¡Las vacaciones de las Navidades! (Christmas vacation!)

We left Zaragoza around 10 pm Friday night. We did not all go at the same time nor in the same car. Isabel's boyfriend, Antonio, drove Isabel, Rosa, and me to Aguarón. The next day, 
Saturday, Beatriz, Jesús, the grandparents, and Kim came. Beatriz drove because she's 
practicing. She recently got her driver's license. She has to have someone who can drive 
accompany her and the car she uses has to have a sign with an L on it to show that she's still 
learning. 

On Sunday, Beatriz and her grandmother picked almonds. A little outside the pueblo almond 
trees naturally grow and no one appears to own them, so anyone can take them. They brought back two bags full of them. Beatriz, the grandfather, and I shelled all of them. They have a little hand machine for cracking the hard shells and Beatriz used that while the grandfather and I took the little almonds out of their covers. We put the almonds in a pan and their shells in a plastic bag. Sometimes we would accidentally throw an almond into the bag and then we would all search for it. The whole process was quite fast. Put the whole almond under the machine and crack the shell. Take out the nut. Put it in the pan. Put the shell in the plastic bag. It did feel as though it would never end because there were a lot of almonds, but I'm sure we finished the job in record timing. 

That afternoon it was just Beatriz, her grandmother, and me in the house. Beatriz was starting to make caramelized almonds with the ones we had shelled earlier. The grandmother had taught her how to make them. We all sat in the kitchen. I helped a little bit. The recipe is very simple. All you need are almonds, white sugar, and water. The part that takes the most work is stirring everything together because it takes a long time. I got to try some of the caramelized almonds right when they were finished. They were very good--crunchy and sweet and warm.

To the left: plain almonds

After dinner Beatriz and her grandmother started to make another traditional Christmas treat: buñuelos and rosquillas. They're basically small pieces of fried dough. Buñuelos are small clumps and rosquillas are like small donuts. All the ingredients are mixed together in a large bowl with your hand. Beatriz did the mixing, and I helped a little bit. Once the batter was finished, we let it sit overnight so that it could rise. 

The next morning (Monday) I got up earlier to watch the rest of the making of the buñuelos and rosquillas. A frying pan full of olive oil had already been set up and was boiling. Beatriz was cutting little pieces of the dough and putting them in the pan. Because there was so much oil, the dough was fried pretty quickly. I was assigned the job of cutting the little pieces of dough. I enjoyed it. The buñuelos and rosquillas quickly accumulated on the counter. We had a mountain of them. I got to try some freshly made ones, and they were delicious. A little sweet and soft and warm. I could keep eating them. 

The dough for the buñuelos and rosquillas.

Frying time.

Beatriz.

The tasty final product.

Monday was Christmas Eve, or as the Spanish call it, Nochebuena. It's just as important as Christmas Day is. There's a large dinner and presents are handed out afterwards. Rosa had been cooking all afternoon. When it was nearing the time to eat, the table was set. First it had to be lengthened to accommodate everyone. Then two tablecloths were laid on it. The top one was decorated with pictures of holly and ivy and it had matching cloth napkins. We used wine glasses for a more elegant look. There were seven of us at the table: me, the grandparents, the parents, and two of the daughters. I was excited to see what food we would eat. The food kept coming. First we had a plate of appetizers, then one dish, then another, then two rounds of desserts. The desserts were flan and then a big tray full of little treats. One treat was turrón, which is another traditional food during Christmas. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. There's a large variety: chocolate, fruit, coconut, nuts. It usually comes in rectangular boxes or you can buy it fresh from a pastry shop. And if you don't want to buy it, making it at home is an option also. Other treats were pieces of chocolate called "Cat's Tongue" (I guess the pieces are shaped like cats' tongues), chocolate euro coins, little egged shaped pastries with turrón inside, marzipan, nuts, and dried fruit. It was all delicious. 

The tray full of goodies. To the left are the chocolate
gold coins and the turrón. In the middle are the marzipan,
caramelized almonds, and other little treats wrapped in
plastic. To the right are the nuts and dried fruit.

When we had all finished eating it was time for presents. Rosa first gave me mine from the family. It is a fast-drying microfiber towel. She told me that many Spanish people have them and that they're very convenient because they dry quickly and are easy/light to pack. She said it'll be easy to bring back to the United States. I really like it .It's orange and comes with its own carrying case. Next I gave out my presents. The week before I had secretly bought little gifts. For Rosa I got her a copy of "The Help" in Spanish because I know she loves to read. She hasn't read it yet nor seen the movie. I'm sure she'll love it. For Beatriz I got the book "Life of Pi" in Spanish because she had seen the movie and really liked it. I also got her a bottle of blue sparkly nail polish. For Jesús I got a hat. I wasn't quite sure what to get him, but I thought a hat would be safe. For Ana, the other daughter who was there, I got a scarf, and I got another scarf for the third daughter Isabel. I gave it to her later. 

The next day (Tuesday) was Christmas! The big special meal was lunch. It was us seven again and we ate just as much food as the day before. We had jumbo shrimp, soup, duck, potatoes, salad, and for dessert there was another tray full of the same treats. Everything was delicious. 

That night Beatriz and I were alone with the grandparents. The grandfather talks a lot. Much of it is trivial and half the time the grandmother is telling him to be quiet. It's actually quite funny. He had been telling me for some time that all of us were going to dance on Christmas, so that night we all decided to dance. The grandparents danced together first. I wanted to take a picture of them, so I got my camera, but when Beatriz and I noticed that them dancing together would be very funny, we took a video of them instead. I took a little turn dancing with the grandfather and then I took control of the camera. Beatriz also danced with them. The grandfather said the funniest things, though I didn't understand most of it. Just the way he says things is funny. Beatriz and I couldn't stop laughing. We finally stopped when the grandfather got tired. I transferred the videos to my computer and we watched all of them. When Rosa and Jesús returned, we showed the videos to them, too. They laughed just as much. 

On Wednesday things went back to normal. No more fancy wine glasses, no more fancy cloth napkins. Now the days spent in the pueblo feel pretty much the same. On Wednesday afternoon the grandmother asked me if I would like to go for a walk with her. I said yes. She walks every morning and every afternoon. Lots of good exercise. And we've been fortunate with the weather. So far it's been sunny and not too cold, though sometimes it's a bit windy. There's no white Christmas here. It only snows in northern Spain. Anyway, I went for a walk with her, and we walked on a road leading to Aguarón. It's narrow and smooth and very straight in one part. The surrounding scenery is very beautiful. The road rises and then straightens out, so that you're on a hill and can see far in one direction. On both sides of the road are vineyards. Right now they're bare because the grape season is over. Past the vineyards are hills and other fields. This afternoon we picked more almonds. She showed me some almond trees that grow next to the road. We picked the almonds right from the tree or from the ground. If we couldn't reach the almonds we took long sticks and hit the branches to make the almonds fall off. We collected a whole bag full of them. We started back to the house when it was getting dark, around 6 pm. 

That night I learned a really popular Spanish card game called El Guiñote. You play it with a different set of cards. The four "suits" are gold coins, goblets, swords, and wooden clubs. There are forty cards in a deck. The object of the game is to get the most points. It takes a lot of strategy, and you have to pay attention to who has what cards all the time. I got frustrated because I didn't really know what to do. I've played the game several times now. It hasn't gotten much easier because I play with the grandparents and they are really good. They've been playing it almost all their lives. Thursday was like Wednesday. I went for a walk with the grandmother in the afternoon. It was a bit chillier because it was windy, but it was not too bad. 

An example of the El Guiñote cards
From top to bottom: clubs, swords, goblets, and gold coins.

And Friday was like Thursday. Same walk, though it was quite hot outside. I only needed to wear one sweater. 

On Saturday, Beatriz and I made more caramelized almonds after the grandmother and I returned from our walk. The almonds were some of the best yet. Afterwards, Beatriz left Aguarón because she wanted to spend New Year's in Zaragoza with her boyfriend. 

On Sunday night, the grandfather had to be hospitalized because he wouldn't respond when 
Rosa and the grandmother tried to wake him. He wasn't very well beforehand, and they told me that something happened to his brain that night. So today, Monday, we've returned to Zaragoza to be closer to the grandfather. I don't know what his condition is right now, but I don't think he's any better. 

So far I've enjoyed Christmas vacation very much. I've been able to experience a Christmas of a different culture and learn how it's celebrated. And I've also learned more about my host
family and improved my Spanish because I've been with them this entire week. I hope you all at home (or wherever you are) have had a wonderful Christmas! 

Christmas vacation!

At 12:10 pm today, I was officially on Christmas break! Starting at this time and ending at 2 pm, there was an Open House for the American families who had come to Spain to see their children. I was able to meet several of my friends' parents and siblings. They were all very nice. It was interesting to see the resemblances between the children and parents. After everyone was able to arrive and settle down, there were presentations. First, different students presented each faculty member. I learned some new things about each of them. Then the videos of the trips to Barcelona and Madrid were shown to the families. Unfortunately the video of Extremadura, which is where I went, wasn't shown. It wasn't available. When it ended, Sr. Morse talked to us for a bit and then it was time for everyone to leave and go their separate ways. 

The parents of one of my friends, Alexandra (Alex) Hanyok, invited me to eat lunch with them, Alex, and her younger brother. We looked for a nearby small restaurant and we chose one that looked promising. It was very good and relatively cheap. We ordered three plates and shared them. I learned that both of the parents had worked in the military and that the son is working on making his own computer. He's buying all the pieces. After we finished eating we stood outside chatting for a bit. The weather was perfect! In the 60's, sunny, no wind. It doesn't feel like winter at all to me, but that's because I'm used to winters in the 30's with snow. Soon I said goodbye to all of them and walked back to my host family's apartment. 

So what am I going to do over Christmas break? Two things: go to the pueblo and go to Valencia. Rosa has told me that every Christmas the family goes to the pueblo. First of all, they have a house there so there's much more room to fit everyone. And second of all that is their original home. Christmas wouldn't be the same anywhere else. There'll be a lot of people: the grandparents, the parents, the four children, several boyfriends, and me. And I can't forget Kim the dog. Aguarón is his original home, too. 

On the 2nd of January I'll return to Zaragoza to catch the bus to Valencia. I'll travel to the city alone and meet two friends there. The hotel we'll be staying at is the Senator Parque Central. It's very well situated. It's between the center of Valencia and the part of the city with the buildings of the arts and sciences. At night when the buildings close, we'll be able to go to the center. To help us plan our trip, we went to Travel Box near the school. It's a company that plans trips and many SYA students have gone there, so the woman who helped us already knew roughly what we were looking for. When we finally had all the tickets and had paid for everything, I felt very relieved. Planning trips can be quite stressful I found out. This is our first independent trip where we have to plan everything for ourselves, which is why it was pretty difficult. In the future we'll be more prepared and know better what we're doing. We'll leave Valencia the 6th of January. I'm very excited to go to Valencia, mainly because it'll be my first time there. It'll be a trip that I remember forever. 

This past week/weekend

This past week I had final exams and was more busy than usual with studying, so that's why I 
haven't posted for awhile. Sorry! Last Monday and Tuesday we had classes until 2 pm and then afterwards we had lunch and time for studying. On Wednesday DUN DUN DUN... the exams began. On that day I had English and Math. On Thursday Spanish Language and Art History, and on Friday Spanish Film History and Spanish Literature. All of them were two hours long, and none felt too hard. I did so much writing! For all of them except for Math, I wrote paragraph after paragraph after paragraph. Surprisingly my hand didn't hurt afterwards. 

For lunch on Friday, I went with four friends to an Indian called El Sabor de la India (The Taste  of India), and it was delicious! We shared all the food we ordered. I don't know the names unfortunately, but we ordered nan, which is like pita bread, and appetizers and three dishes that were pretty small. One dish had eggplant, another one I didn't try, and the third was pink and sweet and had coconut and chicken in it. That one was by far the best! Especially with the nan. Hmmmm.... I definitely want to go again. 

This past weekend I did a lot of things, more than usual. Friday night I went to see the movie "The Hobbit" with some friends. It was so good. I remember reading the book, but I don't really remember what happened. I think the movie is considerably different from the book though. 

On Saturday night I went out with two other friends to Paseo Independencia. We walked around and looked in different stores. There were a lot of people. 

On Sunday, about half an before noon, my host sister asked me if I wanted to go with her to 
watch her boyfriend's soccer game. I said yes, and we left the apartment soon after and rode  on a public bus to the game. We arrived late, and the other team was winning by one point. The score was 1-0. My host sister's boyfriend is named Williams and he's from Ghana. He's been living in Spain for several years now. I think he's here for the soccer. My host sister has told me that Williams is one of the best players on his team, and from what I've seen so far, I would say he is, too. He and his older brother, who also plays soccer, make all the goals. In the second half of the game Williams passed the ball to his brother, Manu (Emmanuel), and Manu scored a goal. The game ended with a tie. I guess they don't do overtime here. I don't know. After the game my host sister and I met up with Williams and Manu and two other friends, Brama and Ismael. Brama is on the same soccer team, and Ismael lives with Manu in an apartment in Zaragoza. Brama is also from Ghana and Ismael is from Morocco. I found out that Manu can speak five languages! FIVE languages! English, Spanish, and three African languages. And he's learning French! So many! Once I know three I'll be happy. 

We rode together on the bus back to our homes, and we decided that we would meet at Parque Grande (Big Park) later at 5 pm. When my host sister and I returned to the apartment, it was a little past 2:30 pm and everyone had already eaten lunch. There were a lot of people: my host parents, their two other daughters, and their boyfriends. We could all barely fit at the table. Guess what I ate for lunch? Paella! Although this one wasn't made with rice but rather with little noodles. It was delicious all the same. 

It started to rain, so we couldn't go to Parque Grande. We decided to go Puerto Venecia  instead. My host sister and I met our friends at the bus stop, and another girl from my host  sister's class came also. Her name is Ivelina. When we arrived there it had stopped raining and it was pretty warm. First we went into Primark and then I went to Claire's and bought some  earrings. Manu bought new sneakers. He told me he has about 30 pairs! We left a little after 8  pm. 

This week I have classes and then Friday I go to the pueblo with my host family to celebrate 
Christmas! I'm planning with two friends from school a trip to the island of Menorca to the east of Spain! We'll be going for about a week and one friend has found good flight and hostel deals online. I'm very excited. We might even be able to go swimming there. 


I hope everyone back home is well. Very cold? Lots of snow? I know Zaragoza doesn't get  snow and for the past couple of days it's been in the 60's! So strange in December. I'll post  again soon.

Last weekend and upcoming events

Last weekend on Saturday I went out with four friends: Sydney, Elizabeth, Julia, and Alex. I met them at the SYA school at 4 pm, and another group of friends coincidentally were meeting there at the exact same time and we were all going to the same place, Puerto Venecia. It's a huge shopping area and is known for having, Primark, which is one of the cheapest stores in Zaragoza. It's pretty far away. We took two buses to get there and it took us about half an hour. It was my first time in there. (all pictures from the internet)

Map of Puerto Venecia.

When we got off the bus the first building I saw was Primark. It's huge; it has two floors. As a little side remark, I think most of the malls here are much bigger than the ones in the US. The  Corte Inglés is a very well-known mall here and there's one in Zaragoza that has more than five floors! I think it has seven! Anyway, four of us wanted to go look in Primark first. Elizabeth went somewhere else. We took the escalator up to the second floor where the women's clothing was. I looked at some shirts and sweaters but didn't buy anything. At first I did like a sweater, but because everything is quite cheap, the quality isn't that good either. In the end I didn't like the sweater. Sydney, Julia, and Alex bought some things though. Sydney and I lost Julia and Alex after she paid for her things. She and I left Primark by ourselves and wandered around a bit. She spotted a Spanish "Starbucks." I don't drink coffee, but most of the SYA students do, and several of my friends really wish there were a Starbucks in Zaragoza. This particular café we saw was not a Starbucks but looked like one, and when we entered Sydney thought that it was even better because it offered more drinks and food. We ran into the other group of friends again and they had gone to Primark also. Apparently everyone had the same ideas. I didn't buy anything because I was saving my money for dinner. We chatted for awhile and then Sydney and I left to find our friends. We had all planned to meet at the ice rink at 6:30 pm, so we went to find it. I heard that it is the biggest outdoor ice rink in all of Europe, but it is quite small. I was surprised when I heard that.Elizabeth, Julia, and Alex were all skating when we found it. I didn't want to skate and neither did Sydney. They tried to convince us to go on the ice with them, but we said no. It was really cold and windy. Not a good combination. 

Sydney and I wandered around. There was a Corte Inglés and we looked in there. We bought some pumpkin (calabaza) seeds and they were very good. We were very interested by a ham shop because where else in the world can you find a shop solely dedicated to ham? There was pieces of ham on display and hanging from the ceiling with labels for each one. It smelled like ham. There were waffle cones with ham in them. I wanted to take a picture but thought that would be weird. We left the shop. 

There was a movie theater. We checked out what movies were playing. On a wall to our right was a huge thing of candy that reached to the ceiling. It was divided into sections and each  section had its own candy. It was very colorful. 

Puerto Venecia has an outside-shopping part and an inside-shopping part. We decided to  take a look inside. We walked through a store called Stradivarius, which is also the name of  some famous violins. Next we looked in a store called Lefties. I actually thought that it would  have things for left-handed people, but it did not. It would have been interesting if it had. We walked back to the rink to find our friends. It was almost 8:30 pm. They told us that at 8:30 the rink would be cleaned and that they wanted to go back on the ice right when it was finished because it would be very smooth. Alex love hockey and she said that she cried when she was able to go on the ice. She hasn't skated since coming to Spain. We decided that we'd meet for dinner at 9 pm which would give them enough time to skate some more. Julia and Sydney had told me of a Japanese restaurant called Noodles and Fun in Puerto Venecia. I wanted to go there. The inside was very clean and orderly. The seats were more like stools with very comfortable cushions. The tables didn't have a lot of elbow room, but that was fine. I ordered Good Rolls (sushi) and nabeyaki udon (noodles). The Good Rolls were regular sushi and the nabeyaki udon was a soup with thick noodles, seaweed, and different kinds of meat. Everything was delicious! And I was proud that I could it all everything with chopsticks. When we finished we walked back to the bus stop and hoped and prayed that the last bus hadn't already gone by. We saw a lot of people waiting there and that was a very good sign. We hadn't missed the bus! I got back to the apartment a little before midnight. 

Not the same restaurant but it gives you an idea of its appearance.

The next day, Sunday, I did homework and studied, nothing really special. 

Today, Thursday, the 6th, and tomorrow, Friday, we don't have school! It's because today is the celebration of the 1978 Spanish Constitution and Saturday is the celebration of the Immaculate Conception. I guess since the two holidays are so close together most schools give us Friday off, too. It's great. More time for studying for those finals we have next week. So next week is finals week for us. On Monday and Tuesday we'll have classes in the morning and time to meet with the teachers in the afternoon. The exams will begin Wednesday and each one is two hours. Then the week after that we have one week of regular classes, which is very different from what I'm used to. I don't really like it because I want to rest after taking six exams for twelve hours, but I guess the teachers want to get ahead. Christmas break starts Friday the 21st. I haven't made any definite plans for the break yet, but I know I definitely want to travel with several friends. Where is the big question. During this mini-vacation we're having many students are travelling to different parts of Spain: Valencia, San Sebastián (País Vasco), Tarragona (Cataluña). They all sound very exciting. 

The Trip To Extremadura - Part 2

Sorry for not posting in awhile! Since we're nearing the end of the semester there have been a lot of things to do. Here's the second half of my trip to Extremadura, and I figured out to delete the photos of previous posts! Now I can upload new photos and not leave you wondering what everything looked like. I do not have many photos for this entry, but I've asked a friends who does if he can lend me his. When/If he gives me his photos I'll update this entry. Enjoy!

We had free time until dinner (9 pm), so the same three friends and I walked around. Nate wanted to climb a nearby hill, so we did. It was totally worth it! The view was breathtaking. We were in a field full of small yellow flowers and there were three brown horses grazing in front of us. Beyond the field the city and more fields stretched out to the horizon with the mountains rising up at the edge. We found a large rock to sit on and rested for awhile, taking in the beautiful sight. Álvaro had told us that if we wanted to, we could go with him at 4 pm to see a church on the top of a hill. This hill was next to the hill that my friends and I had just climbed. It was a little past 3 pm and we didn't want to have to walk back down the hill to only walk up another one, so Kaitlyn, Sydney, and I decided to cut across our hill to the other one. Nate didn't want to go so he stayed behind in the field. The hike up the hill was harder than we expected. We got quite a workout and were tired and thirsty, but the view made up for the climb. It was spectacular! The clouds seemed closer to us and the sunlight streamed through the white puffiness. The church hadn't opened yet, so we found a small restaurant nearby to buy some much-needed refreshments. Afterwards we climbed some large rocks to see the view better, and it was just amazing. A little after 4 we entered the church, which was smaller than others we had seen but just as beautiful. There were three little naves with their own statues and paintings and with the candlelight it was wonderful to see. On our way down we passed the group and I could tell that the climb for them was also hard. When we arrived in the outskirts of Cáceres, Kaitlyn wanted to explore some more, so we split up. Sydney and I returned to the hotel and then went to the Central Plaza (la Plaza Mayor) where we sat and wrote a little in our journals for English. Soon we heard some music so we went to see what it was, and a huge speaker had been set up and was blasting music in the Plaza. We sat there for awhile, writing more and enjoying the tranquility of the place. We started to hear shouting and horns, and a large group of people with flags, banners, and horns were marching toward the Plaza. They were on strike against the economy. Álvaro had told us that morning that there would be strikes that day. Sydney and I decided to move somewhere else so that we weren't in danger. I returned to the hotel, but she walked around some more. 

Up on the hill!

Horses!

Amazing view.

Kaitlyn, Sydney, and I climbing the hill.

The statue of Jesus with a cool view of the sun.

Another amazing view.

On Thursday we left Cáceres, which was a bit sad for me, and headed towards the city of Guadalupe where we would spend the night. First though we stopped at the National Park of Monfragüe. We watched a small video about it. The Park was founded in 1979 and helps to protect a lot of birds. Only a small part can be visited. We stayed there for about half an hour. We got to see the Tajo River which runs through the park. 

The sign of the park. Phoebe.

Phoebe, Ella, Lisa, Gabby, and Jasper.

Meg, Sara, and Jordan with the Tajo River in the background.

After the Park we visited another monastery. It was located on top of a hill which we had to climb. It was hard work and took at least half and hour I'd say. Once at the monastery we climbed a tower and ate a picnic lunch there. The view was amazing once again. It was also quite windy and we saw some big birds, maybe eagles. We stayed there for about an hour.

April and Will

On top of the castle looking down.

We arrived in Guadalupe around 5 pm and were assigned our new rooms and roommates. The hotel we stayed in was connected to the Monastery of Guadalupe. After everyone got settled, we toured the Monastery. One room was full of the clothes the priests had worn. Each garment looked very heavy and itchy. Another room was full of big books that each weighed between 50-80 kilos, which is about 110-176 lbs. They were all written by hand, which is very impressive. Other rooms we saw were all decorated with very intricate designs. I wonder how long all the decorations took. After the tour we had about three hours of free time before dinner, but since I was quite tired I stayed in my room, watching some TV. 

Part of the monastery. Michelle.

On Friday we left Guadalupe early, around 9:15 am. I was sad that we were leaving Extremadura. I had had a great four days seeing and learning about the community and I didn't want to leave it. We rode on the bus for about three hours to Madrid. We had about two hours of free time to have lunch and explore a little. Sydney, Kaitlyn, Jordan, and I formed a little group. They really wanted to find a Starbucks, so we did. It was a few minutes walk away from the station. On the windows people had written "anti-capitalist" and put stickers. Inside it was very nice. We put our bags down and they ordered while I watched over our things. The shop was playing American Christmas music which made us all miss the US. We sat for about 20 minutes and then visited the Reina Sofía Museum right next to us. The school had given us at the beginning of the year special ID cards called Carnet Joven which are for students in Europe. They can be used for getting special discounts in stores and other places. We used them in the museum and were able to enter for free! We rode in the glass elevator up to the fourth floor, which was very cool because we could see ourselves rising. Once on the fourth floor we looked around a bit, not really knowing what to expect. Some things were a bit creepy, like a video of flashing white human statues and a display of damaged baby dolls lying in a pile of sand. We really wanted to find Picasso, which was on the second floor. I never thought that I would actually be able to see an authentic Picasso painting in person. It filled me wih wonder. We were only able to look at them for about a minute. The one painting I looked at was of musical instruments. I liked it a lot. Afterwards we ate a quick lunch and at 3:30 pm we boarded El Ave to Zaragoza. 

That week was amazing, wonderful, fantastic. It was so much fun. I was with a great group of people and I came to know them better. It felt as if we were the only people in SYA Spain. This year was the first time they went to Extremadura for one of the five-day trips. I hope they continue going there. I thought the trip was a metaphor for the whole SYA experience. We stop what we usually do and take time to travel somewhere new, doing and learning new things. Then at the end we return to what we did before, though initially it will probably feel different because we've changed along the way. I'm very glad that I was chosen to go to Extremadura. I loved all of it. 

The Trip To Extremadura - Part 1

Sorry everyone for such a long wait for my next post! I hope you enjoy reading about my trip to Extremadura!

I woke up at 6:30 Monday morning, all excited for the five-day trip to Cáceres! As I waited for the 34 bus, I was a bit nervous because I didn't know if I had enough time to make it to the Estación de las Delicias (The Delicias Station). It was 7:35 am and I had to be there at 8. I arrived with time to spare. Even if I had been a few minutes late, it would've been okay because the train we were taking wouldn't leave until 8:30. The two teachers accompanying us, Oriol and Álvaro, just wanted to make sure we got there with enough time. The train, called El Ave, is the fastest train in Spain. As a comparison, the train would take an hour and a half to get to Madrid (where we were going) compared to four hours on a bus. Quite a difference, which is why we took the train in the first place I'm guessing. If we had taken a bus from Zaragoza, the trip to Extremadura would've been about 7 hours. Too long. 

Us waiting inside the Estación de las Delicias

El Ave was very nice. It glided across the earth, and its shadow weaved back and forth on the hills, looking like a snake. Inside all the seats had a headrest, a table, and a footrest. There were also mini-TV's. It was basically like the inside of a small plane. 

El Ave!

Madrid!

Upon arriving in Madrid we walked straight to the bus that would take us to Extremadura. It was parked outside the station, so we were able to see a tiny part of Madrid! The capital of Spain! Like the train, the bus was also very comfortable. Apparently the typical yellow school bus we associate with the US doesn't exist here, so for all of our school trips we get luxury buses, which are huge and, as I've already said, very comfy. The bus ride took about four hours, and the first city we visited in Extremadura was Trujillo. 

We've finally in Extremadura!

The countryside

Cows

Here I will pause to explain a little about Extremadura. It's famous for several reasons. First, i's the place where many of the conquerors of the Americas were born. For example, Hernán Cortés (the Aztecs), Fernando Pizarro (the Incas), and Balboa. Second, the ham from the community is one of the best in Spain. It's called jamón ibérico and it's from black pigs that only eat a certain kind of nut that grows in the community as well. Third, many of cities have Roman ruins. We visited several of them. I'll add another thing that I noticed and which I liked a lot. Extremadura is much greener than Aragón and therefore for me much prettier. The views that we saw were amazing. 

Now back to Trujillo. We arrived in the city after lunch, which we had eaten in a restaurant. The bus dropped us off in the central plaza (La Plaza Mayor). It was very pretty. There was a fountain and next to it a statue of Pizarro mounted on a horse. He was born in Trujillo. Álvaro gave us all maps of the city with arrows that we followed. The city has many palaces built by the families of the conquistadors. They are very rectangular and closed off. We did not see the inside of any of them. We climbed to the top of the city and there we saw a castle. But that was insignificant compared to the view! On top of the hill, we could see for miles. Very green grass, ancient walls, the mountains in the distance. It was beautiful. 

Us in front of the statue of Fernando Pizarro in
the Plaza Mayor of Trujillo

One of the palaces built by the conquistadors' families

Climbing to the top of Trujillo

The castle!

Me and Sydney

Amazing view, very green with a lot of Roman ruins

Me and Gabby

Walking back down

Interesting looking building (Jordan)

We boarded the bus and drove to the second city, Cáceres, where we stayed in a hotel for the first three nights. The hotel was called Alfonso IX, who was a Spanish king. Oriol and Álvaro assigned us our rooms and roommates. I like both my room and roommate. We stayed on the third floor and we we got a good view from our only window. For the rest of the day we had free time, so three friends (Nate, Kaitlyn, and Sydney) and I walked around our new home for the next four days. When we decided to eat dinner, we chose a small Italian restaurant. I had a sub with meat, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayonnaise with tutti-frutti ice cream for dessert. We remained in the restaurant for about an hour, talking and laughing. I really enjoyed it. 

My room in Cáceres!

The view from my room's window

The hotel's dining room

The next day we visited Mérida. We first went to see a Roman aqueduct! It was very cool. A lot of storks like to perch on top of it. Storks in Spanish is cigueñas. To explain what they are in Spanish, the teachers say that they bring the babies. Next we went to the National Museum of Roman Art in the city. The museum itself was huge and contained many Roman statues, columns, and mosaics. We went underground to see an old home. Of course during that time the home wasn't underground. We've just built on top of it. We also saw an old Roman road. Afterwards we visited an old temple. In my Art History class we've learned about the Roman temples and their different parts. I liked that I could name the general structure of the temple. Next we had free time to wander around and eat lunch. I was with the same three friends as yesterday. We walked down a big street and at the end there was a statue of Romulus and Remus feeding from a female wolf. I wondered why a statue of Rome's origin was in Spain, but Mérida was a Roman city, so it makes sense that the statue is there. To the left of the statue was a very long bridge that went over the Guadiana River. We stayed there because it was a very nice spot to take in some sun and to relax. 

The Roman aqueduct!

Kaitlyn, Sydney, and me

All of us with Álvaro! He's wearing the green sweater.

All of us with Oriol! He's wearing the gray sweater with
sunglasses.

The storks! Cigueñas.

The Museum of Roman Art

A model of the Roman Mérida.

Ideal Restitution
25 B.C. - 1300's A.D.
Scale: 1/1000

Paintings of the gladiator and animal fights.

Top of a Corinthian column. 

Sundial.

A Roman god.

A full column. 

Mosaic.

The old Roman road.

I think this was the dining room in the house.

What the house would've looked like.

The statue of Romulus and Remus.

The Roman temple.

The very long bridge!

The Guadiana River!

Nate, Sydney, and Kaitlyn

A little before 4 pm we returned to the whole group because we were going to visit more Roman ruins in Mérida together. I was very excited to see the Roman amphitheater and theater. I asked if we were going to see a Roman circus also, but it's just a field with the outside wall remaining, so it's not much to see. But I did get a glimpse of it on the bus ride back to Cáceres. I still wish we had gone to see it. Anyway, we first visited the amphitheater. In Art History we had also learned about the amphitheater, theater, and circus, but it's amazing to be able to see them in person. The amphitheater was used for the most grand shows. The most well-known is that of the gladiator which is where the thumb signs of "yes" and "no" came from. When one gladiator was about to kill the other, the former would look at the emperor in the stands to see if he should kill the other. If the emperor gave a thumbs-up, the other gladiator could live because he fought valiantly, but if it was a thumbs-down, he had to die. Other popular shows were men against lions and ship battles. For the latter the arena would actually be filled with water. The subterranean level where the animal cages and gladiator "lockers" were was excavated. It was in the shape of a cross. Next we visited the theater. The Romans took many artistic and architectural ideas from the Greeks, and the theaters were one of them. In our group we had some students in the Theater class, so we wanted them to show us something since we would probably never have a chance again to be in a real Roman theater. It was the perfect place to perform. One of the Theater students did his mime, which was hilarious! I actually cried. He pretended to be a king that went off to battle and then returned. The battle scenes were the most fun because he ran across and behind the stage, using his stuffed animal dog that he had brought as the enemy. Other people were in the theater and watched the mime, too. After him a woman sang two songs. I didn't know or understand either of them, but Oriol told us that the second song was from a Spanish opera. There was something very magical about the theater. It was like a time machine. I could pretend that I lived during the time of the Romans. I didn't want to leave. On our way back to Cáceres we stopped at the river during the sunset. It was very pretty. Álvaro told us that we had made a full circle because we started the day with the aqueduct and ended the day with its water source.  

The amphitheater!

The Roman theater!

The stage.

The chorus where the authorities sat.

The beautiful sunset.

The next day, Wednesday, was dedicated to seeing Cáceres. First we visited the old part of the city, where the Jews lived. In the archway to that part of the city, there was a plaque sort of thing on the ground in the shape of the Iberian Peninsula which meant that the Jews lived and were protected there. This weekend in Cáceres they celebrated when the city was part of the Roman empire, so banners were strung up among the buildings and people were setting up different stands. There was a Jewish castle made of adobe and some palaces. One building we passed is very important because it's the only one with a part made with bricks. Álvaro told us about some nuns that never leave the monastery and that also make and sell sweets to people. He bought some for us that had pumpkin filling and they were delicious! Some students bought some afterwards for their host families. Next we visited an underground cistern where water was stored in case of emergencies. When it would rain the water was collected in pipes that led to the cistern. Bugs would also sometimes fall into the water, so an eel was put in it to eat all of the bugs. Afterwards we visited the San Francisco Javier church. When I entered it I was amazed by the all golden display at the front. It was made from wood with a golden coating. We climbed up two small spiral staircases to one of the towers, which gave us a good view of the surrounding area. 

The symbol in the shape of the Iberian
Peninsula.

Banners.

The building made with bricks.

The door where people can ask the nuns for sweets.

The treat Álvaro bought for us.

The cistern.

The San Francisco Javier Church.

The golden-covered front.

View from a tower on top of the church.