Holidays

It has been a long time since I have posted anything, but a lot has happened. I got to spend a long weekend with Jenny Faber (a friend from Catlin) in Valencia. We just chilled and had a great time, it was really nice to see a familiar face and share our experiences. We stayed at a cute hostal, and basically every night we freaked out when they turned the Christmas lights on.

Here everything is pretty Christmas-y, but much more religious. For example, Christmas isn't the big gift giving day, it is Reyes. On Christmas you celebrate the birth of Jesus, you open a present or two Christmas eve, so little kids don't believe in Santa Clause and they don't wake up at dawn to see what Santa has brought them. Every house has a Bethleham, and only some have a small tree with no presents underneath. On January 6th is Reyes. This is the big gift giving holiday, it is said that three kings come on camels and leave presents at your front door (there are very few fireplaces, so coming down a chimney just is impossible). On this day is when you get most of your presents, and the next day all across Spain the sales start. In Spain, the government regulates the sales so all stores are required to have a sale twice a year, once right after the holidays and a second time in the summer. I am very excited for the sales because all of the stores will have most of their products at a reduced price! My Christmas break starts on Tuesday the 22 and I go back on Monday the 11th.

I got my grades from classes and...I am passing everything! (That is a huge accomplishment.)

I bought my family presents. i am slightly stressed about it. i got maria (12 years old) a mug that you can color on, leti (19) some bath stuff (i have never seen her take a bath, or anyone in my family take a bath which i realized that about 2hours after i bought the present), eli (21) a scarf and gloves (kinda impersonal), my mom cleaning gloves that are balck and fashionable and have a huge diamond on the ring finger and a picture frame with a pic of me and my sister (we all look sick in the pic but its the only one i have.) and my dad i got a santa hat and these sick sunglasses with an american flag. so we'll see if they like their presents or not....they will like the idea i know but i am still worried. so i will tell you how it goes.

Today I had a snow day! It snowed all of an inch or two and so the bus route couldn't come by my house. When I told my host mom this, she reminded me that I had two tests and that I should go in Metro to school; I decided to stay in the neighborhood with friends. I spent the entire day with friends trying to play in the snow which was very hard because there wasn't much of it. It snowed really early in the morning, and by 9am it had stopped, and for the rest of the morning it rained washing away the little snow that had stuck. By the afternoon the remaining snow had turned to a disgusting yellow/brown color – two inches of snow is no excuse not to pick up your dog's doo doo.

I finished my exams!!! Finals were really rough and all my tests were hard, so I am hoping that I don't passed all of them. Also, on Sunday I made my family a Thanksgiving meal. I was procrastinating studying, so I spent the entire day in the kitchen. I made mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, green beans, stuffing, a turkey breast, and cranberries (well I bought the cranberries). It actually didn't take a lot of cooking, nevertheless I spent the day in the kitchen hiding from my studies. The meal turned out really well, we set the table and ate as a family, we never eat together, so it was good. My family especially liked the cranberries and the pumpkin pie. They asked how I made them; those were the two things that I bought. I told them the cranberries came from a can made by oceanspray and to make the tart, well, I bought the crust, bought the pumpkin puree and pretty much just added sugars and spices and put it in the oven. So now I know that I am excellent at buying pre-made food.

lately not much has happened. but next week start my tests!! everyone is completely stressing out. here tests count for most of your grade. which sucks. our year is divided into trimesters, three times a year we have our finals which count for 60% of your grade in most classes, and every class except sport has a final (that totals to 8 subjects to study – four chapters of Economy; three chapters of Philosophy; a LOT of Spanish Language; three chapters of math; four chapters of English; two chapters of French; the Old Regime, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Restoration, the Unification of Italy and Germany for History; and one chapter of science of the modern world). the other 40% of the grade is divided between controls (little tests) and homework, class participation barely enters into the grade. this is so different from catlin. for example, i have not had to write a single essay this entire year, teachers judge you solely on tests, which i really don't like. this means that in order to do well in the pass the class, and the grade, you need to do well in these exams. so basically i spend all my time studying. (it is somewhat common for you not to pass a grade, there is a 19 year old sophomore.)

however, tomorrow i am going with some girls in my class to the opening of twilight's second movie: new moon!!! it will be very fun, we even have twilight shirts. on the back of the shirts it says "soy twilighter" (i am a twilighter) hahahha i will upload photos.

School Lunch

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today we had chinese food for the school lunch. This was a huge deal. The whole cafeteria was decorated with Chinese flags and there was a huge dragon hanging in the middle of the room. Everyone was really excited that we were eating Chinese food. So we got our food: rice with eggs and ham and pees, spring rolls, lemon chicken and flan. The food was truly disgusting. The spring rolls were mushy and there weren't really any vegetables inside. Nobody really liked the food, but it didn't matter it was such a big deal. If Catlin got really into every time we had Asian food, well we would have a party pretty much everyday.

Not much has happened lately. Halloween is celebrated here, but its not as big a deal. Little kids do not go trick or treating, but they do get dressed up and eat candy. Older kids dress up, have a party and throw eggs at cars and houses, but they don't TP. I have pretty much completely become accustomed to the eating hours. (Light breakfast at 8, bocadillo at 12, lunch at 2, snack at 6, and dinner at 9.) And, the bread here is AMAZING! I was talking to a girl in my class and she said that Spanish bread is better than French bread, which makes it the best bread in the world.

Today, in English class I had a presentation on Halloween in America. And, so I talked for a little bit about our customs and such and then I handed out caramel apples. I wanted to make them for everyone in my class, but I ran out of caramel, so people had to share, but it turned out to be not a big deal. My classmates asked me how to make caramel apples and they joked that they were going to go home and make caramel apples.

This weekend I hung out with Pepita and Antonio, who are like my Spanish godparents. When I came in fourth grade to Spain we rented their beach house, and they came over one day and introduced themselves, and ever since then we have been close. Last summer they came to Portland and spent the month living with Emma and Virginia. Anyways on Sunday they took me to a little town south west of Madrid named Talavera de la Reyna. It is known mostly for its incredible pottery. The pottery is everywhere and really really pretty! We went to Talavera de la Reyna because their daughters were in a bike race, so we cheered them on. These are some pictures.

The thing I think I miss most right now about the states is peanut butter. I could really go for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a banana and peanut butter, or just plane peanut butter in a spoon. mmm!!

I have been here a month!! When I was getting ready to come I was very nervous and had trouble deciding what to pack and also I had some weird conceptions of how Spaniards lived.

First, I thought that everyone in Spain would be very fashion forward and dress in all the latest styles, wear bright colors, and always look put together. So I packed to be fashionable: my more fashionable jeans, sweaters instead of sweatshirts, flats and boots instead of converse, and blouses instead of tshirts. However, I wish I had packed differently. At school most people wear jeans, a t-shirt, converse and a sweatshirt (normally a zip-up). The sweatshirts are pretty much exactly like the ones that I didn't pack, same with the tshirts and the converse (I didn't bring converse so the second week I begged my mom to send over a pair). People are really relaxed at school and don't really care what they wear or look like. The only major difference is that girls wear their jeans the same way boys do - loose and sagging low so you can see their underwear. The first time I saw this I was kind of in awe, I had to keep reminding myself not to stare at peoples' crotches. Another difference is that people like to match their clothes, so they wear red shoes, a red shirt and red earrings, or green shoes a green belt (the belt is usually thin and worn at the waist but on top of the shirt) and a green necklace, every once in a while people will paint their fingernails to be super matching. As I have been here a month I have come to the conclusion that Americans and Spaniards dress very similar, and I should not have packed so stylish (I have yet to wear a pair of pants).

My second conception was that when you took a shower you would turn the water on and rinse, then turn it off, rub in your shampoo and lather yourself with soap, then turn the water back on and rinse off, then turn it off, put in your conditioner, then rinse off. That would be a less than 5 minute shower. And I did that the first few days I was in here. However, I started paying attention to the water when someone else showered, and I noticed that they did not turn the water on and off every 30 seconds. They took normal showers of about 10-15 minutes. So although Spain has a water shortage, you don't need to be overly conscience of it.

Finally, before I came here I thought everyone would be very skinny. That hasn't quite been the case. All of the guys are fit and lengthy because they exercise all the time. However it is very rare for a girl to work out. I know one girl who plays tennis once a week for her exercise, but that is pretty much it. They might eat less, but basically for girls it just comes down to genetics whether or not you are skinny. However, I have yet to see anymore obese. People on the metro may be overweight, but nobody (that I have seen yet) is obese.

a lot has happened since my last blog....i am starting to get in the routine of school. i get up every morning at 8am, have lunch at 2:30, get home around 5:30, do my homework and get ready for the next day. my classes are fine, i am taking economics, european history, modern history, lengua, english (def the best!!), math (we are learning how to do absolute value), sport twice a week (literally all we do is take two laps around the field - the two laps are probably the distance of half a football field, maybe a little bigger then we stand around, and if its too hot then we sit in the shade). then i have philosophy, french, and ONG (which is once a week and we work with save the children). french sucks, because i don't understand anything in french, and all my peers have taken it for at least 3 years and the teacher speaks the entire time in french. i want to die. but i can mostly understand all my other teachers, they speak quickly, but i can follow. but speaking is still a challenge. oh, and last friday we had a history test and i def had to write some words in english....haha we'll see what grade i get.

my birthday was on thursday and it was really fun!! i got to school and kinda expected no one to remember it was my birthday, but everyone did! they all congratulated me and gave me kisses. then, at break, all the girls in my class got in a circle, and i had no idea what was going on. all of a sudden, Nicole handed me a bag, a present!! they had all pitched in and got me a movie and some delicious chocolates. i have friends!!!! then in philosophy class everyone sang happy birthday (its not feliz cumpleanos, its different, a completely different tune) and my teacher jose gave me some very random presents including a pencil box filled with chocolates, a mini fundamental rights book, a key chain, and some pens, he also gave me a european agenda, a notepad and a box of chocolates. it was very nice of him, but def very random gifts. after school, i went to a snack with cliff, alicia, and paloma (my program directors) and they gave me a cute blouse and a scarf. and a spanish card, i am very excited about the card!!! at the restaurant, paloma remarked how my spanish had improved!! yes, i have only been here two weeks and already my spanish is getting better!! at home, my family remembered it was my birthday!! they gave me an adorable dress!! (you open presents first, then eat) and then we ate spanish tortilla and a delicious chocolate cookie cake!! after dinner, my sister leti asked if i wanted to go out, so we went to a bar nearby with some of her friends. it was very fun, her friends are really nice. i didn't end up getting home until around 1:30, so the next day at school i just slept through all my classes. but the best part of it is that i have friends!!!!!!!!

i locked myself in the bathroom stall and couldn't get out. the first day at a new school i get stuck in the bathroom stall. it was horrible. i panicked for a good 3 minutes before i could get out.

the pencils don't have erasers. i have a locker, with a lock attached so that my stuff isn't stolen. my teachers come to my class instead of me walking to their room. i am the only blonde in my class of 35 people. there weren't enough chairs and desks for all the students so they had to get more. the toilets didn't have toilet paper. there are no water fountains, when you are thirsty you stick your head under the bathroom sink. there are no doors to the outside. although the classrooms have doors, the wall is open, but with blue bars, above the door and on the wall facing the hallway, so shutting the door does nothing to eliminate the noise from the hallway. there are no options for lunch; i have no idea what i ate for lunch today. absolutely no idea. there was a rice dish, a brown thing that looked like an elephant ear but i think was meat, but maybe it was something else, and then a sweet yogurt thing. i think. everything is so different here. the people are nice. (it literally took 5 different people to help me figure out how to open my locker.) i can mostly understand what my professors are saying.

i take the bus to school, and today alicia (one of my program directors) took me to the stop, so i am hoping tomorrow when i go i will be able to find the bus stop by myself and get on the right one. the corner where my "stop" is collects a lot of kids going to lots of different schools, so i need to get on the right bus. oh, and my bus is insane! it is like a greyhound, you have to go up 4 stairs i think to get to the seats, and then you have nice seats with windows, but if the sun is bothering your eyes then you just close your curtain. its amazing.

so this weekend i went to "cubillas" which is the family "finca" (estate or farm or ranch type of thing) which was incridble!! my mom's dad and all his 10 siblings (11 kids in total) got land and from their parents, and so each kid built a home on a hill. but i don't quite understand, because the houses are from the 1st and 2nd century, so they must have bought the houses and then put toilets and running water and modern stuff. now on the hill there is a community of 11 houses pretty big, a little chapel and a pool. then they have at least a hundred acres of uncultivated land. so you just spend your time doing whatever outdoors. my family arrived on friday and we had a little dinner there with the grandparents and some cousins and some aunts and uncles. then on saturday, we had a big paella and celebrated saint maria. (everyone in spain is catholic, so they are all named after a saint. and on the day of your saint you eat well and celebrate and people give you money. one cousin and one aunt were both named after the saint maria). then, i learned how to shoot a gun!!! i got 11 tries and on the final one i hit the cans placed 20 paces ahead. (i have pics, but i forgot to pack the cable connecting my camera to my computer, so i will upload them later.) that was exciting!! then, we ate and played trivia. thanks to my catlin education i was able to answer more questions about the bible then cousin maria who i was playing with who is a devote catholic. our days were really lazy waking up around 11am having a light breakfast then around 2:30pm eating a big lunch, and around 10pm eating a light-ish dinner. there is a lot of meat! i was a vegetarian before i left, and now i eat meat more than once every day, usually i have no idea what i am eating. but i had chorizo, and all sorts of things. on sunday tio asked me if i wanted to do something and i really had no idea what he said but i was like 'sure!' it turned out that he had shot some pigeons and wanted to eat them. so he took me and maria (my sister) and she started showing me how to take off the feathers and i was like 'no thank you' and left. that was a little too gross for me. but anyways i start school tomorrow and i am very nervous.

i just got a phone yesterday, so i am now connected to the spanish world!! even though i only have 4 contacts.....anyways, also, my address is

sophia roman

calle jazmín 34, 6C

28033

Madrid, Spain

also, i have been learning all the different ways to say goodbye. 'hasta ahora' means see you in a minute. 'hasta luego' means see you in a couple days. 'hasta pronto' means see you in a couple of months. and hasta nunca means i hope i never see you again. anyways, it is kinda confusing.

hey! i am in madrid!! none of my bags were stolen and i have everything that i brought, so i am really happy! it has been a very long day though. i got into madrid an hour early, so the flight landed around 6 30am local time. i went through customs quickly and then my bags were one of the firsts to come out of the checked luggage thing, and then i met clifton (the program director). we went to coffee at vips which is a very cool place, it is a chain and inside it is half restaurant and half american store. so everything is very expensive, but i can buy newman's own caesar salad dressing. he gave me a lot of touristy info and it made me realize how little i know about spain, so eventually i am going to need to research the geography. then, i came and met my host family. the mom was the only one home, and so clifton, alicia (cliff's coworker) my host mom and i talked for a while. my host mom is so sweet, she just told me that whatever i need just tell her and she will get it. then my youngest host sister woke up. maria is 12 and cute, and about to go to an italian school. later, maria and my host mom and i went on a walk around the neighborhood seeing the metro, the bus stop, the "paneria" and such. when we got home i started unpacking and arranging my room. then we had a nice lunch of gazpacho and pasta. the family used to live in italy so they know how to make really good pasta and italian dishes. then the dad came home and he is really nice too. he helped me figure out how to get onto the wifi, which took literally an hour. then, i took a little siesta (not really common in madrid). i finished setting up my room, and then i met elisia (my oldest sister). she is really stressed because she has big exams coming up on monday, so she was at the library all day. she promised to take me out after her exams are done and she is on vacation. then we all went to dinner around 8pm. on our way to the cafe, we ran into my host mom's cousin. so we decided to sit down and talk and have a drink with the cousin and his wife. at the table they started speaking english and i was really surprised because everyone says they can't speak, but in reality they are very good. then around 9 we went to dinner. and now i am home and about to fall asleep. today has been a long but very good day, and i am sure the next couple of days will be just as hectic.

First Blog

hey! so i just set this up with emma, and it is for people to look at while i am in spain...i will post blogs whenever anything interesting happens. so it'll be a month before i post anything new or actually interesting. this is my last week of PSU classes!! and then the rest of the summer will be spent socializing with friends and family and getting ready to leave. i still don't have a host family or plane ticket (i do know that i am leaving right after labor day, so we just need to book a reservation). oh and i just got a new camera to record my time in spain!!
hasta la vista!!