A Little Overdue

Well I planned on this being done a while ago but final papers and presentations got in the way unfortunately. A few exciting things have happened since my last blog post. The most exciting was I turned 20 years old in Valencia, Spain!! This trip was a blast! It was extremely nice weather (enough to get some sun at the beach) and the city was gorgeous. I saw the incredible Science Museum and Aquarium, and had a huge plate of paella that was about as big as my torso!! Did a lot of walking and saw a lot of the city! It was definitely nice to spend my last trip in Valencia for my birthday! I also got some great birthday cards (shout out to the Aunt Heather, Uncle Todd, Aunt Noelle, Uncle Mike, Aunt Rose, Uncle Greg, Gregory, and Gams and Grandad!!)! And of course the MASSIVE birthday package from my awesome family filled with goodies!! Definitely unexpected but TOTALLY awesome! This past weekend I saw my last soccer match this semester at Atletico Madrid as they took on Real Madrid. It was an incredible match and the atmosphere was incredible especially because they celebrated the stadium's 110th anniversary! Today has been incredibly cold and rainy but I did go to my last day of classes here in Spain! It's truly incredible how amazing this semester has been. I've met so many incredible people both international students and American students, experienced an extremely rich culture, and had the time of my life. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of that or supported me. I am always grateful for you all.

My Excellent Adventure with My Dad!! (Semana Santa)

Hello! I'm sorry this is such a late post but this week had me stressed with two exams and a research paper. But here is the update on my Spring Break (Semana Santa here in Spain)! My dad flew over for his first time to Spain! I picked him up from the Metro/Airport on Saturday morning and we found our hotel very close to Gran Via. They let us check in early and we took a short siesta before beginning our first day of exploring. We found Plaza de España, el Templo de Debod, and an awesome place for tapas: Vienna. We sat and talked for hours drinking coffee and eating grilled vegetables. I also showed him the Royal Palace, the Cathedral, and a little Spanish restaurant where we ate WAY too much food. We started our 4-day bus tour with a stop in Cordoba where we saw the old Cordoba inside the city walls then the Cathedral of Cordoba. Its incredible how massive this place was!! And shared by 3 different religions too! It really blows my mind how they all got along peacefully. After a couple of hours in Cordoba we continued our bus trip to Sevilla. This city was incredibly gorgeous and my favorite of the 4-day tour. The weather was perfect too! My dad and I admired places like Plaza de España, Alcazar, and even the Sevilla Bullfighting Stadium. The amount of history and culture in these cities was more than I have ever seen in the United States. My dad and I said multiple times, "You can't find stuff like this in the States." I'm so glad my dad could come and experience Spain for the first time with me because it really is a whole other world. We spent one more day in Granada which was also incredibly nice and we saw the Alhambra. If you don't know what the Alhambra is, it was originally created as a Muslim fortress in the 9th century! So much history and beauty in one place!! I think I might have caught a few bugs in my mouth cause my mouth was open the whole time. Finally, we returned to Madrid for a day before my dad left for the States on Saturday morning. The week went by so incredibly fast it seemed like I had just picked him up the day before! I had such a great time with my dad and I wish my sister and mom could have joined but we will have to all take a trip like this another time! Now there is only about 4 weeks left of the semester! I can't believe it honestly. My birthday is coming up next weekend and I'll no longer be a teenager! It's kind of scary to think about. Especially in the words of my sister Maggie: "You're already halfway to 40!!" Yea...no I don't wanna be halfway to 40 years old yet. Anyways thanks for reading and my next post should be next weekend! Hasta luego!

Las Fallas!!

Before I start, I am in a competition here at SLU Madrid for the best picture here at school! If you could  go to this link (http://j.mp/Y0Au06) and vote for my picture I'd really appreciate it! It is where I have one of my first memories here in Spain with a great group of guys! Thanks again! And now to the important stuff...

Fire, fireworks, and food. The three ingredients for an incredible festival in Valencia, Spain called Las Fallas! My two roommates, Matt and Connor, and I all decided to travel up to Valencia with a group called EuropeanVibe. The tickets they offered were much cheaper than buying normal bus tickets so why not? We left Madrid around 11:30 am and got to Valencia at about 4:30 pm. We ate lunch then decided to explore! Connor and a friend of his from Richmond (another Matt) joined me and we walked for hours until we reached the beach! It has been years since I have been to the beach so it was so nice hearing the ocean waves again. And of course we all touched the Mediterranean! We began to walk back in the general direction of where we came from (we had no idea where we were going) and found a few small Fallas' in different neighborhoods around Valencia. There were little kids everywhere playing with fireworks! I certainly was much older before I was allowed to play with fireworks! We continued to wander for hours until, after many phone calls and a lot of asking for directions, we found Anna and her family who are from just outside Valencia. This was extremely helpful, so for the rest of the night we followed them around and saw the main Fallas' which were huge! As it got later the amount of fireworks increased a ton. Finally, around 1:30 am, we were in the center of Valencia and watched a huge fireworks show put on by the city. By this time the streets were packed to the max with people. After the fireworks show Anna and her family headed home while Matt, Connor, and I walked back to where the bus was to pick us up. What an incredible festival!! And we didn't even see the city on the last day when they burn all the statues!! A pyro's dream by far! Anyways, this is the last week until Semana Santa, the week before Easter and my Spring Break! My dad will be here in Spain in 5 days!!!! I can't wait!! I'll show him all about Madrid and then we will take a tour of the south of Spain in Cordoba, Seville, and Granada! What an excellent adventure it will be for both of us!

Link for all of my pictures from Las Fallas: http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/nikot93/library/Facebook/Las%20Fallas%202013

There's No Way I'm Halfway Done Already

Hey guys! So it has been quite some time since I last blogged so sorry! So lets get to it: I'M ALREADY HALFWAY DONE WITH MY EXCELLENT ADVENTURE!!! I can't believe it. It has gone by so incredibly fast! 2 months down, and 2 to go! To be completely honest im torn. Half of me loves being here and the culture and the food and everything else. Then again half of me really misses home and family and friends and home cooking. I obviously can't have both so I'll just have to make the most of both! In honor of reaching the halfway mark, I decided to look back at the goals I set for myself when I first got here. I have almost accomplished all of them with a little bit of modification. I am getting more comfortable speaking Spanish, I've seen 2 soccer games already, I've been enthralled countless times already, I play soccer every week, and I continue to explore Madrid as much as possible! Speaking of exploring, I spent a few hours visiting places I hadn't been to yet! Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza Mayor, and the Reina Sofia! The market was like a mini version of the one in Barcelona! So if you remember how much I loved that market you'll understand when I say I will be returning! I'm thinking I could always use more chocolate. SLU's Men's Basketball team just won the A-10 conference and will have a number 1 seed in the A-10 tournament!! Also the main campus just started their Spring Break while we still have another 2 weeks. But that means just 2 weeks til my dad is here!!! I'm so incredibly excited!! It will be a lot of fun to include him in my excellent adventure!! That's all I have for now so if you are on Spring Break, have fun! If you aren't, hang in there! Til next time, hasta luego!

A Day in the Life of a Spanish Family

The continuation of my excellent adventure is finally here! Hey everyone! This post will tell you all about my amazing 4 day trip to Barcelona, Spain! I ate an incredible amount, walked even more, and spent a couple days with an incredible Spanish family!

I did have my first real encounter with the troubling economic times here in Europe. The flight company that we were flying with, Vueling, decided they were going to hold a strike. Our flight, leaving Wednesday night, was canceled along with thousands of other flights all that week. So we thought and thought and sought out all the possible options. Finally we decided to take a high-speed train to Barcelona. It was a little more pricey than we had hoped for but we weren't going to not go to Barcelona. The train was the best travel experience I've ever had! I had a normal amount of leg room (not the cramped area like in a plane), could take water and snacks, and could get up and stretch my legs if I needed to! The trip only took 2.5 hours which ended up being less had we flown!

Anna, Matt, and I got to Barcelona and after getting settled decided to go out and explore a little bit. We got some food and drinks and then called it a night. We began the next day by meeting Anna's Godparents and their kids in Plaça Catalanya (the most central part of Barcelona). They were all extremely nice and were our personal tour guides for the day as we saw the Cathedral of Spain, the Barcelona Port, the original wall, and more (see all the pictures I took by clicking the link below)! Alfonso (the dad) and Ana (the mom) easily found the way to my heart by feeding me incredible food. We went to a restaurant that was more for the locals than tourists. We had the best Paellas for the first plate and fish of course for the second plate. Finally the meal was finished with flan for dessert! Let's just say I was full for the rest of the day was an understatement. We continued walking around and did more sight-seeing before Alfonso and his family headed home for the day.

The next day we were on our own and visited the most amazing outdoor market. Hundreds of stands held fresh fruit, veggies, fish, homemade chocolates, fresh fruit smoothies, and more! I honestly could have spent an entire day in there tasting everything! The rest of the day we found ourselves at La Sagrada Familia, the biggest and most architecturally complex cathedral built by Gaudí. I felt like an insignificant ant as the thing towered over me! We also visited Parc Guell which was also by Gaudí! It was incredible the amount of detail and the gorgeous views all the way down to the ocean!

The third installment of my trip took us to Montserrat. About an hour's train ride away, this monastery provided an indescribable view. Not only were the mountains gorgeous, but a decent amount of snow added to the beauty. We also encountered some mouth-watering homemade cheese while at Montserrat. My personal favorite was the rosemary goat cheese (which is odd because I'm not the biggest fan of cheese)! Unfortunately Matt had to head home that afternoon but Anna's family picked Anna and me up and took us to there house in Manresa, Spain. It was here where I really felt a part of a Spanish family! We had a huge lunch cooked by Alfonso and Ana with a little help from their son Alphonso (Alfy for short). We ate and drank sangria and talked for hours before going for a walk out in the town. The town was celebrating a local holiday where everyone dressed up in medieval clothing and sold different things from stands (cheeses, meats, jewelry, etc.). We got to have a crepe with Nutella which was the best way to warm up on a cold night! Finally, we went back and watched the Barcelona v Sevilla football match in a local bar which was accompanied by even more food!

This trip was absolutely incredible. I was told by many that I would really enjoy the city but I had no idea it would be that much! I feel extremely lucky to have not only spend it with some great friends but also meet an incredibly generous and funny family who took me in as their own for the day! Definitely a great addition to my excellent adventure!!

Link for all my pictures from this weekend: http://s1273.beta.photobucket.com/user/nikot93/library/Facebook/My%20Excellent%20Adventure%20in%20Barcelona

Toledo!

Hey guys! Here is a little post about my time in Toledo yesterday! Well to begin, the views were gorgeous (I feel like I say that about everywhere I go). We (Connor one of my roommates and I) arrived just before 11 am and had no idea what we were doing. We just started walking. Which I have no problem with! With us just wandering we ended up right next to Rio Tajo! But I'll get to that eventually. We walked up a huge hill and managed to find ourselves in Alcazar, a museum, public library, and cafeteria! Also, the highest point in Toledo so that was pretty cool. From there we decided to buy tickets for a bus tour which was a little different than we thought. Essentially it just took us around the city. No complaints though! We definitely saw some beautiful views even though the pictures on my phone don't do it justice. 

Speaking of pictures, I just ordered a new camera off of Amazon and it should be here next week! I'm pretty excited because I want to take and keep better pictures of my trip, especially Barcelona which is coming up! 

So back to Toledo. After the bus ride we walked around and found the Cathedral of Toledo. It was huge! But they charged 8 euros just to get in! So we decided we might come back later. More walking and we found the Museo del Greco. Pretty neat and we got in free for showing our student IDs which got our hopes up for other spots. I definitely appreciated the art and one piece of Jesus was really good. However, art has never been a big interest of mine so I wasn't super moved by anything. Next, we found a place to eat lunch and I finally got my first helping of Paella! It was a really good Spanish rice with chicken, mussels, shrimp, and fish! It was only 6 euros too but the waitress scammed us and brought out two pieces of bread (one for Connor and we assumed one for me), but apparently his came with bread and mine didn't. So I paid one more euro. Next was the Monastario de San Juan de los Reyes. Absolutely beautiful but smaller than I anticipated. 

Even more walking lead us to Rio Tajo. This river is probably what most of my pictures ended up being and it was well worth it too. The river completely surrounded the city and was used as protection when Christians, Jews, and Muslims all lived in the city at the same time in harmony. After venturing all the way to the riverside we trekked back up and essentially walked around til we thought we might head home so we'd be home in time for dinner. We missed the 6 o'clock train and thought we might explore just a little more when we found Carnaval in Toledo! I was completely unaware that they did this all over Spain so seeing everyone dressed up and eventually seeing a parade was a nice surprise! Finally, we headed home exhausted. It was definitely a great day trip and I'm glad I can add this to my list of excellent adventures!

You can find all of my pictures from Toledo here: http://s1273.beta.photobucket.com/user/nikot93/library/My%20Excellent%20Adventure%20in%20Toledo

Flying By

The time has come for midterms. Yep. Believe it or not our first round of midterms are already here. It is scary how fast time is going by. We have already been here for about a month! This week has been a little less eventful than normal. I have started to feel the homesickness that I was told I'd feel though. Missing my family of course, friends from back home, and certain things I definitely took for granted while in the states. For example, believe it or not, I miss the library and the Busch Student Center back on SLU's main campus. Being able to escape to do homework or get a coffee and stay there til 1 or 2 am was definitely something I didn't fully appreciate while I was there for my first three semesters.

Though I am enjoying the food here every time I eat, I still find myself craving didn't foods from home. The other day it was chocolate chip pancakes, another time waffles, and another day my mom's amazing apple salad! I'm sure all this time away from the foods will make me appreciate them that much more.

In my English 190 class that I mentioned my last post, I am one of three (including the professor) native English speakers in the class. I was taken back by this initially and wasn't sure how it would affect my experience in the class. It definitely has been different than any other class I have taken before. I not only hear 2, 3, or even 4 languages every class but it is interesting to hear different viewpoints from Spanish, Russian, and French students. Especially when talking about an important American historical event or American author most of the other students don't know about it or know very little. It is definitely interesting.

Another part of this trip that I am looking forward to is getting more in touch with the locals who know much more about Madrid than I do. It started when I started playing soccer with SLU and talked to the permanent students about playing and what to do and where to go. Most have no issues being friendly and talking with me (there are always exceptions). I have also made friends with one of the kids from my English class named Diego. I see him around campus frequently and we talk quite a bit outside of class. I'm hoping this weekend I'll be able to grab some food and drinks with him in a bar or restaurant I haven't tried yet! Maybe he will even help me with my Spanish! The main goal is to not stick to the main "SLU circle" that most students unfortunately stick to. I have already made friends with students from all over the U.S. that don't go to SLU (Wake Forest, Boston College, Michigan, Lafayette, and more) and now I want to continue that with as many international students as I can!

The plan for this weekend is to take a day trip to Toledo and wander like usual! My camera is still M.I.A. unfortunately so I will use my phone as much as I can and maybe get some pictures from others that are coming with me. Until next time, on with the adventure!

Backtracking A Little

So for my English 190 class we are writing what seems like an essay every week (shocker). This week we wrote a reflective essay focused on Madrid. So I just finished mine and it highlights my arrival in Madrid so I thought I'd share it with you all. Let me know what you think!

I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into. I knew I was going and that was about it. Everyone said I’d have the time of my life. Some even said I wouldn’t want to come back. I took what they were saying into consideration but had no plans to really worry about it. I was going and that was that. 

My parents prepared me as much as they possibly could. And who would blame them? Looking back I certainly don’t. I was to travel to a foreign country, one that speaks little English, and spend four entire months there to study abroad. They got me gifts for Christmas to help get me ready for my voyage: a durable suitcase, a wallet with a chain, Euros, travel books and more. What seemed like every single day during the Winter break, they reminded me of different things to remember: “Now remember Niko, always travel with a group,” or “The economy is pretty bad over there, unemployment is about twenty-five percent, so there are a lot of petty crimes.” And I would of course think that I was ready and didn’t need to hear all of this over and over again. In some aspects, I was very wrong. 

Squished. Like a sardine. I was always a fan of flying but in this case, an eight hour flight in the very middle section with nothing to lean on, I wasn’t a fan. I attempted to sleep but the tiny section I was confined to, my seat, gave me no comfortable positions to sleep in. Finally, the picture on my screen showed the little cartoon airplane over land! I was too excited to sleep even though I had been flying for 24 hours straight. What was going to be my first impression? My first meal? What was the country going to look like? All of these questions would be shortly answered after the jarring movements of touching down on the airport tarmac.

Of course I had no way to look out the window when we landed so I would have to wait to look outside. It was definitely colder than I had expected it to be but then again it was 7 am so maybe it would warm up later. I finally exited the plane and followed the crowd towards customs. As we approached customs I reached for my passport. Wait. Seriously? I’ve been in Spain for no more than five minutes and already lost my passport. I sprinted back to the plane while other passengers and even the pilots gave me weird looks as I passed them. I looked around in my seat and it wasn’t there. By this time I was sweating and out of breath wondering where it could have possibly gone. I checked my backpack again and, thankfully, there was my passport. 

“Well, at least I got that first scare out of the way early,” I thought to myself. I couldn’t believe I had already messed up that quickly. I had thought I was completely prepared to take on this brand new country. I had to be more careful if I was going to survive four months in this foreign country. Hopefully I had the mental will to be on guard 24/7 like I knew my parents would want. That would have to be one thing I would need to practice. 

I successfully made it through customs and my bag made the trip as well. My next challenge: order a taxi to take me to where I was living. I practiced asking a taxi to take me to the address I was given a few weeks prior. “Necesito ir aqui,” as I pointed to the printed address, “puedes llevar me alli por favor?” I managed to get it out nervously. It had been so long since I had spoken any kind of Spanish that I didn’t realize how rusty I would be. The cab driver seemed to understand and I got in. 

I tried to take in as much as I possibly could. I probably looked like a little kid who just entered his first toy store. I felt like I was going to my first toy store all over again. A brand new place with new people, new sights to see, and new things to play with. I didn’t care if I looked ridiculous, I was already enjoying myself. We sped along the highway and I stared outside even though there was more fog than I’ve ever seen. There were a few things I noticed already: there was a lot of graffiti, and absolutely no billboards. I enjoyed not having big signs that detracted from the countryside like “Branson, Missouri: Your vacation destination!” or “Capital ONE. What’s in your wallet?” But the was graffiti everywhere. I wasn’t sure how to take it. It was vandalism but it didn’t detract from the view. I accepted it as part of the scenery.

Suddenly, the cab driver spoke to me. Crap. I hadn’t planned this far ahead. I asked him to repeat himself. Ah, I understood him that time. But the worst part: I found it most difficult to respond. I struggled and spat out the most basic Spanish to answer him. It was obvious my Spanish was bad, but the cab driver seemed pleased I was at least trying. Or he was laughing at me. Had to be one of the two. My ear for Spanish was my best skill, but responding was clearly my downfall. Another thing I needed to practice while I was here. I attempted to ask him a few questions as well, more for my own sake than to keep the conversation going but he enjoyed the interaction. I would have been lying to myself if I said I didn’t enjoy it either. 

After a 30 minute ride we arrived. I paid and he wished me good luck after I thanked him. I stood on the sidewalk and looked around. A small little bakery, a few tapas bars, a café, and a few sit down restaurants were all within 30 seconds of my building. I smiled to myself and realized I was really here. I buzzed up to the apartment and was let in by my host-mom, Pilar. Another detail that I couldn’t miss: the tiny elevator. With my backpack on and one large suitcase I could barely fit. Another part of the country to get used to. Pilar opened the door and she, as well as her small dog Milu, greeted me excitedly. I couldn’t help but smile at the tiny dog yipped loudly as well as the feeling of security I felt while in Pilar’s presence. She was like a loving, long-lost grandmother I had never met. 

Again, I struggled to communicate with Pilar, but she helped me as I told her about my flight. She showed me around the apartment and offered me coffee and sweets for the King’s Day, the national holiday, that I had flown in on. She saw my one suitcase and asked if that was all I had. I laughed and told her that I didn’t need much. She was impressed by this and told me I was the first of any of her students to only bring one suitcase. Thanks to my mom for such an amazing packing job. 

I sat down on my twin bed in my new room with the view onto the street below. I took a few minutes to really take in everything that had happened in the first few hours of my journey. I could hear my family in my head reminding me to have a great time but to be safe as well. But I’d successfully traveled from my hometown in America to a country with a vast and colorful history. After everything I had experienced already, I realized the best thing for me was to accept whatever had, and would happen while I was studying abroad.  

As I sit here, just over three weeks later, in the small café I find myself at regularly, I like to think I have a little bit of a better grasp on things here in Madrid. Mostly because of my mindset I adopted when I first started college. I would have to take everything in stride. I almost lost my passport in the first few minutes but survived. I struggled to speak Spanish and found myself embarrassed and frustrated when I couldn’t come up with the right words to say. I still found a way to communicate and am continuing to practice. I would keep on keeping on. I turned myself into a human sponge soaking up every single part of the culture, food, people, and sights as much as I could. I would experience the enthrallment that came with admiring huge buildings, statues, and architecture that I found by wandering through the city. I like to think I am living my life here in Madrid to its fullest extent. All because I keep on keeping on.

Keep On Keeping On

As promised, here is the post-Geneva, Switzerland post! Before I go any further however, there is some bad news. I managed to misplace my camera between when we woke up to catch our 6:45 am flight home and getting into the taxi. So I want to apologize because I promised many great photos! I can't believe I misplaced it and am so incredibly distressed without it. If it happens to pop up in someone's bag by some miracle however you will be some of the first to know! However, before I begin, the photo/s that you will see on this post are thanks to my wonderful traveling company: Trevor Adams, Anna Patterson, and Lynn Ryan. Thanks guys for a great weekend!

My three friends don't have class on Friday's so they left in the morning and began their adventure before I did. As I suffered through class and soccer practice I couldn't keep the adventure off of my mind. Finally the time came for me to fly into Geneva pretty late. Thanks to some research before leaving, I landed safely and took a city bus to just outside of where we were staying! Easy! We were all exhausted by then however so we called it a night so we could get started early on Saturday.

Saturday started off differently than we planned: we lost Trevor. Little communication and a short 30 seconds got us separated for almost the whole day. Ideally I wish we were all together but its a learning experience right? Both parties ended up seeing quite a bit on Saturday. My group saw the Notre Dame Basilica, the Broken Chair, the United Nations building, the botanical gardens, Lake Geneva, the Central Perk from FRIENDS, and the the Patek Philippe Museum (watches)! After a lot of walking and mastering of the metro system, we met Trevor back at our place and then went to an Italian restaurant for dinner that was very scrumptious.

Sunday was definitely my favorite day for a variety of reasons: mass in the Notre Dame Basilica, Saint Pierre's Cathedral, Russian roots, the fountain in Lake Geneva, a legitimate Swiss meal, and making new friends. Mass was in French which made things difficult to understand but I followed along and really enjoyed being where I was with the people I was with. We followed mass with an indescribable experience. No picture could accurately describe my many feelings as I walked around, in, and to the top of Saint Pierre's Cathedral. I spent upwards of 20 minutes just quietly amazed at what I was experiencing and remembering to be eternally grateful for the opportunity. I can't thank God, my family, and my friends enough for all the support and love that got me to that point. Close to the Cathedral was a Russian church that made me feel just a little bit closer to my roots. My friends and I also got soaked by the huge fountain in the middle of Lake Geneva, had surprisingly good traditional fondue, and met some other SLU students studying in Geneva.

Again I can't help but feel extremely blessed and grateful for this opportunity. As my first official trip while abroad, I couldn't have asked for a better experience or better company. I will finish this post with a saying I always keep in mind but that has a different meaning in this context: "Keep on keeping on." Though it seems like something to get one through tough times, I see it fitting as a "enjoy every single experience" kind of saying. So bonsoir (it happens to be almost 2 am here as I write this!) and Keep On Keeping On your own adventure wherever it may take you.