One more Costa Rica entry from my train ride and then I promise I’ll get new stuff to write about! Though now that I think about it, this looming adventure is probably what is prompting me to finally get these entries out. I know that I will have so many new adventures and things to share that if these are ever going to make it out, now is the time! On that note, I think it is appropriate that my last Costa Rica post (for now, anyways) be about the things I miss:
- Pura Vida: I am still working on explaining this philosophy properly but the internet does turn up some good information. On a similar note, I apologize to anyone that gets irritated with me due to the cultural aspects I picked up which are probably the same ones that irritated me when I first got there.
- Gallo pinto: Rice and bean dish, but it has to be made from leftover rice, not fresh. Some day I will make this for myself, but for now I think I will have to settle on couscous being my new gallo pinto.
- Casados: Meat, rice, beans, cabbage salad, maybe some potato side dish, fried plantains (platanos)
- Platanos: I miss them so much they get a separate listing. I also miss platano chips.
-Fresh fruit and fruit juice everyday: Hoping to get some of this in Morocco :)
- The people from my life there: My classes and friends and the kids from my job and tica family, of course.
- Going ziplining/canyoning/hiking/swimming/scuba diving on the weekends.
- Warm weather, even though it did rain almost everyday.
- Speaking Spanish: I forgot what it’s like to travel to places where I don’t speak the language and how bad I feel having to ask if they speak English. My last two big trips before the one I’m on now were to Costa Rica and Argentina so I didn’t have to do this. Now I feel like that American who didn’t bother learning the language because everyone else speaks mine. Better get used to it since it will probably be a little while before I can communicate in Arabic…
Friday, January 28, 2011
El Ejército de Salvación
I am definitely using this train ride to play catch-up with my blogging! At home I was too busy relaxing and getting ready, and the other train rides were spent napping a lot. Now, I feel decently rested and keep thinking of those posts I never wrote so I will write them! Unfortunately, I do not have wifi on this train so I will have to remember to post them after I get to the hotel in Granada.
In addition to the study abroad program I did with ISA, I did their ELAP volunteer program. This consisted of some extra application pieces, such as my resume in Spanish and a Spanish phone interview, as well as an extra fee. To participate in this program, you must already speak decent Spanish (I forget what level) because you work with Spanish speakers. I chose to work at the Ejército de Salvación, or Salvation Army, in the daycare center. I should mention, in case it isn’t clear, that this daycare center was for underprivileged families and was lacking in resources. They do very well with what they have, but they clearly could use more. Since I was only taking one 4-week Spanish class, I started working the week after the class was over. As it turned out, my friend Jaclyn who had been in my Spanish class was also volunteering there at the same time. Jaclyn, if I miss any highlights or kids please feel free to comment!
I want this posted because I want some record of the kids and people there, as well as some highlights from my time there. I don’t think we ever had all of the kids there on the same day, so I do not know the exact number of them and therefore might forget some now and have to come back to add them later. If any of them ever see this (doubt it since I was working with the 2-3 year olds), please don’t be offended, I love you all!
Mary: The main teacher in the classroom that Jaclyn and I chose to work in. We liked her and so we got very worried the second week when she wasn’t there, but then she came back :)
That other teacher with the curly hair: Jaclyn, if you remember names, please let me know! She was around sometimes and was also very nice.
Nina: A girl form Germany who was also in Costa Rica studying and volunteering.
Rifka and Janina: Two other girls from Germany who were only there for a week or two.
Isabelle: A girl from Switzerland who was there for a week, and then I ran into her on the bus back from Panama.
The fix it/cleaning guy: He was always there and helped out with the kids sometimes, but mostly he was around fixing and cleaning stuff. However, when he did come by the classroom, the kids all loved him. And he was Joseph in the Christmas show.
That boy with the glasses who wasn’t in our class: He may have been my favorite in the Christmas show, two left feet and all. Jaclyn, you know who I’m talking about :)
Zayra: I think she was technically our boss, but I didn’t interact much with her.
And now for the kids from our class! Well, and the older Jeaustin since he was in time-outs in our class maybe half the time we were there. Actually, that’s enough for me to remember him by so I just have all the others. Oh boy, let’s see if I can remember the Jeaustins/Jhostin right…
Aaron: Definitely the best behaved of the group. However, the teacher had a knack of looking at him in the few moments when he was not behaving and so he would get in trouble as much as the rest of them. He was also the only one who could color inside the lines and had some sort of fear of the play place we went to one day. It had a structure like the ones at McDonalds, but he refused to go inside and got really quiet when he even had to take his shoes off. Once I told him he could put his shoes back on and play outside of the structure, he was fine.
Jeaustin: He may have been one of the cutest kids there, but he was definitely a crybaby and a troublemaker. If he was crying, it was most likely that he took a toy from someone and then they took it back, which is when he would start crying. There was a day when he was telling me something and when one of the other kids came up to me, he put his arms around me and yelled, “ Es mio, es mio!” (she’s mine, she’s mine, though not quite correct since I am a girl and it should be mia).
Jhostin: Another cute crybaby who most likely started the trouble that led to his tears. He was also a wildchild, both in looks and actions. He had long hair and resembled a young Tarzan, and seemed to have trouble understanding how to share.
Jeaustin and Brittany: Siblings, and the sister helps me remember which Jeaustin I mean here. So I don’t know why, but all the Jeaustins and Jhostin were the most difficult of the kids. They all grabbed toys and cried when they didn’t get their way more than most of the other kids, but of course, that is only a little surprising since all little boys can be expected to do that. However, this Jeaustin always had this smile on his face that showed he knew when he was doing something he shouldn’t have been doing. Brittany did it too. I remember a day when Brittany and some of the other girls all wanted to play with my hair. They were actually pretty gentle so it turned out to be an easy way to entertain them while I could still play with other kids.
Aisha: Aisha must have been in the middle of potty training because she was one of the few kids in my class not in diapers but she was wet a lot. One day we had to roll up the carpet because she peed on it, but no one really knew what to do with it so we just left it in a corner to dry. I don’t know if we would have done something different if this had been a daycare center that actually had the money and resources it needed, but hey it was the best we could do. Aisha was one of those kids who is fine with whatever she is doing, but then when someone else starts doing something new, she wants to do it too. Oh, and she always had the cutest gloves.
Kiani: At first I thought Kiani must be one of the youngest ones because of how little she talked, but then I realized she actually knew what was going on a lot of the time, even if she decided to act in a way that went against it. Yes, Kiani was a sneaky one, but she was adorable when it was dancing time! She was sitting in one of the eating tables once (with straps so they were for time outs too) and was sit-dancing and singing so cutely I wish I’d had my camera that day! Yet for some reason she didn’t do too well at the Christmas show. I think once she saw her mom, that was it. She went up for one dance and just stood there crying, head turned up and all. At least she’s cute, though that might not be saying much since they all were :)
Isabella: Now she had to have been the youngest one we had. She barely talked at all and always had a sock-blankie with her, usually in her mouth.
Steven: Oh Steven had this laugh that I could not get over yet could not get a video of! It was this like almost evil sounding chuckle, but it sounded more like just some old fat guy laughing. Gah I can’t describe it! I hope I always remember that laugh because it is funny enough that I almost started laughing on the train when I thought of it.
Dennis: He makes me wonder where the stereotype of Asians putting up peace signs in pictures came from because here was a little Asian boy from Costa Rica who threw up a peace sign in one of my pictures. He was a sweet kid, but very set on having things a certain way and not changing them. When he got mad he would hit the floor or table right in front of the person he was mad at and made this mean face at them. There was also this one time when he was crying and the teacher was telling him to stop and he was definitely trying, but the cries kept getting out and I was nervous he was going to choke on the effort to hold them in! And now I don’t want to end this on the angry/sad note so just reminding myself how cute he was when he was happy :)
Saray: She was one of the quieter, well-behaved ones and was only there about half the time so I actually can’t think of any stories about her, but she was also a cutie. Oh, I do remember her when we went to the play place after the piñata and she had a red lollipop that turned her mouth all red. Which reminds me of Aisha and her yellow lollipop and mouth. That was a fun day…
Dixian and Ethan: They were also not particularly badly behaved and only there about half the time so I don’t have many stories about them. Ethan didn’t seem to like getting his picture taken at the Christmas show so I have a picture of him with his gloved hands over his face.
Victoria: A very pretty girl who often liked to play with the cars with the boys, but still was a part of the hair-playing day.
Kensley: I can’t forget Kensley! He was my little buddy. On the first day, the teacher told us that he was slightly autistic, but I think he might be a little more than just slightly autistic. Anyway, he took a liking to me and clung to me most of the day. I learned that he was fine when things were constant, but once they changed he would freak out until he got used to the new situation. Some days he loved puzzles, others he didn’t want to touch them but would guide my hands to the pieces and where they went. I just hope that the center and his family have the resources to support him in school over the years because he needs a little more help than the other kids.
In addition to the study abroad program I did with ISA, I did their ELAP volunteer program. This consisted of some extra application pieces, such as my resume in Spanish and a Spanish phone interview, as well as an extra fee. To participate in this program, you must already speak decent Spanish (I forget what level) because you work with Spanish speakers. I chose to work at the Ejército de Salvación, or Salvation Army, in the daycare center. I should mention, in case it isn’t clear, that this daycare center was for underprivileged families and was lacking in resources. They do very well with what they have, but they clearly could use more. Since I was only taking one 4-week Spanish class, I started working the week after the class was over. As it turned out, my friend Jaclyn who had been in my Spanish class was also volunteering there at the same time. Jaclyn, if I miss any highlights or kids please feel free to comment!
I want this posted because I want some record of the kids and people there, as well as some highlights from my time there. I don’t think we ever had all of the kids there on the same day, so I do not know the exact number of them and therefore might forget some now and have to come back to add them later. If any of them ever see this (doubt it since I was working with the 2-3 year olds), please don’t be offended, I love you all!
Mary: The main teacher in the classroom that Jaclyn and I chose to work in. We liked her and so we got very worried the second week when she wasn’t there, but then she came back :)
That other teacher with the curly hair: Jaclyn, if you remember names, please let me know! She was around sometimes and was also very nice.
Nina: A girl form Germany who was also in Costa Rica studying and volunteering.
Rifka and Janina: Two other girls from Germany who were only there for a week or two.
Isabelle: A girl from Switzerland who was there for a week, and then I ran into her on the bus back from Panama.
The fix it/cleaning guy: He was always there and helped out with the kids sometimes, but mostly he was around fixing and cleaning stuff. However, when he did come by the classroom, the kids all loved him. And he was Joseph in the Christmas show.
That boy with the glasses who wasn’t in our class: He may have been my favorite in the Christmas show, two left feet and all. Jaclyn, you know who I’m talking about :)
Zayra: I think she was technically our boss, but I didn’t interact much with her.
And now for the kids from our class! Well, and the older Jeaustin since he was in time-outs in our class maybe half the time we were there. Actually, that’s enough for me to remember him by so I just have all the others. Oh boy, let’s see if I can remember the Jeaustins/Jhostin right…
Aaron: Definitely the best behaved of the group. However, the teacher had a knack of looking at him in the few moments when he was not behaving and so he would get in trouble as much as the rest of them. He was also the only one who could color inside the lines and had some sort of fear of the play place we went to one day. It had a structure like the ones at McDonalds, but he refused to go inside and got really quiet when he even had to take his shoes off. Once I told him he could put his shoes back on and play outside of the structure, he was fine.
Jeaustin: He may have been one of the cutest kids there, but he was definitely a crybaby and a troublemaker. If he was crying, it was most likely that he took a toy from someone and then they took it back, which is when he would start crying. There was a day when he was telling me something and when one of the other kids came up to me, he put his arms around me and yelled, “ Es mio, es mio!” (she’s mine, she’s mine, though not quite correct since I am a girl and it should be mia).
Jhostin: Another cute crybaby who most likely started the trouble that led to his tears. He was also a wildchild, both in looks and actions. He had long hair and resembled a young Tarzan, and seemed to have trouble understanding how to share.
Jeaustin and Brittany: Siblings, and the sister helps me remember which Jeaustin I mean here. So I don’t know why, but all the Jeaustins and Jhostin were the most difficult of the kids. They all grabbed toys and cried when they didn’t get their way more than most of the other kids, but of course, that is only a little surprising since all little boys can be expected to do that. However, this Jeaustin always had this smile on his face that showed he knew when he was doing something he shouldn’t have been doing. Brittany did it too. I remember a day when Brittany and some of the other girls all wanted to play with my hair. They were actually pretty gentle so it turned out to be an easy way to entertain them while I could still play with other kids.
Aisha: Aisha must have been in the middle of potty training because she was one of the few kids in my class not in diapers but she was wet a lot. One day we had to roll up the carpet because she peed on it, but no one really knew what to do with it so we just left it in a corner to dry. I don’t know if we would have done something different if this had been a daycare center that actually had the money and resources it needed, but hey it was the best we could do. Aisha was one of those kids who is fine with whatever she is doing, but then when someone else starts doing something new, she wants to do it too. Oh, and she always had the cutest gloves.
Kiani: At first I thought Kiani must be one of the youngest ones because of how little she talked, but then I realized she actually knew what was going on a lot of the time, even if she decided to act in a way that went against it. Yes, Kiani was a sneaky one, but she was adorable when it was dancing time! She was sitting in one of the eating tables once (with straps so they were for time outs too) and was sit-dancing and singing so cutely I wish I’d had my camera that day! Yet for some reason she didn’t do too well at the Christmas show. I think once she saw her mom, that was it. She went up for one dance and just stood there crying, head turned up and all. At least she’s cute, though that might not be saying much since they all were :)
Isabella: Now she had to have been the youngest one we had. She barely talked at all and always had a sock-blankie with her, usually in her mouth.
Steven: Oh Steven had this laugh that I could not get over yet could not get a video of! It was this like almost evil sounding chuckle, but it sounded more like just some old fat guy laughing. Gah I can’t describe it! I hope I always remember that laugh because it is funny enough that I almost started laughing on the train when I thought of it.
Dennis: He makes me wonder where the stereotype of Asians putting up peace signs in pictures came from because here was a little Asian boy from Costa Rica who threw up a peace sign in one of my pictures. He was a sweet kid, but very set on having things a certain way and not changing them. When he got mad he would hit the floor or table right in front of the person he was mad at and made this mean face at them. There was also this one time when he was crying and the teacher was telling him to stop and he was definitely trying, but the cries kept getting out and I was nervous he was going to choke on the effort to hold them in! And now I don’t want to end this on the angry/sad note so just reminding myself how cute he was when he was happy :)
Saray: She was one of the quieter, well-behaved ones and was only there about half the time so I actually can’t think of any stories about her, but she was also a cutie. Oh, I do remember her when we went to the play place after the piñata and she had a red lollipop that turned her mouth all red. Which reminds me of Aisha and her yellow lollipop and mouth. That was a fun day…
Dixian and Ethan: They were also not particularly badly behaved and only there about half the time so I don’t have many stories about them. Ethan didn’t seem to like getting his picture taken at the Christmas show so I have a picture of him with his gloved hands over his face.
Victoria: A very pretty girl who often liked to play with the cars with the boys, but still was a part of the hair-playing day.
Kensley: I can’t forget Kensley! He was my little buddy. On the first day, the teacher told us that he was slightly autistic, but I think he might be a little more than just slightly autistic. Anyway, he took a liking to me and clung to me most of the day. I learned that he was fine when things were constant, but once they changed he would freak out until he got used to the new situation. Some days he loved puzzles, others he didn’t want to touch them but would guide my hands to the pieces and where they went. I just hope that the center and his family have the resources to support him in school over the years because he needs a little more help than the other kids.
Through the Looking Glass
Sorry, but things are going to get a little out of chronological order for a bit! This is one of those blog entries I kept meaning to write while I was in Costa Rica or after I got home, but didn’t find myself writing until now. Where am I now? Sitting on the train to Granada, looking out the window…
This entry is about those cool and/or memorable things I saw through the windows of the buses I took in Costa Rica. On buses, as on trains, it is hard to take pictures of the things outside due to the reflective nature of the glass and how quickly things go by. However, I did my best to take some mental images and now I will try to remember them all to record here. Keep in mind I may very well add to it in the future if/when I think of other things.
- On the bus ride back to San Jose from the beach town of Jacó, I saw the most amazing sunset-double-rainbow I have ever seen. This was on the weekend that I ended up spending by myself, going to Jacó after the tours I wanted to do in Arenal didn’t work out (but don’t worry, one of those was Rio Celeste which I went back for later). Of course, this was one of few bus rides I had to spend not in the window seat and the girl next to me didn’t open the window and kept getting in the way of my attempted pictures. This was during a part of the ride that is already breathtaking, as the bus winds through the mountains with the clouds sitting in the valleys. Add to this already amazing view a gorgeous sunset, and then to that, a perfectly complete double rainbow. The bus wound through it for maybe 20 minutes before the sun actually set and it faded away.
- On that same weekend on the shuttle from Arenal to Jacó, I saw an armadillo. I mention this here because it is the only armadillo I have ever seen and it was through a window.
- I think this next one was early on in my trip because I am pretty sure I saw it from the ISA bus and we only had excursions the first 3 weekends. You know how sometimes you see someone riding their bike with their dog on a leash, running next to them? Take that image and replace the dog with a horse.
- Families sitting in their living rooms, watching TV with the front door open.
- Numerous houses that look as though they are falling apart right next to very nice restaurants and hotels and stores where the people who live in these broken down houses probably work.
- The smiles from children and women sitting on the porch or playing/working in the front yard that I received after smiling and/or waving at them.
- The eruption of Volcan Arenal, though is was just smoke.
- A LOT OF BANANAS
- The flooded roads to Tortuguero
- Many small fires that I think were from people burning trash, but I kept forgetting to ask someone to find out for sure.
And of course I am writing this as I stare at the rolling hills and fields of the Spanish countryside :)
This entry is about those cool and/or memorable things I saw through the windows of the buses I took in Costa Rica. On buses, as on trains, it is hard to take pictures of the things outside due to the reflective nature of the glass and how quickly things go by. However, I did my best to take some mental images and now I will try to remember them all to record here. Keep in mind I may very well add to it in the future if/when I think of other things.
- On the bus ride back to San Jose from the beach town of Jacó, I saw the most amazing sunset-double-rainbow I have ever seen. This was on the weekend that I ended up spending by myself, going to Jacó after the tours I wanted to do in Arenal didn’t work out (but don’t worry, one of those was Rio Celeste which I went back for later). Of course, this was one of few bus rides I had to spend not in the window seat and the girl next to me didn’t open the window and kept getting in the way of my attempted pictures. This was during a part of the ride that is already breathtaking, as the bus winds through the mountains with the clouds sitting in the valleys. Add to this already amazing view a gorgeous sunset, and then to that, a perfectly complete double rainbow. The bus wound through it for maybe 20 minutes before the sun actually set and it faded away.
- On that same weekend on the shuttle from Arenal to Jacó, I saw an armadillo. I mention this here because it is the only armadillo I have ever seen and it was through a window.
- I think this next one was early on in my trip because I am pretty sure I saw it from the ISA bus and we only had excursions the first 3 weekends. You know how sometimes you see someone riding their bike with their dog on a leash, running next to them? Take that image and replace the dog with a horse.
- Families sitting in their living rooms, watching TV with the front door open.
- Numerous houses that look as though they are falling apart right next to very nice restaurants and hotels and stores where the people who live in these broken down houses probably work.
- The smiles from children and women sitting on the porch or playing/working in the front yard that I received after smiling and/or waving at them.
- The eruption of Volcan Arenal, though is was just smoke.
- A LOT OF BANANAS
- The flooded roads to Tortuguero
- Many small fires that I think were from people burning trash, but I kept forgetting to ask someone to find out for sure.
And of course I am writing this as I stare at the rolling hills and fields of the Spanish countryside :)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Time-sensitive Shots, Tall Buildings and Train Rides
Over one month later, and here I am again! I meant to write some updates while I was home about Costa Rica reflections and Morocco preparations, but I failed. A quick summary of my life since my last post before I go into details: about a month at home including a trip to San Diego and Disneyland, flying to Frankfurt, visiting friends in Brussels and Groningen, and taking a lot of trains to Madrid before I go to Granada tomorrow to meet my program group. Now for the details:
Home
After being gone for 3 months, being home felt surreal, almost as if I had just gone back in time to before I left, except that it was winter instead of summer. Surprisingly, the reverse culture shock did not hit me as hard this time as after my month in Argentina, probably because I was mentally preparing myself for it for weeks. What was so strange about it the first time was not so much that being home felt weird, but how wrong it felt for home to be so weird. You expect to feel like a stranger in a new place, but you don’t expect to feel so out of place at home. I think being ready for it actually made it a lot easier because it took away that extra layer of shock, if that makes sense. I also think I may have culture shocked my family a bit since I brought some of the pura vida lifestyle back with me…
The other big change for me was my nephew! When I left in September, he was only 2 months old. When I came back in December, he was just about 5 months old! Even though I had seen a lot of pictures and a video, I could not believe how much bigger he was and how much more he was doing! He went from smiling by accident and making a few cooing noises to smiling all the time and babbling; from not even rolling over to rolling and scooting and almost sitting and standing! He even has 2 teeth! However, I have to do another long gap again. He was 6 months old when I left and will be 10 months when I come back, so I will have a whole new set of things to miss and catch up on. But I did make good use of my time at home and went with my mom every Tuesday (her babysitting day) to spend all day with them, except for the day I went later in the day because of my rabies shot.
My stupid rabies shot. This is the only vaccination I have ever heard of with such specific time rules. You have to get 3 of the same shot on days 0 (so whenever you decide to start it), 7, and 21 or 28. I forgot about needing this shot until I only had about 21 days left so I had to get them on a Tuesday schedule which meant going to Kaiser with my mom and my nephew. And if I get bitten by something and think they might have rabies, I still have to get more shots! But it does reduce the number of shots I need and I don’t need the one that can be hard to get so I guess it was worth it. However, between that shot and having to pay full price for extra orders of my prescription, I am ready to be done with hospitals for a while. Hear that body?
Other than all this, my time at home was spent relaxing and hanging out with friends and family. Oh, and trying to make my wardrobe more modest by non-southern-Californian standards meaning higher necks and longer sleeves rather than the tank tops I can usually get away with. Also made a trip down to San Diego to visit some friends and went to Disneyland with the Hawaii Club Disney Crew :)
Come January 19 and it was time to head to the airport. I had packed my big backpack, my small suitcase, a laptop messenger bag, and my purse. I would have shipped some stuff so I could travel lighter for the first 2 weeks but shipping to Europe is expensive and shipping to Morocco is about double that. Since I planned on using trains, I thought multiple smaller, lighter bags were better than one massive, heavy bag and I think I was right. I had a 5 days in 2 months Eurail Pass and plans to visit a couple friends before meeting my program in Granada for our Spain orientation (before going to Morocco).
The Benefits of Traveling During the Low Season
Not only was SFO practically empty, but my plane was only 40% full. Oh yes. 11 hours from San Francisco to Frankfurt and I managed to sleep for about half of them, sprawled across 3 seats. I arrived in Frankfurt at 9:45 am local time on Thursday and due to my bags already being on the claim when I got there and no stopping for customs, I made it on the train to Brussels at 10:32 am. Paid for some wifi on the train and looked at the snow outside before napping. For the sake of my train count, I will mention that something was wrong with this train and we had to switch somewhere so that’s 2 trains to Brussels.
Train total: 2
Brussels
Remember those Belgian guys I met on the journey back to San Jose from Panama? Chris was in Brussels for a few weeks before going on more adventures so I visited him there for 2 days. Jet lag left me tired, but the party schedule of those 2 days worked well with it so I consider it a fast adjustment. I climbed a lot of stairs since I was staying on the 4th floor of his house (well American 4th, European 3rd), listened to a lot of French, drank a lot of wine, went to my first wine and cheese party, and had a great time! I learned how to say in French that I don’t speak French, but I must say it too well because both times I have used it now I have gotten very strange looks… We wandered around the center of Brussels and I saw some stuff I remembered from when I was there with my dad, and I now have a membership at Carré, a big club outside the city that I definitely did not go to with my dad. I would offer to take you next time, but I don’t think you would like it…
To get to Groningen on Saturday to visit Maren where she goes to Uni in the Netherlands, I had to take 3 trains: first to Amsterdam, then to Hilversum, and then to Groningen. I will say that some of these train rides were short, but those were usually the ones that did not have luggage racks so I had to sit/stand awkwardly with my stuff by the doors and therefore count them separately in the train count.
Train total: 5
Groningen
There may have been a lot of stairs in Brussels, but there were very steep and narrow stairs in Groningen. Even though my first night there was a Saturday, we decided to stay in and watch a movie because jetlag and Brussels nightlife had worn me out and Maren was getting over being sick. We actually did a lot of sleeping during my visit and it was glorious! Next day, we wanted to go to the town center and the best way to get around is on bikes (as it is just about everywhere in the Netherlands). Since I didn’t have a bike, I borrowed her roommate’s, which was too tall. I learned that first night that it was better if I used Maren’s and she used her roommate’s, and that the bike paths move in a certain way that I did not quite understand, but not without falling first. Yes, I did bump my head and I’m sorry mom, but no I was not wearing a helmet (no one there does) but I was very aware of how I felt for the next few hours and days and my head only hit the ground after a few other points of contact so it didn’t hit very hard. I can tell you this because I am no longer there, riding a bike without a helmet, and it has been long enough that any damage would have made itself known by now. Luckily, the only things that actually broke were the rear bike light, my gloves, my sunglasses (in my purse), and some skin. All replaceable. Turns out I had just bought another pair of my sunglasses at Disneyland to leave at home in case anything happened to my old pair, and my H&M gloves were sitting in a bin at the H&M in Groningen. Took us a few days to remember to buy a new bike light and I am still working on re-growing the skin, but compared to the last bike accident I saw where one guy lost a tooth, this was nothing.
Other than falling off a bike, I had a great time seeing Maren. For those who don’t know, she is from Germany and was an exchange student at my high school my senior year and we got pretty close. We chilled, cooked, hung out with her friends, and I rode on the back of a bike for the first time when her roommate wasn’t around to let us use hers. On Wednesday, due to bad train schedules, I had to start my journey to Granada. I left Groningen at 3:46 pm for Gouda, then Rotterdam, then Paris (3 trains). Then I took the metro to another train station in Paris (1 train…yes, I am counting metro) to catch a night train to the Spanish border town of Irun where I could get a train to Madrid (2 trains).
Train total: 11
Madrid
Well, this was supposed to be my catch-up-on-sleep night, but this blog is taking forever to write and I am actually not that tired. Guess all that napping on the trains really did count as sleep! I got here in the afternoon and reserved my train to Granada for the morning, then headed to Hostal San Martin. I booked it on hostelbookers.com where it had good reviews and was one of the cheapest single rooms I could find in a building with an elevator. It seems nice enough, and the room has a TV and a small shower and sink with the room, as well as free wifi and a lot of storage space. For the price and location in the city center, it is very nice, but it is definitely more of a guesthouse than a hostel as far as the atmosphere is concerned. But since I was not planning on going out tonight, that is perfect for me! I got food at Maoz, my favorite chain from my European adventures 3 and a half years ago, and even found my favorite gelato place. Unfortunately, it has a sign up saying it is only open Friday-Sunday, my guess being those are winter hours since even I was considering skipping it even though it is my favorite and I am not in Madrid very often to get it! I wandered for a few hours and found my hostel from last time, as well as the area that my guidebook said it was (the one time Let’s Go has ever let me down was when they mismarked my hostel on the map in the book) and even the restaurant I stopped at to see if they knew where my hostel was where one of the waiters got a phone to call and find out so that he could direct me! I love going to new places, but I also love going back to places I have been to before and wandering into places I recognize :)
Tomorrow I go to Granada and meet up with my ISA group for a few days of orientation there before we go to Morocco on Tuesday, and Meknes on Wednesday! I’ll try to find time to write again soon!
Home
After being gone for 3 months, being home felt surreal, almost as if I had just gone back in time to before I left, except that it was winter instead of summer. Surprisingly, the reverse culture shock did not hit me as hard this time as after my month in Argentina, probably because I was mentally preparing myself for it for weeks. What was so strange about it the first time was not so much that being home felt weird, but how wrong it felt for home to be so weird. You expect to feel like a stranger in a new place, but you don’t expect to feel so out of place at home. I think being ready for it actually made it a lot easier because it took away that extra layer of shock, if that makes sense. I also think I may have culture shocked my family a bit since I brought some of the pura vida lifestyle back with me…
The other big change for me was my nephew! When I left in September, he was only 2 months old. When I came back in December, he was just about 5 months old! Even though I had seen a lot of pictures and a video, I could not believe how much bigger he was and how much more he was doing! He went from smiling by accident and making a few cooing noises to smiling all the time and babbling; from not even rolling over to rolling and scooting and almost sitting and standing! He even has 2 teeth! However, I have to do another long gap again. He was 6 months old when I left and will be 10 months when I come back, so I will have a whole new set of things to miss and catch up on. But I did make good use of my time at home and went with my mom every Tuesday (her babysitting day) to spend all day with them, except for the day I went later in the day because of my rabies shot.
My stupid rabies shot. This is the only vaccination I have ever heard of with such specific time rules. You have to get 3 of the same shot on days 0 (so whenever you decide to start it), 7, and 21 or 28. I forgot about needing this shot until I only had about 21 days left so I had to get them on a Tuesday schedule which meant going to Kaiser with my mom and my nephew. And if I get bitten by something and think they might have rabies, I still have to get more shots! But it does reduce the number of shots I need and I don’t need the one that can be hard to get so I guess it was worth it. However, between that shot and having to pay full price for extra orders of my prescription, I am ready to be done with hospitals for a while. Hear that body?
Other than all this, my time at home was spent relaxing and hanging out with friends and family. Oh, and trying to make my wardrobe more modest by non-southern-Californian standards meaning higher necks and longer sleeves rather than the tank tops I can usually get away with. Also made a trip down to San Diego to visit some friends and went to Disneyland with the Hawaii Club Disney Crew :)
Come January 19 and it was time to head to the airport. I had packed my big backpack, my small suitcase, a laptop messenger bag, and my purse. I would have shipped some stuff so I could travel lighter for the first 2 weeks but shipping to Europe is expensive and shipping to Morocco is about double that. Since I planned on using trains, I thought multiple smaller, lighter bags were better than one massive, heavy bag and I think I was right. I had a 5 days in 2 months Eurail Pass and plans to visit a couple friends before meeting my program in Granada for our Spain orientation (before going to Morocco).
The Benefits of Traveling During the Low Season
Not only was SFO practically empty, but my plane was only 40% full. Oh yes. 11 hours from San Francisco to Frankfurt and I managed to sleep for about half of them, sprawled across 3 seats. I arrived in Frankfurt at 9:45 am local time on Thursday and due to my bags already being on the claim when I got there and no stopping for customs, I made it on the train to Brussels at 10:32 am. Paid for some wifi on the train and looked at the snow outside before napping. For the sake of my train count, I will mention that something was wrong with this train and we had to switch somewhere so that’s 2 trains to Brussels.
Train total: 2
Brussels
Remember those Belgian guys I met on the journey back to San Jose from Panama? Chris was in Brussels for a few weeks before going on more adventures so I visited him there for 2 days. Jet lag left me tired, but the party schedule of those 2 days worked well with it so I consider it a fast adjustment. I climbed a lot of stairs since I was staying on the 4th floor of his house (well American 4th, European 3rd), listened to a lot of French, drank a lot of wine, went to my first wine and cheese party, and had a great time! I learned how to say in French that I don’t speak French, but I must say it too well because both times I have used it now I have gotten very strange looks… We wandered around the center of Brussels and I saw some stuff I remembered from when I was there with my dad, and I now have a membership at Carré, a big club outside the city that I definitely did not go to with my dad. I would offer to take you next time, but I don’t think you would like it…
To get to Groningen on Saturday to visit Maren where she goes to Uni in the Netherlands, I had to take 3 trains: first to Amsterdam, then to Hilversum, and then to Groningen. I will say that some of these train rides were short, but those were usually the ones that did not have luggage racks so I had to sit/stand awkwardly with my stuff by the doors and therefore count them separately in the train count.
Train total: 5
Groningen
There may have been a lot of stairs in Brussels, but there were very steep and narrow stairs in Groningen. Even though my first night there was a Saturday, we decided to stay in and watch a movie because jetlag and Brussels nightlife had worn me out and Maren was getting over being sick. We actually did a lot of sleeping during my visit and it was glorious! Next day, we wanted to go to the town center and the best way to get around is on bikes (as it is just about everywhere in the Netherlands). Since I didn’t have a bike, I borrowed her roommate’s, which was too tall. I learned that first night that it was better if I used Maren’s and she used her roommate’s, and that the bike paths move in a certain way that I did not quite understand, but not without falling first. Yes, I did bump my head and I’m sorry mom, but no I was not wearing a helmet (no one there does) but I was very aware of how I felt for the next few hours and days and my head only hit the ground after a few other points of contact so it didn’t hit very hard. I can tell you this because I am no longer there, riding a bike without a helmet, and it has been long enough that any damage would have made itself known by now. Luckily, the only things that actually broke were the rear bike light, my gloves, my sunglasses (in my purse), and some skin. All replaceable. Turns out I had just bought another pair of my sunglasses at Disneyland to leave at home in case anything happened to my old pair, and my H&M gloves were sitting in a bin at the H&M in Groningen. Took us a few days to remember to buy a new bike light and I am still working on re-growing the skin, but compared to the last bike accident I saw where one guy lost a tooth, this was nothing.
Other than falling off a bike, I had a great time seeing Maren. For those who don’t know, she is from Germany and was an exchange student at my high school my senior year and we got pretty close. We chilled, cooked, hung out with her friends, and I rode on the back of a bike for the first time when her roommate wasn’t around to let us use hers. On Wednesday, due to bad train schedules, I had to start my journey to Granada. I left Groningen at 3:46 pm for Gouda, then Rotterdam, then Paris (3 trains). Then I took the metro to another train station in Paris (1 train…yes, I am counting metro) to catch a night train to the Spanish border town of Irun where I could get a train to Madrid (2 trains).
Train total: 11
Madrid
Well, this was supposed to be my catch-up-on-sleep night, but this blog is taking forever to write and I am actually not that tired. Guess all that napping on the trains really did count as sleep! I got here in the afternoon and reserved my train to Granada for the morning, then headed to Hostal San Martin. I booked it on hostelbookers.com where it had good reviews and was one of the cheapest single rooms I could find in a building with an elevator. It seems nice enough, and the room has a TV and a small shower and sink with the room, as well as free wifi and a lot of storage space. For the price and location in the city center, it is very nice, but it is definitely more of a guesthouse than a hostel as far as the atmosphere is concerned. But since I was not planning on going out tonight, that is perfect for me! I got food at Maoz, my favorite chain from my European adventures 3 and a half years ago, and even found my favorite gelato place. Unfortunately, it has a sign up saying it is only open Friday-Sunday, my guess being those are winter hours since even I was considering skipping it even though it is my favorite and I am not in Madrid very often to get it! I wandered for a few hours and found my hostel from last time, as well as the area that my guidebook said it was (the one time Let’s Go has ever let me down was when they mismarked my hostel on the map in the book) and even the restaurant I stopped at to see if they knew where my hostel was where one of the waiters got a phone to call and find out so that he could direct me! I love going to new places, but I also love going back to places I have been to before and wandering into places I recognize :)
Tomorrow I go to Granada and meet up with my ISA group for a few days of orientation there before we go to Morocco on Tuesday, and Meknes on Wednesday! I’ll try to find time to write again soon!
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