I have seen/heard/done so many interesting and amazing things in the last week that my brain is about to explode. Everything is starting to jumble together, and I don't like that I have to skip so many days in between each blog.
Last week, our class got a chance to see the famous Valencia Aquarium!! It was awesome! There were so many cute little kids visiting the aquarium for a field trip. They all had matching hats so they wouldn't get lost. hehe. We got to see a dolphin show and some crazy looking sea creatures. But I have to say, I think the Georgia Aquarium slightly beats the one in VLC (ahh don't tell Tony!) We also got to go to the museum de Artes y Sciencias (arts and sciences) which is this really cool science/discovery place with a lot of optical illusions and activities (it kind of reminded me of Fern Bank in ATL.)
That weekend our group took a trip to the most amazing, beautiful place in Spain called "Palma de Mallorca." Palma is a little island in the Canaries with the best weather and most beautiful beaches ever! It was only a 30-minute flight-- talk about a tease of a nap time! We were only in the Palm for 2 days which was totally not enough time :( While we were in Palma, we took a mini trip to "Las Cuevas" (the caves) I took lots of pics (secretly of course-- because the guards kept shining their flashlights on us and getting pissed grunting "NO FOTOS!") And then we watched a mini boat show in the dark cave with extremely soothing music. Needless to say, I was passed out through the whole thing. Any chance I have to take a nap, I will do it, whether I want to or not.
OH! SIDENOTE: There is a kid who lives here in Luis Vives (our dorm) who legit has the most prominent, incredibly bushy unibrow I have ever seen in my life. It is so ridiculously "unified" that it looks fake. This furry caterpillar above his eyes, provides us, the immature Americans, with entertainment everyday in the cafeteria-- it never fails. I really want to get a pic of that thing. Oh well.
ps. did I tell u that you can get beer at our dining hall? how cool is that!
This past Thursday, our class flew to Madrid on RyanAir, a super-cheap European airline. The one-hour flight was pretty bumpy, (which didn't scare me, btw, but it made me really want to go to 6 flags) What did scare me was this guy sitting 2 rows ahead of me wearing a lunch lady hair net and aviators. The entire flight (no joke) this kid would randomly burst out into some kind of 5 second annoying opera song or mating call, and his friend (10 rows back) would reply in an even more annoying one. And they even had a girl in on their little game. They were totally doing it to be obnoxious and it worked. By the end, I was getting so annoyed that I did it back to them but in their same "tune" I said "CALLATE" which means shut up in Spanish. We were all joking that he was a retro lunch lady.
We arrived in Madrid around dinner time (9:30 or 10) so we headed out to a little tapas restaurant. On the way there I ALMOST got pick-pocketed!! This girl was apparently walking really close behind me on the crowded street. All of a sudden, I felt my purse get lighter and I turned around and saw my iphone in her hand. She looked at me and handed it back and then pointed at a leaf on the ground and then walked away. I was kind of in a state of shock and confusion and didnt really comprehend what had happened until she was gone. The same exact thing happened to 2 other people I know. They try to reach in your purse, and if they get something, great, but if they get caught, they will hand it back to you and leave. I think my sunglasses got pick-pocketed because I cant find them anywhere :( they were only $10, so whoever took them was probably a tad disappointed.
Saturday we took a day-trip to Segovia and got to see the roman aqueduct, the royal palace, and other really cool architectural structures. When we got back to Madrid we went to the Museo del Prado and then to Reina Sofia museum and saw the paintings of Dali and Picasso! Later on, we got to see the world famous Real Madrid soccer stadium!
Sunday, I got to go to a bullfight! It was sad/weird/cool all at the same time. That night we saw 6 bulls die. At first, I was really grossed out and upset for the poor bull, but by the 6th bull I was getting kind of into it (sad!) We had some crazy bulls though. One bull hopped the fence!! I was freaking out! And then another bull TRIED to hop the wooden fence, but was too fat and actually took a chunk out of it. One bull was violently throwing up blood--that one was a little too much for me. It was definitely a cultural experience that was fun, but I don't know if I would go again.
Later that night, some of our group went out and experienced the nightlife of Madrid (which is pretty crazy/fun) There were all different kinds of entertainers in the street -- glass-players, jugglers, musicians-- all working for tips. The bars were fun also! Im so glad we have the boys in our group to fend on the creepers-- they were great body guards. They would stand there--arms crossed-- and if any creepy guy tried to walk up, they would cut them off and push them back. We DEF. appreciated that! I accidentally offended 2 people that night though. When we were in the club, my friends and I were talking about the new spanish symbols we learned in class. I was messing around and did the gesture for FU and this guy was like completely shocked and I had to explain that we were just joking around.
In Spain, when they are talking about "everyone" they say "todo el mundo" which means "the whole world." For example, everyday Katie and I are told that "todo el mundo is waiting on us to leave." Really? the whole world is waiting on me? How dramatic.
Anyways, Someone in our group was joking and said "hurry up, todo el mundo is waiting on you" and I said, "You know WHAT?! Todo el PUTO mundo can shove it up their CULOS" (aka the whole f*ing world can shove it up their a**es) Of course I was joking around but this lady on the street thought I was talking to her for some reason and she said to Kirsten, "Tell that girl to F*** off, from me" they were cracking up. I really have to watch what I say here.
We learned all these crazy gestures in class that are sooo strange. If you pat your cheek it means "this person is using me" or if you make a peace sign and pretend like you are fanning your face with it, that means "I dont have any money." if you but both hands out in front of you (palms up) and tap your fingers together at the same time it means "there's too many people in here." All of these have been cracking me up by the way.
Monday we took a day-trip to Toledo on a high-speed train! We were only there for like 2 hours before we had to head back to VLC. We just got back last night and I finally had a chance to get online.
We only have 6 days left of class but only 8 more days in Valencia :( Ill be sad when all of my friends have to leave. Im not too sad because I get to see Jess soon and I have Italy, Germany, and Amsterdam to look forward to! YAY!
BUT on a depressing note, I have a spanish oral exam tomorrow and a written test friday, so I really have to get started since we were at the beach all day yesterday and movies last night (I saw one in english called 2 lovers and it was dramatic and depressing). Tonight were going out to our fave restaurant which has 1 euro sandwiches and drinks on wednesday nights. Gotta go! Miss you all!
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