Saturday, December 19, 2009
Feliz Navidad
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I am headed off to Avila/Madrid. I will inform you guys about it when I get back.
Until then have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Buenas Fiestas.
I am headed off to Avila/Madrid. I will inform you guys about it when I get back.
Until then have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Buenas Fiestas.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Reunion
This past weekend I attended a reunion of all the students participating in the exchange program that live in the Barcelona area. When I arrived my peers began to talk to me in English and, for a moment, I struggled to speak. I found that when I spoke in English i would sometimes say "si" or "vale." However, I soon remembered how to speak my native language, and the words soon began to flow from my mouth.
There wer about 12 students in total who attended. We met at the house of the coordinator of the Barcelona area in Cerdanyola. All the students took the train to get there. Feli dropped me off because we were coming from the birthday of one of their relatives. The coordinator who asked about our relationship with our family and how we were doing interviewed each student. Meanwhile, the other students visited with each other and got caught up with each other's news. it seemed that everybody was learning a lot and having a great experience.
After the interview sessions we all sat down to enjoy some tasty traditional pastries. We continued to talk and shared stories about our host families. We also compared the customs of Spain with our own and talked about what we did on a regular basis. One custom very common here is that the older children in our families still live at home (while working or going to college.)
Unfortunately, all good things have to end and the time soon came for us to part ways and levae for our casas. I said goodbye to my friends and headed back to my house in Sabadell by train. It was a great reunion, seeing some old faces and speaking in my native tongue. However, I have to say that it felt so wierd speaking English. I suppose that's a good thing.
There wer about 12 students in total who attended. We met at the house of the coordinator of the Barcelona area in Cerdanyola. All the students took the train to get there. Feli dropped me off because we were coming from the birthday of one of their relatives. The coordinator who asked about our relationship with our family and how we were doing interviewed each student. Meanwhile, the other students visited with each other and got caught up with each other's news. it seemed that everybody was learning a lot and having a great experience.
After the interview sessions we all sat down to enjoy some tasty traditional pastries. We continued to talk and shared stories about our host families. We also compared the customs of Spain with our own and talked about what we did on a regular basis. One custom very common here is that the older children in our families still live at home (while working or going to college.)
Unfortunately, all good things have to end and the time soon came for us to part ways and levae for our casas. I said goodbye to my friends and headed back to my house in Sabadell by train. It was a great reunion, seeing some old faces and speaking in my native tongue. However, I have to say that it felt so wierd speaking English. I suppose that's a good thing.
Friday, December 11, 2009
El Puente
We enjoyed a four-day weekend this past week starting December fourth. This holiday was called El Puente (the bridge). I didn't really understand why we had this holiday. One of my friends said it was the "Spanish Thanksgiving." During our holiday Oscar, Feli and I went to Comaruga and the Delta of the Ebro. Angel's mother is ill so he has gone to take care of her for a while in Avila.
Well we walked around Comaruga and relished the peace of the Mediterranean Sea. The family I live with owns an apartment in Comaruga. We have gone there three times now, and we usually spend a weekend there. After spending some time in Comaruga we went to meet some of Feli's family in the Delta of the Ebro. A delta is a landform of silt deposits at the mouth of a river. In this case the Ebro River goes into the Mediterranean Sea.
We met Feli's family, ate lunch and visited. Feli's family is very nice and is always happy to see me. I also enjoy visiting their family members although I do miss my own. There were a lot of marshlands in the Delta. These marshlands reminded me of the fields of Ohio. I enjoyed the scenery of the marshlands and the Mediterranean Sea: they were both relaxing.
This weekend I also saw two movies "Paranormal Activity" and "2012." Both movies were in Spanish and I understood pretty much everything! They were both entertaining movies, but I liked "Paranormal Activity" because it was more suspenseful. The other film, "2012", was also fun to watch.
The long weekend was a nice break. Christmas is coming soon. What an experience that will be...
Well we walked around Comaruga and relished the peace of the Mediterranean Sea. The family I live with owns an apartment in Comaruga. We have gone there three times now, and we usually spend a weekend there. After spending some time in Comaruga we went to meet some of Feli's family in the Delta of the Ebro. A delta is a landform of silt deposits at the mouth of a river. In this case the Ebro River goes into the Mediterranean Sea.
We met Feli's family, ate lunch and visited. Feli's family is very nice and is always happy to see me. I also enjoy visiting their family members although I do miss my own. There were a lot of marshlands in the Delta. These marshlands reminded me of the fields of Ohio. I enjoyed the scenery of the marshlands and the Mediterranean Sea: they were both relaxing.
This weekend I also saw two movies "Paranormal Activity" and "2012." Both movies were in Spanish and I understood pretty much everything! They were both entertaining movies, but I liked "Paranormal Activity" because it was more suspenseful. The other film, "2012", was also fun to watch.
The long weekend was a nice break. Christmas is coming soon. What an experience that will be...
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Game Day
This past Sunday was an epic day in futbol (soccer for the US) in Spain. The teams of two of the largest cities in Spain played against each other. FC (futbol club) Barcelona played against Real Madrid, also known as El Clasico. Back at home in Michigan, the two biggest rivals are Michigan and OSU. Barcelona and Madrid share a similar rivalry.
The game was played in the stadium of Barcelona, Camp Nou. The next time they play in the Spring, the will play in Madrid. Anyway, there was a lot of hype for this game. All the news channels were talking about it and giving their predictions of what the outcome would be. There were commercials promoting the game and kids at school were talking about the it. I personally was rooting for Barcelona. I mean I am living really close to Barcelona so I have to represent my city.
When Sunday came I was excited and ready to watch some of the greatest players play futbol. However, horrror struck as I was dismayed to find out the game could only be shown on special networks, which we had to pay for. So instead of the game we watched Shrek... SHREK!!!
Thankfully, Oscar and I had to go out to buy some bread. While we were out we saw the score in a near by bar. It was a little past halftime and the score was Barcelona 0, Real Madrid 0 (referees win ;). What a boring first half I thought. A few seconds later Barcelona scored and we heard noises from all the restaurants and bars that were near. We later went back home to have dinner. We then learned that the final score of the game was 1 to 0 Barcelona.
I was happy that Barcelona won and thought Oscar and I were really lucky to see the goal. Let's Go BARCELONA!!
The game was played in the stadium of Barcelona, Camp Nou. The next time they play in the Spring, the will play in Madrid. Anyway, there was a lot of hype for this game. All the news channels were talking about it and giving their predictions of what the outcome would be. There were commercials promoting the game and kids at school were talking about the it. I personally was rooting for Barcelona. I mean I am living really close to Barcelona so I have to represent my city.
When Sunday came I was excited and ready to watch some of the greatest players play futbol. However, horrror struck as I was dismayed to find out the game could only be shown on special networks, which we had to pay for. So instead of the game we watched Shrek... SHREK!!!
Thankfully, Oscar and I had to go out to buy some bread. While we were out we saw the score in a near by bar. It was a little past halftime and the score was Barcelona 0, Real Madrid 0 (referees win ;). What a boring first half I thought. A few seconds later Barcelona scored and we heard noises from all the restaurants and bars that were near. We later went back home to have dinner. We then learned that the final score of the game was 1 to 0 Barcelona.
I was happy that Barcelona won and thought Oscar and I were really lucky to see the goal. Let's Go BARCELONA!!
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