Friday, June 4, 2010
La última noche en España
In reality, our last night in Spain was probably the best of all. To start the night, we met in the lobby of the hotel at 8 to begin what had been called "the last little surprise." then, we traveled by bus through the streets of Alicante until we arrived at a stop in the outskirts of Alicante. Then we walked with Pablo towards a house where a man and a woman, the parents of Professor Aznar, welcomed us into their home. After a short while, the feast began. There was cheese, gazpacho, sangría, empanadas, tortillas españoles, bread with two different types of spreads, salads, and even more food that I didn't recognize. As a result, I—and everyone else—ate way too much food, but it didn't really matter, because it was all delicious. While we were eating, the music began, and all of a sudden almost everyone got up and started dancing in the grass y practicing the dance moves they'd learned in their classes. After, we watched a slideshow of all the photos Sr. Aznar had taken throghout the trip, accompanied by our favorite song, "Stereo Love." Soon after, John decided to play the guitar for us, and everyone sang along. It was great. Then, Laura sang and played the guitar and then Maria and Tyler sang "If I were a Boy" (the Spanish version) one last time. After the night at Prof. Aznar's parent's house had ended, we went to a bar/restaurant/night club siuated near the beach. It was very beautiful (and very neon)—a perfect surprise to end the evening. Afterwards, everyone returned to the hotel to spend our last three hours in Alicante with a few hours of sleep before we have to wake up in the morning to begin our long journey back to the United States. Unfortunately, we have to wake up at 4:30 tomorring morning. In conclusion, we have had both a wonderful trip and a wonderful night. We've had a great time and learned a lot of Spanish. In short, I really hope we come back one day.
Gracias!!
Liz
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Buenos!
Sin embargo, ahora parece que todo está terminando, pero la verdad es que este viaje a España fue una experiencia que sin duda ha cambiado nuestras vidas en algunos aspectos. Aunque es el final de este viaje, es la empieza de otras experiencias que va a cambiar el modo en que vemos el mundo. Por ejemplo, hoy recibí mi licencia de navegar porque como era la última día de clase, navegamos sin tener un instructor! Después de un mes, somos expertos navegando un bote de vela muy pequeño. Broma. Jaja. No obstante, esta licencia es solo para navegar en España. Entonces, tengo que regresar a España para usar esta licencia!
España ha sido una experiencia que nunca voy a olvidar. Las personas que he conocido aquí, y las cosas que he aprendido van a quedar conmigo. Entonces, voy a escribir las cosas que voy a echar de menos de España.
Cosas que voy a echar de menos:
Primero, voy a echar de menos la comida. Yo sé que para algunas otras personas la comida ha sido una adaptación drástica, pero la mayoría del tiempo me gusta la comida.
Café a cualquier hora del día. Cappuccino, bon bons, y especialmente café con leche.
Sobre mesa. (Un tiempo después de comer que solo es para hablar).
La playa. (Pero no voy a echar de menos las personas sin ropa. Especialmente las mujeres de mayor edad que están gordas).
El mar mediterráneo
Las fiestas por todas horas de la noche.
LA SIESTA.
Javier, el mesero en el café en donde desayunamos.
Don Campello, un señor que hemos conocido cuando hicimos las entrevistas, que vive en el 28 planta y que tiene 82 años.
Pablo! El sobrino de nuestro profesor que ha mostrado a nosotros en donde vamos para bailar.
Directo (una discoteca)
Marcil, el guardia de la noche en el hotel. Siempre habla con nosotros.
Ricardo….de pronto no voy a echar de menos Ricardo. Es un poco chungo.
Pilar y Jorge, nuestros instructores de baile.
Alex y Carlos, nuestros instructores de vela.
La gente de España
Churros con chocolate
La heladería en la explanada con la pareja de Italia. (Yo he ido allí cada día en este viaje).
Las personas caminando sus perros.
La ropa de Europa, y como todos se visten muy elegantes.
Los restaurantes en que comimos para el almuerzo, y esos meseros también.
Las calles pequeñas, y la ropa colgada por los balcones.
El Corte Ingles.
Las zapaterías.
La palabra “vale”
Paella.
Por supuesto, Prof. Aznar, Cory, y todos los otros estudiantes de Vanderbilt.
Y más de todo, como cada día ha sido una aventura.
Gracias por leer mi lista, y adiós!!
¡Viva España!
Hasta el próximo viaje a España,
Clara
English Translation:
Hello!
Today is Wednesday, June 2, and we only have 2 days left before returning to the United States. I believe everyone is ready to see their families and friends, and relax after so much studying. This past weekend we went to Barcelona, which was a lot of fun, and despite the fact that the trip was 6 hours, it was worth it to see this city.
Nevertheless, now it seems like everything is ending, but the truth is that this trip has been an experience that without doubt has changed our lives in some way or another. Even though it is the end of this trip, it is the beginning of other experiences that will change the way in which we view the world. For example, today I received my sailing license, and as it was the last day of class we sailed without an instructor in the boat with us! After one month, we are experts at sailing a small boat. Joke! Haha. However, this license is only good for sailing in Spain. In that case, this means that in the future I have to return to Spain to use it!
Spain has been an experience that I will never forget. The people I have met here, and the things I have learned will always stay with me. So speaking, I am going to write the things that I will miss about Spain.
Things I will miss about Spain:
First, I will miss the food. I know for some of the people it has been a drastic change, but I really have enjoyed trying the new cuisine.
Coffee at whatever hour of the day. Cappuccinos, Bon Bons, and especially Cafe con Leche.
The conversations after everyone has finished eating and we just sit around and talk.
The beach. However, I will NOT miss the topless people. Especially the old ladies who are really fat and don't wear a bathing suit top. I believe this is called culture shock.)
The Mediterranean sea.
How parties go on at all hours of the night.
NAPS.
Javier, the waiter at the cafe in which we eat breakfast.
Mr. Campello, a man we met by interviewing him for class. He lives on the 28th floor and is 82 years old and knows much about the world.
Pablo! The nephew of Prof. Aznar who has shown us the best places to go dancing.
Directo (a certain club in the barrio (neighborhood) of Alicante.)
Marcil, one of the hotel night guards who always talks to us in the lobby.
Ricardo....who I may not actually miss. Due to the fact that he's a little sketchy. But I felt obligated to include him anyways.
Pilar and Jorge, our dance teachers.
Alex and Carlos, our sailing teachers.
The people of Spain.
Churros and Chocolate....there is no translation except for SUPER DELICIOUS!
The icecream shop on the esplanade that is run by an Italian couple. I have gone there every day on this trip.
The people walking their dogs.
European clothes, and how everyone dresses so elegantly.
The restaurants in which we ate lunch, and those waiters also.
The narrow streets, and clothes hanging from the balcony.
The Corte Ingles.
Shoe stores.
The word "vale," which means ok in Spanish.
Paella. A traditional dish from Spain made of yellow rice with seafood. It can also have red meat.
Of course, Prof. Aznar, Cory, and all the other Vanderbilt students.
And above all, how each day has been an adventure.
Thanks for reading my list, and goodbye!
Long live Spain!
Until the next trip to Spain,
Clara
Uno Viernes memorable
A Friday to remember
Friday was a normal day for all of us, we had presentations and some of us had to go sail. The next day we had to be ready at 5:30 in the morning in order to go to Barcelona. Therefore, Friday night we only wanted to relax from a busy week and find a place to relax and talk. With 13 people it was hard to agree on a place but we finally went to the Barrio. Since there was arguing trying to find the place we all order drinks to relax… After those drinks we wanted more because of the Barrio atmosphere. We then saw students from UT Knox and talked to them and boys from MIZZOU, therefore instead of a nice relaxing night we all went out to the pubs and danced the night away. We went to bar to bar and danced with locals and had a wonderful time. The next morning we did not regret coming in a 3 in the morning because it was a great night with friends and we all slept on the bus to Barcelona.
Devyn
El calor de la noche
Blog 2
Last night, to escape the heat was caused by the broken air conditioning machine in our room; I went to a cafe known for its free Wi-Fi connection to work on the homework. I was working, chatting with friends over the internet, and reading my emails carefully with a black coffee. Suddenly, while I was talking to my mother on my mobile phone, a group of 25 older men and women entered the cafe accompanied by a lot of noise, talking loudly among themselves. I had to finish my conversation with my mother due to the loud noise of more than 20 chairs scraping the floor. Moreover, the clamor of the situation compared to the tranquil silence beforehand caused me to stop what I was doing and stare at the group, which then began cutting pieces off a very large animal leg that was on the table with knives and eating them. After a few minutes I started working on my Spanish homework again. However, I was working for less than 15 minutes before the group began to sing together, even using harmonies, and surprisingly they all had very nice singing voices. All were drinking glasses of wine or beer, and the noise grew louder and louder, until they finally stood up with another song and left the café exchanging hugs and kisses. All in all, the night (although it was not very productive) gave me a perfect picture of the rhythm, culture, and daily life in Spain.
Laura
Monday, May 31, 2010
El arte de Barcelona
Amanda Hirsch
Blog 2
En mi opinión el viaje a Barcelona fue la más fantástica de todos los viajes de los fines de semana. Ya que nosotros visitamos muchos lugares históricos y culturales, nosotros aprendimos muchísimo de la ciudad y diferentes aspectos de la cultura española. En mi opinión el mejor sitio que nosotros visitamos fue el museo de Picasso. En este museo hay un gran numero de obras de Picasso. Debido a que Picasso tiene estilos diferentes, el museo está organizando a diferentes secciones. La mayoría de las diferentes secciones están basado en un orden cronológico, por eso el museo representa la vida de esta artista famosa. Un parte muy especial en el museo es el cuarto que contiene las interpretaciones de “Las Meninas,” un obra de Velásquez. Me encantan las interpretaciones porque estas son muy interesante, más aun cada interpretación demuestra el talento único de Picasso. Además de la multitud de obras de estilos diferentes en el museo, el museo representa que Picasso es una maestría de técnicas artes. Una vez más esto demuestra que Picasso era una artista con mucho talento. Por lo tanto este museo vale la pena. Si pudiera regresar cualquier museo de España, visitaría el museo de Picasso en Barcelona.
In my opinion, the trip to Barcelona was the most fantastic of all the weekend trips we have taken. Since we visited a lot of different historical and cultural sites, we learned a lot about the city and different aspects of Spanish culture. In my opinion, the best place we visited was the Picasso Museum. In this museum there are a large number of works by Picasso. Because Picasso has different styles, the museum is organized into different sections. The majority of these sections are based on chronological order, therefore the museum represents the life of this famous artist. A very special part of the museum is the room that contains the interpretations of “Las Meninas,” a work by Velasquez. I love the interpretations because they are very interesting, more so each interpretation demonstrates Picasso’s unique talent. In addition to the multitude of different styles in the museum, the museum represents that Picasso is a master of different artistic techniques. Once again this shows that Picasso was a very talented artist. Therefore this museum is very worthwhile. If I could return to any museum in Spain, I would visit the Picasso Museum.
Dinero si, pero los pobres no faltan sentido de humor
Money yes, but the poor don’t lack a sense of humor
Last week we were walking to the hotel after an afternoon at the beach, when we passed a poor man who, as always, was begging for money outside El Corte Inglés; he was standing up and doing tricks, while talking to people as they passed him. The man walking in front of us passed him and said “I’m sorry but I don’t have any money.” The poor man responded with a joke, “well, work!” The man didn’t think it was funny, and he became furious, as you can imagine. He started to yell , “Seriously? You are begging for money on the streets and you tell me to work!” Clearly, the man didn’t appreciate his sense of humor, and the poor man didn’t get money from him, but on the other hand, I thought it was hilarious and gave him some change!
Stephen
El Parque Güell
At the end of our trip to Barcelona, as the last place we visited, we went to Park Guell. A very beautiful park, it is famous for being designed by Gaudí at the beginning of the twentieth century. In my opinion, it was noticeably different than many the other parks that I have seen in my life, and truly did not follow my expectations. I had imagined a large field with fountains and trees, or perhaps something similar to the Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid with its classical buildings and statues, but instead found a very strange park decorated in the unusual style of Gaudí. The park is small but purposeful, and is filled with buildings and structures characterized by curvilinear style of the artist. In addition, many of the structures are characterized by the typical broken mosaics of Gaudí, including the famous statue of a salamander, which now serves as an emblem of the park and of the city of Barcelona in general. However, my favorite part of the park was the elaborate circular mosaics that adorned the ceilings of an open-air structure near the salamander. They are simple and unimportant in the larger context of the park, but are truly beautiful, and in my opinion typify Gaudí’s style. Indeed, for me the park is symbolic of the unique and eclectic style of Barcelona as a city.
Laura