The Worst Weekend Ever (that wasn't even completely bad but still horrible)

This weekend started off lovely. My roommate wanted to go somewhere for the weekend and we settled on going to Avila, a small town about an hour and a half away from here. I will finish righting the blog post for that when I'm in a better mood and have finished combing through all the photos. When we got back home from buying the tickets at the bus station and doing some shopping (which wasnt supposed to happen, so I didn't bring a bag or anything with me), I realized the 30 euros I had in my pocket was gone. yeaaaaa. I tend to be VERY pessimistic when something goes wrong so I was completely pissed off but I knew I had lost it a while back and the money was no where near res. My roommate insisted on searching some of the street we had walked but we didn't find it. Luckily for me I have a roommate who is able to stay in a good mood (but not in an annoying frustratingly cheery mood that would drive me nuts), so I didn't go to bed super angry, just a bit upset.

The next day we went to Avila and that was great. We had a lot of fun and took some good pictures.

AVILA!

This morning we got up early to go to the flea market,  called "El Rastro" in Salamanca (I'm pretty sure El Rastro is a general name for a flea market). I will probably write another post about that at some point too. Everything was going fine until my roommate, near the end of our time there, was just casually like, be aware of your stuff. That's when I realized that my purse was considerably lighter. I opened it and realized my wallet wasn't in there. It had been stolen.  I panicked. I tend to panic. (If you have never seen my wallet, it is this giant blue thing with a large Canada sticker on the back. Not easy to misplace). I basically started crying and freaking out. There was no money in there really, less than 10 euros, but everything else was: my credit card, debit cards, sin card, health card, driver's license, my new library card (!!), my residence card, all my old university cards which I loved, my UofT card, and a bunch of random other junk like my yoyo's card! Now I won't get points when I buy frozen yogurt :(

El Rastro in summer (source)

We left the market and I was crying while trying to call my dad back in Canada. But he didn't answer so I called my mom and started semi-crying all over again while I explained everything to her. Then I got a hold of my dad and once more there was some crying. While all this was happening my roommate was looking for the police trying to get help and find out what to do (she's the best). After ages we saw a police car (the second one) go by and she had to run after the car to try and get it to stop, despite the fact that they saw her signaling  to them. And then they weren't even helpful, just impatient, not like there were going anywhere -__-. They said that I would probably just be lucky and someone would turn it in. HAHAHAHAH surreeeeeeee. How helpful policemen.

I know I shouldn't walk around with all that stuff. It's just I never thought to take most of it out because I normally walk with it all in Canada. You would actually not believe how many times I have been asked for my SIN card or need to show proof of ID or have my student card. But then again I'm not in Canada. Thankfully my passport and my USal student card, which I only got on Friday, weren't in there and neither was the card I use for my meals on residence. And I also have photocopies of my documents and cards back home in Toronto. My dad also cancelled my bank cards within an hour of them being stolen so they haven't been used.

It just sucks. Plus I don't remember my log-in name for my classes so I can't access that and I discovered that for some reason I don't have a full month meal plan, which I learned as I went for lunch and I had no more lunches left for the month. Luckily the lady is really nice and let me eat, but I am suppose to have 30 breakfasts, lunches and dinners a month...sigh....

Tomorrow morning bright and early, we're going to the police station to check lost and found and file a report. But I just want to sleep. Hopefully this week turns out better. Halloween is Wednesday (I've been working on a (not so creative) costume :P)  and it's a long weekend, so hopefully it's better. It has to be. For now I'll drown my sorrows in M&M's, Snickers, Muse and the Big Bang Theory and be thankful that I have my passport and an awesome roommate :)
 

Holy Toldeo!

 Yesterday Vi and I went to Toledo for the day with a large group of international students, mainly Erasmus.There were four buses full, so like 200 people. It was a four hour bus ride, which I did not expect, but then again I failed to read the ticket. We left at about seven am which meant I had to get up at 5:30 to shower and get ready so I could meet Vi at 6:15 to walk to the meeting place. About three hours in we stopped at one of those roadside restaurants. All four buses stopped. So of course the line for the women's washroom was ridiculously long. We waited for about half an hour for the washroom. Madness. Sometimes I swear it's better to be a man.

The Cathedral

But Toledo is beautiful! The phrase "Holy Toledo!" comes from the fact that at one point the fortified part of the city held 50 churches and numerous synagogues and mosques. It is known as the city of three cultures - Christianity, Judaism and Islam. First we went on a panoramic bus tour of the city, seeing it from the other side of the river that borders the south end (I think) of the city. The city is really old and legend has it that it was founded by Hercules, although archeology dates the origins of the city back to the Celts. Then the Romans constructed their city on the ruins of the old one they conquered and Toledo has been around ever since. Also, it is in the province of Castilla-La Mancha, the setting for Spain's most famous book, Don Quixote.


After the bus tour we did a walking tour of the city topping at a few places. The most famous "thing" in Toledo I think, is the big cathedral. Unfortunately, Vi and I didn't get to go in. It was an option during our free time, but that was never explained as to how we could do that, and we were really hungry when the tour was over, so stopping our rummbly tummies was more important.  We did see the outside of the cathedral and it is stunning. Spanish architecture is so beautiful, it's crazy. After that we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tomé (the Church of Saint Thomas), which is where El Greco's most famous painting is housed. (You can find info about El Greco here).

Next was a synagogue - la Sinagoga de Santa Maria de la Blanca. It has an interesting history, from what I can remember. Basically, when it was first built, it was a synagogue in the Jewish area of the city. Later it turned into a church, hence the name of Santa Maria. But on the inside, Arab architecture and style is very prominent. At that time the Arabs were the best architects around and their style is very distinctive. Inside the synagogue itself, there is only one symbol of Judaism in the whole building, a star of David, which is fairly hidden among the geometric facades of the building. There is only that one six sided star while all the rest are are eight sided.

The Synagogue

After the synagogue we headed to a monastery called el Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes. Originally this was to be the burial place of the catholic monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon  and Isabella I of Castilla, which is why the monastery has "reyes" (kings) in its name. But in 1492 which was a key year for Spain, things changed. That was the year that Columbus "discovered" America, Spain "reconquered" Granada, a city in the south that had been the last strongholds of Arab rule in Spain and the capture ended over 700 years of Arab rule in southern Spain, and lastly, it was the year the Jews were expelled from Spain, unless they converted to Roman Catholicism. It was decided that Granada was a more significant city and that when the time would come, the monarchs would be buried there. It was a beautiful church regardless.

Bridge San Martin

The second last thing we did was see one of the main bridges of Toledo, San Martin. Then we headed to a workshop where they created swords, jewelry, plates and more using  the ancient technique of damascening (damasquinado). From wikipedia: "Damascening is the art of inlaying different metals into one another—typically, gold or silver into a darkly oxidized steel background—to produce intricate patterns..." After the demonstration, (which I couldn't see), we went to the store and basically had a bunch of fun taking pictures with the swords. They were so cool and very Game of Thrones-esque. The technique produces a stunning result and it is very easy to find damascening products in Toledo. 

Damascening technique

 After that we had about two hours of free time to walk around before we had to head back to bus and eat. Vi and I just ate, walked around, and bought some souvenirs. We got some yummy cake from a cafe that sold deserts that the nuns in a local convent bake and sell and then went to meet up with the buses. Someday I think I'll go back to Toledo. It is a great place and there is sooooo much more to see. There is a Sefardí (Hispanic Jews) museum which my Hispanic-Hebraic culture prof recommended that we visit and I would LOVE see the inside of the cathedral. Next time :)

Random Musings #2

- I'm just going to go ahead and call ham Spain's national dish. It isn't but it's everywhere, so it might as well be. The other day on res they served a giant piece of honey dew melon, delicately covered in....wait for it....a giant piece of thinly sliced ham. Yup.

- I learned a lot of Argentinian slang last week. I can't really repeat/remember most of it but let's just say that saying "pigeons" as if it were a Spanish word in Argentina does not mean small birds.

- Angelina Jolie has a brother. WTF???

- I've come to the conclusion that Catalan sounds like a mix of French, Portuguese and Spanish.

- A lot of European countries start teaching English (or another language) at an early age in school - like how we do with French, except they don't fail at it. I can usually talk in English with Germans or Scandinavians, which is nice :)

- All my favourite bands have decided that now is a lovely time to play in Toronto. When I'm not there of course.

- Irish accents are the greatest ♥

- I'm going to die from an M&M's overdose. Like actually, it's an addiction. 

A tapa with Whiskey and Coke

 

For Susan: Shoes bought in Madrid :)

¡BAILA!

Shoe Shopping and Prado - Two Days in Madrid!

Madrid!!!!!! Sounds like a happy start to this post :). On Friday I went to Madrid with two friends, whom I am going to call Vi and Em. Vi is German and Em is Quebecoise (woot woot Canadians!). It was a fairly last minute trip, since we couldn't decide where to go all week. But Madrid is relatively close and easy to get to, by bus or train. It's about two and a half hours away. We booked the hostel the Thursday night and when we tried to book the bus tickets using my visa, it didn't work on the site, although it had just worked to book the hostel! So we decided that we would get up early and try to get tickets for the 9:30 bus. The bus station is only a five minute walk (not even) from our residences.

such comfy seats

  
When we got there, Vi needed to take money out of an ATM. Well that made for an interesting start to the morning. The machine gave her her money but it didn't give her back her card! It was inside and was not coming out. But it wasn't stuck, the machine just kept it and never gave it back. I know right! She called the number on the machine but as the kind old lady sitting on the bench near by had assumed, they weren't very helpful. They said there was nothing they could do because the card wasn't from their bank. But luckily she was able to call her bank in Germany and have them cancel the card.

Anyway, we weren't able to catch the 9:30 bus so we had to get tickets for the one at noon. So we went back to res. I spent a good hour and a half chatting with my roomie about cute actors. T'was lovely.

The Hostel

When we got to Madrid, we realized how unprepared we were for the trip. We hadn't done any research really about what to do or see and we didn't have a map, but being the troopers we are, we made it to the hostel safe and sound. The Madrid Metro has so many routes it puts Toronto to shame (most places do). It took about 1/2 an hour to get to the hostel from the bus station.

Our hostel was really nice. It was pretty new and had only opened recently, so said the receptionist. We had booked a private 4 bed room because that was what was available/we were only going to be there for one night so we didn't mind paying the extra few dollars for our own room. When we got our key we realized that we were put in a 6 bed room, but that was okay with us. We figured they had just run out of 4 bed rooms....yea....

Sol

After checking in we went walking around towards the centre of the city. Along the way we did some shopping...like a lot... I bought three pairs of shoes and Vi bought two and we all got some souvenirs. When all the shoe stores are having sales it's a bit hard to resist. Besides, I seemed to have missed the memo about all Spanish girls having boots, so I bought two pairs - you know, to be more Spanish :P.

We eventually found our way to Puerta del Sol, which is a main tourist area. Puerta means door, literally, so I was assuming there would be some big gate thing or arch, a la Arc de Triomphe. Alas there was not. There was a lovely statue of some guy on a horse and a big glass thing that reminded me of the Louvre (but not as cool) or of the ROM (but not as awkward). I have to say the best thing about Sol were the people in costumes. There was a guy walking around as Spongebob and it just looked so out of place next to the statue. There were also some Smurfs, guys from some sci-fi movies we couldn't identify, Mario and a kinda creepy Elmo. We got photos taken with Spiderman.

Spidey and I

Then we went into Top Shop, which I really wanted to go to. It was an utter disappointment. I love the one in Yorkdale at the Bay and this one sucked. Go to Yorkdale.

The rest of the day we just spent wandering around the city, looking at things that looked old, popping in and out of shops, spending too much money on candy and food - the usual. Madrid is more expensive then our beautifully cheap Salamanca, unfortunately.

We went back to the hostel after dinner to rest our feet and figure out what we were doing that night. As we were chilling, eliminating clubs and bars that were too far, there was a knock on the door. We opened and there were six Japanese girls (from our uni too!) who were given keys to our room. Yeahhh....some mix up. Em went down to reception to try and sort things out. Apparently there were no more empty rooms in the hostel so we were put in another 6 bed room next door where only three girls were staying. Not the best situation but we're good sports. And we got some money back which was nice too. We were promised free beers too! Scoorreeee!!!

Plaza Mayor

When we went down to the bar, the receptionist/bartender was just leaving. No free beers. But she did offer to walk us to a nearby bar. Since we had no plans we decided to go with her. She was already talking four guys who were staying at the hostel so we all went together. We ended up just hanging out with them having a pretty chill night a bar, drinking beer and talking. The guys, whose names we never learned, were each from a different country. One was Norwegian, another Brazilian, Belgian (the Dutch part), and the last German. The Norwegian was apparently a doctor, although he couldn't have been more than 26, and the Norwegian was finishing up a master's in some sort of applied physics. Annnnd his girlfriend is American but studied in Kingston, at Queen's. Some Canadian pride there. And that was the night.

The next morning we went to a near restaurant and had some pancakes and churros with chocolate. It was probably the best breakfast I have had since being in Spain. Then we spent the day doing touristy stuff. We walked through an outdoor book market and I bought some postcards, including one that had some had sewing on it and was from Sicily in the 80s, as well as some other old postcards. Then we went into this big building that used to be a post office but is now a centre for different art exhibits and the like. We also went  in the Casa America but there wasn't much to see there, despite some very misleading photos.

Finally we went to the Prado Museum, which is one of the three main museums in Madrid that are apparently a must see. It houses many famous painters like Goya, Rafael and others that any creditable art history student should be able to name. It is free for students if you show national I.D. (which for me is my passport) and your student card. I really liked it. I love museums. I could stay there for hours, but we had to get going eventually.

The ride back was uneventful and tiring (in a good way). But it was a very fun trip with great people and awesome shoes. :D :D

Madrid at Night

(I just ate half a big bag of m&ms writing this. My poor teeth).

The Week

It hasn't been terribly exciting around here. On Tuesday my roommate moved out to a single room down the hall. I was all excited  (although cautiously) that I might get the room to myself - my roommate and I got along well, btw. People have still been moving in despite that fact that school already started two weeks ago. But all hopes were dashed on Friday when the residence emailed me and about five or six other girls saying that we can't stay in double rooms by ourselves and we would have to move in with one another. Fun times. There was a meeting today but I wasn't able to go due to class. But then I ran into a girl outside my door and from what I understood, by the end of the night I could have a new roommate/be moving rooms. Hopefully they're nice!

I still haven't registered for classes yet....gotta get on that....But I finally worked out my schedule. I've started this third week of school actually knowing what classes I'm taking and where they are, so that is lovely. They're okay. The hardest one is probably going to be the teaching Spanish as a second language course. I don't really know what's going on most of the time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any french classes this semester. I feel like if anything is gonna screw me up for 4th year it's gonna be french, which is my minor. I guess we will have to see what happens.

The course I am most excited about is Portuguese. I love the prof. He is from Lisbon and is so passionate about the culture and making the course interesting and not just about drilling grammar into our heads. He already speaks in Portuguese most of the class. Admittedly it can be a bit hard to understand him because he speaks Spanish with a strong accent but he's so nice and I'll get used to it.

Some girls and a guy just came up to my door and introduced themselves, after they heard there was an international girl in my room. They were so nice. Apparently there is a British girl across the hall but I haven't met/seen her yet.

What else....

Went out for tapas last Monday after class. That was nice. I had some delicious Shepard's pie like thing. Had I known it was so cheap I would have had five. Wednesday night was the regular intercambio (exchange) group that I go to with Vi, my friend. We went to a different bar than the week before. It was an open bar for 4 euros for the time we were there. Open bars are a common thing it seems during the week. You can usually get things like sangria, beers, some wines and other concoctions. There was an Eramus (the European student exchange network) party (again with open bar) on Thursday. We didn't stay out too long, by Spanish standards, only until about 3, when we left downtown. And the weekend was thoroughly boring as I was sick for most of it. Although I did get caught up on almost all my shows (I completely forgot about Hawaii Five-O - that's next on the list).

It's only Monday but this week is looking like a good one. I'm off to dinner!

oh and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Enjoy the turkey :)

♥♥♥

Random Musings #1

The last few days haven't been terribly exciting so this post is just my observations so far and some thoughts (plus really random pictures) :)

• In Spain, Tuenti (pronounced like twenty) is the popular social networking site. Facebook is more for international people.

• There are a lot of roundabouts in Salamanca. Everywhere.

Can someone tell me if they've seen this in Canada??

• This "siesta" business can be frustrating. The Spanish siesta is a time of day, generally somewhere between 2 and 5 in the afternoon, when businesses, stores, government offices, etc., close up shop and head home for lunch. So for about 3 hours every day, things are closed. Places like convenience stores and some restaurants stay open, but most take a siesta for an hour or two earlier in the day, after breakfast. This whole process can be really frustrating when you have class from 12-2, so when you finish class everything is closed. Then class starts again from 4 or 5 until 8 or 9, when things close again for the night. And then everywhere is closed again on Sunday. Except for that one supermarket, 30 mins away. I guess it will take some time to get used to, and it seems the Spanish highly value their late afternoon lunch time, but to most of us international students it is just a hassle.

• Skinny jeans are the fashion. No flared jeans up in this place, it seems. Oh, and sweatpants are a no.

• Backpacks don't seem as popular here as they would on campuses in Canada. Most girls just carry small bags and either hold their books in their hand, or have bags just big enough to carry them. But then again, the use of textbooks don't seem that popular either (at least in my faculty).

• Mid-calf leather boots = all the rage. Gotta get me a pair.

• Regular lined paper is realllllly hard to find. Most of the notebooks or loose leaf papers here used grid sheets, like how what we would use for math. The only lined notebook I have been able to find so far looks like the picture on the left (and it is a bit confusing trying to figure out how to write on it).

• Facial piercings are EXTREMELY common here. Not that they are uncommon in Canada, but they are in abundance in Salamanca. The most frequently seen would be regular nose piercings, the bull nose piercings and lip piercings. Another interesting thing is that the nose jewelry for a regular piercing is a bit different. I tried to find a picture on google but all the pictures that were coming up were grossing me out. Imagine a lip piercing, in a nose. Hopefully that helps...


• English music is everywhere. I barely hear Spanish music when I'm in a store or restaurant. A friend and I were in a fifty's type diner and they had a classic 90s channel on the television that played such good songs. We were just singing along the whole meal.

• 9 McNuggets is an option. For only 3.50 euros! (which is 4.51 Canadian as of today.) And McFlurries are only 2.50 euros! (But I don't really like ice cream. I'm a gelato sort of girl - and that is in abundance)

• Cartons of orange juice on sale for 0.63 euros!! I've been drinking orange juice like a mad woman. It's brilliant. 
 

• It is hard to be a vegetarian in Spain. For example, at a Chinese restaurant the other day, I ordered a spring roll. First of all, this was not some small, dainty spring roll I'm used to. This thing was big - like 3 in one and really fried. And lo and behold when I start eating it, I discover there is ground beef inside! Ground beef in a spring roll!?!?! Meat is everywhere. Most days at meals on res, I don't even know what exactly I'm eating but I eat it. I paid for it. Might as well. 

The Spring Roll

The Roman Bridge in town

On the way to school (it's not usually so vivid - it is just the camera setting)

That's all for now!