Week 22: And we’re off!

Starting my second week here in Toledo has been a little rough… I’ve actually had to get back into the rhythm of classes, and it’s different than even last semester; these classes are actually adapted to American students, which means the workload is consistent with an American university, not a Spanish one… and so I have to get used to writing papers again. (Not the worst thing in the world, just a little overwhelming for the moment, haha.) But in spite of that, this week altogether has been ramping up the pace of my lifestyle here in Toledo, and it’s been interesting.

Monday, I didn’t have anything school-related to do, so I accidentally slept in until noon, and then stumbled down to the living room to watch some TV with my host sister Teresa. During that time, I messaged some of my friends to see if they were doing anything, and one of them, Allison, didn’t have anything to do until later, and so we ended up meeting up and exploring Toledo a bit. We went to the supermarket, grabbed some snacks and essential items, and then showed each other around our host family’s houses. It was cool to already see the differences in people’s host families, even within the first week of being there. We ended up eating lunch at a little café, and then chilling for a while and just chatting, before getting to the Fund to get our bus cards. We also signed up for some of the excursions the Fund will be offering, including one to Madrid this weekend and others in the future! Before I made it home, I stopped at the post office to get all my postcards mailed (as I had tried to buy stamps in a tobacco store as is customary in Spain, but the lady there had told me that the stamps for America had just changed). When I finally returned home, little Javier was there! Javier is my host mom’s first grandchild, and he comes over every Monday during the evening so his parents can take English classes in Toledo. He is the most adorable thing, and he’s just barely starting to speak! So I definitely spent a while playing around, along with Mamen and all my host siblings. What an adorable little guy! I then had dinner with my host family, and made it into bed a little late for my first day of classes the next day.

Tuesday was my first day of classes! It was exhilarating to start taking classes in Spanish again. (I had had one class, South American Civilization, in Spanish in spring last year, but that was the last time I had heard so much Spanish, at least used in an academic setting.) I woke up once at 6:30 and once at 7:00, and from then on it was go-go-go. I took a shower, had a quick breakfast, and off to classes I went. At 8:40 I had my Internship class, which is an extension of the work we do at our internship sites. This class seems interesting, because it appears as though it’s not just going to be a reflection class, but also a kind of general Spanish culture class. Then came Spanish Golden Age Theater, and after that, the Art of Reading Literary Texts. I have the same professor for those two classes apparently, and he seems to be nice enough. Only time will tell how I get on in these classes, and how the professors really turn out to be at teaching. After these three classes, I made it home for lunch, and a quiet night in was in order. I made sure I had all my materials organized for the next day. Classes here happen twice a week instead of once a week as it was in Lille, and so it’s already more similar to the American system than the direct exchange program I participated in last semester in Lille.

On Wednesday, I had one class two times: Theology of Spanish Mysticism. This class is interesting to me, because the professor is quite the character, and also because I took Saint Teresa of Avila’s name in the sacrament of Confirmation, and we will be studying one of her works in-depth. In between the morning class and the afternoon class, I went with Miguel, the internships coordinator, to my internship site, IES Sefarad, and we talked about when exactly I could come and help out. We cemented a schedule: 9am-3pm on Mondays (as I have no class), and 12:30-2:30pm on Wednesdays (in between Theology class). Finally, I went home, worked a little bit on my blog, and then got a little organized before getting some sleep for the next day, which would be my most difficult day.

I have four classes on Thursdays: Theater, Spain Since 1936, Lit, and the same history class - another class with two separate meeting times in one day. I actually accidentally skipped Lit, because I had forgotten which time was the second meeting of the week, but I ended up spending the time relaxing in a café with friends, so it was alright. I ended up staying at the Fund for both lunch and then dinner as well, as we had been invited to a cena rompehielos - a getting-to-know-you dinner, where we had the chance to meet Spanish natives. What we didn’t know was the surprise the coordinators had in store for us!

After enjoying some pizza and talking to more than a few people (and even exchanging contact details with some), a troop of classically dressed Spanish singers entered the room! I’m not sure if this kind of thing actually has a name, but it was certainly a great experience! These men played guitar and sang in great harmonies, even involving the crowd at certain times! It was a fantastic night of singing and dancing, and then before I knew it, we headed to Enebros, a local bar, to enjoy some tinto de verano, a drink made with red wine and Fanta lemon. After this very long day, I made my way home, chatted with my host mom for a little while (which is always my favorite part of the day!), and then went to sleep.

Tinto de verano at Enebro's!

Fridays are amazing in general, because since the coordinators of the program know that we’ve crossed an ocean and are making the effort to learn Spanish in Spain, and with the rest of Europe within arm’s reach we’ll want to travel, we actually get every single Friday off - nobody has any classes! (There are some perks to having a tailor-made American-dominated program, rather than the direct exchange I had last semester, haha.) This particular Friday, there was an excursion to Madrid, hosted by the Fund! We all piled in the bus and made our way to Spain’s capital city, where we ended up having a blast!

The first thing we did with the Fund was to take a tour in the same bus we had been in from Toledo of lots of different parts of Madrid, where we learned about what kinds of neighborhoods they are, and the history behind lots of major monuments and sights. We then got off the bus to tour the Palacio Real, which ended up being an amazing experience! I was so interested in all the tiny little details and historic nuances our personal tour guide was telling us as we made our way through the many amazing rooms.

The Palacio Real in Madrid. What a treat it was!

After this neat tour, we were basically done with the planned excursion part of the trip, as the coordinators from the Fund would be going back in the evening. However, many of us students from the Fund had already planned on staying the weekend (I had actually decided quite late), and so we all headed to our hostels to check in. I had fun showing my American friends how the metro system worked (although getting off to a little bit of a rough start by mistaking a parking garage for a metro stop, haha). We made it to our hostel, checked in, and then we headed out around town to explore. We definitely did some shopping, as we’re currently in the period of rebajas or sales in Spain, France and lots of Western Europe. (It’s like a two-month-long Black Friday!) After stopping for some lovely churros and chocolate, and then dinner in a Mexican restaurant at midnight, we headed out to party the night away!

Dinner with friends at a Mexican restaurant!

Saturday would have been a fun day, except for the fact that I had to spend all day getting my computer fixed. I of course am unendingly grateful that it now works, especially to the Apple Genius who fixed it, for sure; it had been running ridiculously slow, and I couldn’t even use most of even the basic functions on it anymore. So, after some shopping in the mall where the Apple Store was located, and even finding some Flunch in the mall, I packed everything up and made my way back to Madrid itself, to meet up with my friends at our hostel. Luckily, my friends had had th chance to visit some places definitely more interesting than the Apple Store, such as the Prado museum, and then we all got together in the hostel to get ready for going out. We then ended up having an excellent time that evening, including going to a famous nightclub called El Teatro Kapital! There were 7 floors with different themes and different music, and we ended up visiting all of them. We had an absolutely fabulous night, and before we knew it, it was time to head back to our hostel and sleep a while.

El Teatro Kapital, a huge nightclub in Madrid. We had lots of fun!

Sunday has been a fairly tame day. We packed up our stuff and checked out of our hostel, and then we attempted to make our way to the famous Parque del Retiro, one of the most iconic and representative sights in Madrid. Sadly, we didn’t quite have the motivation to make it there, and so we ended up catching the metro to the bus station and plopping down on the bus back to Toledo early in the afternoon. It was good to get to know the bus route from Madrid to Toledo, as I will be needing it in the future to get back from my international adventures.

I still cannot wait to see what this semester brings! So far, getting to know my host family has been going very well, and we certainly click, which helps a lot! My classes, although I’ve only had a week of them, have been interesting so far, and they at least sound like they’re going to help me with different areas of Spanish, which I’m definitely looking forward to. The transition from France to Spain was a little rough in the first day or two (although I imagine not as rough as some of my classmates’, coming from the U.S. with such a time difference and all), but I’m slowly starting to grow into life here in Toledo. We’ll see what happens next… until then, ¡hasta pronto!

Week 21: New beginnings!

This week has brought some bittersweet endings, but also some exciting beginnings - not the least of which has been my move to Toledo! I have been so sad to see France go, but I also can’t wait to see what Spain has in store for me.

Monday was our last day in Lisbon, which was a fantastic end to a fantastic trip! Of course it's never a happy event to say goodbye to a great friend, but we said our goodbyes and well wishes, and then made our way back to Brussels airport. Once we landed there, we had a few hours to kill until our bus back to Lille, and so we decided to explore Brussels a bit. We made our way around the city, checking out the main square, the store dedicated to The Adventures of Tintin, and of course, the little peeing boy (Manneken Pis). It was an excellent way to spend a few hours! After ending up at the bus stop a few minutes early, and then sitting through a 2.5 hour bus ride with some enjoyable conversation about the previous semester and the one to come, we finally made it back to Lille, and walked fast through the cold to get back to our respective residences. All in all, a great day!

Our last view of Lisbon from the plane: Europe's longest bridge the Ponte Vasco da Gama, measuring 17km.

Part of the Berlin Wall in front of the European Parliament building.

A marker of the Camino de Santiago in the main square in Brussels!

The main square itself.

Walker in front of a Tintin mural.

The little peeing boy.

Thanks for a great few hours, Brussels!

Tuesday was my last day with Alex! What a sad day… we spent the afternoon watching Netflix and cuddling up. I packed all my things, sat on my suitcase, and zipped the last zipper. Since my flight was early in the morning on Wednesday, I had booked the last train of the night to Charles de Gaulle airport from Lille, and so Manon, Fatima, Alex and I grabbed some kebab on the run while heading over to my old residence for one last goodbye (for now!). Walker and Anna met us there, and we said our goodbyes - one of the more melancholy moments of the evening… but, as I keep telling all my friends from Lille, it’s just goodbye for now! Then Walker, Fatima and Manon were nice enough to help Alex and me take all my luggage to the train station, and I ended up being just in time for the train, thanks to their help getting all my suitcases to the station (you guys rock!). As the train door closed, I watched my friends waving back at me as I whizzed away, and my heart broke a little. I had just gotten to see Alex again; did I really have to leave so quickly? And of course I didn’t want to leave all my new friends behind for a big unknown! But, in spite of the heartache, I had to keep up the positivity, otherwise I would start getting seriously sad, and possibly even homesick, which surprisingly I really haven’t been much of, all these months in Europe. (More on that later.)

Instead of sleeping in the Paris airport, as I had planned, I ended up working on my blog all night. I got two full entries done, which was way more than I expected, and then it was time to board the plane! I checked my two big bags at the gate, and then went over to go through security… who sent me back to the gate, because my carry-on suitcase and my backpack were considered two carry-on items, and not just a carry-on and a purse, but thankfully the nice gentleman at the gate let me check my carry-on suitcase for free. After that nonsense, I grabbed my backpack and made it through security. After constant second-guessing myself as to if I was in the right place to be waiting for the plane, I finally just grabbed a seat and relaxed for a while. I got another blog entry finished up and published, and then it was boarding time!

A giant lit globe keeping me company in the Charles de Gaulle Airport for the night.

I took in my last views of France for the moment while walking down the hallway to board the plane (at o dark thirty). For the short amount of time that I was in a physical position to use my laptop/phone but couldn’t due to technical rules, I sat and reflected on the last semester. It’s now officially over! What?! Craziness. I still can’t believe it! Then the plane took off, which is always my favorite part, and since I hadn’t slept during the night, sleep overcame me for most of the flight. When I woke up, it was dawn in Madrid, and I got my first sights of Spain!

Hello Madrid!

It was 9:20AM when I arrived in the Madrid airport. As I had been told to meet with the people from my program in Spain at 10:15, I was anxious to get all my luggage and try to find where I was supposed to meet up. Strangely enough, I had actually missed the whole experience of actually having checked luggage to pick up (something about those luggage belts just does it for me, I guess), and then I walked out into the main terminal hall to try to find the meeting point. The description of the spot was accurate, but when I went there before 10:15, there was no one there, and so I wandered up and down the hall a bit until closer to the time, which is when I saw two guys in unmistakeable highlighter yellow vests with the name of my program (Fundación Ortega y Gasset) on them. I was so relieved, especially when they offered to take my two big suitcases, and we made our way to the bus where the other students had come in earlier on the group flight from the United States (Minneapolis, to be precise). We loaded everyone’s luggage in the bus, and then I hopped on, and I even started speaking in Spanish with one of the American students on the bus!

On the way to Toledo from Madrid, along with testing out my Spanish speaking skills after a semester of speaking almost no Spanish, I took in the magnificent views of the Spanish countryside and eventually the city itself. When we got off the bus, we got to leave our luggage to some nice hefty guys to unload, and the students living in host families got to go straight to a meeting about things like how to greet your host mom, adjusting to daily life in a Spanish family, and what to do in case we want to switch our host family. (A side notes here: for St. Norbert it’s actually required to stay with a family in Toledo, but the program itself offers the option of its own residence.) This meeting also served as our orientation, and so at a certain point we were joined by the other students who would be living in the same building as the school. They told us about a lot of things, including even a tiny bit about homesickness and culture shock (and an earful about pickpockets), and we also got a student manual (which, as usual, no one will ever read). Before too long, the meeting was over, and it was finally time for me to meet my host mom!

A beautiful view of the valley surrounding the city.

One of our first views of the entire city!

One of the two bridges that first connected the city to the valley, the Puente de San Martín.

An amusing street sign found around Toledo :)

Found at the post office: some fierce mail slots!

The main plaza in Toledo: the Plaza de Zocodover.

The beautiful cathedral!

My school for the next few months!

The spectacular view from the top of the school building. Oh Toledo...

María Carmen, or Mamen as she likes to be called, is a spectacular lady. I didn’t know it in the moment I was introduced to her, but I soon would find out! Right from the first moment, something just clicked, and I could tell this was the right choice of family for me to stay with for a semester - kudos to the Fundación. My host mom then went and got her car, which turned out to be a little bit of a difficult task due to the tiny streets in the historical neighborhood, but I finally got to load all my luggage into the car, and off we went so I could see where I would be living.

When we arrived, I helped Mamen lug all my suitcases up the stairs and into my new room. It turns out that my new home is a 3-level piso, and so the living room/dining room and kitchen are on the first floor, girls’ bedrooms on the second, and boys’ bedrooms on the third. (The levels aren’t that big.) After leaving my suitcases in my room, Mamen took me on a little tour of the place, telling me things along the way that I would need to know, such as which bathroom to use, where I would need to look for sugar for coffee, and using the remote control for the television. Before too long, other family members started arriving, and Mamen introduced me to each one of them: Ignacio, my 24-year-old host brother; Teresa, my 18-year-old host sister; Edith, my 16-year-old host sister; and Alonso, my 12-year-old host brother. It was great to get to meet them all right away, and it definitely jump-started my Spanish practice!

I had a little bit of time before dinner, so I unpacked all my bags and settled everything into my new drawers, closet and shelves. Ignacio was then nice enough to take my empty suitcases up to the attic, to get them out of the way. Not long after, we all sat down for dinner, or most of us anyways, and I started the process of adjusting into family living again. As I hadn’t heard much Spanish for the past 5-6 months, I was a little overwhelmed by the fast conversation, but I picked up what I could, and I participated when I could get a word in edgewise. In the host family orientation meeting earlier, they had told us that Spanish families tend to eat dinner around 10PM, but my host family usually eats dinner around 9PM, because Alonso has to be in bed somewhat early to be able to get the sleep he needs. What a great first day in Toledo!

Thursday was a chill day; classes don’t start until Monday, and so I had a mostly free day to do whatever I pleased. I had a lovely breakfast in the morning, put together by my amazing host mom, and she then proceeded to take me to the bus stop to make sure I knew how to get to school every day. I don’t have to take the bus if I don’t want to, it’s not that much longer of a walk, but we do get bus passes paid for us, and so I think I’ll end up using the bus more often than not. My host mom then walked me from the bus stop to the Fundación, after which I thanked her profusely (and tried to memorize as much of the route as possible), and then I had a writing test and a grammar test to take, so that the personnel at the school could get a better idea of our levels in the language. Fortunately, we got to know our results just a few hours later, and I found out that I had done fabulously on both tests (with my major mistake on the writing test being that I didn’t take enough risks by not having used more complex grammar structures, ironically enough). Coming out of the test, I was discussing the results with a lot of different people; the atmosphere reminded me of my first day of college in my freshman dorm, where everybody was introducing themselves to everybody, and we were all talking to everyone. It was a great environment, and an awesome way to meet new people! After exploring the Fundación and a little bit of Toledo with some new friends, we got to pick classes, which went really well for me because I got everything that I wanted without any schedule clashes.

A tourism center near my house, called Toletum, the Roman name for Toledo.

A statue of Spanish King Alfonso VI, who conquered Toledo for the Christians in the 11th century.

Then, we all had lunch in the school’s cafeteria, which turned out to be amazing! The food in the Fund is almost as good as my host mom’s meals. (More on the latter, later. :)) Shortly after, I had a meeting with one of the coordinators, Miguel, to find out where I would be doing my internship, which is officially a high school called Sefarad! I’m super excited, because not only was I told that I would be helping out with English classes, but they also have a strong program there in French - so I’ll get to practice French as well as Spanish! We figured out when I would be free and able to get to my internship, as it will be 8 hours each week, and Miguel will be talking to Sefarad about when works for them as well. After all that work, I went to chill and have a glass of sangria with the Puerto Rican students in our group, which was a great way to enjoy meeting new people! (As well as have my first authentic Spanish sangria, haha.) After spending a good part of the afternoon with the Puerto Ricans, we made our way back to the Fund for dinner. After the once again lovely food, I chatted with my new friends for a bit, then made my way back home and to sleep.

In the morning, I had breakfast with my host family again, and then the Fund took us on a walking tour of Toledo. We met in the school itself, and then we made our way around the city with expert tour guides who told us the history of more than a few places, including famous names like El Greco, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. It was interesting to get a jump-start on getting to know the city I’ll be spending these next few months in. After another wonderful lunch in the Fund, I went home for the afternoon to relax and unpack some more, and after a great afternoon of relaxing and settling in, I met people up in the main plaza of Toledo, and we went out for some sangria! I got to know more people, and we had fun sipping our sangrias, and even dancing at the end of the night in a night club called La Nuit (which holds certain irony for me, haha).

Saturday was much the same, in a relaxing kind of atmosphere, but I did get to meet up with some friends and get a private tour of Toledo from the surrounding valley by my host mom, who turns out to be a retired history teacher! After hearing about some of the legends that lie in the hills, such as El Arroyo de la Degollada and others, my friends and I thanked my host mom very much and made our way to a café for some churros and hot chocolate (which I highly recommend to anyone who ever comes to Spain!). We ended up playing go fish, because multiple people had brought along some playing cards, and so we had a great time, and all too soon it was time to leave. I then watched most of The Maze Runner in Spanish with my host sisters, and we had a nice little chat afterwards about the movie and differences between America and Spain. Then, we all made our way to bed (fairly late).

My host mom tells me that Sunday is la fiesta de las calorías, or a calorie-fest, which is just as well because I’m used to a huge American brunch. I ended up having more churros and hot chocolate for breakfast, and then Mamen and Edith and I headed to a hospital not too far down the way where they usually go to mass on Sundays. On my application for this program in Toledo, on the host family information portion, I had requested a family that goes to mass on Sundays, because I wanted to be able to go with them instead of going on my own, and boy did I get my wish there! Mamen actually goes to mass every single day, and there’s always at least two or three family members who go to mass at the hospital or elsewhere on Sundays. Then, before heading home, we stopped at the grandparents’ houses - Mamen’s parents, and Paco’s parents. It was really cool to meet the whole family basically right away! And I got a lot of Spanish practice in, haha. When we got home, Mamen was cooking some paella, the most typical dish of Spain, and we had an excellent lunch at the dining room table, and I got to hear more and more arguments and discussion going on between the family, and I’m already slowly starting to understand more Spanish. (I’ll get there someday, haha.) I helped clean up after lunch, and then I sat down and wrote some post cards to my family and friends.

My Sunday night was actually really exciting - I watched the Packer game live with my parents and twin on Google hangouts! (THEY WERE SO CLOSE.) After watching the last half of Cold Mountain in Spanish with my host sisters, I headed up to my room, and my whole family and I virtually “hung out” for the Packer game! I was so excited to feel so connected to home and my family, and my team of course! Unfortunately, the Pack didn’t quite get there this time, and so with a heavy heart I said goodbye, and eventually fell asleep. What a bittersweet end to an altogether fantastic week.

This week has been an excellent start to my time in Toledo - I can’t wait to see what these next few months bring! If these first few days are any indication, I will be having a fabulous time here in Toledo, if for no other reason than my fantastic host family providing me with such a great place to stay and great company! For now, I’m off to get ready before my classes start tomorrow, so I’ll write you all next week - ¡Hasta pronto!

Week 20: From roots to wings, and off to Lisboa!

It has been amazing staying with Alex for the past few days! Amidst getting ready to travel to Portugal and helping Alex to get set up all cozy in Lille, I’ve been fairly busy for being on vacation these past few days. Of course, as you already know, Paris was amazing, and now I’m off to have another adventure with Fatima and Walker (but unfortunately leaving Alex behind): visiting our friend Karla in Lisbon!

The beginning of the week flew by, as my stay in Europe does the majority of the time; between Monday and Wednesday, I have helped Alex get administrative documents prepared and submitted, open up her bank account, and we even had a fun Norbs night out with Pierre, the other student from St. Norbert who’s here in Lille for the semester. One of the most remarkable things that happened during the week in terms of big picture was hearing about the Charlie Hebdo attack on Wednesday, and seeing the massive reaction in the news media and also on social media (#JeSuisCharlie and all that). I’m still not quite sure which side of the fence I fall on for that, but it was a shocking event nonetheless, that had some news outlets comparing it to 9/11 and that had me thinking hard about my position on the issue. Nevertheless, the next day, I was off to Portugal!

Supporters of Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
Photo credit: USA Today

Thursday marked the start of our trip, and Fatima and I made our way to the Brussels National Airport via MegaBus (viva front row seats!) to catch our Ryanair flight to Lisbon. Because I haven’t said it enough already, once again, thank goodness for such prolific low cost airlines. After making it to Brussels city center, we had to make our way to the train station to catch the train to the airport, which luckily Fatima had a handle on (because I probably would have been lost). After almost missing the train due to a last minute platform change, we made it, and got to the airport and through security just fine. For what it’s worth, Brussels Zaventem is one of the more beautiful airports I have ever been in; everything seemed polished and fancy (more so than the commercialism present in most airports usually provides for). We had a pretty expensive Pizza Hut meal for dinner in the airport, and then we set off on our evening flight to the beautiful city by the ocean (while making sure to snapchat our progress to Walker and publish fabulous Instagram photos in the meantime). Fatima and I settled in to our cozy seats on the plane, and before we knew it, we caught our first glimpses of Lisbon at night.

First sights of Lisbon!

Just arrived in the airport!

Once we landed in Lisbon, we made our way to the city center and consequently our hostel thanks to the very clear instructions Fatima had received from Karla, and when we checked in we immediately figured out two things: 1, this was one of the cheapest places we had ever stayed, and it wasn’t sketchy at all, and 2, this was probably the nicest hostel we had ever been in, in terms of how nice the staff was and how willing they were to help us out. So, off to bed we went (at quite a late hour), to get some rest for the long days of exploring ahead of us.

Since Walker wouldn’t be joining us until the next day, Fatima had wanted to visit the city of Fátima on Friday, and so we woke up fairly early to figure out how to get there. With our own research, we had thought to take the train, but after speaking with the wonderfully helpful receptionists at the hostel, we figured out that it would be cheaper and easier to take the bus, and so off we went to figure out how to get to the bus station (with a little bit of difficulty, as the metro station closest to the bus station wasn’t immediately adjacent), and from there, we set off on our 1.5-hour journey.

When we got there, the weather was fantastic; the sun was shining, and Fatima was so happy to see her name everywhere! (Kind of like me in the Alésia neighborhood of Paris, but on a bigger scale for sure.) We had been told that there were two churches there: an older one that had been the first pilgrimage site, and then a newer one that was built not too long ago as a way to breathe new life into the city. We explored both, and found some breathtaking architecture and many visitors around us.

Fatima just arrived in Fátima!

Having fun with perspective at the new church.

The older church.

After touring the main religious area for a while, we decided to grab some lunch. At this point I was super happy that my French Internet plan for my phone was able to carry over to Portugal since at this point I had had an account with the company for more than 60 days, and so off we were, finding a grocery store for a quick and cheap lunch with Google maps. Unfortunately, we were looking for a grocery store that didn’t exist, and so after hiking up a fairly steep hill to find only disappointment, we made our way back down the hill toward our next destination, which was pretty much anywhere else besides where we had just been because of the latter’s remoteness. We did manage to get a nice view of the city out of our little hiccup, and then we enjoyed some pizza and some pasta at a nice little Mr. Pizza on the way down the hill.

Our next adventure took us 45 minutes down the backroads of Fatima on foot to LAS GRUTAS DE MOEDA, a set of caves that we had looked up before coming to Fatima. This was another cool experience, as I had been to some caves on my only previous trip to Europe (Slovakia) in the summer of 2007. The guide explained all the formations to us, and all the stories to go along with how everything had been formed. We marveled in the beauty of nature for around an hour, and then made our way back on foot to the town. Throughout the day, we took pictures of everything that said “Fatima” on it, to memorialize the trip.

Making our way through the caves.

More fun with perspective! (HERCULES FATIMA)

Although we had just been walking a lot, both to the caves and in the caves, Fatima and I found the strength to continue on back to the city center, where we found our way to a wax museum. It has nothing on Madame Tussaud’s (not that I’ve seen the latter), but it did tell us the story of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima to the three little children in the city, and what they had to go through to prove that they had seen her. There was even a scene with Pope John Paul II (my favorite pope!), when he visited Fatima years ago. It was a great visual way to learn the history of the area and appreciate the entire trip even more.

The children involved with the Fatima miracle, praying for the vision.

Figures of the Pope and a Cardinal addressing the people in a worldwide remembrance day.

It was finally time to return to Lisbon after that, as Walker would be arriving in the evening. We froze our fingers off in the bus station a little bit and second-guessed ourselves as the bus arrived 20 minutes late, but then we got on our way to Lisbon at last. We had a great conversation in the bus about cultural differences, how British culture differs from American, and about our semester in Lille. When we arrived, our next stop was to meet up with Karla in the metro, and meet up we did! (Side note: the metro in Lisbon is pretty nice. It has internet and phone service all the way through!) Immediately after some hearty hugs, we all remarked on how we couldn’t believe how our semester in Lille had passed so quickly, but that of course we were all glad to meet up in Karla’s country. We made our way to a mall called Vasco da Gama and explored a few shops and the plaza outside, that had flagpoles with flags from every single country, and of course, the healthy living mascot of Lisbon. After hurrying back inside, Karla led us to a traditional Portuguese dinner of bacalhau (cod), which was absolutely delicious (and almost a comfort food for me, as I have been raised with Friday fish fries), and told us her whole plan for the weekend (apart from what we had already discussed on Facebook). It was a great first night in Lisbon, but it wasn’t quite done yet - we still had to get Walker from the airport. Unfortunately Karla had to leave at this point, because she would be meeting with student government early in the morning, but she did leave us with some delicious pastries to share with Walker when he arrived.

Flags of all the countries in the world outside the shopping center.

Lisbon's healthy living mascot. Yay for healthy lifestyle!

We wanted to surprise Walker in the airport, but he ended up almost scaring us out of our skins! We were, of course, nonetheless glad to see him, as this was our first little reunion after Christmas break. After we made it on the metro and almost back to the hostel, we stopped at the plaza and monuments nearby, and sat underneath a giant Portuguese flag while we shared the sweets. (My goodness, they were good!) After spending a while ribbing each other with Britishisms and Americanisms as we had done all semester, we made our way over to the aqueducts, which unfortunately were closed due to the late hour. As that was a little farther down the way, and Fatima and I had already done a lot of walking that day, we decided to call it a night after that, and we snuggled into our hostel beds for the night. (I will forever appreciate hostels that have an outlet right by the bed.)

Saturday morning we didn’t want to get up too early, and so we went to meet up with Karla around 10:00, after a wonderful breakfast of homemade pancakes, cereal, and juice. By then we had had time to recharge, and so we were hopping and ready to go when we made our way out to the Avenida da Liberdade (a little like the Champs-Élysées in Paris). We walked down the street, stopping at the little markets along the way, and then we made our way toward a hill leading to the Bairro Alto. After snapping a few photos in front of the main plaza, we turned to go up the hill, and we didn’t get three steps further before Walker spotted the famous yellow funicular that takes people up the hill. (Walker and his trams…) When we reached the top of the hill, we stopped for some pictures. At some point, Fatima had just left me with carte blanche privileges for her camera, and so I took advantage - I clicked the shutter too many times to count over the course of the weekend. (Thanks again, Fatima, for letting me play with your lovely camera :))

Walker's here!

Markets down the street

Walker and the famous yellow funicular.

The absolutely spectacular view. What a beautiful city!

After seeing this spectacular view from the hill, we decided what to do next, which was to eventually make our way to some café or bakery to stop for a coffee and try more Portuguese food, all the while seeing more of the city. We made our way across some main plazas, before stopping at city hall where I got some postcards, including one made of cork (because apparently Lisbon is famous for its cork), and then we continued on our mission for food. Before Karla brought us to the bakery she had had in mind, we passed by a monument honoring the Jewish population of Portugal, and then we visited a church just ahead. Karla informed us that in Lisbon, they don’t do restorations of churches, and this church was definitely an example - the stone was still blackened all over the place, not to mention chipping and crumbling. Nevertheless, the church itself was impressive, especially considering that it has survived at least one major fire and hundreds of years of wear and tear. I walked out feeling awed by the history contained in the place, and felt as I already had so many times before, a sense of awe and wonder at the fact that in this place there stood a building that had been there for hundreds and hundreds of years. There is nothing like this in the States, except for maybe Harvard and other east coast landmarks, and so each and every time I see a new church or building or monument that has been standing for so long, it takes a while for it to sink in.

Main plaza #1... at the end of the Avenida da Liberdade.

The church we entered.

Jewish memorial.

We then made it to a tea room in the next main square, and there we tried more traditional Portuguese snack foods, such as bacalhau bites, Compal juice, and a coffee that Karla described as “black as the devil” (or so say the Portuguese people). It was a wonderful culinary experience, and the prices really couldn’t have been beat. We relaxed for a little while, enjoying our Portuguese experience, and our taste of Lisbon. Next we made our way to a tower in the middle of the city, to be able to get a better look - and get a better look we did! We saw all of the beautiful sites and colorful buildings that Lisbon had to offer, all from a rooftop. What an excellent way to spend some time on a Saturday!

View of the rooftops of Lisbon.

Hanging out on the roof of the tower.

View of the Praça do Comércio from the tower.

Taking a look.

Because we hadn’t had enough café atmosphere for the day, our next stop was the famous Café A Brasileira, where the famous Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa spent much time writing his works. As we did actually want to get to lunch at some point (and not spend too much money), we ended up just passing by the famous café, and we made our way into a shopping center down the street called Armazens Chiado. After grabbing another wonderful lunch based on Karla’s recommendations, we strolled down the streets of Lisbon to finally end up at the Praça do Comércio, the beautiful plaza at the sea. What a gorgeously stunning sight it was, especially in the afternoon sun.

Armazens do Chiado

The main square of Praça do Comércio. Absolutely beautiful, and with a fantastic view of the bay/ocean.

After frolicking around in the sand a bit (because I had insisted on being able to at least get my toes wet, yes, even in January), we took a stroll along the beautiful seashore. Unfortunately we weren’t able to walk on the sand all the way, but we certainly did get our fair share of beautiful views. That moment is when I fell in love with Lisbon… just seeing the sea so peacefully in the setting sun. What a beauty… We then caught the tram, much to Walker’s delight, and headed over to Belém, another district in Portugal, to check out some more sights like the Jerónimos Monastery and the Tower of Belém (one of the most iconic sights in Lisbon). They were cool sights, and we had our own fun at each (and some interesting conversations en route).

Walking along the shore.

Walker walking into the monastery.

Jumping by the fountain!

Walker... riding the bull?...

The famed Tower of Belém.

We finally figured out that we were actually quite hungry, and so Karla guided us to a famous pastry shop called Pastéis de Belém, where we got our first taste of authentic Pastel de Nata, custard tarts. They were absolutely excellent, and another one of my favorite parts of Lisbon! As it was getting quite late at this point, we decided to call it a night, because neither Fatima, Walker nor I wanted to go out (I guess we’re not as big of party animals as we’d like to think, haha). Karla made her way back to her place and we got on our way back to the hostel. We made our way home on the metro, and then once again settled in for a good night’s sleep.

The fabulous Karla while we awaited our famous custard tarts. Such an excellent host!

The next morning we started nice and punctual in the morning again, and we made our way right out to the Praça do Comércio. Once again, clear, sunny skies greeted us with their warmth as we made our way leisurely around the city. After seeing various sights around the city, we started our hike up the hill.

Having fun in the main square!

Finally, we made it to São Jorge Castle, the castle on the hill that we had seen the day before. The views were once again incredible, and we had some fun playing with the cannons and pretending we were the conquerors who had fought for this castle way back in the olden days. On the way into the castle, we even got to hear about the great St. George who slayed the dragon, which was of keen interest to Walker, apparently because this legendary saint is the patron of England. The history here just keeps hitting me - almost everything I run into in Europe has some kind of a story that goes way back to before my country was even formed. This was always something in the back of my mind as I took in all the sights, and even the gorgeous views.

Making our way up the hill.

A wall on our way up the hill - this kind of design will now and forever remind me of Lisbon!

View of the city on our way up.

A Dutch film festival in Lisbon! Fatima's excited!

On our way up

A view of the tower we had climbed the previous day from the castle.

Ready, aim, fire!

Walking on the castle wall.

After Karla told us the story of the general who sacrificed his life to open the door to conquer the castle way back when, we decided to reenact the experience.

Let me in!!!

Peacock in the courtyard!

Castle tower.

After once again taking advantage of the opportunity to stroll alongside the ocean, we made our way around, and eventually got to a little place called Ginja de Óbidos. It was an unassuming little place that ended up capturing my taste, because it was there that Karla introduced me to ginjinha, a berry-flavored liquor that is served in an edible chocolate cup. My oh my, was it good! I was just bummed that Walker and Fatima didn’t share in the experience.

Excited to try!

We then had some lunch at another food court-type place (but classier than what most Americans would think), and Karla got her first experience with buzzers that indicated when the meal would be ready to pick up. After enjoying some excellent conversation and creating some new inside jokes (trombones, anyone? ;)), we headed over toward the zoo, but first, we saw Karla’s university! We walked around a little bit, Karla told us a little more about what she’s studying and how she will be continuing into this new semester, and we even got some more Compal juice to share. Finally, we made it to the zoo, where we had an excellent dinner of more menu items recommended by Karla (I got a sandwich made with Pão de Deus, literally God’s bread, for example). We enjoyed the fleeting time we had left with Karla, and then we said our goodbyes, as Karla wouldn’t be able to accompany us to the airport in the morning ( :( ).

After lunch in the "food court."

Karla's school!

A front view of the university.

Our last foray of the trip was to find a late dinner, and we of course made sure to stop at the football stadium (per Walker’s special request...not at all due to his navigational skills. Nope). It was unfortunately too late to actually enter, but we did see an enclosed statue of the late great Eusébio, with lots of adornments and loving messages from worldwide fans. We then caught a pretty late dinner in the same place that Fatima, Karla and I had had dinner our first night in Lisbon, which was fun. What a great way to end our Portugal trip - different and spectacular cultural experiences! I hardly have more to say than Wow.

At the second shopping center.

'MURRCA

Walker next to the famous soccer idol.

Fatima was a fan as well!

Flags one more time!

What a cool opportunity - we got to see a little bit of Karla’s country, a fair amount of Karla’s city, and even where Karla normally goes to university! (Would that I could show all my new European friends my city and university… haha). Thanks again Karla for the lovely tour! It was great to get to know the city of Lisbon and all the beautiful and interesting things it has to offer.

There’s still a little bit more to add to this trip, since it ended on Monday instead of Sunday as normal, but for this week, this is it. What an amazing way to spend a week - seeing my sister, traveling to Lisbon, and living the dream in general (as international students are wont to do). The next big adventure that awaits me (after finishing this one) is getting to Spain! I’ve been preparing and packing and worrying and calming myself down, but only time will tell how it all goes. In this moment, I’m just so grateful for having this opportunity to be in Europe and travel, and I am definitely looking forward to next semester. With that, I will bid you all adieu, and à bientôt!