Bye, bye Teatinos, hello piso living!

I have made new moves in my life…literally. I moved out of the dorms at the beginning of this month and now I am living in a beautiful piso (apartment). Although it was fine living in the residence halls, I moved out for several reasons. But first, let me tell you a little about my life when I lived in the dorm.

The residence hall is super nice and quite a modern looking place. They have some 200 students living there. One thing I really liked about living there was spending time with my friends at mealtime. I met two wonderful ladies Ana and Fabiola, exchange students from Mexico. When I met them we clicked instantly. Although I had been here since January, they only arrived mid to the end of February right before the start of classes. I did my best to help them get oriented in the dorms and in any other way that I could. Everytime we are with each other we just laugh and have a great time. Fabiola, aka Faa or Fabby is young, but so much fun. She has a cool get-along-with-anyone type of personality. Ana is super fun too. Her and I have the most interesting conversations. I feel like Ana and I have become close and I really feel comfortable around her. So meal times with these two were always a blast. The luxury I had while living in the dorms was that they fed us three meals a day, buffet style. They also wash your sheets once a week and also have a cleaning lady come push around the dirt in your room with a broom every afternoon.

On the flip side, there were many things I discovered I didn’t like. First of all it was really expensive. And I think this was my number one reason for moving out. I had always considered the cost of me living there even since I was back in the States, but it was the only place we knew of. Our study abroad director knew the director of the residence hall and so recommended the place to us. After all, you cannot properly apartment-shop from across the Atlantic and without ending up living in dump or con gente loca (with crazy people). I just figured I would come to Málaga, stay in the dorms for a while until I could find something that I liked, and a little less expensive. Here, the majority of Erasmus student as well as others from the States rent shared pisos. (Ok, I should say everyone except the GSU students). And it’s more affordable that way. 

One day when I felt myself getting too comfortable in the “luxury” of the dorms I had to give myself a wake up call. I had to reconsider my personal goals in being here. One of my biggest goals is to travel. I mean, I plan to travel-up-a-storm throughout Spain and Europe while I am here. Although I had the money for the dorms, I asked myself…why am I giving the dorms money that I could use to travel even more? I didn’t want to get home and think…"hmm what did I do with all that money? I spent it on dorm rent." Hello! That's a negative. Teljer is not that crazy. Plus, I wanted the freedom to go shopping or go out whenever I wanted to without having to think about the money. Back in the States I work so hard and I keep myself on a strict budge to save money. I really didn’t want to do that here while in Spain. I wanted to be free…financially. No penny pinching here! I want my cake and you better believe I'm eating it too!

Although lunch and dinner time were some of my favorite times at the dorms, at the same time the controlling schedule was one of my least favorite things. That is, meals are at a set time and if you’re not there, you don’t eat. Huh? And I’ve already pre-paid? I don’t think so. I really felt restricted with this. I couldn’t eat when I wanted to. There would be times when I would eat when I wasn't hungry or overeat (not good for the figure) or others where I would be starving while having to wait for the 9:45p.m dinner (when I had lunch at 1:45p.m) or at least the 5:00p.m merienda Mon-Thurs. Also, I might be at school and someone might invite me to go to the library with them during the day or to tomar un café, and my response would most likely be “um…I have to get back to the dorms because its lunch time and I don’t want to miss it.” It would always suck when someone would invite me out for dinner too. I would feel guilty about having already paid all that money to live in the dorms (that included my meals) and then have to pay again for dinner. I did actually go out for dinner or tapas with friends once in a while, but it was always in the back of my mind that I was really wasting money. Not only that, I really wanted to have more control over my time and experience here. If I want to eat out, I'm gonna eat out. If I want to come home late, I'm gonna do that too. If I want to invite people over (something prohibited at the dorms) then, hey, there are going to be people over. I just felt too restricted at the dorms and I'm too old for that kind of stuff.

That’s the other thing I didn’t like – everyone was in the dorms was super young! I mean, 3 of my roommates were 18 years old!!! I have nothing against 18 year olds except for the fact that I have nothing in common with them. They were all really sweet and got along really well, but we could just not get past the friendly conversation in the hallway and surface talk about asignaturas. I mean even my little sister is waaaay older than them, for crying out loud. They made me feel like an old fogey. And after all, dorm life for me is a been-there-done-that. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED living in the dorms as an undergrad at Emory; I had some of the best moments of my life there and met some life-long friends. But even then my roommates were a lot older and more mature. I am not trying to propose an argument for being “old,” because I am certainly not old : ). However, dorm life was colcado in another stage of my life and I was just getting restless living there. And really, why would a baby, after having lived and seen the world want to crawl back into the womb anyway? It just didn’t make any sense.

After I came to my senses, I decided to be bold and make a move. After all, what was stopping me from moving out? Well, nothing…that and the dorm director. I informed her of my decision to move out and she asked me to come see her in her office. She was a little disappointed (she's really a good person) with my decision and tried her very hardest to try to convince me to stay. And I don't blame her; this is a business for her. Sticking to my plan and goals I kept my conversation professional and courteous. With a smile on my face, I kindly reiterated my decision to move. And like I said before, I was doing fine in the dorms. It is most definitely a nice place to live. And although I enjoyed my time there, it just wasn’t for me. I would just like to be able to get to the end of this experience feeling that I had the experience that I envisioned for myself at the beginning and that I achieved all of my goals. A mi me gusta complir con mis metas, and in order to do so, I needed to move out. 

I started piso hunting immediately. I looked everywhere. There are these cool websites here especially for those seeking pisos compartidos. I went to see a couple and hated them all (I'm picky). They were either all ugly or were not in a good location. I finally came across this ad for a beautiful looking piso that wasn't too far from campus. The pictures were actually so nice that when I spoke to the lady who had posted the ad, I had to ask her if those were the actual pictures of the apartment. Haha. When she confirmed I was intrigued. The price was right too! The only thing is that in speaking with her, she said her offer had changed (ie increased) since she'd posted the last ad on the interenet. Dang! I went to go see it anyway and ended up falling in love with it. What really sold me was the view. I went at night and when the lady opended the balcony window and I saw that the piso overlooked a view of downtown Málaga, I was sold. The  piso was nice too! It was a 3 bedroom and I would have my own bathroom (I grew to like it even more with every step). The kitchen was huge and there are several spaces to get comfortable in besides just on the couch in the living room. I liked that I had options of where I wanted to be in the house. To me this was luxury. Honestly, out of all the places I visited, this one jumped at me. It had a different flavor; it was elegant, in a good location, close to the centro, it had a killer view, and it was right on the line for 5 different buses...it was perfect! On top of that, I got my older, more mature roommate! She is a young architect originally from Granada and me cayó muy bien.

That same night I went to see another piso that I liked, but my heart was still with the place with the view. While waiting at the bus stop in the rain on the way back to the dorms, I got what I like to call a sign from God. At the very moment I was running through the prices in my head and comparing all the places to see what I could afford (rather what I wanted to afford, lol - I'm adamant about my shopping and traveling money), I received a text from the lady sweetening the deal a bit. It was so good I had to take it. Eventhough the price was a little more than what I had originally seen on the ad, after crunching the numbers, I realized that I would still be saving tons by moving out of the dorms. I accepted her offer and that very next day I packed and I moved out 3 days later. Yeah, I'm fast. I waved bye, bye to Teatinos (the area where the dorm is located) and stepped into a new phase of my Spain experience.

I have only been in my new place for a little while and I am still getting used to the new environment. I really want to have housewarming soon so I can invite people over and share my new crib. Stay tuned for more updates on my new place and how I'm adjusting.

¡Mama Mia! - Madrid

Who says reruns are boring? Well, I took my second trip to Madrid this weekend and it was anything but boring. I got to see a lot of Madrid back in 2006 while I was studying in Spain. However, there was much more to see, so I jumped at the opportunity to go back. A friend of mine wanted to go to visit a business college there and asked me to go with her. What can I say, I have a weakness for traveling…I just can’t say no.

When I got there, I found out that my old roommate from the residence, Liza (who left Málaga a few weeks prior) was spending a few days in Madrid before going back home to Argentina. We met up with her and the three of us went to check out the Botanical Gardens. Ok, bad idea, since that day was super cold! Everything looked dead :/ Oh well. I still enjoyed what was still alive.

The three of us then split up once my friend had to leave to go to her school visit. I was actually excited to venture out on my own. Camera? CHECK...City Map? CHECK. Ok, I was ready.  First, I headed to the Casa/Museo de Lope de Vega, but I missed the last tour of the day so I had to come back the following day. No prob. I then decided to stroll through the Barrio de los eruditos (the neighborhood where all the intellectuals lived). I think that was one of the things I enjoyed most. I actually felt sort of honored to be walking in the very area where all the famous poets and writers (like Cervantes) lived and spent their time. There is even this one street where they have famous quotes from some authors engraved right into the street. How exciting! I know, I’m such a nerd J

I left the barrio and made my way to the Royal Palace. On the way there I passed through the Plaza Mayor. It was filled with people eating, walking and having a good time. I had been there before so this time I just passed through. Using my map, I found my way to the Royal Palace. Sure, I got lost a few times, but I think that in those moments, I took my best pictures of the most unexpected things. As I was walking I kept looking around and taking in the sights. There was so much to see that I never got bored. And in Madrid it is almost as if every single building (even if it's a McDonalds) is so beautiful and elegant. Once at the palace I was happy. Man, the palace was gorgeous!! Out front kind of reminded me of Buckingham palace, with the gate and courtyard. I took a couple of pics and then went to sit down on a bench in a small plaza right in front of it so I could contemplate the beauty all around me.

All was going well up until that point. The entire day I’d been navigating with my map, but when I sat down, I realized that I’d lost it. Oh no! Ok, no “biggie.” I was supposed to meed Liza back at the Plaza Mayor at 4:00pm and I only had 30 minutes to find my way back. On top of that it was freezing that day and I was not wearing proper shoes. My feet were frozen! Ouch! So much so that I couldn’t feel the soles of my feet. I wabbled around trying to figure out where I was (of course, still enjoying the scenery). I love taking pictures and I think that I subconsciously walk around searching for the perfect black and white picture. After wandering for a bit, content in my ignorance of where I was, I soon found myself in the Plaza de España. After a round of photos,  I approached two police officers whom I asked for directions and who told me where I could get another map. I eventually found my way back to the Plaza Mayor, the only thing is that by the time I got there, Liza had already left L Oh well.

Later that night after a good nap, my friend and I got ready to go out to a nice dinner. Luckily, right when we were heading out the door, Liza called us. So the three of us were able to go to dinner together. Technically, since that was the last time I was going to see Liza, it was sort of "goodbye dinner." Eventhough we had only been rommates for about a month, we grew really close, so I was sad to see her go. We didn't want the evening to end, so we ended up going out to a club to check out the night life in Madrid. We went to Club Joy - it was super fun.

The next day I was finally able to go to Casa de Lope de Vega, which was the highlight of my day. I couldn't believe that I was there. I was in the actual place where he wrote some of his greatest works. It was amazing. I learned a lot that I didn't know about Lope himself and about life in Madrid during his lifetime. 

That second day was also a picture day. I also walked up and down the paseo del Prado, which I just ate up.  I didn't go to the Prado museum because I had had already gone back in 2006. Instead, I looked for places like the Real Academia de Las Letras (which controls the norms for the Spanish language). We ended our day with a trip to the Cathedral and then we later went to see the play Te quiero, eres perfecto, ya te cambiaré (I love you, you´re perfect, now change), which I really enjoyed.

This trip was definitely very touristy. But Madrid is so special to me. Madrid was actually the first city in Spain that I ever visited and I fell in love with it instantly. It is definitely a place where I can envision myself living. You name it and Madrid has it - culture, art, history, atmosphere etc. I secretly wish I could take Madrid and put it exactly where Málaga is now (shh! Don't tell anyone). Regardless, I enjoyed my time there and I can't wait to go back!!

Roaming around in Ronda

I love discovering random places that I'd never even known existed. The day I left for Spain, one of my professors recommended that I go to this town called Ronda. She said that although it was small, it had a lot of character. At first I thought "Ronda? Where in the world is that?" Once I got to Spain I looked it up and I was soon happy to get the recommendation; it really seemed like an interesting place. I don't have class on Fridays, so I told myself I would try to travel on the weekends, and after a stressful first week of school, a day trip outside of Málaga was definitely in order.

 

A small group of us from UMA got together and took the bus to this mysterious Ronda that I had just discovered. The bus ride was short – about an hour and a half from Málaga. Once we arrived, one of the first things we saw was La Iglesia Convento de la Merced, which was nice, but looked pretty much like any other convent I’ve seen in Spain. Right past the convent is this small park that led up to this amazing view that had me in awe the rest of the day. As I approached the other side of the park I realized that it sat on top of this huge cliff that looked over this wide, green, open field. Below there were several cottages and smaller houses with a river running through the fields. To the left you could see the exposed stone on the side of the cliffs. Oh-my-Gosh!!…Yeah, that was my reaction. It was that beautiful. I had never seen anything like it. I stood there for a few minutes trying to let my brain process and absorb what I was witnessing at that very moment. I think I took like a million pictures right there.

But that was not the only gorgeous thing Ronda had to offer. We managed to pull ourselves away from the view to continue our journey through this tiny city. Up next, we headed to the Plaza de Toros (Bullfighting ring), which is the oldest one in Spain. Before touring the ring, we visited it's museum, where I learned tons about the history of the bullring and bullfighting in Spain in general. This particular ring was constructed in sandstone and was inaugurated in 1785. It was actually built by la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda (Royal Calvary of Ronda – founded by Felipe II) with the rise of bullfighting. Hmmm - I love learning new and interesting things. And really, what is the point of visiting a new place without some piece of information that you can take away with you?

After the bullfighting ring we headed toward the bridge called Puente Nuevo (New Bridge), which connects the old part of the city with the newer part and it towers over the river Río Guadalevín. This is probably the most amazing thing about Ronda. When I laid eyes on the bridge my mouth dropped open. The bridge is really tall and is as deep as the gorge itself. I had to lean over the balcony and even then I could barely see the bottom. It is over 320 feet tall and is built from the very stone of the cliffs. I read somewhere that they initially built a different bridge, but it wasn't properly built and it collapsed, killing several people. They later built this one, which was finished in 1793 (I’m sure glad they started over!) This one looks amazing and is definitely sturdy :)

 

We crossed the puente into the newer part of the city and headed to the Casa del Rey Moro. Inside we were able to take this forever-winding staircase (inside the cliffs) down to the river that was at the bottom of the gorge. Haha, that was one of the highlights of the day. There were probably like a million steps (of course I’m exaggerating) and it took forever to get down to the bottom. It probably seemed long because there was water dripping from above and the stairs were slippery. We didn’t want to fall! You should have seen us walking carefully, step by step, going deeper and deeper into this dark wet cave. I felt like an explorer, not knowing if something was going to jump out at me, haha. But it was worth it once we got there. We were able to see the city from the bottom up - another breathtaking view.

After the reverse trip back up the stairs I was out of breath! (You'd think with all the walking I do in Spain I would be more in shape - Ha! No such thing). We continued exploring the rest of the city, which didn’t take much time at all. We approached a viewpoint from which we could see the ruins of some ancient arab baths as well as this older and smaller bridge called the Puente Árabe. We also saw the Arco de Felipe V, which was built as an entrance into the city. Later on we stopped for lunch infront of the ayuntamiento and then passed by the wine museum.

Overall, Ronda was an amazing treat. I learned a lot that day. I love connecting what I am seeing and experiencing with learning so that I could have some sort of knowledge to take a way with me. After visiting Ronda, my profesor told me about Rilke, a poet who spent some time in Ronda, although originally from the Czech Republic. Just knowing that has intrigued me to read some of his works. 

Rilke was the one who dubbed Ronda as the “Ciudad Soñada” which I think is very appropriate. Its beauty is like none other, almost like you’re in a dream or imagining it. I truly enjoyed it and I am actually excited about discovering other hidden treasures in Spain just like this one.

School Enters the Scene (Stage left)

Some of you have expressed to me that you enjoyed reading about all my travels and adventures since I have arrived. However, I know you are thinking "wow, isn't she supposed to be studying too?" Yes! And I'm glad you asked.

School has finally started and I survived my first week. Man! I am experiencing some serious culture shock - school culture, that is. I am slowly finding out the many differences between the school system here and that in the U.S. To begin, the semesters here start and finish later than those in the U.S. Classes just started this week while classes at home have been in session for a month already. I am grateful for the extra time off and starting later allowed me more time to transition. The only down side is that our semester here goes until the first week of July :(

Another interesting difference between the two school systems is the registration process. Back home we register in advance, choosing online classes that interest us. We then visit the classes and decide to keep them or drop them for an alternate class. Here it is done the opposite way (at least for us foreign students). We were told by the department of International Relations that we should first visit the classes for 1 to 3 weeks and then register. What?? That was so foreign to me, but all I had to do was go with the flow. There was one thing, however, that I was worried about; I couldn't get my student ID without registering. And you need your student ID to have access to the library among other things on campus, like the wireless internet. I decided to give myself the maximum of a week to visit classes and then decide on which ones I would attend so that I could register.

Because I am studying Spanish literature, I attend the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, which is like a small college-like component of the entire university (sort of like the College of Arts and Sciences). After attempting to look up classes online, I realized I had no idea how to use the online system. I went to see Maria Isabel at International Relations to seek help. I love her! She knows my program director at Georgia State (Dr. Nichols) so I don't know if that's why she was so compassionate...haha. She sat down with me and showed me how to look up classes and she even told me where to find the cordinator for my facultad. After I left her office I headed over to see my cordinator, David. He too was super helpful! I told him briefly about the 3 classes I am registered for back home and he helped me find 2 to 3 comparable classes for each! I was set. This week I visited classes and made my decision. I registered by the end of the week (yesterday).

I like all my classes that I chose because they are not only interesting, they will challenge me intellectually. I am taking a literature and teatro (theater) class, a literature and cine (cinema) class and a class on Spanish literary movements. I was really excited about my literary movements class because we are going to cover several books that I need to know for my Master's program at Georgia State, like El Quijote. One of my goals while I am here in Spain is to utilize this time to get a lot of my reading done from my M.A. reading list (which is like 4 1/2 pages looong); and what better place to expose myself to more Spanish literature than right here in Spain! However, there was one thing that I almost let get in my way - fear!

The second day I went to my literary movements class we started right into the coursework. I was so excited about the content of the class that I didnt notice the language barrier. For those of you who dont know, I am studying in the southern region of Spain called Andalucia. This region is known for what is called the acento andaluz (Andalucian accent) which is VERY difficult to understand in comparison to other regions of Spain. I find many natives "eat" their words and most people do not pronounce their "s," among other things. My class has one main professor and two other professors, who will share the teaching throughout the semester. The main profesor who gave the introduction the first day was not that hard to understand. However, he was not the one to teach the first third of the semester, but rather one of the other professors. That second day I sat in class confused and frustrated. I could barely make out what he was saying! (Must have been my filtro afectivo (affective filter)). At least if I could listen and comprehend, I couldn't take any notes - una carga cognitiva demasiado pesada! (too heavy of a cognitive load). On top of that, when the profesor, David, started discussing El Quijote, he made numerous references to other literary works and authors that I had not only not read, I hadn't even heard of them! OMG - What was I going to do?? I was so overwhelmed.

Ok, so I turned to one of my profesors from GSU, Dr. del Río Parra, for help. I wrote her the most sincere email I could, asking for advice. I explained to her that I really wanted to stay in the class because the content and material were are to cover intrigues me, plus it is geared towards topics and obras (literary works) that I need to know my Master's program. However, the fear of failing miserably and being completely lost haunted me. Of course, she encouraged me to stay in the class and to do whatever I could to get myself up to speed on the knowledge that I lacked and to get with other classmates to compare notes. She also said that I should not focus on fearing failing, but rather on all the new things that I will learn, which will challenge me to grow intellectually. What great advice! Then I realized that with time I would get used to his form of speaking. From that point on I had to remind myself of my abilities. I CAN DO THIS! I could not let fear or intimidation keep me from something that I truly wanted. I made the decision to work hard and keep going and, by golly, that's what I am going to do :)

Tribute to my grandmother, Cristobel Blake (April 17, 1920- February 20, 2010)

Last night, after coming back from Gibraltar, I received word that my maternal grandmother had past away a few hours earlier. I went from an absolute high to an absolute low. To be honest, I am still processing it all. But I just want to honor her life by inserting a snippet on my blog celebrating who she was.


My grandmother, Cristobel Blake, lived in St. Kitts (where I was born) for her entire life. She was one of the hardest working people I knew. She was always in good spirits, always on the go and had a great sense of humor. I found myself reminiscing about all the trips to St. Kitts my family and I would take. For many years my grandma had her own corner shop and so all kinds of people from the neighborhood would come by not only to buy something, they would all stop and chit-chat with her. Of course, as grandchildren, she always gave my sisters and I whatever we asked for. I miss her food too! She would always try to fatten me up :) She made the best saltfish patties and sugar cakes in the world! (For my West Indian readers, you know what I mean).

It's hard being so far away from your family when this is all happening. I've been calling home on Skype to make sure everyone was doing okay. I was most worried about my mom. I think she is holding up okay, but she's seems preocupied about all the preparations and about making the trip all the way from Omaha to St. Kitts for the funeral.

How am I holding up? Well, I will say this: the thing that keeps me going is the fact that I know that she lived a full and long life. She was 89 years old and would have turned 90 in April. But above all, I know that she is now at peace in heaven with the Lord. That is what comforts me.

She was truly a great woman. May she rest in peace.

Monkey Business @ Gibraltar

What’s 2 square miles in size and sits at the tip of Spain, right where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean? Gibraltar, of course! It is this giant monolith that sits high over the town. What makes Gibraltar unique is that it although it forms part of the Iberian Peninsula, it is owned and governed by Great Britain. So as we walked across the border, all we had to do was flash our passports to the border control officers. I had always learned about Gibralter in my Spanish history classes where we learned how the Spanish and British (and others) fought for this small territory. And I don’t blame them. It is not only beautiful, the view from the top of the rock is panoramic and you can see for miles away, even to the tip of Northern Africa.

Our main goal was to climb the rock. Once on the other side of the border we were greeted by a London-style double decker bus and we jumped on immediately to head to the heart of the town. To our surprise, this place was not just owned by Britain, it looked and felt as if you were there too! The streets were lined with typical English chains like Marks and Spencer, or Accessorize (I LOVE that store). Not to mention, there were tons of Irish pubs and lots of places to eat Fish n’ Chips. They even have their own British pounds! It was clear that we certainly were not in Spain anymore. One thing I found quite interesting was the fact that everyone there spoke not only English and Spanish, but this wierd kind of Spanglish, much different from what I've ever heared in the U.S. The words were different and it was just quite intriguing to hear and experience this linguistic fusion that exists as a result of this monolith’s prime peninsular location.

 

Ok, so it was time to go up to the top. We had planned on taking the (ski)lift up and then just walking around because we had all day. Then this guy with a badge who drove a taxi approached us trying to sell us on a tour deal. He said for 20€ we could not only get to the top in a taxi bus, we would be able to gain entry into all the sites and take pictures with the monkeys. Ok, at first we thought it was a scam, but he was legit. And with my negotiating skills, I talked him down to 15€ and we were on our way.

When we first crossed the border all we saw was the giant rock. Someone had mentioned to us that a population of about 7,000 people live there. At first I thought “how in the world do they fit 7,000 people on this rock.” That question was soon answered. Once we got to the top we could see the panoramic view of the entire place. All the people lived on the other side of the rock and you couldn’t see all the homes until you were up high.

Man, what a view! I stood there at the viewpoint in awe trying to give my brain a chance to process the absolute beauty that I was witnessing. Not only can you see lots of the tip of Spain, Africa was quite visible too. Spain meets Africa. Atlantic meets Mediterranean. It was all right there. After the viewpoint we headed to St. Michael’s cave, which is deep and full of stalagmites. There have been a series of speculations as to whether or not the caves lead to some underground passage to Africa, but I have no idea how true that is. There is also a concert hall down there, but I'm not sure how I would feel about sitting through a couple of musical sets while gigantic stalagmites are hanging over my head.

After the caves we went to see the monkeys! Gibraltar is famous for all the monkeys that live wild there in the nature reserve near the top part of the rock. Well, actually, they’re owned by the government, but allowed to run free. We let them to climb on us so we could take pictures, but there are strict rules about not feeding them. Ok, funny thing happened. I had forgotten a wrapper from a chocolate brownie in the front part of my backpack from when we came back from Morocco a few days earlier. One of the monkeys smelled the chocolate on me, then jumped on my back, grabbed the wrapper, ran to a nearby rock to start eating whatever chocolate residue was left. I was so scared. I maintained face, and tried to smile but the entire time he was on my back I was like “get this freakin' monkey off my back!" (Pun intended). It was hilarious.

Finally, we visited the Siege underground exhibit, caves from which the British soldiers would shoot their cannons while at war to protect Gibraltar. I guess it worked.

Gibraltar is surely a hidden treasure and I am glad I took the time to actually visit.

Mi Encuentro Marroquí (My Moroccan Encounter)

Guess what? I just got back from the "Motherland!" (Africa, that is). The girls from GSU and I just spent the last couple of days in Morocco and boy, do I have some stories to tell. Morocco always seemed like such an exotic place, so I was excited to go. After all, classes had not yet begun, so I wanted to take the opportunity to travel as much as I could. I admit, it was a last minute decision and honestly I did not know what to expect. 

Our trip started out with a 6-hour bus ride to Madrid. We arrived at the Madrid airport at almost midnight and since we had 6 am flights to Marrakech, we decided to spend the night at the airport. That was a fun night. We were so tired, we were laughing deliriously the entire night. We tried to sleep on the hard and cold airport floor, but after numerous failed attempts, we just decided to sleep on the plane. Once on the plane I was knocked out. I think I woke up to the sight of the beautiful Atlas mountain range that sat over Marrakech. It is one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen. 

However, we had a problem. The pilot couldn’t land the plane because of a thick fog that covered the city. We circled in the air for about 45 minutes or more. I was going in and out of sleep, interrupted intermittently by the pilot’s announcements about why he couldn’t land. Finally, he said that we were going to land in a nearby city to solve the fog problem. Ok, apparently the word “nearby” was relative. We landed in Algadir, which is a city on the Atlantic coast and about 155 miles away! Plus, it was not even the closest airport. Sheesh. At first I thought it was hilarious. Probably because I was not expecting what would come next. They then made us get off the plane without any further instructions at all. Somehow I assumed we were going to stay at the airport until the fog cleared and would be subsequently put on another flight to Marrakech. Nothing of the sort. We waited for about 2 hours at the Algadir airport until they put us on a bus that would take us to Marrakech. At first they told us it would take 3 hours to get there, but it ended up taking us about 5. We were originally supposed to arrive in Marrakech at 7am; we didn’t get there until 5 or 6pm. We lost an entire day.

When we finally arrived the bus dropped us off at some random spot from which we took a taxi to the main square, Djamaa El Fna. Man, there were A LOT of people. I was a little overwhelmed. And I guess I didn’t know exactly what to expect so I experienced some serious culture shock. Plus, I think after the rough travels and sleep deprivation my emotions were off kilter. That night we got something to eat and found us a nice hostal. It was pretty nice and the guy at the front desk (Aziz - super nice) gave us a good deal. We stayed practically on the main square, right in the middle of all the action and across the street from a nice park. That night we walked around for a bit and went to get some icecream. Even at night the plaza was full of life and excitement. Small groups were playing drums, there were kiosks with all kinds of fruits and spices, there were even snake charmers and people with trained monkeys. Before coming I was actually worried about how I should dress since Morocco is a muslim country and I didn’t want to wear anything that would be offensive. Also, it was just us three females so that first night I was a little on edge. I was actually surprised to see the women dressed in all different ways. Some wore tradition dress, some were covered completely, while others wore regular clothes without any head covering. After noticing that, I felt more at ease. 

 

The next day we decided to explore a little bit of the city. We decided to go to the Bahia Palace. To get there we walked through areas that were not as touristy. I enjoyed it because I got to see how locals really live. The palace was beautiful and very much like many of the  alcazares (palaces) that I have already seen in Spain. After coming to Morocco, I could really see how strong the arab architectural influence was (and still is) in Spain.

That next day was our big shopping day. Souks – here I come! The Souks has got to be the greatest place to find good bargains. It's this laberint of local venders where you can buy everything from leather purses to silver jewelry. I collect vases from different countries so I bargained my way to a good price on a beautiful ceramic vase with a cool camel bone design. But if you ever go there, be careful not to get lost because it is seriously a maze. We decided to stay on a straight path and I must say we were quite successful in finding our way back out.

On our final day there we visited the Koutoubia gardens. The Koutoubia is the most important mosque in Marrakech. We had the entire day to chill, so we walked alongside the ancient city walls to the Majorelle Gardens. It was a long walk, but once we saw the gardens it was well worth it. It was breathtaking and a great way to end our trip.

We also spent that last night in the Marrakech airport, since we had an early flight. LOL. It was so cold we had to huddle together to stay warm. And to top it off, when we got back to Madrid, we missed our bus back to Málaga :(

Overall, we had a fun and fantastic trip. Next time I would love to go to the Sahara. Most of our frustration on this trip was associated with the traveling itself. And really, it brought Kelley, Lizette and I closer together. I don't rememeber ever laughing so much in my life. Everywhere we went something funny happened that we still laugh about even after having come back.

Can't wait to share my next adventure. Until then...

El Carnaval de Málaga – Confetti Fever

This past weekend I had a cultural experience that absolutely blew my mind – the Málaga Carnival. I had seen a poster on a street corner one day last week while walking back home and from that moment my interest was piqued. Being from the Caribbean, I had a certain image in mind as to what Carnival looks, sounds, and feels like, so I was interested to know how they celebrate Carnival in Spain. For those of you who may not know, West Indian Carnivals have their roots in European carnival, so what we celebrate back home is a somewhat evolved version of European carnival (seasoned with African tradition, of course).

 The first thing on the itinerary was  the Pregón y Elección de los dioses (Opening and Selection of the gods). Ok, so I had no idea what that even meant or entailed, so I was intrigued. A friend and I caught the bus to the centro since that first night’s event was going to take place in the Plaza de la Constitución. While we were walking in the direction of the carnival we were met with crowds of people. All around us people were dressed in costumes of all kinds and everyone was walking the streets and just having a good time. On one corner we saw group of guys all dressed in costumes and playing musical instruments while people gathered around to join them in singing and to cheer them on. They looked like green aliens…or could they have been broccoli heads?? Who knows…but I just had to stop and take a picture with them (I never leave home without my camera). As we continued towards the plaza, the atmosphere was super charged. It was loud with the roar of the crowds of people. So this was the Málaga carnival. The crowd became thicker as we approached and we had to wiggle our way through some people, but it didn’t bother me one bit! I actually liked being in the center of all the action J. In the plaza they had set up a stage and a huge, long red carpet. We got there just before the Elección de los dioses began. Different groups or designers constructed these huge and elaborate costumes (that they called “dioses”) that were made of feathers, glitter, lights and sequins.  The “dioses” would come out and parade their costume on the red carpet for the crowd to enjoy and then at the end of the night they picked a winner. It was great - I felt like I was back home in St. Maarten! The only thing that was missing was the Calypso and Soca music. But, wow. It was more like West Indian carnival than I realized! Actually, back home we construct our costumes the exact same way and have shows like this too. Even though I knew that the concept of carnival in the West Indies and in Europe was the same, I didn’t realize that modern day Spanish carnival would be so similar. 

The next day the festivities continued. Sunday was the Gran Desfile (The grand parade). A group of friends and I took the bus down to the Avenida de Andalucia, where the parade was to pass through. That day was even more fun than the night before. Not only were more people dressed up, little kids had on their costumes too. I had so much fun taking pictures of them. The cutest costume I saw was this little girl (who was white) who was dressed up as the princess from the recent Disney movie “Princess and the Frog.” She wore the green princess dress and held a stuffed frog, but since the princess from the movie was black, her face was painted brown. It was cute, but I had to laugh. We enjoyed the parade, which basically consisted of the dioses we had seen the night before and the level of excitement was just as high. Besides the costumes, the thing I enjoyed most about the parade was all the confetti. As the groups passed by, lots of people had bags of confetti and were tossing handfuls into the crowd. Somehow we must have attracted a lot of attention with our enthusiasm because it seemed as if every handful of confetti was thrown directly at us. LOL. I was finding confetti for days afterwards. 

The carnival was such a great cultural experience. Everyone who participated seemed to have had such a great time. I did too. 

Honesty

Since one of my goals for this blog is to try to be transparent, I would like to share a personal struggle that I have dealt with in the past, but find myself also dealing with as I am now here in Spain.

One of my main goals in coming to Spain is to perfect my language skills, both oral and written. More specifically, I would like to improve my professional writing skills in Spanish as well as be able to better communicate verbally with more ease and less grammatical errors. Well, today I got really frustrated with myself because I didn’t feel that I was where I need to be nor where I want to be in relation to my Spanish language skills. That frustrates me. First, I am at the graduate level, and secondly, I am a Spanish instructor. I feel like I have a certain standard that I need to uphold for myself, so I cannot help but get upset with myself when I mess up or say something wrong.

It’s not simply making mistakes that frustrate me. Being completely honest, I still get nervous when speaking Spanish, especially to people who I think are going to judge me. I’m not referring to experiencing shyness or timidity, but rather fear. I mean real, stomach-churning, make-you-wanna-run-away type of fear. You know, the kind that manifests physiologically. This fear itself is counterintuitive because when I get nervous, I make even more mistakes. I know this may be hard for some to understand because you all think, “Teljer is not shy”. True. But that doesn’t mean that I’m fearless or that don’t struggle with fear of speaking. It is even hard for me to process because I want this so badly! People have many times told me “hablas muy bien español,” ("you speak Spanish really well") but sometimes that is not good enough. I want to speak like a native speaker and anything that falls just shy of that is not good enough for me. I want it so badly that sometimes it makes me want to cry.

But alas, reality keeps me in check. Really, I have only been in Spain for a little over a week. I know that I am a perfectionist, but I need to remind myself to take it in stride, setting realistic goals for myself. If I am not careful, my temporary frustration may make me forget or even disregard all the hard work that I have done to even get to the point where I’m at.

I got some great advice from one of my roommates tonight. She said “cuando tengas esas ideas, siempre mira hacia atras en tu camino y lo que has logrado, eso te motivará para lo que sigue.” ("Whenever you have those thoughts, always look back at the path from which you've come and what you've attained and that is what will motivate you for what's ahead"). Words of wisdom. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

So what is the resolution to this all? That I am not giving up! I am going to keep working at it. I know that I am hard on myself. But my ambition and hard work need to be seasoned with patience, positivity, and hope. Sigh. Indeed, I have a journey in front of me, but I am hopeful that it has a happy ending.

Ahora soy "Malagueña"

I survived my first week! So much has happened and I must say that I am starting to feel more like una malagueña. Two important things we needed to do this week were to go to a local bank to open accounts (since we're going to be here for so long) and to buy an unlimited monthly bus pass. It all made me feel so...official. The bus pass will be invaluable. It will save me a ton of money since we take the bus everywhere. The city is pretty spread out, but unlike Atlanta, the bus system here is pretty intricate and you can get around just fine without a car.


Meanwhile, I have been busy getting to know the city and taking some more pictures (I need to put that bus pass to use!). Some of you may not know this, but I'm a closet photographer - I LOVE taking pictures. I especially love taking pictures of things/places that have historical significance (nerdy, I know!). As I travel throughout Spain, I will be sure to share pictures of all the places that I visit.

As promised, I have pics of my new room. I moved in on Monday and when I entered the door it was a breath of fresh air (literally. Aquí no se puede fumar). And my roommates are all so awesome! One of them is, Liza, is from Argentina and the other three are from nearby areas. Only I would come all the way to Spain and make friends with someone from Latin America :) I think this move was great for me because eventhough my roommates are studying hard for finals, they still take time to knock on my door just to say hi, which I absolutely love. We often have our meals together downstairs in the dining room. I've also been busy giving my room the "Teljer Touch" so by popular demand, here are the before and after pictures. I feel relieved now that I've finally settled into my new room and have unpacked. I just hate that "I'm on vacation" feeling that you get when you're living out of a suitcase or when you haven't personalized your room. Moreover, since I am going to be here for 6 months I wanted to make it feel like home.

This study abroad trip is like a dream come true for me. I am in my zone, my happy place. I am surrounded by Spanish speakers, rich culture and endless possibilities for learning and growing, both intellectually and personally. Of course I don't expect for everything to be perfect at every single moment, but I have already made up my mind to enjoy this trip despite any possible mishaps. For those of you who have thought about studying abroad, I encourage you to jump at the opportunity. You will not regret it. And in reality, your experience is what you make of it and how much you take in is really up to the individual. As for me, I choose to savor every moment and to immerse myself in the cultura malagueña as much as I possibly can.

Girl's day out

Saturday was such a fun day! It was my first time going into the centro (downtown) and getting to see a bit of Málaga. I finally was able to shake the jetlag, so I was feeling pretty pumped. Just so you know, there are four of us here from GSU. Michelle, who has been here since September last year, took us out to show us the city. Man, it is beautiful! It feels cosmopolitan, but not in an overwhelming way. There is tons to see and do. Well...first things first - I brought the wrong adapter with me for plugging in stuff. By Sat. my battery on my laptop was dead, and that would keep me from updating this wonderful blog. We took the bus to the centro to El Corte Ingles (a dept. store) to find another one. We also grabbed a quick lunch since were going to miss lunch at the residencia. We chatted and walked around a bit soaking in the ambiente malagueño (the atmosphere in Málaga). We couldnt spend too much time in the centro today because we had plans to go to a fancy dinner that night to celebrate the start of our new journey here. I must mention we are all off to a great start. All the GSU girls and I get along so well! Each of them (Michelle, Lizette and Kelley) are unique and AMAZING in their own way. I know that even as I am learning and growing personally that I can learn from them as well. I could not have asked for a better group of students to spend my time in Spain with.

That evening we got ready for our fancy dinner. We arrived downtown and walked the scenic route to our restaurant. Actually we were sort of lost for a little bit, but we so intrigued by how beautiful it was that we really didnt care! We finally found our restaurant and sat down. Michelle had been to the restaurant before and knew the owner, who I must mention was quite guapo (handsome) :). He brought us some wine as we waited for our food. The four of us were there for 3 hours just talking, laughing and having a great time. Oh! I had my first Chupito! The owner gave us each a free shot of Tequila on the house (so sweet of him).

Overall, it was a fun and and laid back evening. If I were to reflect, I would say that I learned something that night - that I dont have to stress out about everything in life. I mean, we sat in that restaurant for over 3 hours just having a good time. There was no rush for us to leave on our part, nor on the owner's. There were people in there even longer than we were. These malagueños appeared to be much more tranquilo and laid back than I was or from what I observe in our American society. I mean, many people still have siesta (nap time) everyday. This Christmas break I realized that I need to find some balance in my life. I must confess that I am addicted to busyness, hardwork and academia. I work and study ALL THE TIME and I am very ambitious even to the point of biting off more than I can chew. I do not say this to say that I am throwing my work ethic out the window, but I am admiting that I need to find more balance in my life between work and rest. It was funny because I was at home for Christmas for 4 whole weeks. I did absolutely nothing. It was the best four weeks of my life. But I think my body went into shock because for the first time in about 2 years I actually slowed down. So that is going to be one of my goals during this trip - that I find that balance between hard work and being able to relax, breathe and just enjoy life.

I feel right at home

I'M HERE!! I never thought the day would come, but after 3 1/2 months of planning and preparation, I finally made it to Málaga! I dont know how I did it, but I managed to fit ALL my stuff I into my two bags. And I'm a girly girl, so I "need" all my stuff (including the 12 pairs of shoes I brought - a girl needs options). Well, after a 12hr journey, connecting through London, I landed in Málaga on Thursday afternoon. When I got off the plane I felt good. Being surrounded by Spanish speakers was music to my ears. Funny thing is, Spanish peninsular accents had always been "different" for me, but now it intrigues me. Michelle, one of the other students from GSU met me at the airport to help me with all my luggage. She asked me to bring an extra bag for her, so it was quite comical watching us push a cart with 170lbs of luggage out of the airport. I was doing some thinking during the taxi ride back to the residencia. Looking out the window and taking in what I saw I realized that I felt very comfortable here. Sure, Málaga felt and looked different to the other Spanish cities that I had visited on my last trip to Spain, but not in a bad way. Actually, I felt right at home. It was then I noticed that all my nervousness and anxiety had dissipated. All I felt was peace. I am going love this place!

So we got to the residence hall and its huge! Some 200 students live there. The office was expecting me and the lady at the front desk, Fernanda, came out to give me a kiss on both cheeks, which is the tradition here. I went up to my room and met my roommates, who are all from nearby cities. We chatted for a little while and they told me that they were all busy studying for finals, since their semester ends at the beginning of February, instead of in December as in the U.S. I actually LOVE my room -it's a good size. I have lots of closet space (phew!) and a huge desk for all the studying and reading I will be doing. My room is 1 of 5 in sort of a suite with 2 bathrooms. The great thing about this residence is that you get 3 meals a day and one snack. They also have someone come and clean your room AND your bathroom Mon-Fri...¡¡Mira que nice!! I only had one problem! Ok, that first day as I was standing in the hall of the suite, two of my roommates lit up a cigarrette...right in the suite!! I was like, heck no. I honestly have nothing against people that smoke, but it kinda does bother me when they smoke indoors...especially when its going to affect me. I decided to be diplomatic and just talk to Isabel (the residence director) about it the next day.

I must say that Isabel has got to be the coolest residence director ever! She brought me and the other new GSU students into her office to welcome us. I think she was just as excited for us to be here as we were. I mentioned the roommate/smoking issue to her and she was totally cool about the whole thing. Eventhough it is against the rules to smoke in your room, we just decided it was better for me to change rooms. So I get my new room on Monday :) I have all these plans to decorate and make it really cute and comfortable. And really, 6 months is a long time, so I want to make sure I can upack, unwind and make my room feel like home. I will post pics once I have it up to speed.