A National Obsession with Ham

Never have I seen so many ham products in my life. One of the chains in Madrid is El Museo del Jamon. It is hard to find any meats other than some form of pork or ham here. It was good at first, but at this point I am excited about getting seafood in Alicante. At the breakfast that we had in Salamanca I think there were at least 6 different types of ham in the buffet.

Madrid is a great city, but 3 weeks is way to long to be here. We have run out of new things to do. We have tickets for a bull fight on Wednesday, but I have a feeling it will not be very entertaining to watch someone repeatedly stab a bull.

Ready for a cheeseburger..

I took this picture when we were flying from Dulles to London. I think I was the only person awake at this point during the flight.

Anyway, classes here suck, but they are easy. Literature classes are boring enough in English let alone in Spanish.

Last Friday we went to Salamanca. It is a university city and is north of Madrid. The tour was conducted in Spanish and I understood very little of what was said, but it was fun to just look around.

I am trying to upload pictures, but the internet is too slow so I am going to continue without them.

Anyway we visited the university and then a cathedral both of which were very interesting. Spanish people eat huge meals normally during the afternoon, but in Salamanca we had it after the tour. We had spaghetti following by ham with potatoes and then ice cream and it ended up being the equivalent of three meals.

The following day we took the bus to Segovia. At this city there is a castle that we were going to visit. Prior to the castle we visited the Roman aqueduct that is still standing in the city. I am amazed that it is still standing today. We heard a legend about the aqueduct (something about a little girl that had to get water and the devil) , but that is about all I got out of the spanish.

The castle was fascinating and I don´t understand why so much detail was put into it. We ended up climbing to the top which involved going up steep stairs in a tiny corridor. The view was phenomenal, but I cannot say the same for the trip back down.

As everyone knows, stairs and I do not get along very well and of course why would it be any different in Spain. I started walking down the steps and I rolled my foot. I think that something cracked, but its not broken so I will be fine. It has been getting better each day.

After I got back to where I am staying I went to a farmacia in order to get something to wrap my foot in. I walked up to the door and tried for 5 minutes to open the door. It was locked and meanwhile the lady working there was looking at me like I am an idiot. Apparently on Saturdays in Spain you have to order things from the pharmacy through a little 1´x1´window. My limited vocabulary on pharmacy products prevailed as I tired to explain what I needed. It is needless to say that many hand gestures were used in order to say that I needed something to wrap my foot with. I walked home with a thick ass bandage and spray anesthetic. It should only be one or two more days until it is back to normal so I am not to worried about it.

¿Donde está la internet?

So it is a pain to get internet access here however problem solved. I am staying with a woman named Piedad and I cannot understand most of what she says. She seems nice and has an apartment near the Vinateros metro station where we are staying with a professor from another group.

The flight to Spain was a pain in the ass. While the Dulles to London flight was fine, I got food poisoning which proceded to bother me through my first day in Spain. Who would have thought that airplane indian food would do that to you? Once arriving in London, I was able to experience the planning disaster that is London Heathrow. Lauren and I got to the terminal an hour early, but the gate for our flight was not listed until 20 minutes before our plane was scheduled to depart. We made to Madrid with our luggage so I cannot complain too much.

Yesterday we went on a walking tour after class and saw some of the main sites near the school. On Sunday Spain had it´s municipal elections and because of this there were many students protesting in La Plaza del Sol. We also visited la Plaza Mayor. (I don´t have my computer cord with me, but I will upload pictures when I can)

Leaving Today

Heading out to Dulles today at 4:30. My flight leaves at 8:00 and after a layover in London, I will be at Barajas at 2:15 tomorrow. Not looking forward to the flight, however, it should be a good opportunity to get some sleep. Lauren and I will get breakfast in London ( and maybe a Newcastle) and get then buy cell phones once we arrive in Madrid before heading off to meet our first host family. My next update will be from Europe.

The Beginning

Hopefully this blog will serve as an effective means of documenting my travel. I am leaving tomorrow for Spain and I will be staying for 3 weeks in Madrid and then another 3 weeks in Alicante. This trip should be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to the stories that will come up. As I have access to the internet I will post new photos and give updates on my adventures.

Hasta Pronto