Bailando y Cantando

Ok, I really have to get on this or I’m going to be writing posts for the last weeks after I get home. I have also decided that I am going to stop writing in Spanish if I plan on getting all of these in. If I find more time, I will come back and update them, but for now, I am sticking with English.

Our third week was not quite as extravagant so it will not be as hard, but it was still lots of fun. We went to see two concerts and a discoteca that was seven floors. Classes were normal and the food was amazing as always.

On Wednesday night, one of our monitores was one of the opening acts for the band Tuya at a club in Madrid so some of us went to see him sing. Anna and I bought the tickets online but were unsure if we needed to print them out. We decided to wing it and come with an image on our phones since printing here is not as trivial as it is in the US. When we got there, Lasondra and Jordyn were the other two from our program that had come, and both of them had printed out their tickets. We were really worried that we weren’t going to be able to get in, but it ended up being no problem since they had a list, so we worried for nothing. Our monitor Lucas was singing with his friend as the last set before the main band came on. They were really cute as they did covers of many pop American songs and played a variety of interesting instruments. It was also really great because they sang American songs with Spanish accents! I liked some of the other openers more than others, and the main act had some songs that I liked and others that I was not so fond of because they were a bit screamy. We ended up leaving a little after midnight but before the show was over because we had class the next day and wanted to be able to take the Metro home.

The concert was in the basement area of a club. It reminded us a lot of our Cave at Carleton.

The next day, after class, a large group of us went to lunch at Vagaviana and Marsot and then went to an architecture tour of the Telefónica building. The building was the first sky scrapper in Madrid and now hosts many offices of a multitude of offices as well as the first few floors as exhibition space. There was an exhibition there by someone named Ryoji Ikeda that was two walls and one floor projection of video that was synced to sound. The video feed was mostly lines or blocks of black and white but when looking closer, they were actually numbers. There was also a theater that had all of the seats folded down so that they looked like benches, but the seat backs and armrests could be lifted, and there was an outlet below the armrest when it was lifted. That night a much larger group of us went to listen to a Brazilian band play at a club. We had a lot of fun and kind of learned how to dance the Samba.

The centerpiece was constructed to keep three vertical metal beams from collapsing outward, and resulted in building a staircase.

The exhibit was completely dark with the exeption of the projection, so, naturally, we took full advantage of silhouettes.

Since Telefónica was the national phone company, there was an exhibit on a history of phones through time. The piece in the background is a mobile telegraph receiver. In the Foreground are the most recent versions of cellphones with our PicCell mobile added.

The next day, Anna, Leigh, Sarah and I went shopping near Gran Via and Chueca. I bought socks (I only brought 5 normal pairs with me…) a skirt, perfume, and nail polish. We split up around 6 and Anna and I went to El Corte Ingles and Okeysi and I bought a pair of flats and a pair of ankle boots. Friday night was crazy. A large group of us gathered in Chueca to go to a bar and hang out while we waited for a discoteca to open. We had a great time chatting and laughing before we headed to El Kapital. El Kapital is a seven-floor club with a different setting on each floor. Ground floor is like a mosh pit/much more explicit middle school dance. The rest of the floors varied from karaoke to a Bacardi lounge. Some floors were walled off and had their own music, some were open to the main floor which was probably 5 stories high. It was fun, we danced and laughed, but it was a bit overwhelming. We finally left around 4:30 and headed for Chocolatería San Gines for chocolate and churros. We had to make it another hour and a half until the Metros opened at 6. We at chocolate a churros and chatted, but all of us were fading fast. At around 6:40 we decided to start heading to our Metro stations in hopes of them being open before 6. They were! Anna and I took the Metro home together and I fell asleep as soon as I got home.

We passed by this building on Gran Via while shopping and it had this awesome feather-like cloud above it!

Overall it was an exhausting but fun filled week. We spent a lot of nights staying up late, but it was worth it…at the time. Unfortunately it probably is the main reason that the following week I got a sore throat and eventually a lovely cold, just in time to go to San Sebastián.

Galicia

Wow, I can’t believe I have been here for three weeks!!! It feels like I have been here for forever and at the same time it has all gone by so quickly. Galicia was absolutely beautiful and I decided I could live there except for the fact that they speak Spanish or Gallego, neither of which I can speak well enough to live in that community.

On our way to Santiago, Galicia: Santaigo de Compostela Airport, bus ride to Santiago, and a building in Santiago.

Viajando a Santiago, Galicia: Aeropuerto de Santiago de Compostela, viaje por autobús a Santiago, y un edificio en Santiago.

Everything is so green and lush, and it rains every day, much like the Pacific Northwest and yet completely different. We spent the first day in Santiago being tourists. We had amazing tapas for lunch when we first got there and then went on a tour of the city including seeing the Cathedral of Santiago. We were on our own after that so we went to a Pulpería for dinner. Pulpo is octopus, and Galicia is famous for it. I did not love the flavor nor texture, and I felt very uncomfortable eating it when I could see the tentacles. After dinner we RAN to a chocolate shop because we were far away and it was closing in 15 minutes, and then went to a café to drink cider and eat chocolates. We then went back to the hotel and hung out as a huge group of girls in one room in the hotel playing sleepover games and hanging out.

Our first meal in Galicia was creamy potato soup, scallops with bacon and caramelized onions, octopus ravioli (no shown), veal with apples, and a berry crumble dessert with salted whipped cream and vanilla ice cream (in previous post).

Nuestra primera comida en Galicia consistía en capuccino de patatas, vieiras con torcino y cebollas caramelizadas, ravioli de pulpo (no mostrado), ternera con manzanas, y un postre de frutas del bosque con nata batida salada y helado de vainilla (en el último puesto).

The next day Sarah, Theresa and I started out by going to the morning market and bought some souvenirs. We then walked around the city, popping in and out of stores and buying little things. We met up with Lasondra who had gone to the morning mass but had decided that with the number of tourists in the cathedral it ruined the religious aspect so she left early. We then split into two groups because Lasondra and Theresa had already seen the inside of the cathedral but Sarah and I wanted to go in before we left the city. When we entered, we thought we were coming after mass had finished but we happened to be just in time to see the botafumeiro. We then took a bus to our casa de campo, dropped off our stuff, ate lunch, and then headed back into the city to make empanadas and trifle. We ate the trifle there, which was absolutely delicious, and brought the empanadas back to the casa de campo to eat later. After dinner that night we went to the game room and hung out playing games and chatting.

The next day we were up early to go on a tour of parts of Galicia including a boat trip and visits to several monasteries. We then came back to the casa de campo with a little time to explore, and then had dinner and hung out again in the game room. We spent a lot of time that night chatting and playing games that allowed us to get to know each other better and become a closer group. The next day we woke up late and were just at the casa de campo for the morning. Anna C and I went down to the river to explore and everything was beautiful.

On our tour of Galicia we went on a boat ride down the river and saw a couple of monastaries.

  

En nuestro paseo por Galicia, fuimos en un barco en un río y visitamos unos monasterios.

I would love to go back to Galicia and spend more time just exploring the rainforest and beautiful nature it has to offer. None of us wanted to leave, everything was so beautiful. We also really enjoyed living together and realized that we missed that part of dorm living or at least living on campus. We do not really have a place for us to go and just be together and talk here in Madrid. But we are having fun nonetheless and I can’t wait for more adventures to come!

¡Ay, no puedo creer que ya estaba aquí por tres semanas! Me siento cómo estaba aquí por todo tiempo pero al mismo tiempo todo han pasado muy rápido. Galicia es muy bonita y decidí que podía vivir allí salvo que hablan español y gallego allí y no puedo hablar ninguno de éstos con suficiente confianza para vivir en esa comunidad.

Todo es verde y exuberante, y llueve cada día; muy similar del Pacifica Noroeste y al mismo tiempo completamente diferente. Pasaba el primer día en Santiago como turistas. Comimos tapas increíbles para la comida y después fuimos en un paseo de Santiago antiguo. Estábamos libres después, así que fuimos a una pulpería para cenar. Los gallegos son famosos por el pulpo. No me gusta el sabor ni la textura de pulpo, y no sentí cómoda que podía ver los tentáculos. Después de cenamos, corríamos a una chocolatería porque estaba cerrando en 15 minutos, y después fuimos a un café para beber sidra y comer nuestros chocolates. Después regresamos al hotel y pasábamos tiempo en el cuarto de unas chicas jugando juegos de las fiestas de pijamas y charlamos.

Our night in Santiago we encountered this sign 😦 We had pulpo (octopus) for dinner and then had chocolates and cider for dessert!

Cuando estabamos andando durante nuestra noche en Santiago, encontramos este cartel 😦 ¡Tuvimos pulpo para la cena y comimos chocolate y bebimos sidra para el postre!

El día siguiente, Sarah, Theresa y yo empezamos con yendo al mercado de la mañana y compramos unos recuerdos. Después andábamos por la ciudad, entrando y saliendo unas tiendas y comprando unos recuerdos. Reunimos con Lasondra quien había ido a la misa por la mañana pero decidió que la cantidad de turistas arruinó el aspecto religioso. Después fuimos en dos grupos porque Lasondra y Theresa ya habían ido al ver el interior de la catedral, y Sarah y yo fuimos a ver el interior. Estaba pensando que la misa estaba terminado así que podíamos entrar y mirar el catedral, pero cuando entramos, estábamos en perfecto tiempo para ver el botafumeiro. Luego tomamos un autobús a nuestra casa de campo, pusimos nuestras cosas en la casa, comimos comida, y revolvemos a Santiago para hacer empanadas y bizcocho borracho con fruta y crema. Comimos el bizcocho borracho con fruta y crema allí y llevamos las empanadas a la casa para comer más tarde. Después de cenamos, fuimos al cuarto de juegos para charlar y jugar juegos.

A fountain at or Casa de Campo, our beautiful empanadas, and my trifle containing orange juice-soaked cake, whipped cream, and raspberries.

Un fuente en nuestra Casa de Campo, nuestras bonitas empanadas, y mi bizcocho borracho de zumo de naranja con nata batida y frambuesas.

El próximo día despertamos muy temprano para ir a un paseo de partes de Galicia que incluyó un viaje en un barco en un río y visitas a unos monasterios.  Después regresamos a casa con un poco de tiempo para explorar antes de cenamos y pasábamos tiempo en el cuarto de juegos una vez más. Gastábamos mucho tiempo esa noche charlando y jugando juegos que permitieron nuestro grupo conocer nosotros mejores y hacer más unido. El día siguiente nos despertamos tarde y pasábamos tiempo relajando en la casa. Anna C y yo fuimos al río para explorar y todo estaba muy bonita.

Delicious pasta salad, white fish and a chocolate creme cake with a citrus sorbet that tasted like apricots.

Ensalada de pasta muy rica, pescado blanco y una tarta de crema de chocolate con el sorbete de cítricos que tenía el sabor de albaricoques.

Me gustaría regresar a Galicia y pasar más tiempo solamente explorando la selva y la naturaleza que puede ofrecer. Nadie de nosotros quisiera salir porque todo estaba tan bella. También disfrutamos viviendo juntos y nos dimos cuenta que extrañamos ese parte de viviendo en los dormitorios o a lo menos viviendo en un campus. No tenemos un lugar donde podemos ir para ser juntos y hablar aquí en Madrid. ¡Pero divertimos sin embargo y no puedo esperar para más aventuras que vienen!

Our dinning room, vegetable soup, and veal and rice with mushrooms and garlic.

Nuestro comedor, crema de verduras, y ternera y arroz con setas y ajo.

Photos from Galicia

Ok, I haven’t had time to write a full post but I wanted to share these photos earlier rather than later. Hopefully I will have the full thing written this weekend.

Bueno, no tuve tiempo para escribir un puesto entero pero quería mostrar estas fotos antes en vez de después. Ojalá que tenga todo un puesto escrito este fin de semana.

Barajas, Madrid Airport

 

Aeropuerto de Madrid, Barajas

 

Outside Airport in Santiago de Compostela

Afuera de aeropuerto en Santiago de Compostela

 

On our way to our hotel in Santiago

En nuestro viaje a nuestro hotel en Santiago

 

Tapas for lunch!               

 

¡Tapas para la comida!      

Berry compote with salted whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.

Postre de fruta del bosque con nata batida salada y helado de vainilla

 

First view of the Cathedral in Santiago

Primera vista del catedral en Santiago

 

Front of the Cathedral                       

Frente del catedral

 

Cathedral at night

El catedral por la noche            

              

Inside the cathedral with the botefumeiro

Adentro del catedral con el botefumeiro

 

First view of the river!

¡Primer vista del río!

 

We’re on a boat!

¡Estamos en un barco!

 

Holy moly cannoli, it is beautiful here.

Ay, dios mio, es muy bella aquí.

 

We saw these huge black slugs while walking to……………. the river!

Vimos estas babosas cuando estábamos andando por…….¡el río!

 

Our yard included grapevines and an apple tree with some of the best apples in the world. And a small elevated building with a cross…Our final meal in Galicia included pasta with vegetables, white fish with shrimp (not shown) and chocolate lava cake with chocolate covered pop rocks.

Nuestro jardín tuvo vides de uvas y un manzano con unas de las mejores manzanas en el mundo. Y un pequeño edificio elevado con un cruz…             Nuestra última comida tenía pasta con veruras, pescado blanco con camarones (no se muestra), y tarta de chocolate con chocolate caliente y pop rocks cubierto en chocolate.

Primera Semana

I can’t believe I have been here for a week! It has been a crazy time with new classes, a new city, and a new(ish) language. I currently have a love-hate relationship with the concept of being here. On the upside, I absolutely love Madrid. It is an amazing city with so many interesting and cool places. I love learning Spanish and practicing it, and I have begun to think in Spanish, which I think is a good thing! The downside to this whole situation is that we are in school. I love learning, don’t get me wrong, but these classes are much more difficult than I had originally anticipated, and it cuts into time to spend exploring the city.

This is my room… before it got messy…

 

Esto es mi cuarto…antes de desordenada…

At the same time, though, we have been having so much fun here! Since the first day we have had a class in the Prado, eaten a TON of amazing food every day, gone shopping, explored a part of Old Madrid, visited bars and a bar/discoteca and had some of the best ice cream ever. We are speaking lots of Spanish and getting to know the Metro system very well.

Here is a line up of one of the delicious meals I had: Fried eggs on squash and tomato, pork with strawberry jam and mashed potatoes, lemon cake and my friends café con leche. Here when you as for coffee and milk it is actually a shot of espresso with warm milk.

Estos son unos de los platos de una de las comidas más ricas: huevos fritos con pisto de calabazas y tomate, cerdo con mermelada de fresa y puré de patatas, tarta de limón, y un café con leche de una de mis amigas. Aquí el café con leche es como un tiro de expreso con leche caliente.

Some funny things about Spain:

• Water is EXPENSIVE so everywhere you go they are serving other things such as wine, beer, and sodas.
• They drink wine or beer with lunch and dinner. And starting at age 18. And they are not nearly as strict here with being of age. I have not seen a single person show identification.
• Everyone here smokes. And not just, you know, taking a smoke break and then go back to what you are doing. No, as in if you are not in a building (minus your own house) you are smoking.
• Everything is later. Wake up later, eat lunch or ‘comida’ between 2 and 4, eat dinner around 10 and then go out at 12 and stay out until 6. At the earliest. I got home on Friday night at around 4. I told my host mom this and she said that I had gotten back early. 4 IS EARLY.
• They speak Spanish here. I know, duh, right? Actually the weird thing is not that the rest of the country speaks Spanish here, it is that it sounds so weird when I here someone speaking English. At the same time, I can’t understand a single word of conversations I overhear because everyone speaks faster than I can understand.

The whole gang having dinner together!

¡Todo el grupo cenando juntos!

Overall an exciting first week with lots of things to do, places to go, and people to meet! I can’t wait for the upcoming weeks!

¡No puedo creer que ya estaba aquí por una semana! Ha pasado un tiempo loco con nuevas clases, una nueva ciudad, y una (casi) nuevo idioma. Ahora tengo una relación de amor y odio con el concepto de estar aquí. En la parte superior, me encanta Madrid. Es una ciudad magnífica con muchos lugares interesantes y guay. Me encanta aprender el español y practicarlo, ¡y había empezado a pensar en español que pienso que está bien! La desventaja de todo esta situación es que tenemos clases. Me encanta aprender, no diga que no, pero las clases son más difíciles que esperé originalmente, y las clases toman parte del tiempo para explorar la ciudad.

¡Aunque al mismo tiempo estamos teniendo un rato muy divertido aquí! Desde el primer día ha pasado estas cosas: tuvimos clase en el Prado, comíamos MUCHA comida maravillosa, íbamos de compras, teníamos un paseo por Madrid antiguo, íbamos a barras y una mezcla de barra y discoteca y comíamos algunos del mejor helado en el mundo.

Another great meal: fried spinach chips and a chorizo roll, pan-seared asparagus with sea salt, and veal with fries.

Otra comida magnífica: espinaca frita y panecillo con chorizo, espárragos de la sartén con sal del mar, y ternera con patatas fritas.

Unas cosas chistas de España:

• El agua es MUY CARA, así que todos los restaurantes están sirviendo otros bebidos como el vino, la cerveza, y los refrescos.
• Toda la gente bebe vino o cerveza con la comida (como el almuerzo muy tarde) y la cena. Y empieza a beber cuando tenga 18 años. Y no son casi estrictos con la edad. Nunca he visto a una persona saca la identificación.
• Todo el mundo fume. Y no lo hace sólo con un descanso y después regresar a cualquiera estaba haciendo. No, toda la gente fuma cada vez no está en un edificio ni si está en su casa.
• Todo es más tarde. Despertarse más tarde, comer entre las dos y las cuatro, cenar casi las diez y salir por la noche a las doce y quedar afuera hasta las seis de la mañana. A lo más temprano. Cuando dije a mi madre de aquí que regresé a las cuatro me dijo que regresé muy temprano. Cuatro es TEMPRANO.

-Todo hablan español. Yo sé, duh, ¿sí? En realidad lo extraño no es que el resto de la gente habla español aquí, sino que me parece extraño cuando oigo alguien hablando en inglés. Al mismo tiempo, no puedo entender ninguna palabra que las conversaciones que yo oigo porque toda la gente habla más rápido que puedo entender.

En total una primera semana muy emocionada con muchas cosas para hacer, muchos lugares para visitar, y mucha gente para conocer. ¡No puedo esperar las semanas que vienen!

Churros con chocolate, so good!

Churros con chocolate, ¡que rica!

Tapas, Tapas, Tapas

To all of the Jews who attend Marlborough, I would like to say thank you for getting all the non-Jews an extra day off for Rosh Hashanah to do as they please. Since my mom and sister didn’t have school that day, we decided to hit the beach for a couple hours this afternoon and then went to a Tapas restaurant in Santa Monica for dinner called Manchego. The rest of my family had been there earlier this year, but they wanted me to try it before I went to Spain. It was DELICIOUS. The way they combined the various items into their masterful delicacies was phenomenal.

We ordered five tapas dishes and 2 types of cheese for the four of us. We started with an amazing baked Brie topped with membrillo, or quince paste, and figs. It was served on toasted bread and was amazing. The way the sweet fig and membrillo melded with the pungent Brie was the perfect combination. Our second dish had the two cheeses called Idiazabal and Mahon as well as chorizo on the house, more membrillo, a garlic and tomato aioli and more toast. The Idiazabal was not my favorite, although in no way bad. It had a smoky taste that I would consider similar to a smoked Gouda but much harder. The flavor was improved by eating it with membrillo. The Mahon was delicious with a sharp, nutty flavor and a harder, crumbly texture like that of an aged white cheddar. My sister and I dipped out bread in the aioli and decided that we would try it on other dishes as it was so good. The next few dishes came out pretty close together: crispy prosciutto with Burrata on toast with a balsamic reduction and julienned arugula, Iberico cheese with smoked bacon and arugula (I took off the arugula and added some of the aioli which was quite good), and chorizo with mahon topped with a blackberry and strawberry served hot. Again, all three of these dishes were interesting combinations of flavors that fit together perfectly. Our final dish was a goat cheese topped with figs, strawberry and blackberry with a honey and truffle oil drizzle on toast. It wrapped up dinner quite nicely and we were quite satisfied. But we weren’t done yet; the waiter finally brought out a tiramisu on the house for our real dessert. I do not like coffee, and this tiramisu tasted like coffee, but it was delicious nonetheless.

The service was wonderful and the food delicious and not too expensive. Although many dishes came with three pieces of toast, the waiter had them split into four so that we could all try them with no extra charge. We got chorizo and tiramisu on the house, and my family said that last time they came they also got free desert. Although not very many of the individual ingredients were special and interesting themselves, the way they combined them created a different but wonderful mixture of flavors that went really well together. If I can hope to eat these kinds of mixed flavors in Spain, maybe I will just stay there and eat for the rest of my life.

A todos los Judíos que asistir a Marlborough, quiero decir muchas gracias por dar un día de viaje a todos los estudiantes que no son judíos para Rosh Hashanah. Porque mi madre y mi hermana no tuvieron trabajo ni clases ese día, mi familia iba a la playa por unas horas y después fuimos a un restaurante de tapas para cenar en un restaurante que se llama Manchego. El resto de mi familia ha cenado allá más temprano este año pero quisieron que me lo pruebe antes de ir a España. Estaba DELICIOSA. La manera que se combinan los ingredientes entre los platos era fenomenal.

Hacemos un pedido de cinco platos de tapas y dos quesos para cuatro miembros de la familia. Empezamos con el queso Brie al horno con membrillo e higos en pan tostado. Estaba extraordinario. La manera como los higos dulces y el membrillo dulce combinó con el ácido o acre o fuerte (usamos otra palabra en inglés que pienso que no traducir perfecto) sabor del Brie fue la combinación perfecta. Nuestro plato segundo tenía los dos quesos, se llama Idiazabal y Mahon, chorizo por gratis, membrillo, salsa de ajo y tomate y pan tostado. No me gusta mucho el Idiazabal pero no era malo. Tenía un sabor ahumado como el queso Gouda que estaba ahumado pero más duro. Me gusta más con el membrillo. El Mahon estaba deliciosa con un sabor ácido y avellano y era más duro como un queso Cheddar blanco que estaba envejecido. Mi hermana y yo pusimos la salsa en el pan tostado y decidimos que pusiéramos en otros platos porque era tan bueno. Los próximos platos eran servidos más o menos juntos: un plato de prosciutto crespo con queso Burrata, vinagre balsámico y arugula en rodajas en pan tostado, un plato de queso Iberico con tocino ahumado y arugula en pan tostado (quite la arugula porque no me gusta, así que puse un poco de la salsa de anterior y estaba muy bien), y un plato de chorizo con queso Mahon, una mora y una fresa en pan tostado y era servido caliente. Estos tres platos estaba combinaciones de sabores interesantes que combinaron perfectamente. Nuestro plato final era queso de cabra con higos, fresas y moras con miel y aceite de trufa en pan tostado. Cerró la cena perfectamente y estábamos contentos. Pero no estábamos terminados; el camarero nos trajo en tiramisú gratis para el postre verdad. No me gusta el café, y este tiramisú tuvo el sabor de café, pero me gustó sin embargo.

El servicio era maravilloso y la comida estaba deliciosa y no muy cara. Muchos de los platos tuvo tres trozos usualmente pero el camarero le dijo al chef hacerlos con cuatro trozos, para que todos pudimos tratarlos, sin cargar más. Recibimos chorizo y tiramisú por gratis y mi familia me dijo que la última vez  le dieron un postre por gratis también. Aunque no muchos de los ingredientes eran interesantes solos, la manera en que los combinaron crear mezclas de sabores diferentes pero maravillosas que estaba deliciosa. Si puedo esperar comer estas mezclas de sabores cuando esté en España, quizá me quede allá y comer el resto de mi vida.

A hello and goodbye

Although I haven’t left yet, I figured if I am going to get this whole blog thing to happen, I better start it. My flight date is getting close, and as I slowly start to think about what to pack and I need to do to prepare, I can only get more excited and more freaked out about this whole trip. I can’t believe I am going, and I am a bit of a nervous wreck trying to convince myself that I will be able to get through the airport, onto the train and to my host-mother’s house with the spoken-Spanish that I have.

So to pretend that is no big deal, here is what I am excited about. Madrid is a bustling city of 3.3 million people. In comparison, Los Angeles (city) had 3.85 million people in 2012, Altadena had 42 thousand in 2010, and Northfield boasted a whopping 20 thousand in 2012. Exploring the city will be fun and exciting with all of the restaurants, museums, parks, and sites to see. Although speaking Spanish will not automatically be easy, I hope that within a week or two I will be able to converse easily with (hopefully) newfound friends.

I have never really had Spanish food, at least not that I can remember. I am generally a picky eater, but I LOVE food and love trying new things so I am excited to get to try a new cuisine. I have been to a tapas restaurant in LA but I think it was more tapas as in little plates rather than tapas as in Spanish appetizers. I have also told my host-mother that I like to cook, especially desserts and she said that she also has a love of cooking but not the sweets but would be happy to have me make something if I want. So with dulces y tapas I think I will make it through Spain no problem.

We will see how this blog goes. I am not a huge fan of writing but I hope to share little stories of my adventures in both English and Spanish to help me document my time and practice my written Spanish in the process. Y’all who are reading this, if that is anyone, don’t judge me to hard.

¡Hasta estoy en España!