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 8th 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 9th was my 24th 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 15th 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.
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment