Madrid. Leon. Gijon.

In the past week I have gotten a bit of a larger-scale taste for Spain…and I feel like I can confidently say, Spain could not be much cooler. 

MADRID:



fighting off the rain...



Last weekend, four new friends and I made a very last minute decision to go to Madrid-  We bought tickets and hopped on a VERY early train with no travel plans, no return ticket, and no place to stay.  Not only was the trip beautifully spontaneous, every little piece fell into place perfectly.  We saw Madrid through a million different lenses- Our first day there, it was pouring.  Not sprinkling…POURING. 

We ended up buying 3 euro umbrellas and decided not to let it hold us back.  We explored the many endless and beautiful parks while they were completely desolate.  We would unknowingly come upon huge, stunning, and EMPTY monuments…making it feel like we were the first to discover them. 



"oh no way! Look at what we found"



 When we began to get cold, we could seek salvation in a café for a treat or into the Prado and Reina Sofia museum for a look at some of the world’s most famous pieces of art.  It was wonderful-  After a very long and slightly stressful hunt for a hotel, we finally found a cute little place right in the heart of the city and “hit the tiles” (bar / club hopping) regardless of the rain. 

 After dancing to a live band, struggling with the language in loud bands, and making new local friends, the night ended with the Churros con Chocolate at the most famous chocolateria in Madrid….The three story building was so packed at 6:30 IN THE MORNING with late night partiers that we had to wait 20 min for a table-  (and please note that the table we finally found was a group of 50ish year olds and a few 5 year olds, all of whom where jolly and had clearly been up all night as well…when do these people sleep!??)  

Day 2- Sunny and beautiful!

 When we woke up…a few hours later….the sun was out in full force.  The streets were packed and the same places that had been empty the day before were now bustling with street performers, kids, couples, and tourists.  It was like being in a completely different city.  Overall, Madrid was awesome- the whole experience couldn’t have been a whole lot better. 

LEON

As we sleepily stumbled back to the train station early Monday morning, we decided to make another pit stop…Leon.  So, we successfully bought train tickets and spent the day exploring the beautiful and small city of leon (very famous for its gorgeous gothic cathedral with some of the most impressive stained glass windows in the world).    

When the train finally pulled into the Oviedo station…I felt the most content feeling of being “home”.  Oviedo really really feels like my home in this moment, and I feel utterly confident that it could not be a better place for me to be this year.

Gijon: 

Today (Sunday) I woke up earlier then usual…and felt the NEED to get to a beach.   SO, I walked up the street, hopped on a 20 min bus and arrived in Gijon for the first time.  I WAS SHOCKED.  Gijon was one of the most charming little towns I feel like I have ever seen. 

Little stores and cafes stack up on a hill that is surrounded by ocean.  There is a very Santa Barbara-ish harbor and huge cliffs that plunge down from green grassy meadows.  I popped in my ipod headphones and just walked and walked and walked. 

The weather was sporadic, one moment pouring the next sunny and warm…which made my little mini adventure that much more exciting.  It felt wonderful to escape everything and have a little solo exploration on my day off.  J  

VIVA ESPANA!!!

friday night.  4 am:  I am standing amongst 400 spainards who are all my age in a 15th century courtyard next to a famous cathedral. 

Saturday morning 11am: I am on a running trail in the mountains overlooking the entire city of oviedo (ill bring my camera next time...)


Sat night 8 pm: drinking Austrias's famous cidra (a cider type drink that waiters pour very dramatically at full wingspan...apparently, it needs to be properly shaken before drinking) with new friends while the sun sets and the spainards chat around us..

Sunday: walking around Oveido with Lola and Chismo whatching the clouds roll in, laying in the grass and chomping on a 40 cent bagette. 



I wish i could paint the picture more vividly, but the life i have been living here in Oviedo has been too unbelievable to even describe. I am still in the "pinch me" stage...its almost seems to good to be true.

 Today was the 1st real day of school, and even that was epic!  My program is about 100 kids from all over the world- all of whom are extremely nice and excited to explore as much as i am...While here i will be taking 5 classes which meet monday through friday for up to 5 hrs a day.  Thus far, I love all of my teachers and classmates- especially my art history class. 

my explinations to come....but for now im just going to let my pictures do the talking.



My room!



My first experience with Curros con Chocolate.  Essentially a dark chocolate bar melted into a cup and sugar coated donuts.  What a combo  

My desk

OVEIDO:

haha Chismo LOVEs when i use my camera- he is quite the male model.   Lola could care less... 

ASI ES LA VIDA!

Oveido...a little bit of everything

Oviedo. Oviedo. Oveido. 
I could not be happier! 

After my 27 hour travel day (3 planes, 1 bus, 1 cab) I arrived in the most beautiful city I have ever been in.  I LOVE IT HERE.  Looking back, i really had no idea what to expect from Northern Spain-  Everything is clean, green, extremely safe, and incredibly friendly.  I was explained to today that people here love tourists- because they are so rare. The town its self is very confusing.  As are most cities in europe, streets go every which way- some are rounded and looking at a map still makes me confused.  As i sit here, smiling simply of the thought of how wonderful Oveido is,  i am realizing how incredibly hard it is to explain its charm-  but here is my best shot at it.

Oveido is part little town, part city.  Part Santa Barbara meets France meets a little farm in Ohio.  The ocean in 30 min away, and the city is nestled into the mountains. People on the street KNOW each other, in that "oh what a small world" type of way. People get genuinely excited when I say i am from the US.  A waiter at a restuarant sat down with me and told me all about Oviedos history during his work shift.  There are department stores, beautiful parks, McDonalds, and tiny mom and pop bars.  The city feels perfect dynamically- tons of kids, teens, young adults, midlife crisis-ers, and elderly.  Its old ad historical and its young and hip.  Its fashionable and trendy in the best possible way. Its incredibly romantic, AND it has a sense of fun and humor.  aka- its too good to be true.
 

My favorite part of the city thus far is the old quarter.  Its an area about a mile in width that is 100% car-less.  The walking streets are huge though, and packed with people eating, drinking, playing soccer, and just hanging out-  The floors are made of beautiful old tile and around every corner is a new spetactular church, fountain, or monument.  Every street has its share of wonderfully cute cafe-bars, where people are packed into the outside seating areas that line the street. I spend about 50% of my time walking and looking around wide eyed and 50% of my time drinking a "cafe con leche" in one of these little cafes and chatting with waiters.  I guess thats the pro of traveling solo for a week...the only english ive spoken is what i have murmured to myself- My spanish has already inproved ten-fold. 

MY LIFE:  I offically have a HOME!  Yes yes! On my very first day in Oviedo, a wonderful women named Charo took me around to interview / tour apartments.  We saw three.  And typically, my apartment experience followed the rule of threes.  The first one was too small, the second one was too big (and scary!) and the third one...was just right :).  I now live in a cute apartment right next to the University with a Spanish couple, an Italian (gender?) who i have yet to meet, and two wonderfully crazy dogs.  My first night sleeping here was wonderfully inturpted by huge wet pooch kisses...i think i am in heavan. The couple is absolutly wonderful-  They are very artsy and perfectly eccentric.  The man, Ales, loves to sing and cook...both qualities I have already learned to love seeing as I just ate seared fish and avocado salad literally whilst listening to him sing Italian opera.  Yes please!

School starts monday, so I am spending a lot of my time studying up for the placement test on the first day...I cant wait to meet everyone in the international school (there apparently are 100 of us, from all over the world!)

Updates to come....and pictures of my apartamento!

 Mi perros en mi cuarto....looking guilty for waking me up....

CHAO!

-Jackie

overview: TRIP OF A LIFETIME

My dear friends and family:

And here we go.  I am now officially 14 hours into my travel adventure of a lifetime.  The 10 hour sleepless flight from SFO to londons Hiethrow airport flew by…with the accompaniment of three and a half movies and a lot of language-limited awkward small talk with my English studying seatmate from Denmark…(he tried to explain his favorite place was union square…and it took about 20 minutes for me to have even the slightest idea what he was talking about.)

Today technically marks my first day on my 10 month abroad adventure. From September 24 until July 19, 2011.  Two countries. Two school programs.  Two different subjects.  Two languages.  Bring it on.

The first leg of my adventure will be spent in Oviedo, Spain (a very small town in the north of Spain) for the next 11 weeks.  The town is about 40 minutes via bus from the ocean, 4 hours by train from Madrid, and 9 hours from Barcalona.  Its located to the west of the grand Pryonese mountains, and directly below a large mountain range called Los picos de Europa.  The town is small, not a big tourist draw and supposedly has a “university town” type feel. 

The program I am studying with is extremely small- I believe there are only 4 of us…and we are all somewhat responsible for our own housing upon arrival.   Yes….i have no clue where I will be sleeping 2 days from now.  It makes me a little nervous how calm I feel about that fact.  

After Spain, I will meet my parents in London for Christmas which will morf into phase two of my adventure, London!  I will be studying at Kings College in London (a part of the University of London) from January until June- with a full month off in april and a month of extra spare time tacked onto the tail end of the trip.   I have lots of friends that are studying abroad in various places in Europe at various times of the year…so there is a lot of side traveling in order….Jessie in nice, Nicole in Ireland, 2 Rachels in Spain, and many many more J.

In my time abroad, I hope to see everything I can see, experience everything I can experience, and adapt and live in a way that is utterly foreign to me.  I picked my programs very specifically because they are both extremely independent.  My goal is to stay as far away from crowded tour busses as humanly possible-  and to mesh in with the cultures of every place I visit. 

I hope to hear from you all while over here!  I am determined not to be terrible at keeping in touch- if im not your friend already, friend me on skype Jackie.zupsic  or shoot me an email whenever at Jackiezupsic@gmail.com . 

Adios! saying goodbye at the airport-