Toledon't speak

Toledo, Spain

We spent a single day in Toledo.  When we arrived, it was too foggy to take the panoramic tour of the city, so they jostled our schedules a bit and we were whisked into the labyrinth city of Toledo for a walking tour.  My tour guide was a very enigmatic and charming man whose purpose, he told us, was to “prove that Toledo is the most beautiful city in the world.”  Having never seen most of the striking cities of the world, I had no true basis for comparison, however he convinced me that Toledo likely holds a place on that list.  We were guided through monasteries, cathedrals, and a synagogue where the influences of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian culture converged to form a multicultural city that is truly elegant.  Outside one of the Cathedrals, I ran into my dear friend, Ben Birch, a fellow University of Idaho student.  We exclaimed at the chances of our actually finding one another in Spain and decided we needed to meet up again at some point during the semester.  Shortly thereafter, walking into one of the side-street shops, I happened upon two more friends from Idaho, Lizzy Smith and Keelcy Perez.  We were able to exchange a few words, take a photo, and then continued on our separate ways.  What an incredible happenstance not only for four students from the same University to be in the same small city in Spain, but also for them to connect.  The world works in mysterious ways…isn’t that how it goes?  Anyhow, Toledo is almost completely encircled by a river that serves as a natural moat, which protected the city from invasion centuries ago.  I’d like to one day live somewhere with a moat—I will get started on my research tomorrow. 

Good Madriddance

Royal Palace, Madrid

To sum up my time in Madrid—it fulfilled every romanticized, preconceived notion I held of Spain, and of Europe, for that matter.  I saw couples walking arm in arm and kissing on the street corners.  I watched a man spin and dip his significant other as they danced down the sidewalk.   Musicians with accordions, violins, and guitars provided a soundtrack as we carefully navigated the city.  We made it to the Royal Palace as the sun was setting.  It was all very enchanting, really.  Everywhere we ate, the wine was cheaper than the water.  I tried jamón ibérico, sangria, paella, and a spinach pasta dish that was worth every dollar, conversion rate included.  On the second day, we visited the Museo del Prado, home to works by Goya, el Greco, and Velazquez, and the Museo Reina Sofía, where I admired original artwork by Picasso and Salvador Dalí.  I wasn’t able to enjoy the nightlife in Madrid because I was stuck in the hotel finishing applications for graduate school, but several other students went out and had nothing but rave reviews to report of the five-story discoteca they found.  (Did you notice what I did just there?  Rave reviews…discoteca. Eh?!)  Anyway…

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

We spent a decent amount of time in the Plaza Mayor and it provided more entertainment than a free ticket to the circus—a very lively place, indeed.  In addition to the other tourists and brave/tolerant locals traipsing through, we saw a Minnie Mouse, two men dressed as Spider Man (who, upon spotting each other, seemed bristled enough I was sure they'd battle), a Spongebob, and a few other side-show acts that were very strange.  There was a three-headed, face-painted, screaming thing, a pom-pom goat terror that clapped it’s beak as passersby, and a man with a wand that made giant bubbles that would burst iridescent soapy liquid all over the nearest victims.  These are now the monsters that haunt my dreams—particularly the pom-pom goat.  Fortunately, we were able to enjoy a flamenco show and a live band—all within a one-black radius.  If I know nothing else about Madrid, it is that I will be back to see it again, and soon.

A very good place to start

Getting from the United States to Spain was an adventure in and of itself.  You'll find the full explanation below, but for the sake of those who would rather skim this post, I have decided to give you the key points, first:

Minor panic attack,

Pressurized air-induced coma,

Semi-emergency landing,

108 degrees, 

Spain.

If you want to know the details, read on.  If not, skip the following paragraph.

Boise to Denver, Denver to New York, and New York to Madrid…or that was the plan.  The flight from Denver to New York was delayed and we pulled up to the gate ten minutes before my connecting flight was supposed to leave.  Fortunately, that flight was also delayed, and I was able to regain my composure after the minor panic attack amongst disinterested, mostly Spanish-speaking passengers.  The girl who sat next to me on the flight didn't speak English, but it didn't matter because she was in a pressurized-air induced coma, I think, and slept all the way across the Atlantic Ocean.  I’m guessing it wasn’t her first flight to Madrid.  About an hour before we were supposed to land in Madrid, the pilot interrupted my in-flight movie to tell us that there was extremely low visibility above Madrid and the queue to land was over an hour long.  The best part was that we didn’t have enough fuel to circle Madrid for that long, so we had to make a semi-emergency stop in Zaragoza.  Unfortunately, I was sitting next to the window on the eastward-facing side of the plane.  Why is that an important detail?  Well, I can assure you that the heat of the fresh morning sun scorching through both panes of plastic window made it no less than 108 degrees in my seat.  If there is a higher being, he (or she) was checking out our situation in the same way your snotty little brother used to examine a hill of ants through a magnifying glass, hoping a bit mischievously that one of them might catch on fire.  We sat on the tarmac for two and a half hours while we waited for permission to wait for permission to wait...or something.  Over 24 hours from the time I left Boise, we made it to Madrid.  I was certainly glad to finally be in Spain.

By the time we landed in Madrid, I had missed both windows of time in which the staff from ISA was supposed to find us in the airport.  Luckily, another girl from the program was on the same flight, so we were able to find a taxi (white car with red stripe, or the answer is no), split the fare, and find the Hotel Nacional.  

And now for a somewhat concentrated description of the the hotel rooms:  they were interesting—as most things I’ve found here are.  There were two twin sized beds, each with separate sets of linens and blankets, but they were pushed together to form a king-sized sleeping zone of sorts for my roommate, Jenny (from Colorado), and I.  The bathroom had a toilet as well as a bidet (which is best explained by this video).  The flusher, a very technical term, I know, is not on the left front side of the toilet, as it is on most of the toilets I was familiar with.  Instead, it’s on top and in either push or pull form.  No alarm clock, no any type of clock.  There was only half of a door on the shower, so water was splashed absolutely everywhere.  I don't know if Spaniards are maybe more absorbent and thereby get less water on the floor when they shower?  And, of course, the outlets are different.  I felt a bit slow figuring out my converter/adapter set and blew the fuse within the first 30 minutes.  It cost me ten Euros to connect to the internet and $41 each for two phone calls (yes, I paid $82) one in which I did nothing more than leave a voicemail.  

So from here on out, I'm going to write a bit about my itinerary and a few fun facts until this blog is up to date.  I also plan on including a section in each about general things I’ve noticed and was not previously warned of.  Things like:

The paper is bigger (longer than ours)…and so too are folders and other complimentary items.

The bike lane is part of the sidewalk, not the road.  Cuidado!  

More on Madrid and Toledo tomorrow.

Let's start at the very beginning...

To introduce myself and this blog, my name is Alexis and I am studying Spanish at the University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain for the next four months.  I had every intention of creating this blog prior to my departure, updating it daily, and keeping a few captive readers entertained with mostly brief explanations of how I effectively make a fool of myself each day in a new language, city, and culture.  While I didn't accomplish those things--and now, frankly, have a lot of catching up to do--here I am to write a bit about what I’ve been up to and what I think of it all for family, friends, and very bored acquaintances to read…or not read—no me importa.

I should also note that this is the first time I've EVER created or had the desire to maintain a blog so consider this site under construction until further notice.  I've also never been great at keeping a journal or diary.  But, I figure, why not add one more item to the list of things I am currently trying and/or struggling to learn?  Finally, to give credit where credit is due, the title of this blog (which is also subject to change) comes from a song by Josh Ritter...but in Spanish.  Considering the various dimensions of the changes I am experiencing, I thought it was clever/appropriate.