Day at the Cortijo

Rachael and I woke up today at 9:30 for our day at German's parent's cortijo. A cortijo is like a small farm, similar to a day house. We ate breakfast and then headed off to Palacio de Congreso where we were meeting the rest of the group for the bus. Rachael and I were waiting on the steps and we took this selfie (picture of ourselves, taken by us). 

Soon after taking the picture, Erika and Guadalupe showed up and then we hung out together for a bit. We were there early, around 10:30 when we had to be there at 10:45, but soon it was 10:45 and we didn't see anyone else. We decided to start walking around the steps at Palacio de Congreso and then we saw German across the street pointing at us to walk in a different direction. We soon found the bus stop, where the rest of the group was waiting.

We boarded the bus, a city bus, and we were on our way to the cortijo. We stopped in other small towns along the way until we made it to Durcal, our destination. It was a 45 minute bus ride, just long enough to allow me time to doze off and and almost fall asleep.

When the bus stopped we got off and we were greeted by Isabel. (German had drove in his car with Adam, Rafa (Adam's host brother), and Tess straight to the cortijo.) We then walked for about 10 to 15 minutes and then we were there. Along the way we got to see almond trees, which we budding. They reminded me of the cherry blossoms that are known in Washington, D.C.

When we got there, we entered through a fence and turned the corner to see a nice patio with chairs and a table set up. This is where we were going to spend the day!

There was  small building that had a kitchen in it and then another room, access only from the patio, that had storage and a bathroom. The bathroom wasn't anything special and was actually just a toilet and a sink against the wall with a shower curtain to cover up for privacy in the storage room. The kitchen had a table, a fridge, a small granite counter with a sink in it and a huge fire place, where we would be cooking our food.

The first things that had to get done when we got there was to make the sangria and to start cutting up the vegetables for the paella. I decided that I was going to help in the kitchen cutting up vegetables and I got assigned to dice up a ton of tomatoes. Luckily Katie was working with me as long as two or 3 other people working in another both. There were only two cutting boards, which were being used for onions, so we had to cut them by hand. Let's just say our hands were very juicy by the time that we finished up. When we finished cutting the tomatoes we had two huge bowls and the people who were cutting the onions had moved on to cutting up green peppers. 

While we were cutting up vegetables inside, everyone else was out on the patio making the sangria. They had cut up apples, and the rest, I have no idea what they did because I was too busy inside. 

There were two helpers there who knew how to cook everything and they said that they were going to send the recipes to German or Isabel and then they can distribute them to us. 

One of the helpers added the chicken and a few pork ribs to the pot and placed it over the fire. She also added olive oil to it so it would cook better and not stick. While she was mixing this, Tess was helping the other lady finely dice up garlic. Tess wants to go to school in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu for cooking school, so today was right up her alley. 

When I stepped back outside they were adding the wine to the sangria pot. 

When I ventured back inside after getting a cup of sangria, everything was all diced up! There was a bag of lettuce there as well, but I have no idea if we ever used it for the paelle or what not. 

Now it was time to cut the bread, salchicon and chorizo for some tapas. We also put some potato chips out and olives. Eventually there would be tomatoes out as well that were seasoned with olive oil, garlic and salt. They were amazing and I cannot wait to go home and make them myself!

We all sat around and munched and talked while the helpers were inside cooking the paella and adding all of the ingredients. Eventually it was ready to eat and German carried it outside and set in on the rocks. It was very heavy and you could tell that he was struggling a little bit to carry it for such a distance. 

We all got our plates filled with paella and more tapas and then we sat down to enjoy it. After finishing up eating we sat in the sun some more, taking in all of the 80 degree rays! Basking in the sun, and shade once it got too hot. When we were sitting there, we invited everyone to come along to the beach tomorrow with us and we convinced Chelsea and Amy to come along. The guys didn't want to ruin the girls day, so they opted out. We also discussed the grading system for Winona and decided on writing a collective email to the registrar  hopefully to get our grades changed back to what they had originally told us. 

Soon it was time to go for our walk, but I would now consider it more than just a walk. We changed into our tennis shoes and we were off. We started off down the road that we came from to get there, but going the other direction, and then we headed down a HUGE and steep hill. The only thing that was going through my mind the whole time that we were going down was that I hoped that we did not have to go up it on our way back!

We came across a bridge and we took a group photo on the bridge! German was the photographer for the photos of us as a group or us hiking!

We continued hiking more, crossing bridges and walking through, or trying to avoid, the puddles and gooshy mud, but sometimes it was just inevitable. 

We also came across a house that had a motorcycle/scooter hanging from their tree. We think that it is a show of art or something, but either way it was interesting.

We ventured on, getting to see some amazing landscape of the hills and greenery all while the sun was beating down on us. You couldn't ask for a better day to do all of this!

We stopped at a stream and some people decided to take off their shoes and socks and stick their legs in. I was one of them who didn't because I don't like wet socks. While I was sitting on a rock, Adrian was right in front of me holding his backpack on the front of his body. The whole time we were on this hike he had the joke that this was his "baby girl" and that he was taking care of her. Where he got this idea from, I am not sure, but it is still pretty funny either way!

When we finished up the hike we headed back to the cortijo and then hung out there for about 20 minutes before we headed on back to the bus stop to get on the returning bus to Granada. We had a choice between the 6:00 or the 7:00 bus, but majority ruled for the 6:00 because we were getting tired and exhausted. 

We rode the bus home and then walked the rest of the way from the Palacio de Congresos, in the shade. On the bus ride home I was getting really hot and dizzy and lightheaded  and even a bit queasy so it was good that the bus stopped when it did. When we got home it was a relief to feel cold air on my skin and cool off.

I Skyped Kristin for a bit and then we ate dinner, early at 8 pm, because Mila had a funeral to go to. After dinner I Skyped Kristin some more and then walked around the house with my camera and snapped pictures of the house! She has been begging me for them for the longest of time, so that will be on their own blog post!

After taking pictures I shaved my legs and got ready for the beach for tomorrow! It then was a chill and relaxing night and then bed time.

Smooy!

Today I slept in until about 10 am, only getting out of bed to eat breakfast. After I ate I had a lot of motivation and I started to work on my paper that is due in the first week of May. The paper is for my Variedades class and is 5 pages, single spaced, about a Hispano American country of our choice. The paper needs to include the linguistics and language history of the country, the main point of the paper, as well as culture and general history. 

After working on my paper for a good couple of hours it was time for lunch. Rachael and I had been waiting around for lunch for a while because we wanted to get our day started because it was such a beautiful day outside!

When we finished lunch, Rachael asked Mila about haircut lingo because she was trying to get her ends trimmed. Tess had got hers cut the day before and it gave Rachael the final push to get her hair cut! We were going to go to the same place that Tess went to, close to school, but Mila recommended that we go to the place right down the street that she has been going to for over 20 years! Rachael learned the words that were necessary and we were on our way!

When we got there we were concerned that they weren't going to be open because it was during siesta hour, but lucky for us they were open all day on Friday! Rachael talked to the lady about what she wanted and she got her hair washed and cut within about 30 minutes. When they blew dry her hair they took a brush that was circular (don't know the correct terminology) and practically straightened her hair with it. I was AMAZED! 

When the hairdresser finished up on Rachael we were on to our next stop, the pencil store! I bought 2 new pencils because I was pencil-less for a few days there :( After getting my pencils we headed up Calle Recogidas.

We stopped at stores on the way, mainly shoe stores. And we stopped at an accessory store that was having a sale. I got a new ring and new earrings, 2 euros each! I snapped this shot on our way down the street that El Corte Ingles is called.. I can't think of the name right now. But it is a great view of the mountains!

After burning more holes in our pockets we decided to stop at Smooy, a frozen yogurt shop! I got chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup and Oreos. Rachael got vanilla ice cream with chocolate that hardens and Oreos.

Devouring this ice cream was the best treat to ourselves ever! It was delicious :) When we finished up we decided that we were going to enjoy the nice weather (probably in the 80s) and walk along the river. We climbed down some stairs to go sit and relax near the river and we ran into Tess and Liz just hanging out. We all had the same idea. We sat there for a while and talked it up. Soaking up the sun like it was never going to come out again. Liz and Tess mentioned to us that they had plans of going to Almunecar on Sunday and that we were more than welcome to join! The bus tickets are very cheap too so we decided to join them. Of course! Ruth Ann and Katie were also going. Girl's day! After "tomando el sol" we decided to head on home after a while because we had things to do. 

When we got back I hung out for a bit, accomplished more homework because of not having time on Sunday now, and ate dinner. After dinner I skyped Brynn. She was getting ready for the Phillip Phillips concert and then waiting in line for some awesome front row "seats". They weren't actually seats though because it was standing room only. 

Soon after Skyping Brynn I headed off to bed because it was getting late and I was getting tired. 

Intercambio and Tapas

It was rough to wake up after a loss last night but I got over it pretty quickly. I went to class and then went home and took a nap. When I woke up I just hung out for a bit and then it was lunchtime. 

After lunch Rachael and I had an intercambio with Samu and Carolina and we met at Cafe Varagua. The intercambio went well but we tend to speak more English than Spanish. At least Samu and Carolina get their practice in!

After the intercambio Rachael and I went to Mercadona so she could get some snacks and then we walked home. We were going to separate at the door so she could go and rest up a bit and then I could go buy a new pencil or two because I lost my nice one on Sunday and my other one broke on me on Wednesday. Bad luck pencil week! But I forgot my keys in my backpack so I wouldn't have a way to get back into the building so I just decided I will go another day to get my pencils.

When we got on our computers we talked with some members of our group about going out for tapas tonight. They had it all planned out so we just said that we would join in. While we were sitting around and waiting for it to be time to go out for tapas we got a message from Michael saying that Carin (said like Karyn... crazy, I know!) that the grades were transferring back to Winona differently this semester. And a bad different. 

Here is a little background information.

When we were in Winona and filling out our applications and attending the meetings, the staff, professors, and I am pretty sure the SOL directors, were all telling us that a grade of 7 transfers back as an A. Great, easy semester! Nope, not anymore. They changed it to 8.5 now and NEVER let us know. We only found this out because Carin was here last semester as well and is in the process of figuring out her grades from last semester. They still haven't told us. And we are all furious and enraged! It is not fair to change it after midterms, let alone change it at all without telling us. If it doesn't get changed back to 7 we are all going to put up a fight and try to get it switched back. One of the spanish professors at Winona is on our side but she is trying to get them to lower is to an 8 instead of an 8.5. At this point that is better than an 8.5, but still not what they had told us and guaranteed us.

Now that we are all riled up, it was time to go out for tapas. We met at POE and Ruth and Katie were already there. We ordered our drinks and tapas and then Tess and Liz showed up. A few minutes later Maggie, Leah, Alex, and Adrian showed up and then eventually Sam showed up. We had a good chunk of the clan there! Rachael and I had our drink and tapa (I had my usual of tinto de verano and the pork and pineapple skewer) and then hung out for a bit and then we were ready to move on to the next place. Tess, Ruth, Rachael, Katie, and I went to a place about 20 feet away, a Moroccan tapas restaurant. I had a chicken shawarma and a tinto de verano. Soon after we ordered our drinks, the rest of the group came from POE and we were all together again. We chilled out there for a good while and then Rachael and I decided to head home. On the way we stopped and got pizza, well I got a slice of pizza, because the tapas did not fill me up.

When we got home, I ate my pizza and then went to bed. It was a stressful day and it will continue to be stressful until this situation about grading gets figured out.  

Down for the Count

First, an update on the Skype session with my mom.

She told me a lot more information about Karyn's accident. A lot of little details that most people reading this probably don't care about. But a few things that do matter. The back car doors do not open and the car had be towed away from our garage; during the Skyping session the wrecker showed up. 

Her first two days on the job were good and she sees good things in the future! She is already feeling more confident about the new job. Today she starts at the building that she will be located at in Two Rivers. Hopefully all goes well because she is meeting with her boss and her staff is going to be throwing her a party of some sort, or a luncheon, I cannot quite remember. 

I will be Skyping them more this Sunday to hear about anything new that has developed and about my mom's first week on her new job. 

As for how today went.

Same old in my classes. Didn't get back my exam yet for Islamic Culture. No random debates in POE. Spanish Civilization and Culture had nothing exciting happening in it either.The only thing that I thought was funny is I forgot my Columbia jacket in the classroom in my last class of the day and I had to run back to school to get it. Luckily I wasn't far at all, only a couple of blocks, but my heart was pounding in fear someone took it and because I was running and "working out."

On my break between classes I went into the computer lab because I didn't bring my laptop and the guy who sat next to me taught me how to change the keyboard language to English so I could use other symbols! It was amazing how he knew it, and now I will forever be grateful and be changing my keyboard!

I did find out that today is National Siblings Day though! So shout out to Kristin and Karyn and hope you guys have/had a wonderful day, being the proud sister of me :)

Now for the real highlight (or lowlight) of the day. The soccer game. As a reminder, we won last week 5-1 and it was not much competition. We played again on the same concrete court, but this time against a team that is named Chivas. I know Megan on the team because she is in my grammar and POE class but other than that, complete strangers. 

The ref wanted to start the game 20 minutes early but we said that we didn't have our whole team there so he said that he was going to go and shower and  change his clothes... Random! And that is what he did! We thought he was joking. 

The game. The teams were pretty well matched in the first half. We scored towards the end of the half and we had a bit of a boost of confidence. Their goalkeeper was very good so I was shocked that we finally got one by him. Second half is another story. The aggression reached a whole nother level and it became more brutal and fight of the fittest than actually a soccer game. 

The other team scored a goal right after kickoff. Then another soon after and I looked to the people who came to watch (I was sitting out at the time) and I told them the game was over... and I called it correctly. When I got in there was a scoring of consecutive 2 goals. By this point it was no longer a game of soccer but a game of who can push and shove the best, break the rules and still come out victorious. We had all given up but Alex, and he was determined to make his mark. He ran after the kid who had the ball and gave him a shove, their legs got tangled up, and then the kid slid for a few feet, did a summersault and somehow stopped on his back and hit his head hard against the ground. He most likely got a concussion from it. At this point I no longer wanted to be associated with the team because it was almost a disgrace but I had no choice but to finish the game out. 

We ended up losing 1-4 but I was glad because I don't want to continue to play on a team that has such bad sportsmanship. I guess that is what cheerleading taught me.

After the game, Michael, Rachael, and I walked home and got our frustration out by talking things through. When Rachael and I got home there were tortilla bocadillos waiting for us and it was a great way to end the evening.

After dinner we pretty much called it a night and went to bed because we were exhausted and didn't want to talk!

Karyn Rear Ended

Today I knew I had a lot to accomplish but it was all about finding the motivation to do so. I woke up to a text from my sister. She had gotten rear ended (while I was sleeping) by a car and she was okay. She said that she did not have any injuries, just a headache but the lady who had rear ended her did not have insurance. I tried to converse with Karyn about it more but she was already fast asleep so I would have to wait until later in the day to talk with her and my dad. Here is the picture that she posted.

After finding out this news I got ready and went to class and we got our exams back. I got an 89% on it but I am not sure what number that translates into. I would assume it is a 8.9 but in my head that seems to be too high. Who knows!

After class I came home and napped until about 1 pm. When I woke up I blogged a bit and then texted my mom about possibly Skyping today. She said that tonight she should be able to after work, so we will see what happens. We ate lunch and then I emailed my dad to get the scoop about the car. Here is the grand jist of it.

Karyn was sitting outside the neighborhood waiting to turn left into the neighborhood and she was second in line, at a complete stop. All of a sudden she got hit in the behind by a lady who was not paying attention and was probably focusing on someone who was changing their tire nearby. The airbag did not deploy because the accident was from the behind and not the front. When the lady got out of the car and said that she was very sorry and that she didn't have insurance. The cops were called and the police and the fire department both showed up. The lady who hit Karyn, who was at fault, got 2 tickets. As I mentioned before, Karyn is okay! Good thing for Karyn is that she was stopped with enough distance between her and the car before her so she did not hit that car with the force of being hit from behind. 

As for the car, that is another story. The insurance company has to assess the damages to determine if the car is going to fixable or if they should call it totaled. This is the car that I was supposed to get this summer and fall for school so I am hoping that the insurance company fixes the car because I love this car! It will take about 1-2 weeks for the insurance company to make their decisions. If the insurance company calls the car totalled, then we will be getting a new car for me. 

After discussing with my dad everything about the car I just hung out for the majority of the afternoon.

When I felt motivated, I started my homework and an hour and a half later, without any interruptions, I had finished 3 classes worth of homework. What a productive time that was. Next I had to read for my Variedades class but I was not looking forward to that. I dragged it out as much as possible and would talk to people between pages. 

Eventually I finished the reading and it was time for dinner. After dinner I went back on the computer and I finalized my fall semester schedule with my counselor. All that I have to do now is wait less than 2 weeks so I can schedule online with Winona and guarantee the classes that I need, I get. 

Tonight I also ordered the mother's day gift that my sisters and I have been planning out for a while. I am very excited and I even got a good deal on it! Dad would be very proud :)

Now I am going to hang out on the computer for a bit more and wait for my mom to be ready to Skype!

Productive Tuesday!

New Car and Job for My Mom

Woke up. Ate breakfast. Went to school. Same old, same old.

Not much difference in the life of Kelsey today.

Today was the first day of my mom's new job.. good luck! (only training though). I talked to her a little bit in the morning and wished her luck. 

In my grammar class we went over our exams and the correct answers. Still haven't gotten my exam back for my Islamic Culture class yet. Don't really know what is taking him so long...

Came home and ate lunch then went to class again.

Had a debate about abortion in class.. yes in class. What a difference experience that was. Not only talking about your beliefs and point of view but also in Spanish and in a school setting. It went well and I don't think that anyone got really offended. We were all a little shy about talking about things in general because that is not a norm in America. 

After class I sat around and blogged a little bit because I was still behind from the weekend. I was emailing my dad during the break and he informed me that my mom got a new car! Woohoo! A 2013 Hyundai Elantra. She got everything that she wanted in the car, such as automatic headlights and Bluetooth and so on. She is one happy camper!

When Rachael got to school she handed me a bag of gummies and candy because she had found 2 euros on the ground and decided to put it to good use. Thank you :)

In my culture and civilization class we discussed more norms about Spanish people and the difference between Americans and Spaniards.

When I came home I tried to watch Survivor but it wouldn't load so I just gave up and read it on the computer instead.

Took a shower and went to bed. Same old, same old.

See, not much interesting happened today. But I have to stay in the habit of writing daily!

El Prado & Madrid

Today we woke up and Michael and I were not too motivated. Rachael on the other hand was all ready to go and check out a market that she had heard about, while Michael and I stayed behind and got ready and packed everything up.

When Rachael got back an hour and a half later, we were all ready for the day and even munching on lunch already. We decided to stay in the hostal room until check out time and just eat a very very early lunch. (Check out time was 12 noon). We still had the food left over from yesterday so we munched on that. We checked out and put our bags with the hostal staff and we were off to start our day.

Today was the day that we were going to conquer El Prado, the very famous art museum! On our walk to El Prado we got to see a lot of very cool buildings. This was the same walk that we took to get to Reina Sofia except this time I actually took pictures. I am not exactly sure what I was taking pictures of though.. but the building itself was quite detailed and pretty spectacular looking. 

Taking this picture was very dangerous! I stopped in the middle of the crosswalk just to capture these arches, and I don't even know what they represent!

When we got to El Prado, this was practically the only picture that I was allowed to take, of the building itself. No photos were allowed inside the building and we weren't aware of that until Rachael tried to take a picture and got told that they weren't allowed.

El Prado was very cool to see all of the works of art and in such huge amounts and so much talent in one small space. It was amazing to be in the presence of such famous pieces of work. A lot of the art pieces I did not recognize the name of the work of the artist but Rachael and Michael knew a good amount of them. I learned a lot today about art!

After we left El Prado we came across this cool looking church so I decided to take a picture of it. We couldn't figure out the name of the building, but it is still fun to look at!

We wandered around for a bit looking for the Parque de Madrid and we found it quite easily. It was very close to El Prado. Inside the park there was a lot of greenery and plants that made you feel like you were back in a smaller city and not a city of 6 million people.

We came across these trees that amused us. We still don't know if they grow that way naturally or are trimmed that way by the workers. Either way it is still a sight to see!

A fountain in the park.

What seemed to be a man-made lake that you could go rowboating in for a price. There were also vendors lined up and down this walkway that were selling everything from food to whatever you could imagine. Here there were also a lot of the people who sold their stuff off of blankets.. most likely illegally and jipped off goods.

As we were leaving the park we saw that it was lined with shrubs all shaped into something geometrical. I tried to snap a picture but I wasn't too successful, as you can see. 

When we left the park we headed back to the hostal to grab our things and catch the metro back to the bus station. Traveling all went smoothly and we made it to the bus station with about 40 minutes to spare. Better early than late! 

We found a place to sit and wait and then we loaded the bus when it was time. The seat next to Rachael, the one that I was assigned to, had a broken arm rest and I was not about to do a 5 hour bus ride with no arm rest. Lucky for me, the seat next to Michael was open so I sat next to him. About 5 minutes after I moved seats, the girl in front of Rachael came and sat next to her because her seat was broken as well! What a bus! 

We stopped at the same rest stop as we did on the way there and I got some Principe chocolate wafers because I was craving something sweet. On the bus ride we had finished off the crackers and chips that we had leftover from our lunches and I need sweet to go with my salt.

Next thing you know it, after less than 5 hours on the bus, we made it safely to Granada. Earlier than expected by about 15 minutes!

We grabbed our bags from under the bus and then went upstairs to catch the city bus to bring us home. Rachael and I accidentally got off on the wrong stop but lucky for us, it wasn't that far from the stop we needed to get off at. 

When we got home Mila was shocked to see us because when we were waiting for the bus in Madrid we called her and said that we were going to be home at 10. It was about 9:15. 

Dinner was ready soon there after and we tortellini! Yummy! After dinner we unpacked and got to blogging and talking to our friends back home. Soon there after we hit the hay.

What a successful weekend in Madrid, the capital of Spain!