well hello again today.
I am not sure how much I have written about the past three weeks, but here goes.
The mom/aunt sue barcelona excursion. Friday aunt sue came to madrid. That was cool, a little bit of aunt sue and katie time. However, I gave her explicit directions and what did she do? 1- not print them out, 2-ask someone how to get to me, or 3- wind up out of the way? Wrong....choice 4- all of the above. After she asked someone how to get to me, they put her at a train stop I was NOT at...no matter though. I still reached her and we managed to get her some food and she went to the pool to swim while I worked for a few hours. I packed up my stuff (people were just moving desks around anyways) and we went to the supermarket to get her some things (ie. water, fruit for the morning, etc). And she bought a bottle of wine. Well, like the two big wops we are, we pounded the wine and headed out for the evening to hit up the tapas. After getting directions to some cachamaymee restaurant, we settled on a great tapas bar.
Enter Saturday. We headed out to get mom at like...845...we were supposed to be out and on the train by 830, but aunt sue had me hit the snooze button because she could totally get up in a few minutes...but man does she know how to play possum. Needless to say, we were late picking up mom, and her plane was early too, so she was waiting a good hour or so. We came back here and mom showered. Following that, we went to the train station in Chamartin because we had a bus to Barcelona that evening. We caught a bite to eat and headed to the Ventas station where we proceeded to see a bull fight!
>>Sidebar: I had thought for the longest time that bullfights were just some big song and dance about the matadors just riling up the bull and running away. I was completely mistaken. What they do is they have four rounds of stabbing the bull. The first guy is on a horse and stabs the bull with a long javelin thing. The second round, two matadors take these colored batons and thrust them into the bulls shoulder and leaves them there. The main matador then riles up the bull with a red tablecloth thing and stabs it in the heart via the shoulder. The fourth round, a guy takes a shiv and essentially severs the bulls spinal cord. All throughouot the stabbing, there are lesser matadors that have hot pink table cloths to rile up the bull and get it pissed enough to warrant stabbing I guess. END SIDEBAR<<
Anyways the bullfight was really cool, but we rushed off to go catch the train. Now I dont know how the rest of you plan on travelling, but if you intend to get sleep on the midnight train, think again....it is an awful place for sleeping. I sat across the way from a guy that REEKED and a guy that looked like John Mayer. John Mayer was pretty nice, but I think he was just waiting....waiting on the world to change. After a long night of not sleeping, we headed out to the hostal, which was actually kind of nice. The girl was really nice at the front desk, which was cool. We got some breakfast (I cant eat a lot after I get off a long train or an airplane...it makes me nauseous.) and headed to the olympic stadium in barcelona. Please check out the pictures, but they dont even do it ajustice. It took quite a while to get there because we did not take the metro there....it was a long way from breakfast, but totally worth it. Then mom and I headed out to the museum where we breezed through the hallways. FYI- if you ever do a museum with me, Im not one to look and gawk and inspect every single painting. I like my art like a movie...I like to see it and retain it but I dont need a lot of time to think about it. I will hang around the pieces I really really like, but thats about it. Anyways, then disaster struck. Aunt Sue is not the quietest person in the whole world...and she was hungry. So we went on the metro to get to the beach and she stopped to get something from the vending machines. But someone must have heard us loud Americans....and all of a sudden she felt a pick....and her purse was GONE out of this big bag she was holding. Mom and sue tried to find the culprit, but her purse was so small that the thief probably could have just held it in his coat. After like an hour of freaking out, we went to the police station (The cop asked her what color her purse was and she replied...butterscotch. Now, he knows english very well, but butterscotch?! Come on...not even good english speakers here know what color butterscotch is). The nice english speaking cop found out I was studying here and when he this out, he advised me to "Make a lot of sex with the Spanish boys, we are better lovers". I nearly died...he said it in front of my mother and my aunt! And then he said "What, you think your mother only make the sex to have you? She is not dead yet!" Exit police station. We then proceeded to take aunt sue out to make her feel better about the tragedy in spain (her passport and EVERYTHING was in it) and so we took her out for seafood. There were these really funny French guys sitting next to us....I understood most of what they were saying...they wanted us to come join them for wine, but we were pretty tired from not sleeping on the train and all. Then we went back to the hostal where I stayed up and talked to a Croat and a Brazilian for a few hours. They were both pretty nice, both on holiday, but the Brazilian was rounding out his trip and the Croat was just beginning.
Monday morning: we got up (aunt sue got up first for some ungodly reason) and showered . We found out that 3 people were mugged the night before in addition to aunt sue and it was right outside the hostal...and the police were not doing a damn thing about it! After being successfully freaked out, we waited until light for breakfast and leaving the hostal. Anyways, we got some food and the ladies told me to tell them where we were going. Well, I wanted to go to the mosaic park because I love that stuff....it takes patience and skill to do it and it was everywhere in this park. Well we had to go a ways to get there and on the way there was this cross in Parc Guell....and Aunt Susan saw this church up on a hill. Well, she had to go see it because it was in the Fodor's guide (BTW- aunt sue carried around the Fodors guide like a monk carries his bible....she read it every day to us and she essentially wanted to live by it). We were pretty far away from it and only had so many hours in barcelona....so I said lets see whats in the park while we were here. She really did not want to do that, and after throwing a small fit, she complied with me. Don't ask me where we are going if you dont want to go. Anyways, the parc was beautiful and Gaudi's cathedral was beautiful. We found this bar outside the cathedral and we also HAD to go to it for a beer, and after spending an hour refinding it, I was exhausted. Luckily the train back was much faster (3 hours) and we came back to madrid to find a carnival outside my front door in full swing. We each got hamburgers and came back to my dorm and unwound from a stressful weekend.
Tuesday-Friday were pretty much the same type of day. I went to work and the ladies went out to enjoy the sites. Tuesday, though, we went to this chocolate place where we had amazing desert....churros and hot chocolate infused with orange. But the chocolate is like melted fudge instead of the milky hot chocolate....very good but you can only really eat a little. The rest of the nights we just had beer and food (thursday I was introduced to doner, which you will find out about when i talk about the Pede adventures). Other than that , the rest of the week was really boring.
Saturday we headed out to the airport and sent mom on her way then aunt sue and I talked for a while. While I complain about my family and all the misery they put me through, I truly love them and wouldnt trade them for anything. They make the best memories with me and for that alone I am thankful. I was a little sad to see them go, but thankful that they did otherwise i would have never kept my sanity! On the way back to my dorm, Olga found me (she was waiting for me) and I went with her to a type of renaissance festival in alcala. It was really kind of nice...we went with her family and then JJ from the lab came with us too. The little boy, Victor, thought we were married. It was really cute. There were lots of little shops around, but I refrained thankfully. Sunday I woke up and literally did nothing. I really needed a defrag from all the people interaction I had and needed to keep up with movies etc.
There, good enough? My hands hurt....i think im going to watch one of my fave movies and pass out.
More on the Pede clan and this week when i can feel my fingers again....
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Disaster
I know I have not been keeping up with current events, but let me just tell you what has happened today.
This morning I knew I had a bunch of solvent to evaporate so I got up early. However, I had a splitting headache so I went back to sleep for 20 mins...the rain was nice it helped with the sleep but not the headache. So I got up and looked in my desk drawer for feminine products....and wouldn't you know it....Aunt Susan took the last of my supply. Frustrated, I embarked on my way to work....except I got rained on very much and my para-agua kept flipping inside out. And I planned on catching the grocery store being open at 8:30....not so much. Ok, so I get into my building and ditch my stuff at my desk and bustle off happy as a clam still to the lab. I found that the stir plates were not working on one side of the lab, so Dania, one of the post-docs, called maintenance for me. Well the guys came, and started flipping some switches...and with one switch everything turned back on (yay!) and 2 seconds later, everything shut off. JJ had a matrice (round bottom flask) on the vacuum machine...and I heard a crash. He spent 1 month making the product and it was gone in two seconds. Did I mention JJ needs to write his thesis by march or he is out? Oh yeah...
Apparently there was some smoke coming from the electric box and everything just went dead. I would have cried and punched something. But, 1/2 an hour later they killed all the power to our floor, and 20 mins later everything was working swimmingly. However, my polymer film is in the process of being vacuum dried....and it keeps getting bubbles. I have reworked the same sample ~7 times. It BLOWS.
We went out for Chris Pede's birthday last night. That was kind of fun, we all went to Zahora and ate some really good paella, then we went to this churros place where we had a cup of liquid sludge with a ton of churros. It was really good, but the churros were a lot. At least it was not downpouring like it did on Monday night. THAT was fun...the Pedes came out and we walked around for 20 minutes and got completely soaked.
I need a cigarette. Or a quelude. Or something to take the edge off today. Most likely will settle for a glass (in a small cup) of red wine and probably just some sleep or an episode of Weeds....and most likely will just settle for the episode of Weeds.
Love you and miss you all, will try to increase the flow rate of my blogging.
<3
This morning I knew I had a bunch of solvent to evaporate so I got up early. However, I had a splitting headache so I went back to sleep for 20 mins...the rain was nice it helped with the sleep but not the headache. So I got up and looked in my desk drawer for feminine products....and wouldn't you know it....Aunt Susan took the last of my supply. Frustrated, I embarked on my way to work....except I got rained on very much and my para-agua kept flipping inside out. And I planned on catching the grocery store being open at 8:30....not so much. Ok, so I get into my building and ditch my stuff at my desk and bustle off happy as a clam still to the lab. I found that the stir plates were not working on one side of the lab, so Dania, one of the post-docs, called maintenance for me. Well the guys came, and started flipping some switches...and with one switch everything turned back on (yay!) and 2 seconds later, everything shut off. JJ had a matrice (round bottom flask) on the vacuum machine...and I heard a crash. He spent 1 month making the product and it was gone in two seconds. Did I mention JJ needs to write his thesis by march or he is out? Oh yeah...
Apparently there was some smoke coming from the electric box and everything just went dead. I would have cried and punched something. But, 1/2 an hour later they killed all the power to our floor, and 20 mins later everything was working swimmingly. However, my polymer film is in the process of being vacuum dried....and it keeps getting bubbles. I have reworked the same sample ~7 times. It BLOWS.
We went out for Chris Pede's birthday last night. That was kind of fun, we all went to Zahora and ate some really good paella, then we went to this churros place where we had a cup of liquid sludge with a ton of churros. It was really good, but the churros were a lot. At least it was not downpouring like it did on Monday night. THAT was fun...the Pedes came out and we walked around for 20 minutes and got completely soaked.
I need a cigarette. Or a quelude. Or something to take the edge off today. Most likely will settle for a glass (in a small cup) of red wine and probably just some sleep or an episode of Weeds....and most likely will just settle for the episode of Weeds.
Love you and miss you all, will try to increase the flow rate of my blogging.
<3
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Day 26: meltdown.
I had an American moment today. And I know it was awful....but I had to!
I ate peanut butter. mom and aunt susan brought it over with them on the plane.
And chocolate covered espresso beans.
I am so ashamed.
More on barcelona and the week from hell later tonight.
I ate peanut butter. mom and aunt susan brought it over with them on the plane.
And chocolate covered espresso beans.
I am so ashamed.
More on barcelona and the week from hell later tonight.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Captain's log, Day 18: Feeling like a princess...
Ok. I know it has been a while, and I know I vowed to write more often, but do you have any IDEA how difficult that is?
Friday night I was kind of lonely so I called Javi and he took me to this chicken wing place right near the residence hall. I was really tired and tired of speaking slowly or translating so I left at like 2am. But I had a liter glass of calimocho and the cigarette smoke completely dried my eyes out. So I was spent and left.
Saturday I went into madrid and walked around a bunch. The forecast called for rain, but there was no rain, it was just a little bit chilly. I walked around and ventured into all of the cute little shops. For anyone that knows me, I do not particularly enjoy clothes but here I feel like I could expand my wardrobe pallette. They just have so many interesting clothes that I could never ever wear in the US (because I am kind of...plain lets say. I enjoy basic comfort things like t-shirts and jeans etc) I walked alll over hell and damnation....I walked from the park to the bull fighting arena, back to the Atocha train station. Plus some. But after a long day of walking around, Artemia called me to let me know that she was going to Segovia the next day and that she wanted me to come with her and her sister! After Delia did some research, we found out there was a huge cathedral there and the castle that is the inspiration for the Magic Kingdom castle in Walt Disney world. That's right...Cinderella's castle!!! Naturally I said of course...but we were going to leave at 6am. Awful...so I stayed in at night. Plus my feet were killing me (naturally, because I fell from heaven ;)) I think I putzed around a bit, got some food, and watched a movie. This movie called Snow cake...it is...well, I wont write the WHOLE explanation down because we have www.imdb.com (thank god they have it in the Spain too!) oh, yes, and I bought a fantastic water color for my room. I have a newfound addiction---local art. Yes yes I know it is expensive, but I just love it. The only thing is the guy rolled it up so I had to take it out an unroll it. Boo. Its still all curly. But I have to frame it when I get home.
Sunday came and I got up at the asscrack of dawn (6:30 am on a Sunday!!! I left messages for people on AIM and they got kind of confused). But Artemia called while I was in the shower to tell me that she had to take her sister to the hospital! Needless to say we went a little later to Segovia. It was Artemia, Carmen, and I. of course, the sister that went did not speak any english. But we walked around all day and took in the sites. Look at the pictures, everything is just so beautiful. I am an official princess, so it is only fitting that I visit a castle and find my knight in shining armour. I posed with many statues this weekend. To be a bit vulgar, they are perfect companions...they always listen, don't care what you watch on tv, always let you decide, and last much longer than any mortal man. The castle was beautiful...though it did not feel like the one at Disney. A little more...rustic. But we all had fun posing and such :) We had lunch in this cute little restaurant off of the main square...and had red wine and soda water. It was really good, but started to put me to sleep. Apparently, Segovia is famous for suckling pigs to eat...I took a picture of one, but couldnt stand the thought of biting into poor Wilbur's leg while he was looking at me. Sad day. Anyways, afterwards I scrounged up a couple of postcards while Artemia and Carmen went to a seminar with a person who is a Nobel Prize Candidate. How cool!! Around 6pm, all of the locals went to church and at like 6:30 crowded the streets. Apparently in Segovia you have mass, then a post mass in the center of the city! Jeeeeez. We finally left at 9:00pm. But all in all it was a wonderful weekend. I got home and crashed hard.
Monday was interesting. I had to get TGA, FTIR, and DLS measurements on 9 samples. It doesnt sound like much, but when your vacuum doesn't work properly, it really puts a kibosh on the whole thing. Plus I didn't get liquid nitrogen until 5pm which also SUCKED. But all worked out well. I got frustrated and needed to do laundry, but just as I was about to leave, Claire stopped me and said we had to go to dinner with Veronica, who was leaving :( She was the other girl that spoke the BEST english...so i am kind of effed. But now I guess I can concentrate on learning my spanish. I am hesitant a little still, but I know I can learn a little bit more than I already know. Anyways, we got to the restaurant and ate lots of food. I tried two types of "paella"-like things....yum. And some awesome appetizers too. And I had the BEST tiramisu of my life. I normally am not a big fan, but this was goood. However, everyone kept talking and I was just plain old exhausted....After smelling like smoke, I got home took a shower and went to bed. Tuesday was ok...lab was not so frustrating, but I got home to do laundry and had to wait until late, and I think I definitely used way too much liquid soap on my clothes. I smell heavily of Ariel now and am hoping that the stench goes away. Today was ok...I had a lot of frustration compiling my data for our meeting tomorrow, but that's ok, at least it is done (kind of).
This weekend mom and Aunt Susan come!! I am sure there will be plenty of pictures and such to share. I am sooo excited! We are going to Barcelona on Sunday and monday, given that everyone gets here alright. And Iam is maybe in Belgium for three weeks and would like to meet up with me? Michelle and Mike get to Madrid a few days after mom and aunt susan leave...and then megan gets here in late november! I am going to be so busy I wont know what to do with myself!! haha.
Otherwise I am pretty good. I know I had some more philosophical things to say, but I think if I have time tomorrow I will blog about them. "It's been a long day always ain't that right?" Im organizing receipts and folding laundry for the rest of my evening, but please look at the pictures that is what they are there for!
I'm a little homesick for television in english (New TV in general...I hear gossip girl and greys is great this year, I can only hope HIMYM is also wonderful!). Im not anxious to return to the politics of the homeland though. ugh. Can't wait to vote! :P
Friday night I was kind of lonely so I called Javi and he took me to this chicken wing place right near the residence hall. I was really tired and tired of speaking slowly or translating so I left at like 2am. But I had a liter glass of calimocho and the cigarette smoke completely dried my eyes out. So I was spent and left.
Saturday I went into madrid and walked around a bunch. The forecast called for rain, but there was no rain, it was just a little bit chilly. I walked around and ventured into all of the cute little shops. For anyone that knows me, I do not particularly enjoy clothes but here I feel like I could expand my wardrobe pallette. They just have so many interesting clothes that I could never ever wear in the US (because I am kind of...plain lets say. I enjoy basic comfort things like t-shirts and jeans etc) I walked alll over hell and damnation....I walked from the park to the bull fighting arena, back to the Atocha train station. Plus some. But after a long day of walking around, Artemia called me to let me know that she was going to Segovia the next day and that she wanted me to come with her and her sister! After Delia did some research, we found out there was a huge cathedral there and the castle that is the inspiration for the Magic Kingdom castle in Walt Disney world. That's right...Cinderella's castle!!! Naturally I said of course...but we were going to leave at 6am. Awful...so I stayed in at night. Plus my feet were killing me (naturally, because I fell from heaven ;)) I think I putzed around a bit, got some food, and watched a movie. This movie called Snow cake...it is...well, I wont write the WHOLE explanation down because we have www.imdb.com (thank god they have it in the Spain too!) oh, yes, and I bought a fantastic water color for my room. I have a newfound addiction---local art. Yes yes I know it is expensive, but I just love it. The only thing is the guy rolled it up so I had to take it out an unroll it. Boo. Its still all curly. But I have to frame it when I get home.
Sunday came and I got up at the asscrack of dawn (6:30 am on a Sunday!!! I left messages for people on AIM and they got kind of confused). But Artemia called while I was in the shower to tell me that she had to take her sister to the hospital! Needless to say we went a little later to Segovia. It was Artemia, Carmen, and I. of course, the sister that went did not speak any english. But we walked around all day and took in the sites. Look at the pictures, everything is just so beautiful. I am an official princess, so it is only fitting that I visit a castle and find my knight in shining armour. I posed with many statues this weekend. To be a bit vulgar, they are perfect companions...they always listen, don't care what you watch on tv, always let you decide, and last much longer than any mortal man. The castle was beautiful...though it did not feel like the one at Disney. A little more...rustic. But we all had fun posing and such :) We had lunch in this cute little restaurant off of the main square...and had red wine and soda water. It was really good, but started to put me to sleep. Apparently, Segovia is famous for suckling pigs to eat...I took a picture of one, but couldnt stand the thought of biting into poor Wilbur's leg while he was looking at me. Sad day. Anyways, afterwards I scrounged up a couple of postcards while Artemia and Carmen went to a seminar with a person who is a Nobel Prize Candidate. How cool!! Around 6pm, all of the locals went to church and at like 6:30 crowded the streets. Apparently in Segovia you have mass, then a post mass in the center of the city! Jeeeeez. We finally left at 9:00pm. But all in all it was a wonderful weekend. I got home and crashed hard.
Monday was interesting. I had to get TGA, FTIR, and DLS measurements on 9 samples. It doesnt sound like much, but when your vacuum doesn't work properly, it really puts a kibosh on the whole thing. Plus I didn't get liquid nitrogen until 5pm which also SUCKED. But all worked out well. I got frustrated and needed to do laundry, but just as I was about to leave, Claire stopped me and said we had to go to dinner with Veronica, who was leaving :( She was the other girl that spoke the BEST english...so i am kind of effed. But now I guess I can concentrate on learning my spanish. I am hesitant a little still, but I know I can learn a little bit more than I already know. Anyways, we got to the restaurant and ate lots of food. I tried two types of "paella"-like things....yum. And some awesome appetizers too. And I had the BEST tiramisu of my life. I normally am not a big fan, but this was goood. However, everyone kept talking and I was just plain old exhausted....After smelling like smoke, I got home took a shower and went to bed. Tuesday was ok...lab was not so frustrating, but I got home to do laundry and had to wait until late, and I think I definitely used way too much liquid soap on my clothes. I smell heavily of Ariel now and am hoping that the stench goes away. Today was ok...I had a lot of frustration compiling my data for our meeting tomorrow, but that's ok, at least it is done (kind of).
This weekend mom and Aunt Susan come!! I am sure there will be plenty of pictures and such to share. I am sooo excited! We are going to Barcelona on Sunday and monday, given that everyone gets here alright. And Iam is maybe in Belgium for three weeks and would like to meet up with me? Michelle and Mike get to Madrid a few days after mom and aunt susan leave...and then megan gets here in late november! I am going to be so busy I wont know what to do with myself!! haha.
Otherwise I am pretty good. I know I had some more philosophical things to say, but I think if I have time tomorrow I will blog about them. "It's been a long day always ain't that right?" Im organizing receipts and folding laundry for the rest of my evening, but please look at the pictures that is what they are there for!
I'm a little homesick for television in english (New TV in general...I hear gossip girl and greys is great this year, I can only hope HIMYM is also wonderful!). Im not anxious to return to the politics of the homeland though. ugh. Can't wait to vote! :P
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Captain's log, Day 13: Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
Buen dia!
Today it is Thursday. I suppose I should start by filling you in on all of the things I have been doing the past couple of days. Friday night I went out with a bunch of guys and went to an Irish bar, of all places. The Heineken was good, but I guess I took the United States for granted (or atleast New York). I went into the bar and immediately started coughing. The smoke was so thick it made my eyes itch. Man do I miss that about NY. Its so weird, everyone around here smokes. And it is not like it is super cheap, but it is more socially acceptable to take a cigarette break and a coffee than just a coffee. So after smelling of beer and cigarettes, I put myself to bed.
The next morning I got up and went to Artemia’s house. Artemia is a student here who came to RPI last year and studied under Rahmi, my advisor, for two months. So at least she knew some of the people at RPI and knows English well enough to carry out a conversation with me for over a half hour. I felt very badly though, I got lost on the way to her house and she had to come help me out. When I finally reached my destination, her two sisters had cooked lunch for us. Unfortunately, one of her two sisters did not speak any English and I did not make any kind of communication with her. Her other sister spoke a bit of English, but not a whole lot. Needless to say, communication was very tiring, with trying to find the appropriate wording and using body language to convey what we meant. Thankfully, there was an Italian there who also spoke a bit of English. His name was Matteo and he was quite helpful. Lunch was great, the two sisters really know how to cook! The one that did not really speak to me just came back from a religious retreat….she was walking every day from 7am until 4pm….such devotion! I don’t think I could ever do that haha. I stayed around through siesta (we didn’t sleep. The siesta thing is a sham…no one really does it ever. Sometimes on the weekends people do, but other than that there is really no mandatory breaks during the day for sleeping.) and we took a walk by the community pool. Afterward, we shared some delightful conversation until ~9:30 pm. The majority of it was everyone trying to teach the other person about the other’s language and correcting stereotypes. I nearly got lost on the train home, but thank god everyone here has taken a little English, so one woman through gestures and grunts helped me to the Leganes train station. Thank GOODNESS.
Sunday I got up early with the intention of going into the city to do some sight seeing. I got on the train with no problem, but right after I got off the train it started raining (I know what you are thinking….the rains in spain fall mainly on the plane….WRONG-O. I had my umbrellie though, so it was not a disaster J) I got to el museo de prado mostly dry and it was wonderful. Also, I like going to the museums because you can get the student discount J Anyways, I went in and there are so many rooms full of sculptures, pottery, glass, and paintings, it was very hard to keep myself well navigated. I think I got around to most of the good things….It was quite heart breaking to go in there and look at the art though. I mean….if you look at some of the paintings, the women are ghost white and are not incredibly skinny. People back then thought that these women were absolutely BEAUTIFUL. They were literally works of art. And now if you are to think of beautiful women, they are mostly tan, skinny, and tightened. It is heartbreaking to think that these women in these paintings, these muses for someone, would now most likely be considered “ugly” to the US standards. After paying homage to the art, I went outside and it was pretty nice, so I went next door to the botanical garden (1 euro for students). I saw the species of tree that is the tallest in the world (sequoias), an actual kiwi plant with fruit (have YOU ever seen one?), lots of pretty flowers, and exotic trees. Everything was kind of brown since the season for flowers is ending and autumn will soon be upon the Spaniards. But there is still beauty among the dying. I grabbed some lunch when Dad texted, so I went home afterward and made some Skype calls to the US for a few hours. I think pretty soon after I just hung out ….it was kind of late at that point.
Monday was fine. The truth is, I don’t remember much of it. I went to work, did some experiments with Claire (who looks like one of Delia’s twin friends, but does not sound as nasally….which is very unusual for a French girl!). We are going to have a going away party for Veronica, she is going to California to do her post doc. And Tuesday Claire and I did some more nanoparticle work….blah blah. But she was getting upset with our advisors. Yesterday she nearly flipped out…we were trying to remove 99% of the solvent from a mixture…it was borderline torture. Also, yesterday I went to a bar to get cerveza with one of my co-workers. I had had a bad day….if you talk to Jenn, Delia, Josh, or Ryan, they will tell you it is true. I missed home for a while and had to talk to my labby labs. (I later found out why I was so upset about everything). Research wasn’t going my way, I can’t watch any American tv over here because none of the websites work, I was just upset. Anyways, my co-worker told me I looked like I needed a cerveza. And we proceeded to have a great talk about life. First of all, the Carlsberg cerveza is quite tasty….it is light, but has way more flavor than coors or most of America’s pale beer. Number two, they serve you food with the beer which is nice. But my co-worker proceeded to ask me what I was doing in Spain and told me I was quite brave for coming without knowing the language. It takes a strong person to do what I am doing, etc. And he told me that he was in my shoes before…that he has been in new situations and to just be happy with today. Because tomorrow is always a new day. He also said that the atmosphere in Spain is much different than in the US (which, I can safely say, “I feel that.”) People in Spain are more relaxed about everything. They don’t need the huge tv, they don’t need the mansion, they don’t need the hummers. One of the most important social differences between here and the US is that you can’t tell the difference between a rich person and a poor person. And you can definitely tell the difference in the US. And that is fine, but he was right…I am not the most humble of all people when it comes to material possessions, but I really don’t have a want for that much. It was beautiful. It made me very sad at the same time though…we have many people living in “poverty” and we have people that are going homeless…but most everyone over here is content…no one is yelling or screaming…there’s less drama, all the old people come out and go to the old people park and exercise with everyone. It’s just more friendly. There are some things I miss about the US, don’t get me wrong. But he really knew how to speak to my inner hippie. After a couple of beers and tapas, I walked home. And you know what? I think he really cheered me up, a practical stranger of all people (not to say that those of you who helped with the mini-meltdown yesterday were not helpful). Today, I went into work with fresh eyes and a new perspective. I got something new for lunch, and even tried the coffee (which, I will not be making a habit of. They put like cream and whole milk into the coffee….it tastes more like melted milkshake than what I perceive coffee should taste like. ) And I did all of my research with high hopes. I even danced around the lab a little bit for Jota Jota to prove I was in a better mood. BY THE WAY, the OG’s name is Nacho, the blond IS Carlos, and Jota Jota is the guy with the laptop (a few blogs ago). That pretty much sums it up for me. This weekend I get to do laundry….yay! I will probably venture into the city, though it is supposed to rain a lot. Oh well, I will just go to more museums and stay inside J Plus I get to figure out things for when Mom and Aunt Susan come here….any suggestions for Barcelona hostels anyone?
Sorry for the long entries...will try to make them shorter and more frequent.
Today it is Thursday. I suppose I should start by filling you in on all of the things I have been doing the past couple of days. Friday night I went out with a bunch of guys and went to an Irish bar, of all places. The Heineken was good, but I guess I took the United States for granted (or atleast New York). I went into the bar and immediately started coughing. The smoke was so thick it made my eyes itch. Man do I miss that about NY. Its so weird, everyone around here smokes. And it is not like it is super cheap, but it is more socially acceptable to take a cigarette break and a coffee than just a coffee. So after smelling of beer and cigarettes, I put myself to bed.
The next morning I got up and went to Artemia’s house. Artemia is a student here who came to RPI last year and studied under Rahmi, my advisor, for two months. So at least she knew some of the people at RPI and knows English well enough to carry out a conversation with me for over a half hour. I felt very badly though, I got lost on the way to her house and she had to come help me out. When I finally reached my destination, her two sisters had cooked lunch for us. Unfortunately, one of her two sisters did not speak any English and I did not make any kind of communication with her. Her other sister spoke a bit of English, but not a whole lot. Needless to say, communication was very tiring, with trying to find the appropriate wording and using body language to convey what we meant. Thankfully, there was an Italian there who also spoke a bit of English. His name was Matteo and he was quite helpful. Lunch was great, the two sisters really know how to cook! The one that did not really speak to me just came back from a religious retreat….she was walking every day from 7am until 4pm….such devotion! I don’t think I could ever do that haha. I stayed around through siesta (we didn’t sleep. The siesta thing is a sham…no one really does it ever. Sometimes on the weekends people do, but other than that there is really no mandatory breaks during the day for sleeping.) and we took a walk by the community pool. Afterward, we shared some delightful conversation until ~9:30 pm. The majority of it was everyone trying to teach the other person about the other’s language and correcting stereotypes. I nearly got lost on the train home, but thank god everyone here has taken a little English, so one woman through gestures and grunts helped me to the Leganes train station. Thank GOODNESS.
Sunday I got up early with the intention of going into the city to do some sight seeing. I got on the train with no problem, but right after I got off the train it started raining (I know what you are thinking….the rains in spain fall mainly on the plane….WRONG-O. I had my umbrellie though, so it was not a disaster J) I got to el museo de prado mostly dry and it was wonderful. Also, I like going to the museums because you can get the student discount J Anyways, I went in and there are so many rooms full of sculptures, pottery, glass, and paintings, it was very hard to keep myself well navigated. I think I got around to most of the good things….It was quite heart breaking to go in there and look at the art though. I mean….if you look at some of the paintings, the women are ghost white and are not incredibly skinny. People back then thought that these women were absolutely BEAUTIFUL. They were literally works of art. And now if you are to think of beautiful women, they are mostly tan, skinny, and tightened. It is heartbreaking to think that these women in these paintings, these muses for someone, would now most likely be considered “ugly” to the US standards. After paying homage to the art, I went outside and it was pretty nice, so I went next door to the botanical garden (1 euro for students). I saw the species of tree that is the tallest in the world (sequoias), an actual kiwi plant with fruit (have YOU ever seen one?), lots of pretty flowers, and exotic trees. Everything was kind of brown since the season for flowers is ending and autumn will soon be upon the Spaniards. But there is still beauty among the dying. I grabbed some lunch when Dad texted, so I went home afterward and made some Skype calls to the US for a few hours. I think pretty soon after I just hung out ….it was kind of late at that point.
Monday was fine. The truth is, I don’t remember much of it. I went to work, did some experiments with Claire (who looks like one of Delia’s twin friends, but does not sound as nasally….which is very unusual for a French girl!). We are going to have a going away party for Veronica, she is going to California to do her post doc. And Tuesday Claire and I did some more nanoparticle work….blah blah. But she was getting upset with our advisors. Yesterday she nearly flipped out…we were trying to remove 99% of the solvent from a mixture…it was borderline torture. Also, yesterday I went to a bar to get cerveza with one of my co-workers. I had had a bad day….if you talk to Jenn, Delia, Josh, or Ryan, they will tell you it is true. I missed home for a while and had to talk to my labby labs. (I later found out why I was so upset about everything). Research wasn’t going my way, I can’t watch any American tv over here because none of the websites work, I was just upset. Anyways, my co-worker told me I looked like I needed a cerveza. And we proceeded to have a great talk about life. First of all, the Carlsberg cerveza is quite tasty….it is light, but has way more flavor than coors or most of America’s pale beer. Number two, they serve you food with the beer which is nice. But my co-worker proceeded to ask me what I was doing in Spain and told me I was quite brave for coming without knowing the language. It takes a strong person to do what I am doing, etc. And he told me that he was in my shoes before…that he has been in new situations and to just be happy with today. Because tomorrow is always a new day. He also said that the atmosphere in Spain is much different than in the US (which, I can safely say, “I feel that.”) People in Spain are more relaxed about everything. They don’t need the huge tv, they don’t need the mansion, they don’t need the hummers. One of the most important social differences between here and the US is that you can’t tell the difference between a rich person and a poor person. And you can definitely tell the difference in the US. And that is fine, but he was right…I am not the most humble of all people when it comes to material possessions, but I really don’t have a want for that much. It was beautiful. It made me very sad at the same time though…we have many people living in “poverty” and we have people that are going homeless…but most everyone over here is content…no one is yelling or screaming…there’s less drama, all the old people come out and go to the old people park and exercise with everyone. It’s just more friendly. There are some things I miss about the US, don’t get me wrong. But he really knew how to speak to my inner hippie. After a couple of beers and tapas, I walked home. And you know what? I think he really cheered me up, a practical stranger of all people (not to say that those of you who helped with the mini-meltdown yesterday were not helpful). Today, I went into work with fresh eyes and a new perspective. I got something new for lunch, and even tried the coffee (which, I will not be making a habit of. They put like cream and whole milk into the coffee….it tastes more like melted milkshake than what I perceive coffee should taste like. ) And I did all of my research with high hopes. I even danced around the lab a little bit for Jota Jota to prove I was in a better mood. BY THE WAY, the OG’s name is Nacho, the blond IS Carlos, and Jota Jota is the guy with the laptop (a few blogs ago). That pretty much sums it up for me. This weekend I get to do laundry….yay! I will probably venture into the city, though it is supposed to rain a lot. Oh well, I will just go to more museums and stay inside J Plus I get to figure out things for when Mom and Aunt Susan come here….any suggestions for Barcelona hostels anyone?
Sorry for the long entries...will try to make them shorter and more frequent.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Amigos!
Last night I made my first amigos. At the cafeteria, there was a huge group of guys that sat at my table. It was sufficiently awkward for most of the beginning because the dudes were definitely talking and I couldnt understand anything. Then I asked Jamie is he spoke English...I was in luck! He spent 6 months in Michigan last year, which was a delight because I had someone that I could actually talk to! We chatted then his two other friends, Jave and Canario joined in. Pretty soon everyone at the table was talking to me (There is one guy that looks like Kyle Pulver, but with slightly shorter hair and much taller). However, if you know anything about Shakeel from last summer, Canario=Shakeel. With lighter hair, but only slightly, and not Indian. He invited me to his "Casino Night" in his room...which was nice of him to do, but I also had to unpack everything. Yes, it did take me three days to unpack and finally settle in...I know, I am a loooser. I think they will keep me updated on the party scene, but I feel like a grandmother compared to them! I am 23 and they are only 18...5 years may not seem like much but it can make all the difference. Hopefully the guys will want to go out tonight or tomorrow...the other students arrive soon too, maybe they will be older so that I dont feel like the only grandma!
ps- I need to watch gossip girl asap. Its killing me!! And Greys anatomy starts soon too, but atleast they will post the links online after a few days...
I wish you all were here to enjoy this place with me!
ps- I need to watch gossip girl asap. Its killing me!! And Greys anatomy starts soon too, but atleast they will post the links online after a few days...
I wish you all were here to enjoy this place with me!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Adjusting
The graduate students are warming up to me I think. The girls in my office are Artemia, Raquel, Claire, Veronica, and Maria. All the girls are very nice to me, they speak English as best they can for me. Unfortunately I have not been so bold as to ask how to say things in Spanish. Baby steps, people, baby steps. I work primarily with Claire, who is a French graduate student. It makes for an interesting time because she tries to explain things in English, but when she gets flustered she explains in French, English, and Spanish goulash. I understand the French, but when she slips the Spanish in I get more confused. Maria and Artemia are also quite nice, although I feel like their new puppy...they have to train me and ask me if I want to go to lunch with them etc. It is nice, I just feel bad for being....¨what the French call, les incompetants¨. Veronica and Maria probably speak the best English...although with all of the translating going on, I find myself thinking in choppy sentences because I have to speak in broken English to be understood without the nuances of our culture. The dudes...well, unfortuantely I do not know their names. There is the orange glasses dude, the guy with the laptop, and the blond (although I think the blond´s name is Carlos). We will call Orange glasses dude ¨The OG¨. The OG tries hard...he invites me to lunch (they always try to get me to drink coffee! which by the way, is 1 part black muck to 1 part whole milk....and they serve it in an OJ glass...gross) I commend each and every one of them for trying to explain things to me, I just need to try harder to reciprocate. (actually, Veronica and Claire have been teaching me Spanish words around the lab today, so I am making improvements :))
I think this weekend the plan is to go into a city. I might go to Toledo...people highly recommend it around here. I really want to go to the beach, but it takes 3 hours by car to get there and I am not sure if I want to waste an entire day going to the south of Spain when I should further acquaint myself with Madrid before the weather gets colder and no one hangs around. Although, it will be one of the last few weekends for the beach I fear. Oh well, what can you do? (The most annoying thing ever is the misplacement of the question mark on this keyboard....the question mark and hyphen are switched and it is driving me CRAYYYYZEEEE).
In other terms of adjusting, eating the food here is like eating RoBro...a cafeteria at Clarkson. Your body needs to embrace it and mine is trying to, but it is having a difficult time. Like with my self consciousness, my body just needs time to get used to everything.
Anyways, happy hump day all. And if you are from Phelps and reading this, happy hump and dump day :)
I think this weekend the plan is to go into a city. I might go to Toledo...people highly recommend it around here. I really want to go to the beach, but it takes 3 hours by car to get there and I am not sure if I want to waste an entire day going to the south of Spain when I should further acquaint myself with Madrid before the weather gets colder and no one hangs around. Although, it will be one of the last few weekends for the beach I fear. Oh well, what can you do? (The most annoying thing ever is the misplacement of the question mark on this keyboard....the question mark and hyphen are switched and it is driving me CRAYYYYZEEEE).
In other terms of adjusting, eating the food here is like eating RoBro...a cafeteria at Clarkson. Your body needs to embrace it and mine is trying to, but it is having a difficult time. Like with my self consciousness, my body just needs time to get used to everything.
Anyways, happy hump day all. And if you are from Phelps and reading this, happy hump and dump day :)
Captain´s log, day three.
Word around the blogosphere is….Spain rocks.
The flight was ok. There were many students on the same flight as I, which was nice…I kind of had other people to talk with. And for Dee and Galen, the blond boy going to Philadelphia was going to California and the only time I spoke to him was when we were leaving to get off the plane….not much of a talker. My brain felt like mush after we landed and all I wanted to do was be sick or lay down somewhere. Olga met me at the airport, but she did not recognize me from the picture Rahmi had sent her…that was awkward.
After we met, Olga took me to her house to meet her family. She has a hubby, Jose, and two children, Victor and Rotheo (or something like that….I can never be sure). I dropped my baggage off and we went into the city of Madrid to go see a modern art exhibit. It was really cool, it was based on movement. There are these creatures that move based on the elements….and when it rains it buries its head in the sand….So cool how you can engineer nature into art. There were a bunch of other things at the museum too, but that was by far the coolest. We had lunch ( I felt so disgusting from the flight, I couldn’t eat). The Spanish love eggs. Huevos. Gross. Eggs on burgers, omelets, eggs on meat of all kinds. They also love pork products. Everything has bacon or ham in it. We went back to Olga’s house and experienced siesta…heaven in a two hour period. It didn’t cure my feeling of “pudding head”, but I did feel better. Unfortunately, I did not know how long to sleep for, so I shirked myself of some major catching up this weekend. I always tried to be up and ready by the time the family was, but ended up seriously overestimating. We sent los ninos off to Olga’s parents’ house….which btw looked way more like old Mafioso than Spaniards…but whatever. The parents and I took a trip into the city where Cervantes was born…that’s right, the author of Don Quixote. Everyone there LOVES Don Quixote…so many statues! We had tappas….which are awesome! We sampled Calamari, this potato salad (vinegar, no mayo), and fried potatoes with this spicy red sauce. Then Jose ordered a sandwich which we all split and SURPRISE! It had huevos in it. Duh. Then we had this splendid cake thing…muy bien. It was like baklava but instead of the chewy granola-y part it was this lemon whipped cream. I highly suggest it. We went on a walk around the told after…you will see pictures on my site J
The next day we went to this cute little village that was untouched when Napoleon came through because it was set so far back in the mountains. The special part of the city was that there were black rocks used in the road and all of the houses were made of stone. We went for dinner at this restaurant where there was a playground for los ninos (there are parks and playgrounds everywhere here!!!) Olga and Jose ordered this big meat plate….I felt ill looking at it. It was full of bacon, ham, chicken, steak, veal, this sausage that looks like chorizio but it lighter and less spicy, and mortada (sp?) which is essentially rice and….blood. It has a good smoky taste, but they told me before I ate it….FYI, if youre going to surprise a person with what they are eating, do it after and not before. I couldn’t help but think of it as I chewed….ew. We went to this beautiful castle next and the view was simply…breathtaking. Los ninos kept taking my picture, and I theirs. It was also very sweet and refreshing to see the family interact with each other….so much love, so much enthusiasm about everything. I think it is because (and you can see this from the pictures) that there is not a cloud in the sky. Sunshine everyday all day….and it is not supposed to rain much in the winter time either. There is no room for emo or despair when the weather is muy bonita all damn day. The other thing I love about Spain is the air. You can walk in the city and you don’t smell all the pollution, you don’t smell all of the petroleum. You can smell hints of some fried food or a store fragrance, but you never smell what I will refer to as….”industry”. The US just reeks of industry, and in Spain it is much cleaner, much more virginized. But alas I have not been to all of Spain yet ;)
Today I got acquainted with the university. My dorm room is similar to….I would say a hospital room with Ikea vomit all over (Spaniards also love Ikea as much as we do!) I don’t really mind, it is just a place to put my head. I went to the department today which was cool. I got to meet a lot of the people I will be working with. Beaucoup problemo, Calvin….not many people sprecken my lingiddy. So it is extremely frustrating to go there because I feel like many people do not want to take the effort to put everything in English. There is one girl, Maria, who is very helpful. And Artemia, who was a visiting grad student at RPI last year. Both very nice. And I feel bad asking them things, but I hope they are understanding me well enough. Today was kind of an awkward day…Claire the girl I will be working primarily with had to defend her Master’s Thesis today…so I guess everyone was off schedule anyways. I move my room tomorrow (It is right near the main entrance and is SO LOUD! So they are moving me) so I didn’t unpack. I did try to get internet with no avail…stupid wifis, stupid UC3M for not giving me an internet password. Oh well. So then I went to the university again to send a quick email or two and then came back and went to the grocery store. The bad thing about my room here is that….its just me with no refrigerator or kitchen. So I cant buy things I want to keep cool or cook….I haven’t had to do that in so long! So tomorrow begins the adventure for real food. The what-can-I-eat-under-budget plan. Tonight it was whole wheat croissants with peach jam and potato chips. Call me unadventurous, call me stupid, call me Kate…but it was late and things were closing anyways. I miss the prepared foods in the US….like sandwiches or sushi or something….heck if I was in the US I would live off of lunchables! And upon my return I killed my first cucharacha….suffice it to say I was supremely skeeved out. But everything is beautiful at the university. There is a 10 min walk to my building, which goes through what looks like almost a transported Canal street (but less sketchy). Tomorrow I will go on the other side of town and explore that for a bit…I need to make some friends soon or figure out what people do in their spare time because I want to see things! It will be my approach that takes a little finessing….it is hard when you only speak survival Spanish to ask if people will be your friend.
Hasta pasta, amigos!
***This blog was written two days ago. Stupid interwebs don´t work in my living space just yet, so you all get to read old news :)
The flight was ok. There were many students on the same flight as I, which was nice…I kind of had other people to talk with. And for Dee and Galen, the blond boy going to Philadelphia was going to California and the only time I spoke to him was when we were leaving to get off the plane….not much of a talker. My brain felt like mush after we landed and all I wanted to do was be sick or lay down somewhere. Olga met me at the airport, but she did not recognize me from the picture Rahmi had sent her…that was awkward.
After we met, Olga took me to her house to meet her family. She has a hubby, Jose, and two children, Victor and Rotheo (or something like that….I can never be sure). I dropped my baggage off and we went into the city of Madrid to go see a modern art exhibit. It was really cool, it was based on movement. There are these creatures that move based on the elements….and when it rains it buries its head in the sand….So cool how you can engineer nature into art. There were a bunch of other things at the museum too, but that was by far the coolest. We had lunch ( I felt so disgusting from the flight, I couldn’t eat). The Spanish love eggs. Huevos. Gross. Eggs on burgers, omelets, eggs on meat of all kinds. They also love pork products. Everything has bacon or ham in it. We went back to Olga’s house and experienced siesta…heaven in a two hour period. It didn’t cure my feeling of “pudding head”, but I did feel better. Unfortunately, I did not know how long to sleep for, so I shirked myself of some major catching up this weekend. I always tried to be up and ready by the time the family was, but ended up seriously overestimating. We sent los ninos off to Olga’s parents’ house….which btw looked way more like old Mafioso than Spaniards…but whatever. The parents and I took a trip into the city where Cervantes was born…that’s right, the author of Don Quixote. Everyone there LOVES Don Quixote…so many statues! We had tappas….which are awesome! We sampled Calamari, this potato salad (vinegar, no mayo), and fried potatoes with this spicy red sauce. Then Jose ordered a sandwich which we all split and SURPRISE! It had huevos in it. Duh. Then we had this splendid cake thing…muy bien. It was like baklava but instead of the chewy granola-y part it was this lemon whipped cream. I highly suggest it. We went on a walk around the told after…you will see pictures on my site J
The next day we went to this cute little village that was untouched when Napoleon came through because it was set so far back in the mountains. The special part of the city was that there were black rocks used in the road and all of the houses were made of stone. We went for dinner at this restaurant where there was a playground for los ninos (there are parks and playgrounds everywhere here!!!) Olga and Jose ordered this big meat plate….I felt ill looking at it. It was full of bacon, ham, chicken, steak, veal, this sausage that looks like chorizio but it lighter and less spicy, and mortada (sp?) which is essentially rice and….blood. It has a good smoky taste, but they told me before I ate it….FYI, if youre going to surprise a person with what they are eating, do it after and not before. I couldn’t help but think of it as I chewed….ew. We went to this beautiful castle next and the view was simply…breathtaking. Los ninos kept taking my picture, and I theirs. It was also very sweet and refreshing to see the family interact with each other….so much love, so much enthusiasm about everything. I think it is because (and you can see this from the pictures) that there is not a cloud in the sky. Sunshine everyday all day….and it is not supposed to rain much in the winter time either. There is no room for emo or despair when the weather is muy bonita all damn day. The other thing I love about Spain is the air. You can walk in the city and you don’t smell all the pollution, you don’t smell all of the petroleum. You can smell hints of some fried food or a store fragrance, but you never smell what I will refer to as….”industry”. The US just reeks of industry, and in Spain it is much cleaner, much more virginized. But alas I have not been to all of Spain yet ;)
Today I got acquainted with the university. My dorm room is similar to….I would say a hospital room with Ikea vomit all over (Spaniards also love Ikea as much as we do!) I don’t really mind, it is just a place to put my head. I went to the department today which was cool. I got to meet a lot of the people I will be working with. Beaucoup problemo, Calvin….not many people sprecken my lingiddy. So it is extremely frustrating to go there because I feel like many people do not want to take the effort to put everything in English. There is one girl, Maria, who is very helpful. And Artemia, who was a visiting grad student at RPI last year. Both very nice. And I feel bad asking them things, but I hope they are understanding me well enough. Today was kind of an awkward day…Claire the girl I will be working primarily with had to defend her Master’s Thesis today…so I guess everyone was off schedule anyways. I move my room tomorrow (It is right near the main entrance and is SO LOUD! So they are moving me) so I didn’t unpack. I did try to get internet with no avail…stupid wifis, stupid UC3M for not giving me an internet password. Oh well. So then I went to the university again to send a quick email or two and then came back and went to the grocery store. The bad thing about my room here is that….its just me with no refrigerator or kitchen. So I cant buy things I want to keep cool or cook….I haven’t had to do that in so long! So tomorrow begins the adventure for real food. The what-can-I-eat-under-budget plan. Tonight it was whole wheat croissants with peach jam and potato chips. Call me unadventurous, call me stupid, call me Kate…but it was late and things were closing anyways. I miss the prepared foods in the US….like sandwiches or sushi or something….heck if I was in the US I would live off of lunchables! And upon my return I killed my first cucharacha….suffice it to say I was supremely skeeved out. But everything is beautiful at the university. There is a 10 min walk to my building, which goes through what looks like almost a transported Canal street (but less sketchy). Tomorrow I will go on the other side of town and explore that for a bit…I need to make some friends soon or figure out what people do in their spare time because I want to see things! It will be my approach that takes a little finessing….it is hard when you only speak survival Spanish to ask if people will be your friend.
Hasta pasta, amigos!
***This blog was written two days ago. Stupid interwebs don´t work in my living space just yet, so you all get to read old news :)
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