Melt

Hey guys, just checking in with you all real quick before my big adventure this weekend:

I'm going to Africa!

Maruécos (Morocco)

I'm really excited, but I don't know what to wear ... decisions, decisions.

That's about all I've got for this one. Haha. Oh and that it's freaky steamy here. I literally was soaked walking to and from class. The morning wasn't too bad (I ran a 10k!) but once the sun hits those streets it's awful. Over 95 today walking to class. And there's no breeze. I'm like a vampire running from shady side of the street to the other shady side of the street.

I was so hot today that I spent time contemplating the best metaphor.

What fries?

-An egg on pavement. But I'm much too sweaty and wet to be an egg.

What roasts?

-The tomatoes Manoli had in the oven the other day! But, this is too quick, and I don't combust into a squishy red mess under the Sevillana sun. It's a much slower, painful process...

Okay, what melts?

-Ice melts, but too quickly and too easily.

-Chocolate melts, but that's just gross. And so unpleasant! Have you ever been excited to eat a candy bar, open it up, and then realize that it's hard after melting? So sad.

-Ice cream melts. It's a slow process. Slow and sad. Oozing down the side of the cone one runaway streak at a time. When it finally drips onto the pavement, the sun scorches it into the pavement. The ice cream disappears into a path of dripped, baked, sweaty droplets on the sidewalk. Ice cream melts how I melt.

See you in Africa, Sun!

Regurgitate (arrrgh! piratas!)

Quick, let me write a post before I forget all the cool stuff I just learned!

Visited the Archivo de Indias, (Archive of the Indias-which coincidently is the Archive of Central/South America, as when it was first encountered by the Spaniards they believe they'd found India). I didn't know what to expect other than old documents, but I thought I was very cool. They had a pirate exhibit!! Some cool facts:

• The French became jealous of the Spanish when the Spanish began to acquire all of "its" riches from the Americas. It therefore declared itself an enemy. Many pirates attacking Spanish ships were French.
• The French pirates posed a major threat pirating ships both as they arrived back in Spain and as they left the Americas. Also, not only did they attack the ships but also the cities/towns themselves. Many times when pirating the towns they would sneak in during the early hours of the morning (2/3am) and first take the campana-the bell. That way the alarm could not be raised. Pretty smart for a bunch of riftraft!
• In order to defend against the pirates, a king (I think Ferdinand something or other, I'll have to check) decided to change the way ships left for voyages. Instead of it being random, he decided to have one date in the summer and one in the winter in which the ships could both leave Spain and the Americas. No ships were to travel at any other time. In this way, the pirates could not live off waiting for ships. Also, the Spanish ships traveled together, and in doing so could afford to pay for a military guard. Safety in numbers!
• I'm currently eating my favorite lunch ever-stuffed eggplant. It's fantastic and utterly distracting. You should be jealous.
• Piercing of the cartilage began in European culture with the pirates. Every time a pirate would round Cape Horn, the tip of South America, he would get a piercing. Pirates with the most earrings in their cartilages earned the most respect.
• This one the translation is a little rough: When coming back into the channel entering Spain, a Dutch ship blocked the passage. The convoy of Spanish ships, confused as Holland was not declared an enemy, paused and turned around. However, because they were laden with so much gold and silver when they turned they touched the bottom and were stranded. The Dutch, in smaller, lighter boats, came in circled and took the precious metals and went straight back to Holland. Funny part? Most Spanish have never heard this story-the Spanish captain was incarcerated for five years then decapitated. The Dutch however, have many songs of the tale and to this day children sing them in school and adults in bars. It's the country's version of David and Goliath!

We learned a lot more about the history involved; I found it very interesting. The Archivo de Indias contains nearly all of the original letters, correspondences, documents throughout its history. It's an incredible collection. The documents involving piracy were only the beginning. I saw letters today that were written in the 1400s. 1400s-thats more than five hundred years old! Dang. The ink is turned a brownish red and has faded a lot, but it's still cool to think about seeing someone's actual handwriting and their thoughts from the late fifteenth century.

REFLECTIONS:

I find it very interesting how my brain functions here in Spain. First of all, as I translate in my head less and less Spanglish is becoming increasing common. I think it's because I'm speaking without thinking. Therefore, on filler words or at the middle/end of sentences I'll randomly switch to the opposite language without noticing.

Even weirder is how I remember things. Everything enters in Spanish, and I understand it now without conscientiously translating it. However, when I look back on an event, it's all in English. Sometimes a word will stick out in Spanish, either because it's something that doesn't translate vocabulary or is connecting with an idea I don't have a word for in English or because it was a word that I didn't understand immediately.

For example, hearing the lecture today I realized I can semi zone-out and still capture all of the information in Spanish-no need to focus intently to understand, just like English!! Yet when I sat down to write this, everything spilled out in English. Random words stuck out, such as campana (which I already knew but don't hear often) or the part I had to intently focus on to understand-this I remember in Spanish.

Our brains are so cool--they work in mysterious ways!

Caballos

Hello dear friends!

Well today was a good day. I got up at 830 to go meet friends from the barn for a paseo through Sevilla. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

We met at el Parque del Alamillo. We saddled up, all dressed in a mix of our finest: some wore the traditional Spanish outfits, either the traje corto (jacket&pants) o the traje amazona (jacket&long skirt), and others a la inglesa, an "English" style wear most anything goes. Since I own neither here in Spain I wore my riding boots and a Ralph Lauren white button down shirt tucked into khaki pants. Quite the picture with my bright bay steed, Neptuno.

My friends and I, along with over 100 other horse and rider duos lined up along the park. It was amazing. I've never seen so many people dressed in the traditional gear-it was so pretty. Most were Andalusian horses, but like the horse I was riding their were also Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds, and Andy-crosses thrown in the mix. At 11am sharp we took off, all 100+ of us for a walk through Sevilla.

Around 1130am it begins to rain.

We pass through all parts of Sevilla, moving in a long loop through the city. We pass my school CIEE, the Catedral, the Plaza de España, and the Torre de Oro. We put smiles on the face on all the bystanders and put some serious frowns on those stuck in the traffic jams we caused. All the while the rain keeps on coming. And this is no mild rain--it's pouring.

By the time we're halfway I'm soaked to the bone. My I remind you of my oh so preppy outfit? That features I white button down? May I also remind you that while everyone in the traditional outfit has saddlebags packed with rain jackets, English tack does not have saddle bags/a place to store a jacket. So while the majority of the riders are wet but semi covered, here I am the only rubia in the whole parade, soaked. But on the bright side, it wasn't hot. So in my opinion, we had good weather.

We made it back to the trailers around 230. At this point the rain doesn't even bother me. One of the horses in our group decided to be a complete cabron about loading into the trailer. Took over an hour. In the meanwhile, people snapped photos of me and Neptuno, the two of us soaked standing content in the rain. A man with a TV camera focused on us for awhile, but I have no idea if it showed on TV.

Later, a little kid's horse rears, Neptuno spooks, and without a stud chain, gets loose. I jog off after him. The ground's wet, but hard. Until I hit the orchard. I take one step into the mud and I go down, sliding face first into humiliation. In front of a crowd of dry onlookers, down goes the rubia covered literally from head to foot in straight mud. Neptuno grazes contently not even 10 feet away. Well I'm ready to go home. I'm cold, wet, and muddy, and this horse with his 6 stalks of grass has eaten more than I have today.

I get home just after 4. "Manoli, mira como yo he venido a casa. Como yo vengo a casa!" She's speechless. First of all, this is a perfect recipe para estar resfriado. Second, she just spent all day scrubbing the floor. I tell her I'll strip out here in the staircase, but she rushes me in and helps me take off my clothes. I don't make too much of a mess. And finally got to defrost in the shower. For once, it was super hot. Caballos. What they do to you...

I'M SO EXCITED FOR FERIA

Jerez de la Frontera

The very first thing I did when I got to Spain was buy my ticket to the Spanish Royal Equestrian Show. The first thing. That's how excited I was to see this show.

It was awesome! Totally lived up to expectations.

My friend, Chiarra, and I woke up early and took the hour train ride from Sevilla to Jerez de la Frontera. We got off the train, walked out the door, looked left, looked right, and headed back inside to go get a tourist map. We made our way through town and had a lovely breakfast at a local cafe. Fresh squeezed orange juice? Why yes, I'd love a glass.

We walked roughly a hour half across the city to the beautiful Real Fundación. It's a walled center with iron gates and beautiful gardens inside.

We walked around a bit inside, watching a few Andalusians in the walker, a circular machine that allows the horses to walk in a circle without being together. They also had a few Prezwalski ponies, a very old breed.

The show itself was stunning. We had fantastic seats, second row on the corner near where the letter C would be (at the side of the "throne"-the best seat in the house). My favorite acts were the first act and the last.

The first act featured one man and his bay stallion in traditional doma vaquera clothing. The duo performed several series of movements with such lightness-it was breathtaking. His canter was super forward and willing and he had no trouble with his lateral work. It was as if he was floating.

The last act was the Carousel. The choreography was absolutely incredible. Every movement was perfectly precise-there literally was no room for error. The stallions work head to tail with inches in between each other; they pass through movements without any indication of a need to adjust their rhythm. It really was spectacular. One horse in particular caught everyone's eye. I've never seen a horse move so gracefully before. It was truly effortless; as if no rider was giving him cues and he was moving simply for the joy of it.

Other acts included a pass de deux, well choreographed and had one very cool move in which the two stallions pirouetted in towards each other. If one of the horses was but a step out of his pirouette they would have collided. There was also a carriage driving display: two teams of four (?) horses showed the two styles-Spanish traditional and the modern English. The turns they made were very tight. My now horsey friend was impressed; she like how they turned like a motorcycle, breaking in two instead of bending throughout. There was also an in-hand show which was very cool. I've seen better caprioles at Medieval Times though ;) All in all the show was very impressionable. Bought a few shirts at the gift shop afterwards.

Next we walked around the town. Went looking for their handcrafts show, but it was abandoned by the time we got there, seeing as it was around 2 and siesta time. Happened to bump into a Mexican restaurant as we meandered along. Fajitas, how I missed you! Not the best choice in hindsight given the virus I was fighting, but I can't say no to Mexican.

After lunch, Chiarra and I had about three hours until we had to catch a train. What is Jerez know for, aside from the horses? Bodegas (wineries) and sherry. But instead of going to a winery, what do we do? We go to the zoo. Duh.

We pretended to be the animals in the cages. As follows:

Chiarra: Flamenco flamingo

Me: Safari explorer

Chiarra: Elefante

Me: Mono!

We've got plenty more but I'll spare you. To say the least we were the oldest children there without parents. Hahahaha Cue random underlining/hyperlink?

Jerez de la Frontera:

Beautiful weather, beautiful shows, and beautiful company

Libertad!

Después de seis días con un virus del diablo, por fin me encuentro bien! A la ** con la dieta blanda blanda y la necesidad de dormir quince horas por día y correr al baño cada hora. Me siento bien, me siento bien, me siento bien!!

(After six days with a virus from hell, I finally feel better. To hell with the bland diet and the need to sleep fifteen hours a day and run to the bathroom every hour. I feel good x3!)

I was out with a violent virus since Thursday. But I tested it today when I went for a run. Got in 8km and didn't get sick or feel pooped. Finally I can go out and enjoy the sunshine/sit in my room and update my blog...

...Well I started writing this a few days ago--Wednesday, today's Saturday--but as soon as I wrote that last sentence I closed my laptop and went to the river. So we'll continue here like nothing happened.

Regarding the sign above, I snapped the photo while sitting on the pot in my program's school. Here's a quick glimpse into the intricate abyss that makes up my mind: If there is one word that any person in a foreign country should know, what word is that? I believe that word would be the word for the life source, ie. water: Agua = water. Anyone who knows Spanish, and most people that don't, know that agua means water. Out of all the words on that sign, if I were to translate one word to make it more comprehensible, that word would not be agua water.

By the way, the sign reads, "Forbidden to throw toilet paper down the toilet". Yes, many pipes here are so old you have to throw toilet paper in a waste basket. No, it's not as bad as it sounds.

So lately it's been in the 80s every day here. "Why did I sign up for this?" I wonder aloud. Oh, and believe me, the Spaniards have no shame in reminding me that this is glorious weather, simply glorious. I clearly do not know what real calor is. I sleep scantily clothed and it's only April 2.

God, where did March go?! It's already April 2nd. For those of you who know me personally or have been victim to my previous April Fools endeavors, you will be delighted/outraged/thoroughly surprised that I went all day yesterday without even realizing that it was April 1st. All day until Javier reminded me that it was April. I didn't get to play any jokes! Not that it would make sense here, or that I could get away with it being such an adult and all. They do have a similar day, December 28 I think, but I won't be here for it. Now I'll have to spend an entire year planning next year's jokes seeing as it'll have to be twice as clever.

Travel updates:

LISBON WITH MY MOM

JEREZ de la FRONTERA

Currently working on a post for each. The trips were so special they each get their own space.

Londres

Londres = London.

~English, what a foreign language.

Hello my loves!

Well we have got plenty of catching up to do, don't we? I have had a rockin past few days! [-now much longer as I never finished writing this post...]

Friday, March 11 2011:

Turned twenty-one years old.

Therefore, Thursday night I took off to see my best friend/soul mate, Megan Dale Marie Dodson. Upon arriving at the Stansted airport in London-ish (it's an hour out of the city), I realized that my Spanish cell phone does not function outside of Spain. So while I was waiting in line in Customs for hours, all I could do was pray that Megan had stuck around to pick me up.

My prayers were answered!! I cross through the glass doors and there she was waiting for me, adorable fake glasses, smile, and sign that read, "Michelle Cook" with hearts on it. I jumped into her arms/she jumped into mine. We almost cried but then pulled ourselves together. We're dignified cosmopolitan women now, and such shows are certainly not allowed. In public, at least.

We took the bus from Stansted to London and checked into our hotel for the night. A little scary at 4am, won't lie. A Russian greeted us at the front desk with sarcasm: "Nice time to check in". But with his accent it sounded more like this: "I vill kill you as you sleep tonight". Checked in, moved into our bedroom. Gigantic bed. Huge. Humungous.

Fast forward to Friday. Walk all around London visiting famous touristy sites. Included Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, taking the Tube, Big Ben, Westminster Alley or whatever that place is called, Parliament. Basically we were everywhere. Came home, took an excellent three hour nap and then ate pub food for dinner. Got ready with Megan, played some songs off of Alex's Overplayed List (freshman year going out music, hell yeah), and then went to a few clubs. Rode home on the top floor of a double decker bus. Listened to American girls play out the stereotype that gives the rest of us a bad rep. Meg and I enjoyed blatantly making fun of them. Stupid girls. But Fun birthday!!

Saturday was more of a typical Megan/Michelle day. We walked over to Hyde Park (I think that's the name) and strolled there for hours. Finally found a nice bench, sat down, and talked. This is our life together. I swear we're an old married couple. Later we walked to Oxford Street and did a little damage on the old monetary funds. So many people. We quickly spent our people tolerance. That's what I love about us. We have the same very low tolerance for people. Sorry, I like my space. Bought two adorable dresses though. Returned home. Napped again, score! After deciding to stay in, we tuned into Jurassic Park (in English!!!) and shocking London television programs and she made me spaghetti. Loved it.

Sunday was pretty much was a travel day. But included some amazing french sandwich thingy at the train station to get from London to Stansted Airport. Also listened to Gallego-a mix of Spanish/Portuguese. Interesting fo sho fo sho. Oh and also, got to have a giant Starbucks coffee every morning without breaking bank. TRY THE GREEK YOGURT THERE

Greek yogurt + honey + granola = It will change your life.

Over-under?

Awesome weekend with my best friend :)

March 9

Hello everyone,

Had a little trouble updating my blog earlier. If you haven't noticed, I finally posted a blog of funny translations. It's titled 'Miércoles = X' and for some reason is in the February archive. Hope you all enjoy it-I crack myself up learning them. Language bloopers are also pretty funny, but 9 out of 10 times too inappropriate for the majority of my audiences.

Had a super duper fun lesson today. I've consistently been jumping in my riding lessons. Dressage, good luck keeping me away from eventing any longer. I love jumping, and I miss cross country. Now to find a barn, a horse, a trainer (for eventing), and time in Chicago... haha Time. Why are you always the hardest one to find?

Good night everyone, got to get packing..London with my bestie for the big 2-1 celebrations!!