Happy Blogidays!

Hello Everyone.

I apologize for my recent case of blog lag but trust me, this is a good sign! It means I have been very busy, taking full advantage of my temporary European home. Thus far, December has been my best month abroad. Mostly because I have been traveling like crazy...I think I see a new addiction in my future.

The adventure started on the 8^th of December when I took my first trip out of Madrid to Amsterdam. Amsterdam was beautiful and, in spite of the cold, I really enjoyed my time there. The city's canals and architecture was beautiful. I took a ton of pictures, all of which you can find on my Facebook. I traveled to Amsterdam with two other English Assistants from my program. I was a little nervous about our accommodations as we were going to stay in hostel, in an 8 bed room. Although I had stayed in hostels before, I had always had a private room with the people I was traveling with. In the end, the 8 bed thing ended up working out fine. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it might be, and we even ended up having dinner with some of our roommates our first night. Before I came to Spain, people re-assured me that I would manage with my poor Spanish because everyone in Madrid speaks English. This is not true. However, in Amsterdam everyone really did seem to speak English. It was nice to be able to communicate clearly for a change. Hearing people speak Dutch was pretty amusing, I'd never heard a language like it before. So many consonants! The food was great too, we made sure we ate French fries and waffles every day, it was quite the chore.

The 9^th was my 24^th birthday, and my first time celebrating a birthday abroad. We started the day at the Anne Frank House. This experience was incredible. I never imagined myself having the opportunity to see this place, and there I was walking through the very rooms that Anne and her family shared for 2 years before they were discovered. Even the original bookcase, the one that covered the secret door and passageway, was still there. After the Anne Frank house, we went on a free walking tour of the city. I've found that these are a great way to gain information and see sites. For instance, did you know that every year they fish 20,000 bikes out of Amsterdam's canals? Apparently, throwing bikes into the canals is a favorite past time of drunk Dutch people. Bet you didn't know that the oldest prostitute in Amsterdam is in her 80's! The tour was informative and our guide was amusing. I will be sure to look out for these on my future travels. For the evening, we opted to join a pub crawl we had heard good things about. Unfortunately, after shelling out the 20 euros, the pub crawl turned out to be a bit of a bust. Where I had expected to find intimate pubs offering unique Dutch beverages, I found instead a series of mini clubs with blaring music and seizure worthy LED lights. I compensated for my slight disappointment by taking 2 free t-shirts instead of one, Merry Christmas Donny! I think my Momma would be proud.

The following weekend, on the 15^th of December, I head off to Rome with two of my roommates. Rome was incredible, I don't think my jaw has ever been so dropped! We began our first day at the Vatican. Getting there was a bit interesting as we had to use Rome's metro system. We started out early to avoid the tourist crowds, which put us right in the middle of Roman rush hour. Yikes! We had to wait on the metro platform for 3 trains until one finally had room to let us on, and even then it was a fight to the end. We were blown away by people's behavior, they were all shoving and pushing and booing each other. It felt more like I was standing front row at a concert than trying to take the metro. It was quite interesting, but eventually we made it to the Vatican in one piece. After schmoozing with the Pope, and admiring his many elaborate rooms and excessive amounts of gift shops, we stopped off at St. Peters Basilica. The basilica was beautiful inside, definitely one of the most epic churches I have seen. After that, we went to head back to the hostel but were bummed to find out there was a metro strike! We had to wait  around for a few hours until the metro re-opened. We decided to grab a coffee in a nearby cafe where I had my very first cappuccino...woah, I'm so grown up! While sitting in the cafe, we saw another interesting spectacle. A beggar woman walked in and the cashier immediately turned her away. I thought this was a bit rude, but figured she had seen this woman before, so maybe she had a reason to turn her away? Well, as the beggar woman turned to walk out she hesitated as she passed a customer near the door. She then lifted her foot, and proceeded to kick the totally innocent customer with all of her might. Then, she strolled off as if nothing had happened. My roommates and I watched in awe, amazed at what we'd just witnessed. Those crazy Italians! I'm not going to hold the metro and cafe behavior against em'...mostly because Italian food is so dang good, it makes up for it! I enjoyed stuffing myself at every opportunity that presented itself. I had pasta, gelato, crepes, pizza, a calzone...man-oh-man every bite was absolutely delicious.

On Saturday, we ventured to the Colosseum which, as expected, was incredible. After, we caught another free walking tour. The walking tour was really great, it took us to some key points of interest. I was most impressed with the Pantheon. Nothing is more mind blowing than a building that has stood intact for over 2,000 years. The tour concluded at Trevi Fountain, the most amazing fountain ever! Again, never would I have guessed that I'd have the opportunity to walk around the Colosseum, in the Pantheon, or throw coins into Trevi Fountain (for good luck you throw with your back to the fountain, right hand over the left shoulder). Overall, Rome was such an incredible experience. I'd seen so many of these things in my history books, and heard about them in my art history classes, but never did I picture myself having the opportunity to actually experience them myself. My college professors would be proud! And, maybe a little envious.

Our last night in Rome was a little rough, we had to pull an all nighter to catch our 6am flight back to

Madrid. To get from the city center to the airport we had to take a bus, the last one ran at midnight. We got to the airport about 1am thinking we would be able to check in for our flight and sleep in the departure lounge, well we were wrong. The check in area was closed until 4am, so instead we had to sleep in the baggage claim area. Apparently, we weren't the only ones with this plan, as the room was full of people scattered, sleeping on the ground. I hope I won't be sleeping on a tile floor again anytime soon...tile is super cold. Around 4am the check in area opened, we made it to our flight feeling rather sleep deprived. By the time we got home, we were all exhausted. Good thing Sundays are perfect for napping! One of the biggest blessings about living abroad is the proximity I have to these places, I'm doing my best to take full advantage.

Lots and lots of pictures to come, I forgot to upload them to my computer before I left Madrid!

It's funny how things work. I've been waiting for this week to come for so long, and now it's here. And of course, now that I'm home for a little while, I've been feeling nostalgic about my time in Madrid. Especially about the kids at school, I've grown pretty fond of them. They've really made my time there easier by making me laugh and smile. Plus, they give me presents!

It is nice to be on the other side of these three months, and this different perspective is good as well, it reminds me of the things that I am really enjoying about my time in Spain. I had a lot of fun talking about American Christmas traditions with the kids last week. Does anyone remember Office Max's Elf Yourself videos that were oh-so-popular a few years ago? Well, they made a revival this week! I made a few videos to show the kids along with my Christmas presentation. They were totally amused to see the other language assistant, 3 teachers, and myself break dancing in elf costumes. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, feel free to click the link below.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/A7zrKpt0Jp478VCp

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. I am loving being home, my time with my family, and of course the time Donny and I are spending together. More to come soon!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?

Yeah, I suppose.

The storefronts are brimming with Christmas decor, the city's busiest streets and plazas are draped with lights. I've even been hearing American Christmas music in the grocery store. It does look a lot like Christmas, however, I'm still waiting for it all to feel like Christmas. My trip to the states is coming up quick, yet the closer it gets the more impatient I find myself. The truth is, it's just not going to feel like Christmas until I'm home, surrounded by the warmth of my family and, of course, that California sun. 19 days and counting (believe me, I'm counting). Until then, I bring you some photos of the Christmas happenings here in Madrid.
First, Christmas cards made by the second graders at my school...

Beer cap ornaments? Only in Spain...

And now, some of the light displays throughout the city...

Plaza Mayor Christmas Boutique

Giant Christmas tree in Sol...can you tell I'm cold?

I still find myself struggling with this whole wishing time away thing, which I suppose is normal? I know it has a lot to do with my decision to come here in spite of being in a new, fantastic, relationship. Making the decision to do the long distance thing was easy. After falling so in love with Donny, it didn't make sense to try anything else. Long distance itself, however, is very hard. I keep reminding myself that this distance thing isn't forever. I believe that only the truest love could last over long distance, and so far we're making it happen. It isn't easy, and it's not fun, but in the end it will be incredibly rewarding. Being with Donny gives me more great things to look forward to. When my time in Madrid has ended, and I pack my things to come home, I'll be coming back to something and someone very special. And finally, without the 9 hour time difference, countless Skype dates, and digital love letters, Donny and I will get to start our future together. Another wonderful adventure, imagine the blogs about that will come then!

It's so easy to complain, and I find myself doing it way too much here. I miss my family, my boyfriend, English, warm weather, blahblahblah. But, honestly, I've got it so good. I'm healthy and blessed with love and friends and opportunity. I have a roof over my head, and warm clothes, and a bed to sleep in at night. I get to travel. I get to see my entire family for Christmas. I am incredibly lucky. 

The next best thing...

This Thanksgiving completely exceeded my expectations.

As many tend to do when hosting an event, I spent the majority of the day worrying that something would go wrong. There's always that chance, you know? Not enough people, not enough food, not enough wine, etc. Fortunately, the night really was absolutely perfect. My roommates and I had a great turn out, all of our guests were pleased, and the food was awesome. I hadn't anticipated that our crowd would be so international, or that we would have the honor of sharing many people's first Thanksgiving with them. We even did the old go around the room and say what you're thankful for thing, one of the Spanish guys told me later that he felt like he was going to cry when he shared his. Our guests included people from Russia, England, Spain, Venezuela, Canada, and the US. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I'm still basking in the overall warmth of the evening. So very pleased. 

my roommates and I 

group shot, minus a few

Such a good turn out, we even ran out of utensils...

I also got to Skype with my family in California and my Mommy in Texas. Overall, just a really good day.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

November twenty-what!?

I refuse to believe that it's already the 23rd of November. Since my arrival in Spain, I've had an internal debate going. Part of me wants time to pass quickly (cough boyfriend 5,000 miles away cough) while the other part of me is busy freaking out because time is going by SO fast. Note to self: stop thinking about time so much and just live. I feel like I've blinked three times since the first of November...are you guys even ready for Thanksgiving? You do know it's tomorrow, right? I have to keep reminding myself.

I've done some nice things this last week. The festivities began on Wednesday night when one of the teachers from my school took me to a concert. We went to see a well known Spanish artist named Maria del Mar Bonet. Bonet, along with her accompanist, played a beautiful acoustic set of Spanish folk songs. Each song was introduced, in Spanish of course, by the singer. Love, nature, and strength were common themes. It was evident that the audience held much respect for Bonet. While they sat absolutely silent throughout her songs, each one was followed with a deafening eruption of applause. This concert was another great opportunity to experience some quality Spanish culture. It was nice of Inma, my coworker, to invite me to come along...especially considering she speaks zero English and is fully aware of my suffering Spanish skills. Inma and I had met in the staff room a few days earlier, I guess teaching someone how to scan can have it's payoffs. She's also offered to speak Spanish with me after school over coffee sometime, we're probably going to do that next week. It's always nice to meet good people, and I really appreciate her taking the time to include me in her night.

After school on Thursday, my co-worker and I rewarded ourselves once again with a vegetarian feast. I took some pictures this time so you guys could get a feel for the restaurant, it's called Viva la Vida. The decor and vibe remind me of the unique kind of places you see in San Francisco, or Portland. Can't wait to go back!

                               

Thursday night I was very proud of myself as I took myself on my first ever me date. I've never been partial to doing things out and about on my own, but I've come to realize that in some instances it's not only necessary, but it's just better. In this case, my inner theater nerd needed a fix. I had read that The Cherry Orchard, a play written in the early 1900's by Antov Chekov, was playing at a college in Madrid for FREE. Determined not to miss the opportunity, I decided that I would go...regardless of whether or not I could find someone to nerd out with. It ended up being a nice, relaxing, evening and I was proud of myself for doing something that I wouldn't normally do. See guys, I'm growin' over here! 

Sunday, I stuck with this new I'm so independent motif and took myself to the Palacio Real de Madrid. Madrid's Royal Palace is the third-greatest in Europe. It boasts more than 2,000 rooms, luxuries/tapestries/chandeliers galore, and still functions as a royal palace (the royalty, however, live in a mansion a few miles away). Today, it is a place for state receptions, royal weddings, and of course tourists like me! Taking pictures was prohibited, but I knew I couldn't leave you guys photo-less! So, you better enjoy these stealthy snapshots...

entryway where horse-drawn carriages, or limos, drop guests

my favorite room, ornate from floor to ceiling, the kings bedroom

internal courtyard

opium den themed smoking room 

view from the palace's courtyard

awkward picture of me by me, downside to me dates

courtyard in front of the palace

Do I enjoy working with children? Yes. Am I attempting to relive my childhood through them by requiring them to make turkeys by tracing their hands on construction paper? Yes! This week, I introduced Thanksgiving to my classes at school. They were impressed by all of the food, and tickled by the picture I included in my powerpoint of the Simpsons sitting down to their very own Thanksgiving feast. I also got to create my very first elementary school display board, Thanksgiving themed of course. I had the kids write something they are thankful for on leaves...I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. My teacher was very happy with the result, she told me today that the staff, and students from other classes, have been asking her about it all week. 

One of my classes has disciplinary issues, and this week they nearly got me to cry...I won't let them see me break! I'm coming armed with stickers next week, you'd be surprised what effect a couple of stickers can have on a seven years old's behavior. Best 2 euros I've ever spent! Overall though, I really am enjoying the time I spend with the kids. I've even started a collection of gifts that my students have given me. So far, I've got a chewed up acorn, a silly band, and a seashell with my name, Asli, written in it. Nothing fills that I-miss-my-loved-ones void in my heart quicker than being mobbed by mini hugs in the hallway, and last week a 5 year old boy named Alberto even planted a kiss on my cheek when I was looking the other way. Donny's been warned that he's got some serious Spanish competition. 

We're hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at our piso tomorrow night. I'm hoping that the turn out, and the food, will be great. I made a visit to Taste of America today, a food store in Madrid that sells American brands like Betty Crocker and Quaker. It didn't take me long to decide that I didn't miss American food that much...this decision may have been supported by the fact that a box of Fruit Loops cost 11 euros (converts to about 15 dollars). Need I mention that I skipped the 18 euro pumpkin pie?

So, tomorrow will be the first time, in 23 years, that I'm away from my family on Thanksgiving. I think I'll handle it alright, especially since I'll be seeing EVERYONE at Christmas...only about 4 weeks away now! December is going to be one adventure after another. In a few more weeks I'll be boasting about my time in Rome and Amsterdam, and by the end of December I will have visited four countries in one month. Prepare yourself for some stories, and stay tuned for Thanksgiving in Madrid photos! 

 I hope that everyone has a love filled Thanksgiving. 

Adventures in conversation exchange...

Conversation exchange. Pretty self explanatory right? A simple, informal, meeting between two people, specifically to exchange conversation with the purpose of practicing a new language. Well, some Spanish men have a very different translation for conversation exchange. They see these meetings as opportunities to meet women and, conveniently, mistake conversation exchange websites for dating forums. Hence, one must be very selective when choosing a conversation exchange partner. The following, is a message I received from one of these sites. It just struck me as a little odd. Needless to say, Jesus and I will not be meeting anytime soon...


¡Hola!, ¿qué tal?

Me llamo Jesús, soy español, he nacido en Madrid y tengo 26 años. Vivo en Madrid.

Me gusta la música, cualquier tipo de deporte, la naturaleza, viajar, etc.

Me considero una persona extrovertida, divertida y con muy buen humor.

Yo te puedo enseñar castellano a cambio de que tú me enseñes inglés.

Prueba de mi carácter, te escribo algunos chistes que espero te gusten. He intentado elegir algunos fáciles de entender y que no dependan del contexto.

CHISTE 1:
-¿Qué es aquello que es verde y al apretar un botón se vuelve rojo?
-Una rana dentro de una batidora.

CHISTE 2:
-¿Quién mato al libro de lengua?
- El sujeto.

CHISTE 3:
- Camarero, camarero, hay una mosca muerta en mi sopa. 
- ¿Y que esperaba por este precio?, ¿Una viva?

Jajajajaja

Espero seamos amigos.

Jesús

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, how are you?

My name is Jesus, I'm Spanish, I was born in Madrid. I am 26 years old and now I live in Madrid.

I love music, any type of sport, nature, travel...

I consider myself, funny and a person with great good humor.

I can teach Spanish if you teach me English.

Proof of my character, I write some jokes that I hope you like. I tried to select some easy to understand and don´t depend on the context.

JOKE 1:
- What is something that is green and if you touch of a button turns red?
-A frog in a blender.

JOKE 2:
- Who killed the language book?
- The subject.

JOKE 3:
- Waiter, waiter, there's a dead fly in my soup.
- And What do you expected for this price?, An alive fly?

Hahahahaha

I hope to be friends.

Jesús

Interesting, right? If I had responded, it would start out something like this...


Dear Jesus,


I enjoy long walks on the beach, sunsets, snuggling up in front of a fire, oh and really awful jokes.

Como se dice hallelujah?

So, yesterday was just...

I am a firm believer that Mondays are difficult enough without any curve balls being thrown in the mix. So there I am, conquering that morning commute, via temperamental public transportation of course. I make it from my apartment to the metro, and the metro to the bus, still in one piece? Check. My bus stop approaches, and I smugly exit while giving myself a mental pat on the back, one more trip down. No getting lost. No arriving late. The bus doors close and it noisily pulls away...and suddenly, I'm struck with this feeling, this "Oh, s%$@!" feeling. You know the feeling I'm talking about right? I frantically give myself the once over, then tear open my backpack knowing all the while, it's gone...

Like a proper idiot, as my English roommate would say, I left my metro pass on the bus. So the way the metro pass, or abono, works? You buy one at the beginning of the month for forty-seven euros and continue to use it, unlimited the entire month. To aid with the fact that the actual pass itself is hardly the size of a band-aid, you keep it in a plastic holder that is oh, just slightly bigger than a business card. These two things are what I left behind. By the time I realized, with certainty, that my abono was still on the bus, said bus was about a block away...just close enough for me to consider running after it, but just far enough for me to think, "who am I kidding, I haven't ran since highschool". My next thought was to flag down a passing car and request a high speed chase...then I realized how my mediocre Spanish would function in such a situation, "Por favor?! Mi abono, alli, en el bus! Vamanos!". So, instead, I opted for a somber walk to school, followed by a somber Monday.

My day ended with a misinterpreted address, which resulted in my standing in front of the wrong door for 30 minutes, oh did I mention it was raining? Yeah. Anyway, it was a very long day and I didn't end up getting home until 10:30, which was totally fine by me. I couldn't be any happier to see midnight approach, Monday behind me and Tuesday ahead. I even told Donny last night, "I can't wait for tomorrow because I know there is no way it can be any worse than today". Guess what? I was totally right.

This morning, a few hours into the day, one of the teachers I work with, found me. Her name is Sophia, and the previous day she had caught me, somewhere on the brink of speechlessness and tears, immediately after the abono incident. Sophia offered to show me the website that the bus company uses to post all of the previous days found items. Figuring I had nothing to lose, we checked. I scrolled down the page, and I still can't believe I'm telling you this, but it was there. Yes, someone turned in my abono. Sophia made a phone call to confirm, halfheartedly tried to convince me that it was another Ashley Contreras', and then I proceeded with a celebratory dance. Amazing. Needless to say, I'm feeling great.

My day got a little better when a second grader misspelled polar bear, please note, I will forever be calling them polar beards. And, believe it or not, my day got even better.

During my last private English lesson of the day I was talking with Jorge, a sixth grader, about the weird foods we have tried. I shared that I had recently tried snails. Jorge responds with a story, he tells me:

Two years ago me and my family went to a buffalo restaurant, and after we were all constipated.


I use everything I've got to refrain from laughing. Naturally, I assume that he's suffering from an unfortunate, yet excellent, case of word confusion. Jorge, do you know what constipated means? I ask. Yes. He says.
You know what it means? I ask again. Still not convinced, I pick up the Spanish/English dictionary between us, and search for constipated. I say, Estrenido? Constipated? Your family was constipated?
Yes, he answers, I think it was the sauce or something? Oh man, I freakin' lost it. I was laughing so hard.

It was the perfect ending to the day after a really bad day.
I chuckled on the bus ride home, I giggled on the metro, and honestly I've been laughing my ass off since I started writing  this blog. Hope everyone is having an excellent Tuesday.

Parque del Buen Retiro: a Brief Introduction.

Today was a beautiful day.

My roommate, Katherine, and I decided to spend our afternoon in the park near our house, Parque del Buen Retiro. Retiro is the nicest park I have seen in Madrid, and I am very happy to live just ten minutes away from it. At one time, Retiro served as private grounds reserved for royalty but in the late 18th century it was opened to the public. On a weekend afternoon, while strolling through the park, you can see just about everything from rollerblading classes to puppet shows. People meet up to play instruments, visit with family and friends, to have a drink, or maybe even to have a nice, long, make-out session. Yeah, I don't know what it is about the park but I do witness a fair share of making-out taking place. I try my best not to notice.

Retiro also has a rowing lake, for just about four Euro you can rent your very own row boat! So, that is exactly what Katherine and I did today. The weather was unusually warm as well, which made our boat adventure that much more excellent. We had fun taking advantage of the photo opportunity...

I can't wait until family and friends visit so that I can take them to do this. The best part? It's totally acceptable to board your vessel with a 6-pack in tow, something that will not slip my mind next time around. After the boat ride, Katherine headed home while I took a stroll through the park. It had been a few weeks since I had been to Retiro and I wanted to take some pictures of all those beautiful fall colors. It has been nice to see the seasons change in a brand new place, I really love looking at the trees during fall... 

As you all know, my newest hobby has been cooking. After my stroll through the park I stopped by my favorite market to grab ingredients to make parsley soup. I never know where to start when it comes to choosing a recipe, but earlier this week I found this cool website that helps. You start by typing in an ingredient you have in your kitchen, then the site comes up with accompanying ingredients and asks you to select what you have. After several items are chosen, the site gives you a list of recipes that involve items you already have in your kitchen. Brilliant! It's very useful when you have a lot of something that needs to be used before it goes bad. So, I made tabbouleh yesterday and ended up with a lot of extra parsley. Solution? Parsley soup! The soup turned out fantastic...especially considering it was my first time cooking soup. I shared it with my roommates, and even my landlords, everyone was pleased.

On Thursday, I had a great afternoon hanging with the other girl who works at my school. She took me to an excellent vegetarian buffet. There is always a new place to discover when you're living in a big city! Friday, I got to pick up my residency card...so I am officially a resident of Spain. Woot woot! Tomorrow, it will be exactly 6 weeks until Christmas. I've seen a few hints of Christmas in stores here, but nothing too crazy yet. I think the Spanish may be a little more patient about it than we are at home in the States. But regardless of how much Christmas paraphernalia I see,  I don't think it's going to truly feel like the season is here until I'm in California with my loved ones. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Stay tuned, more to come soon.