Politics

As the election looms ever near, I thought I'd give you all a bit of insight as to what it's like to be overseas during such a huge election for America. It has been an eye opening experience to say the least. It's not that I ever assumed that Europeans weren't interested, I just never really thought about how interested they are. People here are as if not more enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and interested than many Americans. And it makes sense, obviously, we're a powerful country that affects everyone in the world. But it got me thinking because for instance I would never know who Spain or England's candidates are. Hell, I don't even know really anything about Canada's government system.

Here there's graffiti in the streets saying Obama '08 (and even more explicit things against Bush). Most conversations lead to politics at some point, and usually pretty quickly. When I was in Ireland I'd say that once people found out I was American, 95% of them immediately asked me about my opinion about the candidates. Everyone also gives a look like ok you better say the right thing (Obama is the only right thing). Palin is the laughingstock of Spain just as much as in America. And most people know what they're talking about, they know the state of the economy, the risks and benefits of the potential outcomes. And they're all as scared as I am that Americans will make the wrong choice...again. I feel a sense of frustration on their part that they can't vote and that the decision is up to us. Considering our track record, I can understand where they're coming from. But the frustration also stems from the fact that they're educated on the issues, and they want to be able to express their opinion in a way that matters because it will affect their lives too.

The elections being the constant topic of conversation does get to the point sometimes where I have to say ok, let's talk about something else for a bit. And not because I'm not interested in what they have to say or because I don't want to express my opinion, it's just so often and the conversations go on for so long that sometimes I'd just rather enjoy my beer and talk about the weather. But don't get me wrong, I do value many of the conversations I've had and I have certainly learned a lot.

I'm grateful to be here for all that I've learned, and I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to express my opinion, an American opinion, to Europeans and perhaps teach them something too. Even something that may seem obvious to us: that Americans don't all think the same. Most people understand that more or less, but I have had a couple conversations with people who generalize a lot. One person in particular (from France) immediately assumed I was pro-Bush, pro-McCain, etc. and I had to have a 20 minute conversation with him to convince him otherwise. But the rewarding part of that conversation was at the end when he said thank you for talking to me, I really did think all Americans thought the same way and now I know better than to assume (I swear he said that, I was surprised considering how the conversation started). Now that was an extreme case, most Europeans aren't exactly that naive, but if I could change one person's mind about generalizing, then I'm happy.

At first I was disappointed that I wouldn't be in the States for the election and what, I think, either way will be a watershed in history. But now I'm grateful that I'm here in Europe during the process, and have had the privilege of seeing America from an outsider's point-of-view. Like I said, it's really quite eye-opening and something that I'll never be able to experience again.

I joined Democrats Abroad and they'll be having a party the night of the election. It was 30 euro for the ticket, and includes open bar till midnight, tapas, entertainment, and most importantly live big screen coverage of the results. I'm going with one or two friends and I am so happy that I won't be watching by myself, or falling asleep. The results will come in around 3ish or later our time, and I plan on being up all night if necessary. I'm really excited that there's something like this going on in Barcelona. So that's just what I've seen, experienced, and learned being here during the election. Now let's just hope everything turns out for the best a week from now.

Madrid

This past weekend I got to go to Madrid with my program. It was great traveling somewhere else in Spain and I really liked the city. It's definitely different from Barcelona; we were all discussing which we preferred and some people liked Madrid better or vice versa. For some of us though, including me, it was difficult to say which was preferred because we were only in Madrid for the weekend, not living there. I think I prefer Barcelona as far as living, from what I can tell, but again it's hard to say definitively. We did have perfect weather, the parks there are absolutely gorgeous, the nightlife was really fun, and I got to see friends from Northeastern that are in Madrid through our international business program. I was actually in their program freshman year of college and would have been there with them now had I not switched to regular business.

We left Friday morning and got to take the Ave train, which is their high speed train cutting the travel time in half (3 hours opposed to 6+). We arrived in Madrid around noon and had some free time, then went on a walking tour around the oldest part of the city. The palace was very impressive, I didn't get to go inside, but it's huge! Our tour guide said there are about 2,500 rooms in it. Friday night I went out for tapas with about 12 people from our group. In case I haven't explained tapas or you're not sure what they are, it's a very traditional Spanish way of eating, and I love it. Things come in smaller portions and generally a table will order several different things and everyone shares it all. So the dinner was a lot of fun, and after that I went to meet up with my friend Thad from NU. We went to a club called Kapital, a night club with seven floors and different music on each floor. It was a pretty crazy place, but we had a lot of fun dancing all night. Saturday we went to a contemporary art museum called Reina Sofia and saw more of Dalí, Picasso, and Miró's work. We all took a siesta after that and then went out again for the night. We were celebrating our friend Anjali's birthday and actually ended up at Kapital again, it was fun to experience the club and dance with a new group of people too!

Sunday we had the day to ourselves and it just so happened to be the day the sheep were crossing through Madrid. Twice a year, in the fall and the spring, the shepherds bring the sheep from the mountains (going south for the winter and back north for the summer) and pass through a main street in Madrid on their way. The streets close down and lots of people come out to see all the sheep, I got some great pictures of them and one with one of the shepherds! After that we got some lunch and then spent the afternoon hanging out in a park called El Retiro. It was huuuge, with a lot of different sections. There was one place that had open water and row boats, statues and fountains, another area with very structured landscape, and further in an area with just dirt pathways, moats and waterfalls, and lots of trees. We just walked around it for awhile and relaxed in the good weather before heading back to catch the train.

It was fun experiencing a new city in Spain and I really wish I had more time to go to other cities. Unfortunately I don't have any free weekends left before I leave! Well I guess that's not really an unfortunate thing so much as a lucky thing considering I have great plans for each weekend I have left here.

I'm definitely settling in again and getting past the weird homesickness I had for a lot of October. I never felt like I wanted to go home or anything, but I was missing Boston and my family a lot. I still do, but I'm appreciating Barcelona more especially after spending a couple weekends away. Realizing that I'm halfway done here has also changed my perspective a bit. It's crazy to think I have so little time before I go home, and it's made me truly look forward to each day that I have left.

I'm excited for this weekend because my friend Steph is coming to visit and that gives me the perfect excuse to do all the "touristy" things that I haven't gotten around to doing yet. Lucky for me, the touristy things here are things even the locals do because they're all beautiful places to visit and see.

This week I have a bunch of little things to get done. Emails to catch up on, tests to start studying for, pictures to post, and some things with classes to figure out-like what I'm taking in January! Oh and I voted today! I never received my ballot that I was supposed to get for some reason, so I had to do go online and print one out, then figure out how to correctly package it (a couple envelopes are involved) and then figure out the Post Office over here. It actually went much more smoothly than I thought, and it feels soo good to finally have my vote sent in. (I did do it express so I promise it will get there in time! Within two days actually.) It's great to see how many people are voting from abroad, especially people I know from places like Colorado, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. I can't believe it's only a week away! Scary kind of...

Well I'm very happy to hear that even more of my family members are reading and enjoying this now! I really love being able to share this experience with you, and I truly appreciate hearing the feedback too. Keep checking out the pictures, I'm going to be posting some from Madrid as soon as I have the time. Miss and love you all!

Refreshed

It's amazing what a weekend away can do, and it's funny that even though I'm practically on vacation for four months, I get vacations within my vacation. Rough, I know. But Ireland was a pick me up for a lot of reasons. If you've read my last post or talked to me at all, then you'll know that I kind of had a little bit of a fun time there ;) But besides falling in love with the country, it gave me motivation. I feel like I have something to work towards now in regards to my future because I'm very serious about figuring out a way to live there for awhile after I graduate. I'm going to start exploring my options as soon as possible.

It was also a great change of scenery. It came at a perfect time, we're about halfway done here and I hadn't been out of Barcelona yet except for a couple day trips. Leaving for the weekend and changing up my routine a bit was wonderful. I came back feeling like a different person. It helped a lot that Sunday I was completely and utterly exhausted and was able to fall asleep by 11:30. Sundays can sometimes be a bit of a tough day, there's usually not much going on and they often turn into lazy days. But that means at night I can't fall asleep well since I haven't done anything all day. It also can be a tough day for homesickness because of lack of distraction. This Sunday though, I just rested, fell asleep easily, and got a solid 8 hours. That means that Monday I woke up feeling great, better than I have in awhile. I'm usually tired during the school day, but Monday I had lots of energy. That also made a big difference at my homestay, I was so much more excited to talk to my señora for awhile because I had the energy to make the effort. It's amazing what some good sleep can do!

I've also been in such a good mood because it's so much fun to look forward to things. I've realized that half the fun of going somewhere is planning it and then anticipating it. Because once it happens it always flies by and then it's just done. Of course there's always the memories, but why not enjoy it even longer in the present by enjoying the feeling of being excited about something every day. Like this whole week, I'm so happy that I got to go to Ireland and I will never forget that trip, and at the same time I get to be soo excited about going to Madrid this weekend! We'll be getting there at about noon on Friday and getting back to Barca at about 9:30 on Sunday, so it's a pretty full weekend. This trip is through our company so our train tickets, hotel rooms, and some museum trips are already taken care of. (Of course through the money we've already paid them with the tuition, nothing is ever quite as free as it seems.) But that made everything even less stressful as far as this trip goes. I'm really looking forward to seeing another part of Spain, too.

Mostly, the weekend away was good because it changed my outlook back to what it was pre-homesickness. I'm looking forward to every second I have to spend here, and plan on taking advantage of whatever I can. And of course whatever my budget allows :) Sometimes I get caught up in thinking that I have to be doing something new and exciting every single day, but when it comes down to it, that's just not realistic. Being here for an extended period of time means taking advantage in different ways than I would if I were here for only a week. Things like just making sure I look around and appreciate where I am and how lucky I am to be here, or popping into a shop just to browse, or trying a random new restaurant or different type of food. Those small things are the best way to take advantage of my time, it doesn't always have to be about going sight seeing or traveling. I feel confident that by the end of my time here, I'll be very satisfied with my experience, and know that it has changed me for the better.

Pictures!

So I found a way to post links to my photo albums for people who do not have Facebook. The links are on the right hand side and will bring you directly to the album. Enjoy!

Galway, Ireland

I don't even know where to begin. This was such an amazing trip, and I'll probably use adjectives like amazing and unbelievable a million times in this entry, I just wish there were better words to use to describe it there. I have a new favorite place in the world, I'm absolutely in love with Ireland. I never thought I would feel the way I did while I was there, and if I was worried about the amount of travel time versus the amount of time actually spent there, I'm not now. I would leave again tomorrow and do it all over again.

It might sound corny, but I felt a happiness and peacefulness that I've never felt before. The countryside is breathtaking, from the huge open fields and rolling hills, to the jagged coastline and limestone rock everywhere. The people were incredible, just so friendly and welcoming. It's much different than here in Barcelona. Catalonians are just naturally more reserved and not as openly friendly. Once you get to know them they are, but right off the bat they don't come across as friendly. It was nice to be around such outwardly nice people for awhile though. And the other great thing about the Irish was my sense of humor fit in perfectly there! It's difficult to joke around in Spain because my sarcasm (and quick wit of course) don't translate well.

So we got to Galway at 3 on Friday a bit tired I'd say. The night before we had gone to a concert and got stuck in a town outside of Barca for a bit because the bus we were supposed to take wasn't running due to construction I believe. Anyway, I got home at 3 on Friday morning and had to wake up at 6 to get to the bus for the airport. So the bus from Barca to Girona where we flew out of was a little more than an hour, followed by a 2 1/2 hour flight, and then another 1 1/2 hour bus ride from Shannon Airport to Galway. I knew as soon as I went through customs and the man said to me,"With a last name like Ahern, you're bound to have a good time here." that it would be an incredible trip. I didn't even care that I was tired and didn't want to sleep on the bus because I was enjoying just looking out the window so much.

After getting off the bus we immediately checked into our hostel, which was conveniently located right around the corner from the bus stop and also right next to the city's main square (thank you Hannah for that find :)). We dropped our bags off, I got changed from my traveling sweats into some actual clothes, and then we set off. The guy at the hostel was really nice and took a map and told us some great places to go for things like the best traditional Irish music, or the best Guiness in town. We wandered for a bit and ended up at a bar called The King's Head and ordered a platter of food to share. That was such a satisfying meal because we got to eat some good comfort food that we haven't had since being in Spain. It's much colder there than here in Barcelona so we were all a bit chilly and figured a nice Bailey's coffee would be good. That first one started my addiction for the weekend, they were delicious! The rest of the day and night we spent walking around and exploring Galway. I went to bed fairly early to get a jumpstart on the one full day we had there, Saturday.

I woke up around 8 and took a surprisingly very hot shower at the hostel. Then I found out from the man working at the hostel the best options for tours. Pretty much all the bus tours were full day things, but there wasn't much more to do around Galway itself so we figured why not. We chose to go on a tour of Burren County, with a walking tour and time on the Cliffs of Moher included. This turned out to be the best decision ever. The walking tour was on an old family farm; we hiked up this big hill (ruined a pair of shoes in the process because it was so muddy and wet, but soo worth it) with amazing views of the area. There were green fields everywhere in sight and the ocean in the distance. Definitely one of those moments where I had to just stop, stare, and take some time to truly recognize how lucky I am to be here right now. I'll admit that I definitely got kind of emotional at some points during the day because I just felt so blessed to have this opportunity and to see what I got to see. I wish I could say the pictures do it all justice, but for as pretty as they look, they don't come close to what it looks like in person. (I have posted pictures on Facebook, make sure to check them out!)

The walking tour and the Cliffs of Moher were my favorite. The natural beauty there is mind blowing. It's one thing to see incredible buildings from ancient times (which I still obviously find fascinating and great things to see), but it's a completely different thing to see something that is so deeply beautiful and completely natural. The Cliffs of Moher have that type of beauty, despite the stories our bus driver scared us with to keep us away from the edge-I'm sure you can imagine. Throughout the way there and back we also got to stop at different places for photo-ops. Our bus driver was a lot of fun and very informative.

After the tour, we came back and walked around Galway some more, had some dinner, and then began our up-all night adventure by going to a bar with traditional Irish music called Tig Cóilí. The place was extremely crowded, but so much fun. I loved meeting new people, and it was interesting being somewhere where they didn't know I was American until I opened my mouth and didn't have an Irish accent. Here in Spain I can be spotted from a mile away as American-or at the very least not Spanish. After that we went to a place called The Quay, which is where I was told had the best Guiness in town. I did get my fair share of Guiness this weekend, and it really is better in Ireland than it is at home. But The Quay ended up being a lot of fun and had dancing and music. We met a lot of new and fun people, including a huge stag party haha. There was a balcony that we were hanging out on for awhile and the crowd was underneath us, and one of the highlights of the night was when Like a Prayer came on. We all started singing and got the entire bar to sing along with us, it was great. I also met some kids from the Boston area, and one student from Northeastern! Talk about a small world. And it was great because one of those guys convinced the bartender to turn on the game (it was 1 there so the game had just started). It was so exciting to see my Red Sox live on TV again for the first time since I've left! haha I definitely miss Boston during playoff season this year :)

Anyway, we just stayed out till we had to catch our 3:30 bus back to Shannon. I've never slept so well on public transportation before in my life, but I was out for the bus ride, the wait at the airport, and the plane ride back, then slept another 3 hours when I got home. It was an exhausting weekend but soo worth it. I need to get back there again and spend much more time in Ireland than just 36 hours. Despite the short amount of time we had there though, it was a really great change of scenery for a bit. It was nice to get out of the city and just experience something new. Now I'm going to Madrid this weekend, and then my semester here is halfway done. I can't even believe that especially because I have a feeling the second half will go by even faster than the first. I do at least feel like I'm taking advantage of my time here though and look forward to more traveling :)

Trip Planning

So tomorrow morning I leave for Ireland! I'm unbelievably excited. It's been a good experience for me so far, the planning that goes into it. After booking flights and coordinating with other people I was able to forget about it for awhile. But as the week approached, we all (there's 7 of us traveling together) realized we needed to book a hostel as soon as possible. We were able to do that Monday night and got a room for all 7 of us together. The hostel is right in Galway, has free internet access (not that I'll have my computer with me anyway), and a bar in the bottom with cheap drinks apparently. They also offer discount tickets to Cliffs of Moher, which is my number 1 destination while there. We land in Ireland tomorrow around 12 and then wait for a bus, the ride is about an hour long and we'll be getting to Galway around 3ish. After this, I plan on taking advantage of every second I'm in the city as our trip is pretty short. Our return flight leaves at 6:45 on Sunday morning (ouch). But it was worth it to me since the plane ticket was so cheap (only 30 euro round trip), and I get to go to Ireland!!

Now I have to go pack, which is almost more difficult since I'll be there for such a short period of time. Us girls like to have options and I don't really have room for options, so I'll have to be a bit choosy with what I do decide to pack. I'll need layers as it's a bit colder in Ireland right now as opposed to here, 50s vs. upper 70s. And then the only other two most important things are my passport and of course my camera. Maybe some money would be a good idea too :)

Well I'll be back Sunday morning and I'll be sure to fill everyone in on how the trip went. And then I'll post pictures as soon as I can!

Catch-Up

I haven't written in awhile so let me catch you up with what I've been up to. I'm definitely feeling better health wise, the cough is lingering a bit, but overall I feel great. My classes eventually did get finalized. I'm still taking my Spanish course Mon-Thurs. Then I have Between Tolerance and Conflict: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Iberian Peninsula on Mondays and Wednesdays. The description is: This course seeks to introduce Spanish history as a space and time in which three monotheistic religions have coexisted for centuries, a unique case in the Western world, in which both tolerance and religious conflict have played defining roles. I really like my professor for this class, he's extremely knowledgeable and very interesting to listen to.

Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Barcelona Past and Present, which is a class about the history of Barcelona and what it has become since then. I really like it so far and we have 7 field trips around the city built into the class. It's great to not only have the opportunity to see different parts of the city, but we also get to learn so much about the history because we have our teacher to explain everything to us. I never knew that one of the areas I walk through quite often is an old Roman city and many of the walls and towers in this area are original from the Roman times.

Also on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Introduction to the European Union, which discusses the history and evolution through economics, policy making procedures, etc. Sounds a bit boring I guess, but again my teacher is very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. I've only had one of his classes so far, but I'm hoping that I'll enjoy it.

This past Tuesday we got to go to a cook and taste with Spanish food. That was a lot of fun. We learned how to make a Chupito de Sopa de Tomate al Aroma de Idiazábal. Chupito means shot, so it was basically a shot of tomato soup with a mixture of nuts, parsley, oil, garlic, vinegar added on top, some aioli and then grated cheese on top of that. Kind of hard to explain, but absolutely delicious.

The next thing we made was Pan con Tomate, which is a very traditional dish and something I eat quite often at home. It's really easy to make and really good too; all you have to do is toast a piece of bread, take a clove of garlic, unpeeled and just rub the garlic on the bread, then slice a tomato in half and rub the tomato on the bread, put a bit of olive oil and salt and that's it. It's a great side dish and you can add whatever you want to it like cheese or a bit of meat if you wanted to.

Then on to Tortilla de Patatas. Tortillas here are also very traditional, but not what we think of when we think tortilla. It's actually more of an omelette; we sautéed onions and thinly sliced potatoes in olive oil, then for the omelette we separated the yolk and the whites, whipped each separately and then combined them. I guess this helps with keeping the tortilla fluffy. Finally we combined the eggs with the potato and onion and fried that for a bit. It's a very common thing to have for dinner and you can add anything you want to this too: spinach, zucchini, etc.

The fourth thing was Paella de Marisco, or seafood paella. This is a complicated thing to make but really delicious. The end product is essentially rice in a sauce with mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, etc. This dish can also be made with chicken, or as a vegetarian dish.

Finally we had Crema Catalana (Catalan Cream). This is more or less the same as Creme Brulée, but a bit lighter. Still has the carmalized sugar on top and it was really good. And all of it was so satisfying knowing that we had made it! ....With the help of a cooking instructor of course :) I can't wait to come home and cook these things for everyone.

Friday we went to Fundació Miró. Miró was a surrealist artist from Barcelona, and his work was really interesting and different. I enjoyed this museum a lot. One of my favorite pieces was a fountain that had not water, but mercury coming out of it. It was incredible to watch the way the mercury bounced off itself and pooled in a different way than water. Obviously this fountain was in a separate room with glass walls so I wasn't exposed to high amounts of mercury or anything I promise haha.

Then this weekend has been pretty low-key overall. Last night my señora and her husband were gone for the night at their summer home for some upkeep. It's nice to be in the apartment by myself and I just had a relaxing night, went to bed, had a good sleep and woke up feeling great. Today I'm supposed to be meeting up with the people I'm going to Ireland with to discuss hostels and stuff. I can't believe I'm leaving so soon!! This Friday I'll be there...mindblowing for me. I still can't believe that by the time I leave here I will have been in four different countries in less than four months. Life is good.

Home Sick and Homesick

First week of classes was good and bad. I enjoyed having classes to go to and the excitement of meeting a new teacher, new people, finding out what the class is going to be like. But at the same time, I knew my schedule was going to almost entirely change by this coming Monday, and worst of all really, I was sick. I had a bad cough, a fever, and stuffy nose. It's miserable enough being sick, but being sick and not having the comforts of home was kind of depressing. It made me pretty homesick.

I'm definitely missing Boston right now especially because it's my favorite time of year. I loove the fall in New England, and I'm a bit sad I'm not there for it this year. I miss my friends and family so much! The familiarity of campus and a city I know and love, independence. Living in a homestay is definitely a unique thing; my señora is not technically my mother, she doesn't give me strict rules, but at the same time I'm still living in her house and I respect and abide by the unspoken rules. Which for the most part is obviously fine, but I miss coming home to MY apartment and sitting on MY bed, cooking in my kitchen. Cooking! I miss it so much, we're not allowed to use the stove here so I don't get to prepare myself anything. Although I am enjoying the food here and can't wait to cook it when I come home!

Luckily my feelings aren't depressing me or holding me back from enjoying myself entirely here. It's more of a nostalgic feeling. I have to look at it as a good thing though because 1. Boston, my friends, my family will all be there when I get back and 2. I'm lucky that I have a home that I can't wait to get back to! Because I have to come home eventually, at least I'm looking forward to it.

It is still a little hard to believe I've been here for a month now. Part of me feels like it's flown by, and part of me feels like I've been here for soo long, I think that's because I've done so much. I know for sure that the next few months will fly by, I barely have one weekend without some trip planned until December!

I've been practicing my Spanish as much as possible and slowly improving. At the very least I'm slowly becoming more confident speaking to native Spanish speakers. They're so helpful and when I feel like I'm completely butchering it, they are actually generally impressed with how well I can get by. Which is definitely encouraging to hear. I met a couple people at a bar the other night who want to meet up for coffee and spend a half hour speaking in English and a half hour speaking in Spanish every once in awhile because they want to improve their English just as much as I want to improve my Spanish. I'm looking forward to this. I already really enjoy teaching my señora phrases and then her teaching me the Spanish equivalent. It's nice to learn commonly used phrases from her as opposed to only learning formal things in Spanish classes.

Anyway, time to go over to Hannah's to bake brownies, we're going to dinner at Jofre's apartment tonight. Send me emails, I want to hear all about what's going on at home! Les echo de menos!! Besos y abrazos.