Daily Tapas Vol. 2

A recap of the last two days.

Today, had a nice late start to the day. More on that later.

Ate lunch in the Plaza Mayor. Not wanting to pay for a long sit down meal, I bought some empanadas at the San Miguel market and ate them on a bench in the square. Now that I think about it, probably overpaid on the food.

Watching the street performers in the square (and Sol) is interesting. Today, there was a headless man, three headed box, fat spiderman, several human statues, a variety of Disney characters in soccer gear, spongebob, and a guy holding another guy on a stand.

Back in Leganes, I wanted to visit the stadium for CD (club deportivo) Leganes, the local soccer club. I went in the evening because their team store is only open then. CD Leganes competes in the third division of Spanish soccer; the famous clubs like Real and Barcelona compete in the first division. So, they are a minor league team. The stadium is located in a more residential suburb of Leganes; my university is more downtown.

Outside of the stadium are public soccer fields. There were several youth soccer players practicing, I believe, before a match. They all wore jerseys matching the logos of the pro team, who sponsors them (except the other team). Closer to the stadium, the pro team was practicing in front of some casual spectators. I was able to gleam some ideas about soccer in Spain from this; probably enough for a separate article.

At the stadium, the ground was completely open. I walked around the stands for a little bit. Finally, I bought a team sweatshirt at the store for 10 eur, a good price for the item I know.

A note on Spanish drivers: some of the nicest I have encountered. At a crosswalk, if you are waiting to cross, the first car that sees you will always stop. Even if going full speed, the first car not already in the crosswalk will stop for you. Even for only one person. Some cars were going 60 km/hrs (do the math) and stopped for me. I have never had to wait more than a few seconds to cross an open crosswalk (ie not with a controlled crossing light).

Funny thing: all of the stop signs read 'STOP'.

You might wonder why I got such a late start to the day. Well, I went to my first techno club the night before. In Spain, you start clubing only after midnight. We finished after 6:00 am, when the first metro trains opened. It was really fun. Really fun. Really fun.

Side note, I love the 24 hour clock system. I have used it for several years on my watch.

Daily Tapas Vol. 1

I am thinking about starting a new feature on the blog: Daily Tapas. This is where I can write about the events that happened recently without a huge amount of detail. Just a way of getting all of my thoughts down in a quick manner! Short bites of my life in Spain, just like tapas!

Let's begin.

Day 4:

Finally got my meal card after the third time being told I had the wrong card (room card, student card). Now I can go get breakfast without looking like a total idiot!

Registered for classes and got into all I needed. The server crashed shortly afterward because so many people were logging in.

More apartment hunting today. Called an apartment agent and visited two places at 2:00 today. From Leganes to my place was more than a hour. I budgeted for this travel time and left around 12:45 without lunch. Somewhat hungry, I grabbed a snack from the vending machines here at the dorms. It was a layered pastry, similar to a croissant, in a triangular shape covered in chocolate. Not the healthiest option, but enough to tide me over for the journey.

The fact that I could communicate effectively with the apartment agent, Carmen, is a good baseline for my spanish knowledge. All of our phone calls and conversations in the apartments were in Spanish. I could understand 70% of her literal words and around 90% of the overall meaning. I don't think she held anything back on account of me being American; from my experiences looking at U.S. apartments, there was little difference. Responding in Spanish and formulating questions is still my problem. Hopefully, that will improve with time.

Near the city center, I decided to do some wandering around. The weather forced the issue about my transportation means. When registering for classes, it started snowing in Leganes. When I left for the apartments, it started raining, which then conveniently stopped when I toured the apartments, and then started again. I took the metro from Embajadores to Sol, the city center. This was actually my first time taking the normal metro; between the dorms (station San Nicassio), Leganes, and Getafe, I take the Metro Sur (south metro) which is its own loop with only one connection to the normal metro.

Starting my tour, I visited a few stores to do some 'window' shopping. I found El Corte Ingles, which is like a  Spanish Macys. My next stop, which I had seen earlier, was the Real Madrid soccer club official team store. As one of my favorite teams, I almost died looking at the item selection (and the prices too!). Later, I scouted some Spain national soccer team gear at a sport shoe store. I am already making a list of the items I need to buy! Probably could go through a lot of money on those alone!

More wandering in the city. This time it was sunny outside. Visited the Opera house adjacent to the Palacio Real, the Royal Palace of Spain. It is built on a cliff, overlooking a beautiful view of suburban Spain. With the sun starting to set, it was a wonderful view. 

Earlier, I had purchased a return train ticket to depart from Sol to Leganes. On my way back to Sol, more souvenior shopping at some trinket shops which sell fake soccer jerseys. Might consider buying a few of those if only for the price. Many such shops were located in the Plaza Mayor which I walked by for the second time.

I also got my phone fixed at an Orange (cellular company) store! Yay!

Returning to the dorms, I met up with Bobby and departed for the Leganes Orange store to fix his phone. Running part of the way to make sure the store did not close, his phone was fixed and then we departed to find a tobacco shop. You must understand, going to tobacco shops does not carry the same stigma as in the U.S. Our purpose was to purchase a discount train pass for next month, sold commonly at most tobacco shops. Not finding one, we then found a place for dinner. 

Day Two

After the madness of Day One, some general thoughts after two days.

Spanish Language: For all of you thinking years of Spanish from high school will help you in a Spanish speaking country.... think again. In the thick of the moment, only the most basic grammar you remember will come to mind. The grammar you know might be incorrect, also. From what I can tell, formatting sentences that locals understand is difficult. I basically use short phrases, hand gestures, and, if necessary, what English they already know. Speaking of which...

English Language: Most people I've met speak some English  Enough for simple conversations. Most formal stores (like phone company stores) have someone who speaks English (necessary when discussing phone options). Most people in Sol, the city center, speak very good English  Here in Leganes, more hit or miss. I had a good conversation with  a food proveyor at a Tapas bar here in Leganes. Speaking of which...

Tapas: The normal 'cafe' in the Unites States is like a tapas bar in Spain. I need to add the 'bar' part because everyone serves alcohol. It is not that uncommon to drink at almost any time of day. So combine the alcohol aspects of a bar with full menus of food, and you have a Tapas Bar. Fun fact, most tapas bars will serve you a tapa with an alcoholic beverage purchase so you don't drink on an empty stomach.

Back to English Language: My usual complaint is that Spaniards speak too quickly. The accent is also different. I'm improving. Hopefully more time with native speakers will help. It is also my task to make sure they understand me clearly.

Sport: Today, got to play pingpong with some students in the dorm. Most students spoke good English. They played an interesting form of group ping pong (this might be the Spanish way of playing ping pong, I don't know). Each game is 'three' points. You get a point each time you lose. You serve each time you win. But, if you completely miss a shot (i.e. ball goes past you without hitting the paddle), you are out and switch with another person. When you get to three loses (points) you switch with someone else. It is a great way to give everyone playing time.
Bobby noticed some students playing basketball outside, so we both joined. For dinner, we watched an Athletico Madrid soccer match on TV. Most people there (like seven) were drawn to the game. We later got churros and chocolate (and yes, you can drink the chocolate, Bobby) when a Real Madrid match was on. You can ask almost anyone and they will know when Real or Barcelona play. We will all try to see a Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid, and Barcelona matches while here.
Bobby likes Athletico Madrid and tells people it is because of Falcao (look him up). I say I am a Real Madrid fan. This can cause tension for some people who hate Real; they are a team easy to hate. So I tell them it is because of Iker Casillas, their goalkeeper. He is also the Spanish national keeper and worshiped everywhere (they don't call him Saint Iker for nothing). To everyone I've talked to, no one will fault you for liking Real because of Casillas (if you like Ronaldo, that is another story...).

Transportation: I love the metro and walking will probably be a pain (see my post about yesterday).

That is it for now.
I have not taken too many photos, but expect that to change soon!

Cheers

Day One

Disclaimer: please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes. I am writing this quickly before I forget.

In the end, it is hard to imageine a better day than my first day in Madrid.

It makes me really appreciate not being the first person to arrive because without help from my friends (Eric, Matt, Meg, Mariel, and Bobby) I would have been very lost.

Departing from O'Hare was rather uneventfull. Found a rather short security line and waited for departure. The plane was a few minutes late, but whatever. We boarded and departed just after 5:00 local.

I was rather lucky to sit next to another university student going to study in Madrid. Elizabeth was also from Chicago, studies in the Boston area, and will study at the universidad complutense in Madrid. Talking to another American student made the journey go by much quicker. During the times we were not talking, I tried to get some sleep. Much to my despair, turbulence was prevalent for the majority of the flight. The turbulence, and not really being able to sleep on an airplane, probably cut in half the five hours of sleep I wanted to get on the seven hour flight.
The turbulence increased as we approached the city. The pilot announced that it was raining in Spain. Expecting a light drizzle, I was almost frightened when the wings became drenched with water as we descended. We landed in a complete downpour; the first time I have landed in so much rain.
The Madrid airport is very unique. Arriving passengers are separated to upper level walkways where you take escalators to immigration (very quick) and down again to a train to the main terminal for baggage. Throughout the process, I walked with Elizabeth and her other friend studying with her. With everything collected, both had a driver waiting for them outside. I thank Purdue for ALL of the organization they have provided for the trip (read: nothing).

I got a taxi to the university. The taxis were very nice and I wrote out the address for the driver. He had a Spanish version of NPR on the radio. I could not understand what they were saying, but it appeard to be news with classic NPR random  music breaks between news. Before the taxi ride, I had pondered taking the train to the dorms and was really glad I recondisered with the rain. Around half an hour to the dorms.

Standing outside the fenced dorms, in the rain, I pressed a button to unlock the gate. It was around 8:00 am. After a few minutes, a voice over the speaker yelled at me that the door was open. Walking through, I entered and spoke with someone at the front desk. I got my room, but was really slow talking with the person. She even asked me "Do you understand anything I am saying?" This is what jet lag does to you. I asked about my friend Bobby, also in the dorms. After quickly unpacking in my new room, I found Bobby's room and knocked; his reply "Hello. I'm naked." He opened the door anyway, at least wearing pants. I got an hour nap (which I pretended was a full night sleeping) before we agreed to walk around town.

Partly freshened up, went to the dorm cafateria for some breakfast. A smattering of students occupied the dining hall; Bobby helped guide me the system as he also got breakfast. When I agreed to the housing contract, I selected a breakfast meal plan. Simply, I was starving. I was just happy I could communicate enought with the lady at the register for her to know that my room paid for breakfast.

I spend the next few hours walking around Leganes with Bobby. Our first stop was to get new phone cards, as per his suggestion, and both got the same plan. We then went to a cafe/bar and ordered cafe con leche; for a non-coffee drinker it was really good, though I would drink anything to stay awake at that point. We took a brief tour around the Leganes campus.

We then decided to take the train to Sol, the center of Madrid. There are two types of trains in Madrid: the Metro and Cercanias. The former is your traditional subway and connects the majority of the city center. The latter is a light-rail which extends to Toledo serving the majority of the greater Madrid area. I learned the the Cercanias is the quickest way to travel between campus and the city center.

I knew beforehand how busy Sol is. It hosted the famous election protests in 2011. It could take me hours to describe every detail. A few that stand out: guys wearing traffic vests soliciting gold purchases, the maze of streets that end in sol, and how one of the two fountains in the city is 'larger' than the other. We eventually walked to the apartment of our friend, Eric. There we met Meg and Matt and left for some lunch. It was around 1:00 in the afternoon.

Dazed, confused, and thrown into a new city, I was led around by my friends as we conducted a mini tour. We first went to Plaza Mayor, a very famous plaza. In my opinion, the buildings look taller and the plaza smaller than the pictures illustrate. Around the block was a covered food market, where vendors sold rather fancy and artasian foods. We all decided to purchase from an empanada proveyor, which was good though I still would have ate anything at that point. We continued walking through the streets; I was lost after leaving Sol. We spent another hour until arriving at a tapas place where we all could sit down. The tapas we ordered were served in mini baguettes with spanish ham or spanish cheese. For those unaware, please google search Jamon Iberico to learn about this very interesting ham. To my taste buds, I could eat the cheese all day long but only a small amount of the ham. In my general conclusion, the ham is good.

Meeting Mariel at the tapas bar, the four of us (sans Bobby and Eric) looked at our first apartment in the city. Through another maze of streets (please look at a map of Madrid and appreciate the Chicago grid system) we arrived at the flat. It was really nice (by 'college student living in madrid' standards) with 5 rooms available. We started thinking about living all together; four american students with the german student already there.

Honestly, I would rather live with other students. My ideal apartment is one shared with 3 or 4 other international students, who know spanish (so I can improve mine), and live near the Atocha train station with a short commute to campus (20 min or so).

Returning to Eric's flat (I will use that in place of apartment from now on), I dozed off during the traditional siesta time because I was dead tired. I had been trying too activate my new phone, to no avail. I visited the Orange store in Sol saying the card worked but my phone did not accept the card. No one there could fix the phone. I then noticed that my verizon phone card had Vodaphone (another european phone service) written on the card. I visited a Vodaphone store a block away from Orange next to equally no avail.
Meanwhile, my parents were busy trying to fix the phone through Verizon in the USA. Youtube instructions sent from my Dad worked in the end, so my phone now has calling and text, but no data. I ordered data with the plan, and Bobby using the same plan has data, so I have some complaining to do at the Leganes store I purchased it from.

It is now around 8:00. Bobby, Eric, and myself go to a coffee and tea store for drinks. I order tea. We talk about the evening and the two discuss plans for bar hopping. At this point, I'm completly out-of-it due to my fatigue. I tell Boby that I need to go home and sleep. He agrees to take me back, and find dinner on the way.  Actually, it was more like 10:00. Bobby and I settle on a turkish Kabob diner and get wraps to go. On the train to Leganes, the food was SOOOO good because I was DYING of hunger at that point.
We returned to campus a little differently. A metro stop is a block away from the dorms. Not wanting to walk the mile from Leganes city to the dorms, we oped for the train instead. At that point, I was going to thank Bobby for taking me back until I rememberd he was returning with me.

Somehow summoning superhuman strength, I did a little more unpacking, took a shower, and brushed my teeth. Then I fell asleep, rather quickly.

My total hours awake was a little more than 30. I could probably go for longer on a normal day, but not after walking through all of Madrid.

As I type this, looking out toward the north west from my room, I see small cessna-like airplanes flying. Just another reminder of home.

D day

I'm on the airplane.

On my way.

T-1 Days

I'll keep this short.

Today was mostly packing (with a few phone calls about internship opportunities mixed in).

I'm proud to say that packing is 80% complete with most of Friday morning to finish everything. 

As it stands, I might even have a surplus of space left in my bags (enough room for my soccer cleats!). 

Tomorrow is a busy day. The busiest day of all.

Well, wish me luck.

Buena Suerte! 

T - 2 Days

Last day before the craziness of packing tomorrow.

Decided to spend my last day in quasi-Bhuler style. It began with a nice breakfast with my dad after driving downtown. Starting out close to millennium park, I walked around the park for some time. The park patrons were sparse and quiet. My journey, of course, took me past 'the bean.' Underneath the silvery structure, a college-looking guy pointed out, in a German accent, that our reflections appeared 'everywhere' on the mirror dome. I replied, in a comedic fashion, that we are only here, those images on the dome are not us. We both laughed; I hope he didn't think I was too serious about that.
Some more walking brought me to the lakefront. I normally never find myself near the lakefront, so this was a special moment. I sat on the marina wall and tried not to fall into the lake! The water was frozen in the marina and not in the open water. I found some rocks to test the rigidity of the ice, which did not break.
Continuing, I ended up at the art institute, where I appreciated sooooooo much art. I stared deeply into "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." I was struck by the arms and armor collection. I was probably confused by the majority of the modern wing. My tour finished with my favorite painting: Time Transfixed by Rene Magritte.
I arranged a lunch with a friend of mine, from high school, who works downtown. We dined at a nice Italian cafeteria and discussed my trip to Ann Arbor, Spain, and his plans on becoming a supervillain  Don't worry, when he takes over the world, I will have it easy!
One of my favorite parts of downtown is just walking around and enjoying the buildings. I could do that for hours. A walk around the river consumed the remainder of my time.
The day was completed with a short train ride back home.

Tomorrow is packing day! Last full day at home.
Still, good to walk around downtown for the last time in awhile. I will really need to see how downtown Madrid compares!

Let the madness begin!

-Cheers

T - 3 Days

Today is my last 'normal' day at home. Tomorrow I will meander downtown for the last time in awhile. Thursday is the final packing day. Friday is my departure.

As it stands, I feel confident in my ability to speak Spanish. Please understand the difference between 'knowing how to speak Spanish' versus 'confidence speaking Spanish ' The latter has proven very difficult; I have gained and lost this ability several times over the last 12 months. The best cure for lacking confidence, for me, is maintaining a conversation with another Spanish speaker. I owe a lot of thanks to Ms. Brenda (a Spanish teacher) for her help with my conversational ability.

I will also take away a few speaking keys: Keep It Simple! I always try to 'impress' others with my ability by speaking as properly as possible. When it works, I sound nearly fluent; when it does not, I often get confused and give up on getting the purpose of the sentence across. 

Another thing: play dumb. You don't always know what is going on, so don't pretend you do. If I don't understand someone, I need to admit that and ask for a clearer definition. Not leaving myself flustered or frustrated over not understanding someone will only inhibit my ability to maintain the conversation. 

From Facebook conversations with my fellow students already in Spain, I will be one of the last to arrive. 

Oh well: rather be the last than the first!

Still, reading about their day-to-day adventures only makes me wish for Friday to arrive quicker!

Might as well enjoy my time at home. It will be some of my last for a long time. 

Cheers.  

T - 4 Days

Only four days until I leave! I'm so excited it is hard to contain myself!
Today, I am finishing my clothing list and double checking the packing list.

The past two days, I've practically memorized the Madrid Metro subway system. The university is a little outside of the city, so the average metro trip will take over an hour!

Obviously, I have plenty of things to take care of before departure, but nothing feels rushed. I've put my diligence into preparation, which will pay off upon arrival.

Oh well. More thoughts later; I have packing to attend to!

Cheers!

Trip to Ann Arbor

Call it a warm up trip before leaving for Spain, but I wanted to visit my good friend in Ann Arbor.

And thus began my tour of south eastern Michigan last weekend.

My road trip had me leaving on Friday for the multi-hour drive through southern Michigan. Driving conditions were above average and the other drivers were some of the least annoying I have encountered for similar trips. After multiple hours of driving, I rested briefly in the small town of Coloma, Michigan. Pretty much your quintessential small American town: one Main Street through the town, mostly local shops, one or two large churches, and quaint surrounding homes. I walked down Main Street and eventually ended at a gas station with a sign on the door proclaiming 'anyone wearing a hooded sweatshirt must remove hood before entering.' This is the kind of thing you can enforce in such a small town.

Downtown Coloma

I was pleasantly surprised about my ability to navigate downtown Ann Arbor from my last visit several years ago! Finding my bearings, I proceeded to my friend's house with the intent on filling my empty stomach from the long car trip! One of Ann Arbor's legendary culinary traditions is Zingermans Deli, which I proposed for a late lunch with my friend. Problem was, even as a resident of Ann Arbor, he had never been there! Luckily, we both found our way there and enjoyed a wonderful lunch (Ruben sandwich and tea for me!). A definite recommend for anyone visiting.

Get the #2 Ruben

The evening was enjoyable hanging out with friends of my friend paying videogames, watching 'Ted', and a late dinner at BWWs. My only complaint was when my friend ordered pizza, proclaiming it as 'deepdish.' As an expert in deepdish pizza, I was thoroughly upset when the pizza arrived NOT deepdish. You cannot find good deepdish pizza in Ann Arbor!

NOT DEEPDISH!!!!

I had the rest of Saturday to myself on account of my friend needing to pack for a return to school. Most of my time was spent walking around downtown, visiting coffee shops, and enjoying a late lunch at a very cool diner. My favorite coffee/tea store was TeaHaus, located downtown. Not only was the decor rather quaint but the tea selection was very impressive. When I asked someone behind the counter about ordering tea, he said he would "Get me a book" and produced a whole binder full of tea selections. A quick count placed their selection over 900 varities! He recommended the Earl Grey #68, which made me wonder if there were 67 other Eral Grey teas preceding it! Quite frankly, some of the best tea I have had ever!

Binders full of tea...

Tea in hand, I finished my tour of downtown and spent an hour at the Michigan art museum until it closed. Continuing south, I visited some of the Michigan athletic facilities, including Yost hockey arena. For a college hockey arena, the facility is rather impressive. My idea was to somehow force my way in even if no event was going on. To my surprise  I noticed others with hockey gear trying to enter several doors without success. We joined in our open door search until we noticed people exiting one door. The arena was partly filled with people, obviously hosting an event. Looking as important as possible, I dodged the ticketers and entered the arena. After a few minutes of admiration, I was informed by a patron that a youth hockey competition was being held with teams from the U.S. and Canada. Satisfied, I finished my walk with a look at the Big House football stadium and made my way downtown for dinner.

Yost Arena

 Though my living arrangements were set for the evening, I had contacted one other local I knew about some evening accommodation. Though I was happy to inform him my plans were set, he suggested attending a free concert that evening at a metal shop! To my surprise, the concert was actually being held at a metal shop. With a few dozen chairs, the small metal shop was filled with standing room only to around 70 patrons. The lead act was a French singer-songwriter-piano player who alternated songs in English  and French (which I do not speak... at all). The act finished with an oncor of one of my favorite songs 'Stand By Me.' I really did love the underground feel of the concert and the people were very friendly.

Concert in a metal shop

Sunday was my day to return home. Overall, Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities. History, tradition, youth, and a multitude of hipster coffee shops.