La vida madrileña

So finals are coming up. I can’t believe this...

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:20:40 +0200

So finals are coming up. I can’t believe this is the beginning of the end! Now I actually need to study.

The funny thing is…there’s no where to study!!

All the libraries close at 14:00 (2p) on Saturdays and forget Sundays…they don’t open at all. At Midd, Sunday is the busiest day of the week work wise.

Oh Madrid, now I actually need to get work done and can’t. Obviously priorities are in different places if the discotecas are open just about every day of the week until 6 am and libraries are closed more hours than open haha

Well, if I don’t get my work done…it’s not my fault.

As of Monday afternoon, my life was back to normal. I landed in Madrid and headed home. I decided to...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0200

As of Monday afternoon, my life was back to normal. I landed in Madrid and headed home. I decided to just take it easy and get ready for my internship the following morning. So, I just relaxed and went to bed.

Umm….wrong! (I’m in Madrid…the use of the phrase ‘just relaxed’ should raise a red flag lol)

It turned out Richard had reservations for Restaurante Bolín, the oldest restaurant in the world.

We dressed up and met his friends.

The four of us indulged in traditional Spanish cuisine. It was so good!

The ambience was straight out of a Hemingway passage.

I guess I can cross eating at the oldest restaurant in the world off my list. And just when I thought I didn’t have any plans. haha I’ve been in Madrid for 5 months now, you think I would learn.

Wednesday I actually had work to do. (Shocking, I know.) After class, I worked on a group project practically all day. I didn’t get home until 21:00 (9 pm). I couldn’t wait to just have dinner and get in the bed…and that’s exactly what I did. Guess again!

At dinner, Susana invited Richard, Max, and I to go salsa dancing. I’d always wanted to go, but tonight of all nights?! I asked when I needed to be ready…”right after dinner”. In probably the quickest change of my life…I threw on something presentable.

At the salsa club, we were given VIP treatment. Susana’s dance teacher worked there so we got free entrance, copas gratis, and our own section complete with velvet rope.

It was pretty sweet. i just wish I knew how to salsa. The four of had fun dancing: a little salsa here, some samba there :)

Don’t worry…we all had work / class in the morning so we didn’t stay out too late. Just until 2 :)

Honestly, Paris reminded me of Disneyland. All of the world renowned monuments had lines that curved...

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0200

Honestly, Paris reminded me of Disneyland. All of the world renowned monuments had lines that curved around for hours. The city seemed picturesque, every scene could be the subject of a painting. The displays in shop windows put you in a different world. The lights illuminated the dark Parisian sky; it seemed like the electric parade. The only fastpass was being a citizen of the EU. (And even that wasn’t really a pass, you just go in free…you still had to wait in line) What’s more, the smells of the sewers and pleas from beggars quickly reminded you that you weren’t in “the wonderful world of Disney”.

Paris was a great trip. I enjoyed bonding with my aunt and cousins.

It was amazing just chilling and contemplating the future in gardens and during retail therapy with great friends.

The lush gardens, grand avenues, posh restaurants, vibrant lights, pampering at the spas, majestic cathedrals, opulent palaces…

My Parisian spring break was nothing short of extraordinarie.

Welcome to my Parisian spring break. Since being picked up by my...

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:52:00 +0200

Welcome to my Parisian spring break.

Since being picked up by my femme de mode aunt, I’ve been discovering the City of Lights.

After a couple days, I was using the metro bus systems, even helping my friends get around with my navigo card.

So the logical next step in this entry is what I’ve seen. Paris has so much to offer, I can’t possibly describe everything, and I’ve been quite a few places. Like the imagination, Paris is surreal so I’ve been picturing different scenes in each Parisian background.

Walking through the Luxembourg gardens, I imagined what it must have been like as a 17th/ early 18th century French aristocrat.

They must have been so elegant with their long petticoats and parasols to match.

Shopping on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, I imagined I was a grammy winner in town for my tour. I had some free time so I went shopping.

My chauffeur opens the door to the black Mercedez and my best friends, Louis & Cartier, are there to greet me. Some imagination huh? Well, I didn’t have to try that hard. I just put myself in Beyonce’s shoes.

Wasn’t that difficult considering B and J were there as well ;)

Being at the top of the Eiffel Tower was amazing! The views of the city were breath taking. My friends and I indulged in Cheesecake while discussing our futures 273 meters (896 ft.) above Paris. (I could get used to this).

Next, I walked passed the 58, the 5-star restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.

This wasn’t just any restaurant. Twenty one years ago, my parents ate there on their honeymoon. And now here I am.

Since I’m on this theme of imagination, I can’t imagine going back in time and watching my parents before kids let alone honeymooning in one of the most premiere spots in Paris.

Going to Notre Dame, the Gothic architecture was just exquisite.

It really put the fear of God in you similar to the Catholic cathedrals in Spain. This time I imagined I was …get ready for it…Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

(I guess this proves how much of a kid I really am haha) But, the more gargoyles and stain glass windows I came across, the more it reminded me of the Disney movie.

This seems like it could’ve been imagined but on visiting Notre Dame, I stumbled across a mass. I was wondering why there were so many people. But this wasn’t just any mass, the Gregorian choir was performing and the arch priest was giving a message. Then it dawned on me. Today is Friday…Good Friday!

So as I’m making my way through the crowd during the service, I see a familiar face. I whisper to my friend asking if she recognizes him. Since we weren’t sure, I proposed if he was wearing a Middlebury backpack, it’s him…And what does the alleged stranger do? Turn around to show a backpack with Middlebury College Panthers written in collegiate script. I called his name and he turned around shocked. We couldn’t believe we ran into each other. I mean what are the odds?! 3 Midd kids (1 in Bordeaux, 1 in Copenhagen, and me in Madrid) all visiting Paris for Spring Break run into each other out of thousands at a Catholic Mass on Good Friday at Notre Dame? Wow!

Well we decided to have dinner since we hadn’t seen each other since being on campus in December. We ended this crazy coincidence with a dinner crepe on the Seine catching up on life.

Some things we leave to the imagination, but in some things God just has a great sense of humor and we don’t need too. I can create stories of celebrities or 18th century aristocrats, but life in the present day left as is can be even more interesting.

Hola Semana Santa

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0200

This week was abnormally fast. (and that is saying something for Madrid…time is flying!) On the other hand, it was also the most challenging. I had 2 presentations and am working on making Fulbright España live in social media.

The first presentation was a makeup presentation from when I had tonsillitis. I had to present for 6 - 8 minutes on life as an intern, who Fulbright is, etc. In the beginning, I was a little nervous considering we were being videotaped. What’s more is our next assignment is to write 1 page critiquing ourselves. I understand this will be a great learning experience, but I hate watching myself. : /

The second presentation was my final presentation for geography. I was in a group with 2 other Americans and we presented on David Harvey’s Urban Geography. As soon as that presentation was over, it was such a relief! But, it wasn’t until 14:30 (2:30p) that I really felt that first wave of excitement. 2:28 - pencil tapping on keyboard, 2:29 - mouse on apagar, 2:30 - iPod in, grab my bag and run!

I had the entire afternoon to pack but I still needed a few things. So Susana and I went shopping. What was supposed to be 2 hours worth of errand running turned into 5 hours of browsing, trying on clothes and enjoying the beautiful Madrid weather. We didn’t get back until 10!

And I still had to pack. But there was no time. Not to mention, I couldn’t figure out what to bring. hmm…

Susana and I had planned to celebrate in honor of Spring Break and went out with friends (probably wasn’t the best idea considering I had to leave for the airport at 7…)

Around midnight, we met up with friends for Tapas and then headed to Moondance. There was a Hawaiian theme so any Hawaiian inspired clothing meant copa gratis (which explains the flower haha)

As much as I wanted to dance the night away, I still had to make decisions about outfits ugghhh… T minus 3 hours.

Well…mission accomplished (Too bad a good night sleep wasn’t part of that plan :( )

And now I write to you from 36,000 feet. In a few moments I land. And where you might ask? Paris. Oh yes. Spring Break 2011: Destination Paris!

And here we go…

And yet another great weekend. Thursday night was Beyoncé night at Joy. You don’t hear...

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:09:00 +0200

And yet another great weekend.

Thursday night was Beyoncé night at Joy.

You don’t hear Beyoncé in the discotecas here very often. In fact, you don’t hear her at all. So if there is a Beyoncé themed night, you best believe I’ll be there ;)

Big hair: check. Big earrings: check. Freakum dress: check.

We got in, isolated the hips for Beautiful Liar, did our Naomi Campbell walks, and of course got our single ladies on.

When Crazy in Love came on, we ran up on stage and tore it down with the signature uh-ohs. (I don’t think Madrid was ready <3 ) I have to say…they could’ve played a little more Beyoncé but hey — I was happy. This vida madrileña doesn’t embrace the diva side so it was quite refreshing.

Friday I took it easy and just walked around the city with a new found Princeton friend. It was a gorgeous day and we took in the sights. We walked down calle serrano (Madrid’s Rodeo Drive). We even found an indoor mall! There wasn’t a food court because taking your food to go or fast food doesn’t really exist. Instead there were restaurants. We then stopped and got ice cream to cool us down. After walking another block, we found an Aldo, Claire’s, and Burger King — we called it the American block haha. Although, Madrid has a lot of American brands, it was the first time we had seen an Aldo or Claire’s. Good to know these streets exist. :P

Saturday, Susana, Max (our new housemate) and I met up with some friends to have a picnic in Retiro.

What I thought was going to be a couple hours of sandwiches and good company turned into a 6 hour marathon. We didn’t even notice it was 8:30 because the sun doesn’t set until about 9:15p.

We had so much fun! We each brought a dish so it ended up being a feast. We had stir fry, rice, pasta, chips and refreshing summer drinks with hookah to top it all off :) It was so fun to spend a day relaxing in the park with great friends! Definitely living the good life <3

Great weekend, but I actually have two presentations due this week. So Sunday was my day to get everything done. Right? Wrong.

I woke up and told myself to start being productive at noon. 2pm rolls around and it’s time to have lunch. Then, Richard and I realized we needed to go to Corte Ingles to pick up a few things…only to find it was closed because it’s Sunday. So, instead of being studious and returning to start work, we decided to go to a bar, order some chilled bebidas (tinto de verano, my personal favorite) and soak up the sun. Not only did we sit there and procrastinate, we called Sus (who also has a presentation due) to come join us haha. We’re such bad influences. And now, I write this blog. In two minutes, it’ll be dinner time. Guess there’s no work getting done today haha

Oh study abroad…what have you done to me?!

Today I started extremely prepared only to have all of my plans changed…but substituted for...

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:58:00 +0200

Today I started extremely prepared only to have all of my plans changed…but substituted for something waaaay better.

I woke up early this morning, packed my lunch, had breakfast, and was out the door by 7:30. Considering this is my first day back, I felt proud of myself. However, the pride was short lived.

I arrived at Plaza de Castilla to meet my geography class for a hike. Ok, okay so I was 5 minutes late…but I walked around the entire plaza and couldn’t find them. There were no details as to where we were meeting and Plaza de Castilla is enorme, full of busses and rushing gente. It was now 8:50 and I was getting nervous - 20 minutes past meeting time. Of course I had a new phone so I didn’t have any numbers. Luckily, I ran into a compañero (also American) and we walked around the plaza together. It’s now 9am and we’re starting to give up hope when we run into two other classmates…Midd kids. Here we are 6 in total (6 americanos), lost. One of us texted a spanish classmate only to find they had already left and the professor said it would be impossible to find them.

I can’t say I was entirely upset. ;) I mean…a 12 hour hike in the mountains isn’t exactly my cup of tea haha

It’s now 10 in the morning. What to do with my spare time now that I have the entire day? I ran home, changed, skyped some friends and had a new plan: watch the changing of the guard. (It only happens the first Wednesday of every month…and what do you know? It’s Wednesday, April 6th :) )

At noon, I was standing in the grand plaza of the Palacio real watching the soldiers march as was tradition. Their uniforms were perfect, lines in check, horses regal, soldiers marching pretty much in sync. The only thing was the soldiers would charlar in between marches. I was a little confused, since it was the military. But…I guess that’s the spanish way…so it is what it is.

Upon leaving the palace to just stroll about the city, I saw a vendor making name plate necklace. They were a very nice Chinese couple. It’s not very often I can get my name on anything. It turned out great! Perfect souvenir for an unexpectedly perfect day =)

It’s not everyday that you accidentally miss class and end up seeing the changing of the guard at the royal palace. This Spanish life is not bad…not bad at all.

Me encanta el tiempo!! This is what I’m talkin about!! This week’s upcoming...

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:36:22 +0200

Me encanta el tiempo!!

This is what I’m talkin about!!

This week’s upcoming attraction: fun in the sun =)

Amigdalitis, Amoxicilina, Gelocatil...Guess what words I learned today?

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:10:00 +0200

They say you learn best from hands on experience. Well…my abroad experience has definitely been a living testament to that.

A few days ago, I started feeling a little sick: tired, no appetite, either too hot or too cold. But, big deal? I kept telling myself it will pass. I didn’t want to go to the doctor. All they were going to do was tell me to drink more fluids and rest. However…day two, I decided not to go to my práctica but stubbornly still went to class.

Day three I couldn’t get out of bed but still would not go to the doctor. After skyping with my parents, doctor and being convinced by Susana and pretty much everyone in the house…I made a doctor’s appointment at Unidad Médica.

They were so nice! First of all, it’s located in the Beverly Hills of Madrid (the 5th avenue for the east coast readers :) ). The shopping was so high end and the clientel, always very fashionable. Definitely made a mental note to go back.

But back to the doctor’s office…I sat down and everything was in both english and spanish. The doctors all spoke perfect English. Some were American, some were from other countries. They saw me as soon as I filled out the medical forms.

So…the diagnosis was: tonsillitis. (Not an April’s fools joke)

I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t had tonsillitis since I was a little girl. (I would link it to a page with more information but I’ll spare you the details lol)

Amoxicilina 3 times a day…with lots of fluids of course (that part I knew before the prescription ;) )

So…that’s it for today’s vocabulary lesson :) I wouldn’t mind a vocab lesson in comida gastrónima, enamorarse o nuevas lugares en la ciudad. Hopefully, those are on deck :P

Not to be súper americana but we had a presentation this week on...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:08:00 +0200

Not to be súper americana but we had a presentation this week on the American Revolution. There were 3 girls in my group: 2 Americans and 1 Spanish student. (not my idea to do an American topic btw) I was so nervous the entire time. It was a 30 minute oral presentation with powerpoint. So we stood up there and explained the history and legacy of the American Revolution.

In the end, it turned out great. Everyone could understand me (yaay!) The only interesting part was it turned into a debate whether the American Revolution was actually a revolution or just a change of power. I didn’t want to be the arrogant American but absolutely the American Revolution was a revolution.

The word revolution means “an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.”

So when the colonists overthrew the monarchical rule of the British and replaced it with the modern world’s first democracy, by the people and for the people, I would count that as a revolution. You can debate that only white, land owning males were given the privilege to be considered citizens but the fact remains. There had never been a constitution written that protected the rights of the people creating a government with checks and balances to prevent absolutist abuse of power.

What’s more…the American Revolution served as the model for future revolutions such as the French Revolution (which we studied for months without even mentioning the American Revolution was first). Obviously the new government was an experiment in an innovative, philosophical period of history but it changed the modern world forever.

I’m an American Studies major…don’t mess with me :P

All in all, it was fun. The debate irked me a bit. But, it was interesting hearing another perspective.

I can´t believe it´s been over a week since I’ve blogged! Since the previous entry is the last...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:21:17 +0200

I can´t believe it´s been over a week since I’ve blogged!

Since the previous entry is the last you’ve heard from me, it would seem that I’ve been wallowing in self pity, drowning in the seas of misfortune, sinking in the quicksands of calamity or lo que sea…you get the point. It’s actually quite the contrary.

After going through my European rite of passage (as I’ve been told to call it), I’ve grown, learned from past mistakes, and ya esta. My budget did get a little tighter but such is life. So…what have I been up to in my 10 days of silence? A LOT

School has actually gotten quite busy. (busy as in I have a group paper to write and presentation for Wednesday and Friday)

My internship is wonderful. I’m still giving advice on US schools, how to apply, which are the best fit, etc. I’m actually working with one student who is interested in skiing at Midd. But on to the exciting parts!

Two fellow Midd kids came to visit and I’ve been playing tour guide Barbie. “On your right you will find…” “Did you know that this plaza was originally built by king and queen so-and-so during the whatever-teenth century…”

The first night we went to Lavapies (Madrid’s barrio etnico) and had great Indian food for dinner. We walked through Sol waiting for the different promoters to offer us free entry & convince us why their discotecas were the best. It took about 5 minutes before we were first approached but I blame that on the rain…usually the second you turn onto one of the main streets you’re bombarded :P We went to Dubliner’s (this Irish pub) and watched March Madness. At times, it felt like I was back in an American college setting. Everyone was cheering, pints of beer glasses raised in toasts for their team, gritas in agony if they had lost their pool, loud music blasting, screens EVERYWHERE…It was a lot of fun! At that point, it was 2:00 (in the 24 hour sense of time of course :P) and we walked around looking for a new spot. Surprise, surprise…we ended the night at Fame, one of the discotecas. What a great time!

The more I showed them around, the more I realized how different my life really is now. All we did was see a few museums, walk around, go to restaurants and bars, and walk around some more. In fact, after lunch we went to 4 different bars before having dinner. We had the tapas experience at El Tigre, bocadillos at Cien Montaditos (with tintos de verano at both to compare ;)), napolitanas at La Mallorquina and ended the day with coffee at Café y Té.

Hanging out with the friends from Rome & Mainz, I realized there were 3 languages between us: Italian, Spanish and German…& of course English so I guess 4 languages. How international :)

That’s what I’ve been up to in a nutshell. I’m not dying or getting homesick (granted I do miss my family). I’ve picked myself up, dusted myself off and am back to la vida madrileña.

Prayers are still very much appreciated though!

Guess how much a locksmith costs in Madrid on a Friday afternoon?

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

I found out the hard way…a whopping 570 euro.

Life has given me lemons (pretty sour if I do say so myself) and yesterday I became a statistic.

I was at Kapital having one of the best nights (if not the best night) I’ve had here. Starting of course with tapas bars before heading to the discoteca.

Upon arrival, we were whisked to the VIP suite (I love being a girl in España) and got settled before making our way to the dance floor. The entire night seemed to fly by, just dancing & karaoke-ing the night away :)

Until about 6 am. Everyone was grabbing their stuff to go and my purse went missing. I’ve gone through the story a million times. But regardless of the endless replays, the fact still remained: I had no keys, no credit card, no form of ID, no abono and no iPhone.

But my friends had my back. After searching everywhere, my friends lent me money, offered me a place to stay, and even lent me their cell phone until I could get another one.

I’ve been told by everyone that I was in the best possible situation - I was with my friends and unharmed. What’s more is since some of my friends were leaving (there are only 9 weeks per quarter for them), they gave me their phone and abono.

But what’s on my mind is the price of replacing everything. We changed the locks at home in case the address was stored on my phone. I need a new purse, wallet, etc. and the exchange rate is now $1.40 to the euro. greeeaaattt.

I am loving my time abroad though over all. But right about now, it’s pretty hard to make lemonade.

What a great weekend! I feel like it was a marathon weekend. My weekend usually starts on Thursday...

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:34:11 +0100

What a great weekend!

I feel like it was a marathon weekend. My weekend usually starts on Thursday at 3. Friday I don’t have class or my internship and then there is Saturday and Sunday. So, my normal weekend is 3 and a half days. But this weekend it was a full 5 days.

It started as every weekend should…a siesta. :) Honestly, the days are running together. But…

I went to the Thyssen Museum with Richard and his friends and oh my goodness. The art collection was one of the best I’ve ever seen! And to think that was a personal collection only acquired through the Thyssen family over 2 generations!! They had a little bit of everything from Picasso to Gérôme to Van Gogh to contemporary art. I’m not that big of an art person but I was in awe. (I guess I better get used to it considering I have a lot more museums to see)

The Van Gogh and Okeeffe pieces were my favorites.

Les vessenots in Auvers

From the Plains II

The second day we went back, this time Richard, Susana and I. The first day we didn’t realize we had spent 3 hours on one floor! (there are 3 and a basement, mind you) We got kicked out at closing, both times wishing we could have another hour. Afterwards we went for tapas and then a discoteca. I didn’t wake up until 1 the next day. But it’s not technically sleeping half the day away if you don’t go to sleep til 5 am. (thats my logic haha)

I spent a day with my Stanford friends who are leaving this week :* ( since they are on the quarter system. We went to the Rastro which, best explained, is a combination of a Farmer´s market and a swap meet.

Every Sunday morning through lunch time (2p), vendors sell their goods, and pretty much anything goes. You’ll find anything from food to clothing to clocks to music — anything. We practically had to hold hands the whole time so we wouldn’t get lost in the sea of people. Prices are great just don’t get caught in a tourist trap.

Afterwards, we had brunch at a great café which served pancakes!! It was my first time having pancakes since I left the US. They were a little fluffy for my taste, but a pancake is a pancake and it was very much missed.

We had heard the rave reviews about el Discurso del Rey (The King´s Speech), so Richard, Susana and I decided to go see it Sunday evening.

But it was sold out upon arrival to the theatre :( So we went to Starbucks instead. We got a coffee and laughed and talked about life. Grad schools came up. (uuggghhh I can’t believe I have to start thinking about that now) But, Richard and I were telling Susana which universities she should check out in the US. I’m rooting for Cali :) So my advice was a little biased I admit but I would LOVE to take her around SoCal! We’d be in grad school at the same time so we could even hang out together who knows?

So…we got to see the movie lastnight. Since it was Monday, I figured my weekend had officially ended after dinner that night.

The movie was soooo good! I´m always skeptical about movies that get a lot of hype because sometimes the quality really isn’t that good. But this movie was amazing. I felt so proud in the end when he finally gave the speech that brought England together.

I still can’t believe it. A little over a week ago, a fellow student of Carlos III as well as fellow...

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:21:00 +0100

I still can’t believe it. A little over a week ago, a fellow student of Carlos III as well as fellow Southern Californian went missing. I remember seeing the flyers around. Desaparecido I read on the multiple poles around campus.

Two days ago, they found his body.

My heart went out to him because he was a student just like me, going to a discoteca just like I do, and studying here in Madrid to further his Spanish like I am.

My prayers go out to the family. Although, I didn’t know him personally, his story could easily be any student’s story. It’s tragic but also serves as a wake up call for everyone studying abroad. We need to be careful and stick together!

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-austin-bice-m,0,7107661.story

¡Spanglish!

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:59:00 +0100

Pardon the interruption, but…there is a montón of grammar swirling around in my head. The better my Spanish gets, apparently the worse my English. So, as pointed out by those who read my blog (a.k.a. my mom lol), I have quite a few linguistic errors. So…my apologies.

I’ll definitely try and do a better job with editing - Te prometo :)

Besos <3

Since my flight left at 12:30, we just had a leisurely morning,...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:21:00 +0100

Since my flight left at 12:30, we just had a leisurely morning, I said bye to my cousins and was off to the airport. Overall I had an amazing trip! As well as a list of things I have to see when I come back including Knut, the Polar Bear. I also learned a few German words: kalt, Gut Nocht, and the hardest word of the whole trip goes to…Streichholzschachtel (say that 3 times fast lol or actually…just try and saying it once ;) )

Day two: My cousins came in from Bamberg where they’re stationed. I hadn’t seen them in so long!...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:21:00 +0100

Day two: My cousins came in from Bamberg where they’re stationed. I hadn’t seen them in so long! Who knew the next time I’d see family would be in Berlin, Germany?! Since the littlest cousins are 3, 4, & 7, we decided to save the kid friendly attractions for Saturday. Sadly, it was a little chilly to go to the zoo so we went to the aquarium instead.

The kids had so much fun, touching the fish and running around trying to spot the hiding animals.

Next we went to KaDeWe and headed to the toy department. The mountains of displays, shelved dolls, & games were a bit overwhelming for them. As every child does, they wanted everything! “Just looking” means nothing in places like this. I have to admit, I quite enjoyed myself too. ☺

Later we went to Ulrike’s parents’ house for dinner. They were so nice! Her mom made pizza (my little cousins were happy ☺ ). We had a nice long conversation about everything really – we didn’t leave until 22:00. One thing that did stick with me was her dad talking about when the wall came down and how amazing that was for Germany. It was really just a small comment but living through such a historic moment…I couldn’t even imagine. We also talked about travel and Rome came up. Then we found out we were going to be in Rome at the same time! What a small world?! So maybe we’ll meet up for dinner. As a college student, you don’t associate anyone with their family, they’re just so-and-so and their major; college campuses don’t give you a context in which to situate the individual. So it was great meeting Ulrike’s family; we really had such a great time.

My adventure in Deutschland was amazing! Where do I begin? I...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:21:00 +0100

My adventure in Deutschland was amazing! Where do I begin? I guess from when I landed Thursday night in Berlin-Tegel International Airport (TXL). After deplaning, I was passport ready, excited to get my official German stamp. Sadly, flying around the EU (European Union) is like flying from state to state. (You use your passport as a form of identification but not necessary to go through customs / declare travel items…hence no stamp.)

As I exited TXL, Ulrike was there to meet me. After a huge hug and happy squeals (OMG! I can’t believe you’re here…I can’t believe you’re here, etc.), we headed to her house. We talked until about 2 in the morning and then got some sleep for the big day ahead of us.

Day one in Berlin was full of sight seeing. Ulrike and I walked all over the city seeing all the...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:21:00 +0100

Day one in Berlin was full of sight seeing. Ulrike and I walked all over the city seeing all the historic sites as well as museums, show rooms and such. It’s probably easier to list the main things…so here goes:

Brandenburg Gate
Hotel Adlon (the Michael Jackson baby incident)
Reichstag (Parliament Building) and other government buildings
Holocaust Memorial
Führerbunker (which you would never know if it weren’t for a plaque for inquisitive minds)
Pieces of the Berlin Wall
The Sony Center
Berlin’s own avenue of the stars - Boulevard der stars
Luftwaffe headquarters
The US embassy
Gelato! (It was soooo good! I had mango and vanilla and it literally tasted like mangos and vanilla beans…nothing like the flavored syrups)
Checkpoint Charlie
Fassbender & Rausch chocolatier (everything was made of chocolate, it made See’s Candies look bland, Godiva like chocolate-inspired sweets with gold wrappers, Willie Wonka’s Chocolate factory look amateur…you get my point.) It was amazing! *and I’m not a chocolate fan so that’s saying something* When Ulrike was buying chocolate over the counter, the woman asked where I was from. (It was in German of course so I couldn’t understand anything) Ulrike responded California and they said they could tell. Apparently, I was very extroverted…smiling and taking pictures – I guess that’s stereotypically Californian. They told Ulrike they wished they could go to California to be in the warm sun, lying on the beach, and see all of the attractive people. (Not a bad stereotype Cali, not bad :P )
Pergemon Museum
The Mercedez/Bentley/ Bugatti/ Voltzwagen Showrooms (apparently that’s where the Russian mafia buys their cars…talk about rollin deep)
Dussmann bookstore.

We ended our busy day with a nice dinner with friends, all of whom had gone to Middlebury, as an exchange student or 4 year grad. I had a berliner weisse (kind of like a Shirley temple in that they use flavored syrup to sweeten the drink), schnitzel and flan haha (I joked about how I came all the way to Berlin to have a traditionally Spanish dessert lol)

It was so fun! And the common denominator between all of us…Middlebury. It might be in the middle of nowhere but the connections are everywhere (not an understatement).

Before leaving, Ulrike made sure I had a Berliner and it was...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:20:00 +0100

Before leaving, Ulrike made sure I had a Berliner and it was good.

Since everyone always thinks of the “infamous” JFK quote, I figured a caption addressing that would be appropriate.

Even though US experts on the German language blast the President for faulty grammar, Germans beg to differ. It turns out, the President’s grammar was 100% correct. What’s more, jelly doughnuts are actually referred to as Pfannkuchen in Berlin not Berliner.

So there you have it…

“Ich bin ein Berliner”