Misfortune and Luck, País Vasco (14.03.11-27.03.11)

Two weeks ago I was anxiously awaiting my trip to Valencia for Las Fallas. Everything was perfectly set in place, and the Friday before I spent the majority of the day resting and preparing for what I would know would be an unforgettable experience. I went to bed that night, back packed and 'completamente lista'. Then I awoke, at 2 in the morning, sick as a dog! I had a fever, my entire body felt ached as if I fell down several flights of stairs, I was drenched with sweat, and my teeth chattered with the chills; I had the flu, perfect. Needless to say, I did not get to go to Valencia. I instead go to stay in my bed all day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, completely miserable. Additionally, I'm the type of person who has to be doing something at all times, and I feel incredibly discomfortable if I don't leave the house throughout the day--so as you could imagine, three consecutive days constrained to my bed were hell. Not to mention, this feeling was augmented by the perfect Madrilean weather (70ºF) that showed up for those three days only. Overall it's not fun being sick in a foreign country, you really feel helpless. That said, this is a weekend not to remember.

No Comment!

The next week, I really took some precautions with my health. I needed to be healthy for my next trip the following weekend to the Basque Country because I wouldn't be able to bear missing another. I stayed mostly in my apartment studying, except for Wednesday night. On Wednesday, I went to a famous tapas bar in Madrid called El Tigre for the first time. This place is great, because with a glass of beer you get literally an entire plate full of 5-6 different types of tapas for free. So yeah, me and my friend Ali went to El Tigre and, as it's always packed to the brim with people, met some Spanish and enjoyed an overwhelming amount of free food: croquetes (fried balls of potatoes, cream, cheese, and meat), tortillas (NOT like Mexican tortillas, a thick omelette cake with potatoes), patatas bravas (potatoes with a red sauce), tostas (like bruschetta, but with various ingredients), aceitunas (olives), salchichas (sausage), and more. It was great, and I'm sure I will return multiple more times, when I'm hungry!
Friday morning I awoke at 6AM to leave for my Erasmus Student Network trip, exhausted because my nerves had prevented me from sleeping hardly at all. However, as 7AM in Spain is as early as 4AM in the US, I figured that all the students going on the trip would want to sleep during the five hour bus ride to our first location, San Sebastián. How wrong I was. No, instead, a group of Italians and two Finns, still drunk from the night before, started a 'Disco Bus' with blaring music the entire way! Needless to say, I and a large majority of the others, were quite annoyed and sleep-deprived upon arrival. Yet how my mood changed!

The Beach at Dusk in San Sebastián

Our first stop of the trip was a sidrería (in English, cidery) outside of the city of San Sebastián. Sidrerías are typical of Northern Spain, where during the late winter and spring they brew la sidra, an alcohol of fermented apples. In the sidrería we ate a large meal of croquetes, bread, seafood tortillas, steak, and cheese with fig marmalade and also had unlimited sidra and wine. Completely full and even more sleepy, we left to enter the city to the hotel. With only an hour of free time before our city tour (insufficient time for a nap), me and some others took a seven minute walk to the beach, perfectly illuminated in the light of dusk. That is when I fell in love with San Sebastián.
That night, we took a short tour through the city. Afterwards me and some new friends (I hadn't known anybody before I left attending the trip) bought some food from a supermarket as well as a couple bottles of wine. We spent the next several hours dining casually on the beach in the dark, enjoying what I would call paradise. I returned to my bed that night exhausted, sandy, but more than anything, enamored.

Climbing the Mountain in the Funicular

View of San Sebastian from Above

Saturday morning, I awoke early and went to a cafeteria for breakfast with some of my aforementioned friends, Renata from Hungary and Sibil from Germany. Proceding that, we left to ride the city funicular up the mountainside. The view from the top was incredible--if possible, I was even more in awe. Afterwards, we lowered the mountain and took a walk along the beach to El Peine de Viento (Comb of the Wind), a unique rock formation with some added sculptures. Next me and my friend Sibil decided to head to the downtown to look for postcards (I'm collecting them now in my travels) and something for lunch. We ended up buying some bocadillos so that we could take our food outside and enjoy the incredible weather, 78ºF! I took a bocadillo de tortilla relleno de jamón y queso, and as it was well over the size of Subway foot-long with REAL bread and REAL food, for around 3EUR it was a steal. I was stuffed after half of it, saving some room for an ice cream afterward :).
Later that afternoon we returned to the hotel to board the bus for Bilbao. How hard that was, to leave. Honestly, I have never had such an impression of a city before. Looking around the city, seeing the content of the citizens, the beautiful houses, the adorable children, I imagined myself living there. So much so, that I took note of the university and nanoscience research center we saw upon leaving and I'm going to do some grad-school/career research! One thing for sure, I have to return...

Me, Sibil, and Renata

El Peine del Viento

 Rock Sculptures on the Atlantic

Perfect Weather!

Bilbao Soccer Stadium

We didn't arrive in Bilbao until it was about nighttime. Again we left for a city stroll, this time guided by a local. That night there was a soccer game, so the streets were filled with fans partying. While there isn't so much to see in Bilbao (it's a modernized industry city), it has a nice river walk with several beautiful buildings including the famous Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao. Even though it was raining, the entire Erasmus group left for the same bar, where we all danced the night away (I came to realize in only three days of travel sleep is a waste of time).

Guggeheim (1)

River Walk in Bilbao

That Sunday morning we visited the Guggenheim, a Frank Gehry masterpiece of a building. However, one could say that the architecture trumps the art inside; the German Classicism exhibition seemed out of place and otherwise the museum was pretty vacant of artwork. After enjoying Gehry's magic, Sibil and I left to explore the city because we had free time until our 5PM departure. The only problem was that it was pretty cold and rainy outside, and even worse, a Sunday (i.e. no stores open). So for around five hours, all we could do was hop from various cafeterias and bars in typical Spanish style. Luckily, the Basque Country is known for great food and especially gourmet tapas called 'pintxos'. If the spelling doesn't seem Spanish, it's because it's not. It's in Euskera, another Iberian Dialect that a large percentage of Basque people speak. For example, all of the street signs and other announcements in the Basque Country are principally in Euskera, then in Spanish. So in away, this trip was in another 'country'.

Pintxos

By the time 5PM rolled around, everyone was more than ready to leave for Madrid. The three days had been wonderful, but our bodies couldn't handle anymore activity or any less sleep. By 11 o'clock that night, I was walking to my apartment, showering, and falling in to my bed.

Bridge by Architect Santiago Calatrava

Guggenheim (2)
Today was Monday, meaning the beginning of the week! Having no time for study this weekend, now I reap the consequences as I scramble to get academically organized again. Yet I still lament not to travel this weekend, I think I'm becoming spoiled! 

Salamanca, Segovia, and Sierra de Guadamarra (09.03.11-13.03.11)

Surplus of Nutella (Or Crema de Cacao)

       The beginning of this week was like any other. My classes went by pretty fast, and dance was really great. On Friday night, me and my roommates ordered Chinese food--and if there's one thing that is universal across the U.S. and Spain, it's the Chinese food. Same cheap, reliable, quick food. That night I also made crepes for my roommates--which they quite enjoyed so I think I'll have to repeat it again. With the copious amounts of nutella or nutella-like products they have here in Spain, it shouldn't be too hard.

Plaza Mayor de Salamanca

    This weekend, I also had the wonderful opportunity to go to Salamanca, as I had mentioned earlier with three international friends. The city was really enjoyable, super walkable with a lot of pretty sights too see. Two of the most notable sights were the city's Plaza Mayor and the University of Salamanca. This university dates back to 1134, making it the 4th oldest, functioning higher learning institution in all of Europe. I liked the youthful feel of Salamanca, and could definitely notice it had a high student population. Even still, I don't know if there is a better place to be in Spain other than the bustling heart of Madrid...let's see if that reigns true after more travels ensue!

The Gang: Niels, Ali, Me, and Elias

Shell House-Casa de las Conchas

   The next day, my friends and I had to check out of the hostel before 12, and were therefore on the road quite early. Since we didn't have to get the rental car back until 9PM, we decided to extend our road trip a little more before returning to Madrid. On the drive back East, we stayed North to head to the town of Segovia. In the short hour and a half drive to the city, we passed through some beautiful unique terrain: first green plains, then olive trees and brush plants, and then finally rocky quarries. The variation in such a short time was incredible to say the least. Finally reaching Segovia, one is instantly struck by it's most prominent aspect, the Aqueduct of Segovia. With an estimated construction date of the 1st Century B.C., this monument would have been impressive even if it were half the size. The aqueduct is a pure marvel, and almost expressing it's grandiosity, divides the city into half--the modern and the historical parts. I'm definitely glad we managed to stop by this city because I believe now that I even prefer it to Salamanca.

Aqueduct of Salamanca and Sierra de Guadamarra in the Background

   Finally, in order to get back to Madrid, we decided to drive through the mountain range, Sierra de Guadamarra. Overall, the climb was incredible, and we were anxiously looking forward to the view from the peak. However, the last several hundred meters of the climb presented a complete reversal in weather--snow and ice fog! The weather was so surprising that in fact some of my friends wanted to get outside of the car. However, I protested! After this boar of a winter in Chicago, blizzard and all, I am repulsed by snow and by wintery weather. 

                                                                                Overall, I had a nice weekend and week, all though with all the excitement, I think I caught a   cold. Time to rest up, cause it's Valencia this Saturday!

In the Groove of Things (02.03.11-08.03.11)

   This past week shot by. I guess I'm really getting used to my schedule and beginning to enjoy my classes--now that I have had a little bit of time to study outside of lecture so I can better follow just what my professor is talking about. I still have a lot more to study though. Yet the best part is that I actually feel like a student again, which I love.

   Last Tuesday, during my ballet class, I received wonderful news: the studio's going to have a recital this June, and I'm going to be in it! The only problem is that the shows are the Saturday and Sunday before my last exam at my university in June. Of course I'm still going to dance though, I'll just really need to be prepared well in advance. Tonight in class the instructor described to us the scenario of our dance: we're going to be like bold, malevolent dancers that interrupt a calm, innocent group dancing before. They were white long tutus, us bright short ones. Overall, perfect! I can't wait. Ah, to perform again...such bliss...

   This past Friday was the birthday party of a girl from Finland who I knew from my Spanish course. I ended up going and having a lot of friends, hanging out with the group I have really grown fond of. Speaking of which, me and three friends (Niels from Amsterdam, Ali from Florida, and Elias from Vienna) are going to go on a brief road trip this weekend to the city of Salamanca (about 2.5hr west of Madrid). We'll leave Saturday morning, stay in a hostel that night, and then return Sunday afternoon. It will be pretty jam packed, but I'm really excited to see the city. I've heard its full of young people and has a nice environment. Also, I signed up to go to Valencia the following weekend with the Erasmus Student Network for the festival, Las Fallas (3rd biggest in Spain). I'm really excited to see something so major in the culture, and I also am anxious to see Valencia. I'm going to try the city's two specialities: paella and horchata. I'm sure after tasting the true originals, that food and drink will be ruined for me if not in Valencia.

   Lastly, this week I had the opportunity to go to the movies for the first time in a foreign country, and I went twice! On Sunday, I went to see "Rango" with my roommates. This movie was rerecorded in Spanish, so unfortunately there was no Johnny Depp in this version. Yet I was really pleased by how well I followed the movie (granted it was a kids movie, so maybe it was slightly easier). Yesterday I went to see True Grit. This time it was in English, with Spanish subtitles. The funniest part was sometimes reading the Spanish helped me understand, because the southern/cowboy accents were almost inaudible. Also, sometimes I read the Spanish while listening, and I noticed that a lot of the meaning is lot in the translation. So I feel bad for those that only read the subtitles; they're missing out. 

First Three Weeks (and some) in Madrid!

Today is March 1, 2011, and how time has flown since I first arrived in Madrid, Spain on February 4th. I know that I could not even begin to accurately describe all of the events that have made this past 3.5 weeks incredible, but I can at least make a feeble attempt. As an engineer, I’m not used to writing anymore, and the persistent use of Spanish is making me lose my English. I’m giving a little disclaimer for what at times may be spastic, stream of conscious writing. So here we go:


February 4th, 2011: Arrival

Spanish Flag on a Dreary day in Salamanca

My landed in Aeropuerto Madrid-Barajas at 8:00AM local time. My eyes were puffy from spending the entire night crying on the plane–for the pain of goodbyes, for the excitement of a new beginning. As I got of the plane, I passed a window where I needed to show my passport, and I’m sure I looked like such a mess–having not showered nor slept in well over 24 hours (how could I then night before leaving or the night on the plane?). I continued passed the window, grabbed my luggage from the trolley, and walked towards the exit of the airport, slightly nervous to pass through customs. I approached the sign that said customs and…I reached the exit of the airport? Then I realized that the unofficial ‘window’ I went pass was the customs booth. Funny, cause they didn’t even look at my visa. That was when I realized that this sure isn’t the United States! And maybe all that time and money wasn’t necessary, after all.


Outside the Apartment


I sat in the exit terminal at 8:30AM, waiting the arrival of my roommate, Gara. I had only seen her once, from the pixelated screen of my Skype webcam a month before, so I was afraid I wouldn’t know who she was. Fortunately, that was not the case; within fifteen minutes she had arrived and began kindly helping me with my luggage. On a side note, I might add my bags were few (I’m so proud!). I just checked a large suitcase and carried with me a backpack and smaller roller. Total price for overweight/excess baggage: $0.00 ;). From there, Gara and I walked to her car from the terminal, and we began our drive to our apartment. We began to speak, to get to know each other, and I realized then that my broken Spanish would HAVE to improve. I was here, I was in Spain, and I was to be speaking Spanish, nothing more. No way of backing out!

Living Room

By the time we got to the apartment, it was about 10AM. I then met my other roommates: Laura, Ruben, and Eugenia (Ruben’s girlfriend). They all greeted me with warm welcomes and smiles, and I felt very reassured to have them for company. Instantly I had two necessary errands to run: I needed money (or more precisely, a bank account), and I needed a phone. Gara again graciously offered to help me out, so we promptly left together. For the next three hours we walked around our neighborhood, speaking with various banks in order to open an account. It ended up being really complicated, and with all the specific Spanish vocabulary in such matters, I am super lucky to have had Gara with me. After the bank account was created, I was able to then get a phone. I bought a pay-as-you go phone, and with 10EUR credit, it was still only 20EUR. Major difference from the U.S., number two.
Kitchen


Phone and bank account in check, we returned to the apartment. I was starting to collect my thoughts, when I remembered that I still had another thing to do that day! You see, I had enrolled in an intensive Spanish language and cultural course, that had just began the day before. That Friday, there was a cultural activity–a Spanish film, and something else I couldn’t remember at the time. By then, it was approaching 2PM and I had to be at my university by 3. I hadn’t yet eaten, nor did I know where to go. Fortunately, my roommates saved the day, again. Laura, who was making herself some lunch, kindly shared with me and meanwhile showed me how to arrive on campus with google maps. She was preparing for her exam at 4PM, and otherwise would have taken me as well. With that, I scarfed down the food, and I ran to metro station (I was running late). I wasn’t sure how the trains worked, but I figured that it would all work out. I haphazardly chose a direction, which ended up being the correct one, and within 10 min I was on campus, running to what I hoped was the right building (again, luck found me).

My Subway Station-Guzmán el Bueno

I got to the classroom, finding it by means of the conspicuous group of people speaking English standing outside who I know call my friends and fellow classmates. We sat down to the film, “Un Crimen Ferpecto” by well-known Spanish director, Álex de la Iglesia. I’m not sure if I would recommend it, to be honest, the humor was a little dark for my taste. However, those two hours sedentary did present a good opportunity for a little shut-eye. At such a state of exhaustion amply mixed with excitement, even five sparse minutes did wonders. And I would soon realize that I would need it.


–because afterwards (Surprise! Surprise!) was the scavengar hunt throughout all of Madrid! Broken up into a team of 7-8 people, we walked around the city, discovering several major hotspots. At the time, it was all a blur…I was just amazed by everything but too inebriated with sleep deprivation to make any sense out of it. I realize now I had been seeing La Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, El Palacio Real + Jardin, y La Plaza de España, to name a few. Afterwards, me and my group stopped at Montaditos, a restaurant in which I can now already call myself a regular: it’s great! They serve 100 different types of bocadillos (little sandwiches) filled with wonderful things–jamón, queso (brie, azul, mozarella, etc.), tortilla (potato egg omelet–NOT like in Mexico), shrimp, salmon, and more!–all for very cheap, 1.50EUR at the max. Plus, everyday they serve cañas (pints) of beer for 1EUR. Might I add, on Wednesday, every bocadillo and every drink (tinto de verano, sangria, vino) is 1EUR. So yeah, it’s now a favorite. By the time we finished eating at Montaditos, it was about 10:30PM. Almost asleep, I floated back to my apartment, once more luck-ing my way with the metro. I think it was around 36-40hours without sleep nor shower. To be honest I’m not sure. I just know that that night of sleep was nothing but wonderful.
                                      Apartment Hallway                                                             Bathroom (Larger)

My Room (Messy, Undecorated)

February 5th-11th: First Week

               Apartment Building (Farthest on the Right on this Block)

One of my favorite things from the first impressions are the supermarkets. Yeah, so maybe the Euro is stronger than the Dollar, but it’s still cheaper to be here! Groceries (especially healthier food, produce and such) in the U.S. are too expensive, making it much more economical to eat out. In Spain, groceries are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH cheaper. In the U.S. we’re fat, in Spain, they’re not. There’s some ‘food’ for thought. Anyways, yeah. I really like looking around in the supermarket. You can really find a lot of differences, here. For example, they don’t refrigerate eggs or milk (at least until it’s opened) here. Also, maybe you think you know ham, but actually, you don’t. Cause here, they might as well have a dictionary dedicated to the various vocabulary to describe the art of jamón. Also, they don’t really provide produce that’s out of season here. I actually like it, cause everything is pretty local, cheap, and fresh. Lastly, another major difference (not nearly all) is the bread. It’s a commodity to be boughten daily, baked fresh every morning.
Stret View of Neighborhood (Notice Butcher Shop 50m from house)


Plaza del Sol--Heart of Madrid's Downtown
Aside from the supermarkets, the first week I spent beginning my Spanish language course lectures. They were for four hours every afternoon Monday through Thursday. Fortunately my other university classes didn’t start the same first week, or I would have been to overwhelmed. In the classes I was able to meet a lot of exchange students from all over: France, Italy, Sweden, U.S., Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Australia, and so many more. What was really nice was that we instantly began our friendships speaking nearly only Spanish because I was concerned that if kept too many Erasmus friends, we would only speak English. I’m really glad I elected to take this course because my classmates are some of my closest friends.

Elegant Building Located on Madrid's Famous Gran Vìa Street

Also, I’m really thankful for my friend José, who I met in Chicago at IIT but was originally studying at my host university, La Universidad Politécnica de Madrid–La Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación (UPM, ETSIT). José has helped me out tremendously so far, be it recommending me teachers, giving me notes to study, or even just helping me with my Spanish. Additionally, I have had the pleasure of meeting his mother, Carmen, here in Madrid, and she is such a sweetheart. She accompanied me to the suburbs when I first got here so I could go to Ikea and buy my bedding, and I had such a great time talking with her and felt a lot more at home. We’ve also been able to have tea and dinner once more since, and yeah, I don’t know what more to say. Carmen’s a wonderful lady, a second mother.


Plaza de Cibeles

While I’m on this tangent, I just need to reemphasize HOW wonderful the people I have met here are. They are so kind, compassionate, endearing…I really couldn’t be more welcomed.


February 12th-20th: Second Week


Soon enough, it was time for my ‘real school’ to begin, at ETSIT. I was really nervous because I heard from many people that my school is one of the hardest at the university, but also one of the most prestigious. Being as those my university is the best in Spain, I can pretty much say I am in the best program in the best university in the entire country (ain’t that great?). But of course, with all the highly-technical classes in Spanish, it proves to be much more difficult. Fortunately, I am not required to take as many courses as the average student, and only have four currently at ETSIT (my Spanish course counts for transfer as well). Even still, I know I am really going to have to study with these four courses: Analysis and Design of Circuits, Electronic Analog Circuits, Mathematical Methods of Telecommunication II, and Laboratory of Numerical Analysis. The last two courses shouldn’t be as bad, because math has always been my strong point. However, the two circuits course are, according to the head of transfer admissions at IIT, third-year electrical engineer’s courses, two things I am not! But I’m going to work, I’m going to work hard. I hope that I will prevail!                                                 View of Toledo and the River

I became really tired fast my first week of classes. My Spanish intensive was still continuing, so Monday through Thursday I had eight hours of lecture everyday, Tuesday and Thursday without a single break. I also began to feel the weight of the language, because I had to truly concentrate at 100% every single minute of class in order to comprehend 1/3 if what was being taught. Through the exhaustion, I began to feel really lonely, and slightly depressed. However, I think that’s normal. And things are getting more familiar, better, everyday. The expression in Spanish that I use in almost all scenarios these days is “little by little” or “poco a poco”.


I also began a ballet class at an academy within walking distance of my flat. The instructor is super nice, and she helps me out a lot when I don’t understand an instruction. Luckily, ballet is globally taught in French, so I didn’t really have to learn any new steps vocabulary (only to acclimate to French with a Spanish accent!). Now that my Spanish course has ended (last week) and I have free evenings, I looking forward to adding another class per week.
One of Many Cathedrals in Toledo









That weekend in Spain (19th), I went on an excursion to the city of Toledo included in my Spanish course. Toledo is the old capital of Madrid, and is very charming, maintaining the same appearance for the past several hundred years. The streets are beyond cobblestone–more like granite slabs arbitrarily laid to form a clearance–and the city is filled with hills and steps. Essentially, 100% wheelchair un-friendly. However, in my nimble youth I quite enjoyed the visit! We were fortunate to have a guide, otherwise I may have gotten lost. It was a little bit of a labyrinth.

Typical Toledo Streetpass

That following Sunday, I had to meet with two of my better friends here, Laura and Laura (one Italian, the other French) to work on a group project for our Spanish course. We had to give a presentation about the neighborhood (barrio) of Madrid, Salamanca–not to be confused with the city! We initially met in a separate barrio, La Latina, which was awesome! On Sundays, most stores are closed and there isn’t much life on the streets. However, in the Bohemian district of La Latina, the sun was shining and the streets were filled with people taking tapas in cafes in all directions. We were really enjoying ourselves, and it took a lot of effort to will ourselves to go to Salamanca, which really was a mood killer. Salamanca is the ‘luxury’ neighborhood, with all the expensive apartments, designer clothing stores, and gourmet restaurants–nothing to appeal to a group of college students! We walked around for a bit, collecting more disgruntled sentiments than pictures or data for our project. However, by presentation day this last Wednesday, we were able to turn our frowns around and produce a nice speech.


Left to Right: Laura (Rome), Laura (Marseille), Ali (Florida), and I 
in Toledo


February 21st-27th: Third Week


This past week proved to be much better than my first week of full-scale studying. My Spanish course came to a close, and I started to get into the routine of being a student again. After a two month+ winter break, there was a little reluctancy to study at first. Overall, things are getting brighter even still.


This weekend just spent was excellent. I saw a symphony, I went for tapas, I took a tea with Carmen, I went out Spanish-style until seven in the morning, and I booked a trip with my good friend, Nicole, who is studying in Sweden. It’s really exciting! While we’re going to visit each other in our prospective countries this summer, before we decided to meet up and travel in another part of Europe. This weekend we were able to find really cheap tickets in April, and so we decided to go to Croatia! However, even better is that it was better to take two layovers–on the way there, Düsseldorf, Germany and on the way back, London, England! Overall, it ends up being three countries in six days for a grand total of 60EUR. Not bad, not bad. So I’m really looking forward to this trip. Two weeks later, is Spring Break, or Semana Santa, so I need to figure out where (which country) I will travel to then!


So that’s a brief summary of my life in Spain. Hopefully next time, I will update this sooner!

                                         Inside a Cathedral In Toledo                                     The Same Cathedral's Dome

                 Yet Another Stunning Cathedral                                                               View of Toledo from Above