Hasta Luego Espana, GOODDAY LONDON

Sitting here, in the Madrid airport….have officially spent about 20 ish hours sitting (thank god not consecutively) near the British airline desk, praying that London can pull there sh** together, and learn to deal with the 2 inches of snow that have very much shut the country down.  Can you tell I am a wee bit bitter?  2 canceled flights and about 35 hours of waiting really is not much to complain about considering the number of horror stories I have heard from my fellow “wait-ers” however.  One night of waiting is not too shabby; I shared a hotel with my good friend David, whose flight left early this morning.  The company was great to have in the slightly stressful situation. NOW, KNOCK ON WOOD this flight will go through.  HUGE shout out to my pops- who literally spent the last day booking different flight options, leave it to Mr. Zupsic to figure it out….i honestly don’t know how he does it. 

As I sit here, I find myself quite overrun with sadness.  Spain has given me more then I could have ever imagined.  The places ive seen, the new customs I have learned, the language I have practiced and most importantly, the wonderful wonderful people I have met – have had a tremendous impact on me.  The Spanish culture, so warm, friendly and inviting, quite frankly has made me really evaluate the oftentimes selfish culture that defines America.  I have never met so many wonderfully caring, open and simply HAPPY people as Spaniards.  Nothing seems to bother them; no pasa nada.  I am sure that is different from region to region however- Oveido was just INSANELY chill. 

Picnic at Loreto's country casa

More over- I think, even in this ubsurdly short time, I have gotten a real grasp on Asturias and the beautiful people who live there.   On our last night in Spain, the “crew” and I were enjoying our last Beleynos (an Austurian beer) when someone said, “wow- look at the ratio right now” (in Spanish…claro).  There, in that little Spanish bar, sat 4 Americans and 4 Spaniards-  We were sitting there, about 10 pm on a Sunday, speaking Spanish and watching the Real Madrid game in a packed, smoky bar in Spain and acting like it was no big deal….the usual.  The relationships we formed, not only among ourselves but with others who don’t even speak our mother tongue- is something to be ecstatic about.   

From my conversation partners, Galo and Encarna who literally took me on their family vacation, to my wonderful Spanish girlfriends, Loreto and Icear, whose wonderful houses we have hung out in and who have shown us all the local hotspots.  The connections I’ve made here in Spain are ones that I am sure will last into my future….i really lucked out.

 



And then, there are my American friends, those who embarked on this epic journey with me…my closest friends- the crew.  Tom, David, Flex, Sean, Nick, the Bostons, and of course, Ryan.  I don’t think I have ever formed such strong friendships so quickly, and there is not a doubt in my mind they will be there forever.  There is nothing like the connection you make to those when in a totally foreign place- You people are wonderful- Ive never laughed so hard, been so consistently happy and content, and learned so much from a group of people.  I freaking LOVE you people.  I miss you all already-  I still find myself tearing up that I will not be able to see you every waking second.  Haha-

So that is that.  Adios Spain y HELLLO London!  (If I ever get there!!)

Little tid bits of spain I will never forget:

-          Day one.  When to a bar and ordered beer which I called “maahoy” when it is really pronounced “mow”



-          Watching an amazing live band in Portugal

-          Walking my dogs

-          Hiking up to “Christo”- a huge statue on the highest mountiain in Oviedo…the trail was essentially in my backyard.  We even hiked it in the snow once!

-          Getting asked directions in Oviedo (in Spanish) and being able to give them

-          ESPECHA- a school fundraiser aka an all day, all day student party to raise money

-          KEBOBS- the most delicious Greek creation ever. A late night go- to.  We even created a verb, Kebebar: to eat a Kebab. 



Hasta luego espana- echare de menos.

So that is that.  Adios Spain y HELLLO London!  (If I ever get there!!)





LISBOA

Ryan Tom and I made an EXTREMELY last minute trip to Lisboa, Portual for a 5 day mini break.  Despite the very complicated travel process, we had one hell of a time. 



10 hour night bus....i thought it was only 6- opps.



 I with that...I am just going to go ahead and let my pictures do the talking....

It all started saturday, with a 6 hour bus ride to madrid.









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Ryan...pre train.



6am arrive in Lisboa....and a very necessary redbull

Sightseeing by day

partying by night- (with new international friends!)

Lisboa is incredibly beautiful-

our hostel was AMAZING and dirt cheap- it was called YES if you ever find yourself in portugal!

It all ended with another 8 hours in Madrid.  We got hot cocos and enjoyed the christmasy feel before hopping on the 6 hour bus back home...exhausted.

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another extremely sucessful adventure-

Mi Familia Espanol

As a mentioned before, I hit the jackpot when it comes to conversation partners.  When I signed up for the “Tandem” conversation program, I figured I would be assigned a Spanish student around my age to chat with and grab a café with from time to time- purely to practice my Spanish and teach a little English. Boy oh boy, that is not what I got at all.  Encarna and Galo Blano are an adult couple who have literally adopted me into their lives.  They are without a doubt the most caring and generous people I have ever met. 

 It started off with meeting for coffee, and changed quickly into meals at their beautiful home in the country side- A few times a week, they came and picked me up and took me somewhere magnificent.  Sometimes, we would just go to their home, cook and eat, and sit around, chatting and playing with their few week old boxer puppy (named Frida).  Encarna is an artist, (hence “Frida”) so we also spent a good amount of time in her insanely large and creative art studio looking at art and chit chatting.  Other times, they would cart me around to do whatever they were doing for the day.  We grocery shopped, bought snow tires, looked for baby gifts, went to an Austurian sidra festival…to further explain there generosity and overall wonderful-ness, allow me to give you a scenario of a really special day:

FRIDA.  5 week old boxer puppy- QUE LINDA



There amazing, artsty home



Two weeks ago, Galo invited me over to go for a bke ride.  When I arrive, Galo, Encarna, and there 2 thirtyish year old kids were packed around the TV watching a news report about epic amounts of snow in the mountains near by.  I say, to make conversation, “ah! Me encanta la neive! Antes de marcho, me encantaría ver la neive de Espana!”  (translation: i love the snow! Before i leave, i would love to see the snow in Spain!)  Ten minutes later, the entire family and I are packed in the car, wearing snow boots and ski jackets bound for their cabin in the mountains. 

We spent 2 days and one night in their small, cozy cabin right at the base of the ski resort.  We cooked dinner and sat around the fireplace during the night, and when morning hit, we HIT THE SLOPES.  Yes, that’s right, I got to SKI IN SPAIN.  They lent me absolutely everything: skis, boots, gloves, snow clothes, todos.  I practically had to get on my knees and beg for them to let me buy my own lift ticket (which might I add was only 20 euro!?  Insane.)  The 2 feet of fresh new power made up for the fact that it began to snow from time to time.  When the rest of the family, who are all amazing skiers, got tired- Galo and I stayed on the mountain and tore it up.  A solid 7 hour ski day without resting, left me sleeping on the car ride home- happier than ever. 

Bucket list check off for sure: Ski in Spain.  CHECK. 

I will miss my Spanish family like crazy and already cannot wait to come back and visit them.  Man, did I get lucky.  J

The Cabin

Skiing in Spain (still cant bellive it!)

Thanksgiving...Spain style

Man oh man, I have too much to be thankful for…

Mi Familia de Espana

This year, I experienced a thanksgiving unlike any other.  My first wave of homesickness struck thanksgiving morning, when I realized no turkey, no pie, no family-  Little did I know, thanksgiving came to me, all the way here in Spain.  My friends and I often frequent a little bar/sideria in town where we have become really close with the owner, Alex aka “el jefe” and the cook. We all go out together, help him clean up and kick it with him after the bar closes, and simply hang out a ton.  To get to the point, El Jefe and the wonderful Ecuadorian cook MADE US A FULL ON THANKSGIVING DINNER and served it for us in the bar.  Im talking the works: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, wine, pie..my Spanish “family” and I sat on bar stools and feasted on perhaps the most memorable and utterly different thanksgiving I think I will ever have.  Pie…check. Turkey….check.  Family…check.  I may have tear-ed up once or twice- it was incredibly touching. 

Ryan, Alex (el Jefe), Nick

Thanksgiving....spain style

To my beautiful friends and family back in the States-  I am so thankful to have all of you, and hope you had a wonderful turkey day as well. 

Barcelona - Mom - Jessie - and Life in General



Its been a while!  It’s a little bit absurd how busy I have been….and how much genuine FUN I have been having.  Allow me to give you a little peek into what my last 5 weeks have consisted of. 

BARCELONA:  I honestly don’t know if I have ever had so much consistent FUN in my entire life.  I went to Barcelona for 4 days with my 4 closest friends here in Spain…all of whom happen to be guys.  I don’t know what I was thinking to travel with four guys…nevertheless four guys that are DUCKS (eww u of Oregon…sorry mom!) but it worked out beautifully.  Ryan, Nick, Tom, David and I took off from Oviedo on a Thursday afternoon and arrived in the coolest city on planet earth (aka Barcelona) in time for our first night of tom-foolery.   First off, Barcelona.  Barcelona is in my opinion, a mixture of everything perfect.  City, beach, sun, business, shopping, party scene, multi cultural, artsy, creative, original….i could go on for days. 

THE CREW: david. me. ryan. tom. nick



We stayed in an amazing hostel on paseig de gracias (a main street) a block from the metro and right in the smack dab middle of everything- The building looked like something out of The Real World, with multi colored doors, huge couches in the common rooms and a sick outdoor patio.  By day we hit the beach,( floating in the Mediterranean, cruising the beach, and getting massages from Asian woman who swarm the beaching offering “masssag-ys” at incredibly cheap prices) and exploring everything touristy (sagrada familia, park guell, gaudi buildings, the markets, old town….). And by night…we took Barcelona by storm. 

Cool statues you can swim out to-



  Onenight, I even got to meet up with some fellow Seatt-lites!  A friend of a friend, named Jorge happens to LIVE in Barcelona, so the crew and I got to go over to an AMAZING 8^th story flat in the city….oh, and should I mention we were picked up and transported there via Spaniards on Vespas (I know, hard life I live).  Another highlight, BARCELONA FUTBOL.  The boys and I were lucky enough to get to go see a Barcelona vs. Sevilla Futbol game! The stadium was PACKED, everyone was screaming their lungs off, and we WON 6-0!  Please note I am an official barce fan now….:) to prove my new found love I even bought a flag and wore it as a cape to the game.  The flag is now hanging in my room-  !VIVA BARCE!



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VIVA BARCE!



 Other random tidbits about the wonder which is Barcelona:  because we were on a budget, the dudes and I decided to make the most of our food money by ONLY eating in buffets.  Yes. That’s right, Buffets.  Everyday, we had one monster meal- that put all of us into a coma every time.  Extremely nasty, but extremely effective….I ran into a girl from my UW Spanish class last year in front of the Segrada familia- SMALL WORLD….overall, the trip was amazing.  We did not have one even slightly rough moment.  All fun, all the time, no stress (which I might add NEVER would have happened with a group of 5 girls!) haha.  Ah Barcelona. I will be back soon.  (flights from London are significantly less expensive…..so when I say soon, I mean it.)  

Post Buffet. 

JESSIE:  My best friend Jessie whom I have known since the first grade came to visit me in Oviedo!  It was SO wonderful to have a little piece of home here with me.  J I loved getting to show someone else my world in spain!  My roommates cooked us an amazing Paella, we dined out like kings, and we partied like rock-stars.  OH, also, learned something new about my roommate, Ales….HE SPEAKS ENGLISH….PERFECTLY.  I was absolutely shocked when Jessie walked into the apartment and he busted out in perfect English…hmm, that would have been nice to know a little earlier when I was looking up every 10^th word I said to him in the dictionary.  Haha.  J

MOM: ALSO I got the recent treat of having my mom come and visit me!  It was SO amazing to see her and speak Spanish and all of that with her-  We spent a wonderful 2.5ish days in Oviedo- filled with wonderful food, wonderful chats and sightseeing .  Afterwards, we bussed off to San Sebastian and Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain.  San Sebastian was incredible is every sense of the word. San Seb. Is on the northern coast of Spain, about 30 minutes driving from the boarder of France- The mixture of the two very different styles of architecture, music, basic way of life and most importantly FOOD is a foolproof combo.  Mom and I pretty much ate and drank our way through the city.  Having Zuritos (little beers) and Pinxos (tapas) every few hours and walking around.  The streets are all lined with little bars that are PACKED with people and filled with the most delicious food you have ever seen. 

 Little pieces of fresh fish on a still-warm croissant, mushrooms in different little sauces, thinly sliced ham and goat cheese on a little piece of baguette….my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  The bars all work on the honor system…you literally pick up whatever you want to eat off the bar and tell the cashier what you got and pay before you leave to go to ANOTHER little bar.  Too good to be true.  After two days of solid eating, we popped back on the bus and headed to Bilbao for the sole purpose of seeing the Guggenheim Museum.  We spent a solid 7 hours in the museum (with a one hour lunch break) and didn’t even get close to seeing everything.  The museum was phenomenal- and I felt extremely lucky to have my own personal tour guide to explain everything to me (thanks mom!). 

CONVERSATION PARTNERS:  To practice my Spanish more, I signed up for a speaking program called Tandem where a native speaker from the US and a native speaker from Spain meet up to talk and practice the language.  I hit the jackpot.  My speaking partners are the kindest and most generous couple in the whole world.  They have 2 kids (in there 20s/30s) and live 15 minutes out of the city in a amazing house in a tremendous green valley.  They have become so much more then speaking partners, they are my Spanish family.  They have taken me to their house, introduced me to their whole family, driven me around the small towns of Asturias, and always offer to take me with them if they go anywhere- (I might even get to go skiing with them this weekend!)  I am currently getting ready to go over there for lunch!  J  I feel so lucky to have met them, they have added another incredible element to my life here in Spain-

Beyond that, life in general here in Spain is incredibly good.  I feel happier then I have felt in a long time. I have amazing friends, an amazing place to live, and really feel like I am living like a Spaniard.  I come and go as I please, I walk the dogs, I cook, I clean….Its not vacation at all- its real life- and I love it.