A stop along our way to the Sahara Desert.

It’s been a while again, I know, and I do sincerely apologize for the lack of any recent updates here -I know a few of you have been eagerly awaiting photos of me on a camel! As for the delayed post, all I can say is that Spanish Midterms are finally done with, and I couldn’t be any happier. We had had our trip to Marrakesh planned since the second week of school here, but due to the lack of a syllabus we weren’t aware that our tests were going to be the week after our return!! Needless to say, free moments on plane-rides and a few late evenings helped to get us all prepared. I’ve yet to get anything back though, so we’ll see just how well studying at 30,000ft. works out.

Moving on, Morocco was quite a blast! We arrived Thursday evening without hassle, successfully navigated the maze that was the marketplace in front of our hostel, checked in, and then headed right back out for dinner at the local night market. The food was all very simple, consisting of either tajine chicken, lamb, or vegetables, but nonetheless very delicious. Since the country is a conservative Muslim place, there really isn’t a whole lot of nightlife worth mentioning, so we just came back to the hostel after eating. That, and it was fairly essential that we had a decent night’s sleep before the markets the following day! We were awoken around 7am by the morning call to prayer and didn’t go back to sleep due to the heat that had already set in. Instead, it was a quick breakfast, then out to the souks for a morning of haggling at the shops. In the afternoon, we visited the Royal Palace, an old tomb, and the ruins of the former palace which date from the 1200’s. That evening was more of the same from the night before, yet certainly not dull nor repetitive with all the bustle and life. We did have to get to bed even earlier that night though…

On Saturday morning it was up before the sun was even beginning to rise as we had scheduled our guided tour to the Sahara Desert, about 8hrs away from the city by car. Four of us headed out, not fully knowing what to expect, but all very excited. We boarded a van with four other English-speaking tourists (all from England, coincidentally) and then headed off. The day consisted primarily of driving, but we did have interesting stops on the way (as seen in the photos) such as at the highest point in the Atlas Mountains, the Moroccan "Grand Canyon," a literal desert oasis, the village where they filmed Gladiator ("Carthage;" above), and lunch in a small town which was not on a single one of our maps! The day culminated with a two hour camel ride into the desert as the sun set behind us, exposing the most brilliant night sky.

After being woken up late by our Berber hosts, Sunday turned into quite the rush back to the airport. We didn’t have time for the full 2hr camel ride, so we were met just under half-way by a Land-Cruiser which drove us bumpy dune over bumpy dune back to our awaiting van. There weren’t as many stops along the way back to Marrakech either, since foul weather had set in over the mountains, causing the driver to worry about landslides, etc which inevitably block the one road and strand tourists at this time of year. Fortunately, we made it through the worst, and were on our flight home to Madrid by 8pm. Phew… 

Well well well, its been a while. Evan has been bugging me to do an update, so I thought I might as well. Since I’ve gotten to Sunny Scunny not much has been happening. I’ve been exploring the town somewhat and had a tough time getting a job because of the state of the world economy, but I managed to get myself one this week. I’m working at a local pub/hotel where I’m mostly a waiter, but I do get to do some bartender work. I’ve learned how to "pull" a pint, and mix a few english drinks, like a shandy, which is 3/4 a pint of beer with sprite mixed in. I haven’t tried it yet, but its not that popular, so it can’t be that good haha!

 Last weekend I went to Liverpool which was soooo much fun! I arrived at the train station in Liverpool last friday at about 3 o’ clock. I met up with my Mom’s old friend’s son, Ed, and we went straight to the station pub and had a few drinks with his friend Dave. After that we walked through a part of his campus and picked up a crate of beer on the way back to his flat. When we got there it was bright and nice weather so we had a few beers on the balcony, but it did get too cold eventually, so we headed back in the flat for a few more beers. After dinner, my hosts decided I needed a night out in Liverpool, so they decided to take me to a local tequilla bar. This bar had all sorts of flavored tequillas, some tasty, some… not so much lets just say! The chilli one, for example, never went down smooth. After hitting on some local girls (by telling them I was Nate Cage, Nicolas Cage’s son) and expelling stuff from my stomach, we headed over to a local beer garden. We bought 2 pitchers of beer and sat around talking to each other about the differences between the U.S. and England, talking to other people, and drinking some more. We decided that was enough for the night so we headed back, got some take out, and went to bed. The next day we woke up, had left over take out, and then went into Liverpool. It’s such an awesome city! I heard it used to be a dirty, slummy place, but the city had definitely turned itself around because it was gorgeous. We went into the main walking area and went into an antique shop where I almost bought some motorcycle boots, but they were too small for me. After that we headed down to the docks and went into the Beatles museum which was pretty interesting, and I learned new things about the Beatles. We got back to Ed’s flat and "relaxed" for a while and watched some movies and then went to bed. The next day we woke up late, got some more beers and waited for the party to start at this flat. People came over and we all drank and played games and talked, but to be honest, I can’t really remember much of that night haha. Monday morning came, and Ed had to get to class, and I had to get home, so we parted ways. It was a great weekend that I hope will happen again.

Click the above image for more from Sevilla, and the whole trip!

As another weekend draws to a close here in Spain, another adventure comes to an end for us Carlos III students. This weekend we journeyed down to Sevilla, the "cultural capital" of Andalucia in the south of Spain. It was a very last minute trip; the decision to leave was made Thursday night while watching a flamenco performance in here Madrid. 24hrs later, six of us were on a bus heading out. We left Madrid at midnight, hoping to sleep on the six hour bus ride there, and then be refreshed enough to head straight out and see the sights. Well, all was good in theory, and we were able to make it through the morning until siesta time before we crashed in the hostel. Doing much else after that just wasn’t in the cards. By the time we got to the hostel at 2pm we had already seen the Alcazar, the Cathedral, the Golden Tower, the University, and several small neighborhood streets away from the city-center. Nap time was definitely required. We rested until dinnertime and then spent the rest of the night in search of tapas and more flamenco before midnight when we just had to crash for the night. Saturday morning was more wandering, complete with strolls through the large city-gardens and breakfast by the riverside. By 2pm we had to catch our bus back home to Madrid and so completed our 36hrs in Andalucia. I have to say, it seems as though this whole "class" thing is really getting in the way of my education…

Lauren, Wren, Emily, Adam, Jamie, and Evan by the R. Douro

To help make up for the recent lack of posts: Portugal! This past weekend was the first trip away from Madrid in order to satiate the basic need we all have for more adventure and exploration. Or perhaps just to have a little vacation away from vacation class. We left Friday at noon and actually time-traveled our way to Porto, arriving at 11:30am (half-hour flight plus -1hr time change). After arriving at the hostel soon thereafter, we quickly headed back out to pay our respects to the port houses which line the banks of the River Douro. Being several hundred years old, these companies have really garnered much wisdom with age: they all give out two glasses of "free samples" following tours of the facilities! The rest of that afternoon was devoted to our shared love of the sweet beverage before dinner and retiring early for the night. The next day we left the hostel fairly early and headed to the beach, detouring to visit the city’s cathedral and various other buildings covered in "azulejos" (small, traditional blue tiles). The weather was gorgeous and we wanted to stay for as long as possible, but the port began to call to Dane and I yet again, so we headed off. Experience paid off, and we were able to schmooze a port-tasting consultant into giving us a series of free drinks, some of which included delicious 40yr old tawny and even a rare 1972 vintage. Needless to say, after continual tasting for the better part of two hours, dinner afterwards was the most delicious thing we had the entire trip! The evening followed at a small bar along the river again, but this time with our new Canadian and South African friends from the hostel. Sunday morning it was back to Madrid and back to the real world that is Spain, with the lingering taste of caramel and almonds on the palette…

Dane and Evan at Real Madrid vs. Real Sporting (7-1!)

 Well, it’s been too long friends, and once again I find myself in need of apologizing for the lack of updates on the blog here. The past two weeks have been nonstop, and it appears as though the remainder of my time here in Europe is going to follow suit. Last week was the first time that we really headed out anywhere on a weeknight, since it just had to be done! On Tuesday we saw "Vicky Christina Barcelona," the new Woody Allen film, which experienced an interesting reception here in Madrid due to the rivalry between "Barca" and itself. Us exchange students, however, found it to be an accurate description of our weekend adventures and thouroughly enjoyed it, as a result. The next night was our first Real Madrid game; something we had been told is a must while in the city. Madrid crushed Sporting 7 to 1, and subsequently made headlines throughout the country -quite the first game to go to! On Thursday night, since there is no class at the University on Fridays, we headed out for tapas whilst searching for what has proven to be all-too-elusive flamenco. We ended up at the historic "El Tigre" -famous for free, whole plates of tapas with every drink- and didn’t leave until too late for any show. Oh Madrid…

Thousands of people waiting for a tight-rope walker over the Gran Via at 2am.

  What a weekend, again! To top off our welcome-week festivities, the city of Madrid decided to throw us all a little fiesta -with 3 million people! Okay, well, perhaps they didn’t organize La noche en blanco for us Universidad de Carlos III students, but it certainly did coincide well. The festivities, which occur annually here, were actually to celebrate the end of the summer and to start off the fall with a bang. The group of people I’ve been hanging out with these past two weeks decided to peruse the sights almost aimlessly, but we all still managed to have a great time. Tight-rope walkers, people dancing on the side of buildings, an all-night fake sun constructed from tanning lamps, live music on every street corner, and free drinks throughout the city all made for quite an entertaining evening. There were old couples out and about, small infants running around, large groups of teenagers, and, of course, police everywhere. The group all kept up with the crowd as long as we could, but by 6:30am it was time to head home to bed! What a night!!

  To regress a bit, orientation went quite well as a whole and I am very pleased with my schedule now. I’ve already had two days of class and now have a ton of homework, but I remain excited for the coming semester and all that it has to offer. For those concerned: I’ve enrolled in two literature classes, one for Spainish and one for "Hispanoamericano" studies; a colloquial Spanish class; and a general language/grammar class. The general language class and the colloquial both seem as though they won’t be too bad at all. The literature ones, however, have me seriously reconsidering some pre-made travel plans. I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Well after some 1-on-1 time with Nathan in Barcelona (which was pretty awesome), I am now back in Madrid and meeting up with Evan.  After Nathan took off really early in the morning on monday, I decided that the overnight train to Madrid was a financially sound way to get to Madrid.  I spent the day in barcelona, half the day was at the beach, and the other half I spent in Park Guell.  It was nice and relaxing, but I was getting antsy to get moving to Madrid.  After a long hard day of doing nothing, I arrived at the train station 30 minutes before my train left, boarded my train, and then fell asleep for 9 hours and woke up in Madrid.  Pretty sweet, huh?

So I check into my hostel and check my e-mail, and there is an e-mail from Evan which says I should call him at like 5:30ish.  I´m like, "great, gotta kill another 7 hours" so i grabbed my ipod and just started walking around madrid.  I spent a lot of time in Plaza Mayor and even more time the Parque El Retiro, and then decided to head back to my hostel and take a nap.  I woke up and met up with Evan, which was great because we had a lot of catch up on and it was nice to talk to someone again.  We met up with some of his friends, got lost, and ended up in some Irish Pub but we left really early because we were both tired.

I gotta say though, at this point in the trip I have been really apathetic towards everything.  My desire to go home is incredibly strong, and it blows me away that Nathan and Evan are going to be in Europe another 3-4 months.  28 days away from home may not seem like long at all, and when im in davis its not a big deal to be away from home that long.  But in Europe, when you´re so far away, you really start to miss the homely stuff that is absent in these large European cities.  Europe has been a great experience, probably the best I´ve ever had, but its just about time for me to go home.

Well Kevin and I had a blast in Barcelona, which I definitly didn’t think was gonna happen. We went out clubbing until 5 in the morning at this crazy amazing club, hung out some more at the beach and got nice tans, went to Park Guell (which wasnt as i thought it was gonna be, but it was still quite mind blowing and looked like the architect was on acid or something), saw the Picaso Museum which was really cool, and saw the Olympic Arena and the surrounding area, which was really nice too. 

 Im in Sunny Scunny now (scunthorpe to those not in the know haha) and am finally settled down. I unpacked everything in my own little apartment outside of my aunts house and get some winter clothing and my computer sent to me. I have no idea what will happen next, besides a job, so we shall all see!!!

Well, after an intense first weekend here in Madrid, things have finally settled down a bit for the week. I’ve met a great bunch of people, and I think that we’re all going to have a pretty good time these coming months together, only time will tell for sure! Saturday was more late-night shenanigans, followed by a day of rest in El Retiro park, and finally topped with the most delicious paella I’ve ever had, as prepared by my host Senora here. But the best story lies in Sunday evening and young Marta’s Birthday. My host Senora, Maria, has a granddaughter who turned three on Sunday. Let me tell you, this was definitely an excuse for the whole family to party! Roughly 70 people squeezed into a two bedroom apartment to celebrate, with plenty of food and drink abound. I met every. person. ever. related in some way to Maria and her son; was nearly force-fed by tons of little old ladies; and was certainly out-paced by several middle-aged men in the family as they pulled me aside to secretly imbibe in a cerveza or two (I politely had to refuse after three!). All in all it was an amazing experience that I feel I’m still recovering from over a day later. It’s truely an experience to be "immersed" like this, and I can only wonder what the coming months with Maria’s family and with my new friends has in store for me as we experience la vida espanola and the rest of Europe together!

NB: I don’t think I’m going to be able to update the blog with the same frequency while in class, and in all honesty, do you all really want to hear about me studying constantly? I will, however, try to write at least once or twice a week, and will be sure to highlight any specific adventures that may arise!

As many of you know, I’m sure, people in Madrid are known for the type of lifestyle that they lead. They wake up late, eat late, party late, and go to bed late (well, early in the morning). Last night, my first Friday in Madrid, was no exception. After a group of us from the University became official card-carrying students, we headed out for the evening in order to celebrate and get to know one-another just a little bit better. I brought Manuel, my "hermano" from my homestay, with me to meet everyone. All in all, 20 or so of us headed out to a series of bars and discotecas (similar to clubs, but a bit louder) to enjoy the night. After a little adventure, we didn’t get back home until 4:00am and woke up today at 2pm! Apparently, we’re all fitting into this lifestyle quite well -I just don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep up for! We’re already discussing when we can "hacer un puente" (make a bridge between holidays, as the spaniards do) as to obtain a few four day weekends for travel here or there, but these things aren’t so straight forward quite yet as we don’t have our academic schedules. Today is just spent relaxing before another night of the Madrid lifestyle, and then tomorrow is the "day of rest" when we all go for picnics in the park or, since tomorrow is my house mother’s granddaughter’s birthday, for a little fiesta.

 School starts a week from Monday, so I have quite a bit of free time. If anyone’s interested, I did buy a cellphone here which gives me free incoming calls and would love to hear from you all! Just email me for the number. Adios!