Got up at an ungodly hour because I wanted to be sure I would have time to talk to Sean, send some e-mails, and hopefully find that damn University. My host family walked me from the bus station to the University then home last night, but I was really worried that I wouldn’t remember the directions, and lo and behold, I went down two wrong streets. I always kept in mind where I had come from, so I at least knew the way back home in case I needed to return home for some better directions. After asking an older lady on the street where “Calle Teniente Alfonzo Martinez” was, I just decided to go for it and noticed some graffiti that I had seen yesterday, and I sho nuff found it. It was funny, though, because the lady didn’t know where the street was. She said she had a daughter at the University who was studying history, and part of the campus was down the street, but she didn’t want to give me directions to the wrong campus. She told me to ask someone younger because they would know. I just had to laugh.
Found the campus, La Casa de Las Lenguas was open, so I went up to the second floor, and no one was there, so I Skyped with Seany boy! It was great to finally see him and tell him what all has been going on so far. I realized just how much is even being left out of these blog posts because SO MUCH is going on, and it’s hard to remember it all and put it all in sequential order.
Stephanie got lost this morning and showed up 20-ish minutes late, but all was well because they were just doing introductions and stuff.
I hella sucked at the writing portion of the placement exam, but luckily there was an oral part of the exam, and I basically begged the lady to give me a good score because I can understand and speak Spanish, but the test was just really hard. She got a kick out of that and told me I spoke really well.
We got done around 11 in the morning, and I didn’t have to be back home until 2:30, so almost everyone from Mizzou got together and walked to a shopping mall…which is hella nicer than the one in Jeff, might I add J Four levels, an IMAX, and escalators. Pretty sweet. There was even a golden lop-eared bunny at the pet store for 50 euros, and I must admit….I WANTED IT SOOOOO BADLY!!!!
We ate at a restaurant called Pan (“Bread” in English), and almost all of us got chicken nuggets and Coke. There was a McDonalds on the same level, but it didn’t open until later, so Pan was our only option. It was pretty tasty…a little on the greasy side, but whatevs. Then we all walked back to the University and parted ways to return to our host families.
I must admit, I was stoked to learn that Stephanie is on the same side of town as I am! And we are the only two. Everyone else lives on the opposite side of the University. So we will be walking together to class, the bars, clubbing, you know…the usual ;)
I can’t even begin to describe how absolutely beautiful this city is. And I’m just sad to know that the pictures I’ve seen do it absolutely NO justice. God, it’s just gorgeous. The green mountains, all the colors of the buildings – red, orange, brown, yellow. So much color and so much life. There aren’t many single houses around, but I think that’s what gives the city so much energy and life – everyone lives together in flats or apartment buildings, and it’s just damn cool.
Speaking of cool, the weather was absolutely fantastic this morning. Cloudy, a bit misty, but the temperature was perfect. This afternoon has been a lot warmer and humid with the sun out, but I came back after our shopping venture and after lunch with the family, took a shower and a siesta. Let me tell you, these Spanish people have their shit together. Siesta = HEAVEN.
I had pea soup with the family, and it was really yummy. Bland, just the way I like it J Supposedly, someone Berta knows has some land and grows their own peas and gives them to her! They offered me a lot more food, but I just wasn’t that hungry. I told them I eat a lot of small meals frequently. Poor Claudia is still sick, but she got medicine from the doctor today, so hopefully she’ll be better soon.
Day 3 – CONTINUED
Holy shit. For lack of a better OR more accurate term.
I can’t even really wrap my mind around today. Definitely one of the most eventful, interesting, and just all-around awesome days in a long, long, LONG time.
Right when I finished writing the last part of this post, I left to meet Stephanie at the corner where our streets intersect with each other.
While I was waiting for her, I took some really awesome pictures and of course enjoyed the gorgeous warm sun and the cool breeze.
We proceeded to meet up with the group at La Casa de Las Lenguas or thereabouts and from there went on to meet Zemke at el Catedral (the cathedral). It was just an informal “Hey-how-you-doin” type thing in front of a fountain in front of the Cathedral.
I must say, I am going to leave my heart in Oviedo with Pecho. OH MY GOD…CUTEST YORKIE EVER!!! His owner let him off his leash, and he was chasing pigeons around the square in front of the Cathedral. My heart COMPLETELY melted. I am so jealous of everyone and their dogs here. I see people walking dogs all the time, and I just want to steal them! Grand theft canine!
After the little meeting with Zemke, some of us went inside el Catedral, and I honestly cannot even BEGIN to describe it or do it justice in any sense. It had that old smell, the smell I love, the smell that reminds me of old books with yellowing pages. Although, this Cathedral has been around a tad bit longer than any of the old books I may have smelled in the past.
I was just speechless – thoughtless, even – in complete awe of absolutely everything I saw in the Cathedral. I have never seen anything more ornate or beautiful in my entire life. There are so many pieces dedicated to different saints, and they are just mind-blowingly intricate. The Cathedral itself seems to be completely made out of some stone on the inside – the ceilings and the walls. People can still go in and pray, but we’re unsure if it’s actually still used as a church or more of a museum. Apparently, it has been blessed by the Pope (Pope John Paul II, in 1989), which, thanks to Liz, I now know means that it’s technically a Basilica.
Unfortunately, there are signs everywhere that read “FOTO Y VIDEO – NO.” I may just have to play the part of stupid American and pretend I didn’t see it because I NEED pictures of this place. I honestly can’t leave without them.
After that, Steph, Alee, and I went to find Alee a SIM card for her phone, but Stephanie and I were actually the ones to get pay-as-you-go phones because you have to show your passport to purchase any phone, apparently. The lady at the store was SO NICE and helpful.
This month is Rebajas (“sales”) in Spain, and every clothing and shoe store has stuff on sale. Some seem to me much better than others. The only major thing I’ve bought so far was the phone, though. I’m saving up for that one perfect purse or pair of shoes J
We walked around the center of town where all the shops are and heard this crazy drumming, so, of course, we had to follow it and figure out what was going on.
Turns out, it was a communist protest against the government of Oviedo.
As a journalist, I truly couldn’t have asked for anything more.
And the awesome part is, I was actually capturing photos before any of the REAL photogs got to the scene of a lady screaming and waving her arms and telling them to listen to HER because she was going to tell them the truth.
Oh. My. God. Insane. I loved every minute of it.
The streets were absolutely packed, and an elderly man was speaking to the crowd. He had heavy-duty speakers and everything. The police were there, but everything seemed to be fine. It’s definitely true that Oviedo is a town of older people. I think 98% of the crowd was over 55, so there wasn’t much danger of it getting rowdy.
Stephanie, Alee, and I were trying to piece together what was going on, but it was really difficult because there was so much commotion. We were standing on the area between the street and an exit, and weren’t really in the crowd per se. Finally, I just asked an elderly man in front of me what was going on, and he gave me a flier he had been given.
Turns out, government official(s) have decided to build a parking garage and possibly some buildings in the main, biggest park in the city. And let me tell you, no one was happy about it.
It was really cool to see so many people united for a cause. I really mean a TON of people. Then again, I guess I’ve never really seen a demonstration before. But still. It was awesome. They just filled the street for blocks.
After all that excitement, we decided to find somewhere to get some damn sidra already. We happened upon a street entirely dedicated to sidra but wanted food, too. Unfortunately, none of the food really looked good or we couldn’t figure out what the crap it was, so we decided to go back to the first place we saw, which ended up being SO entertaining.
It was Adam and Eve themed…because sidra is from apples (finally put two and two together, thanks to Alee J), and instead of the waiter pouring the sidra up high for you like they usually do, each table had its own snake that came up about 3 feet up in the air from the table, you swipe a card the waitress gives you, and the snake spits out sidra. SO hilarious. Loved it.
Had some awesome conversations with Alee and Stephanie and just sat and talked and drank sidra for a long, long time.
Apparently, we were misinformed that restaurants stay open late. Not the case. It was around 11, and all that were open were bars. We wandered around for a long time, and finally decided on an absolutely gourmet vending machine. Graffiti, stickers and all. Let’s just say we were a tad desperate. But we had so much fun with it.
We finally parted ways, and I’m back in my room now. I get all excited because I can jack some free internet for about 2 minutes at a time, but then it goes away again, and I get all sad.
That is the biggest and truly only complaint I have – no damn internet! And there are USB plug-ins you can buy for 19 euros to have internet access anywhere, but I figure I don’t need it THAT badly. It sucks not having it at home, though. Blogging is so much more fun when it’s live-action as opposed to a word document.
Whoo-wee. What a day.
Stephanie and I met a girl from Indiana today. We were speaking English, and she stopped and asked us if we were from the U.S. Then we got to talking, and she’s a senior in high school studying here in Oviedo. We exchanged numbers and may hang out later. Poor girl can’t go out and do anything. I guess her school is really strict about when and where they should be.
I don’t think Zemke could give two shits. But it’s cool, though. I wouldn’t want him all up in my business or anything J He seemed like he really meant well when he talked to us, and he really wants us to enjoy our time here.
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