For my introduction to music class, we have to attend four concerts and turn in reflections on the performance as a part of our grade. It just dawned on me that I could just as well share them here. Why not, right? Keep in mind that they are a bit academic sounding because I didn’t feel like re-writing them for my devout blog audience. Forgive me. I have them posted on a separate page because they are out of their chronological location.

My fourth concert is at the end of this month with my favorite violinist, Nigel Kennedy. There was quite an ordeal purchasing the ticket, but that’s all solved. Watch for my post on the performance later! And, I might add, he’s known for being a bit radical with his interpretations and approach to classical music. Note the mohawk, frumpy suit, and if you’re really good you can catch the subtleties in his style of playing the classics in, for example, this performance.

Last Wednesday I submitted some photos into our school-sponsored contest. I spent more time than I liked to admit choosing the 5 we were allowed to submit and writing their corresponding captions, but my fingers are crossed. There are cash prizes, but I would be more than happy with just having the honor of someone else appreciating my photos as more than memories of a semester abroad, especially because I am so new at this whole photo-capturing business. I have included the descriptions I submitted in the caption section for each photo (you have to click on the link to get to the photo). In a similar vein, I also submitted to the school’s glossy-paged literary magazine and I think the editor confirmed that I will have some photos in the Spring edition.

Bocadillo Break

Garlic Merchant

Wooden Staircase in Torre degli Asinelli

Flag Bearer

Semana Santa de Cuenca

Update: Second Prize for Garlic Merchant!

I was home for a few hours, recovering from the inevitable backlog of things to think about from traveling when the son of my hosts popped his head in my room to ask how my trip was. Before I could even respond with my broken Spanish about the fine treatment I had in Brussels, a little fuzzy, chirpping duckling jumped out from behind the slightly ajar door. You got it, a duckling.

He was kayaking somewhere on Saturday and saw it alone, so he and his grandfather decided to take it home with the intention of bringing it to their farm in the pueblo after it got a bit bigger. Oswaldo (or was it Waldo? their accents sometimes get me) jumped all around the house and followed the son everywhere he went like Mary and her lambs or the movie Fly Away Home. Despite the family’s initial misgivings and the jealousy of the dog, he was so adorable they couldn’t turn him away.

Sadly, when I came back from school yesterday to get a good picture of the new family member, we found out that Oswaldo didn’t make it through the afternoon. Three days of bouncing off beds and sofas to follow the son, stealing the attention of every camera and cellphone in the house, and living in a cardboard box that he could nearly jump through the handle of–all on a diet of bread crumbs soaked in water–I think he probably had a bit too much excitement in his life. What a cutie, but some things just aren’t supposed to be inside.

D.E.P. (R.I.P. in Spanish)
All who wish may visit his grave sight in the park near our house.

My professor pointed out in class the other day that the US is practically one of the only–if not the only–nation with the right of happiness written in its official governing documents.  I hadn’t ever really thought about that.  Of course, she was kind of mocking our country, but also envious and trying to get us to understand how lucky we are.

It’s not like our depression rates are lower than other countries’ or that the rest of the world sulks their entire life.  My experience abroad assures me that non-Americans do not have trouble enjoying themselves.  Since people feel entitled to being happy they get angry or think something is wrong with them when that’s not the case, perhaps ironically leading them down a path to unhappiness and depression.  Just something to think about.

I am a self-declared traveler. Ignore my big camera for I am just trying to share and remember your world in mine. Please do not stare at my red hair or pale skin. Don’t fool yourself into thinking I don’t see you turning your head after you pass me on the street. I promise I am not here to check something off a must-see list in some big book I worship in my free time. What’s that you say about your number of stars? I know nothing. Your signs of authentic this or traditional that don’t blind me into believing these are the real things in your world. No, I know better. I look into your face and listen to your stories when our paths cross. I am not afraid to wander away from the English or get lost in your world and ask (or perhaps gesture) for directions. That’s right, I am a traveler not a tourist.

Sometimes I take walks just to look at signs to see if I understand them and to look at the way phrases are structured (because it’s not always a direct translation from English to Spanish for it to make complete sense).  I like to see if I can get the gist of a conversation from only catching a few words as I walk past an elderly couple or group of friends.  The same goes for cellphone conversations on the street or in stores.  They’re all little games I play with myself to test my language skills and I do it more for something to be proud of than to be nosy.  How much can I understand a Spaniard speaking Spanish normally and without having to slow their speech so a non-native can understand? 

I am hoping that words and phrases I pick up in this inconspicuous manner will infiltrate into my brain and somehow make me smarter; perhaps even help me explain myself the next time I find myself waiting confusedly outside a gorgeous, must-see basilica with my big-old camera in hands when a funeral parade begins.  (So much for trying to blend into the crowd and minding my own business.)

Today marks one-month in Spain. My does time fly! I’ve certainly learned a lot and experienced some beautiful moments, but there is still more to come! Some of it has been planned (and I’m not going to spoil the excitement of it by telling you about it now), but most of it is just the daily encounters and adventures of living abroad. So keep reading to find out more and, as always, I love all the comments and emails!

My dad pointed out to me that not everyone is familiar with how blogs work, so I thought I would do a quick post explaining it.  From time to time, I will write a post (like the one you are reading) and you can read it one of a number of ways:

-Read each post as an email.  Every time I write you will get a message in your inbox from me with the text of the post and a link to view it online (so you can see the blog itself and any pictures I included).  To ’subsribe’ to this feature, just type your email in the box on the right (as seen in the picture below) and follow the directions the system will email you in order to confirm that you’re a real person (and not an online bot).  This is the easiest way to stay up-to-date with me.

 -Check the homepage (www.hablasalyssa.com) almost as often as you inhale and exhale to view everything I’ve written, with the most recent post at the top and scrolling down to catch-up on anything you missed (though you would have to have a huge lung capacity to miss anything).

And another note, I will always post pictures of where I’ve been before I write a post about it and sometimes I won’t even write about it (like my trip to Madrid’s giant flea market, El Rastro) because the story is told through the pictures and their captions; so don’t be afraid to check out my pictures from time to time.

I hope this helps and, of course, email me if you ever have any problems with the site.

Today I was made fun of for learning too quickly. My host mom’s parents came over today (I think they come every Sunday, but I’m not sure) and commented that I could speak much better than last weekend. “Last time she didn’t say anything and I don’t think she understood what we were saying. Now she’s speaking so well. What are you feeding her? She’s learning so fast! Watch out for that one!”

It is true that my ears are getting a bit more attuned to the quick, Spanish tongue and heavy accent (or is it a lisp?) and my head is starting to think and process things a bit more efficiently, but I still find myself lost in conversations. It doesn’t help when the person I’m speaking with starts using some vocabulary word I don’t know or suddenly changes the subject or, better yet, makes some sort of sarcastic side-comment. And then, when I’m trying to say something, I have to parse together my thoughts in English, think about how to say it in Spanish (a slow process) and realize that I don’t know how to say a key word so I have to distract myself and try to describe that word only to get there and to have completely lost my train of thought or to have changed the subject in the process.

When I do think I’ve communicated the word I want (with lots of gestures and pointing), the person will tell me it and see if I know it (usually I don’t), but the problem is that I can’t remember it or learn it very easily without seeing it written done. The way a word is said is often very different than the spelling and I have to visualize these things.

I get by with the most interesting sentence structures and amidst an onslaught of new vocabulary words. I’ve translated myself after I’ve said a few things and, my goodness, I sound like a buffoon. Trying to say “I went to the store” could come out as “She will go to the…[big pause filled with struggling facial expressions and spurts of the beginning of words that are in English]…that,” with me pointing out the door and in the general direction of where I came or at the logo on my bag.

With such a display of gibberish, it’s really amazing anyone who doesn’t speak English understands me. (There are always the SLU kids in my classes to speak and “practice” my English with.) So imagine my surprise when I heard her complement today.

And then at dinner, my host dad (who wasn’t here for the aforementioned conversation) exclaimed, “She learned how to cut the orange! Like a professional, look at her go.” (Rough translation, of course.)

Our dessert is always fruit and there’s this special way they eat their oranges (the big kind, not the clementine/mandarine ones) so that you don’t eat any peel and your hands don’t get all sticky, all the while managing to eat it politely with a fork and knife on a little plate that’s never big enough for all the peels. It’s kind of awkward. Try it, if you don’t believe me. You get a knife, fork, softball sized orange, and a saucer (only fingers are allowed for one step)–go!

“You’re going to have to slow down,” my host sister tells me. “You’ve got four months here. Don’t learn it all at once or you will have nothing left to do.”

Next up: Alyssa learning and memorizing a few traditional Spanish foods like tortilla espanola. I was told on Monday, in fact, I can begin that lesson. Let the learning begin continue!

Below is an overview of things I imagine people would be curious about and I will frequently refer to. I will update and add to this post as I see fit. Use the comments to tell me what I’m missing!

Classes
I will be taking a break from my normal Computer Science and Psychology courses this semester, focusing on knocking out some elective requirements. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, either, if I could get better grades than normal to help my not-so-nice GPA.

Two are in Spanish (which I hadn’t spoken since junior year in high school until I took a Spanish conversation class this past Fall). I’m hoping that the immersion will help make those two bearable. They will most certainly be a challenge, but I think most of my peers are study-abroad students and in a similar situation.
-Spanish Culture & Civilization (14 students enrolled): For this one we will be traveling to Andalucia and Asturias, Cantabria, and Leon–two separate trips. Look out for posts on those in the coming months.
-Introduction to Spanish Literature (12 students enrolled)

Two are about Spain, but taught in English.
-The Music of Spain (6 enrolled)
-Art in Latin America (3 enrolled): I’ve never been in a class this small!

And I’m really excited about this last one.
-Approaching the Arts (15 enrolled): This one will include trips to concerts throughout Madrid. Nothing like good old first-hand experience.

Host family
My family lives about 2km from campus (so I can walk, it’s about 20 minutes) and near the Moncloa Metro stop. They have 2 kids (Isabel-18 and Santiago-14), a dog (Lula who likes to steal wrappers from my trashcan and watch my shadow on the wall like it’s a movie), and I have three two other housemates: 2 1 (the other moved to a different house with more of her friends from home) from SLU’s home campus and one from St. Joe’s (in Philadelphia).

What I Packed
I am armed with:
-A new SLR (aka “real”) digital camera, thanks to lots of saving and a combination of Birthday and Christmas money from my family. I have two different lenses, too.
-Oodles of medical supplies
-My favorite granola bars
-Mini Swedish Fish, Cinnamon FireBalls, and one pack of gum (reported to be not very good in Spain, but I decided to go cold turkey and not stock up on gum)
-A host gift (book with pictures of Philly that I can use to tell stories about where I’m from and they can flip through if they ever want to remember me)
-Homemade swirled chocolate chip chocolate cookies because, though the chocolate and desserts themselves in Spain are supposed to be way better than ours, cookies are just not the same. I hear that it’s also tricky to find some of the main ingredients of homemade ones—like brown sugar—so I took up the suggestion from one veteran SLU student to bring them to share with my family. (Update: The family loved these. Santi ate three within 10 minutes of me giving them the gift, the third one done ever so manipulativly and against his parents’ strict No’s…what a 14-year-old boy.)
-My trusty laptop and an interesting contraption to convert voltage/power.
-USB phone for Skype calls to the States.
-iPod
-Pile of Europe and Spain travel books. Hopefully they will come to some use. If not, I just discovered wikitravel.
-Not very much clothes, as I didn’t have a lot of room and it’s a great reason to make sure I look like a Spaniard (though, I think the red hair will be enough of a giveaway).
-My teddy bear from my brother, fully accessorized with a University of Michigan t-shirt.
-New glasses (due to unforeseen circumstances at the lab shipping my lenses, this was not realized…what luck I have) from my most recent appointment. Supposedly I’m only 20/30, but I feel much more blind than that walking around. I guess it would help if I actually wear my glasses.
-Shoes: new everyday sneakers (thanks to UPS, I’ve now got an urgent mission in Spain), running shoes, old pair of shoes (for the hiking orientation trip), slippers, and flip-flops.
-Odds and ends for personal products. They’re very expensive in Spain, but I’m intentionally going to run out of a number of items so I will be forced to clean myself and smell like a Spaniard.
-My Nalgene water bottle
-My beloved electronic Spanish-English translator.

And I fit all of this in one rolling dufflebag, a backpack, and medium rolling suitcase. We’ll see what I end up with when I return.