Mi Casa

At the request of my little Brinanner, I am inviting you all into my new home to "ooh and ahh" over how adorable it is. 

Let me preface with a few details. My mom here is a lawyer. She owns the whole floor we live on, which contains her law office and waiting room, and a spare room in the law office that happens to be mine. Connected through a secret door... be patient, it's coming up... is the rest of the house. It's a very odd layout, but it's nice to have my own area.

If you're standing in the office waiting room there are two doors. Left one means you've got some trouble with the law. Right one means you want to sleep, change clothes, or skype with my people back home.

What you see when you choose door #2. A metal shelving unit turned hanging clothes rack, a desk that I  use to put things on (anyone who's lived with me knows I do all of my school work from the comfort of my bed) and my beautiful balcony overlooking the plaza below... a blessing and a curse.

The other desk where I keep my makeup, lotion, contacts, etc. and "hide" my suitcase for the duration. Obviously there's no hiding a hot pink suitcase. 

My bed, I just woke up and my family is out of town for the weekend. I HATE making my bed, so I'm not going to fancy it up for you guys! Also, note the Peanuts painting over my bed. That's custom art (and possibly a copyright infringement) that "Uncle Arturo" made for my sister Laura. And yes that's a trundle bed... perfect for sleepovers!

My room here is about the size of my room on Oakland Drive, maybe a little bigger, and a lot nicer (i.e. nothing living in the walls here, ironic as this building is MUCH older).

 This is the waiting room and the aforementioned secret door leading to the real house. The wall with the door is covered in fabric, to keep things classy. 

Through the secret door to the real house. The doors on the right lead to the tv room. Straight takes you to the rest of the house by way of the dining room.

The living/tv room: Where we eat dinners when mom says it's okay and watch hours and hours of Sex and the City and lots of MTV, all dubbed into Spanish with the lips still in English... verrry tricky for me. Side note: MTV's Punk'd is called Cazados ... Hunted. I guess Punk'd is lost in translation.

Our adorable dining room, with a mirror above the table and lamps I ALWAYS hit my head on standing up. The opening at the right of the photo leads to a hallway that the kitchen is off of, pocket door style like @ Aunt Suie's house.

NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT HAVING A SMALL KITCHEN BACK HOME. This baby is tiny. No more than 2 people can be in here at a time, and even then, someone's always in the way. All of the appliances are a little smaller than back home, and in Celsius, so cooking is a little tricky for me (how hot is too hot?!? I always guess.) For House Hunter International fans (i.e. Maw and Paw and Sister Sara), That little thing in the bottom of the middle picture is the washer. In the cupboard above it is it water heater, hence why hot water in the shower doesn't last too long (luckily that's not a huge problem for me). The bin in front of the washer is for recycling, which is 3 times bigger than the trash can. I get yelled at if I accidently put a yogurt container in the trash... oopps. Lastly, this is the breakfast nook where I eat my cornflakes with chocolate chunks every morning for breakfast, with lukewarm milk. I don't know if the box the milk comes in prevents it from being warm, but I'm looking forward to a chilly glass of Meijer milk when I get back! 

This sitting area is past the kitchen, and behind the partition is my sister Laura's room for when she's home from school. The furniture reminds me of nice patio furniture, but it's where everyone ends up chatting and showing off our purchases after a day of shopping. 

Last, but not least is the bathroom. This is the mater bathroom, as the other one is too small to get a decent picture of. Pretty big, even by my American standards. The only extra thing is the bidet. It's used for freshening up between shower days. Thank goodness or this place would be a whole lot smellier.  

                                

hostel does not = Hostel

This weekend, a group of 9 of us ventured away from the city of Burgos for a beach weekend in Santander (north about 2 hours and on the coast of the Atlantic). Being poor college students, we elected for the most economical trip possible. Our adventure began at 4:15 AM at the bus station in Burgos. They majority of us chose not to sleep, but rather take a longer siesta on Friday, resulting in a slap happy, and in some cases slightly tipsy, bus ride. I found it impossible to sleep on the bus ride, as the roads wind through mountains and valleys, resulting in some mega-ear-popping. The bus pulled into the station in Santander bright and early at 6:55, we filed off and proceeded to the streets to explore. We weren't allowed to check into our hostel until noon, so we began a thirty minute hike to the beach with all of our belongings in tow. On the way, we found a cafe that was juuust opening, to grab some coffee and juice to go along with the muffins we had purchased at the market before leaving Burgos. The walk to the beach continued as the sun rose over the city. We walked along the inlet where the boats and fisherman are situated until we reached the beach.

one of our fisherfriends with his statue friends around sunrise

Upon arrival to a surprisingly empty beach (we just wanted the BEST SPOT), we changed into comfy clothes and swim suits and lounged on the beach. I managed to nap a little bit before competing in a sand castle competition ... unfortunately our replicas of castles lost to a sand creation of a car (dannng you Hannah!). We hung out on the beach for a few more hours, then ventured to our hostel via metro train. We arrived after asking for directions to get to the desired location, and the hostel was way more impressive than I expected. Hannah and I got a room with a double bed and two balconies overlooking the inlet and the park, which was referred to as the honeymoon suite for the rest of the weekend. Muffins filled with chocolate were complimentary, so we chowed down ASAP. Afterwards we found a restruant that served American and Spanish food and had a buffet of hamburgers, french fries, calamari and morcilla (sausage casing filled with rice and onion and blood... sounds gross... sooo yummy). We participated in the mandatory siesta after lunch, then explored the night life in Santander.

The next morning, we woke up, packed up and took the train back into the city for another day at the beach. Our post drinking lunch/breakfast was a Spanish Penn Station: hot subs and french fries :) Afterwards, we walked to the beach again, stopping at an outdoor book fair and a famous ice cream parlor. The lemon ice cream was like a frozen lemonade, soo refreshing after walking with a giant backpack. 

Currently there is a summer Spanish program through WMU in Santander. One of the students in that group will be coming down to study with us for the rest of the time here. We met up with her on the beach and she took us to another American style dinner... hot dogs and wine... yum-o. Seriously, BEST HOT DOG EVER. Covered with mayo and potato chip crumbs. Obviously we weren't enjoying the local food this weekend, but everyone so often a girl needs a hot dog or some french fries.

Monday meant another week of classes and homework before we get to venture out for a wine tasting excursion this Saturday. I'm loving all of the traveling and sightseeing, and can't wait to share more later!

Adios! 

#1 No More Pestering

As I lay snuggled up with my baby blanket (Thanks for mending in grammy, it's getting a lot of cuddling here) I will reflect on my observations upon arriving in Spain:

1)Questions that used to plague me back home have yet to be raised: "When are you going to shower?", "When was the last time you showered?" and "Are you planning on showering soon?" are questions that have yet to be asked of me. Yes, I'm sticking with my usual showering schedule of every 2-4 days, but here, my timeframe is completely normal and I LOVE IT!


2a)Twins are more common than single babies around these parts.

2b)Asian babies are just as common.

2c)It's very common for young people to live with their parents until their 30s, so thus more fertility drugs and adoptions which means more cute twins and Asians for me to scope out :)

3) My gaydar is all sorts of skewed as all European men dress so well

4) It's true what they say, 90 degrees without humidity here is nowhere near as bad as the heat back in the Mitten

5) I could now serve in a branch of the armed forces, or at least on clock duty. I'm becoming quite the pro at military time.


... more later




Yesterday (Tuesday) I booked a trip with 4 other WMUers to Santander. We have bus tickets that leave Burgos @ 4:15 on Saturday morning (which is fine as all of the noise outside my window has been keeping me up until at least 5 AM every night) and to arrive in Santander around 7. We're spending the day at the beach and meeting up with WMU's summer study abroad program kids who are there right now, before turning into a hostel for the night. Our bus is scheduled do have us safely delivered back in Burgos @ 10:00 PM Sunday night. Our 10 day break is also rapidly approaching, thus I've been doing a lot of work to get flights/trains/buses lined up for our EuroTour. Currently, Paris, Milan, Venice, Rome, Athens and an island in Greece are on the schedule. We're packing those days full of culture and countries. All I can think is Holy Full Passport. I'm also becoming a lot more comfortable conversing with my family over dinner or while watching TV. I spent an hour Tuesday night talking to my mom about great places to visit and things to see without struggling at all to communicate. I need to  try and remember these milestones when I'm caught up in moments of frustration.


Today, I gave up my siesta to venture to a river with the previously mentioned Burgosians that befriended us (and every group of WMUers for the past 5 years) and a few other kids from my program. The river had a few waterfalls, caves and rock formations, and a solid platform to do some mellow "cliff jumping" (verrrrry small compared to anything up north).

Feel free to score my dive. I give it a 6. 

My one attempt failed miserably. I have bruises on the right side of my body from my armpit to my knee from entering the water without proper form. Painful... yes. Regretted? Not a bit. On the return trip home, we stopped at a small pueblo to look at the sights a the view. Pictures do not do this place justice. The houses in the country are so rustic with the tile roofs, and the mountains here are covered in greenery and trees. At sunset, some clouds were rising up over the mountain, creating an amazing scene. Add that to the list of blessed moments I've had while overseas.

The pool was a success!

After class on Friday, armed with my bikini, towel, cap (lent to me from the ever wonderful Irene) and bocadillo (sandwich -- made by mommy B), I was ready to take on the public pool. Apparently the cap is necessary for hygiene purposes, however, living in a country where showering is less frequent, I'm not so sure hair should be the biggest hygiene concern... to each their own. After the pool we drank a few cervezas con límon and tried to plan the perviously mentioned trip to San Sebastian.

This trip turned out to be a bust in quite a few ways. First, this week was their festival, so any and all hotel rooms, hostels or park benches were already reserved by those who plan much more in advance than we do. Secondly, I had previously thought that I was visiting San Sebastian with my family on Sunday, only to realize once we were on the road that were in fact headed to Santander. Unfortunately this is one of my many conversation break downs I've experienced since landing. Either way a beach is a beach and I was rather content on Sunday... more on that later.

Friday evening we ventured out with the locals to experience some night life. We started at a tapas bar and then went to meet up with some locals (a "brother" of one of the WMU boys and his friends). We walked into a rather shady looking house that smelled of mildew and was tastefully decorated by a group of teenage boys, and we joked that this was how the movie Hostel began. Turns out we were in what is called a Locale. (Things to keep in mind: #1 apartments and houses in Spain are very small, thus there is very little space to just hang #2 it's common to live with your parents until your 30 here) Alas, this was a place like the basements of so many friends houses back home that these boys collectively rent to have a place to have a beer and hang out without their moms all up in their business while their home on summer break. We spent an hour or so hanging out there before heading out to a bar. I may or may not have mentioned that the majority of the bars in the area are located right outside my window, making it an easy walk home but a rough night of sleep. These bars are open until waaaay later than I can stay up, so at 2:00 when everyone else ventured to their next wateringhole, I crossed the plaza and climbed into bed.

At noon thirty on Saturday, I uncovered myself from my cocoon of blankets to join the rest of the world. I ate breakfast and ventured out to meet my dear friend Monica for a coffee. 

yummmmm!

We moseyed around and did a little more shopping (why are all of the cutest clothes so darn cheap right now!?!?!) before heading home for some lunch. Saturday evening we had a field trip planned to visit the city of Oña and see their community play of how the monastery came to be. With another packed dinner from my mommy, I ventured to the bus stop with my fellow students. Once on the bus, we made a pitstop at a small town called Briviesca where there were lots of old buildings and people in matching outfits. It was the day of their fiesta, so each group of friends wears the same clothes to represent their amgios. Verrry strange for an outsider to see without being warned of all the matching. We finally made it to Oña, where we were given free time to have drinks and snacks before the play started. The play was held in a magnificent church full of gold everything. It summed up the story of how and why the monastery was built and all of the wars, conflicts and deaths it took to get there. We were briefed on the story the day before, however, we were all very confused at the end of the play when some random man without a shirt on appeared and was lifted on a platform above the rest of the cast... no one knew where he came from, who he was or why he did not feel the need to wear a shirt. 

Sunday arrived, which meant family beach day for me! Unfortunately it wasn't very sunny, but we still managed to play in the Atlantic a little bit. My mom and I drove up to Isla (small city outside of Santander.. comparable to a South Haven) to see her mom, sister, niece, nephew and my sister Irene (she had taken a bus a fews days before to spend some time with them). We arrived, I met the crew, then we walked all around the city. The beach is very strange, as the tides change very quickly. At one time in the day there is a huuuge beach with tons of room to frolic and and play, and a few hours later, all that is left is a strip of sand that is 50 meters. We spent some time at the beach napping, playing beach tennis and splashing in the water. I got killed by my 6 year old "cousin" Jorge in a mean game of beach tennis. Later, he and his sister Maria taught me everrrything I ever wanted to know about fútbol. They have books with collectible stickers of all of the fútbol players, coaches and team symbols, and filled me in on the stats of each player of their favorite team, Real Madrid. They take this stuff super serious! Later, the Barcelona v Madrid game came on and these precious little kids morphed into monsters, SHOUTING at the players on the tv. Pure madness. We left late and had a long car ride home filled with several attempts at sleeping.

Today (monday) was a lazy day. Some religious holiday = no school. I woke up around 1:00 (a very early wake up after being awake til 5:00 thanks to the bottle throwing drunkards outside my window) and ate cereal and did a little research on travel plans for upcoming weekends and out big 10 day break, before heading down to the river to lay out for an hour before lunch. 

It's no Pine Lake, but it will suffice.

 I met one of the fellas here for a stroll around town, though it was rather uneventful with most of the shops and restaurants being closed for the holiday. We did manage to find an open candy store to buy Magnum ice cream bars (we have a commercial for the back in the states starring Rachel Bilson) which were crazy yummy. After more walking we found a bread and sweets shop that was open and ventured in. 

I chose cheesecake and Aaron selected the danish. All and all a healthy day. 

Adjustment Period

Holy guacamole! I can't believe I have already been gone a week. The days have been packed full of classes, activities, and tours of the city.

Sunday, we had a tour with our professor from WMU where he told random facts and showed us the main roads. My mom, my sister Irene (aye-ray-nay) and I went out for lunch then came home and ate more. This place is ALL ABOUT FOOD. After dinner we watched TV and I slept some more. Sleeping has been a little difficult with the time change and all of the travel. I'm taking full advantage of all of the siestas after we eat lunch.

On Monday, I had my first day of school. From my house the the Universidad de Burgos, it's a 20-25 minute walk. It's a nice way to start and end my day of classes, as the scenery is beautiful and it's unintentional exercise (bonus!). The majority of the path is line with trees that grow together and form a natural canopy over the walkway, which is nice for when it's super sunny, it's not too hot.

Next to the tree lined path (called the Paseo del Espolón), there's a river that divides the city. The way they talk about the river here, you'd think it was like the Mississippi, but in reality it's maybe 30 yards wide and I could probably walk across the entire thing without getting my hair wet. Either way, it creates a nice ambiance on my walks. 

Tuesday, I had another day of classes (from 9-1:30). We have a language and grammar class in the morning, followed by a break and then a film study class and another one about the life and culture of Spain. Afterwards, my brain always needs a break. We had lunch (the biggest meal of the day), then I siesta-ed before meeting the group for another tour lead by the director of our program from the Universidad de Burgos (basically a more detailed description of the city). Afterwards, we found a bar that has beer, wine and tapas (small plates of food) for a euro each. Pretty much their version of a dollar menu. After raiding their dollar menu, I returned home to make cookies with my sister. She recently spent a few weeks in the US and fell in love with our cookies. She brought back $40 of M&Ms from their store in NYC and a bag of toll house chocolate chips so she could have the recipe. The entire process of baking was probably hilarious for any outside. Our kitchen is really small, and everything is metric, so besides the obvious language issue, we also we facing difficulty converting the measurments and temperatures to the metric system. The entire baking time was in attempts at Spanish and English and lots of pointing and "how do you say ____"s, but it was so fun. Also, they don't have cooking spray or mixers here, so the process was even more rustic (and makes me appreciate those things back home). 

My other sister returned from her vacation in southern Spain and enjoyed our tasty treats. We got to eat cookies for dinner (MY MOM IS THE COOLEST) then I faced another night of difficult sleep. 

Wednesday was a bit more eventful. After class we had a huge ceremony to welcome us to the study abroad program. The newspaper took our picture, and we sat in a room and listen to people talk about how great everyone and everything is. Afterwards, we had a luncheon in the cafeteria with wine, beer, soda, juice and so many yummy finger foods. (side note: the cafeteria serves beer and wine at all hours, there's a tap for beer and bottles of wine, as readily available as a Coke is at any cafeteria on Western's campus) I walked home after class and ran into the fiance of my director (from wmu) sitting at a bar right outside my building. I sat and chatted with her for a little bit before my new professor here showed up and joined us. He bought me a beer and explained all the fun ways to drink it (with lemon to make a summer shandy or with a bubbly water to make it more refreshing, different sizes, names etc.). The previously mentioned fiance told me about of great stores to go to, so I ventured out with my friend Monica to make an attempt at buying clothes. We spent a few hours shopping and stopping for tapas or a cerveza con limon before I came home and hung out with my family. We chatted and joked, and I finally felt like I was in on the entire conversation rather than observing like an outsider. 

Today I had classes again and I think I hit my first (of many) wall. My sleep deficit caught up to me and I wasn't able to speak well in Spanish at all today. I got frustrated during my first class but felt better in the others. I came home and took a 4 hour siesta to alleviate my overwhelmed feelings. I woke up and had a text that my friends were out shopping, so I again ventured out to meet them and make another attempt at Spanish. We shopped and stopped for sangria at a bar around the corner from my house. It was soo tasty and fresh after walking around in the heat. 

I returned home for a one on one dinner with my mom and we discussed our weekend plans. Tomorrow, we're going to the pool to lay out after class. Saturday we have a field trip planned to a small city near by. They're doing a reinactment of their city's history, so that should be pretty interesting. Sunday, I'm going with my mom to San Sebastian (http://wikitravel.org/en/San_Sebastian), to see her mom and sister. This is a beach town along the northern coast of the country. I think a few others are going to take the bus up and stay Sunday night, so we can have two beach days, as we don't have class Monday. This is a little more of the lifestyle I was used to before coming here... lots of time in the sun on Pine Lake. 

Fun facts: In the past five days:
-I got lost walking home my 1st day of school (was in the right area, but not the right street)
-I ate ice cream in the plaza while people watching
-I successfully made several clothing purchases (everything here is 70% off!!!!)
-I lost and found my cell phone (not a big surprise if you've ever spent more than 5 minutes with me)
-I successfully gave directions to a tourist (...I must be doing a good job at blending in)
-Had a beer bought for me by one of my professors (then during his class today, he made me tell the class all of the things he told me about beer yesterday)

My New Home

I HAVE ARRIVED IN BURGOS!!!!

The flight from Charlotte was long and restless and I have never been more happy to have my personal space back. Nine of us flew together on the flight from Charlotte with the motto "if we get lost, we get lost together". Going through Customs took no more than a few minutes and the airport was super easy to navigate. We hopped a bus to the farthest terminal to meet the rest of the group, and actual beat them to the designated meeting area (quite the accomplishment as they traveled with our professor from WMU). A coach bus took the group from the airport to the city of Burgos. The majority of the crew snuck in a nap despite of how noise and slaphappy jokes coming from those of us who were unable to sleep. 

We arrived in Burgos at the bus stop, an empty parking lot in the middle of the city. This was one of the most awkward experiences of my life. We stood with our luggage and were matched with our families as they arrived. It felt very much like being picked for a game in gym class, but not in English. Finally, my "madre" Begona arrived and loaded me and my belongings into her car and we headed home. Burgos is a very interesting city, as there are very old parts (like a castle from the 800s old) and a few roads away there are new apartment buildings just being completed. My family resides in the old part of town, in an apartment that overlooks two plazas. We arrived at our doorstep, a giant wooden door with a 4 above it, and I lugged my 50 lb. suitcase up two flights of stairs to our apartment. My madre is a lawyer, and her office is right next door to her apartment, thus she owns the entire level. She showed me to my room, which is huge with a balcony overlooking the plaza. I am spoiled!

A view from my balcony around dinner time (9:00ish):

Below me are lots of restaurants and bars where the young inhabitants of Burgos hang out. It's almost 1:00 am here and I can still hear young families eating and socializing outside. I'm looking forward to going out, and I'm even more exited that it will be a very short walk home for me at the end of the night. 

After putting my bags down, we headed back out into the city to make some purchases. Our first stop was a store called BricoCentro, which is their version of a Menards, on a much smaller scale. This is quite fitting as my parents are obsessed with Menards back home, and it was a very appropriate first stop for me. Afterwards, we returned to the "old" area, and walked to various shops. We visited

pesquería, a shop with whole fish for sale, and a carnicería, the same concept with chunks of meat, before stopping at the panaderia, bread store, to buy empanadas, a soft bread stuffed with tomatoes, cooked tuna and peppers. This was an amazing first treat here!

Following all of our shopping, we went to the train station to pick up my "sister" Irene from visiting a friend. We stopped on the way home for lunch, the big meal of the day, and enjoyed calamari, croquets and a platter containing fried potatoes, fried eggs and ham. I'm slightly concerned that I will return a little fatter than before, as all of the food is so tasty. 

I took my first official siesta, then enjoyed some dinner with the family. I gave them the presents I had brought from home. (Can someone please pass along to Daisy that the hair clips were very well received?) I'm also looking forward to eating the fresh jam on FRESH bread (thanks Shelb!). Finally, I put all of my clothes and belongings away and enjoyed some television with my family. My sister told me they like to watch Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother, so I'm set in the entertainment department. 

On a serious note, I realize that I am very fortunate to have this amazing opportunity, which would not be possible without my wonderful family and friends back home. I thank you all so much for your love and support. 

Hasta leugo! 

Rachel

25 hours of travel

I started this morning bright and early @ 5:15, giving Macydawg smooches and moseying around my house for the last time. In a few weeks, my parents will be moving out of the house I grew up in, and thus, I had double the packing load these last few weeks. Optimistically, I will hopefully have a newly renovated area at the lake to reside in upon my return. 

Currently, I'm sitting in the airport in Charlotte, taking advantage of FREE internet (YAY!) and watching the most recent and possibly my last episode of Project Runway. Hopefully some of my fellow WMUers will show up soon. I'm weary, as I just received a call that my flight is already delayed an hour. However, delays won't hinder my excitement to meeting my new family and exploring my new city!

The next post will be from Burgos!