That doesn’t compute. It honestly doesn’t feel like I’ve been here for 7 weeks.

When do you have school holidays?

There’s only one set of school holidays while I’m over here, and they’re pretty soon! For Easter, my host sibs and I get a week and a half off of school – starting on the 14^th. My host family and I are travelling to Valencia together. I’m looking forward to the break!

My family are in the minority of Spaniards that aren’t religious, which is quite a relief for me. Some of my friends are going to be spending most of the break in church, but for us it’s really just a vacation (as well as Daniel’s birthday!).

Isabel has offered to take me to the re-enactments of the crucifixion etc, if I’m curious. I might go and watch – I’ve heard it’s pretty spectacular.

The summer holidays here start the day after my flight home. Talk about bad luck. But – Isabel’s going to see if she can convince the exchange program to give me the last week or two off, so I can see a bit more of Spain!

I'm Not Soria Bout The Amazing Weekend I Had!

So, I spent this weekend in the city of Soria with my host family. Don’t know where Soria is? Never fear – I’ve encircled it in green for your convenience.

We were heading up there to celebrate my host grandfather’s birthday!

Day One

The drive was a couple of hours long, though with some nice views of the Spanish countryside along the way.

We met up with Isabel’s parents in a town called Morón. (Yes, I did have a giggle at the name.) We stopped off to have a look at the town square, which was absolutely beautiful...

...and to have some tapas at the local bar. Mmmm, pork crackling.

We eventually got to Soria, and – after dropping our bags at a hotel – headed straight off to check out a local monastery. This was especially exciting, because Isabel’s great-grandfather made the monastery gates! Here they are.

The monastery was amazing. It’s no longer used, and so is open to the public. It was built over some caves, and so quite a lot of the monastery actually has cave instead of wall!

There were some incredible religious paintings and portraits of monks inside, but I wasn’t allowed to take pictures. There was also the most amazing chapel, with brilliantly painted walls and ceilings, and a huge circular window with gorgeous view of the river, but again – no photos. Sigh.

After our visit to the monastery, we took a walk along the banks of the Rio Duero. This included walking along this bridge.

You can’t really see them too well in this picture, but there were hundreds of padlocks fastened to the rails along the bridge. After my inquiring, my host grandmother took it upon herself to tell me about this particular tradition in Soria. I’ll summarise.

How To Ensure You And Your Travelling Companions Are ‘Eternally Bonded’:

1. Buy a padlock.

2. Engrave the names of those you wish to be ‘eternally bonded’ with into said padlock.

3. Lock padlock onto bridge railings.

4. Throw the key into the Rio Duero.

This resulted in hundreds of locks like so:

My host grandparents even showed us a lock that they put there together, over forty years previously! Naw.

Our stroll along the river was interesting. There are lots of sculptures, climbing frames, plaques, and monuments. We had some fun pushing around a giant water mill, which was originally designed for horses. We also climbed on a large sculpture.

As we walked, it became night. We headed into the city, for my first real taste of nightlife in a Spanish city.

This photo was taken at about 8pm, it got a lot busier and a LOT noisier. Buskers were everywhere, shops were open, and street venders were packed with customers. My host mother, my host grandmother and I did some window shopping in some boutiques while the others looked inside a giant toy shop!

When it hit about 10pm, it was time for dinner. We visited the most extravagant buffet I have ever experienced. The restaurant was three floors high, and you gradually wormed your way down – the top floor for entrees, the second floor for main meal, and the ground floor for dessert and payment.

It is somewhere I will never take my family, for fear we’d never leave.

Day Two

We headed out to a town called Tajahuerce. Tajahuerce is an ancient town of about fifty residents, situated about half an hour out of Soria. At this time of year, the town is completely abandoned by its residents, who choose to vacate it for warmer houses on the coast.

So, basically, we were visiting an abandoned – though architecturally stunning – little village.

What then, I’m sure you’re wondering, was the attraction? Well, ‘Tajahuerce’ is the last name of my host family!

Many novelty pictures, such as the above, were taken with signs. There was also quite a large playground that we had some fun on.

At this point in the day, my camera battery ran out. Which is unfortunate, because close by to Tajahuerce is a ruined castle. We spent the afternoon exploring the ruins on our own, and that night we took a (rather spooky) night tour!

Day 3

Was today, Monday, and so we had to head home. We did stop off in a little pub for brunch before we left. The pub food was nothing compared to a good ol’ chicken parma, but the pub did have a large flying fox on offer!

Aaaand I was back in Colmenarejo in time for a few periods of school. Ugh.

Picspam 3 - Mi Jardin (¡Casi!)

I'm going to repeat myself - I have been so, so lucky when it comes to my exchange experience. Not only do I have an amazing host family, wonderful friends, and all the other things I've already told you all about - but I live right next to a national park!

Our back fence has a gate that literally opens up onto a gorgeous stretch of mostly untouched Spanish wilderness. There are a few dirt paths that wind through it, and we take walks most days with the dogs.

I absolutely love it.

Without further ado, have some pictures of my gorgeous backyard!


In a bonus bit of exciting news - I'm going away for the weekend! A couple of hours drive North-East to Soria, to celebrate Isabel's father's birthday. It's Isabel's favourite place in Spain, and apparently full of amazing architecture. It's also meant to have some incredible attractions for history geeks such as myself. Woo hoo!

Words On Words

One of the many things I'm finding absolutely fascinating about living in Spain is the language barrier.

I'm sure my fellow exchange students will agree that being thrust into a world where you suddenly can't speak to people, or can only speak to them on a very basic level, can be hilarious, terrifying, infuriating and sometimes lonely.

Things I wouldn't even think twice about at home - checking the time with someone, small talk, reading a notice in the classroom, paying for groceries - suddenly take all of your concentration and energy. It can be exhausting.

On the bright side, my ability to mime has certainly come forwards in leaps and bounds. You should all bags me for your charades teams when I get back!

When it comes to learning Spanish I have been very lucky. My eldest host brother Daniel speaks incredible English, and my host mother Isabel isn't bad either. They're both remarkably patient with me, make sure I never feel left out, and are so willing to help me whenever I need it.

Daniel actually sat with me a few nights ago and helped me translate my History notes for over an hour. He's absolutely fantastic. I've promised him Tim Tams in return!

School is a whole different story. While I've made some absolutely wonderful friends, and most of my teachers are lovely, it can be so difficult to follow along. In class, I'm generally fine as long as things are written down. But actually speaking to people - friends, teachers, the headmistress - is intimidating and so difficult.

It can also make you ridiculously paranoid. I'm constantly wondering whether people are talking and laughing about me!

When you're stuck behind a language barrier, you start noticing things you never would have before. This is one of the things I've found so fascinating. I've become so much more in tune with people's facial expressions, body language, and tone. I've communicated with people simply with high-fives, thumbs ups, and enthusiastic nods. I've learned that a smile can go a long way.

Learning to speak a new language has certainly highlighted which words I use most often in day-to-day conversations. While the obvious are all there - yes, no, please, thank you, but, and, can, need, want, etc, etc - there have also been a few surprises. Turns out I say random words like 'country' (pais), 'okay' (vale), 'car' (coche), 'play' (jugar), and 'tired' (cansada) a lot more than I would have thought!

It's so difficult, but don't get me wrong. Me encanta español. Y voy ser capaz de hablar correctamente! (Con tiempo.)

Don't Live In Spain If You Don't Like Dogs

I am definitely a dog person.

If you're reading this, I'm sure you know of/have met my ridiculous, good-for-nothing, wonderful dog in Perth, Torres:

When I found out I was going to have not one but THREE dogs in Spain, I was super excited! More puppy playtimes for me! These are the three gorgeous dogs that I'm sharing my house with; Rufi, Bagi and Blanca.

They're pretty typical dogs, really. They like to roll around in mud, love walks, and will be overly affectionate with you forever if you pat them as you walk past.

What I have discovered is that in Spain, or at least in Madrid, having three dogs is not all that uncommon. In fact, I have yet to meet a single Spaniard that doesn't have at least one dog at home. (And I've met a lot of Spaniards recently.) Every family in my neighbourhood has two or three dogs, never just one.

Dogs are everywhere in Madrid. People take them into shops, let them run wild through the national parks, even take them on play dates so they can hang out with one another! At about 8pm each night, my neighbourhood explodes in barks as the hundreds of dogs that live nearby demand their dinner.

As a dog lover through and through, I'm having a blast!

But if you're allergic, or not a fan of canines, maybe think twice before coming to live in suburban Madrid. All of my clothes are absolutely covered in dog hair!

In other news, I've had a pretty awful bout of the flu this past week that I'm finally getting over. I had to miss a total of four days of school, one party with my friends, and one hockey game. I'm feeling so much better now, though - well enough to participate in class sport tomorrow morning. Ergh.