Spanish cell:
635 437 610
I think the country code is 34...
Address where you may send me love letters (NOT packages please. Ahem, mother):
Calle Jaime el Conquistador, 27, 2º Izqda
28045 Madrid
Monday, January 30, 2012
Logistics. Location: Madrid
I realized that I never put my phone number and address here so...
Spanish cell:
635 437 610
I think the country code is 34...
Address where you may send me love letters (NOT packages please. Ahem, mother):
Spanish cell:
635 437 610
I think the country code is 34...
Address where you may send me love letters (NOT packages please. Ahem, mother):
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Last week. Location: Madrid.
Things have been pretty busy over the past week between trying to figure out my schedule and orientation and having a nasty cold. I still don't really know my class schedule which is stressful and I'm pretty frustrated with the bureaucracy I have to deal with as a foreign student. This past week one set of the UAM classes started so I just had psychopathology. So far the class seems interesting and I already made a couple Spanish friends. The problem is that the class is 7 hours a week (including 2 days starting at 9 AM at UAM which is an hour away from me...) and I'll only be getting credit from Tufts for a lower level elective class of 3 hours. So I have to decide if it's worth it to me/see if I can get into any other classes still. This week my program classes start and then next week my sociology class starts at UAM. I'm also waiting to start dance as soon as I feel better... I guess it's good that I'm getting eased into it all but at the same time, it's hard not having a routine yet. My life here still feels very much in the beginning stages because of it.
The element of consistency that I am really happy with still, though, is my host family. After just a week I feel totally at home here with them and they treat me like a real part of their family. Today, for example, my host grandmother noticed that I had a hole in my jeans when she was washing them and insisted she mend it for me. I think she is going back to her house outside Madrid sometime this week. She's super sweet and also kind of hilarious (a moment that comes to mind is Rebeca trying to teach her to say "MacDonald's" for like 10 minutes. "Mal-donad? Mathhh-donald?" love the Spanish lisp...). The only issue with having her around is that, as a true Spanish lady, she likes to have the TV on every second that she is awake. So there's always some stupid reality TV show blaring in the background, which is something that I am not at all used to or fond of. The girls moved back in today and I spent the day hanging out with them and Eva's friends from work. It'll be great to have them in the house again for this month, but after this week, I'm not at all worried about being in the house with Eva alone. She's great too and easy to talk to.
I'm excited right now too about having Spanish friends. It was really easy to meet some of the girls in my psychopathology class because they are all so helpful while I'm attempting to navigate the unfamiliar Spanish education system. In addition, my host cousin actually called the other night to see if I could go out with her and her friends. I guess she got so excited about having me around that she was even telling Eva that she wants her family to have an American student too. Unfortunately I had plans with the program when she was hoping to bring me out with her, but I'm looking forward to spending time with her too. Then Friday night, we had a "fiesta de intercambios" with the program, where we were able to meet a bunch of Spanish students from UAM. Carmen, my pen pal was there... She's very nice but I ended up finding other students that I connected with more. Hopefully we'll all keep in touch.
In my free time, when I'm not with my host family, I've been trying to do some cultural activities and explore various neighborhoods. I went to the Palacio Real the other day with some friends which was cool and quite a throw-back since I was there 4 years ago with my high school program and then-boyfriend...
Okay headed to bed now quite early in an attempt to get myself better... first day of grammar class tomorrow! I know I'm the nerdiest, but I'm sooo excited to review my Spanish grammar. The last time I studied grammar was Sophomore year of high school and I could totally use a refresher on subjunctive.
Un beso,
Anjuli
The element of consistency that I am really happy with still, though, is my host family. After just a week I feel totally at home here with them and they treat me like a real part of their family. Today, for example, my host grandmother noticed that I had a hole in my jeans when she was washing them and insisted she mend it for me. I think she is going back to her house outside Madrid sometime this week. She's super sweet and also kind of hilarious (a moment that comes to mind is Rebeca trying to teach her to say "MacDonald's" for like 10 minutes. "Mal-donad? Mathhh-donald?" love the Spanish lisp...). The only issue with having her around is that, as a true Spanish lady, she likes to have the TV on every second that she is awake. So there's always some stupid reality TV show blaring in the background, which is something that I am not at all used to or fond of. The girls moved back in today and I spent the day hanging out with them and Eva's friends from work. It'll be great to have them in the house again for this month, but after this week, I'm not at all worried about being in the house with Eva alone. She's great too and easy to talk to.
Carlota's profile picture on Facebook of the two of us
I'm excited right now too about having Spanish friends. It was really easy to meet some of the girls in my psychopathology class because they are all so helpful while I'm attempting to navigate the unfamiliar Spanish education system. In addition, my host cousin actually called the other night to see if I could go out with her and her friends. I guess she got so excited about having me around that she was even telling Eva that she wants her family to have an American student too. Unfortunately I had plans with the program when she was hoping to bring me out with her, but I'm looking forward to spending time with her too. Then Friday night, we had a "fiesta de intercambios" with the program, where we were able to meet a bunch of Spanish students from UAM. Carmen, my pen pal was there... She's very nice but I ended up finding other students that I connected with more. Hopefully we'll all keep in touch.
My friend Arielle with our intercambios!
My pen-pal Carmen, me and Lucas
In my free time, when I'm not with my host family, I've been trying to do some cultural activities and explore various neighborhoods. I went to the Palacio Real the other day with some friends which was cool and quite a throw-back since I was there 4 years ago with my high school program and then-boyfriend...
The Palacio Real
View from one of the palace's loopholes
Veronica, me and Olivia getting tapas in La Latina
Yesterday the program took us all to El Escorial to see the monastery there, which was created by King Felipe II in the 16th century. The monument includes a beautiful cathedral, an incredible library, the tombs of the kings of Spain and a huuuuuge monastery. It was an interesting visit and nice to see something outside of the city. Unfortunately I couldn't get a lot of pictures inside, but here's one of the outside.
El monasterio
With Olivia and Arielle at El Escorial
Okay headed to bed now quite early in an attempt to get myself better... first day of grammar class tomorrow! I know I'm the nerdiest, but I'm sooo excited to review my Spanish grammar. The last time I studied grammar was Sophomore year of high school and I could totally use a refresher on subjunctive.
Un beso,
Anjuli
Friday, January 20, 2012
Un mundo. Location: Madrid.
Today I went with my program to the Prado and the Reina Sofia. Just quickly, here's my favorite painting we saw. It's called Un Mundo, by Angeles Santos. She was 17 when she painted it!!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
One week in. Location: Madrid
This week has gone by so quickly it's crazy. But at the same time I feel like I've known my host family forever. They really have been the best part of this so far (not that I've really seen other important parts like extracurriculars, classes, etc.). I feel so lucky. Rebeca is so sweet and interesting to talk to. It's great having her around because just like her mom, she does everything she can to make me feel welcome. I'm become a lot more integrated into the family and it's obvious to me when I do things like help Carlota straighten her hair or when their abuelita forces dessert on me and the girls at dinner (not so far from what my own grandfather does...). Carlota is totally insane. She's such a crazy teenager and wont stop talking ever. She goes on and on and on and by the end of her tonterías (the silly things she says), you can't even understand what she's saying because she's so excited and giggling so much. For example, tonight she went on a rant of all these jokes she heard, telling one after another after another until her abuelita and mother could barely stand it. Their abuelita is also super cute. She clearly cares so much about how I'm doing and was really excited the other night to teach me how to make tortilla española.
The other night we had a big family dinner when their cousins came over. My familia is very into making fun of each other and so my host mom and sisters decided to play a trick on one of the cousins. She gets really nervous when she has to speak English so they had me pretend to not speak any Spanish for a very uncomfortable 15 minutes... she struggled quite a bit with me in answering me questions in English while her family watched with joy and amusement. It was great to meet her (she's 18) and her older brother (around 23). The universities are all in exams right now, but both of them were excited to take me out with them and their friends when school calms down. It's so great to meet young people and make these connections.
Last night I went with Rebeca and some people from my program to watch the Barca vs. Real Madrid futbol game in a bar. It was fun to see it all together and experience how the city becomes when there's a game. The streets were silent except for every few minutes the screams coming from all of the totally packed bars where people were watching the game. My host family is super into Real. (They lost). After the game Rebeca and I talked about more real things for the first time, like her parents' separation. It sounds extra hard for them as they spend one month in each house and then 5 days in the middle of each month with the other person. They're always moving and there isn't even really room for them at their father's place. I'll miss them a lot when they're not here this semester, although I do enjoying talking to just Eva too.
My orientation continues to be fairly useless...but at least now I have classes! At the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid I'm taking psychopathology (eek) and the sociology of new technologies. I might be the only person on the program taking 2 classes at Autonoma and it kinda sucks because I have to be there Monday-Thursday and at like 9 AM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays :( Oh well. At the program I'm planning on taking the Advanced Spanish Grammar Class since it's been like 5 years since I've reviewed grammar and Sketchbook, a class similar to Paris Collage in which I'll go around the city drawing various things. This class is much more based in studio art than in history, though, so it should be kinda fun and hopefully relaxing. In addition, I'm hoping to dance a ton (get back into Hip-hop, maybe some Flamenco if I'm feeling inspired), take some yoga classes and volunteer somewhere. I'm still working with the program to find a good volunteer opportunity... something in criminal justice or domestic violence or reproductive rights. But either way I might teach an English conversation class at the University so I can meet more people there. We'll see! I'm excited to get back in shape and be busy with lots of fun things.
I've been trying to take more pictures than last semester, as one of my new semester resolutions. So here they are...
The other night we had a big family dinner when their cousins came over. My familia is very into making fun of each other and so my host mom and sisters decided to play a trick on one of the cousins. She gets really nervous when she has to speak English so they had me pretend to not speak any Spanish for a very uncomfortable 15 minutes... she struggled quite a bit with me in answering me questions in English while her family watched with joy and amusement. It was great to meet her (she's 18) and her older brother (around 23). The universities are all in exams right now, but both of them were excited to take me out with them and their friends when school calms down. It's so great to meet young people and make these connections.
Last night I went with Rebeca and some people from my program to watch the Barca vs. Real Madrid futbol game in a bar. It was fun to see it all together and experience how the city becomes when there's a game. The streets were silent except for every few minutes the screams coming from all of the totally packed bars where people were watching the game. My host family is super into Real. (They lost). After the game Rebeca and I talked about more real things for the first time, like her parents' separation. It sounds extra hard for them as they spend one month in each house and then 5 days in the middle of each month with the other person. They're always moving and there isn't even really room for them at their father's place. I'll miss them a lot when they're not here this semester, although I do enjoying talking to just Eva too.
My orientation continues to be fairly useless...but at least now I have classes! At the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid I'm taking psychopathology (eek) and the sociology of new technologies. I might be the only person on the program taking 2 classes at Autonoma and it kinda sucks because I have to be there Monday-Thursday and at like 9 AM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays :( Oh well. At the program I'm planning on taking the Advanced Spanish Grammar Class since it's been like 5 years since I've reviewed grammar and Sketchbook, a class similar to Paris Collage in which I'll go around the city drawing various things. This class is much more based in studio art than in history, though, so it should be kinda fun and hopefully relaxing. In addition, I'm hoping to dance a ton (get back into Hip-hop, maybe some Flamenco if I'm feeling inspired), take some yoga classes and volunteer somewhere. I'm still working with the program to find a good volunteer opportunity... something in criminal justice or domestic violence or reproductive rights. But either way I might teach an English conversation class at the University so I can meet more people there. We'll see! I'm excited to get back in shape and be busy with lots of fun things.
I've been trying to take more pictures than last semester, as one of my new semester resolutions. So here they are...
El Retiro Park (Sorta like the Central Park of Madrid)
The view from my daily bus ride to school... not bad, huh?
The functioning post office, which I also pass every day on my way to school
The bar where we watched the game
The National Library which is just 5 minutes walking from school
The front of the National Library.
Enough for now. Hasta luego!
Besos,
Anjuli
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Aquí estoy! Location: Madrid.
I'm here! In Madrid! Yesterday and today I had (useless) orientation in the hotel where we stayed last night. I still haven't seen any of Madrid at all, but I suppose that will change tomorrow when we have a tour of parts of the city and see El Retiro park. Yesterday we had a lot of eating crappy food and then waiting around jetlagged in between meals... and then today we had some info sessions about random things. The good news is that even though I'm a little disappointed with the orientation so far, the staff is super adorable and helpful. They have a bunch of kids from Autonoma (the university where I'll be studying) helping out with the program, which is great. One of them studies psychology and was super enthusiastic about helping me pick my classes in the department and get through the semester in general. I'm looking forward to meeting more Spaniards in classes too. Unlike in Paris, I feel a lot more comfortable right from the get-go meeting natives because I can actually express my personality. My Spanish has returned! Not 100% yet at all but enough to feel like I can be myself and enough for people to ask me if I have family in Latin America. Guess I gotta work on my Spanish lisp...!
I like the people on my program a lot and it's super different since they're all from Tufts (or Skidmore, which seems to have a similar student profile). I'm glad to have more like-minded people around me. An immediate difference I noticed was that when the program staff recommended we speak Spanish together, everyone actually did it! There was still some English in the room, but the fact that people were even trying EVER was so different than with CIEE. My roommate last night was a friend of mine from freshman year, which was great because I got to catch up with her and have a familiar face when I felt a little out of sorts. I'm excited to make some lasting friendships here, especially since my return to Tufts will be a bit challenging after a year abroad.
At 4 today, all of our host families picked us up from the hotel and brought us to their respective homes to move in. I LOVE my host family. Seriously, couldn't be happier about them right now. From maps I can tell I'm a little far from the center of Madrid and from the university, so we'll see how much of a pain that becomes. And there isn't a ton in my neighborhood because it's very residential and socioeconomically diverse. My host family is wonderful, though, and they're doing so much to make me feel comfortable. Eva, my host mother works at an insurance company. She's feisty, youthful and warm and has a really great relationship with her daughters, one that reminds me a lot of my relationship with my own mom. They tease each other and hang out together and seem to talk about everything. Rebecca, my older host sister is very laid-back and sweet. She's not quite a tomboy, but she's very casual and hard to understand with her thick madrileño accent and her usage of a lot of slang. Carlota, my younger host sister is adorable and a total teenager without the attitude. She loves shopping and texting and her mom and sister make fun of her constantly for how much of a girly-girl she is. I just got in bed a few minutes ago after spending hours with them over dinner and then just hanging out and talking and laughing. I'm so glad I requested having more than one person in the house because it's great to see all their interactions and be a part of their jokes and whatnot. There's also no lack of conversation and they do a good job of including me, even if I'm just soaking in the language instead of participating. It's great to already feel so comfortable here with them, especially because for the next 4 and a half months, I'll be spending a ton of time with them. They made me their version of Mexican food for dinner (hilariously enough, Doritos with a tiny bit of melted cheese on them) plus some chicken and salad. My host mom has been very clear with me that I should tell her when I like or don't like something and that it's no problem at all for her to cook me chicken or fish whenever they eat meats I don't eat. Also, they like spicy food, especially pimientos de padrón :))))))))
Already the differences between Spain and France are too great to count. From the policy of leaving doors open to the custom of wearing slippers in the house to the warmth that the Spanish people I've met so far exude from the first minute of meeting them, I can tell this experience will be very different. Not necessarily better, because I miss Paris a lot and I grew to really love the culture there, but a nice change of pace a the same time. It also feels phenomenal to speak Spanish. I don't know if it's because it's my first language love or if it's actually because of the language itself but I just love the way it feels in my mouth and I truly enjoy speaking it. I'm excited at the prospect of becoming fluent this semester. I just hope I don't lose my French now in the process!
Okay I should sleep now. Tomorrow we are having breakfast all together with the program students, staff and all the host families. The rest of the day will be spent finally exploring the city. I'll continue updating and hopefully remember to take some photos...
Besos,
Anjuli
I like the people on my program a lot and it's super different since they're all from Tufts (or Skidmore, which seems to have a similar student profile). I'm glad to have more like-minded people around me. An immediate difference I noticed was that when the program staff recommended we speak Spanish together, everyone actually did it! There was still some English in the room, but the fact that people were even trying EVER was so different than with CIEE. My roommate last night was a friend of mine from freshman year, which was great because I got to catch up with her and have a familiar face when I felt a little out of sorts. I'm excited to make some lasting friendships here, especially since my return to Tufts will be a bit challenging after a year abroad.
At 4 today, all of our host families picked us up from the hotel and brought us to their respective homes to move in. I LOVE my host family. Seriously, couldn't be happier about them right now. From maps I can tell I'm a little far from the center of Madrid and from the university, so we'll see how much of a pain that becomes. And there isn't a ton in my neighborhood because it's very residential and socioeconomically diverse. My host family is wonderful, though, and they're doing so much to make me feel comfortable. Eva, my host mother works at an insurance company. She's feisty, youthful and warm and has a really great relationship with her daughters, one that reminds me a lot of my relationship with my own mom. They tease each other and hang out together and seem to talk about everything. Rebecca, my older host sister is very laid-back and sweet. She's not quite a tomboy, but she's very casual and hard to understand with her thick madrileño accent and her usage of a lot of slang. Carlota, my younger host sister is adorable and a total teenager without the attitude. She loves shopping and texting and her mom and sister make fun of her constantly for how much of a girly-girl she is. I just got in bed a few minutes ago after spending hours with them over dinner and then just hanging out and talking and laughing. I'm so glad I requested having more than one person in the house because it's great to see all their interactions and be a part of their jokes and whatnot. There's also no lack of conversation and they do a good job of including me, even if I'm just soaking in the language instead of participating. It's great to already feel so comfortable here with them, especially because for the next 4 and a half months, I'll be spending a ton of time with them. They made me their version of Mexican food for dinner (hilariously enough, Doritos with a tiny bit of melted cheese on them) plus some chicken and salad. My host mom has been very clear with me that I should tell her when I like or don't like something and that it's no problem at all for her to cook me chicken or fish whenever they eat meats I don't eat. Also, they like spicy food, especially pimientos de padrón :))))))))
Already the differences between Spain and France are too great to count. From the policy of leaving doors open to the custom of wearing slippers in the house to the warmth that the Spanish people I've met so far exude from the first minute of meeting them, I can tell this experience will be very different. Not necessarily better, because I miss Paris a lot and I grew to really love the culture there, but a nice change of pace a the same time. It also feels phenomenal to speak Spanish. I don't know if it's because it's my first language love or if it's actually because of the language itself but I just love the way it feels in my mouth and I truly enjoy speaking it. I'm excited at the prospect of becoming fluent this semester. I just hope I don't lose my French now in the process!
Okay I should sleep now. Tomorrow we are having breakfast all together with the program students, staff and all the host families. The rest of the day will be spent finally exploring the city. I'll continue updating and hopefully remember to take some photos...
Besos,
Anjuli
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Coming and going. Location: Brooklyn.
It's been a long time since I've posted because I've been at home and being home was honestly pretty busy. My departure from Paris was sad as I really felt connected to my neighborhood, my host family and the pace of my life there by the end. My host family was super sweet the day I left and my host brother drove me to the airport and said good bye. It was hard to leave a place feeling so in tune with it and not having an idea of when I'll come back. Hal and I tried to say good bye to some of the people that were important to us while we were there (including our favorite bartender who came over with lots of free goodies on our last visit). I'm so jealous that he was able to tell them all that he'll be back, even just for a moment to say hi this summer when he returns to France with his family. That said, I know I will be back some day and I hope that then at the very least, my host family and I will be able to catch up over dinner.
My almost 3 weeks at home were really wonderful. It was so great to see my family and friends. Leaving this time was one of the hardest because of how much I enjoyed my time there. Even though I leave tomorrow evening for Madrid, I'm still not really thinking about the fact that I'm about to move to Spain. It's hard to judge whether or not it was such a good idea to do 2 semesters abroad in a row like this because as much as I know that these are incredible opportunities, I'm still processing my last semester a bit and sort of wish I had more time for that. But I can't at all complain. Adventures abound...
Right now I'm in Brooklyn staying with Hal and his family. It's been so nice to see them and New York again. We've been busy these past few days between seeing Porgy and Bess on Broadway to having dinner with his grandparents to trying to squeeze in visits with my (now) many friends in New York. Yesterday I went to the DA's office to visit the Victim Services Unit. It was really great to see the people I used to work with and revisit the idea of staying there in a more permanent position. We'll see where I end up eventually. I guess for now I should just focus a little more on what's immediately next...
The exciting news is that I got information about my host family already! I'll be staying with a woman in her 40s (Eva) and her two daughters who are 15 (Rebeca) and 18 (Carlota). I don't know a whole lot about them yet except that they like to cook, which is a good sign since they'll be making me 2/3 of my meals. For those of you who enjoy google maps as much as my boyfriend my address there will be Calle Jaime el Conquistador, 27, 2º A28045 Madrid...(DON'T send mail or anything to this address though) So weird that I'll be moving in with them in just a couple of days. This week when I get there apparently we'll spend some time discussing host families and doing ice breakers living in a hotel and then this weekend we'll meet our families and move. Orientation with Tufts in Madrid is 2 full weeks after that. I'm looking forward to being with a program that makes such an effort to get me settled.
Okay, off for now to enjoy my last night in the US for 5 months...
Love,
Anj
My almost 3 weeks at home were really wonderful. It was so great to see my family and friends. Leaving this time was one of the hardest because of how much I enjoyed my time there. Even though I leave tomorrow evening for Madrid, I'm still not really thinking about the fact that I'm about to move to Spain. It's hard to judge whether or not it was such a good idea to do 2 semesters abroad in a row like this because as much as I know that these are incredible opportunities, I'm still processing my last semester a bit and sort of wish I had more time for that. But I can't at all complain. Adventures abound...
Right now I'm in Brooklyn staying with Hal and his family. It's been so nice to see them and New York again. We've been busy these past few days between seeing Porgy and Bess on Broadway to having dinner with his grandparents to trying to squeeze in visits with my (now) many friends in New York. Yesterday I went to the DA's office to visit the Victim Services Unit. It was really great to see the people I used to work with and revisit the idea of staying there in a more permanent position. We'll see where I end up eventually. I guess for now I should just focus a little more on what's immediately next...
The exciting news is that I got information about my host family already! I'll be staying with a woman in her 40s (Eva) and her two daughters who are 15 (Rebeca) and 18 (Carlota). I don't know a whole lot about them yet except that they like to cook, which is a good sign since they'll be making me 2/3 of my meals. For those of you who enjoy google maps as much as my boyfriend my address there will be Calle Jaime el Conquistador, 27, 2º A28045 Madrid...(DON'T send mail or anything to this address though) So weird that I'll be moving in with them in just a couple of days. This week when I get there apparently we'll spend some time discussing host families and doing ice breakers living in a hotel and then this weekend we'll meet our families and move. Orientation with Tufts in Madrid is 2 full weeks after that. I'm looking forward to being with a program that makes such an effort to get me settled.
Okay, off for now to enjoy my last night in the US for 5 months...
Love,
Anj
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