Primer Día en Ciudad Real

My first day in Ciudad Real has gone pretty well, besides getting very lost a few times. The city is really small (wonderfully accessible) but with skinny streets that run in no grid fashion...they are diagonal, sideways, straight, and curvy. They make no sense. I finally got my hands on a good map thanks to my new friend Paige and it helps..mucho. So tonight I went exploring the city a bit more after going to see 2 apartments to maybe rent today. They were both very nice. I'll tell you more about my decisions about flats when I make them (probably tomorrow). I explored a bit then met up with 2 girls and one guy from America. Paige and Janna are both doing the same program I am, and Paige's boyfriend came along for the ride. So we got together in the Plaza Mayor, which was really neat. I passed by a park on my way there where they were having a concert, and 3 hours later, when I left, it was still going on. We sat and talked for awhile (nice to speak English) and then went and got some tapas. We had 2 cañas each (little beers from tap) and they gave us a tapa with each without ordering. With the first round we got calamares, but like full little squids. Delish. Then with the second we got this vegetable/sausage casserole thing. Then we ordered tapas on top of that, and I got the grilled vegetables, which was good. I figured I needed some vegetables--I havent really had a full hot meal in a few days. Tomorrow I get to try out the breakfast here at the hotel, its really nice and I like having the space to myself. I also talked to Aurora today on the phone and it was so great to hear her voice. I also talked to my friend Julio from Alicante. Aurora asked when I was coming and tried to arrange a visit for this coming weekend, but (for the first time ever haha) I told her better to make it the weekend after that so I can get used to this city. Of course then she said "Como te viene mejor, Bryn." Which means whatever works best for you, BRYN. haha. So looks like I'll be making it to Alicante sooner rather than later. CANNOT WAIT. I love Spain so far. Its just as I left it. Just hoping to get settled in rather quickly and work things out. And get started--OH yeah, work! I forgot I came here to work. its easy after sitting for 4 hours at a table eating tapas and beer that I came here to work. Plaza Mayor was bustling with hundreds of people from age 1-101 today from 7-9. I love how that is the Spaniards "out and about" time. its my favorite time of day to be outside. Right when its getting dark.. Its the most crowded time for all the stores and everything. I found a street right off of Plaza Mayor that has all the shops owned by Inditex. Like (avenina maissonave in Alicante) and its amazing..Stradavarius, Bershka, Zara, H&M, Springfield, Pimkie, and Sfera all in the same row. Wish I hadnt discovered it. Might have saved me a lot of money :)

Enough rambling, must hit the hay. Slowly adapting to this Spanish schedule. Its 12:33 am here. Muy buenas.

ESTOY AQUI!

Hi all! I made it to Spain! First off, I was worried I would not make it because the baby behind me on the long flight was crying the whole time. Don't worry though, I got her entire life (6 months) story from her parents. They were going to Valladolid because she is named Alejandra and her great grandmother who is 101 is named Alejandra too so they have to meet. The flight ended up being fine, but I didnt sleep. I sat next to a young Spanish couple who reminded me with their flirtiness and public displays of affection that I was, in fact, returning to Spain. Their thick thick Spanish accents threw me for a loop. I forgot how strong the lisp is here, just a whole different type of Spanish. Upon being jolted awake (ok, I dozed) by the pilots, "Alright, folks, we will be landing in about an hour and we'll be serving you a warm pastry in the meantime" speech, I looked out the far window (i was in the middle section) and saw a fantastic rainbow sunrise. In three perfect lines along the horizon, red, yellow, blue. Ravi had followed me to Spain. Happy as a clam, I prepared for landing.
Then I got to my friend Drew's house in Madrid after a 30 euro cab ride (!) and FINALLY he woke up to let me in after I knocked and waited for 30 min. Whatever. My taxista was from Bulgaria, so his Spanish was worse than mine, so that was interesting, but it was the only language we had in common. He thought I was Spanish until we started talking and I told him I was American. You can fool anybody here, I'm telling you. Spanish? Me?

Then Drew and I went walking around Madrid, we ate a bocadillo with calamari on it. A bocadillo is simply anything on 2 pieces of french-ish bread cut in half longways. Then after a lot more walking, we got a kebab, another of my Spanish favorites. I also had a cafe con leche and tortilla española, rounding out just about all the things I was waiting to eat again in Spain.
So far, so good. A little nervous about finding an apartment. Gonna go get a phone now at this place called Yoigo and set up my plan...esh. But I have to wait til 5:00 when they re-open because OBVIOUSLY, its siesta timeeeee! And everything is closed. Oh to be a Spaniard. Its a good life.
I'll be spending tonight probably practicing up on my "hasta luego"s which really sound like, "a-alego." and my "grapftias".
Hasta pronto.. aalegoooo

Andddd....I'm off! Miss you all already. A new adventure awaits. So excited to be a part of it.

Spain!

Hello all!
I know it has been a long time since I wrote. So much has happened this summer, with DC, and Ravi, that I have completely forgotten that A) I'm moving to Spain in a month, and B) that people want to know what's going on!

I will be leaving Sept 23. I am moving to a small city called Ciudad Real (which means Royal City) which is about an hour south of Madrid and a little bit west. It is within the province of Castilla la Mancha, in the heart of Spain. According to Wiki, "It is mostly in this region where the story of the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes is situated - due to which La Mancha is internationally well-known. Although La Mancha is a windswept, battered plateau, it remains a symbol of the Spanish culture with its sunflowers, mushrooms, oliveyards, windmills, Manchego cheese, and Don Quixote."
They are known for their great "embutido," meaning sausages and hams. CR is a stop on the AVE high speed train as of a couple years ago (thank goodness!) with easy access to Madrid and Sevilla. I don't feel like writing all about it so I might copy and paste some of the info I have from Wikipedia about Ciudad Real.

"After the unification of the Iberian kingdoms under the Catholic Monarchs, Ciudad Real became the capital of the province of La Mancha in the 17th century (1691). This fact favoured its economic development which was spilled into important buildings. The city was founded by Alfonso X in the 13th century (1255) to fight with the Military Order of Calatrava.
The city was surrounded by walls. Nowadays, there are only two parts of the wall left."

The city is also home of the Universidad de Castilla la Mancha. I can't wait to get to know it. Right now the temp there is 95 so pretty close to Missouri. They are known for harsh summers and harsh winters. it seems to stay hotter for longer than Missouri but have a longer, harsh winter in December-March. We'll have to see!

I will be teaching at a secondary school...not sure if it is the post-secondary school type or not. They have one secondary school that goes from age 12-16 and then 2 years of non-compulsory college prep. My school is called IES Hernán Pérez del Pulgar. Hernan Perez del Pulgar is a famous captain of the Spanish army in the 1400-1500s from Ciudad Real.

My fateful trip to Edmonston, MD

I was very excited to visit Edmonston, Md especially because I have just found out with genealogy documents sent from Grandma Jean that the Edmonston anscestors probably founded it. I was, however, disappointed with what I found. I figured out you could take the metro then a bus to get to Edmonston. I thought it would be kind of a small town. Well, no. I took the metro way out north east and should have remembered that anywhere E of DC is a bit questionable. All I found in Edmonston was a dilapidated ghetto populated by a vast majority (think 70%) of Hispanics (which was cool to me!) and probably 30% black. For the last hour of my transit rides I was the only white non Hispanic person on there, not a big deal, just a point to help explain. So anyway I went, walked around for one minute, passed Edmonston Rd, entirely populated by Mexican-Americans it would seem, because out of every other house hung a huge Mexican flag and all you heard from all the shops and cars was Spanish music. I walked past a repair shop blasting Mexican pop and then past a few restaurants, grocery stores whose signs were entirely in Spanish. That was pretty neat to me, but I didnt feel too comfortable walking around after the 47 people who yelled at me or honked out their car. (I was wearing a sweater) so I went back to the bus stop and sat with an African American man who kept talking bu I couldn't understand him so I just kept nodding.
And THAT was my Edmonston, MD experience. Ha! Guess a lot has changed since Capt James Edmonston had his plot of land there in the 1740's.

On a lighter note, here is me eating a piece of pizze three times the size of my head!

4th of July!

4th of July in Dc was great! The girl in the picture is my roommate from New York, Courtney!

Mayor Blomberg's Broken Spanish