PULPO

ohhhh my gosh. so i told some of you about my "pulpo" story early last week. a brief rundown is that Carmen pulled out a massive, raw octopus from the fridge, put it in the sink, and started preparing it for dinner that weekend, all 8 legs flopping around, tentacles and ink and all. she laughed when she saw my absolutely disgusted face. well she prepared it for the weekend because i wouldnt be there (she doesnt ever make fish even though she loves it, because she knows i dont like it. apparently pulpo (octopus) is her favorite.) but had some left overs for when i got home tonight to go along with the pasta. great combo, first off.

but back to what im trying to say through all the rambling... I ATE OCTOPUS! and it wasnt terrible once i got passed the idea that a/ i was easting octupus and b/it had little sucker things on it still. she prepared it with peppers and onions so it didnt taste completely like fish. it was pink, too. apparently when you poil octopus in water, it turns pink, fun fact!

Santander was beautiful! we fit 4 people in a 2 person hotel room to save on money. it was trashed when we left. teh beach was HA-MAZING. many women do not where their tops at the beach. i was wondering why no one had tan lines!

the mountains were remarkable, too.

ohh Tomatina

Today is the day that i SHOULD be at the Tomatina in Buñol. As in the festival of throwing tomatoes. Literally chucking them at other people. It was one of the things I'd been looking forward to most this semester, however it is over 4 hours away and I have class in the morning, and there are no trains back in time. Sigh. Thank you Google-Spain for reminding me of that every time I go to your webpage. My friend, Ernesto, told me I could throw rotten tomatoes at him tomorrow if I really wanted to, so at least I know the option is out there =)

So even though I will not be able to participate in throwing tomatoes I HAVE been doing tons of cool stuff. Last weekend we took a class trip to Avila on saturday, although it was a pretty boring. It was a 3-hour bus ride each way with a driver who was absolutely determined to make us all vomit and about 5 hours spent walking around the old city looking at churches. So far, Spain has been a lot of churches and monasteries - pretty, but they're beginning to look the same. It did have a FANTASTIC view though since its perched on a hill, so that was neat. My camera batteries died upon arriving to Avila, so I'll probably just steal everyone else's off of facebook. We had about 4 hours of free time, although it was entirely during the siesta. So EVERYTHING was closed. We walked around, ate our bocadillos from home (carmen makes some mean spanish-tortilla bocadillos), and chatted in Spanish. bueno!

Afterwards was probably the craziest concert I've ever been to in my entire life. A few of us went to this all night techno concert - called Electrosonic - around midnight and got home around 6am. And we left the concert much earlier than everyone else. There were two nights of teh concert, which took place in an open field with 3 of 4 tents with different DJs playing and strobe lights flashing, so people came from all over. Barcelona, Madrid, Paris - we met a group of people from Australia, too. All in all, we decided the craziness was a bit out of our league after a few hours and peaced out - although it was an absolute blast.

Spent the next day sleeping, but I woke up in time for lunch. Carmen greeted me with calabaza-patata-queso soup (pumpkin, potato, and cheese. gee, thanks). I don't even like touching the pumpkin guts when carving pumpkins at Halloween, much less eat them after being pureed in a blender with potatos and cheese. I ate what I could, but I think she knew I wasnt a huge fan. It was followed by fried veal. yummay. And another thing! I think I conveyed incorrectly my feelings toward murcilla (blood, meat, and rice packed into sausage form) because Carmen thinks I love it. When in reality, it was better than I thought and I kind of liked it. Today was murcilla soup and yesterday was murcilla links for an appatizer course before lunch. The food is not as bad as I make it sound though! Carmen has caught on to how much I love chocolate, having bread with everything is amazing, and spanish tortillas are delicious. I'm just craving some seriuos Jimmy Johns or Pizza Hut. We caved and went to telepizza the other night, and it was the best, worst pizza ever. loved every bite.

classes are great! out professor, Diego, is hilarious and incredibly patient. I've learned a ton without even realizing it. Carmen is good about correcting me and helping better my spanish, too. we sit in the kitchen after dinner and name off the cooking utensils and kitchen appliances. I tihnk she's going to help me find a cooking class to take, too. She must think I'm a moron, though. The other day walking in to class, I meant to say that it looked like it was going to rain. however i said "me parece que va a llorar" which tanslates into "it seems to me that its going to cry. whoops. She looked at me, laughed, and made fun of me for a few seconds before I realized what I said wrong and corrected myself. llover, not llorar. I'll never forget that again.

big news! today, Jose's (my spanish brother) girlfriend came into my roomand started up a conversation. That confused me in itself because she never really talks to me, but asked about the concert and our plans for traveling, and about a book that was on my desk that she had read. well at the end of the conversation, she invited me to go out with her around burgos sometime which is HUGE b/c people in Burgos just don't really do that. They'll even admit that people in the castilla y leon region are much more cold and unfriendly. Too bad I didn't understand her the first time around, so I felt like and idiot when I did get it. I'm still excited, though!

We're headed to Santander to go to the beach this weekend, Friday to Sunday night. Madrid is the weekend of Sept 6-7, then we have a week off before our week long trip down south. I think that 3 other people and I are going to go to cordoba, granada, sevilla, and morocco if there's time. We just booked our flights for Rome on the weekend of October 9-14. I think some girls and I are going to Paris the weekend after, and then Barcelona for Halloween weekend. After that -who knows? There's still tons to see.

When we were walking home tonight, some old guy yelled at us that we should pay taxes. He heard us speaking English because we were making plans, and thought that we were immigrants. Which is funny because we do pay a certain amount of taxes on everything that we buy, yet reap none of the benefits. Maybe next time he should think about things like that before passing judgment - or yelling at strangers.

I'm starting to miss everyone! Kalamazoo seems to be much more lively with everyone returning to school, as do other college campuses. Hope you all are doing well!


Love, Cara

go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatina

hola todos

(top left - view from the middle of nowhere on a sunday afternoon exploration. Top right - door and cute old man who kept walking in circles around the small plaza at the monasterio de las hueglas ((old people are even cuter here)) Bottom left - one of the many peregrinos (pilgrims) who make their way through Burgos on their trek following the Walk of St. James. It goes from France to Galicia, and St. James stopped in Burgos which makes it a key tourist spot and pilgrimage area. The trail is marked with conch shells, so its cool to walk around town following the trail. Bottom right -my gato espanol named Tambor - like a drum. He LOVES being around people and is constantly taking naps on my computer.

***So i heard about the plane crash at the Madrid airport this morning . I dont really watch a lot of the news here, although I think I'm going to start. 153 people were killed when there were problems taking off, caught on fire, and then blew up. Incredibly sad, and incredibly scary.

Lot's of cool things have been going on lately...let's see.

Well last week, we didn't have class because it was a religious holiday so I went to Carmen's (my Spanish mom) mom's 91st birthday party. Her entire family was there, all 5 siblings and their kids and one au pair, and we sat outside at the big table and shared HUGE pans of Paella. Of course, it was full of shellfish that still had their heads attached, but i DID try the calamari. I didn't really like it, but I tried it! Carmen laughed when she saw my face, chewing it, and told me not to eat anymore if i didn't like it. So I just ate the rice with the chicken, roasted red peppers, and whatnot. Then it was followed by dessert (tiramisu!) and coffee and sitting in the sun. Afterwards, we all went to another cafe to drink more coffee (i like these people) and talk - everyone was impressed with my speaking/understanding abilities, so that's cool! One uncle kept saying something about the "americana," but i couldnt understand what it was...haha. oh well. And they knew SOME english, because every once in awhile, one of the older family members would say a phrase in english and it would throw me off guard - like "Let's rock!" And he made fun of my big ol' grandma sized purse...so I think they like me! haha. The Spanish women, in particular, age incredibly well. There was one niece that I thought was 22 or so, and it turned out she was 29. And about half my size - I just don't get it.

I went to mass at the Cathedral on Sunday and it was gorgeous. I understood some of the mass, too, between gaucking at the gold altar and marble walls. After church we went on a little adventure around the city, eventually walking out of town, and finding a great view of the cathedral, castle, and rooftops. I'll post a pic if you're lucky.

As you all know, Michael Phelps is a big deal with his 8th gold medal around his neck. Inhuman, dare I say. Well no one seems to care about the upcoming US presidential election, or that a black man is in the running. But everyone loooooves MIGUEL PHELPS! We'll be walking down the street and people will yell "MIGUEL PHELPS! MIGUEL PHELPS! MIGUEL JORDAN! LABRAN JAMES!" because we're obviously American and they love American athletes. For instance, at coffee with Carmen's family, conversation kept creeping back to what Phelps eats for breakfast, and how wide his arm-span must be (8 eggs and 8 pieces of toast - and more, but i couldn't understand it). Then they'd look at me for verification like I'd know how much the man eats off the top of my head.

Oh another thing about la familia - they crack me up because they are just like the Cheevers'..Not only do they bicker at each other like any other family, my sister RARELY smiles and generally just looks unhappy, like Caitlin! (I love you, Caits) and there was a Chris Cheevers moment at the bday party...they have this really cool blue bottle that they keep their water in the fridge to keep cool, like we do with milk cartons, except prettier. And I kind of always wondered where they got them, but didn't care enough to ask. Well the same blue, glass bottles were at the restaurant filled with water to refill our glasses when necessary, and when one was finished, Jose grabbed it off the table before the waitress could see it was empty, and stuck it in Carmen's purse. I laughed a little, thinking of the time mom put that extra steak in her purse, and Jose goes "i didnt see anything, did you?" winking, and smiling, of course. And now there are two blue glass bottles of water in the fridge.

What else? School is officially in full swing - i turned in my first paper today. I'm sure it will be ripped to shreds. classes and homework everyday, although not hard, and it will only get more intense. We have workshops in the evenings to learn more about music, food, cinema, etc, which are always interesting. The walk to campus from the apartment is 5o minutes or so if I walk fast - so i'll be making that trip 4 times today. I think I'm starting to lose weight from all the walking!

We're going to Avila this weekend, and Madrid in 2 weekends. More is being planned for the near future, though! Well that's all for now, and I need to start heading back to campus.

Love you all!

WMU represents in Burgosssssss

http://www.diariodeburgos.es/noticia.cfm/Local/20080812/ubu/michigan/consolidan/exito/curso/cultura/espa%C3%B1ola/B349E793-1A64-968D-5927D96CE37F0C25

none of you can probably read this, but its a pretty big deal. we are being celebrated for being the 10th class from WMU to attend UBU for language classes/workshops.

This might be one reason EVERYONE looks at us funny, although I think it's mostly because it's obvious we're Americans, and they just don't like us. HA

comida comida comida

My bedroom!










The plaza outside my apartment complex. There's a cafe/restaurant and a park that little kids play at all the time. We live about a wedding - gown shop.













Drying your clothes - Spanish style


















The view from my bedroom window.



















La plaza mayor -the cathedral spires are behind it - muy muy bonita. And everything is so colorful! I love it.





So, I definitely thought I was getting used to the food - at least it wasn't terrible. But I have since reconsidered that thought. Not complaining here, just distinguishing the differences in foods from here and home.

Por instancia: I can only describe it as a ham and cheese grilled sandwich, minus the bread. And not grilled, but fried. In egg batter. I had two thick slabs of ham with some creamy cheese between, and the ham was battered with scambled eggs. I'm guessing she then fried it in a pan. The first few bites weren't bad, but let me tell you. It's MUY DIFICIL to eat a large "sandwich." On another note: i tried another piece of fish! It was fried shrimp, which isn't at all exotic, but i step in the right direction.

Today we had our first day of school. We met at the Arco de Santa Maria and walked about 15 minutes to campus (campus is about a 4o minute walk from my house). We took a placement test for our grammar classes, then had an orientation with the foreign study coordinators. The press was there because we're the 10th class from WMU to come here - there was an article in the newspaper today, and will be another tomorrow. I'll pick some up, don't worry, Mom. =)

By the way, campus is b-e-a-utiful, as is the walk to campus.

Funny story about last night: As I was eating the fried-ham-cheese-sandwich, my whole Spanish family was in the kitchen with me. At first, Jose was surprised that I "liked" the food (i didnt want to be rude), but the conversation evolved into trying to get the dog, Curra, to take her pill. It made me think of Mom and Dad trying to get Daisy to take her pills by shoving them into hot dogs because Jose kept shoving them into croissants. It was a funny process because Curra would stuff the croissant with a pill in it in her cheek and wait for him to look away, then try to spit it out. They had as much trouble as we did and was definitely an interesting process.

That's about it. My legs are tired from all the constant walking. It's ejercico bueno and i'll need to walk off all of the bread they keep making me eat! Mas pan? Mas pan?

Besos para todos.

Cara

Estoy Aqui!

Hola Todos -

I arrived this afternoon at about noon (Spain-time), which felt like 6am. ouch. I got a few hours of uncomfortable sleep on the plane, so at least I had that behind me. And let me tell you - I knew I loved the Spanish. 1 word: SIESTA. Smartest people alive. I took the best 1.5 hours nap ever when I arrived at my Spanish family's apartment. We live on the 4th floor of the complex that overlooks an ADORABLE little parque where kids play and restaurante and outdoor patio. My madre, Carmen, and I chatted it up for awhile (she was impressed with my Spanish skills!). After unpackign she made me paella for almuerzo - DAD YOU'D BE SO PROUD OF ME! I ATE A CLAM! It wasnt horrible, either. Salty, and I ate it with paella, so i didnt have such texture-issues. Carmen is great, though. We're about to go on a walking tour of Burgos. I'm about 15 minutes from the viejo Burgos, which is considered in town and full of statues, monuments, and where the catedral is located. Then campus is another 15 minutes or so from there. (Carmen works on campus, though, so she said she'd drive me! LUCKY!)

I also have a Spanish 'brother,' Josewho is 22. He goes to school in Madrid during the school year, and a sister who is 20 (but i can't remember her name...).

All is well! I sound like a blabbering idiot when I try to speak Spanish, but practice makes perfect.

Love you all!