Finally Home

Sorry this took me so long to post anything, but I had no time the last couple of weeks. I got back home on Monday around 2:15 after a 9 hour flight from Madrid to Chicago. I hated having to leave, but I was ready to go home. During my experience, I learned so many things and I met so many people that I will never forget.

Madrid y Almagro

I am sorry but I am having trouble with my English, so I will have to put this in Spanish.

En jueves, fuimos al Almagro para mirar el teatro. Vimos el teatro de "El perro de hortelano." Fue una comedia escrito en Castellano Antiguo y fue un poco díficil para entender. Salimos Ciudad Real a las 21:00 y regresamos a las 2:00 en la madrugada. Pero, las clases empezaron a las 10:30 en vez de 9:30 y tuvimos un poco más tiempo para dormir.

En viernes, fuimos a Madrid. Me encantó. Fuimos al Museo de Prado y vi los cuadros de Goya y Velazquez. Después, fuimos al Congreso y vi donde los politicos hacen decisiones. Siguente, fuimos a la Catedral por un ratito y era tan hermosa. Finalmente, fuimos a la Palacia Real por un foto y después la Plaza Mayor. Habia gitanos andando de la madera y tuvimos que tener cuidado

Finalmente, tenemos fotos!!!

 This is my room. It´s smaller than you think...

 Here I am at an archeological site, Alarcos. It was a fortress during the Reconquest and a battle was fought here.

 Castilla La-Mancha is the land of Don Quixote, the most famous literary character in Spain. Also, the young people are rebelling and that´s why there are signs...and graffitti everywhere.

 Molinas...gotta love them :)

 This is yours truly in Toledo. Behind me is the Alcazar and La Catedral de Santa Maria. Did you know the Alcazar was the inspiration for Walt Disney´s Castle?

 This is 8 of my group members and we are in the gardens of the Alcazar of Cordoba. From the left we have Olivia, Rachel, Christy,Natalie,Michael,Me, and Jared. Actually, we call him Santiago because Spainiards can´t say his name and a little kid called him Santiago.

 This is the Mezquita of Cordoba. There are the arches everywhere inside. It was a mosque, now it´s a cathedral. How cool is that?

 Ahh, Granada. The magical city in Andalucia. This is the Alhambra. I was inside it .)

Finally, we have your favorite person in Ciudad Real!!! This is a really huge statue like thing that looks like a boat. The view from up here is really awesome

Al-Andaluz (Andalucía): Land of the Vandals

I just got back from probably what was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life. El Alcazar and La Mezquita en Córdoba and La Alhambra and La Catedral en Granada. La Mezquita was so beautiful. There were so many columns and it was very tranquil. What is neat about it is that it was once a mosque and now it is a Catholic Cathedral.
Granada, Granada, Granada, te amo. Granada was absolutely beautiful. La Alhambra is a huge fortress, castle, and city all in one. It´s been around for over 900 years. It was used by the Catholic Kings and the Arab Califas for centuries. Granada was the last Muslim stronghold in Spain at the end of the Reconquista and it was there that the Muslims gave up their power in Spain. Also, we went to the Cathedral. How come there is nothing that magnificent in the United States? It was fairly new, built in 1687. The Cathedral I go to was built in 1013 I believe. The last place we went to was the Real Capilla de los Reyes Católicos. I got to see where Ferdinand, Isabella, Felipe el Hermoso and Juana la Loca are buried. If you don´t know who Ferdinand and Isabella are, they funded Columbus´ voyage to America. You can thank them for our great nation. Juana la Loca was their daughter and she was married to Felipe. She was crazy because of all the centuries of incest within the royal family. With that being said, everyone is in my prayers, and I hope all of you are doing well.

¿De dónde eres?
¡Andalucía, OLE!

So on Friday, we went to Toledo, the capital of Castilla La Mancha. To say it was incredible is an understatement. We went to the La Catedral de Santa Maria and saw some of Greco´s paintings. This week, we are going on an overnight trip to Córdoba and Granada.
I suppoe you are wondering what my normal day is like. On the weekdays I get up at 8.30 and leave for school around 9.05. It´s only about a ten minute walk to the school. From 9.30 to 4.00 I am at school. Then I get home around 4.30, take a siesta (amazing concept) and do my homework. Around 6, I go out with my friends to the Plaza Mayor for Helados Moran. It´s the best stuff ever! On the weekends, I am allowed to be out with my family until 1 AM and we usually cut that curfew pretty close. We go have dinner with various people and every Saturday, we have lunch (at 3:00) with Pascual, which is another name for grandma. I go to Mass on Saturday evenings in the Cathedral. It´s nearly the same, but there are not just the stragglers walking in during the homily;there are people coming in at the final blessing. Spaniards are known for never being on time.
I like my host family pretty well. My dad, Carlos, is the easiest to talk to. My mom, Rita, kind of gets frustrated when I don´t understand what she is saying. But, what can I do? I like my siblings, Carlos (16) and Andrea (15), but they are out until odd hours of the night with their friends. I went out once with Andrea and her friends and they taught me to play cards. I´ll buy a pack of Spanish cards and I will teach you guys how to play. But, sadly Carlos and Andrea are leaving for Ireland on Thursday. They get back the day I leave.
Anyway, I am heading out to the Plaza Mayor and all of you are in my prayers!

Vivemos en la casa de capulla.

So this Helados Moran....Yeah, they do put something in that ice cream. I think I am addicted. Anyway, we actually started doing work in our classes today. And unfortunately, we are doing a week over the preterite versus the imperfect. It is an understatement to say that I am only a little tired of pret. vs. imp. after spending practically a whole school year on it. And we are doing the same thing with SER versus ESTAR. I mean, how hard can it be to distinguish Condition, Emotion, Location, and Position from something permenant? I don´t know either. Anyway, it´s off to the Plaza Mayor :)

Well...

Well...I can unerstand a bit of what is being said to me. The accents are really different and they don´t even say the whole word. And then I have to process what they are saying. Oh well, I´ll get used to it. Today was our first day en el colegio. We took a test to be placed into different groups. I forgot 3 years of Español. i don´t know how on Earth I managed to do that, but I did.
So over the weekend, my host family took me to Alarcos, which is a hermitage on top of a mountain. They put the Virgen of Alarcos(Mary) on an altar and they carry her from the city to the top of this mountain. Then they stay there all night and pray. It´s pretty cool. Then Monday was a holiday and we went to their house  in a small town 20km away. It was a lot of fun, and don´t worry, I didn´t forget about you guys at home :) You´re in my prayers