Family Swap

A few weeks ago I moved in with a family full of strangers. It has been a true learning experience to see the cultural differences between a typical American family (I don't know I consider my family typical) and a Spanish family. Keep in mind, all of these observations are about two specific families, not all families in America or in Spain. Pretty sure no other family in America spends as much time worrying about their dog's eating and exercise schedule as mine does...

Shout out to my dogs (this picture is mainly for my mom...hope you're reading)

A small action that stands out in a big way is the way Luis and Miguel (my little brothers) greet their parents. Every time they leave the house they kiss Mar and Nando (my parents) goodbye. I have noticed it is much more common for people to touch each other in Madrid. Every time I meet someone and put out my hand for a handshake I am given a strange look before being kissed on both cheeks. There is also a great deal of PDA in the city (especially on the Metro for some reason...), the likes of which I have never seen in the America.

Another huge difference is our chores around the house...we don't have any. This might be due to the fact that we are guests here for a semester but we really don't do anything but load our dishes in the sink. Each night Mar prepares us dinner and serves it to us. And every Tuesday she does our laundry and cleans our room and bathroom. To me it seems Mar does too much  (or maybe my parents could pick up a few hints, eh?). But really, we are used to doing all of that and more for ourselves in America. I must admit I feel a little babied, I like being independent. I have noticed that many Spanish people have a different idea of independence and don't have the desire to "get out" of your parents house like many Americans. It is uncommon for young people to move out, instead they live at home with their parents during college and for a few years after.

The Spanish do not seem to have as much "car love" as my American comrades. My host family has a car but I don't know if it actually exists because I have not even seen it yet. It is not common for a family in Madrid to have a car because of the extensive Metro system and it is even more uncommon for a family to have multiple cars. This is one of my favorite parts about Madrid because it is so easy to get around and there is no dependence on gas (and no complaining about gas prices).

Opera, my metro stop

In my Spanish class, we have been learning about the culture of Spain and how it developed. It is clear that a lot of the values have been part of Spanish culture for ages. On the other hand, there are other "American" things like McDonald's, Rihanna's music, and strangely enough Hard Rock Cafe that are extremely popular and blend right into the life of a Madrileño.

I have learned so much from my host family already and I am so happy I decided not to live in a dorm. I am improving my Spanish, learning new things about the Madrileño lifestyle, and most importantly making new friendships. It is also nice to have someone around who actually knows the city and can help me when I get lost or need help (which is pretty often these days).

Tomorrow I am off to Segovia! I am excited to see the Roman acqueducts and other historical places that we have been talking about in my Spanish class in person.

¡Hasta luego!

Gringa goes to Sevilla!

In the gardens of Real Alcázar in Sevilla

This past weekend I took my first trip to Sevilla and it could not have been a more perfect weekend! Sevilla is located in the southern Andalucian region of Spain and is dripping with baroque architecture and filled with the passion of flamenco. Spain is divided into autonomous regions and until this weekend I had only experienced Madrid. I was excited to see the similarities and differences between the two areas and curious about what truly makes an autonomy different.

The adventure began at 1am on Friday morning at the bus station. My roommates and I took an overnight bus and showed up on the streets of Sevilla at 7am Friday with no idea where to go and feeling pretty cranky and tired. We had directions to our hostel and eventually began to figure it out by asking people on the streets. At one point, we were looking for a church and we asked a nice looking woman. She told us to "venga," or come, and we began following her down a series of dark, winding alley ways. At this point, she wasn't saying anything else to us and I felt like I was in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Harry is following a woman who he thinks is Bathilda Bagshot. For those of you who aren't familiar with the books, it doesn't end well for Harry. So in my head I was deciding what I would do when this woman attempted to kill us. Luckily for us, she didn't end up being evil and we found our hostel!

Barrio Santa Cruz

We wandered through colorful Barrio Santa Cruz and did some shopping. We came upon the Cathedral and Real Alcázar. Real Alcázar, the oldest royal palace that is still in use in Europe, is the most breathtaking palace I have ever seen. Every inch of every wall, ceiling and floor was covered in an intricate design of colorful tiles. The palace was sprawling and we spent a few hours wandering around the rooms and the gardens.

In Sevilla, there are orange trees everywhere. Lesson learned: don't eat them, they taste like acid. 

 

Real Alcázar

The following day we got up bright and early to rent bikes and see the city. It was much colder Saturday so we spent a lot of the day warming up our hands. We saw the Plaza de España, Plaza de America, Museo de arte y costumbres populares, and Triana which is the gypsy quarter where store windows were filled with flamenco outfits. In Triana we were ravenous so we picked the first restaurant we saw which turned out to be a snooty, over-priced pizza place that didn't appreciate our backpacks, tennis shoes, or affinity toward splitting dishes with each other to save money. We ended the afternoon at the peluqueria, or hair salon, where my friend Stephanie got a haircut! For the most part the haircut ended well, minus the language barrier and the stylist accidentally cutting Stephanie's ear. But hey, it's not a fun weekend unless blood is shed right?

That night we went on a pub crawl with our hostel. I made friends from New York, Argentina, London, Scotland, Morocco, Amsterdam, Holland and other parts of Spain. It was really interesting to meet everyone and share stories. I was amazed how easy it was to make connections and friendships with other travelers at the hostel. We instantly bonded over our travels and stories of where we had been and planned to go. I can only hope all my hostel experiences will be as successful as this one! My roommates and I are even hoping to go visit our new friend Holly (her real name is totally unpronounceable but she is from Holland so we called her Holly) in Amsterdam sometime in the next few months.

Before going to Sevilla I had heard a few things about Andalucia, the region in which Sevilla is located. Many people had warned me that the Andalucian accent is very thick and harder to understand. However I found the accent to be understandable and the people from Sevilla to be very patient with us. They listened to us and tried to understand and help us when we spoke Spanish. For this I am forever grateful to the Spaniards we met.

So now it is back to class while visions of Sevilla dance in my head. Check my Flickr on the righthand column of my blog for more pictures!

¡Hasta la próxima!

The Food Post (and Panther Milk)

Tapas, tapas and more tapas. The moment you all have been waiting for (or at least the moment I've been waiting for), the food post.

Mercado de San Miguel is one of my favorite places in Madrid so far. We stumbled upon it our first day in Madrid and fell in love. It is booth after booth of different delicacies and cuisines. It originated as a fresh meat and fish market and farmers and fishermen would carry their meat and cod to the market to sell. Today there are a variety of options, from meat to shrimp, cheese to gelato and even hot dogs wrapped in a bun!

 

The fruits and vegetables were picturesque but let's move on to the real steak and potatoes (even though I didn't see any steak or potatoes...)

 The aceitunas (olives) were not your typical olives, each was stuffed with some sort of seafood or cheese or vegetable and the ones that weren't stuffed were skewered with cheese and tomatoes and various meats. 

 This is an ensaldilla, or a little salad, that looks like a salad pot pie to me. ¡Deliciosa!

¡Croquetas! These are like little fried balls of goodness. I ate a croqueta de queso which sort of tasted like a cheese curd (what up Minnesota State Fair!) But you can also get croquetas with different meats inside.

After drooling over everything in the mercado, we finally started buying tapas to enjoy. On the left are tostas, which are basically little pieces of toasted bread with various toppings. The two we tried were salmon and cream cheese and jamon serrano. Jamon serrano is the bread and butter of the Spanish diet and it could not be tastier. In the middle was my favorite tapa so far. It is a bread crust with an apple spread and a piece of warm brie on top. And you can't forget dessert! My roommate Liz tried the concoction on the left, I am still not sure what is in it, but it looks like a chocolatey, nutty goodness.

Keeping with the theme of trying new things, some friends and I ventured to El Chapandaz which is known for its leche de pantera (panther milk). The bar is also called "cave bar" because it looks like you are inside a cave. We had to try the leche de pantera and we found out that is made with milk, ginger ale, cinnamon, rum and a few other ingredients that I am not sure of... and it is surprisingly good! It is very sweet and the milk comes from a stalactite in the ceiling! They even give you a little package of candy to enjoy with your drink.

Leche de pantera coming from the stalactite

Stephanie and I enjoying our panther milk!

There will be many more updates about the comida as well as the milk of various jungle animals coming your way soon! ¡Hasta la próxima!

Officially employed!

Yesterday I started my job as an English teacher! I babysit and speak English with 2 young girls named Ceci (age 4) and her sister Lucia (age 7) for 2 hours each Monday afternoon. It feels good to be employed and making a few extra euros each week (especially because the unemployment rate in Spain is about 20%, double the rate in the U.S.!)

I took a bus from Madrid to Majadahonda, a nearby suburb. The minute I stepped off the bus I realized how much I missed suburbia! In Madrid, I live in the city which means all of the buildings are tall and connected and you are always walking in a giant herd of people while simultaneously trying to dodge oncoming humans and avoid getting lost. It is exciting but talk about sensory overload! In Majadahonda, there was green space in between the streets and space between the buildings. It is funny how I needed to be in a suburb to realize how stressful living in a city can be. It made me miss the good old suburb of Mendota Heights! Anways, after finding the apartment (and buzzing up to the wrong apartment multiple times) I found the family! They are very sweet and Lucia can understand and speak English very well. Their proficiency at such a young age amazed me and made me jealous at the same time. Like the picture above says, all the cool kids really are doing it! In most schools in Spain, multiple languages are taught and many kids are multi-lingual. This made me wish my grade school in Minnesota taught another language because I am 19 years old and still stumbling over my Spanish! We worked on their spelling homework and I had a chance to reminisce and brag about my spelling bee glory days. On the way home I got on two incorrect buses before finding the right one. My quest to find the right bus stop was anticlimactic because once I found it I had to wait a half hour for the bus to arrive.

Yesterday we went to the bus station and purchased our tickets to go to Sevilla for the weekend. I am so excited to begin travelling and seeing other parts of Spain! I am actually learning about Andalucia (the region of Spain where Sevilla is located) in my Spanish class so hopefully I will be able to give my travel compañeros the inside scoop! It's always fun when school actually comes in handy.

I am no longer sick and I am happy to report that my appetite is back! Hopefully this means there will be a food post in the near future, full of exotic new dishes and drinks.

¡Hasta la prόxima!

From old friends to security guards...

Raiders in Madrid!

The other night on our walk home we were being hassled to come into various clubs. Eventually we decided to go inside one just to see what it was like. Once inside we sat down for a bit and the next thing I knew Peter White ("Pedro Blanco"), a friend from high school, was standing on the other side of the room! I hadn't seen him since summer and could not believe I ran into him. He is studying in Toledo and was in Madrid for the weekend, it is such a small world!

Warning: Do not attempt to get a free ride on the Madrid metro system or you will be seized!! One of my roommates attempted the other day and was seized by three bodyguards. They wanted her to give up her metro pass and pay a fee. Luckily, she acted like a "dumb foreigner" and they let her go with a warning.

Madrid pub crawl

I also went on my first Madrid pub crawl. It was a fun way to meet new people and see the city. Recently in Madrid they passed a smoke free law in public buildings. Because we are used to smoke free areas in the U.S. I was pretty happy not to smell like smoke all the time. However I soon realized where all the smokers were hiding, in the bathrooms. Walking into a bathroom is like taking a bath in an ashtray because smokers will lock themselves inside the bathrooms instead of going outside to smoke. The rules on the streets of Madrid are also different, for example there is always a man trying to sell you beer by the can. I have no idea if this is legal or not but you can be assured that the questionable man selling the Mahou (Spanish beer) will have a much lower price than any bar nearby.

Shout out to my parents: better start a workout regime now so we can walk everywhere come March!

I have posted some pictures, check 'em out on the right side bar! I was supposed to go to Toledo today but I am sick. I'm laying in bed all day which means no more adventures for now.

Hola, me llamo Candy

On our balcony, the Palacio Real is in our backyard!

I have an alter ego, her name is Candy. In Spain, they do not make the “z" sound like Americans do, which means that whenever I introduce myself as “Kenzie” to a Madrileño, he or she will pronounce it “Candy.” So I've been going by Candy. Since my last post I spent my first night out on the town in Madrid and had my first day of classes! We ventured to Sol, an area full of young people, for a night of shenanigans and dancing. We met many new friends from all around the world, Chile, Alaska, Egypt, and a french dude named Sandy. The nightlife in Madrid consists of a lot of young guys standing in the streets and hassling you to come into their bars. Definitely an experience trying to escape some of the more determined ones. First day of classes was successful! It is strange having a commute to school. In past semesters I would roll out of bed and walk a few steps to my class. This semester I have the grueling task of attempting to find a semi-euro looking outfit to wear instead of my American duds every morning as well as a half hour commute by train.

Stephanie, Me, and Anna at SLU Madrid

In other news, my calves ache. Yesterday we decided to find our way home from campus with only a map. We wandered the city for 4 hours and walked in every possible wrong direction before finding the right one. Also, we suffered our first casualty: the cookie jar. It was shattered Monday night by a very hungry roommate who will not be named. We managed to salvage a few of the cookies to snack on in between meals (dinner is so late here!) however we have to be careful to pick the shards of glass out before biting down.

"Te voy a partir esa calabaza vacua" means "I'm gonna crack that hollow gourd of yours in half"

Hopefully I will be adding a photo album this weekend!
¡Hasta la próxima!

La llegada

We finally arrived! We landed in Madrid this morning around 11:00 am (4:00am central time) and took a taxi to our host family's apartment. The elevator was incredibly tiny so things got cozy very quickly! Mar and Nando (the parents) welcomed us with open arms. They have two sons named Luis and Miguel who are crazy little characters and cannot speak any English. They have been running up behind us and yelling to scare us. Abuela Casilda also lives here and she is the littlest woman I have ever seen!

Babushkas!

After meeting everyone and getting settled, I left to explore the city with my roommates. The weather was tropical compared to Minnesota standards and we walked to the Palacio Real and Plaza Mayor. We found a crowded market where everyone was shoulder to shoulder eating tapas. There were definitely some interesting looking foods and I saw a pig hoof! I tried a quiche and an olive (best olive I have ever eaten). Afterward we got caught in the rain and resorted to wrapping our scarves around our head, sort of like babushkas, which is apparently not a fashionable style in Madrid this season given the many strange looks we received. Tomorrow we are off to orientation at SLU Madrid and then we have to figure out how to unlock the door to the apartment...which has proven to be the biggest challenge so far in Spain!

For Christmas, my aunt Sue and uncle Tom gave me "Dirty Spanish" which is a funny book with Spanish slang terms. Fun dirty spanish phrase of the day: "¿Dónde hay jarana?"  or "Where da party at?"

¡Ciao America!

Today the adventure begins and I become a Madrileña! (Or more accurately a gringa, tourist, obnoxious American, white girl, or whatever other nicknames may arise).  After a (hopefully) short layover in New York, I will be arriving fashionably jet lagged in Madrid on Sunday morning. Luckily, I will be traveling with my friend Anna from high school. We will be living in Madrid together along with two other students from SLU named Stephanie and Liz. Our host family lives in an apartment across the street from the Opera and down the street from the Palacio Real. Word on the street is there is a McDonald's nearby as well. I can't wait to meet the family! 

Please keep in touch over the next few months. E-mail (msmit148@slu.edu) and Skype (smith.kenzie) will probably be the easiest way to communicate  and I would love to hear from family and friends back home.

Hopefully this won't be me in Spain, luckily I have more than one semester of Spanish under my belt!

Here's to hoping I come back alive!
¡Hasta la próxima!