Basque Country: Where Hunger Goes to Die

Ok so I am definitely overdue for a blog (several, actually). I have been traveling every weekend in March so I have lot's of catching up to do since Portugal. I have not had the time since I got back from Julie's and Dan's wedding to blog...let alone do work for school...or anything else. Whoops.

So I'm going to start off with an exposition on the last trip that I took, which was to Basque Country. For those of you who have never heard of that, it's is one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities. It's in the north with a coast on the Atlantic and it borders France (don't worry, I didn't really know what it was either - it continues to amaze me how extensive of a knowledge Europeans have of American geography - I tell them I'm from Arizona and they actually know where it is!). Basque is a culture all it's own. If you're still drawing a blank, I can probably jump start your memory with the use of the term "ETA." The crazy terrorist group which was constantly in the news up until about a decade ago, was indeed a radical group with the mission of achieving Basque independence (ETA stands for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, Basque Homeland and Freedom - yeah Basque language is crazy). Unfortunately, this is the reputation that Basque people get stuck with, even though this attitude represents only a small minority of people. Most Basque people, despite feeling culturally distinct from Spaniards (and French, as there is a Basque region of France as well), are perfectly content remaining a part of the Spanish nation. That's just how it is in Spain - state first, then country. Anyway, after visiting the infamous land of the Basques, I can say that this militant anti-Spanish attitude is definitely not the prevailing attitude. The thing I noticed the most if the beautiful landscape, the friendly people and the AMAZING FOOD!

So let's start from the beginning. My two friends who I traveled with, Shelagh and Natalie, and I managed to score some cheap tickets on Iberia to Bilbao. That's right, A REAL AIRLINE. Not crappy (although incomparably cheap) student airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet which charge you 40 euros for a bag, a printed boarding pass, or whatever else they feel like, have absurdly early departures and spend the whole flight trying to sell you crap that you don't want. It was quite nice. The flight was less than an hour and we got into Bilbao around 8:00 (I guess it was still an absurdly early departure time, but whatever). After arriving in Bilbao, we immediately left Bilbao (everyone knows that you only go there to see the Guggenheim - San Sebastian's where it's at). So we took the hour bus to San Sebastian (after Shelagh lost her ticket in a trash can and we had to dig it out - yuck - but the Spaniards (Basques?!?!) were very helpful!) and trekked for 40 minutes to the Old Part of town to find our hostel (spending money on public transport is not necessary). The hostel was bleh. When we got there, the women who runs the place wasn't even there. The beds were incredibly uncomfortable and the place was kind of dingy - but it's off tourist season, so what can you expect? It served for our purposes, which was sleeping for about 3 hours.

Our first step upon arriving, was to see the giant Jesus statue. Apparently this is a big thing. There aren't really many "sites" in San Sebastian, clearly. So we hiked up the giant hill to the big Jesus statue and got some awesome panoramic views of the beach - aptly named Concha Beach, because it is shaped like a shell. After that, we trekked around the shell shaped beach to head up Mount Igueldo on the other side. This time, we took the funicular, which was pretty awesome. The views from up there were even more amazing. Pictures really don't do it justice.
So after a fair share of mountain climbing and viewing, we headed down to the main attraction: eating. San Sebastian is famous for it's delicious food and tapas (or pintxos, as the Basque call them). It's a lot of sea food, ham products (we are still in Spain, after all), and cheese. It's pretty unique and just really rich and delicious. My favorite thing I had was probably black risotto, followed by beef cheeks in red wine sauce. That meal also included goat cheese with fig sauce. Sooo yummy. I also ate lots of squid, shrimp, and ham served in various fashions. Basque country is not lacking in the pastry department either. I had probably the best macaroon of my life and a specialty Basque pastry (Torta Vasco) which was like a buttery pastry with some sort of creamy almond filling. So good. My mouth is watering just describing all of this! After stuffing our faces, we just sort of wandered, got a little time on the beach and took a nap before dinner time. Lol, life is rough. That was the great thing about this vacation. It wasn't like going to a big, sight-filled city, where you're always in a hurry to see everything. We got to relax and take our time. With that in mind, we headed out that evening to check out the San Sebastian nightlife (there's not much) and we ended up hanging out on the beach. Yay for warm weather! Luckily, we were able to sleep in the next day.

Saturday had a pretty similar course of events. We ate, laid on the beach (yeah, I got sunburned), and then we headed to the aquarium, which was actually quite impressive. It had a nice mix of critters and naval displays to keep us entertained. It even had one of those cool tunnels that you can walk under the tank in and see all the fish (and sharks!). After this, it was time to head back to say goodbye to the beach and catch the bus to Bilbao.

Bilbao is a totally different story. It had a very industrial past and has just recently began cleaning itself up. We got in around 8pm and headed on the long trek to our hostel. We crossed the weirdest bridge ever, went through some kind of strange Disney themed carnival, and promptly discovered that our hostel was in the middle of nowhere (either that or some kind of industrial wasteland). I was seriously glad I wasn't alone. The hostel itself was actually pretty nice though (it even had sheets - major bonus). We were just glad to get to our beds and get some rest for Sunday.

We woke up the next morning, enjoyed our free hostel breakfast (aka stale toast, weird jam, and really bad coffee) and headed to the Guggenheim. Now, I was a little worried that the Guggenheim would be disappointing just because it's so famous, and sometimes those things get over-hyped. I had also heard that the art collection wasn't that great. However, I am happy to say that neither of those statements are true. It was awesome. Just as cool as I thought it would be. And the art collection was pretty impressive as well. The 2nd floor was closed (which was probably a good thing, otherwise we never would've left), but what we saw was a very nice mix of art based in and around the World Wars, and I really enjoyed it. I like looking at art from a historical perspective. And I don't even know how to describe the building. It's too cool for words. It has a fire sculpture in the pond outside. It's covered in aluminum which is in sheets thinner than tissue paper. Sooo cool. It's designed to be like part of the river and to blend as one as part of the city, so it's sort of fish like (Frank Gehry has a weird thing for carp - look it up). Anyway, I can't really explain it - I guess you'll have to go see for yourself!

After we were all museum-ed out, we headed down to old town for some lunch. The food here was really good as well. We had paella, grilled garlic shrimp and tortilla de bacaloa (cod omelet) and it was yummy. After that, we sort of wandered for a while until it was time to go. After a minor delay in the airport, I got back to Madrid around midnight. Not too shabby for a weekend. All in all, another great trip and a location I would also definitely recommend for future travels. Check out my friend Shelagh Mollohan's facebook for better pictures (it's not up yet, but hopefully will be soon).

Big Statue


A Sailor's Paradise!


Going up....


Up close and personal


Yep, I made it to the top

Beach


Prettiness


Coolest funicular ever


World's most amazing view


Mandatory tourist pic


Octopus!


Nemo!


Making new friends


The Googs!

Porto: A Weekend in Portugal

Last weekend, I went to Portugal with a couple of my friends (pictures already on facebook for those of you who stalk). Now, Portugal isn't exactly a popular tourist destination, especially for Americans, and I have to say that this makes me really sad because I LOVED it. I probably never would have gone there if I weren't in Spain and so close, because it's just one of the destinations that gets skipped when Americans come to Europe, but I'm so glad that I went. The culture, the food, the WINE, the weather and the people were all just great.

Ok so, details. Being the cheap college students that we are, we decided to go to Porto, instead of the capital, Lisbon. We had heard good things about both cites and the tickets to Porto were WAY cheaper (about 40 euros round trip). The other great thing about Porto is that it's not a huge tourist hub so the hostels are really cheap and nice. Seriously, the hostel we stayed in was AMAZING. It was really clean, cute, and the staff were very helpful in pointing out things to do. It was right in the city center, with a view of the Palacio de Bolsa, or the stock exchange which is a Neoclassical building constructed in the 19th century. It really couldn't have been better.

Now Porto is the 2nd largest city in Portugal, but it feels very, very small. The city proper has a population of about 220,000, but it has a very extensive urban area of about 1.3 million. It is located on the Douro river, about 5 miles from the ocean. It's historic center is also a UNESCO recognized World Heritage Site, and that's where we spent most of our time.

The first day, we arrived at the hostel, after a 50 minute flight (and about as long a metro ride) at about 10:30. After speaking with the manager of the hostel, we headed out to explore the town. First we walked by City Hall and continued to the Oporto Cathedral, which is of the Romanesque style and was constructed in the 12th century. We also entered the Clerigos Church so that we could go up the famous tower, the tallest structure in Porto (and what used to be the tallest structure in Portugal until the Vasco De Gama tower was built in 1998 in Lisbon). It is about 250 feet high and takes a steep climb of 240 stairs to reach the top. The views were amazing though. After that, we continued on to the city's biggest park (name unknown) where there is a huge pavilion and gorgeous views of the river. There was also a short detour in a playground during which we get really weird looks from Portuguese pre-teens.

After this, it was time to get some lunch. We went to a small bodega that our hostel recommended, but ran into problems with the fact that nobody spoke English or Spanish, and could not seem to understand our attempts to turn Spanish into Portuguese. That compounded by the fact that one of my friends doesn't eat pork or fish (she keeps kosher), sort of eradicated that option. We went to another restaurant, which we thought would be fine, and it was, until the bill came. Turns out all the bread they were bringing to the table wasn't actually free. They even charged us for butter. No jokes. You live, you learn. Then we headed back to the hostel to relax for a while. We had a really good mix of people in our hostel, a few from Brazil, one girl from Mexico studying in London and another American studying in Rome who was on spring break. I really enjoyed talking with them, and we spoke a lot of Spanish because it was easier for some of them. We went to dinner later, and turned in early because we know we had a long day ahead of us.

We woke up the next morning and checked out of the hostel. Here's where the story gets interesting. Our flight back to Madrid on Sunday left at 6am, so we had to take a taxi to the airport around 4. That being said, in all of our infinite, cheap, college student-minded wisdom, we decided not to stay in the hostel Saturday night. We never go to bed until at least 2 in the morning anyway (that's if you come home early), so why pay 17 euro to get only an hour of sleep? Flawless logic. Fortunately, the hostel was nice enough to let us keep our stuff there until we left otherwise it probably would have been pretty terrible. So, after that, we headed off to the beach. It was a trip goal to put our feet in the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean. The city bus got us there in about 20 minutes and it was pretty cool. Definitely something I can check off my list. The water was FREEZING though. The American that we stayed with in the hostel said he went swimming...he must've been nuts. Then we went back into town and perused the local market which had a nice selection of fresh fruits (strawberries are finally in season) and we got some lunch. For lunch, I decided to try a Portugese favorite: the Francechina Sandwich, also known as the most artery clogging sandwich known to man. It is a toasted sandwich with a layer of steak and several sausages, covered in cheese and drowned in a spicy sauce. Yum. As per usual, my friends were awed by my food consumption abilities. Then we walked down to the river and explored the boardwalk shops and did a little souvenir shopping. One store we entered was ran by an Indian man, who was clearly enthused about the opportunity to get to practice his English. My friend Michelle, who is actually a completely white, Jewish girl, but has some darker features so sometimes gets people thinking that she's Spanish, was asked if she was actually American. The guy then proceeded to look at me and say "She, I can see, is truly American." Yep.

After that, we headed across the river to the biggest feature on the other side: wineries. Porto is famous for it's Port Wine. There are dozens of wineries lined along the river which offer pretty cheap tastings/tours. We went to Sandeman, which was founded by a Scotsman in 1790. All of the grapes are grown and wines made in the Douro valley, about 35 miles from Porto and then transported there to be stored and aged. All Port wines must age for at least 3 years but most of them age for at least 10. We paid 4 euros to get a tour of the cellars and tasting of 2 wines which were both DELICIOUS. One of them was the white Porto, of which Sandeman only makes one variation, and the other was a Tawney which is a light red. They also make a variety of Rubys. For some reason (maybe because it's so sweet that you just feel like you're drinking juice), I really liked the Port wine. I know that by American standards, it's usually only considered a dessert wine but they suggested lots of other ways to serve it. That was my first wine tasting experience, and I really enjoyed it.

By then it was dark out, and there wasn't much left to do except eat dinner and find ways to fill the night until leaving at 4 in the morning. One of the guys who worked in the hostel, a Brazilian studying in Portugal, took us out to various Porto night life spots and it wasn't hard to stay occupied until 4 in the morning. When we got on the plane, we all passed out (unfortunately only for the 50 minute flight) and were pretty much zombies the whole way back. I think I am still recovering.

So that was Portugal. In other news, things in Madrid are going well. Today, I FINALLY had my interview for my internship and I will be starting when I return from the wedding. I will be working at a company called Fundacion Autor (Author's Foundation) which works with authors, editors, publishers, art galleries, theaters and other cultural businesses to help promote the development of such industries. I'll be working in the Economics and Finance Department. I'm not really sure what to expect, but at this point I'm just happy to be starting since it has taken so long for her to find me a placement. During my interview, my supervisor told me that I'll also get tickets to plays and art shows and the like, so that will be awesome. Classes are going well, and the work load is starting to pick up a little as I have 2 big group projects early next month. My Spanish is getting a lot better, and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm becoming fluent. Other than that, I'm excited to see ya'll this weekend!

City Hall


Clerigos Church and Tower (yep, that's the tallest structure in the city)


Another beautiful panoramic view


Yours truly (p.s. I finally bought a non-North Face jacket so that I could attempt to blend in a little)


Park Pavilion


In the park


Famous rooster


So. Much. Port. Wine.


Beach!


If you zoom in really close, you can see America in the background


Franceschina, after I got to it



Palacio de la Bolsa (stock market)


By the river


Sandeman mascot (Spanish hat to represent the production of Sherry wine and the typical black cape of Portuguese students for Port wine)


Lots of wine


First wine tasting ever

La Vida en Madrid and a Very Madrileño Birthday

It's still hard for me to fathom that I've been here for almost 2 months. If you read my last post, then you understand why I still don't really feel settled in (although now I can say that at least matriculation is over, and I'm officially enrolled in my classes, YAY!) I have, however, been trying to make the most of my excess of free time. I've been exploring the different areas of Madrid via coffee shops, museums, and just wandering aimlessly. The weather has been pretty agreeable, but I'm still waiting for it to warm up a little until I start spending a lot of time outside.

One of my favorite Madrid neighborhoods that I've discovered thus far is Malasaña. It's supposed to be comparable to New York's East Village (whatever that means, Boston>New York) and it's famous for being the center of counterculture in Madrid. It's full of bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes and shops. I like it because it feels authentically Spanish compared to a lot of other places that we Americans end up hanging out.

After hitting one of the biggest tourist attractions, The Prado, a few weeks back, I recently checked out one of the sister museums, the Thyssen-Bornemisza. Along with the Reina Sofia these three make up the "Golden Triangle of Art." I REALLY loved the Thyssen. While it doesn't house as many famous masterpieces as the Prado, it has an incredibly diverse and unique collection. The collection was started in the 1920's by the German Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornesmisza and was extended by his son until the son's death in 2002. Baron Thyssen's son (also Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza), married Carmen Cervera, a former Miss Spain in 1985. She then began collecting art as well (I ain't sayin she a gold digger...). She is still alive and remains involved with the museum. The museum is divided into his collection and her collection, and each is organized in chronological order beginning with Italian Gothic works of the 14th century all the way up to Avant-Garde works of the last 50 years. It's awesome to walk through and see how art has changed over the centuries, and observe the transitions from movement to movement. Now I only need to visit the Reina Sofia to complete the triangle!

I also did manage to travel somewhat outside of Madrid in the past couple weeks. A couple friends and I took a trip to Aranjuez - a small town about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Madrid. It was easy to get there because it is accessible by the Cercanías, which is kind of the Madrid equivalent of Boston's commuter rail, only (like the metro), much much better. So, about Aranjuez: in the 16th century, Philip II decided to be cool and turn it into a royal site and he began construction of a palace, which is pretty much the main (and only attraction) that the city has to offer. Other than that, it's very small (population of about 50,000). BUT the Palace was quite spectacular. I could definitely live there. Spanish Royalty has it made. I haven't actually been inside of the Royal Palace in Madrid yet but my friends told me that the two are pretty similar (because obviously everyone needs at least 2 enormous palaces). But really, it was beautiful and it was a nice little history lesson on Spanish royalty. Also, all the wedding dresses of the current female members of the royal family (Queen Sofia, Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina and Prince Felipe's wife, Princess Leticia) were on display, which I thoroughly enjoyed looking at and judging for their fashion sense. It was nice to get outside the city, and I might actually go back there when it's warmer because another thing it's famous for is the Strawberry Train. This was the 2nd railway in Spain, constructed in 1851, and they pretty much just give you free delicious strawberries on the ride.

So I have been keeping busy. When the weather's nice, I'll go to Retiro Park with friends, or walk around in Puerta del Sol or Serrano or Goya or somewhere where there's cafes and shops and stuff like that. I know that there's a lot more that I still have to see but I've got time.

Speaking of time...oh how it flies (awkward segue). I can't believe that it's March already. We have a new baby in the family, and another year has gone for me. To be honest, 20 wasn't really a birthday that I'd been greatly looking forward to. It's depressing because your teenage years are over, and disappointing because...well we all know why (although being in Europe, that part isn't really relevant). I did, however, have a very nice time. It was another girl on the program's birthday as well, so a bunch of us went out to the infamous Cave Bar which provides birthday parties with a free bottle of champagne. I also celebrated with my host family, who made me a delicious blueberry cheesecake. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful but that's all I ask for. I'm really just excited to be in Arizona with you all in a couple weeks for Julie's and Dan's wedding. You should expect me to be completely jet-lagged, but I know that it will be worth it for some good family time. Oh yeah, and that whole not traveling until the wedding thing totally did not last. I'm going on a day trip to El Escorial tomorrow, and to Portugal next weekend, so prepare for some more travel blogs!

Palacio Real de Aranjuez


Courtyard at the Palacio


Vanity Shot


Gardens


More Gardens


Sweet Fountain


Delicious Birthday Cake

Caaave

The UAM: A Bureaucratic Nightmare

Ok so, let me just preface this by saying that I am in Spain. Spain as in: a very well-developed country, a respected member of the European Union (political and monetary), and the 12th largest economy in the world. That being said, one would expect that it might not be all the different from living in the states, in terms of standard of living and the use of technology. I've done at least a modicum of traveling in not-so-well developed places and the differences between those places and American life were astounding. Turns out, the differential between the U.S. and Spain is pretty astounding as well. I guess this blog is going to sort of be an amalgamation of some issues that I have been having...

My experience at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM) has been frustrating, to say the least. I thought that all of my bureaucratic issues such as choosing classes, getting my credits to transfer, registering as a student and all that jazz was settled before I got here. Turns out that was NOT the case. Between trying to coordinate with my Spanish adviser at BU, trying to figure out the way the system works here, and the language barrier, picking classes was a total nightmare. Before I came, I thought that any class I took in Spanish would count toward my minor. NOT TRUE. It has to be either a literature class or a "cultural class" (definition up for debate), and fortunately, the program directors here basically told us not to take lit classes at the UAM because Americans never do well in them. Great. I was really freaking out for a while. And I was incredibly jealous of all the people in the program taking classes at the school which is exclusively for American students (Level I and Level II students, I am Level III, LUCKY ME!). After a few battles, I think I've finally got it figured out though.

Ok, after that rant, let me backtrack a little. Obviously I know that my generation (especially in the U.S) is incredibly spoiled by the merits of technology. We can pretty much do anything we'd ever need to do without actually leaving our houses, given we have an internet connection; for example, registering for classes. At the UAM, that's not how it works. If you want to register for a class, you have to fill out a piece of paper, get it signed by like a million people, go to the office of your school (only between the hours of 10-1 because GOD FORBID you interrupt the siesta), and wait for it to get approved. So, when I got here and realized I had to change all my classes I pretty much spent the first 3 weeks living outside of that office waiting for paperwork. Not cool. Seriously, the kid who works there knows me by first and last name. He randomly says hi to me in the hallways. And even once a class gets approved on your so-called "learning agreement," you're still not technically in it until matriculation, which is TOMORROW. Yes that's right, I have been here for nearly 2 months, and I'm still not even technically enrolled in my classes. I have to go there tomorrow morning and wait in what will probably be a ridiculously long line with other international students to turn in a stupid piece of paper. Oh. This actually leads me to a good segue into...

ANOTHER STORY about how they don't embrace the internet for all that in can offer!!! The UAM offers a non-credit Spanish class for foreigners as another way to help us improve our language. Great. I took a test, got placed in a level, and wanted to register. They said registration was a 9:30, but to come a little early because there would be a lot of people. I came at 9, was told to take a number and received number 53. So I waited. Finally, after about an hour, they called my group of numbers up. I walked up 2 flights of stairs, where OH HEY there were 30 people still waiting up there. There was literally one person just calling people into a room, one by one, and writing down what class they wanted. OMG PEOPLE this is 2011, the internet is calling you!!! I know that I sound so spoiled (and I know that I am so spoiled) but it was just ridiculous. The entire ordeal ended up taking about 3 hours.

Anyway, sorry about that tangent. Back to my other classes. After changing my learning agreement a million times and convincing my totally incommunicado BU adviser to let an econ class about Spanish macroeconomic policy to count as a cultural class (my persistence and ability to argue relentlessly and shamelessly have paid off), I think I finally have my classes figured out. I will be taking (assuming all goes well at matriculation tomorrow, which it probably won't) Spanish Macroeconomic Policy and Gender Anthropology in Modern Spain which both count as provisions towards the cultural requirement of my Spanish minor (I'm only taking 2 classes because I did the seminar at the beginning, and then I have my internship, which I haven't started yet either, but that's a totally different frustrating story). I'm actually pretty happy about my classes, because it looks like I will complete my Spanish minor while only having to take two actual Spanish lit classes (1 more when I'm back at BU) which is great for me. I had this huge debate with myself about whether or not I should even finish the minor, because the way the department designs it is for students who just want to read Spanish books and analyze them, which is not the part of Spanish that interests me. I just want to be able to speak it, and speak about things that may be relevant to my career. When I'm talking to some rich Chilean business man, he's not going to care if I can analyze Don Quixote. And neither do I. So I'm really excited about the Econ class because I'm learning a lot of good vocabulary.

So, other than the frustration of actually getting my classes in order, the 2 classes I'm taking have been going well. The Anthro class has lots of international students in it so the professor is really patient and easy to understand. I'm finding the subject material interesting as well - it's kind of an indulgence for me because once I get back to BU I'll be taking all econ and math classes until I graduate. And the Econ class I love. I'm learning a lot of the Economy of the European Union and Spain has such an interesting economic history. I'm the only international student in that class, but students have been really nice to me. We have a group project that's worth 30% of our grade, and people invited me to work with them right away (probably partially just because they want to take advantage of my English speaking skills). We also do these in-class exercises every other class or so and despite not being able to speak very well, I have been impressing people with my mad econ skilz (nerd alert). The first one we did, we were presented with a certain economic scenario and had to discuss if fiscal or monetary policy was the best way to deal with it; everyone in my group thought it was fiscal but I disagreed so I convinced them and we were totally the only group that got it right. Take that you crazy socialists - MONETARISM FOR THE WIN! Now I don't have any problems finding a group :)

The classes are certainly different though. Both my classes have a final exam which is worth 70% of your grade, and a project/paper worth 30%. No midterms, no homework assignments, no quizzes. Your whole grades rests on only 2 things. It's kind of nice in that you don't have a lot of work during the semester, but then if you fudge the final, you're screwed. The teaching style is also different - it's a lot more lecture based than classes in the U.S. You don't even really have to go to class. Literally, the first day my econ professor said "I don't care if you come to class, as long as you do the reading and take the final." Seems like you can either do the reading or come to class, which is kind of true in some American classes but not as many. Usually the reading just supplements the lecture and lots of profs require attendance. I guess that's what happens when education is free - you're not really paying for anything so why should you expect the professors to be extraordinary? Not to say that I don't like my professors, it's just interesting. I guess now I kind of understand better why there's so many foreign professors in the U.S.

So that's pretty much been my life thus far. As I mentioned earlier, I haven't started my internship yet for God knows what reason. They said they couldn't place us until we had our class schedules fixed which took forever obviously. And now I'm just waiting to hear about my placement and I am getting very impatient. All I have is classes on Monday and Wednesday right now - way more free time than I know what to do with. It's very frustrating, seeing as how I've been here for nearly 7 weeks now and I feel like I'm still settling in. I like being busy. Hopefully I will hear something soon, as I am eager to start working and getting even more exposure to speaking Spanish everyday.

Other than that, I've been trying to soak up as much of Madrid as possible, which I'll write a little more about in a separate blog. My host family has been great and my Spanish is getting better and better. I had a conversation with them a while ago that was probably one of the highlights of my life. We were talking about the differences in the Spanish/European education system when compared to American schools and one thing that came up was how college in the U.S. is so expensive while it's pretty much free here. Then I made a comment about how I was lucky because I got a scholarship. Then my host brother says something to the affect of "oh that's awesome, because isn't BU one of the best schools in the U.S"? My response was, "it's a good school but it's not like Harvard or anything." Then all I get is blank stares and "¿Qué es Harvard?" TAKE THAT IVY LEAGUE! Seriously, such a proud moment for me. Rock on, BU with your awesome international prestige. The U.S. World and Weekly News Report has nothing on international opinions. I'm probably more excited about that I should be, but I thought it was very cool.

Ok, that's all I've got for now on this subject, but I will be posting again soon about non-school related things, with a few pictures included.